“Grandpa.” Antoine hugged Jason’s father.
“Hey, Antoine.”
“Let’s play the car race. Uncle Jason beat me, but I bet you can’t beat me.”
“Let me play with you.” Ms. Clara came into the gaming area, obviously hearing their conversation. She nodded at Jason. “Nice to see you back.”
He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. “I’m not back, just visiting. I just flew in a few hours ago. I came to see Antoine’s game.”
Antoine’s team had won the play-offs, and now his team was having a victory party at a family gaming center. The delicious scent of pizza and burgers wafted through the air. Trina had an appointment that afternoon, so Jason had taken Antione to the party.
He figured Trina had told his father he was here. His father clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. I want to talk to you about something.”
Well, he needed to talk to his father. He left Antoine playing the game with Ms. Clara and one of his teammates. He followed his dad into the shopping mall, found an empty bench. He made himself comfortable, stretched his legs in front of him. “So, what did you want talk about?”
“It’s good to see you again, Jason.”
Whoa, he couldn’t believe his father had said that. “Really?”
“Yes, it’s weird not having you around. I’m assuming you’ll be back in the office in the next two weeks?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your vacation. It’ll be over in two weeks.”
Time sure flew by fast. He didn’t realize he’d been in Blue Spring for so long. It didn’t feel right, leaving Toni. Things felt unfinished between them. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean? We had a deal. You said you needed a three-month break, and you got it. We still need to work together, figuring out which bakeries we need to approach. I’ve already visited a few of the bakeries from your recommendations.”
“I don’t know if I’m coming back.” Hard to believe he actually said that to his father.
His father’s eyes narrowed to slits. He mashed down his full lips, stood up, leaned toward him. “Don’t be disrespecting me. Are you acting like this because of the problems we’ve always had?”
He wasn’t telling him about Toni and how he felt about her, but he knew what he had to say instead. “Things are different now.”
“How?”
“I don’t want to say.”
“So you’re not coming back home?”
“Forget I even said that.” He’d spoken without thinking first.
“You’re hiding something.”
“Not really. I’ll talk to you about what’s on my mind when I’m ready.” He did have a deal with his father. It would be wrong for him not to return. “I’ll be back when my vacation is over. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
Dad’s face softened, his shoulders relaxed. He parked on the bench again, stretched his short legs in front of him. “Okay. I’ll respect your privacy.”
Jason nodded. “Thanks.”
“I wanted to talk to you about Ms. Clara.”
“What about her?” What else could he possibly have to say about that woman?
“Well, you know we were dating. Things have been moving fast.” He clapped Jason’s shoulder. “Son, Ms. Clara and I are engaged to be married.”
*
Jason had taken a flight out two days ago to Chicago. Toni missed him already. It’d been weird, opening her bakery and using the new security system. She’d been stunned when she’d found two uniformed security guards, one standing in front of her bakery and one standing in the rear. After calling the security company, she’d discovered that Jason had paid for her to have security guards on duty while he was away in Chicago! Touched beyond words, she’d called him, asking why he’d not mentioned doing this. He’d patiently explained that he knew how she’d react, that she would not have wanted him to spend that money on her.
Surprisingly, seeing the two guards had brought her some comfort. The bakery had been packed, and it’d been a challenge to keep her business going without having Jason around.
Feeling frazzled after her busy day, Toni went grocery shopping that evening. She pushed her cart down the aisle, searching through her purse for coupons. Her cart slammed into another shopping cart. “Oh, I’m so sorry—” Her voice caught. “Brian. What are you doing here?”
“Toni, I’m glad to see some habits don’t change.”
“You don’t shop at the Blue Spring Market.” He lived closer to Baltimore, so a special trip to this grocery store just didn’t make any sense. He gave her a slow, lazy smile. Goodness, she remembered how that smile used to make her weak in the knees. Now his grin just made her sick, sick to her stomach.
“I’m looking for you. I remembered that you used to go grocery shopping on Tuesday night.”
She gripped the handle of her cart, swallowing. She had to calm down. It bothered her that Brian still had the power to get an emotional response from her after all this time. Would there ever be a time when he had no effect on her?
“Have you been threatening me?” Maybe Brian was responsible for the vandalism and the phone calls. She eyed his immaculate suit and well-polished Italian leather shoes. No way would he be making threatening phone calls. It just was not possible. Besides, vandalizing her bakery and making obscene phone calls was not Brian’s style. He’d be better at doing some sort of white-collar crime, like embezzlement.
“I saw those big security dudes at your bakery.”
“You’ve been to the bakery?” She hadn’t seen him.
He nodded. “But I figured what I had to tell you would make you upset.”
Brian just didn’t want to admit that the security guards scared him. It figured he’d show up at the grocery store to talk to her.
“What do you want?”
“I have some important information,” Brian continued, ignoring her obvious annoyance. “I have something that might explain what’s been going on at the bakery. Just give me five minutes, and I’m out of here.”
A large yellow envelope rested at the bottom of his cart.
“What’s in there?”
“I’ll explain.” He gestured toward the exit. “Let’s step outside for a minute.”
