California Girls(78)

She used her lunch break to write up what she’d accomplished the past year above and beyond her job description. Then she walked through the warehouse and made notes on what she thought should be done differently. Later she would back up her ideas with tangible suggestions connected to cash flow. She had time—the owner was going on vacation and not picking up the job search until he was back.

She’d just returned to her desk when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but it was local. “This is Ali.”

“Hi, it’s Betty from All Occasion Bakery. Your cake’s ready for pickup. Just a reminder, it’s in several boxes that you won’t want to stack. You don’t want anything happening to your beautiful cake before your special day.”

Ali closed her eyes and groaned. She’d totally forgotten about the cake. She hadn’t canceled it, which meant she was going to have to pay for it and then what? She had a cake for several hundred people. And her canceled wedding date was this weekend—a fact she’d been doing her best to avoid.

“Okay, thanks,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll be by later to pick it up.”

“We’re open until six.”

Ali hung up and thought about banging her head against her desk, but she knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything. Instead she thought about the massive cake Glen had insisted on. They’d needed one for only a couple hundred people but he’d liked the look of the five-layer one, so that was what they’d bought.

Five layers, she thought grimly. That would never fit in her car.

She picked up her phone and quickly dialed Daniel.

“Hey,” he said when he answered. “What’s up?”

“Any way I can borrow your truck?”

“Sure. What for?”

“I totally forgot to cancel the cake. It’s huge and I’m afraid it won’t fit in my car.”

“Not a problem. I’ll meet you at the house after work. What are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know. I guess donate it. You don’t happen to know someone who’s getting married and forgot to order a cake, do you?”

“No, but I know a good food bank. Let’s take it over there.”

“Done,” she said firmly. “At least it’s going to a good cause.”

“See you tonight.”

“See you.”

She hung up and wished just once she could be something other than inept around Daniel. Was it too much to ask that just one time she was together and confident and sophisticated? Even though she already knew the answer, she couldn’t help wishing for a miracle.

*

As promised, Daniel was waiting when she got home from work. She pulled into the garage, then climbed into his truck.

“Thanks for doing this,” she told him. “I really appreciate it.”

“Happy to help. Plus, cake. Where’s the bad?”

She laughed. “There is that. So how’s the world of motocross?”

“Good. There are a lot of promising young guys who want to make it happen. We’ll see if any of them can do it.”

“Just guys?”

He looked at her. “Sometimes there are girls, but not very many. It’s physically challenging and...” He returned his attention to the road. “I’m going to stop talking now, before I get myself in trouble.”

“Probably for the best. I’m sure the sport is physically grueling, but still, you should support girls.”

“I do my best to be supportive.”

She believed him. He’d sure been there for her. “I’ve been watching the guys at work, trying to understand their communication styles.”

“And?”

“They do talk about themselves a lot. It’s interesting. I can see how it would be easy to overlook me. Not in a deliberate way, but just because I tend to blend into the background.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I already have an appointment with my boss when I’m back from my week off and he’s back from his vacation. I’m working on my plans to improve the warehouse and I’m listing my accomplishments for the past year.” She held up a hand. “By that I mean I’m figuring out how much money I’ve saved the company or how I’ve brought in new business, not just that I’m a good worker bee.”

“Excellent. If you want to run anything past me, I’m happy to be a sample audience.”

“You mean for a practice interview?”

“If you’d like. I do hire and fire.”

She winced. “Firing can’t be fun.”

“It’s not. Screwing with someone’s life is the worst. But sometimes it has to be done.”

They arrived at the bakery. Ali braced herself for the hit on her credit card, then led the way inside. Betty, a middle-aged woman wearing a bright yellow apron, smiled when they entered.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Ali Schmitt. I’m here for the cake.”

“Of course. It came out beautifully.” Betty looked at Daniel and winked. “I can see you’re going to have lots of gorgeous babies.”

Ali flushed, not sure what to say. Explaining who Daniel was seemed too complicated, but she didn’t want him to think she was... Well, she didn’t know what she didn’t want him to think, but nothing bad.