"We are chasing that acquisition for Thalian Biotech. It would be huge for PharmaTech if Sebastian sold us his company."
"I have it under control."
"Fine," Mace said. "Then you can use the temp to take you to the coffee shop. Actually," Mace said, clapping his hands together, "that’s a great idea! The temp can be your chauffeur-slash-assistant."
"Isthiswhat you’ve been up to lately?"
Mace nodded. He seemed terribly pleased with himself. Moron.
"I refuse. Send the temp back."
"Too late!" he said. "The receptionist just sent me a chat saying Penny is here."
5
Penny
Ihad fallen asleep to the hypnotic sound of rain on the ancient tin roof. Fortunately, the storm had blown over by the time I woke up. I threw open the windows and breathed in. The air was crisp after the rain and smelled faintly of apples and smoke.
"Smells like fall!" I sang.
My last job had really been several jobs cobbled together to afford rent and baking ingredients. I wrote content for blogs with titles like "Which Avenger Are You? If you walk around like you have a pregnant guinea pig in your pants, you might be Captain America!" I also did random side hustles like being paid to wait in lines so people could scoreHamiltontickets.
At night I made cakes. I had a small YouTube channel called Queen of Tarts with a small but dedicated fan base. Some of them even donated. My fans said the ASMR videos helped them sleep. Unfortunately, the reality was that I didn’t actually break even on my baking channel. I should quit, but baking was my emotional outlet.
I told myself I was investing in a brand. I was hoping to build up enough of a following that I could be accepted as a contestant in theGreat Christmas Bake-Off. That was how Chloe, the winner of the show last Christmas and girlfriend to billionaire Jack Frost, had kick-started her successful franchise. I hadn’t made the cut this year, but maybe next year. I should have asked the cards about it the night before.
"You are going to be positive," I ordered myself as I picked out my outfit. "You have a job. Actually you have two jobs."
I still wasn’t sure that I should even try to write that tell-all about the Svensson brothers. Last night, I had deluded myself that it was all a dream, except that there was money in my PayPal account the next morning from Trisha.
"You can do this," I told myself as I dressed. "This is your big break. So what if it’s a little unethical, it's not like you're writing for theNew Yorker. It’s theVanity Rag; it’s a high-society tabloid with nicer pictures and paper. Besides, that Svensson yesterday was a dick."A big, thick dick…"No brain."
I tried to focus on something wholesome, like dressing in my fall best.
Svensson PharmaTech was fairly conservative, so I left my blinking jack-o’-lantern sweater at home, at least for the first day. Mimi had collected sparkly brooches, so I pinned a fall-themed piece on my lacy blouse and tucked the blouse into a plaid pencil skirt then pulled a more subtle sweater on, buttoning only the top button. Black tights, patent leather penny loafers, and a black headband completed the look. I spun around in front of the tall antique mirror in the room. I was really feeling theChilling Adventures of Sabrinavibe!
Mimi had a Vespa in the carriage house. It was a cream model with red accents. I felt pretty cool riding down the street between trees sporting yellow, red, and orange leaves. As I turned onto Main Street, a freight train rumbled past right down the middle of the lane. The gleaming white letters on the side read "Svensson PharmaTech." It was another cool, unique thing about Harrogate. I waved to the conductor.
On the way to my first day on the job, I stopped at Ida's General Store.
"There's my favorite cake baker!" Ida said, waving to me when I walked in. "Back in Harrogate?"
"Just for a temp position."And dirt on the Svenssons, but she doesn't need to know that.
"I'm actually here to purchase some ingredients for my next cake," I said, giving the older woman a hug. She and Mimi had been friends, and I admired the no-holds-barred way Ida led her life.
"Ooh! I love your Instagram!"
"Thanks, Ida. I saw your comments."
"You have a lot of admirers, if you know what I mean!" she said, waggling her eyebrows. "Might want to take them up on some of those offers."
"No, thanks," I said.
"Don't knock cake sex until you've tried it," she said, sighing happily. "Speaking of which, I loved the Nutella crepe cake. Maybe you could do a fall version?"
"I'm thinking fall themed, like a pumpkin-spice princess cake."
