She found a seat and sat down next to Lydia.
“How are you feeling?” Hendrix asked.
“This baby is still a month from being born, and I can barely walk across the room without putting out my back.” Hunter leaned over and kissed Lydia before sitting next to her.
Hendrix simply patted Lydia’s hand. She couldn’t even begin to sympathize.
Across from Hendrix sat a strange man. She wondered who he was. He was tall and slim with wavy chestnut brown hair, intense blue-green eyes and a narrow face. His skin was a pale white as though he seldom went out in the sun. He wore a white polo shirt and had a tablet computer propped up in front of him.
Nina sat next to him, smiling, with Scott next to her. Miss E. sat at the head of the table with Donovan beside her on her right.
Miss E. tapped the table. “Everyone, before we start, I wanted to introduce Reed Watson.”
The man stood up. “Hi, everyone. I’m happy to be here.”
Miss E. introduced everyone. Reed sat down and smiled at Miss E.
“My granddaughter, Kenzie, won’t be here. She’s in Paris on business,” Miss E. said. “And with that I’ll turn this meeting over to Vanessa.”
Vanessa stood and went to the head of the table. She held a thick file folder in one hand. “I’m glad everyone is here. I want you to know that I have quite a bit of interesting news.” She opened the file removing the stack of papers inside. She started handing them out. “You all have in your hands the deposition of one Margaret Baxter, also known as Mitzi, owner of Mitzi’s Cake Magic.”
Hendrix frowned as she took the deposition. She tried to catch Donovan’s gaze, but he studied the papers in front of him. He hadn’t said a word to her. What was wrong with him? He looked...angry.
Vanessa sat down. “We need to get through all this information because I’ve arranged for Lisa and Susan to be here in fifteen minutes.” She glanced at her watch. “First off, I had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Baxter and I found out a few very important things.”
Hendrix watched Vanessa, fear pulsing through her. She wondered how Vanessa had managed to see Mitzi, let alone communicated with her.
“Mrs. Baxter isn’t quite as incapacitated as her daughters would like us to believe. She had a lot to say and the most important thing was that she didn’t launch this suit against you, Hendrix. In fact, she didn’t even know about it until she saw her daughters on Good Morning, Reno. Mrs. Baxter contacted me and when I arrived at the hospital—”
“You got to see her at the hospital?” Hendrix said in surprise. “How did you get in? I was told no one would be allowed to see her unless they were on the list.”
Vanessa grinned. “My name isn’t on it. And she’s no longer in the hospital but in a rehab facility. And I will say that Mrs. Baxter has been quite put out that no one has come to visit her.”
“But...”
With her hand held up, Vanessa continued. “Mrs. Baxter didn’t know about the list. She had no idea that her daughters had barred everyone from the bakery from visiting her. Even the customers.”
Anger rose in Hendrix. Lisa and Susan said their mother’s communication had been affected by the stroke and that she was in a coma. They’d lied to her and to everyone else.
“When I arrived to talk to her, I found her lawyer and a court reporter waiting for me. Mrs. Baxter proceeded to tell me that she didn’t launch the suit, nor did she authorize it. She also told me, if you read the deposition, that she had every intention of selling half the bakery to Hendrix and she further swore that all the recipes Hendrix used while working for her are original to Hendrix and the bakery has no proprietary interest in them.”
“What does this mean?” Hendrix wanted to cry. Mitzi had always supported her and now she knew that Lisa and Susan were not acting in their mother’s best interests.
Vanessa looked at her watch. “We’ll know in a moment.”
Hendrix pulled a magazine out of her purse and handed it to Vanessa. “My grandmother gave me this. It’s a magazine from the early 1950s that she found in a used bookstore. She found the recipe for the champagne cake that she passed down to me in it. I guess I don’t need it anymore.”
“I’m glad you brought the magazine to me. It further proves that this suit is just a malicious piece of nonsense.”
“Twenty million dollars is not nonsense,” Hendrix said.
“Don’t worry,” Vanessa said with a reassuring smile.
The door to the conference room opened. Lisa and Susan, followed by their lawyer, entered.
“So,” Lisa said, “you’re ready to settle.” She looked pleased and a bit smug.
Miss E. stood up. “No. We’re thinking of suing you for twenty million dollars and a penny.”
Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “What are you suing us for?”
Ms. E. eyed her. “You’ve aggravated me.”
The lawyer held up a hand. “What’s going on here?”
Vanessa handed him Mitzi’s deposition. “You need to read this. But the short version is that you don’t have a leg to stand on. I had a long meeting with Mitzi Baxter—”
Susan growled. “What were you doing harassing our sick mother?”
Vanessa handed her a deposition. “Your mother contacted me. She isn’t quite as ill as you’ve led people to believe. And she had quite a story to tell. Do you want to hear it?” She pulled a recorder out of her purse. “I recorded it.” She tapped the recorder. “I’m giving you the chance to drop your suit. Otherwise the whole world is going to hear about how you not only conspired to manipulate your poor sick mother, using her illness for your own gain, but also how you tried to destroy Hendrix’s reputation. Before you say anything, I’m preparing the paper for a countersuit claiming defamation, making false accusations of theft and anything else I can think of just to irritate you.”
