CHAPTER 4

       She ignored him “blueberry is also a nice option too, or do you prefer strawberry or butterscotch? And maybe fondant on the outside? It has a great look”

He was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the blaring of his phone. He fished the phone out of his pocket and answered it. “What?” he asked gruffly. “I’m in a very important meeting” She snorted.                                               "Just postpone the meeting” he said “I’m occupied at the moment, and please no more of those damn press tours” She was curious about the phone call. Was it his personal assistant? Secretory? She thought. Even when they were in a relationship, Brian had always been really private.

“Just twice a week,” he said, frowning “I can’t promise you more than that...Sure” He ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“So, where were we?” he asked. “If I recall, you were refusing to answer my question”

“You said you wanted a cake Brian, and not have a heart to heart talk". She continued “so if you can stop wasting my time, that’ll be really nice”

He took off his glasses, his eyes never leaving hers “I love it when you call my name” he smiled, leaning towards her. He was so close that she could smell his cologne. She felt so nostalgic.

“I’ll order a cake if that’s the only way to have more time with you” he said “but we both know that’s not the reason I’m here”

She spoke, her eyes on the clipboard “if it’s not about the cake then I don’t want to talk about it".

“God, you’re even more beautiful than i remember, but still as feisty". Something fluttered in her stomach from his words, but her anger suppressed it. He was wasting her time, she had other things to attend to.

“So why are you here then?” she asked.

“To see you obviously” he said “just wanted to be sure I didn’t imagine you or anything".

“Is that all?”

“Well that, amongst other things". He said.

“Well here I am, you have seen me” she said “well now that you have, can we make this quick? I have a business to run.

He looked around.

  “For a small bakery, you’re doing pretty well. You’ve always been good with deserts".                     

  She rolled her eyes “don’t act like you know me, a lot has changed since we were together”.

 His chin dipped slightly as he checked her ring finger on her left hand.

 “You aren’t married yet”

 “No” she admitted “but I have a boyfriend” she lied. There was seriously no way she was going to tell him that she had been celibate after they ended things. “Congratulations, you deserve someone special”  he said, smiling slightly. “How long have you both been dating?”

  “A year” she smiled “and he’s the best man I have ever dated for sure”

   His lips twitched as his face morphed into a frown. “Do you think you’ll marry him? Does he meet up with your needs sexually?”. His question definitely threw her off balance.

  “Why the hell would you ask me that? That’s very personal” she frowned “whether my boyfriend pleases me or not, it’s none of your damn business. Besides, I don’t see why you care”

 “I’ve always cared Brooklyn”

 “Based on our history, you did a pretty shitty job” she shrugged.

  “Look, I know it wasn’t the-“

 “Everything is in the past,” she cut him off. “And we’ve both moved on Brian”

 He scoffed.

“Do you have something to say to me sir?”

“We loved each other once” he said.

“I think I’m supposed to be upset that you scream another man’s name. What’s his name?”

“Tegan” she blurted. She didn’t think that one through, she hoped her best friend wouldn’t mind. She was going to tell him when they meet up later. She sighed. “Look, it doesn’t matter to me who you sleep with. I’ve moved on Brian, but I guess I can’t say the same for you”.

 His face hardened as he wore his glasses back. “I think we should get back to business” he said “you mentioned chocolate cake?”

  “Huh?”

 He gestured to her clipboard.

 “Oh yes, that one is very popular” she answered.    

   “And the other tiers?”

  “Velvet and sponge cake would be nice, if that’s okay by you”

He nodded. “I’ll need it by Thursday”

 “Any sort of look in mind?”

  “Just do your thing Brooklyn, I know it will come out great”

  “I won’t be able to give a cost until I know every-” 

“I’ll give you a blank cheque” 

  "Of course" she rolled her eyes. 

“Well, that’s about everything I’ll need from you” she said skimming through the list on her clipboard “except a contact mail of course".

 “I’m still using the same cell number”

 “I don’t have it".                                             

  He brought out his phone, and called her. “There, you have it now”.  He still had her fucking number, she didn’t know what to think of that.

 She cleared her throat “thank you for patronizing us,” she said, standing up “we’ll contact you if we need anything else".

 “Just call me Brooklyn”

  “That will be-”

 “We’ve both moved on right? That means we can be friends” he stood up, glancing around “call me, I would really love to catch up”. She wasn’t sure if that was going to happen, but she nodded anyway. 

“I have a small gathering at my place, you should come” he said “maybe I could meet that boyfriend of yours”

 “First off, you’re not my father” she snapped at him “besides, I’ve got a lot of work on Monday and Tegan is pretty busy too".

 “You close work at five on Sundays Brooklyn” he deadpanned.

“That is not creepy at all” she rolled her eyes.

 “I’m pretty sure you can bring your boyfriend if you want to” he continued “so I insist”

 “I’m not sure, but I’ll think about it”

 “fare enough,i’ll text you my house address in case you change your mind".

  “Sure”

He stood up. “Have a good day Brooklyn".

   Two hours into her outing, Brooklyn was already drunk.  Her plan was to drink her sorrows away, even if it was just for a night. “You know what Tegan? I’ve always wondered how big your dick will be” she slurred.

  “Really?” he asked with a chuckle. Unlike Brooklyn, Tegan was still nursing his second drink, while she was on her fifth.

 “Really” she said, smiling widely “have you seen yourself in those jeans? A whole damn package". He snatched the vodka and sprite mix from her hands and downed the rest.

  “You stole my drink” she pouted.

   “I think that’s enough for tonight Brooklyn” he smiled. “Let’s get you home” .

As much as she wanted to drown her sorrow at the bar, she really needed to go home, she had to be up early tomorrow. 

  She opened her bag, fished out a twenty dollar bill from her bag and slammed it on the table. “I already paid” he said “but that’s fine, a large tip won’t hurt” Tegan lifted her off the stool and headed towards the exit.

 The chilly air nipped at her exposed skin as he walked towards his car. “New car alert” she giggled, as he placed her on the leather seat.

“Yeah, boss gave me a big raise” he said.   

 “Reminds me of Brian’s first car” she sobbed, “it was black too”.

Throughout the drive home, Tegan listened to Brooklyn ramble on and on about Brian. “Like how dare he smell that nice?” she blew her nose on her handkerchief.