Page 63 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
After he’d eaten an early dinner, he finally fried the kulfi in extra-hot oil, leaving them in for only about twenty seconds until they were perfectly golden and crispy. He topped the fried kulfi with the tukmaria, vermicelli, and rose syrup, then scooped up a bite.
It was delicious. Satisfaction coursed through him, the first positive emotion he’d felt all day.
He did love baking; that wasn’t the issue. Perhaps hobbies were meant to stay hobbies, and not careers. There was no pressure when he was just doing it for fun, for the joy of it. At the Rolling Pin, everything had to be perfect and precise, which was stressful.
Theo sighed, picking up his bowl of fried kulfi falooda. He went to the couch, sitting down, thinking again about his career and what he should do. The future was so scary; he couldn’t believehewas the one responsible for making this key decision.
He had spoken to Saphira about a week ago about helping manage the cafe, and now he thought that maybe it was time to make up his mind once and for all. He had gotten his business degree because his parents had wanted him to, but he hadn’t hated it. It was easy, and he was good at it, and he was sure he would love working with Saphira at the Baby Dragon. He could keep up with his fusion desserts for the Baby Dragon Bakery, as well, which would keep him inspired.
But what about Suki? While he had originally hesitated about talking with Saphira because he was afraid she wouldn’t want him for the role, now he hesitated because he worried how Suki would react to the idea. Would she feel betrayed? Abandoned?
Consternation spiked through him, and he set down his bowl of dessert. He stood, pacing around his apartment.
He knew he needed to speak with her, but he didn’t know how to start that conversation, which was why he hadn’t done anything yet, despite wanting to quit. He was always so bad at this sort of stuff. He hated to hurt anyone.
“You’re okay,” he told himself, but the word didn’t do much to reassure him. He continued to pace, until sweat broke out on his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut.
You’re okay, a voice told him in his mind, and this time, it wasn’t his own, but Lavinia’s. Theo released a breath, slowing his steps.You’re okay. He heard her voice again, and it calmed him.
Theo rubbed his temples, trying not to think about Lavinia, which was virtually impossible, but he needed to get his shit together.
He needed a plan. He spent the rest of the eveningconsidering how to broach the subject of quitting with Suki. He could ease her into the idea, gauging her reaction to the prospect of him leaving the Rolling Pin.
If she seemed amenable to the idea, he could slowly bring up that he was considering quitting and see what her opinion would be, and if she seemed agreeable to that, too, he could let her know that he wanted to leave. And if she reacted badly to the idea, he would just drop it.
Yes, that could work.
The next morning, when he arrived at work, all his plans fell away when Suki called him into her office. Heart beating fast, he followed her out of the kitchen toward the little office she kept for herself.
“Close the door behind you,” Suki said, taking off her sage-green apron and hanging it up. She sat down at the desk, which was neat with a computer and papers. Once the door was closed, the small space was incredibly quiet.
“Sit down,” Suki said, gesturing to the chair across from her at the desk. Anxiety pricked him, and he swallowed the lump in his throat, doing as she said. He didn’t know why he was so afraid; Suki’s eyes were warm as she regarded him, her expression one of tender concern.
“I wanted to see how you were doing,” she said, leaning forward on her desk. Her gaze went to the cut on his lip, and she frowned. “Are you feeling better?”
“Ye-Yes,” he stuttered. He tried to give her a smile. “Just a football scrape-up, nothing terrible.”
Suki still looked concerned. “You haven’t taken a sick day since you’ve worked for me,” she said. “Surely, you’ve had worsescrape-ups and still come in, so I just . . . well, I wanted to know if things are okay with you?” She looked at him closely. “I’ve been noticing for some time that you seem . . . unhappy. Is there something I should know about, or is there anything that I can do to help?”
This was the perfect opportunity, and before he could second-guess it, he blurted: “Would you hate me if I said I wanted to quit?”
Suki’s eyes widened, and he froze, regret instantly washing over him. He felt awful.
“Theo, of course I wouldn’t hate you,” she said, genuinely confused. “Why would you think that?”
“You took a chance on me and mentored me, and now it’s the busy season, and I’m thinking of leaving you hanging,” he said, voice miserable. “I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful or horrible, but you’re right, I haven’t been happy here lately and, no matter what I do, I can’t make myself be. I’m sorry.”
“Theo, take a breath,” Suki said.
He inhaled deeply, and she waited for him to exhale before continuing. Her face was kind.
“You aren’t being ungrateful or horrible!” she told him. “And, yes, it would be a bit of a pinch with the busy season, but we’d survive. If you want to quit, you should quit! I don’t want anyone at my bakery who feels forced to be here—that doesn’t foster the best environment nor, in my opinion, the best baking.”
“Oh.” He hadn’t expected Suki to react so well, but he realized now that he hadn’t given her enough credit.
Suki smiled. “Have you been worried about bringing this up to me?”
“A little,” he admitted sheepishly.
