Bet on My Heart

by J. M. Jeffries

  Reno Cupcake Wars! What was that all about?

  His omelet sizzled enticingly on the stove. He gently swirled it, added cheese, flipped one half over the other and gently deposited it on his plate. He added more cheese and leaned against the counter, plate in hand.

  A few minutes later, Toni Aquilar reappeared sitting on an ivory sofa, legs crossed and a wide smile on her face. “Welcome back, Reno. Today I have with me, Lisa Baxter and her sister, Susan Baxter-Wilson, long-time Reno residents and owners of the bakery, Mitzi’s Cake Magic. Please welcome them.”

  Donovan stared at the TV screen. What?

  “Ladies,” Toni said perkily, “I understand things are brewing at Mitzi’s Cake Magic.”

  “Yes, our mother, Mitzi Baxter trusted a loyal employee with our family recipes who then stole those recipes and quit, taking them with her to her new job at The Casa de Mariposa.”

  Donovan grabbed the remote, set the program to record and immediately called Miss E. “Turn on your TV right now. Channel 24.” His grandmother turned on her TV and then he heard a gasp.

  “Mitzi’s Cake Magic has been a fixture in Reno for thirty years,” Lisa said with a dramatic wave of her hands. “And in one week, this woman, Hendrix Beausolie, destroyed everything our family has built.”

  I need to call Vanessa and then Nina, Donovan thought. This whole situation is going to need immediate damage control. He speed-dialed Vanessa and when she answered he told her what he’d just told Miss E. He disconnected and called a sleepy-voiced Nina and gave her the same information. Then he called Hendrix, but his call went to voice mail. She was probably baking and didn’t have time to answer. He’d have to try again.

  “Our mother trusted her with all our family recipes,” Susan put in. “And she stole them and is now using them to repair the reputation of that down-and-out casino, Casa de Mariposa. That place should have been torn down years ago. It’s an eyesore.”

  Donovan dropped his plate. It landed safely on the counter, but the fork bounced across the floor. His phone rang. “I know,” he said to Scott. “I’m watching it and recording it.”

  “Good. I’m with Miss E. She’s talking with Vanessa Peabody. Nina is trying to call the station and set up an interview to air our side of the story.”

  “This is a case of big corporations trying to squash family-owned businesses,” Susan continued, her face twisted in anger.

  “Our mother was so devastated, she had a stroke and can no longer function. She doesn’t even know who we are,” Lisa added, her face showing sorrow.

  Donovan shook his head. He wasn’t hearing this.

  “That is so sad,” Toni said in sympathy. “I understand you filed a lawsuit.”

  Lisa nodded. “It’s imperative that we protect our family name and our business. If small-business people don’t stand up for themselves, then who will?”

  Donovan hadn’t been angry before, but he was now.

  “I hear so many things are going on over there at the Mariposa,” Susan added. “The health department is on their case and they recently had a very mysterious fire.”

  Donovan gripped his phone so tightly his hand began to hurt. He needed to get a hold of Hendrix before she heard about the interview. He called Miss E. and told her where he was going and asked if she could keep an eye on the kitchen.

  Before he knew how, he’d arrived at his car, peeled out of the parking lot and was on his way back to Hendrix’s house.

  * * *

  Hendrix danced around the kitchen. She’d woken this morning feeling upbeat and happy. Vanessa said everything would work out and Hendrix believed her. The timer on the oven went off and she pulled out the chocolate cakes and set them on the worktable to cool. While butter softened in a mixing bowl in preparation for the icing, she started on her brownies. She’d decided on double fudge brownies with white chocolate vanilla chips.

  Her thoughts drifted to Donovan as she watched the mixer and readjusted the temperature on the ovens. He was the most dynamic man she’d ever known, and the fact that he shared her love of food made her just plain happy. The sex was darn good, too. She licked a bit of batter off her finger. Brownies had always been her comfort food.

