Page 16 of Throw Away the Key
Granny nodded. “Good call.”
Stacy directed them to a different pastry case. “So we have English toffee covered in chocolate and then sprinkled withcrushed pistachios, our special walnut and fudge brownies. We have chocolate croissants and a flourless chocolate cake with a little bit of a raspberry drizzle on it. If she likes coconut, Kerri is currently frosting a German chocolate cake in the back…”
“Oh, well that sounds good. Why don't we do the flourless one? I think that makes sense just in case she's got a gluten allergy.”
Stacy nodded. “I'll finish packaging that up for you, and since it’s a gift, I’ll add a little special razzle dazzle. Either one of you want a coffee?”
“I'll take a decaf cappuccino made with oat milk and a dash of cinnamon please,” Granny spoke up.
Emma smiled. “You know what? I'll have the same. I don't really need any caffeine this late.”
“Perfect. I'll meet you at the register.”
“Do you think those were good choices?” Emma wrinkled her nose as she turned to Granny Marion.
“I think they're great. Most of those things are some of your favorites, so hopefully you have something in common.”
“True.”
After they paid, Emma dropped Granny off at home before heading to her apartment.
“Oh my god, I shouldn't have had that cappuccino,” she whispered to herself as she parked her car, her thighs squeezing together.I have to pee so bad.She locked up her car and quickly made her way to the front door, unlocking it before running up the stairs, pastry box in hand.Ugh, this wasn't how I wanted this to happen, I just wanted to drop this off. She hurried to put the key in the deadbolt lock, and as she turned it, there was a loud snap of metal between her fingers. “Oh, no,” Emma whined. “This is not happening.”I should have bought a bigger box.
She lifted her hand and the rounded bow of the key was cut off at the shoulder. Staring into the keyhole, the entire bladewas lodged inside. She tried shoving the jagged piece in her hand into the lock to see if she could still get it to turn, but she had no such luck.
“This woman is gonna to kill me,” she muttered. Trudging down the stairs with urgency, Emma knocked twice on Sadie's door, standing with a wary smile as the deadbolt unlocked.
“Yes.” Sadie had a wry smile on her lips as she leaned against the edge of the door. Per usual, she was fresh-faced, her dark eyes giving Emma a once-over as she casually hooked a thumb into the pocket of her jeans. The slowness of her gaze gave Emma butterflies. If she’d been sitting, the look was squirm-inducing.
Emma reminded herself to breathe and held out a hand. “Listen, I'm so sorry to bother you…”
“Don't tell me you forgot your keys again!” Sadie groaned.
“No, no, I didn't. I swear!” She held up the round part of her key. “It broke in the lock, so I can't get in, and Ireallyhave to go to the bathroom. I'm so sorry, but do you mind if I use yours? There isn’t a secret one for residents in the lobby right?”
Sadie's eyebrows shot up. “Uh.” She looked into her apartment really quickly, as if guarding her safe haven. “No, there isn’t a restroom in the lobby.”
“I promise I won't touch anything. I just… two minutes.” Emma swore as she wiggled from side to side.
“Yeah. All right. Give me your key so I can take a look.”
“Okay, thank you. Um, is this the same configuration as my apartment–bathroom’s in the same place?”
“Slightly different, but there’s one right down the hall there,” Sadie nodded in the right direction.
“Okay.” Emma rushed in the door too quickly to notice much of the apartment decor. She set the baker's box on the kitchen counter before running to the bathroom. “Oh, it's so cute in here,” she observed as she shut the door and did her business,blowing out a huge breath of relief. After flushing, she washed her hands and stared at herself in the mirror, her nerves making her heart beat faster.Not exactly what we’d planned, but here we are.“You have got to pull yourself together,” she whispered.
Inspecting her reflection, she pressed her lips together to redistribute her lip gloss and smoothed a hand over her braids. She cleared her throat and shook away the nerves as she moved to the door.
CHAPTER TEN
Emma exited the bathroom to find Sadie standing at the kitchen counter on her cell phone. She began pacing back and forth, rubbing the back of her neck as she waited for a response.
“Hey Sal, I'm gonna need you to send someone over here. We have a broken key jammed into a tenant's lock. “Yeah, I know, this never happened here before, but we're probably going to need new keys for that particular unit. Maybe make a few extra copies while you’re at it,” Sadie mused.
She was lifting the lid to the baker's box when she spotted Emma drawing near. “Sorry,” she mouthed.
Emma waved to her that it was fine.
