by Holly Rayner
“I…don’t know, Lys. Business is, well, bad.” She waved around, indicating the empty room. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. If something good doesn’t happen soon, I may have to close.”
Lyssa looked sad and Jacqui shrugged.
“To be honest, I don’t know how much longer I can afford to pay you,” she said.
“Then don’t pay me. I get enough practice here; it’s worth it just to give me the edge in school.”
Jacqui smiled, but shook her head.
“Don’t ever work for free, Lys. You’re too talented and too valuable to do that. People who ask you to work for nothing aren’t worth working for.”
Lyssa thought about that.
“Well, it’s not for nothing, because you let me use the kitchen here for my projects.” She laid her hands on the counter and pushed herself upright. “Tell you what—normally, I bring in my own supplies when I bake here. Instead of a paycheck, why don’t you pay me by letting me use the bakery’s supplies? Anything I don’t have to take into class, you can sell, if it meets your approval.”
Jacqui knew that was still a better deal for her than it was for the younger woman, and she pulled Lyssa into a close hug.
“Done. And if we sell your creations, you get a cut.” Lyssa started to protest, but Jacqui shook her head. “That’s my final offer.”
Lyssa hugged Jacqui back. “Fine. We’ll do it your way, boss lady.”
“Okay, now go to class and wow them with your mad skills.”
Lyssa stepped back and tossed her a jaunty salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
Jacqui rolled her eyes and tossed one of the white cotton towels she kept behind the counter at her employee. Lyssa caught it, laughing, and headed into the back of the shop. She returned a less than a minute later, without her apron and with a backpack and light jacket. She waved as she walked out the front door of the store.
Jacqui waved back and then settled against the counter again. Now, it really was too quiet.
She decided to take care of a few chores, but even placing the next week’s order for supplies and wiping down the cases only took a short time. It wasn’t long before Jacqui found herself drumming her fingers on the counter again.
She turned to go back into the kitchen and then heard the bell above the shop door ring out. Jacqui turned back around, a smile on her face, to greet the new customer.
Holy cow, she thought, the guy’s gorgeous. Like seriously, magnificently gorgeous.
Perfect jet-black hair cut short, but not too short. Just a hint of beard stubble, sexy but still well-groomed. Shoulders that hinted at strength under a tailored jacket that Jacqui was pretty sure cost more than the store’s rent.
Jacqui had to look up at him as he walked up to the counter. She managed to say, “Welcome to Bauer’s Bakery. What can I get for you today?”
The grin he gave her in response made her knees weak.
“I’m hoping you can help me with a small project.”
Now, Jacqui was on guard, even as she was still feeling a little flush from the heat of his grin.
“What kind of project?” she asked warily.
To his credit, he toned down the wattage on his smile and gave her a sincere look.
“I’m new in town, here for a little while. I own a jewelry company, and I have this little tradition. Because I’ve been so blessed with earthly riches, I like to find a way to share some of that with any new city I visit.” He shrugged. “It’s just something I do to make the city feel a little more like home while I’m there.”
Jacqui tilted her head and studied him. “That’s an interesting way to do things. Are you looking to share those riches with me?”
He laughed, and the sound was heavenly.
“In a way. I saw a few homeless people on the streets on my drive in from the airport. I thought I might buy some food to hand out. I didn’t want anything elaborate, since I know that’s hard to do on short notice, and something that they won’t necessarily have to eat right away.” He gestured at the pastry-filled cases. “I saw your bakery and thought you might be able to help.”
“Sure,” Jacqui said. “I’d be happy to sell you stuff to give away. How much would you like to buy?”
“All of it.”
Jacqui was convinced she’d heard wrong, but the man just watched her evenly.
“All of it?”
“Yes.” He nodded firmly.
“Um…” she looked around, thinking. “Okay. Even the cakes?”
The man looked at the cakes and pies, and then back at her. “Even the cakes. Surely the homeless deserve a treat, too.”
Jacqui blushed and shook her head.
“No, it’s just… How do you want to hand those out? We generally sell them whole, but I can do slices, too, if that’s what you want.”
“Ah.”
It was the only answer Jacqui got and she could see him thinking rapidly.
She finally asked, “Where do you plan to hand things out?”
He gave her a small, somehow more genuine smile, and said, “I don’t know, really. I was going to drive back through my earlier route, and then maybe look for a soup kitchen or something similar. Perhaps, um, you might offer some suggestions?”
Jacqui smiled at him gently and nodded.
“I know a few organizations, including a local shelter, that would be delighted to have a few cakes or pies on hand for meals today.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
Jacqui stood up straighter and looked around.
“Well, then. Let me get to work.”
She started to gather boxes and bags, and then opened the case to pull out trays of baked goods. Jacqui noticed that her customer was pacing a little in the small front area.
“Would you like some coffee or something?” she asked. “On me. It’s the least I can do for my best customer of the day.”
“No, thank you.” He stood there and watched her, then hesitantly asked, “Would you like some help?”
