We had to take a bite out of each cookie, and by the time we were down to the last two contestants, I had a headache and was probably prediabetic.
Contrary to Chloe's cookies, the rest were very sweet—cloyingly so. They had some flavor, but mainly I tasted sugar of varying consistencies.
The girl whose workstation was next to Chloe's, Nina, was the second-to-last contestant. She had made the 3D cookies that were a sleigh and reindeer. She had fresh berries and whipped cream piled in the sleigh. I was glad to have the fruit if only to cut the sweetness of the cookies.
Finally, Hartleigh, the last contestant, stepped up. Her boobs were pushed up ridiculously high, and I was afraid they might pop out of her apron. Speaking of nightmare material, Hartleigh was the reason I didn't date. We had grown up next door to each other, and she had stalked me in earnest since high school, when I would find her in my room rifling through my things. She even showed up at Harvard periodically while I was a student there. And here she was again.
Dana and Gunnar clearly were running some sort of substandard operation if they couldn't even complete a simple background check.
I wished Belle was here. I wished for the thousandth time that my sister hadn't cut off contact with us. If she were still in the area, Hartleigh wouldn't come near me. My sister was the only person Hartleigh was afraid of.
I took a bite of her cookie.
"Not as great as Chloe's," I said. "Also, while I see you used my company's icing piper, Chloe had a better mastery of the tool. Her cookies look like art, and yours don't. You and Chloe did basically the same cookie, but hers were better. "
I could tell she was furious.
"I have to agree with Jack," Anu said. "You need to step it up if you want to win."
After Hartleigh stomped off, Anastasia said, "Now that you've reviewed every contestant's cookie, could the judges please discuss the best and worst."
"I actually really love this 3D cookie idea," Nate said. "It should be cheesy, but it's executed so well. I could serve this at my restaurant. "
"It's not a plate of cookies," I countered. "Anastasia said a plate of cookies like you would leave out for Santa." I was so annoyed at this whole bake-off. These people didn't even follow their own rules!
"Chloe's decorations were technically very perfect," Anu said.
"Yes, but she used the machine," Nick added.
"What's wrong with using a machine?" I countered. "You didn't have the contestants start their own fire. It's not as if my company's product is a magic wand. For example, Hartleigh clearly didn't do as great a job as Chloe."
"Chloe definitely has a mastery of the tools," Anu said.
"I do agree with Jack, however, that the 3D sleigh isn't really a cookie. It is inching more into a general dessert for me," said Nick.
After we had reached a verdict, the contestants all filed back into the studio. The middle-of-the-pack people were told they were safe. We sent the contestant who had made a stack of lackluster chocolate cookies home, then it was time to announce the winner.
Nina and Chloe stood together, holding hands.
"And the winner is…"
5
Chloe
"Iwon the round! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. After the camera crew took all of the shots they needed, Nina and I went back to our stations to clean up.
"And you're runner-up," I said to Nina. She looked pleased. I was glad she wasn't mad that she hadn’t won the round.
As I cleaned my equipment, I watched Jack talk to Anastasia.
"It's too bad Jack didn't have a transformative experience," I said to Nina.
"Just be glad you won," she said, "and that we weren't sent home."
"Maybe I just have to find his favorite cookie. Do you think he would like gingerbread? Or a linzer cookie? Maybe more of a shortbread?" I mused.
Jack looked in our direction and scowled.
