The Sweet Encounter (Completed)

Chapter Two - The Unexpected

She studied her face in the mirror. She didn't recognize herself. Lord, she should have slept early knowing full well she had this interview, and there would be photos taken. She never wore makeup or never had the time to add makeup into her routine. A little moisturizer and subtle layer of lip gloss were her best attempt at makeup.

Lacy kept insisting to let her apply makeup on Brie for just this once, just for this photo op. She didn't know why she agreed, but she only did it to keep Lacy from asking again. Brie thought it was a little too much, but everyone at the shop was stunned by her look. She never received so many compliments.

"They bring out your eyes."

"You should wear makeup more often."

"Wow! Beautiful, I didn't even recognize you."

She spent too much time in the bathroom studying her face. Lacy was the queen of makeup. She was studying cosmetology and wanted to pursue a career being a makeup artist for the stars. Brie never understood why Lacy wanted to work at the bakery shop when Lacy could have easily landed part time work at the makeup counters in the malls. Lacy, however, liked the close knit environment that The Sweet Encounter offered. She was a talker and enjoyed the relationships she built with the customers. Lacy was definitely an asset to the company, and Brie was going to be devastated to see her leave once she finished school.

But for now, Brie had to worry about the interview with The City Business Journal for their feature on Who's Got It Under 30.

Brie saw this as an opportunity to market The Sweet Encounter. She had worked hard to build it from the ground up. At times, she doubted herself, but she was also a risk taker. After everything she had dealt with from the loss of her parents to raising her baby brother, starting up a company seemed effortless.

It did come with a price though. She gave up her personal life to focus on raising her brother. Brent was an easy going kid; thankfully, their parents helped raised him right. But Brie lost many friends along the way because she denied her time with them. Her only true friends now were her employees. They were loyal to her from the first day she opened the shop, but they also teased her for working constantly and never finding time for herself.

Lacy did talk her and a few employees to a night out at the EpiCentre in Charlotte. That evening was a disaster. Tight crowds were never Brie's thing, and while at a dance club that evening when a suitor had uninvited himself to rub himself again Brie on the dance floor, she went into jiu-jitsu mode. She took him to the ground and put him in a chokehold. Her small frame of five feet and five inches may seem timid, but luckily her lessons in the martial arts were money well spent on her parents' part. That was the first and last time she would ever hit the club scene, but it made Lacy beg her to go even more, so Lacy could have a personal body guard.

Putting all that behind her, Brie needed to reassess her life and look into the future. The Sweet Encounter was going to embark on a franchise opportunity; however, everything had to work according to her plan with the same values, recipe and atmosphere of the store. She couldn't believe how her life had turned out. After planning her life accordingly, everything was going right for once.

"Brie! Brie!" She reacted quickly to her name being called out. She ran to the front of the store and saw Phyllis on the floor. Lacy panted uncontrollably. Oh Lord. What was happening?

"Phyllis!" She dropped to the floor beside Phyllis, but Phyllis was already sitting herself up. "What happened?"

"No worries, Brie. This old diabetic woman just forgot her insulin. I bent down to take a breather and Miss Exaggerated Lacy thought I was going down. She ran up so fast behind me that she knocked me down to the floor."