Lisa’s mouth opened, and then snapped close. She glared at her lawyer. “Can she do that?”
He shook his head. “Oh, yeah.” He looked up from the document he held. “I would like a moment with my clients.” He stood up and gestured at the door. Lisa and Susan followed him, leaving Hendrix and rest of the room stunned into silence.
Hendrix went back to reading the deposition. As she read, a weight fell away from her. The relief from the boulder of worry she’d been carrying around lifted her spirit. She could get back to doing her job. She grinned happily only to find Donovan glaring at her. What was wrong with him?
Miss E. smiled at Hendrix. “You know it’s over.”
Hendrix shrugged. “My grandmother says nothing is ever over until it’s actually over.”
The door opened. Lisa and Susan reclaimed their spots at the table while their lawyer remained standing. “Miss Baxter and Mrs. Baxter-Wilson are willing to drop the suit, but...”
Vanessa leaned forward frowning. “You have no buts coming. The lawsuit is dead. If you try to pursue this further, you’ll be a laughingstock.”
The lawyer ignored her.
Lisa took a deep breath. “Can Hendrix bake for us, too?”
“What?” Miss E. said with a fierce scowl.
Lisa shrank back. “We have employees who will lose their jobs.”
Miss E. smiled. “I will hire them all personally. You can’t have Hendrix back. You should have honored your mother’s wishes to sell Hendrix half the bakery. You shouldn’t have lied about your mother being in a coma. There are a lot of things you should have considered before you started the smear campaign against this hotel and attempted to humiliate Hendrix. Now I suggest you all graciously exit my property. And if I were Hendrix, I would expect an apology.” Miss E. glanced at Hendrix.
Hendrix shook her head. She didn’t want an apology from Lisa and Susan. She just wanted them out of her life for good.
The lawyer l
eft without a backward glance at the two sisters who followed, slinking out of the room.
A moment of silence reigned and then Nina started clapping. “This calls for champagne.”
Hendrix didn’t think it called for anything. Lisa and Susan had suffered a humiliating defeat. And people so roundly whipped had a way of coming back and bringing fresh anger to the situation. She didn’t want to think Mitzi’s daughters were vindictive, but she had the feeling they were.
She’d lost the dream of owning her own bakery. With the suit settled, she could seriously think about Lenore Abernathy’s offer. But did she want to leave Reno? She had a lot of thinking to do.
“We need to talk,” Donovan said, interrupting her thoughts.
Hendrix shook her head. She stood up, bracing her hands against the table. She felt out of sorts for some reason. “I need to be by myself for a bit.”
“This can’t wait,” he insisted.
“Yes, it can.” She stomped out of the conference room. She owed Miss E. a thank-you, but the only way she really knew how to show her gratitude was to bake something amazing.
* * *
Donovan watched Hendrix leave. He’d give her some space.
Miss E. was introducing everyone to Reed Watson again. He shook hands with everyone and after a bit they all trailed out of the conference room leaving Donovan alone.
He wasn’t quite certain how he felt. He was angry with Hendrix. He wanted to vent, to tell her she was making a mistake by accepting this job offer. Yet at the same time, he knew how attractive the offer was. Lenore Abernathy had the power, the smarts and the connections to make Hendrix’ a household name. In his mind, he visualized packages of baked products in cute boxes appearing in the bakery aisles of every major grocery chain in the United States.
He could understand the allure. He’d wanted the fame and the glamour of operating a five-star restaurant in Paris. Fame was a lot of work. Once he worked himself into the position, he didn’t want it anymore.
He glanced at his watch. Only thirty minutes had passed. He’d given Hendrix enough time to process everything. Now he was going to have his say.
* * *
Even before he knocked on her front door, he could smell the sweetness of her baking. The aroma swept around him while he waited for her to answer the door.
Hendrix opened the door and stood with one hand on her hip, head tilted as she studied him. “I asked for some time to be alone.”
“I gave you time.”
She stepped aside to let him into the house and turned to walk back down the hall without looking to see if he followed. He stepped into the super bright kitchen, alive with the smells of citrus and vanilla. The blades on the industrial mixer rotated. The oven blinked its readiness. A pan of bright pink batter sat on the worktable waiting to be popped into the oven.
Hendrix glanced down into the mixer and nodded in approval at whatever was in the bowl.
“What are you baking?”
“Champagne cake. It’s for Miss E. as a thank-you for everything she’s done for me.”
“You sound like you’re going to accept Lenore Abernathy’s offer, then.”
A look of surprise crossed her face. “Lenore has a lot of connections. She would help me brand myself and help me get started with my own bakery. I would be able to start over without this debacle with Lisa and Susan hanging over my head.” She sat down on a stool and looked at him. Unshed tears sparkled in her eyes. “Since I was a child, I’ve wanted to own my own bakery.”
“You can’t go. I’m not going to let you.”
Her gaze widened. “How are you going to stop me?”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, long and deep. “Don’t leave me. I love you.”
She stared at him, her mouth partially open. “What?”
