The Icing on the Cake (Otter Bluff)

by Linda Seed

  “All right,” Lacy said. “I’m ready. Let me have it.”

  Cassie told her everything: the grand, breathtakingly expensive properties that were completely unsuitable for Cassie’s business; the paintings depicting women in slavery baking wedding cakes; Lisa’s admission that she’d only offered to finance Cassie’s bakery so she could manipulate Brian; the way Brian and Lisa had fought, talking about Cassie as though she weren’t there; the tense, silent drive back to Cambria; and the way he’d dropped her off and left as though they’d been strangers carpooling to save gas.

  “And now …” Cassie threw her hands into the air. “Now, the deal with Lisa is over, obviously. And Brian’s not speaking to me, even though I didn’t do anything wrong. And Lisa said things about me.”

  “What things?”

  “Oh …” Cassie slumped down in her chair. “That if it weren’t for Brian, she would never get into a financial deal with someone who was still living with her parents and making minimum wage at my age. She thinks I’m nothing. She thinks I’m a failure. And maybe Brian thinks so, too. Why else was he so quiet on the drive home? Why else did he just bring my bag into the trailer and walk away? Oh, God.” She scrubbed at her face with her hands. “I never imagined I’d fall for a guy whose mother disapproved of me. What’s to disapprove of? I’m a good person! I’m nice! I’m not a … a drug dealer or a hooker! What more does she want?”

  Lacy gave her a wry smile. “That is a high standard, all right.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Lacy put a hand on her sister’s arm. “Yes. I do. And no, it’s not reasonable for her to disapprove of you, but it seems like she does. So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to walk away to avoid the potential headache? I mean, she might be your mother-in-law someday if this thing with Brian keeps going. Do you want to deal with that?”

  “No. I really don’t.”

  “On the other hand, Brian isn’t his mother. And it wouldn’t be fair to judge him based on her actions.”

  “I know that. Lacy, I know that! But … God. It’s all such a mess. You should have seen how he was on the drive home. He could barely look at me, and he certainly didn’t talk to me. Maybe that was because he thinks she’s right. Maybe he does think he can do better than me. I do make minimum wage! I do live in my parents’ backyard!”

  “So did I until a few years ago,” Lacy reminded her. “Does that make me someone who’s not worthy of love?”

  “Of course not.”

  Lacy rubbed Cassie’s arm, then wrapped her hands around her tea mug and took a sip. “Maybe he’s just embarrassed by how his mother acted. Maybe he feels bad about what happened, and he doesn’t know how to talk about it yet.”

  “Maybe,” Cassie agreed. “But either way, I don’t have my bakery, I don’t have any hope of getting it, and Brian’s not speaking to me. I went into this weekend so excited about everything. It seemed like everything I wanted was about to happen for me. And now … I’m back to square one.”

  “Maybe not.” Lacy shrugged. “I think Brian will come around. And as for the bakery … I think this might be a blessing in disguise.”

  “Really.”

  “Well … now you can get your business started on your own, or with the help of people who really believe in you instead of someone who was using you. And that’s going to be better all around, isn’t it?”

  Brian felt like warmed-over shit. Everything involving Cassie had been fucked up, and the pure scope of the fuckery made him certain that she would never want to see him again.

  Not all of it had been his fault, true. But it was his mother, after all, who’d ruined things with Cassie’s business. It was also Lisa who’d said ugly things about Cassie and had hurt her feelings. And Cassie would never have met Lisa if it hadn’t been for Brian.

  So, in a way, it really was his fault.

  Also, he knew he’d been an ass on the drive home. He knew she’d been hurt by his complete inability to talk about everything that had happened. He just hadn’t known what to say, and he’d been sure that if he had tried to say something, it would be the exact wrong thing, making the smoldering pile of ashes that was his life burst into lively flame.

  God, he’d bungled things. And now, he didn’t know how to get anything—even one thing—back on track.

  He thought about all of it as he picked up Thor from the petsitter, took him for a long walk in the neighborhood, then brought the dog into the house and let him off his leash.

  Brian’s house was habitable again, so that was something. There was still some painting to be done where the mold and termite repairs had happened, but he could live with that until the contractor came back and fixed it.

  The fact that he could live in his house again was the one positive thing that had happened to him in the past forty-eight hours. Thor seemed glad to be back; he ran around the place sniffing everything, then went to his favorite dog bed and curled up with his hedgehog squeaky toy.

  Brian picked up the stack of mail on his kitchen counter that the contractor had collected from the mailbox and put there for him. He sorted through a couple of things, then tossed them back into the pile. He couldn’t deal with things like mail when Cassie was angry with him. Right now, it felt as though nothing else mattered.

  He needed to talk this out with someone, so he fished his cell phone out of his pocket and tried Ike. He didn’t get an answer. Who the hell else was he supposed to talk to about this?

  Well, you could talk to Cassie, dumbass.

  He dialed her number, then thought about what he was going to say, rehearsing his strategy as he waited for her to pick up.

  She didn’t—probably because she was screening her calls.

