Chapter 108

Monday rolled around and I was nervous as I headed to the company where I worked. I had never set foot there, but it was a nice building in the central part of the city. I was guided up to the right floor where Mr Smith’s assistant greeted me. He thanked me for saving his boss that time he had gone out of town and then offered me coffee. I declined, as I was nervous enough as it was. When I was shown into the meeting room, I had managed to calm down. Mr Smith stood up from his place at the conference table and walked towards me with a big smile. He looked relaxed and it made me relax as well as I returned his smile.

“Mr Smith, thank you for inviting me,” I said and reached for his outstretched hand and shook it.

“Please, I think it’s time you called me Tom,” he told me.

“Okay, but only if you call me Hana.”

“It’s a deal,” he agreed as he showed me to a chair. We talked about my work, about my plans for the future and we decided I would continue working full time until the renovation of my bakery was completed. Tom was as nice in person as he had been over the phone and he was handsome. I understood why he was on top of all the lists for most eligible bachelors.

“I will have to bring Katie, my daughter, to your bakery when it opens. She has been hunting for the perfect cupcake for years,” he told me as we stood up after finishing the meeting. I smiled.

“I will do my best to help her find it. What are her favourite flavours?” I asked. He made a face.

“Mint chocolate chip,” he said in a disappointed voice.

“I will make sure to have some of those around.” We said goodbye and I took a cab to the grocery store not far from my bakery. I bought the things needed for a lemon cheesecake and set off to make Jason’s treat. It would be the first thing I baked there. I turned on one of the ovens and to my relief, it worked. I put on some music on my phone and started working. When the cheesecake was done and cooling, I was giddy with excitement. The oven had been easy to use, and the temperature seemed even. The kitchen was easy to work in and with just some minor changes it would flow just like I wanted it. When the knock on the back door came, I was ready and opened to let Jason inside.

“Thank you for coming,” I said.

“My pleasure. I wanted to see what kind of place you have chosen,” he told me. I showed him the kitchen and then the shop. “This is cosy. I get why you like it. It’s very you,” he said as he looked around. He took some pictures and made some notes on his phone.

“Thank you. I’m going to have bar type tables in front of the windows. And the back wall has a counter running along it and shelves above the counter. And here there will be display cases and a register,” I said and let my hands fly to describe what I wanted.

“It will look good once it’s done,” he told me. “Have you picked out a name for the place?”

“I have. Sweetness’ bakery,” I said. He looked at me for a moment and then started laughing.

“That is the perfect name,” he admitted, and I took him upstairs. “Are all of this yours?” he asked.

“Technically yes. I got it with the place. But I need to sort through it and get rid of most of it I think,” I said. He hummed and looked around.

“I know some guys that have just started a business removing garbage and things like that. I’ll give you their number. They will give you a fair price,” he told me. I giggled.

“Do you know people for everything?” I asked. He shrugged again.

“It’s good to have contacts in all kinds of places,” he said.

“I guess you are right. I will gladly take their number. I will sort through things and then I will give them a call. Thank you, Jason.”

“It’s okay. I remember how it was starting out. Scary.” We continued talking as we walked. When we got back to the kitchen I offered him a strawberry cupcake and a cup of coffee and we stood leaning against the opposite counters as we talked.

“I should head back,” he finally said.

“Sure, one moment,” I told him and took out the box with the lemon cheesecake.

“You actually made it?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“Of course I did. I promised I would.”

“I thought you were joking,” he said.

“I never joke about cheesecake.”

“A woman of my own heart. Are you sure it’s okay that I take it?”

“Of course it’s okay. Just, maybe don’t eat it all in one sitting?” He smiled.

“I’m not making any promises. Thank you, Hana. Do you want a ride home?”

“No, I’m staying for a while longer. I’ll grab a cab.” When I was alone, I washed our mugs and put them away into what I had decided was the cupboard for staff things. I then went upstairs and started going through boxes. I found a couple of nice Halloween and Christmas ornaments that I put into boxes to keep. The rest was nothing I wanted to keep. I put the two boxes I wanted to keep in the bathroom, so they wouldn’t get mixed up with what I wanted to get rid of. I called it for the day and got a taxi home. Outside my building Mandy was standing. I guess it was too much to ask for one day where nothing went sideways.

“Mandy,” I said.

“This is all your fault,” she hissed.

“If you aren’t even pretending to be civil, I don’t see a reason to talk to you,” I told her and walked past her.

“Oh no you don’t,” she told me and grabbed my arm. I stopped and stared at her hand.

“Do you know what my favourite gift from Hunter was?” I asked in a calm voice. “A taser. Not the kind you can get anywhere, the good, strong kind. I have already used it, twice in fact, and always carry it with me,” I told her. I was done being scared of her. Mindy flinched and drew back her hand.

“At least you could give the money back,” she told me.

“Nope, those are mine. He got the business, I got the money.”

“His business is confiscated by the federal government,” she informed me.

“That is his problem, and he is the one that put himself in that position,” I pointed out.

“I thought you had to give the money back to the mafia,” she said. Warning bells went off in my head. Was this a trap? Was she recording our conversation?

“I have no idea what you are talking about. All the money was in my bank account up until a couple of days ago.”

“You have spent it?”

“I have. I bought something really nice with it, something I have really wanted for a long time.”

“I will make sure you get what you deserve for what you did to Simon,” she told me.

“That’s sweet of you, Mandy. But I have already got it, thank you. Now I’m going inside and as you no doubt found out when you tried to enter the building, there is a nice doorman that will make sure you can’t follow. Have a nice life, and stay away from me.” As I walked inside, I heard her huffing and puffing behind me. I felt fantastic as I smiled at the doorman and wished him a good evening.