“I love you.” Donovan put all the emotion he could into the words. “I love everything about you from the way you smell, to the way you look, to the way you bake. I love you.” He willed her to understand. He searched her face for some understanding, but she simply looked stunned.
“How could you love me? I’m nothing like your ex-wife.”
“Erica is my ex-wife for a reason.”
She continued to stare at him. “But I’m...” She didn’t finish.
“How about almost perfect?” Amusement rose in him, his earlier anger forgotten. “I know how attractive Lenore’s offer is. But I love you and I want you to stay here in Reno...with me.” After a few seconds he added wistfully, “Please.”
“I’m flattered by Ms. Abernathy’s offer. I thought that if I left Lisa and Susan would drop the suit.”
“You were going to leave so they’d drop the suit?”
She nodded. “I felt so responsible. I put your grandmother and the hotel into an untenable position. If they’d won the suit, you would have come to resent me.”
“Never.”
She leaned into his embrace. A small sob shook her. She clutched at him as tears spilled down her cheeks. Donovan found a towel and wiped them away leaving a smear of flour across her cheek. He kissed her again.
“I don’t understand why you’re crying. I feel like I’m a helpless man here.”
Her muffled sobs drained away even though her body continued to shake. “Because...because...I love you, too.”
Those were the words he wanted to hear. He unbuttoned her jacket and slid it off. He gently unhooked her bra to let her breasts fall free. Gently he ran his thumb and forefinger around each nipple. “Let me show you how much I love you.”
“It’s the middle of the day,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “Just so you know, I already turned the job down.”
“Works for me.”
Epilogue
The new restaurant at The Casa de Mariposa was bright and well lit with spacious aisles between the tables and booths lining the wall. In the center, the buffet tables practically sagged under the weight of all the food. Hendrix stood in the center of the buffet. She’d gone all out, making every variation of her champagne cake she’d ever developed. She’d made cupcakes, cakes, pies, tarts and the triple fudge brownies everyone loved.
Donovan stood at the door to greet people. The first customers were everyone on the hotel and casino’s staff. Once the hotel employees had their fill, the restaurant would open again to the guests and local customers.
A banner hung over the entrance, announcing the grand reopening. Hotel employees wandered around the buffet tables looking at the food and taking small helpings.
“I intend to come back for more,” one of them murmured to her companion before heading to a nearby table.
Donovan glanced at Hendrix and she felt a warm glow spread through her. He looked so handsome in his white chef’s suit with his toque on his head. After the party, they planned to go swing dancing and her feet tapped a rhythm in anticipation.
Vanessa approached the dessert table and opened a large tote.
“That is the ugliest tote,” Hendrix blurted out. “Usually you have such beautiful purses.”
Vanessa grinned as she opened the tote and took out food storage boxes. She opened one and popped cupcakes in it. She opened another and added brownies. “I told my people I’d bring back dessert for them.” She put a storage box inside the tote. “As for the tote, Prada doesn’t make lunch boxes and I had to bring something for all my ill-gotten gains.” She slid tarts into a third storage box.
“Have at it,” Hendrix said with a laugh. She noticed people taking dessert first and food second and she felt pleased.
Jasper Biggins grinned at her as he took two cupcakes. His daughter, Luisa, looked as though she’d been sucking on sour lemons. And when her father tried to urge a cupcake on her, she turned and stalked away.
“Sorry,” Jasper said sadly
. “She may be thirty-six, but sometimes she acts like she’s five. She’s just not a happy person anymore.”
Hendrix shrugged.
Miss E. stopped to fill a plate, taking a piece of everything Hendrix had to offer. “What is this?”
“My special raspberry white chocolate truffle. I’ve been wanting to try a candy-like dessert for a while and with my new kitchen...” Her voice trailed off. Her new kitchen was big and beautiful enough to transport her to heaven.
Donovan slid an arm around her. “This has to be better than being on your own.”
She popped a truffle into his mouth. As he chewed, his face came alive. “This is everything I didn’t know I wanted till I got it.”
He kissed her, his lips tasting of white chocolate and raspberry. “What more do you want?”
She thought about that for a second. She wanted to get married and have a baby, but this wasn’t the place to say so. “That’s something we’ll need to discuss later.”
Lydia waddled by. Two days past her due date, she looked huge and weary. Hunter steadied her with an arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him. Lydia’s daughter, Maya, trotted alongside.
“This baby had better be born soon,” Lydia complained as she passed by. “I’m tired of lugging her around.”
Hunter laughed.
The new restaurant was so shiny and clean. Every surface sparkled. The employees wandered around talking to each other.
Scott and Nina approached.
“The champagne cake is divine,” Nina said. After a glance at Scott, she added, “I know Miss E. asked you to make one for our wedding.”
Hendrix’s eyebrows rose. “How about sometime next week we meet and you can sample everything.”
Nina nodded. She wandered off, hand in hand with Scott.
“We don’t have to stay,” Donovan said.
She tapped his arm. “You go tell your grandmother we’re leaving.” She shoved him. “Go on. Go on.” Then she grabbed him. “No. No. Stop.”
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