Page 21 of Sweet Rivals
“Okay, that’s great. I am glad something came of this little meeting. But seriously, how am I bringing this a-hole down?” I asked.
“Make a bunch of fake reviews?” Cat said
“Call the police and report a suspected murder!”
“Witchcraft! Oh! Accuse him of witchcraft Salem witch style!”
“Vandalism?” I asked, we were laughing so hard that tears prickled the corners of my eyes.
“Fill his life with minor inconveniences until he is convinced Cape Shore is cursed and he leaves!”
“That’s not a bad idea…” I said.
“Seriously? How would you even do that?” She gasped between laughs. “I must ask again, what have you done with my best friend?”
“Hear me out. I have been working in the food industry a long time. I have a lot of connections. I may be able to pull off some mischief and mayhem. I could hide rotten eggs around the bakery. No one would eat there with that smell!”
“I’ll put my cat burglar ‘fit together,” she said. “Just tell me when and where.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said, gulping the last sips of my matcha before standing. “I’m off to work. I’ll let you know the plan.”
“Hey,” Cat called as I turned to go. I stopped and looked at her over my shoulder. “No chickening out, okay? You deserve that bakery!”
I saluted her before walking out the door and traveling the two minutes to The Lobster Tail. The weather was a perfect, breezy seventy-four degrees, but with the sun still climbing, it threatened to be scorching by late afternoon. I kind of liked the hot days that made the pavement wavy and the ocean feel refreshingly cool.
“Jenna,” Mom called from the opposite side of the restaurant as soon as I walked through the back door, grabbing my white jacket off the hook. I had a busy day, and my plans for revenge had to be put on hold for the time being as I checked inventory, called vendors, and made the schedule for next month in addition to whatever Mom was about to add to my plate.
“Yes?” I asked as I weaved through the already hot, chaotic kitchen.
In an hour, the heat would feel oppressive with the cooktops and ovens blasting at full temp and the press of bodies bringing the atmosphere to boiling. When I reached the office, I knew immediately that something was up. Mom’s mouth did this weird thing where it remained flat except for the corner that pulled up before she brought it back into line with conscious effort. She was trying not to grin.
“I need you to do me a favor,” she said. I folded my arms over my chest, waiting for her to continue. “You know that Jared is just getting started over at the bakery. I promised that I would give him all the names and numbers of our vendors.”
The vendor list was one of the many things that I had tried to organize and digitize but had only been partially successful with because of my parent’s stubbornness. As it was, half were listed in a thick binder filled with old invoices and the other half was organized neatly on a spreadsheet.
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
“Jenna, you know that there is a certain camaraderie amongst the restaurants here. Jared’s new place will be no different,” she said.
“Again, I cannot fathom why,” I said, shaking my head.
“He is a nice young man, and I don’t think he is planning anything nefarious.”
“Hostile takeover or not, he is taking business away from locals.”
“That bakery was sitting vacant for a year,” Mom said. “I’m glad that someone will be revamping it, even if you not. I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you still represent this restaurant, and I expect you to be polite and professional.”
It was interesting that she mentioned politeness first. Nothing she said was wrong, but it still cut like a knife. I knew that I only had my own hesitancy to blame for the situation I was in, but still. It would have been nice if she had a little understanding of my worry around the Wallace take over. I had ran out of arguments to not show up at Mr. Corporate’s bakery, carting an armful of vendor numbers.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll drop it off this evening or tomorrow. I have a few things I need to do.”
“I’d like you to take it over to Jared now,” Mom said. She had already turned her attention away from me, but her voice booked no argument.
I looked between the book and my mom. What would new Jenna do? I wondered even as the familiar anxiety of professionalism and responsibility and other people’s opinions worked its way through my psyche.
Chapter Sixteen
Iknocked on the glass door, balancing binders in the crook of my elbow. The sun glinted off the glass just right to prevent me from seeing inside. Still, I didn’t sense any movement,. I knocked again. Where was this asshole? Was he not expecting me? More importantly, why was a knot of anxiety growing in my stomach? I bounced on my heels as the sun warmed my back. I tried taking deep breaths of ocean air, but it didn’t do much to help. Why was I like this? I was just dropping off stupid binders. Admittedly, it had occurred to me that this might be the perfect opportunity for some sabotage, but even if I had some raw eggs with me, they would be discovered during construction.