Page 2 of Dirty Arrangement

The corner of his mouth lifts; a smirk if I ever saw one. “My bakery, technically.”

“How is this possible?” My heart races. I grip the edge of the display case because I'm seconds away from punching this asshole in his smug face. “I know I was behind on rent, but aren't they supposed to give me some sort of warning?”

“I imagine they did. Perhaps you ignored them? It doesn't really matter, what's done is done.”

A burst of rage crawls up my spine. I crumple the letter into a tight ball, throwing it at the man as hard as I can. It bounces off of his broad chest. He doesn't even flinch, but the way he narrows his eyes chills me. “This is ridiculous!” I shout. “I've worked here since I was a kid! Simply Sweet means everything to me.” My mentor's face flashes through my head, bringing anguish. “It... it's supposed to be mine.”

Thomas dusts off his jacket, watching me like I'm a child throwing a tantrum. His voice smolders like a fire that's on its way to turning everything around it to ash. “These things happen, businesses fail.”

“I wasn't failing,” I hiss, searching his eyes to find an iota of compassion beyond his cool contempt. “If this bakery was failing, why did you buy it? What use is a bankrupt business?”

“No use, obviously.” He shrugs, glancing away from me to study the room. “I haven't decided what I'll do with it yet. Maybe I'll just tear it down.”

My stomach contorts painfully. “Tear it down? But... I...”

He turns, approaching the door as casually as when he first entered. “I'll figure it out. You should really worry about what you'll do, Alice.” Pausing, he gives me one last look, his eyes taking me in with a dark sparkle of interest. “Maybe take some baking classes? Perhaps your poor skills are why this place failed.”

My mind buzzes with a million responses; from screaming curses to pleading whines. Words fail me, and Thomas exits before I can speak at all. Through the front window I see his car rumble out of the lot. He's gone as quickly as he arrived, and it seems impossible that he ruined my whole world in just minutes.

My chin drops as I let out a frustrated sob. How did this happen? What am I going to do?

Making fists on the glass, I blink through my furious tears at the pastries below. Pretty, shiny, freshly baked pastries that I made with love this morning.

“He's wrong.” My tone is flat, blood pumping as an idea begins to form. “He's completely fucking wrong. I'll show him how good my food is. Then, maybe...”

I race into my kitchen to get to work.

Chapter Two

ALICE

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I'M HESITANT TO GETout of the taxi. From where I sit, I can crane my neck and gawk out the open window at the towering building we're parked in front of. Finding Thomas Volt's company address was easy—a quick Google of his name brought me to the Volt Inc website. It also threw a collection of business articles, gossip columns, and far-too-sexy candid photos from paparazzi in my face.

Thomas was a looker, I knew that. Seeing him shirtless in some scummy snapshot taken on a beach in Hawaii made my mouth water. I'm not proud of my reaction. What can I say? I'm human.

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