  Not that he blamed her.

  Ike called back later in the day while Brian was drinking a Dr Pepper and watching TV, trying to forget about all of the problems that were plaguing him.

  “What’s up?” Ike asked. “I saw that you called.”

  “I did.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, hell no. Everything is not okay.” Brian rubbed his forehead with his hand.

  “Shit. All right. Tell me.”

  Brian went through it, keeping it as short as possible. He hit the highlights, emphasizing his own dumbassery and the awkward way he and Cassie had left things.

  “And you haven’t talked to her about it yet?” Ike sounded surprised, which Brian supposed was fair enough.

  “I tried calling her, but I think she’s blocking my calls. I probably would if I were her.”

  “Then keep trying. Or go over there. Do something. Don’t just leave it as you giving her the silent treatment for two hundred miles.”

  “It sounds bad when you say it like that.”

  “Well … food for thought.”

  “Okay. All right. I’ll go over there. But…” He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up at odd angles. “I’m not really sure what I’m going to say.”

  “Tell her the truth, man. It’s always worked for me when Benny’s pissed.”

  “Yeah. Okay. Okay.”

  “And, Brian?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You need to make this right. Cassie’s great. I mean it. I’ve met a lot of your girlfriends over the years.…”

  “You’ve met all of them.”

  “Right. I’ve met all of them, and this one is special. I’m telling you.”

  “I know that. I do.”

  “Yeah, well. I’m just saying. Don’t screw this up.”

  Chapter 29

  Brian called two more times, then texted, then went to Cassie’s place, knocking on the trailer door and calling her name. When she didn’t answer any of his attempts, he went home, dejected.

  He went to Central Coast Escapes the next day, reasoning that she’d be a captive audience if she was working the reception desk, and she’d be unable to walk out on him.

  Of course, if she was off doing maintenance at one of
the houses, he’d be out of luck. Still, it seemed worth a try.

  He lucked out, because Cassie was alone in the office when he got there at around ten a.m. She was sitting behind a computer at an artificial wood grain desk, a potted plant on the floor beside her.

  “Hey. I’m thinking of vacationing in Cambria, and I wondered if you had a twelve-bedroom with an ocean view and a hot tub.” He gave her a little wave from the doorway, hoping his lighthearted opening line wouldn’t get him thrown out on his ass.

  “What do you want?” No smile, no hint of pleasure at seeing him there. Okay. This was going to be a challenge.

  “I want to talk.”

  “I’m working right now.”

  “Yeah. I see that. But … you didn’t answer my calls or my texts. I went over to your place, but you weren’t there.”

  “That’s because I’m here.”

  “Well, it was yesterday. But still.”

  She stood up, put her hands on her hips, and glared at him from behind her desk. “I don’t have time for this. I work here. This is my job. I need to do it.”

  “Elliot’s not here. What are you working on right now?”

  She didn’t answer. Her lips pursed, then her eyes flicked down to her computer screen.

  Taking a chance, he came over and looked at her screen.

  “Solitaire.” He pointed at the game with one finger. “You can put the red seven on the black eight.”

  “Shut up.” But she couldn’t quite suppress a grin.

  “Look, Cassie. Can we talk? I get that you’re at work, but I promise I’ll take less time than an average hand of solitaire. Please?” He looked at her with his most endearing facial expression, eyebrows raised and face open and pleading. He knew this was his most endearing facial expression because it had been focus-group tested for the show. He hated to be so calculating, but on the other hand, this really mattered, and he had to get it right. Was it so wrong to use data to get the job done?

  Cassie looked at something on her screen. “Fine. My last solitaire game lasted three minutes and twenty-five seconds. You’ve got that much time.” She picked up her cell phone from her desk and set the timer. “Go.”

  “You’re actually timing me?”

  “You’ve just used four seconds.”

  He ran his hands through his hair, trying to focus so he could make his case in the allotted time. “I’m sorry for everything that happened with my mother. I’m sorry about the things she said to you. And I’m sorry about how I acted on the drive. I was just so … I felt like everything was my fault. Like you wouldn’t have been involved with Lisa in the first place if it hadn’t been for me, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt that way. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to see me anymore, and every time I thought I might try to talk about it, I worried that the thing I was about to say would make it worse. So I just didn’t say anything. And the more I didn’t say anything, the worse it got.”

  He paused for a breath. “And finally, I want to say that she was just wrong about you. She was wrong to judge you. You know what you want, and you’re taking steps to get it, and it’s nobody’s business how long that has or has not taken for you. I hope you didn’t take what she said seriously. Because she doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know how special you are. She doesn’t know how driven and talented and smart you are. But I do. I see all of that.” He finished and cleared his throat.

  She looked up from her phone. “You have a little time left.”

  “Ah. Okay. Well … I just want to say … that I hope you won’t hold her actions against me. Because … because I love you.”

  She blinked twice and put down the phone. “You do?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “Well … you really know how to conclude a speech.”

  “So, can we get past this?” He allowed himself a slight, hopeful grin.