  The front doorbell chimed. She danced down the hall to answer it to find Donovan standing there. He wore an angry scowl on his face and Hendrix began to tremble. She’d done something and he was furious. Her heart nearly stopped at the fury in his eyes.

  “We have to talk.” Donovan grabbed her hand and drew her back to the kitchen.

  Her mind stuttered. “What’s wrong?” He was going to fire her. She closed her eyes and braced herself. She should have known better than to expect anything.

  “Lisa and Susan have taken to the airwaves.”

  Hendrix opened her eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “Lisa and Susan were on Good Morning, Reno and stated that you stole their mother’s secret family recipes and are now using them to repair the restaurant’s reputation at the Mariposa.”

  Hendrix couldn’t move. Her brain wrestled with his statement. “I don’t understand.”

  “They’ve taken the lawsuit to the court of public opinion.”

  Hendrix sat down, staring at him. “Are you here to...to fire me?” Her voice trailed away as the enormity of the situation overwhelmed her. Vanessa had promised that everything would be okay.

  “God, no,” he half shouted. He kissed her, letting his lips tell her his feelings. He then told her about the interview that Susan and Lisa had done this morning.

  “This is never going to end, is it?” Tears gathered in her eyes. Donovan and his family had come to mean something to her.

  “They’re trying to rattle our chain.”

  “You don’t need to fight this battle for me.” Hendrix wiped her eyes with the cuff of her jacket.

  “We’ve already had this discussion,” Donovan said, his tone indignant. “And now Lisa and Susan have dragged my whole family into it by accusing us of stealing you from Mitzi’s Cake Magic and bringing the family secrets along with you.”

  “Lisa and Susan walked into the bakery, ordered us around and did nothing but criticize us. I brought those recipes to the bakery with me. I developed them long before Mitzi ever hired me. If they could ask her, she’d tell them.”

  “I’m afraid Lisa and Susan have claimed that your supposed theft caused her stroke.”

  Her mouth fell open as she glared at him. “What? What?”

  His phone rang suddenly. He answered. When he hung up, he said, “That was Vanessa. She wants a family meeting and I’m to bring you.”

  “I’ll call Billy and have him get over here right now.” Hendrix was suddenly so angry she could barely talk. She gave Billy an overview of what was going on, and he told her he’d be there in ten minutes.

  “How can they lie like this?” she asked.

  “They want the big pay day. Twenty million bucks goes a long way.” Donovan drew Hendrix into his arms. “We’re going to fight this.”

  Hendrix couldn’t let his family do this for her. She was at fault for not taking Lisa and Susan more seriously. If she’d known Lisa and Susan would go to such lengths, she would’ve just given them the recipes and developed new ones. She’d let her pride get in the way and now the whole Russell family was involved. She had endangered their hotel, their livelihoods and their future.

  As Donovan opened the passenger side door to usher her into the SUV, she found herself sinking deeper and deeper into guilt.

  * * *

  The conference room was large and impersonal with gray walls, a teak table large enough to seat twenty people and a sideboard that contained an urn of coffee and a tray with cups.

  Miss E. sat at the head of the table, Hunter sat on her right and Lydia next to him. Scott stood in a corner talking on his phone w
hile Nina sat next to Lydia.

  Hendrix found a spot as far away from everyone as she could without appearing standoffish. How could they be so nice to her after this disaster?

  Vanessa entered, slapped her briefcase on the table and sat down, frowning. “That TV interview Lisa and Susan did is going to make the hotel suffer.”

  “We need to do some damage control,” Nina replied. She tapped her iPad.

  “What kind of damage control?” Vanessa asked.

  “Unless this interview is picked up nationally, I don’t think we have to sweat it,” Nina said. “Most of our business is tourism and tourists don’t generally watch local news. They don’t come to Reno to be mired in reality. These are people on vacation looking for a good time and good food. And if we make a big deal of this, it becomes a big deal. If this case even makes it to trial, we’ll let the court handle it. The Casa de Mariposa has been a part of the Reno landscape longer than the bakery. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”

  “You could fire me,” Hendrix said.

