The Baker

Chapter 13

“No. No, no, no, no! Jess! Count again! Please!” “I did, Cass! Seven times! We are in debt. I don’t know how, but we are.” “How much…?” Jess heavily sighed, “Almost five thousand dollars.” “Christ,” Cassie breathed. “We only have two thousand saved.” Both girls were silent, lost in their own thoughts. “Now what?” Jess asked quietly. Cassie shrugged. “I really don’t know. We have to give everyone a pay cut. Cut down hours. Maybe even lay off some people.” Jess threw her head down and closed her eyes. “I don’t know how this could have happened,” Jess told her. “I swear, we were clear last week. I always check ten times, minimum.” “Well,” Cassie heavily sighed, “we have to figure this out. Even if it takes all night, we have to do this.”

“Cass?” Ben called, as he walked into the open, yet darkened shop. He had on his usual white button down shirt, but this time with a grey blazer and grey slacks. He held a bouquet of flowers in his hand as he walked around the counter and into the back room where he knew her office was. When he walked in, he saw both Jess and Cassie in the middle of the floor, surrounded by papers and coffee cups. “Um, is this a bad time?” He asked cautiously. Cassie spun her head around and sighed, “Shit, I’m sorry! I totally forgot, we just…we’re in a bit of trouble.” Ben set the flowers on her desk and asked, “What kind of trouble?” Jess explained, “We’re five thousand dollars in debt.” Ben furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “How did that happen?” “We’re not sure,” Cassie told him. “But now we’re discussing pay cuts, lay offs, and shorter hours, even though that’s the last thing we want to do.” Ben took off his jacket and hung it over Cassie’s chair. He sat down on the floor and positioned Cassie in between his legs. “Let me see,” he said, holding out his hand. She handed him the papers that Jess had checked numerous times throughout the night, to see if he could spot anything. He was really bad at math, but he knew a little something about debt crises. After a few moments, he said, “Sorry, baby, I don’t see anything that could help. You sure you didn’t miss something? Like miscount the cups or tongs, even?” Now doubting herself, Jess got up and went to go re-count. In the meantime, Cassie let out a huge breath and slumped back against Ben’s chest. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “You look very nice. Where were we going to go?” While wrapping his arms around her, he said, “The Ivy. But don’t worry about it, this is far more important. We can go out anytime.” “You’re the best,” she whined. “Why are you the best?” He chuckled, “Because I’m you’re boyfriend and I care about your needs over mine. Even if my needs do require…special attention.” Cassie could feel him smirk against her head. She smiled and said, “Well, as much as I would love attend to your “special” needs, Jess is in the other room.” “Is that really the only reason?” He asked, his voice full of hope. While grinding back against him, she said, “Maybe.” Ben groaned at the contact. “Oh,” he purred in her ear. “You really are naughty.” He moved his hands to her bare thighs and started to gently rub them. She gasped at the contact and grinder back against him, once more. His hands moved higher and higher up her light blue summer dress. “I’m so glad you wore this,” he said lowly in her ear. Once he reached her panties, he said, “But I’m not glad that you wore these.” “So, what are you going to do about it?” Ben looked over his shoulder, towards the door to make sure they were still alone. When he turned back, he hastily moved her panties down and off her legs. Jess walked in right after, making Cassie jump and look wide-eyed at Ben. He just gave her a shit-eating grin and pocketed her panties with a wink. “Ben’s half right,” Jess announced as she sat down on the floor. “I counted wrong, but at the same time, I didn’t.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cassie asked, now forgetting about the event that had just occurred before Jess walked in. “Things are missing,” she told her. “Comparing the numbers from yesterday to tonight, it’s impossible to have gone through that much of the inventory.” “So, you’re basically telling me that one of our employees has been stealing all our shit?” Cassie was fuming. Ben rubbed her arm gently, trying to get her to calm down. Without hesitation, Jess answered, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Cassie’s breathing turned un-even. She was so mad that she couldn’t think or even breathe correctly. “Cass, breathe,” Ben murmured softly in her ear. “Breathe, baby. Breathe with me, come on.” She felt Ben heavily breathe to show her. She copied his movements and was soon breathing normally. He kissed her head and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Thank you,” she whispered. He welcomed her with a kiss on her shoulder. Jess looked on at them and was internally screaming with joy. It usually wasn’t that easy to calm Cassie down when she got worked up, but all Ben had to do was talk to her. “Wow,” Jess breathed. “Why is it that when I try to calm you down, you go on a rampage, but when he tries, it’s like fucking Harry Potter magic?” “That’s easy,” Ben said. “I’m sleeping with her.” Cassie scoffed and whacked his arm. He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “You two are such teenagers,” Jess commented.