Deception (N.H)

CHAPTER 1: CONTRACTS AND INSTANT DECISIONS.

PRESENT DAY.

"Two coffees with a creme puff and a blueberry muffin." I gently set down the plates along with the cups and smiled at the customers before walking away. When I was younger, I always wanted to own a bakery. I finally saved up enough and got one when I turned nineteen. I've been doing this for about a year and I've had the time of my life. The bell rang which meant that someone opened the door, I looked up from the desk and saw a man in a black suit walk in.

"Hello, welcome to 'bingo bakery' what can I get for you?" I smiled and started typing up the order. "Four coffees, eight creme puffs, two chocolate truffles, two red velvet cakes, and one white forest truffle." My eyes widened but I quickly composed myself. "That will be twenty-eight pounds."

The man paid and I started packing up his order. When I was done, I walked up to the man. "Here you go. Four coffees, eight creme puffs, two chocolate truffles, two red velvet cakes, and one white forest truffle." The man grabbed the box from my hand and walked out without so much as a thank you. Rude much. The day carried on as normal and I was starting to pack up for closing time. The bell rang which surprised me considering I had already put up the closed sign. "I'm sorry but we're closed." When I turned around, I came face to face with a man in a gray suit with a silver briefcase.

I tilted my head to the side as confusion washed over me. "How may I help you?"

"Earlier today I sent in one of my security guards here to get an order for one of my bands. He ordered something like coffees and chocolate cakes-" I cut off the man by repeating the order. "Four coffees, eight creme puffs, two chocolate truffles, two red velvet cakes, and one white forest truffle. It was the biggest order I've gotten today so I remember it very clearly." A proud smile is evident on my face. The man nodded and picked up a briefcase that was beside his feet.

"Well, he brought the products back to my office and gave them to everyone. My band loved the stuff very much and kept begging for more. I was wondering if you would be interested in making a deal with us." The man's voice remained stern and professional. "Depends on what the deal is, sir." I release a nervous chuckle. I was getting anxious because no one really comes into a bakery to make a deal with a twenty year old girl at ten o'clock in the night. "I was going to tell you the deal but I just wanted to know if you were interested in making a deal because I don't like wasting my time." I nodded. "Oh yes. Of course. Take a seat." I smiled pointing to the closest table.

The man sat down and opened his briefcase. He pulled out a set of papers and handed them to me. The man began pointing at each section of the giant stack of papers. "These are what your job consists of, these are some terms and conditions, these are the job requirements, these are what you need to bring, these are our company policies, these are some guidelines to how things work, then lastly you sign here."

I looked over the contract and set the papers back down. "Well, firstly who exactly are you? Secondly, what exactly is this deal because I sure as hell can't read all of that thoroughly in five minutes and I'm sure you wouldn't want to sit here watching me read the same things over and over again to make sure I completely understand because I know you've got better things to do." I finally turned towards the man and made eye contact. The man looked taken aback but quickly recovered. "Well, my name is Colten Heyes and I'm the tour manager for a band that is going on a world tour. It's four rowdy boys and I need someone to come on tour with us to cook/bake things for us. You will be paid around one thousand to three thousand a month depending on your performance and dedication. The tour lasts around eight months because it's worldwide. You will also need to attend some events but that can be discussed later." The man, I mean Colten, explained very calmly.

I look down at the contract and then back at Colten. "So you want me to leave my bakery and go on an eight month world tour with four rowdy boys so I can cook and babysit?" The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. "Well kind of. It will be great publicity for your bakery and you can always leave your bakery with a trusted friend, colleague or family member." This man seemed to have an answer for just about any question I asked. "When does this tour start?" Colten sat up straight and looked everywhere besides me. "Ojehamonths." He muttered. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Colten cleared his throat. "In about one month."

My jaw dropped to the floor. "That's way too soon." I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm sorry miss, here's my number, call me when you've made a decision." Colten gave me an apologetic look and left. I looked back towards the table where the contract sat. "Bloody hell, this is gonna be a long night."

I closed up the shop and drove home. I lived about 15 minutes away from my bakery so I made it home pretty fast. As soon as I got through the door, I threw my bag and apron on the sofa and let out a long sigh. The contract fell out and landed on the white rug at the foot of the couch. I went to the kitchen and grabbed some leftover pasta along with a cup of water. I placed my food on the table and picked up the contract. Slowly, taking a bite from my food, I began reading the long contract that would change my life.