  Silence fell over the room as everyone turned to stare at her.

  “Oh, no. Not in this century,” Miss E. said. “I will not be bullied by those petty, little spoiled brats.”

  “But...” Hendrix knew if she weren’t around, Lisa and Susan would probably drop the suit. She would give the women her recipes, go somewhere else and develop new ones that bore no resemblance to what she was making now. The more she thought about that option, the sadder she became.

  She glanced at Donovan. He wouldn’t be in her life anymore. A sharp pain of loss stabbed through her. This man, this hotel, this family had come to mean so much more to her than she had ever thought possible.

  Vanessa smiled at Hendrix. “Hendrix, we are fighting this.” She glanced around the table. “This is our strategy. If anyone is approached by a reporter, a newspaper, anyone with media ties, your response will be ‘no comment.’ Let Lisa and Susan spew all they want. This hotel will take the high road. Eventually, Lisa and Susan will say something that will shift popularity away from them. Especially if they spend as much time exploiting this morning’s interview as I think they will. We will remain silent.” She emphasized the last four words. “So repeat after me—‘no comment.’”

  Miss E. laughed, but everyone obediently repeated the words. Hendrix added her voice, but her heart wasn’t in it. She wanted to track down Lisa and Susan and punch their lights out. And that would be wrong. Her grandma would tell her to “love bomb” them.

  The meeting ended soon after. Donovan told Hendrix he would take her home, but he needed to talk to his grandmother for a moment. Hendrix wandered out to the lobby and into the diner.

  “We need more brownies,” Bonita Diaz, the manager said to Hendrix after she sat down at a table overlooking the lobby. “I’m almost out.”

  “You’ll have them later this afternoon,” she said. Billy would deliver them once all the desserts were made.

  “I can’t believe what I saw on the TV this morning about you.” Bonita brought over two cups of coffee and sat down across from Hendrix. “I don’t believe any of the accusations. You’re an artist. Artists are always original. I’ve tasted pretty much every brownie in the world—” she patted her hip “—and yours are the best.”

  “Thank you.” As much as Hendrix appreciated her words, they didn’t make her feel any better.

  “I agree.” A woman at the next table turned around. “My name is Lenore Abernathy and I’m totally in love with your brownies. I own a restaurant in New York, and I would kill to have you work for me.”

  “I don’t know,” Hendrix said, doubt creeping into her voice. She might want to run away, but she still owed the Russell family her loyalty.

  “Just think about it.” Lenore handed her a business card. She smiled and stood, stopping at the register to pay her bill.

  Hendrix turned the business card over and over. Piquant! Lenore Abernathy owned Piquant! Even Hendrix had heard of the world-famous restaurant. How could she say no to this opportunity? A job in New York might get her out from under this lawsuit. With her gone, Lisa and Susan had no reason to pursue anything.

  “You can’t go,” Bonita said, shaking her head.

  “But it would solve everything,” Hendrix objected.

  Bonita put a hand over Hendrix’s. “No. Then those two women would win.”

  “They’re suing the hotel for twenty million dollars. No one should sue for that kind of money over a piece of cake.”

  “Tell that to Marie Antoinette. A piece of cake started a whole revolution.”

  Hendrix couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “That’s not why the revolution happened. I know my history.”

  “But the myth is so much more fun.” Bonita stood and took the empty coffee cups back to the kitchen while Hendrix pondered what to do. She stuffed the card into her pocket.

  Donovan appeared in the doorway. “Ready to go?”

  Hendrix scrambled to her feet. “Let’s go dancing.” Dancing was the only thing that could make her feel good right now.

  “Okay, I’m in.”

  Chapter 13

  Hendrix parked her VW behind her grandmother’s tea shop. She sat for a moment, breathing in the salt air, listening to the fog horns on the bay, and soaking in the chatter of early-morning tourists. Finally, she opened the car door and stepped out into the chill morning air. In the distance she could hear the barking of sea lions and the sounds of early charters on their way out to sea. How she missed this.

