The Chameleon's Grin ll Camilo Madrigal

Chapter 2 : The Deal

Camilo's pov:

I put the chocolate cake on the kitchen counter, ignoring my sister's questions.

"¡Dolores, cállate (Shut up)!"

She rolled her eyes. "I was trying to set up Antonio, not you."

Mamá walked into the kitchen. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Camilo's met a girl." Dolores told her. "He bought that cake off of her."

"I see," The tall, auburn haired woman smiled at me. "shall we try it?"

I nodded and cut the cake for us. We all tried it at the same time. As soon as the cake touched my tongue I wanted more.

"This is amazing." My sister whispered.

"I need this recipe. Cami, you should invite her over some time."

"Mami," I whined. "You're reading into this too much."

Dolores tilted her head up. "Here comes her hermanita (little sister) now, we set her and Antonio up."

Mamá blinked. "Well, now I've got to meet her."

I sighed dramatically. "You know what? I'm going to go and get chores done, I'll see you two tonight."

Dolores's pov:

Once Camilo left, I turned to our mother. "Mamá, the girl is the daughter of the man tía Julieta could not save years ago."

She froze, "Oh, the Cortes family. That man's death had affected your tía Julieta for a while, but it made her strive to be better. It seems that they are struggling for money if they are selling at the stands, was their mother with them?"

I shook my head. "Their mamá has been working three jobs for a long time now, and the girl has begun selling sweets over the last year, trying to help in any way that she can."

"Hmm..." Mamá pondered, tapping her finger on her chin. "I have an idea, stay right here."

Carmen's pov:

The day was slow after Camilo left, but on the plus side an entire cake was gone, and I sold three bags of chocolate to a nice old man.

I began packing up shop, putting the bags on a tray and the cake in a secure box. I was about to go searching for Diana when two of the Madrigal triplets approached my stand.

"Excuse me, Senorita?" Pepa spoke, her sister smiling warmly. "Camilo came by here earlier, si?"

I nodded, surprised the two even bothered to talk to me, but I still plastered on a smile.

"You see, we have both tried your cake and we found it to be the best thing we've tried in a while." Julieta said, eyeballing the bagged chocolates on the table. "So, I have an offer for you,"

That grabbed my attention, making me perk up. An offer meant profit, which also meant more money; something I could really use right now. "You've peaked my interest." I admitted, making the women laugh.

"What if you worked for me in our kitchen at La Casita? You can make your cakes with the secret ingredient I have, and I sell them to help people. We can split fifty percent of the profit. How does that sound?"

My smile turned genuine. "How long would I work?"

"Just a few hours a day, and obviously I can work those hours around school. You go to the one just out of town, correct?"

"Si, and I'd be willing to try it, when should I start?"

"How about you make a few cakes tonight to try things out? Your invited to dinner tonight to see if it impresses our familia, would you consider that?"