Making His Baby(168)
I swallow a lump in my throat and take a breath. “From the day I met you, I feel like…”
His door opens without warning and Nancy walks in, past me and stands directly in front of me.
“I need to talk to you, Rocco,” she demands.
“What is it?”
“I’ll wait until Joanne joins us. This is something you both will want to hear.”
Chapter 8
ROCCO
Nancy is angry about something so I wait patiently for Joanne to join us. She blocks Maddie from my sight until Joanne walks in and takes her position by my side.
“Okay, what seems to be the problem?” I ask.
Nancy puts her hand on her hip and leans forward on my desk. “I don’t think I can work in a place like this.”
“What is the issue?”
“It’s the food she made.” She turns and glares directly at Maddie. I wasn’t aware she knew Maddie was even in the room. “Do you have any idea how many complaints I had to deal with tonight?”
“What was there a problem with, specifically?” Joanne asks, concerned.
“Well, the strawberry upside-down cake she made was horrific and that chocolate mousse almost made one family sick.” She cocks her head to the side before turning back to me and Joanne. This girl is out for Maddie and I’m pretty sure I know why. Jealousy is a senseless, yet vulgar feeling that makes people do crazy things.
“Were there any complaints about the other desserts?” I ask before anyone says anything else.
“No, I mean, there were no praises about them, but I guess they were okay.”
“Maddie?” Joanne is quite concerned. “I thought everything went smoothly. You told me it was all set.”
“I am, I mean, I was.” She shoots me a worried glance.
“Joanne, I made the cakes,” I admit.
All heads turn to me, their mouths gaping open.
“What, Rocco? Why are you doing Maddie’s job?” Joanna crosses her arms and cocks her head.
“Joanne, you ask her to make four almost impossible desserts in one day and even after they were destroyed, you didn’t offer to change the menus or offer a helping hand. I knew Maddie had her hands full before the sabotage,” I stress, looking at Nancy, “so I took it upon myself to make the cakes at my apartment and bring them in. I know it isn’t the proper way to do things, but it was necessary given the circumstances.”
“Wait a minute. You tasted them, Rocco,” Joanne says. “I watched you.”
“And they were damned good too.”
“Nancy? Are any of the customers who have complained still here?”
“No,” Nancy says, shifting her weight. “They… left. They didn’t stick around. They probably wanted to get out of here as quick as possible.”
“Did you get their information?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why wasn’t I or Rocco informed immediately when there were so many complaints?”
“I thought…” Nancy’s face turns red with embarrassment when her ploy to sabotage Maddie backfires. “I thought I could handle it.”
“Did you?”
“Maybe I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
I look into her eyes and clench my jaw. “Nancy, I’m going to ask you something and I want a straight and honest answer. Your job here depends on it. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” she says in a demure voice.
“Did you destroy Maddie’s desserts last night?” I press my glare into her and wait for her to lie about it.
“No, I didn’t. I was just as shocked at the horrible mess as you were. I mean, who could have done such a thing?”
“Thank you, that will be all.”
I silently wish for Joanne to follow Nancy out of my office, leaving Maddie with me to continue the conversation she wanted to have in private, but Maddie is the first one to leave. I can’t blame her. In my heart, I know what she wants to tell me. I need to tell her as well, my feelings for her, my need to be around her, my desire to please her. But I need to take care of this first.
Chapter 9
MADDIE
I quickly leave Rocco’s office, not looking back until I’m out the front door and in a cab. Just as I get into my apartment, my phone goes off. I pull it from my purse and read a text from Rocco.
Meet me for a drink.
A drink? Should I? Isn’t this against company policy? He texts me again.
I’d really like to see you.
I smile at the idea.
Maybe continue our conversation before we were interrupted. Don’t feel bad about what happened. I will deal with Nancy.
I hesitate, but only for a moment. I want to meet him, but I’m not ready. I need time to let this Nancy thing play out and dissolve. I close my phone and turn off the ringer before piling myself into bed.