I was not into baking, and I fled to my penthouse. My husky needed to be walked, plus I had work to do.
"I cannot believe I'm wasting my time on this," I complained to Milo, my dog. He was excited to go out, and I knew it was better for him that I was stuck at the tower a few days a week. He would see more of me that way. The husky strained at the leash as we walked out the door. He sniffed at a homeless Santa slumped outside, and I yanked the dog away. I really needed better security for Frost Tower.
The day passed too quickly, and soon I had to report for bake-off judging duty in the studio. As I took a cursory glance at the finished products, I was begrudgingly impressed. I saw intricate frosting work, impressive variety, and generally very professional-looking cookies. One girl had even made 3D cookies, which even I could see would photograph nicely.
I looked at Chloe. She was intently taking pictures of her cookies. From far away, they didn't look as impressive as the others. I hoped she knew what she was doing. She couldn't be sent home already—I still needed her to decorate my lobby.
After the rest of the contestants filed out of the studio, Chloe approached the judges’ table. She was covered in frosting; it speckled her Christmas apron and her hair. There were streaks of it on her face, and I wanted to reach out and lick a little green dollop off of her nose.
I crushed that thought. Since when did I want to lick icing off of anyone?
The other two judges smiled at her. I did not. I didn't want to spend the rest of my already wretched day stuck in this studio eating cookies.
"Can you tell us a bit about yourself?" Anu asked as Chloe put the plate of cookies in front of us.
"I'm from the Midwest," Chloe said. "I learned to cook from myoma. She loved Christmas! She loved the decorating, the large gatherings, and cooking. But she really loved baking. She passed away a few months ago." She wiped away a tear.
Here we go, I thought,the desperate ploy for sympathy.
I ignored her sob story and inspected the cookies. Though I had originally thought they were plain, on closer inspection, I saw that they were intricately decorated. I studied the frosting work on the cookies. Chloe had some sort of lace design that looked like patterns of frost on a window. It was a subtle nod to the holiday season and very clever.
"I'm using this contest as a platform to show the breadth of the types of desserts I can bake," she told the judges. "I would like to one day open my own line of cafés like Christina Tosi and Milk Bar Bakery."
Nick smiled at her, and he and Anu each chose a cookie. I picked out the smallest one I could. It was a tiny, perfect snowflake.
"I hand-cut that," Chloe told me.
"It's very nice," I said begrudgingly. They were really pretty.
"Cheers," Nick said, and he and Anu tapped their cookies against mine, raining crumbs and sugar all over my expensive designer suit.
I scowled.
"Don't make that face, or it's going to freeze like that," Chloe said.
"Is that so," I said.
Anu took a bite of the cookie. "This is a perfect cookie!"
Nick broke off a piece and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. "I love how there's some give and how I have a complexity of flavors. I mean, my mom didn't make cookies that tasted like this, but it still feels like coming home."
I didn't want a transformative experience. After Nick's reaction, I was worried the cookie was going to cause me to do something rash.
"Don't you want to taste my cookie?" Chloe asked me, her eyes wide and innocent. The apron clung to her body, emphasizing her curves. I wanted a taste of something of hers but not the cookie.
Don't sleep with a contestant,I chastised myself.That sounds like a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.
I looked at Chloe's cookie. It looked like it was sweet and sugary. I took a bite. It wasn't bad. Itwassweet, but I could also taste a hint of almond. Chloe's snowflake had a deeper flavor than store-bought cookies. Thankfully, I didn't feel the need to break down in tears and rehash my less-than-ideal childhood. I scraped my teeth with my tongue. I could feel them start to rot from the sugar.
"You know sweets are bad for you, right?" I said to Chloe.
Chloe looked upset, but she calmed her features and replied, "You just need a little milk with it."
Was she flirting with me? I couldn't tell. Hartleigh had ruined that for me. I couldn't trust any woman.
"I don't like sweets," I said, wiping my mouth, "but your decoration is perfect, and Anu and Nick seem to think your baking is superb. So…" I swallowed, trying to get the taste of the frosting out of my throat. "Good job."
Each of the other nine contestants came up and explained their cookies. They seemed expertly baked to my untrained eye, though Chloe's decorating was still the best, I thought.
