Page 2 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
“What!” Amy tried to lift the corner of the box, but it was taped shut. “When did you have time to do that?”
They strode, side by side, through the front doors of the building and called the elevator. “This morning. They had to be fresh. That’s what Dan taught me.”
Amy narrowed her eyes. “Dan? Is that your new boyfriend? Did you get a hit on a dating app?”
Sheila laughed. “Yeah, right. What would I even put in my profile?Single mom. Music taste stuck in the 90’s. Doing my best. Bad at it.”
“Makes donuts,” Amy added. “For Dan, at least.”
They got out of the elevator and Sheila lowered her voice. “It’s not just any Dan. It was CEO of Dan’s DonutsDan.”
Amy stopped in her tracks. “Don’t tell me you landed the Dan’s Donuts account.”
A smile tore across Sheila’s face. “Last month he gave me a donut recipe, and after about a thousand practice donuts, I finally got it right. I showed up with a dozen of them and he said I knew the business and he’d love to work with me.”
Amy squealed. “Sheila, that’s insane! They’re almost as big as Dunkin’ Donuts!”
“Don’t let Dan hear you say that,” she said with a smile. “In his mind, they already are.”
As far as she was concerned, they were, too. Her biggest account ever. The donuts that would save her house.
Amy picked at the tape on the box. “I guess I can’t have any until the partners, managers, seniors and whatever interns are at the meeting get their cut, then?”
Sheila reached for the box and snapped the tape open. “Of course not. Take one!”
Amy slammed her hand on the lid and shut it. “No, I’ll wait. We’ll get coffee after and you can tell me all about it. Should I put this in the conference room?”
“Sure. Thank you.”
Later, when Sheila ruminated on these fateful moments, she would tell herself there were so many chances where she could have figured out it was the wrong box.
Of course, her greatest mistake was accepting help. If she’d carried the box herself, she would have noticed it was the wrong one.
Instead, she merrily went to the conference room and set up her presentation, then watched as everyone slowly filled the seats around the conference table.
The seat at the head of the table was saved for CEO Anthony Silva. He came in five minutes past the hour, chatting and shaking hands before sitting down.
He wasn’t a man she interacted with often – not yet at least. That would all change after her promotion. After she dropped the bomb of landing a huge account.
Sheila closed the door just as Anthony took notice of the pink box in center of the table.
“Ah. Is this for me?” he asked, pulling the box closer.
“Yes, I made them. And I’m making you a deal,” Sheila said. “A deal you can’t refuse.”
Muted laughter made its way around the table, and Anthony smiled before popping the lid of the box open.
Some might think accountants shouldn’t have a flair for the dramatic, but Sheila didn’t agree with that. She clicked the computer alive and a six-foot tall image of herself in front of the local Dan’s Donuts projected onto the screen.
Anthony looked up at her. “Is this some sort of joke?”
She stood next to her picture, grinning. “I don’t joke about dough!”
He pushed the box away and stood. “Call security.” He buttoned his suit jacket and jerked his head in Sheila’s direction. “Get her out of here.”
Sheila stared, the smile frozen on her face as the realization dawned on her that maybe, justmaybe, she may have done exactly what she’d feared.
She rushed over, ripped the lid open, and gasped.