Jacqui thought for a moment. She wasn’t comfortable with him being behind the counter—insurance policies didn’t look kindly on customers being back there—but he could box things up as she laid them out.
“Sure. Let me grab some bigger boxes, and you can use the tables to portion the smaller bags out into groups of items.”
He nodded and between the two of them, it didn’t take long to package everything up. Jacqui put each of the whole cakes and pies into a separate box, and had the handsome man put them into three different carriers, so they could easily go to the different organizations.
As Jacqui finished bringing out the last of the cookies from behind the counter, he pulled out a checkbook and began writing. He tore the check out and handed it to Jacqui as she closed the last box.
Jacqui's eyes widened as she read the check. “I need to ring everything up to be sure, but even with taxes, I think you’ve overpaid.”
He shook his head and held up a hand.
“I have a head for numbers. I calculated based on your menu prices,” he said and looked up. “Plus, I added taxes and a sufficient fee to cover your time and effort in packing everything up.”
“It is indeed sufficient. It’s really more than. Thank you.”
Jacqui wasn’t going to look this gift horse in the mouth. The amount was enough to keep the bakery up and running for a few more weeks, and obviously, this guy could afford it.
She walked back behind the counter to put the check in the register.
“Here, let me write down the addresses of the places you can go to deliver all this stuff.”
He nodded, and then shrugged a little sheepishly. “Thank you. And, uh, maybe you could give me a hand carrying everything out to the car?”
Jacqui couldn’t help but laugh merrily. “Of course!” Then, she had an idea. “Actually, if you’d like, I’d be happy to go with you and just show you the places. I know the staff at each of them, and can call in advance to let them know we’re coming.”
He sighed in what sounded like relief. “That would be wonderful. I’d be delighted to have you along. That is, if you don’t have any work to do?”
Jacqui laughed again. “As it so happens, someone bought out all my stock, so I think I can close for the day. Let’s carry everything out, and then give me five minutes to lock up.”
They loaded the car—an extremely luxurious SUV, Jacqui noted. When they were done, she ran back into the shop, put the register drawer in the safe, turned off the lights, and flipped the sign on the door to closed. Everything was already clean, so the rest of her normal procedure could wait until later.
When Jacqui got back to the car, he was holding the passenger door open for her. She started to get in and then hesitated.
“I just realized I don’t know your name. I mean, I know the name on your check, but is that what your friends call you?”
He laughed. “Part of it, yes. I do have a rather lengthy name. My friends and family just call me Khizar, though.”
Jacqui shook his hand. “I’m Jacqui. Nice to meet you, Khizar.”
Once in the car, she directed him to a shelter that served meals throughout the afternoon and called the kitchen director, who was a friend of hers. On the drive, she pointed out a few Milwaukee landmarks and key buildings.
Once at the shelter, they were met at the kitchen entrance by a jovial woman with tanned skin and a wide smile.
“Jacqui! What have you brought me today?”
“Dessert!” She gestured to the man beside her. “Denise, this is Khizar. He bought a few things from the bakery today so that he could donate food to people that needed it.”
Denise shook Khizar’s hand. “That’s kind of you, Khizar. Why don’t you two bring what you’ve got inside?”
She held the door as Khizar and Jacqui carried several boxes and a few bags in. Jacqui pointed Khizar toward a long counter along the wall, where they set everything down, and then she gave Denise a quick rundown of the contents of the bags and boxes.
They left the shelter a few minutes later, and Khizar drove back along the route he’d taken in from the airport. They stopped at a few places, handing out bags of muffins and other breads, as well as cookies. Jacqui recognized a few faces from the local shelters, and she moved comfortably among the groups they encountered.
After a visit to another shelter to drop off more cakes and pies, Jacqui directed Khizar to a different location. He parked the car in front of a small building next to a large church, and Jacqui told him about the organization as they walked inside.
“Albert runs this program as a place for kids to go after school, while their parents are at work. At lot of the kids here have parents that work two jobs or an early evening shift. Albert keeps the place open later than other after-school programs so those kids have someplace safe to go rather than be at home by themselves or running amuck around town.”
They dropped off cookies and muffins for the kids, and Jacqui took a minute to greet the children, bending down to chat with a group at a table working on spelling quizzes.
Albert stood next to Khizar, both men watching the baker. “She’s something special, let me tell you.”
Khizar nodded. “I can see that.”
Jacqui, overhearing them, tried not to blush. She gave one little girl a one-armed hug and waved bye to the kids.
On the way to their next stop, Jacqui directed Khizar down a street next to a park. She pointed out a few monuments to the city’s history, and told him a story about the historic church across from the park.
At some point in their city-wide adventure, Jacqui realized that she was having fun. More fun, really, than she’d had in a while. Khizar was good company—talkative, amusing, attentive. He obviously had a good heart, which Jacqui appreciated.
He asked questions about the city as they drove from place to place, and Jacqui found herself being both tour guide and historian as she told him about her town. Milwaukee had a long and storied history, and Jacqui enjoyed sharing it with someone who was so interested.