She glared at him. “Why do you want to go outside?” They could’ve easily talked in the grocery store.
“I’ll explain when we get outside.” They pushed their carts to a deserted corner of the store and walked outside. It was still early evening and the sun was still shining. She wanted to go for a run later, and this unexpected conversation was cutting into her precious time. “Make this quick. I’ve got lots of things to do.”
She settled into the nearby bench. She patiently waited while he dug into his pants pocket and removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He plopped down beside her, lighting his cigarette. He took a few puffs. White smoke billowed around them and a cool breeze wafted the cigarette smoke in front of Toni’s face.
“Yuck! Brian, when did you start smoking?”
As far as she knew, Brian had never smoked. Smoking just seemed to go against his clean-cut, corporate image.
He turned his head away, focused on the tall oak trees across the street. He finally looked at her again. If she didn’t know better, he seemed about to cry. His bloodshot eyes shimmered. “If you must know, I used to smoke a long time ago, before you knew me.” His voice wavered.
This was news. “You did?”
“Yes. I quit, but whenever I’m worried about something, I smoke a cigarette to calm myself down. I haven’t had to resort to smoking until a few months ago.” He gave her a sideways glance. “When we broke up, I started smoking again. Toni, I’ve been in bad shape since you dumped me—”
“That’s a bunch of bull and you know it. I ran into Gia awhile back at a homeowner’s seminar at the bank. She said she was pregnant, and the two of you are getting married and buying a house.”
Obviously startled, Bria
n raised his dark eyebrows, accidentally dropping his cigarette. The cigarette rolled off of the sidewalk. “She’s lying.”
Toni folded her arms in front of her chest. She could see he was rattled, and she had to wonder why he was working so hard to win her back. “Well, does she still work for you?”
He nodded. “Yes, but I don’t want to talk about Gia right now.”
“Why not? Is it true that she’s pregnant?”
He cursed under his breath. Toni pressed her hands together, standing. It was rare for her to see him get so upset. She couldn’t believe that she’d been engaged to this man. She felt like she barely knew him. “She’s pregnant.” At least he admitted the truth.
“Are you getting married?”
He cursed again, removed his pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Toni shook her head. No way was she standing out here with him if he was going to sit there, cursing, giving her a hard time responding to her questions. “I’m going to finish my grocery shopping.” She turned, stalked away, and he was at her side in seconds, clamping his hand over her wrist.
“Please, don’t go.”
She stared down at her wrist. “Brian, if you don’t let go of me, you’ll be sorry.” She spoke in a low, hardened voice, glaring at him.
He dropped her wrist, took a few steps back. “I’m so sorry. Please, just give me five minutes. I promise I’ll answer all of your questions and then tell you why I needed to speak with you.”
It was tempting to just abandon him and return to the store. But she knew that would be a mistake. She wanted answers to her questions, and if she didn’t talk to him, she was sure she’d wonder about his relationship with Gia for a long time. She was also curious about the large yellow envelope. Granted, Brian was known to lie, and she had to remember that whatever he told her she couldn’t necessarily believe.
She finally returned to the bench, and he sat beside her. She checked her watch. “Are you engaged to Gia?”
“No, I’m not engaged to her.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t even know if the baby is mine. Why would I agree to marry her if I don’t even know if I’m the father of her baby?”
This was enough talk about Brian’s relationship with Gia. Toni needed to make a vow to herself to stop letting thoughts of Brian and Gia invade her mind. She had so many other things going on in her life, and she didn’t need to be wasting mental energy thinking about that. She pointed to the envelope. “What’s in there?”
“How much do you know about your new boyfriend?” he countered.
“Jason is not my boyfriend.” Well, lately, she’d often wished that she and Jason were in a committed relationship, but she also often wondered if things would work out between them. “Why are you asking me this?”
“You’ve always been naive and trusting. I think Jason is taking advantage of you.”
“Taking advantage of me?” That was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard.
“I think I can help you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “How?”
Brian pointed to the envelope. “I’ve been doing a little research about Jason Matthews. You’re upset with me for cheating on you, but it seems like your boyfriend Jason is doing the same thing.”
This conversation was getting crazier. Maybe she should’ve run back into that grocery store and finished her shopping because it appeared spending time with Brian was a waste. Jason didn’t have a girlfriend. He’d been spending every day at the bakery and during his time in Blue Spring, he had not been dating anybody.
Brian pushed the envelope into her hands. “There’s an article in this envelope about Jason’s engagement to a woman named Tangerine. It was printed in the society section six months ago.”
Stunned, she could not speak. There was no way Jason could be engaged. Granted, he could’ve been engaged at one point and then had a change of heart. Jason had been so close-mouthed about his home life in Chicago, and Toni respected his privacy, but she highly doubted that Jason was cheating on a fiancée.
Brian smiled, and she sensed that he could see that he’d shocked her. “Also, Jason’s family is rich…they’re loaded. They own a small chain of bakeries in the Chicago area. That’s how the family made their fortune.”
