“That’s horrible.”
He nods. “Yeah, eventually, he got worse and worse and died of a drug deal gone wrong.” Neil shakes his head. “Anyway, as a result of Charles’ shit, McKenna was investigated by authorities for possibly selling illicit substances. They never found anything, but there’ve been some lingering rumors.”
Reaching over, I rub Neil’s shoulder, trying my best to help him release the tension from his body. I can tell by his voice that those rumors hurt him.
However, even as I do my best to provide him with comfort, my mother’s words from Thanksgiving come back to me full force.
“Your sister was a good liar, too.”
Chapter 15
“Oh my gosh,” I squeal as I peer, wide-eyed at my tablet screen.
“What?” Neil’s worried question reaches my ears as he makes his way down the hall to my kitchen, but I continue to peer into the screen.
“What is it?” he asks again.
“Look.” Turning the tablet screen to face him, I wait for his reaction.
Soon enough, his eyebrows lift, and he whistles low. “Three hundred cookies.”
“I know, right?” I turn the screen back to me to stare at it again, just to make sure I’m not making things up.
“That’s a lot of cookies.”
“And he wants them delivered by Christmas Eve, which is in three days.” I blink as I mentally calculate how I’m going to get it all done.
“Who’s the order from?”
I run my finger down the length of the screen until I come to the name on the order. Gasping, I answer, “Xavier Grant. He’s that restaurateur down in Houston, isn’t he?”
Neil nods. “Yeah, I’ve met him once or twice. Good guy.”
“His e-mail says the cookies are for his staff and some for his family. His wife has amonstersweet tooth and loved my red velvet inside out cookies from a few weeks ago.”
I think back to my orders from earlier in the month. “Oh, Chanel Grant. I remember fulfilling her order right before Thanksgiving.”
Xavier Grant had sent in a special request via my website’s email. He apologized for such a massive order in a short amount of time but informed me that the baker he usually uses is out of work sick, and he knew his wife loved my cookies.
“She’s been a regular for a couple of years now,” I say, knowing the name Chanel Grant. I hadn’t even known she was married to Xavier Grant. I never put two and two together.
“I don’t know if there’s enough time.” I glance up at Neil with a worried expression. “I can finish the cookies between now and then, but I would have to mail them out by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. And they’d need to be overnighted.”
“Then what’s the issue? It sounds like it’s doable.”
Slumping my shoulders, I remind him. “I have a little thing called a job, remember? I would need twofulldays of baking to make this work.”
Neil moves to me, cupping my shoulders with his hands, squeezing them reassuringly. “Now is the time when you need to make a decision, baby.” He glances down at the tablet in my hands. “It’s either your passion, what you want to do with your life, or remain with what you feel safe doing because you think it’s what you should do.”
Frowning, I peer down at the order, looking at the amount Xavier is willing to pay for this rush order. It’s nearly double what my usual asking price would be.
“Okay,” I say. “I’m going to call out for the rest of the week.” It sucks, but my school will find a substitute for my classes in no time. “I’m taking a leap of faith,” I say, glancing up into Neil’s eyes.
When he smiles down at me, with that radiant gleam in his eyes, I feel as if I’ve made the right decision.
“Is there anything you need me to do?” he questions.
“Yeah, get out of my way. I’ve got three hundred cookies to make.”
