Page 9 of Cakewalk
I inwardly grimaced at my epically bad timing, then booked it back down the sidewalk. I didnotneed her and my sister going at it this morning. While Madison was a formidable woman herself, Courtney would give her such a verbal smackdown that she’d probably have to delay the grand opening just to recover.
We may have been ex-friends, but I didn’t want her big day ruined—at least not worse than it already was.
I skidded to a stop in front of the cake shop and rushed inside to find both Madison and Courtney giving each other a staredown, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. They looked like two cowboys waiting for high noon so they could whip their pistols out and settle things once and for all.
But I was the one who Madison had a beef with. My sister didn’t need this drama.
I started, “Madison, the person you want to yell at is me.”
Madison shook her head, not sparing me so much as a glance. “I don’t deal with small fries. I’m talking to your manager.” She brushed a stray black curl out of her eyes, glaring harder at Courtney.
“Did my manager tell you that you’re getting a refund and a replacement cake?”
Madison finally slid her eyes over to me, but remained facing my sister. “I was just telling your sister how nepotism like this is why towns like Calhoon are dying off. We need higher standards if we’re ever going to be relevant again. We need people like me. I didn’t inherit my business. I built it from the ground up.”
“That’s admirable, Maddy, but if it weren’t for my sister and me, this store would be closed down. Would Main Street really benefit from having yet another empty storefront?”
Madison shook her head. “Of course not. And I think your sister is more than qualified to carry the torch. But you? Not so much.”
Courtney took a step forward, towering over Madison. “As I was explaining to you,” she said past gritted teeth, “it was an accident.”
“And so was the coffee Jade spilled on Mrs. Springfield’s handmade sweater. And so was the cupcake Jade dropped that Mr. Rodney’s lactose-intolerant poodle ate—that poor creature! And so was—”
I butted in, “All right. So what do you want, Maddy?”
She spun around to face me now. “First off, stop calling me Maddy. It’s Madison to you now. And second, I want you fired. You’re dragging your sister’s business down, and she doesn’t have the heart to tell you. She was doing just fine before you came crawling back a few months ago.”
“Out of my store,” Courtney ordered Madison. “You’ve really crossed the line.”
I stared down at my feet, noticing a bit of frosting on my left white sneaker. “She’s right, Court.”
Courtney’s head whipped around. “What?”
“Despite my best efforts, I’ve been doing nothing but creating more work for you. I think there’s another way I can help, but it involves me staying out of the store.”
Madison nodded and gestured a perfectly manicured hand at me. “For once, I agree.”
My sister’s hands balled up into fists. “Jade, we don’t have to give in to this emotional terrorist. She may have clout online, but she’s going to burn through this town’s good will before she knows it.”
Madison gasped.
I let out a breath and shook my head. “It’s all right. Remember that one girl who gave you her resume about a month ago? Hire her in my place. She was much more qualified than me, anyway.”
My sister said nothing, just stared.
“I mean it. Madison is right. Me working here… It’s pure nepotism. I went to college for a different dream—and it wasn’t to bake cakes. That’s your passion. I can help some other way.”
“I can’t afford to hire a part-timer, though. You know that.”
“Actually,” I started, and what I was about to suggest was as much a surprise to me as it was to anyone else, “I might have a new tenant for the apartment upstairs. Would that cover the costs?”
My sister’s eyes grew distant as she did the math. “I mean, sure.”
“Then it’s settled. I quit. Hire that girl, Court. I’m going to go find that tenant.” I paused to smile at Madison. “Thanks. This is the kick in the ass that I needed.”
As much as she didn’t want to see a smile on my face, shehadgotten what she wanted. All Madison could do was mutter under her breath, then storm off past me. She probably was off to make some kind of deriding post on social media, or maybe a snarky review, but so what?
I noticed then that my sister was staring at me. And then I remembered who that lifesaver of a tenant was. “How about you let me handle renting out the apartment?” I suggested. “You have enough on your plate.”