She hadn’t realized Jason’s family’s wealth came from a bakery chain. She didn’t know much about his family at all, but she couldn’t let Brian know this. She’d figured Jason’s family was wealthy because he’d gone on an extended vacation and he drove an expensive car, wore an expensive watch, and he didn’t seem to have a care in the world about not having a regular full-time job. “I know about Jason’s bakery. He worked there with his mom.”
“Well, there’s an article in this envelope about his mother’s death.”
She frowned. “What about it?” Jason had seemed sad and sensitive about his mother’s death, and she could only imagine how hard it was for him to cope after she passed.
“The article is an interview with his sister, Trina, and his dad. His sister says that Jason was going to find new ways to improve their main location. She said their mom ruled that small bakery chain with an iron fist. She’d allowed no changes in the all the years they’d been in business.”
Toni frowned. “So, what’s wrong with that?” He’d also mentioned some changes she could make in her own bakery, and she’d been grateful for his suggestions.
“I know how you don’t let anybody see your secret recipes. The only person who’s had access to those secret family recipes were you and Catherine.”
“So?” Where was Brian going with these weird accusations about Jason?
“Well, you’ve got Jason in there with you. He runs a bakery in Chicago and wants to make changes. He might try to steal your recipes and profit from them.”
“Oh, Brian.” She resisted the urge to laugh. He was making a big fool of himself. She needed to make sure he understood. “You’re putting in a lot of effort to make Jason look bad, but none of that changes how I feel about you. I’ll never reconcile with you, so I’m not sure why you’re wasting your energy trying to win me back.”
“You don’t understand. Baby, if you don’t ever take me back, I still care about you, worry about you. I just want to be sure that you’re happy. Dating Jason is not the right choice for you. Read those articles and then decide what you want to do.” He paused, stood, lit another cigarette. “You also need to think about all that stuff happening in your bakery. That stuff started since you hired Jason. How do you know he’s not behind the vandalism and phone calls?”
Brian could be dishonest and manipulative, but he was also one of the best corporate analysts she had ever known. And he was right about one thing. She had always been too trusting when it came to men. But she felt safe with Jason. However, he had not told her a lot about himself. She’d had to work a bit, ask questions, just to get him to open up about his life in Chicago.
Toni shook her head. What if he was telling her half-truths or even lies? Was Jason Matthews too good to be true?
Chapter 28
When Toni returned from the store, she still had the dreaded yellow envelope in her hands. After she’d put her groceries away, she poured a glass of iced tea, sat down, and ripped open the envelope. Brian had printed out newspaper articles about Jason. The first article that caught her attention was the announcement of Jason’s engagement to Tangerine, nicknamed Tangie.
Tangie was gorgeous. Her even-toned nut brown skin looked flawless, and her pearly white teeth and high cheekbones made her appear exotic. Jason also smiled in the photo, and since it was only taken six months ago, Toni had to wonder why Jason had never mentioned Tangie.
But, initially, she’d never mentioned her engagement to Brian either. The announcement simply said that Tangie was a businesswoman. Toni turned on her laptop and Googled Tangie’s name and she couldn’t really find anything else about her. She found a Facebook page, and when she accessed that, she did see that Jason remained on Tangie’s friend list.
She then read
through the interview with Jason’s sister. The interview was just like Brian had described. The article was all about Jason’s mom’s contributions to the community and about how she’d started her bakery in her youth. They spoke of her work with the homeless shelters in the area and about her deep faith in Christ. She ministered to the poor and hungry, providing food and spiritual guidance. The article stated that Jason was the only family member who worked in the bakery, while Trina and their dad ran the corporate office. She’d said that Jason had taken long-term trip, trying to come up with ways to make their bakery better. She also mentioned that he was going to look for some new items to try in their bakery when he returned from his trip.
Her phone buzzed. It was Sheila. She answered the phone. “Sheila, are you busy.”
“No, why?”
“I’d wondered if you wanted to come by tonight. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.”
When Sheila had arrived, and Toni had discovered that her friend had not yet had dinner, she fixed them some hamburgers. After she’d prepared their burgers and opened a bag of chips, Sheila prayed over her food before they began eating.
“You know, I’ve hardly seen you since you moved back to the bakery.”
“Things have been hectic lately, especially with Jason gone.”
She explained what she had found in the packet Brian had given her.
Sheila gasped. “I can’t believe Jason would steal your recipes, and I don’t believe he’s engaged. Toni, do you believe that? How can you trust Brian, after all he has done to you? Still, it sounds like there are some things Jason hasn’t told you.”
“Brian didn’t make up those news articles. He also had the nerve to imply that Jason was behind the crank calls and vandalism in my bakery.”
Sheila scoffed. “No way would Jason be responsible for the attacks against you. Why would he hire armed security guards to watch your place while he’s gone?”
Toni nodded. It was a relief to know that Sheila agreed with her. “Since news has spread around Blue Spring about the attacks against my bakery, business has been doing even better than before. I think I’m finally reaching the point where I can afford the down payment for a new house.”
Shades Of Chocolate (The Bakery Romance Series Book 2) Page 14
