Page 15 of It Never Was

"Glad to hear." Paul steps aside so that I am in full view now. "This is our best and finest employee Ryen. She will help me with this interview today."

I make a small waving gesture to Suzie whose eyes have flattened at Paul's words.

"Oh." Suzie's voice deepens in tone expressing her disappointment.

"Everything okay? Shall we start?" Paul pulls out a chair for me to sit on before taking his own as Suzie just nods silently. "I see you have a good number of years of bakery experience, your application states you were a baker at the grocery store in town. Can you tell me a little about your day-to-day life there?" Paul asks as he has in every other interview.

"Yes, I am currently still employed with them but just want to branch off and try another type of baking. I also love that this is closer to campus as well which is a plus," Suzie grins at Paul. "I make the daily pastries for the case as well as the bread we have on the floor, making sure—"

"Were these pastry and bread recipes from corporate or were you allowed to change them at all?" Paul says, cutting her off.

"I am sorry, what?" Suzie frowns.

"I am just wondering if your bakery allowed you room to have creative exploration in your cooking and recipes for the store. Like Ryen here, she is cross trained, so she has been doing the pastry cook's job in the meantime while we find a replacement. She has made changes to the menu and recipes depending on the customers and the latest trends that she knows the customers would enjoy. Isn't that right, Ryen?" Paul states while elbowing me to answer.

"Y-yeah, I tend to listen to the customers and see what they like and alter the menu. It comes with time, of course. I have been working here a long time, so I have a certain relationship with the regulars, and I love to give them pastries they will enjoy in the morning." I smile at Suzie, who doesn't seem a bit interested in what I am saying. "What is your favorite pastry, Suzie?" I ask.

"Sponge cake," she says dryly, looking at Paul.

"Oh, you can't go wrong with a sponge cake." Paul looks my way.

"Do you use the separated egg method in your recipe?" I ask Suzie, keeping my smile while she finally brings her eyes back to me from Paul.

"What method?" she asks.

"Separated eggs, where you whip the egg whites first and then add the yolks later," I tell Suzie, who is looking at me once again with a sour look on her face.

"Yolk? What is that?" She asks as if what I just said was in a foreign language.

I glance up at Paul, who seems to be avoiding my face. "Yolks the yellow orangish part of the egg," I say as I turn my attention to Suzie.

"Oh… I don't understand…" her eyes darted from Paul to me, "How would you separate it from the egg whites?" She is now landing on Paul for the answer and not me.

Paul closes his eyes and clears his throat before looking my way.

This was going to be a long day.

"Thank you for coming in. We have a couple more interviews today, but we will let you know our decision by next week." Paul shakes Kyle's hand, the second interviewee of the day. Even with the memory of Willow dropping him to his ass, at least it wasn't as bad as Suzie's interview. He didn't have a blatant distaste for me. Quite the opposite.

"Paul…" I say giving him a look that says, what the actual fuck? "First Suzie didn't know what an egg yolk was…then Kyle won't stop looking me up and down saying, 'It would be a pleasure to open alongside you.'" I shiver at the memory of Kyle looking me up and down from across the table while he licked his lips.

Gag me, and not in a fun way!

"I know, I know. Those were clearly a waste of time," he says, rubbing his hands down his face.

"Clearly."

"Let's grab some coffee and a pastry before the next one comes in." Paul brushes his fingers through his hair and scratches the back of his neck before stretching. "We've got about thirty minutes. It can be our lunch, huh?"

I give Paul a half smile as I make my way behind the counter to start two cups of coffee and Paul goes to the kitchen to grab some fresh pastries.

"So!" A voice shrieks at me, hands grabbing my shoulders to prevent me from falling over from being startled. "How are the interviews going?" Willow turns me around.

"For fuck's sake, Willow." I smack her in the ribs. "I almost spilled these coffees all over myself!"

She giggles at my reaction. "Don't be so skittish, Rye. But seriously, how is it going? Does anyone seem qualified? I would like to have my semi-less grumpy friend back. You doing both roles does not do your mood well."

"Ha. Ha. And no, everyone is a dud. I think Paul is gonna pull all his hair out," I tell Willow as I finish stirring my coffee, looking at her eyes glaze over as she loses herself to her thoughts.

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