“For calling me,” she says. She glances at Leo’s jacket, still sitting there like it has the audacity to belong.
“Did he leave this?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Guess billionaires forget things too.”
Her mouth twitches despite herself. Then it flattens again.
“I trusted him,” she says quietly. Not accusing. Just stating a fact.
I step closer, shoulder to shoulder now. “You trusted him because he earned it. Until he didn’t.”
She nods once. “That’s the part that hurts.”
Silence settles between us. Not awkward. Familiar. The kind built over years of early mornings, burnt batches, and shared victories no one else ever sees.
“I won’t let him take this from us,” I say finally.
She looks at me, eyes fierce now. “He won’t.”
“And Rex?” I add.
Her gaze hardens into something sharp enough to draw blood. “Rex Chen picked the wrong bakery.”
A slow, feral smile curves her mouth. “And the wrong women.”
That’s my girl.
She reaches out and flips the tablet face down, snuffing the glow like a candle.
“We deal with this tomorrow,” she says. “Tonight, I’m going home. I’m going to shower. I’m going to sleep.”
I nod. “I’ll be here at four.”
“Of course you will,” she says.
She pauses at the door, hand on the handle. “Gwen?”
“Yeah, boss?”
Her shoulders lift with a steadying breath.
“If I lose my shit tomorrow…”
“I’ll be right there,” I say instantly.
She smiles then. Small. Tired. Real. “I know.”
The door clicks shut behind her.
I let the silence settle for a beat, the bakery breathing around me, our bakery. The flour dust suspended in the light, the scars in the counters, the quiet strength humming under everything.
I glance once more at Leo’s jacket.
“War it is,” I mutter.
Chapter 19
Tess