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  “Yes, maybe. But right now, I have to work.”

  “Can I call you later?”

  “Yes.”

  He turned and headed toward the door. He had his hand on the knob and was on his way out when she said, “Oh. By the way. I love you, too.”

  When Brian was gone, Cassie felt better and lighter than she had since this whole thing had started. He loved her. He’d said it. Now that it was out there, he couldn’t take it back, even if he wanted to.

  She hoped he wouldn’t want to.

  There would be time for them to talk it out, time for them to work out what it meant that his mother disapproved of her—if it meant anything at all. They could work out the problems that faced them, whatever those turned out to be, because they were in love.

  She was in love.

  And, by God, if she could have that—if she could have Brian’s love and give her own love to him—then there was no reason she couldn’t have her bakery, too.

  She just needed to figure out another way to get it.

  Elliot came in about a half hour later, relieving Cassie on the reception desk. Now that she was no longer needed in the office, she went off to tackle her list of houses that needed cleaning or small maintenance jobs.

  She started at Dolphin Dreams. She dragged out the cleaning products, the mop, the broom and dustpan, and the vacuum from the utility closet and got to work. As she dusted and scrubbed, vacuumed and polished, she thought about her bakery and how she was going to finance it without Lisa’s help.

  The thing was, Lisa didn’t actually care about Cassie or her dreams. But there were other people who did.

  There were people who would help her who truly had her best interests at heart. But she had to find a way to show them that she was serious and that she knew what she was doing.

  As she worked, she composed a mental to-do list in her head. it was a long one, but she felt increasingly hopeful that she could do it.

  By the time Cassie got home that night, she had a workable plan in her head. She sat down on her bed in the trailer, opened her laptop, and created a spreadsheet of everything she had to do and in what order. There was a lot she was uncertain about, since she’d never done this kind of thing before, but she knew people who ran their own businesses—two of Lacy’s best friends were proprietors of shops on Main Street—so she had resources if she needed help.

  If all of this worked, it was going to be so much better than it would have been if Lisa had been involved.

  And if she acted fast, she might even get the Moonstone Mocha property she so longed for.

  She went to bed excited and optimistic, and she couldn’t wait to show Brian her plan.

  In fact, she couldn’t wait to share everything with Brian, whatever it happened to be. Her ideas, her dreams, her fears and hopes—all of it seemed better with him involved.

  “So, I researched the numbers on this, and here’s the amount of business I would have to bring in to be able to pay the rent, utilities, and insurance on the property and cover the rest of my overhead—supplies, wages for two full-time employees, that sort of thing.” Cassie had her laptop open in front of Brian the next morning at his house in San Luis Obispo. They were sitting at his dining room table with Thor stretched out on the floor at their feet.

  “The thing is,” she went on, “I think I can do it. Not just with wedding cakes, of course. I’ve already called some local restaurants to look into selling them desserts, bread, rolls, that kind of thing. A couple said no because they like their current suppliers, but two others said they’d be willing to try some samples and meet with me. And I’ve talked to a few local wedding planners about doing cakes for their clients. Nobody promised anything, obviously, just based on an initial phone call, but they’re willing to try samples, have a conversation, look at my references.” Cassie was practically glowing with enthusiasm—she could feel the excitement radiating out of her own skin.

  Brian grinned at her as he looked over what she’d written. “Yeah, it seems like it could work.”

  “And I’d want to kee
p doing videos, if it’s okay with you. Because I got some orders from the ones we did, and that seems like a really good way to make people aware of what I have to offer.”

  Brian nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. It really could boost sales, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying advertising.”

  “So, based on these numbers and this plan, I want to start looking for investors. People who aren’t your mother.”

  Brian looked at her. “I have some money tucked away. I could—”

  “No. No!” Cassie’s tone held a little more horror than she’d intended, so she put a hand on his arm in consolation. “I mean, thank you. That’s a very nice offer. But I don’t want my business dealings to have anything to do with our relationship. We’ve already seen how that worked out with your mother. What if you invest in the business and then we break up?”

  “Why would we break up?” He looked hurt and maybe a little offended.

  “I don’t know. People break up. Things happen. And if things do happen … whatever they might be … I don’t want that to affect my bakery.”

  “Okay.” He nodded. “I guess that makes sense. I get that.”

  “I wasn’t showing you this because I wanted you to give me money. I showed you because I want to know what you think. You’ve got a good head for business. Will it work?”

  His eyebrows rose as he considered it. “Well … at the moment, the plan is based on a lot of what-ifs. But they’re reasonable what-ifs. They’re what-ifs that seem possible.”

  She bounced up and down in her seat, grinning. “Really?”

  He rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Yeah. Really. So … who are you going to ask?”

  Chapter 30

  Cassie had given a lot of thought to whom she could ask to invest in her bakery. She’d also given thought to the question of loan versus investment. If she sought investors, she’d be giving a portion of her profits to that person, which could be good or bad for the investor depending on how the business did. If it was a straight loan, she’d be required to make payments with interest regardless of whether she was making a profit.