Page 8 of Spicy or Sweet
It wouldn’t be the worst thing to have another season in Wintermore’s pocket—I suppose not everyone is as obsessed with Christmas as we are.
But a new movie being filmed doesn’t explain why I’m squeezed into a booth with Shay and Mayor Blackwood.
“What does this have to do with us?” Shay asks the question that’s already playing on my mind.
“The movie follows the daughter of the couple from the first movie, all grown-up, and her old high school nemesis, owning rival bakeries. There’s some kind of competition involved. You know what these movies are like,” the mayor says, waving a hand dismissively. “They want to use your bakeries, and?—”
“For how long?” I interrupt, ignoring Mayor Blackwood’s scandalized expression at my rudeness. “We can’t just close our bakeries.”
“I’m not sure of the logistics, but you would be well compensated, and we can find a space for the two of you to work. Don’t you have a kitchen in your basement, Noelle?”
I do, but there’s no way I could fit Shay and my whole team in there. At least she only has Gracie working with her, but I have seven employees.
“So we’d work… together?” Shay asks.
“Exactly. And they want you to bake together, too!”
Mayor Blackwood seems excited, but that sounds like a lot more than just letting them use our bakeries.
“How much work would this entail?” I ask because I need more details before I can make any promises.
“Well, the network wants to source as much as they can from Wintermore—it’s a good marketing point—so they want the twoof you to work together to bake for the movie. As I said, you’ll be well compensated.”
I almost laugh. Where am I supposed to pull the extra pair of hands and hours in a day from?
It sounds like a whole lot of extra work I have neither the time nor space for. Not to mention the fact that I’m already sacrificing sleep to try and fit everything into my day.
As if she can see the thoughts rattling around my brain, Mayor Blackwood adds, “I don’t know exactly how much work it would be. The network is sending people, and they can explain everything. But what I do know is that this would be great for all of us. For the town, for you, for your bakeries—think of the marketing! And you’ll be credited in the movies. I don’t see any downsides, personally.”
“When would this be happening?” Shay asks. Shit, that should’ve been my first question.
“They’re looking to start filming in ten days, but they’ll be in town at the start of next week, so they’ll want to meet with you then.”
She has to be fucking kidding me. “Ten days? Are you serious?”
“It’s a last-minute project!” she protests. “They need to film this fall to release next fall. We’re lucky they could squeeze us in.”
“It’s not exactly a lot of notice for us to figure things out with our schedules and clients,” Shay points out, and I find myself agreeing with her. What the hell is happening?
The mayor frowns, like she expected Shay, at least, would be on her side. “It’s short notice, I’ll give you that. But the network is being very accommodating. They’ll pay for extra staff if you need help with your existing work, and they’re going to be building temporary workspaces for anyone displaced duringfilming, so if you need more space, we can make that happen. I think this could be good for everyone.”
Shay presses her lips together in a thin line, and it looks like she’s seriously considering this. I know her patisserie isn’t as busy as The Enchanted Bakery, but even she has to know how ridiculous this is.
I drain the last of my latte, scrunching my nose at the pool of syrup at the bottom. Pushing my cup away, I lean back against the booth and turn to the mayor.
“Look, while I appreciate the idea and I don’t think it would be a bad thing to bring more tourism to town, it’s just not feasible for me to do something like this on such short notice. The bakery is so busy, and I?—”
“And who do you owe that business to, Noelle?” Mayor Blackwood says, folding her arms across her chest.
“I’m sorry?”
“You wouldn’t be in Wintermore if it weren’t for the Christmas movie. Your family wouldn’t have the toy store, and you wouldn’t have your bakery—your niece wouldn’t exist. This town has given and given and given to you and your family. They’ve supported you since day one, and I would think you’d want to support them back.”
Her words curdle my stomach, stretching the tension I hold there so tight it’s a wonder it doesn’t snap.
“Hey now, that’s not necess?—”
“Fine,” I answer, interrupting Shay. I don’t need her coming to my defense. Not when Mayor Blackwood is right.
