Page 15 of Obsessed Fox

"Oh my God! Hey, boss. Give me a second to finish making this coffee and then we can chat."

I listened in as Janie hummed to herself and then thanked the customer for stopping in. Customers loved her because she made them feel special and had one hell of a memory. She only had to meet someone once to remember what they loved.

"Okay. I'm back. The bakery is great. Opened a little late because I had to wait for the sheriff to give us the all clear but I know you already know that. The cleanup crew that you sent in was amazing. The new display case also looks amazing. I had to throw away all of the inventory from the shattered case because of the glass and, you know, blood splatter, but I've been a baking machine all morning. We don't have everything available today but I plan to come in super-duper early tomorrow to make sure we have all of your special treats available."

I don't think Janie took a single breath during the whole recap. Her lung capacity was incredible and probably a hit among men.

"Has it been busier than normal?"

I figured after the incident yesterday, everyone and their brother would want to stop in today just to be nosy.

"Oh my God, yes!" Janie exclaimed. "I swear I've seen every resident in Willow Creek and that's saying a lot considering I grew up here. Even the people who only pop out of their houses once in a blue moon decided to grace me with their presence. You'll be making bank today."

For once I wasn't worried about the bottom line, though I would've preferred a slower day since I wasn't there to oversee things.

"I'm sorry I left you by yourself."

"Pshh." Yes, she actually made the noise. "I'm just glad you're finally giving me the opportunity to prove myself. I thought it was going to take until you worked yourself into a coma before you gave up even a fraction of control."

Guilt ate at me. I knew Janie meant nothing by it. She was too nice of a person to ever say anything mean. She was my opposite in every way.

"I should've done it long before now. I'm sorry I let my pride get in the way of showing you how valuable I think you are to the bakery."

"You're going to make me cry if you continue to get all mushy on me."

I laughed. Leave it to Janie to make sure the conversation didn't stay too serious.

"You'll call me if you need anything?"

"Absolutely, boss. Otherwise try to enjoy your two days off. You deserve them."

I tried not to think about how I already enjoyed a few of those hours. Operation “stay away from Hendrix” wasn't going so well. I blamed it on his magical pierced cock. No sane woman would be able to resist that damn thing. Not if they were this close to it.

Ignoring Hendrix after the Halloween party was one thing. I could hide away at the bakery or turn into the Ice Queen any time he stopped in. I was finding I couldn't do the same when he was in my space for more than a few minutes.

I needed to find a way to get Hendrix out of my head, so I looked around his kitchen for anything that would help. Easier said than done when everywhere I looked was a reminder of whose house I was staying in. I couldn't believe I let him talk me into staying here.

Actually, yes I could. It was my damn libido's fault. It overruled my good sense.

With a frustrated and resigned huff, I dug around the cabinets. There was only one thing that could take my mind off my current problem.

Baking.

It was both my solace and my escape from reality. Ever since I was a child, I’d used it as an opportunity to run away to my own world. Perfecting a recipe kept me grounded and gave me a highlike no other. I’ve never felt better than when ingredients came together to form something magical.

Except maybe when Hendrix gave me an orgasm.

Dammit!

And now I was back to thinking about the man I wanted to push out of my brain.

I stomped around the kitchen in search of the ingredients I needed to make chocolate chip cookies but of course I wasn't finding half of what I required. Hendrix's cabinets were practically bare unless you counted the copious amounts of protein bars, which, spoiler alert, I did not.

It appeared breakfast foods were the only thing Hendrix liked to buy. The fridge and cabinet above it were stocked with things to start the day but forget about the other two meals.

Okay, not totally true. There were plenty of takeout containers from the Crazy Fox. It was obvious Hendrix preferred to eat out rather than cook.

None of this helped me, and if I had any hope of relaxing even a little bit, I needed to bake.

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