Page 89 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

This time, Alec let out a defeated sigh. “Look, Jacqui,” he began, his voice shaking a little, “I admit, it may have started with a lie, but Ellie and I—”

“Don’t insult me. Did you do this because I was interested in you?”

He froze. “No, of course not.”

“It was my idea,” I blurted out. “I was the one who convinced him to do it.”

Jacqui lifted her palm, shushing us both. “It truly amazes me how you think it’s acceptable to start our partnership with a lie. In all my years in the business, I havenevercome across anything like this.”

Alec closed his eyes. “Jacqui. I can explain. Please.”

She ignored him. “I clearly have misjudged you. I wouldn’t have cared about the relationship at all, but it’s the elaborate lie that concerned me the most. You’ve shown me that you have no honesty and integrity. I can’t do business or be partners with someone so untrustworthy.”

Alec went pale and looked like he was about to throw up.

Jacqui stood up. “I think it’s fair to say that the partnership won’t be going ahead. Our lawyers will be in touch.” Turning to me, she continued, “And obviously, consider the order Carmel placed for the party canceled.”

Without a second look, she walked away, leaving us in stunned silence.

CHAPTER 26Tell Me Your Deepest, Darkest Secrets

After the confrontation with Jacqui, we packed up our stuff, checked out of the resort, and caught an earlier flight back to Port Benedict. All my attempts at talking to Alec or cheering him up were met with a quiet nod or a shake of his head. Rob had been frantically trying to call him, because word had gotten around that the Goodwin-Mackenzie partnership had ended just days after it had started.

When we arrived home, Alec only mumbled a quiet “see you later” and disappeared into his room, closing the door with a firm-sounding click. I stared at his door for a long time, torn between wanting to barge in and give him a comforting hug and assure him that everything would be just fine and giving him the space he was clearly asking for. Deflated, I went to my own room, my heart heavy and breaking, but not knowing how to help.

Later that night, as I unpacked my weekend bag, I realized I hadn’t taken my phone off airplane mode. That was when I saw the flood of messages from my mother, even two from my dad, all newly sent in the past few hours. There were also several othersfrom Eric and Naomi, rounding up the total new messages to twenty-two.

I took one cursory glance at the list, with my thumb hovering over the first message, wondering whether I should open them. But after everything that had happened earlier, dealing with my family was the last thing I wanted to do right now. Deciding I’d deal with them tomorrow, I left all twenty-two messages unopened and tossed my phone onto the nightstand. And as I slowly drifted off to sleep, my thoughts went back to Alec, wondering how he was doing, and wishing, more than anything, that I was there to support him.

Alec had left by the time I woke up the next morning. There was no note, but I assumed he’d gone to work, trying to salvage the deal with Jacqui. I was debating whether I should send him a message, but decided to give him some space.

Kim was standing outside her shop with a big grin when I arrived at the bakery. “Welcome back. How was your mini getaway with Loverboy Building Expert?” She peered at me, her curious eyes assessing. “You don’t look like someone who’d just returned from a weekend of rest, relaxation, and incredibly hot sex.”

“And you would be right.”

She followed me inside the bakery. “Is everything okay?”

Her eyebrows dipped farther and farther down as I gave her the condensed version of what had happened. “That’s strange. Why would this Phil guy do something like that? Has he got something against Alec?”

“Not that I know of. They’ve only just met each other at that dinner party.”

Kim glanced at her watch. “I gotta go, but let’s talk more about it. I’ll text Jenna, and maybe we can figure out the missing piece in the puzzle over lunch.”

I nodded, grateful for the support.

Our scheduled opening was less than two weeks away, so things were borderline chaotic right now. Rob’s crew had finished their work, and I had started training Ruby on her main duties—running the POS system, keeping track of our inventory, and making sure our displays looked nice and pretty. And because Jacqui had canceled her order, which I’d been counting on, I had to make up for it somehow. I pushed the bakery launch harder on social media, offering a generous 20 percent discount during opening week. My To-Do List had grown by several more pages, and as it grew, so did the headache pounding in my brain. But even as I ran around all day, my mind kept wandering back to Alec. All my messages to him were read but unanswered, and when I tried to call in the afternoon, it went straight to his voicemail.

Right now, the shop was quiet, as it was close to 6:00P.M., and Ruby had already left. I had just finished going over my list, ready to lock up for the day, when my phone beeped with a short message from Naomi. I decided to call her, and she answered on the second ring, sounding frantic.

“Ellie! Where have you been? Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

“I’m sorry. Things have been super hectic.”

“Are you okay? Eric has also been trying to get in touch with Alec, but he hasn’t been returning Eric’s calls. Some guy claiming to be a journalist from thePort Benedict Gazettecontacted me a few days ago, asking a lot of questions about Alec, his company, and his relationship with you.”

“I know.”

“But I got suspicious, so I hung up after a few minutes. Eric called theGazetteto check, and they’ve never heard of that guy. Then someone else named Carmel, who said she worked for Goodwin Property Group, called a couple of nights ago to askmorequestions.” Naomi paused to take a breath. “Carmel said she wanted to verify some stories for her boss, but I was so suspicious, I hung up on her twice, before one of Eric’s contacts in the property industry confirmed her identity. What’s going on, Ellie? Why are people asking about your relationship with Alec?”

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