  She opened the back door of her grandmother’s shop and stepped into the kitchen and immediately reveled in the aromas of cinnamon, vanilla and caramel. The kitchen was empty, but she heard the sounds of her grandmother’s laugh coming from the front.

  Hendrix loved the tea shop. It was decorated with bright posters on the walls, wood tables and chairs and lots of brightness. She glanced fondly around. Her mother maintained a retail area that looked as though Woodstock threw up in it, only better smelling. Rows of photographs lined one wall showcasing autographed photos of all the celebrities who’d spent time in the shop.

  Olivia Prudhomme Beausolie stood behind the register wearing a beautiful yellow-and-white Indian sari threaded with silver. Hendrix’s mother had brought it for her from India. Hendrix’s mother had brought Olivia clothes from all over the world and Olivia wore them all. Her taste added to the eclectic feel of the shop.

  Her grandmother was tall, only an inch shorter than Hendrix. She stood straight, her gray hair in dreads gathered into a bundle down her back. Her face was almost unlined except for the crinkles around her eyes that only showed when she smiled. But she always smiled.

  “Hendrix!”

  “Hi, Grams,” Hendrix said, grabbing an apron from the back of the counter and tying it around her waist. The shop was filled almost to capacity.

  “I thought you were coming the weekend after next.” Olivia stood back and opened her arms wide.

  Hendrix stepped into the embrace, her grandmother’s sandalwood perfume enveloping her. “I changed my mind and decided to surprise you.”

  “And we all know how much I love surprises,” Olivia said.

  Several customers stood up and rushed to Hendrix. “I miss you, Hendrix,” a dainty Chinese matron said.

  “Mrs. Li, I miss you, too.” Hendrix bent down to kiss the tiny woman on the cheek.

  Two uniformed police officers grinned jauntily at Hendrix. “Can I put in an order for your triple chocolate brownies, Hendrix?” one of them said.

  Hendrix grabbed a coffeepot and refilled their cups. “Sure. I’ll bake some before I head back to Reno.” She grinned at them. The two officers had been coming to Hippie, Tea and Me since Hendrix had been a child. The sight of them sitting at the table in the corner always made her feel safe.

&nb
sp; “Don’t go back to Reno,” the other officer said. “Stay here and marry me.”

  Hendrix paused as if to consider his proposal. “I think your wife would object.”

  “She loves your fruit tarts too much to make a fuss. I’m sure we can work something out.”

  Hendrix slid back into the rhythm of the place. She served tea, coffee and pastries while her grandmother disappeared into the kitchen to finish her daily baking.

  During a lull after the breakfast rush and just before the afternoon shift arrived, her grandmother brewed a pot of tea and gestured for Hendrix to sit on the other side of the counter. She arranged cookies on a plate and set them in front of Hendrix.

  “What’s going on?” Olivia asked calmly. No matter how hectic life became, her grandmother sailed through it with a serenity that Hendrix envied.

  Hendrix sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my job at the Mariposa, but I’ve brought them nothing but trouble.”

  Her grandmother rested her fingers on Hendrix’s. “Tell me all about it.”

  The words wouldn’t stop. Once she started, Hendrix told her grandmother everything. Starting with Mitzi’s stroke and her daughters taking over the bakery to the TV interview and the threat they posed to the Mariposa. “And the worst part is, I think I’m in love with Donovan.” She clapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say anything about him. The decision to leave Reno made her heart ache.

  “Well,” Olivia said, a faint frown on her beautiful face. “That’s quite an accusation these two women are making. And anybody who knows you knows that your ego is way too big to stoop to stealing.”

  “Thank you, Grams. I think.” Hendrix bit into her grandmother’s sugar cinnamon cookies. The taste was exquisite. “I wouldn’t be much of a chef if I couldn’t develop my own recipes.”

  Her grandmother smiled. “I remember meeting those two once when I dropped you off after Burning Man last year.”