Page 104 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

After all, we're all here to represent The Foundry.

Kai had gone all out with his setup. Sleek display cases filled with miniature cakes, each one a bite-sized masterpiece. He had the whole aesthetic thing down, crisp white boxes tied with twine, little handwritten labels.

Classic overachiever.

Samuel, on the other hand, kept it simple. A heavy-duty grill, the kind you’d find in a professional kitchen, sizzling with perfectly seared fish. No frills, no gimmicks… just damn goodfood. The kind that made people close their eyes after the first bite.

Nancy Hayes glided toward us like a queen surveying her kingdom, her long, tailored coat cinched at the waist, auburn hair swept up into some impossibly elegant twist. She had the kind of presence that made people instinctively straighten up, even if she never asked them to.

“Oh, this is delicious.” She sighed, stopping right between our stalls. “Three fine young men, each with their own specialty. A true dilemma.”

Kai leaned against his display, smirking. “Yeah? What do you think, Nancy? We gonna do well today?”

She placed a hand over her heart. “Kai, of course you are!”

Samuel chuckled. “We all know you already have a favorite. Just put us out of our misery.”

Nancy tapped a manicured finger against her chin, looking between our stalls like she was choosing a wine pairing for a five-course meal.

“Let’s see… Samuel, your fish is divine. Perfectly seasoned, cooked with the precision of a man who understands balance.”

Samuel inclined his head, ever the professional. “Appreciate that, Nancy.”

She turned to Kai next. “And you? Your cakes are practically art. The lemon poppyseed I had last week at the inn? I dreamed about it.”

Kai gave her a knowing grin. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Then she shifted her gaze to me, and I braced myself.

“And Adam,” she murmured, taking a deep inhale of the roasted meat and buttered bread scent surrounding my stall. “You appeal to something primal. The kind of hunger that comes from the soul.”

I smirked. “That so?”

Nancy let the moment stretch, savoring the anticipation. People around us had started paying attention, whispering, chuckling at the theatrics of it all.

With a dramatic sigh, she turned to me. “I have no choice but to follow my heart… and my stomach.”

She picked up one of my sandwiches with reverence, holding it aloft like she’d just chosen the holy grail.

“Adam Reid’s decadent, slightly sinful, life-affirming sandwich it is.”

The small crowd watching burst into amused applause, and I shot Samuel and Kai a victorious look.

Kai groaned. “You bribed her, didn’t you?”

Nancy took a slow, indulgent bite, closing her eyes as she chewed. Then she smiled. “Darling, he didn’t have to.”

I leaned on the counter, satisfied. “What can I say? Some things just sell themselves.”

The moment hit like a perfectly aimed gut punch.

One second, the festival was its usual lively chaos.

The next, silence.

It wasn’t absolute, not really, but in our little corner of the square, conversation faltered. Heads turned. The world seemed to pause for a fraction too long.

And then, there she was.

---