My gut twisted as I replayed the moment she stepped beside the register. The way she shielded the girl behind the counter. How she tore into me without hesitation.
I raked a hand through my hair, frustration simmering under my skin. This wasn’t how I imagined it on the rare nights I let myself wonder what it would be like to see her again. I never thought she’d look at me as though she wished I were dead.
Squeezing my eyes shut so the memory would stop playing in my head, I slammed out of my Aston Martin and headed for the elevator. The ride to the executive floor didn’t help, and I was in a foul mood when I stalked out toward my office.
Susan’s head jerked up when I neared her desk. “Problem at the bakery, boss?”
Her chipper question pissed me off even more since she was the one who’d suggested that if the damn cake wasn’t to my liking that I should go complain because she refused to do it for me.
“Did you know?”
Her brows drew together. “Did I know what?”
“That Tessa owns the bakery.”
“Your Tessa?” she gasped, her eyes widening.
“What about Tessa?” Ethan asked from behind me.
I whirled around. “I just saw her, and it went even worse than anyone could’ve possibly imagined.”
“Fucking hell,” he groaned, gripping my forearm to drag me into my office. “What happened?”
“Are you really going to try to keep me out of the loop?” Susan demanded through the door Ethan kicked shut.
“You might as well let her in here,” I muttered. “She’ll just hound me relentlessly until I tell her what happened otherwise.”
I walked around my desk and dropped onto my chair while Ethan opened the door just wide enough for Susan to slip into my office. She’d been my father’s assistant before mine, so she got away with a lot more than anybody else at Langford Tech.
I waited until Ethan and Susan sat across my desk from me to fill them in on the basics of my trip to Hale & Honey. When I was done, I asked, “How did you not know Tessa owned the bakery when it’s named after her?”
Susan offered me a sheepish smile. “Why would it ever occur to me? Tessa worked in an office when you two dated, and she never shows her face on the bakery’s social media. All the photos and videos are focused on what she’s making. And it’s not like Hale is that unusual of a last name.”
“Is that how you heard about her place?” My shoulders slumped. “On social media?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “I started following her account a couple of years ago when she really began to blow up. She had about one hundred thousand followers back then, but she’s up to more than half a million now. Celebrities from across thecountry get their cakes from Hale & Honey. Some of them even send private jets to pick their orders up.”
I was impressed by what Tessa had accomplished during our years apart, but I wished I knew all of this a few hours ago. Then maybe I wouldn’t have fucked up so badly.
“How pissed was she?” Ethan asked.
“Very.” I scraped my palm down my beard. “She looked at me like she hated me.”
“Well, you were being an ass,” Susan pointed out unhelpfully.
I shook my head. “It was more than that. She said something about how I ended our relationship. That she’d put up with my arrogance when we dated but didn’t have to now. And I don’t see people like her employee when I tear through whatever is in my way of getting what I want.”
Ethan let out a low whistle. “Damn.”
“I mean, you’ve been more short-tempered than usual lately, but I wouldn’t go that far.” Susan reached across my desk to pat my hand. “The past six months have been rough with Vanessa fighting you every step of the way on the divorce.”
“It’s no excuse for how I lit into that poor girl behind the counter over a cake I didn't even want,” I mumbled.
I wasn’t proud of how I’d acted. She’d barely been twenty, stammering apologies while I acted like the entitled prick Tessa accused me of being.
“It isn’t,” Susan agreed with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “But your bad behavior just might be the perfect excuse to go back. You can apologize to the girl in person.”
“And risk Tessa actually calling the police on me?” I scoffed, shaking my head.
