Page 18 of Her Movie Star's Secret Plan

Chapter 5

Alexis’s face paled as she sat by his poolside. He’d tried to be as polite as he could with her, but she’d seemed so flustered and upset. He should have trusted his gut about Vincent when he first sensed that something was off about the guy. He hoped Vincent wasn’t causing too much trouble for Alexis.

When she’d come over all dressed up, raving about her business being destroyed, he knew he had to handle the situation as carefully as possible. He’d had to work hard to keep from staring at her gorgeous legs in the beautiful dress she wore. He had to say she cleaned up incredibly well. He focused on her face and tried to keep his eyes from lingering on her pouty, red lips for too long.

“I’ve been losing customers steadily since you opened your doors. And they’re all telling me they’re going to your restaurant for the orders they were supposed to be filling with me.”

“I wasn’t aware this was happening.”

“Well, I’m letting you know now. Your opening a business in town has been the single worst event that’s affected my business.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“It’s too late to make it better now. You’ve made your dream come true, but it’s shattering mine.”

Owen felt terrible. He could hear the fear in her voice. This wasn’t the ramblings of an incoherent woman. This was a distressed businesswoman concerned for the welfare of her bakery. He had all this money, but he felt powerless to make it right for Alexis. It was a problem he couldn’t throw money at to fix. How could he tell his own pastry chef to stop making the delicious bread he was doing such a wonderful job baking?

Katie scratched at the patio door, and he got up to let her out. Maybe she could help cheer Alexis up. She seemed to be a dog person. He opened the door, and Katie ran out, straight to Alexis. She reached down to pet Katie with a smile.

“She’s a sweetheart.”

It did his heart good to see Alexis warming up to his dog.

“Let me know if she’s too much. She can be pretty affectionate.”

“I’m used to loving on dogs at the animal shelter.”

“Good.” He sighed. “Alexis, I can’t tell you how sorry I am that my restaurant is causing such serious problems. Please know, I never wanted that to happen.”

“I understand. But it’s too late to fix it now. The damage is already done. I’ve already lost several of my biggest clients.”

“What kind of clients are these?”

“Churches who order on a weekly basis.”

“And now they’re ordering from Hadley’s?”

“That’s my understanding.”

Owen frowned. That wasn’t good. But if the churches wanted to order from him, he didn’t see how he could convince them otherwise. It made little sense to stop producing a product that was selling well. “I’m sorry I can’t be more help.”

A furious expression flashed across Alexis’s features. “So that’s just it? You can’t rein in your pastry chef?”

“What is it you think he’s doing wrong?”

Alexis opened her mouth to speak. “He’s…” She clamped her mouth shut. “I see your point. He’s doing his job, and you aren’t going to tell him to stop doing such a good job.”

Owen spread his hands out in front of him. “I hope you understand the situation I’m facing.”

“I get it.”

But she didn’t like it either; that much was clear on her face. Owen got the impression that this made him an enemy in her eyes. He didn’t like that one bit.

“I should get going. I have a bakery to run.” Alexis stood up.

“Please let me know if you think of anything I can do to help you.”

“Other than fire your pastry chef, who is doing an excellent job?” Alexis gave him a sad smile. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”

---