"You're not gonna watch her?"
"Well, yeah, I am. I assumed the interview would be here in the dining area."
The cashier shook their head. "Natalie does interviews in her office. You'll have to go back there by yourself. She's not the biggest fan of kids." They said it in a tone that implied they didn't agree with her.
My heart sank. This experience already wasn't going according to plan, and those words were like daggers.
I bit my lip and looked back at Zoey. She was being a good girl and not causing a fuss.
The cashier, apparently sensing my rising stress level, tilted their head. "Hey, do you want me to keep an eye on her? We usually don't get many customers at this time of day anyway. I have two young siblings about your daughter’s age, so I know how it is."
Relief flooded me. "That would be amazing, thank you so much."
They nodded and smiled. "Name's Forest, by the way. An easy way to remember it is green, like my hair."
I chuckled. "I'll definitely remember. Thanks again, Forest."
They opened the counter gate for me and I slipped past, following their directions to Natalie's office.
My heart raced. A hair gel-scented bead of sweat rolled down my temple and I wiped it away. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so nervous.
But I knew I was qualified for the job. I'd worked in similar positions before, at bakeries that weren't as fancy as this one, and the portfolio I held under my arm contained photographs of my nicest home baking work.
Just calm down...
I knocked on the door to Natalie's office.
"Come in,” she called.
I blew out of breath as I slowly opened the door.
I will get this job, I told myself.I WILL get this job.
* * *
"Well, Chris,"Natalie said, tenting her fingers together after she closed my portfolio. "I'm quite impressed with your resume. I take it you know your way around the kitchen and you won't need basic training?"
"Of course," I said.
"Then I'm pleased to offer you the position. Considering you don't need unnecessary training, you can start the day after tomorrow."
My heart jumped. That was so soon!
I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice so I seemed professional. "That sounds great. Thank you."
We got up from the desk and shook hands. Then Natalie led me out of the office and back into the dining area to see me off.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Chris," she said as we reached the front half of the store. "Welcome aboard Puff Patisserie. I'll have a uniform prepared for you on your first day."
I nodded and was about to thank her again for the opportunity when Natalie stopped in her tracks, eyes wide and gawking something.
I followed her line of sight and realized thesomethingwas my daughter.
Zoey was standing on a chair, her face and hands pressed against the glass that housed the expensive fondant wedding cakes. Forest, who had been standing at the cash register when I left, was now frantically trying to ease Zoey down from the chair without hurting herself. Hearing us approach, Forest shot me an apologetic glance.
"Sorry. She's, um, feistier than I expected," Forest said.
I ran to Zoey and hauled her down from the chair, then quickly wiped the glass fog away with my sleeve.
