Folded Fondant ~ Sebastian

Prologue - Interview

A/N: Now, now by this point, I have brought up a specific scene over and over again in CC. It predates the book by a 7-month stretch from Dalia's Paris Slip n' Slide adventure. It is actually the perfect glimpse into Sweet Ronaldo's head. It explains his mentality from the very start and as to why some might have questioned why he was bi-polar, ahem, you know who you are ;) This will also enlighten you on a character that will come up and little goodies that are to come in CC-these are not oversights my friends. Enough jabbering though, I give you The Interview that started it all...

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This was tiring.

I flicked another resume off to the side. Not a single damn one fit the bill, hell some of these applicants were writing in social media slang. It's no wonder other shops keep complaining there just aren't any decent hires anymore. Like the fool that I was — seeing that my own team was beyond competent — I thought they were just hiring anyone that walked through their door.

Today I learned, I had been very, very wrong. I braced my elbows on my desk and rubbed at my eyes. Someone in this drivel pile had to be an option. My hand sought out the envelope Eddie had given me.

Dalia Romanov.

I read the name on the standard envelope surface in Eddie's scrawl. My hesitation stemmed from the base that Eddie, like most of my friends, likes to get my goat-so to speak. They all thought I was too serious. She takes direction very well. That's what you're looking for right? He had asked with a gleam in his eye.

The answer was yes. Moving on the whims of a split decision, I pulled the resume out and began to read. My eyes jumping straight down to the only part that mattered. Experience.

Data entry, dishwashing, hospitality associate (the hotel kind, not hospital), greeter, hostess, shampoo girl, receptionist, grocery clerk etc. Her background was as diverse as her active time in each position. Worrisome in some aspects but it appeared that these were mostly temporary positions. The shampoo, reception, and grocery clerk positions had long-standing dates. Indicating that they were relatively permanent. This supported my original assessment.

She had experience, that was certain. School didn't seem to extend beyond a G.E.D, but that wasn't an issue. Sometimes education credentials didn't mean shit. Gleam or not, Eddie spoke highly of her. Said she had been the greatest help he ever had and hated to let her go after the season ended. As fate would have it, my season was just beginning. Realistically it never ended. I've gone weeks with this position being vacated — the last dickhead had to be fired after groping a customer right in front of me. Needless to say, I couldn't throw him out of here fast enough.

But now the slot is empty and it's starting to take its toll. It handled all the important day to day tasks that some people would sneer at, but in reality, helped keep the business going. Without it, I'd be driven underground at 40 since I can't ask any of my other employees to work even harder than they already do. Our hours are typically unconventional to meet demands.

It's why I was sitting here 10:30 at night pouring over resumes and applications. When this was solved, I still had to do the inventory and make sure each station was ready for the morning. Which clocked in around 4:30 am when most folks were just hitting their first snooze. Truth was I was dying here. The commissions have been pouring in from extremely high places and, to me, those took precedence with my skill. I even had to hire on two extra bakers just to keep up with the front cases.

I'm starting to think expanding to a front shop eatery for sweets and coffee last year was several years too soon. But the demand was there and it was a great way to encourage more customers and I had bought out an insane amount of space in this building so something had to be done with it. It was a great idea, they all are great ideas...only the person who feels the brunt of the strain is the person who owns the business and is the main active creator. That shmo was me.