When all the food was handed out, Jacqui gave Khizar directions back to the bakery. When he stopped the car in front of her shop, he insisted on her waiting to get out so that he could open her car door.
Standing on the sidewalk in front of the door, Khizar took her hand.
“Thank you, Jacqui, for helping me today. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Jacqui blushed, a little flustered by the attention, but didn’t pull her hand away. “I’m happy I could help. I had fun today, really!”
Khizar took a deep breath, like he was trying to decide if he should ask her something, so Jacqui waited. She was surprised at his question.
“Jacqui, I know this is a bit presumptuous, but would you have dinner with me this evening?”
Jacqui studied him. Sure, they’d spent most of the afternoon together, but she wasn’t sure why he would ask her to dinner. Her uncertainly must have shown on her expression, because Khizar worked to convince her.
“I already have a reservation for dinner and it’s not a problem to change it to two people. As you are officially the only person I know in Milwaukee, you’d be doing me a favor by keeping me company this evening.”
Jacqui cocked her head to one side. “I thought you were here on business?”
He conceded her point with a nod.
“I am. Although I have meetings set up and have talked to my contacts over the phone, I haven’t actually met any of those people yet. You, I know.” Khizar gave her a charming smile. “You, I like, too. I’m sure I’ll enjoy talking business with those people, but you, I think I just like talking with in general.”
She thought about it and couldn’t think of a reason not to say yes. It was just dinner, and it would be nice to have a meal with a handsome man.
“Okay, yes. Dinner would be nice,” she said.
He nodded once, pleased.
“Excellent. I can pick you up here in, say, two hours?”
“That works for me. I’ll see you here at six, then.”
Khizar let go of her hand and left her to unlock the shop. He waved as he drove away, and for a long moment, all Jacqui could do was stare after the car.
Not the way she’d expected her day to go, that was for sure. Most of her days followed the same agenda: get up too early, work hard, worry about whether or not she was going to be able to pay the rent, fall in bed exhausted and stressed and not able to sleep.
Nowhere in her normal schedule was there time for a simple thing like a date.
Usually, that was fine. Friends had tried to set her up on blind dates here and there, but Jacqui usually waved them off. She’d have time to date when either the shop was successful, or when it wasn’t.
But there was something about Khizar. The handsome, wealthy businessman thing definitely worked for him, but Jacqui was more intrigued by the idea that he wanted to help people. How he’d chosen her bakery, she didn’t know, but regardless, she’d had fun that afternoon.
Jacqui rushed into the bakery, finished her tasks for the day, ran to the bank with the day’s deposit, and then home to quickly change for dinner. She made it back to the bakery in record time, and was waiting for Khizar when he arrived.
Once again, he insisted on opening her car door, and made sure she was buckled up before he pulled out into traffic again. They chatted as he drove through the city, and when he pulled up in front of the restaurant, she peered out her window.
A valet opened his car door, while another valet opened hers. She slid out of the car to see that they were at by far the best restaurant in the city. Khizar held out his arm and she took it, a little intimidated by the opulence of it all.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’m counting on you to walk me through Milwaukee food, Jacqui.”
Something about his tone made her relax, and Jacqui found herself enjoying the experience of being catered to by the restaurant staff as they walked in. Apparently, Khizar was somebody im
portant, and she decided to just go with it and have fun.
The two were seated immediately at the best table in the house, and a cadre of servers descended on them with water, menus, and bread.
Jacqui looked up as a server asked if she would like a cocktail. She wasn’t quite sure what to answer, but Khizar spoke up quickly.
“I was planning on ordering wine with dinner, but we can start with that if you’d rather.”
“Yes, please, that sounds perfect.”
Khizar expertly ordered a bottle of wine, and the server scurried off to fetch it. Another server explained the specials to them, and then left them to make their decisions.
“So, what is the Milwaukee specialty?” Khizar asked.
Jacqui looked up from studying the menu.
“Fish fry, cheese curds, brats, and beer. Oh, and frozen custard.”
Khizar looked down at his menu and Jacqui laughed.
“This place is far fancier than what most people think of as traditional Milwaukee food,” she said.
“Then you’ll have to take me to a more traditional place for our next meal together,” Khizar said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever had cheese curds or frozen custard.”
Jacqui tried to think of something witty to say, but his offhand comment about their next meal had her brain spinning. Was he saying that he wanted to see her again, already?
Finally, she came up with, “Well, then, we’ll definitely have to fix that. I’m pretty sure they won’t let you leave the state if you haven’t had at least one of those things.”
“What looks good to you?” he asked.
Jacqui took another look at the menu. It all looked amazing, and she wasn’t likely to have a chance to eat at a place like this again, so she wanted to try something she hadn’t had before.
“The quail, and I think the parsnip soup. Or the pickled blueberry salad. What are you having?”
“The duck, or possibly the veal special our waiter mentioned.”
Jacqui nodded, mostly to herself, and waited for the that little awkward silence that always seemed to fall over the table in the first few minutes of a date. Not that this was a date, necessarily. But if it were, now would be when she’d run out of things to say and he’d look at her expectantly and she would get flustered.
