Whatever He Wants (27 page)

 
     
Unable
to handle the shame of what he’d done, James slid out of bed and hastily
gathered his clothing. Without a backward glance he left the room not having
the nerve to look her in the face. She was probably well within her right to
curse or scream at him but she didn’t. After a quick shower in the bathroom
down the hall, he dressed and went back to his house.

 
     
James,
lacking the concentration to make it through the next business day had taken
off early and headed to the penthouse with flowers and a diamond bracelet in
hand. The second he stepped through the door, he immediately knew something was
different. The warm scent that used to cling to the penthouse of something
freshly baked was gone. Noelle was nowhere in sight, and upon further
inspection he realized she wasn’t there at all. It gave him no relief to see
her clothing and all the jewelry and gifts he’d given her were still in her
room, because the place seemed hauntingly empty without her there.

 
     
Instinct
drew him back downstairs to the kitchen. Sure enough when he stepped inside the
room Noelle seemed to favor, there lay a note on the island. With shaking
hands, he picked it up and read the hastily scribbled words.

 
     
By the time you read this message, I’ll be
gone. I’m sorry I can’t be who you want me to be. I can no longer pretend I’m
someone I’m not. Good luck in all your endeavors. I hope you get everything you
want. Best wishes. Noelle.

 
     
The
note said so little yet so much at the same time. He wasn’t sure what her
cryptic message meant but he was certain of one thing; Noelle was gone and
wasn’t coming back. And an ache he thought he’d never feel again barreled its
way into his heart. But this time is was much worse.

 
     
“Shit!” he yelled out in frustration.

 
     
“You did it babe! Do you have any idea how
much business we’re going to get from this event?”

 
     
Noelle chuckled, feeling nothing but
relief now that the event was almost over. Though she was a guest at the
wedding reception, her gaze kept straying to the cakes she’d baked and
designed.  “Please tell me you weren’t soliciting business for our bakery
at your sister’s wedding. Alyssa will ring your neck if she finds out.”

 
     
Paul waved his hand dismissively. “She’s
too busy playing princess for a day. Besides, I didn’t have to say a word about
the bakery. Once people walked into the banquet room and saw your work they
were amazed. And when they tasted them, they were sold. People were asking
Alyssa and Craig who the baker was. I already have a few clients lined up who’d
like to do a consultation with you.”

 
     
“The bakery isn’t even open yet. It was
tricky enough making the cakes in your kitchen, but if I have to fill more
orders, those renovations to our bakery will need to be finished soon. I need a
larger kitchen to bake in.”

 
     
Paul slung his arm around Noelle and
handed her a glass of champagne. “Relax, I’m handling this. The contractors
assured me the renovations should be done by the end of next week. After that
the decorators will come in and do their part. We’re still on track to have the
shop open for business at the end of the month.”

 
     
“You’re amazing, Paul.”

 
     
He leaned over and kissed her on top of
her forehead. “No, you are. Without your creations, none of this would be
possible.”

 
     
It was hard to fathom six months had gone
by since she’d moved out of James’s penthouse. The first week, she’d lain in
bed, crying most of the time, refusing to eat and cursing herself for believing
someone like James was capable of loving anyone but himself. She’d been fooled
by his smooth charm and those few tender moments they’d shared.

 
     
A couple weeks after she left the
penthouse, Paul paid her a visit. She was surprised to learn he’d handed in his
resignation. Horrified at the thought of Paul giving up a lucrative position
over her she insisted he rescind it but he wouldn’t budge. Paul had another idea,
however. He’d saved a good chunk of money over the years and was looking to
invest in a business so he could be his own boss. Noelle thought that was a
great idea. Someone as smart and ambitious and Paul would do well going into
business for himself. It was only when he’d told her what type of business he
had in mind did she balk.

 
     
Paul was looking to open a bakery. He
planned on handling the operation, advertising and finance side of it, while a
partner would be in charge of the actual baking and direct supervision of
employees.  Baking for friends was one thing, but making a living from it
was crazy. She had no experience running a business, and she wasn’t used to
making her confections for a large group of people. Paul assured Noelle she was
indeed good enough to sell her baked goods to the public. He also pointed out
her artistic experience would be useful for the specialty designs and
sculptured cakes that had become a recent fad.

 
     
Simone also seemed to think it was a good
idea.  It was only when Simone gently reminded Noelle of her mother’s
dream that she began to give it serious thought. She was quite good at putting
random ingredients together to make scrumptious desserts, and she did love
doing it, but she felt she needed more training in making those fantastical
cake sculptures people went crazy over.

 
     
 
When Noelle expressed her concern to Paul, he
found classes she could take to make designer cakes. It seemed he had it all
planned out, right to down to a location for the proposed bakery.

 
     
When Paul wore her down with the help of
Simone, Noelle agreed to his scheme, though she insisted she contribute to the
startup costs. Since she had no plans to return to school, she decided to use
her excess money to invest in her share of the business. After signing a
contract and a handshake, they became business partners.

 
     
The site for their bakery was only a block
away from Simone’s new boutique. They decided to specialize in cupcakes,
designer cakes and muffins to start out, and expand as their business grew.
Paul immediately started to drum up business before the store opened by sending
out samples of Noelle’s baked goods.

 
     
Noelle took several cake decorating
classes, from how to make a proper icing flower to how to sculpt cakes to look
like anything. Most nights she practiced and tested out recipes while mapping
out what would get baked on a daily basis versus what would be on special order
only. Starting up a business was harder than she thought, but it kept her busy
and thoughts of James at bay.

 
     
Now with the store set to open in another
month, Alyssa’s wedding was the test. This was her first wedding cake…well,
cakes. Alyssa had wanted three cakes, the main one,
a
cake for the bride and another for the groom that reflected their
personalities. What she had come up with was a large cake that resembled the
ball room the wedding reception was being held at, complete with a spiraling
staircase with a bride and groom perched on top. It included tiny details from
the painting that adored the walls to the crystal chandelier hanging over the
ceiling. That of course had been no easy feat, but she’d pulled it off after
literally working on it for two days straight.  For Alyssa’s cake, she
created a cake that looked exactly like a pink and white Louis Vuitton purse.
And for Craig, she’d designed a small football field with players included.

 
     
Much to her pleasure, the guests “oohed
and
aahed
” over her all of the cakes as if they’d
never seen anything like it before. It made her happy to see all the hard work
she put in was appreciated.

 
     
“I’m just glad this event is over. I
barely slept for the last three days trying to get the logistics of these cakes
just right.”

 
     
“And that’s exactly why you’ll need to
hire a few assistants.  There’s no way you can do this part on your own. I
saw how much work you put in to it.  And lucky for you the shop will be
open next month because I just secured us a party that will put your cakes on
the map.”

 
     
“Wasn’t that the purpose of this wedding?
There are over two hundred people here.”

 
     
“Yes, small potato stuff. But apparently
Craig’s distant cousin is some big time philanthropist who has an interest in
the arts.”

 
     
“And what exactly does that have to do
with our business?”

 
     
“She also owns one of the largest art
galleries in the city. Apparently it was recently expanded. There’s going to be
a huge grand re-opening with a lot of big names in the art world in attendance.
Mrs. Fontaine, that’s her name by the way, wants you to create a cake sculpture
replicating a famous piece, maybe the statue of David or the Venus de Milo. She
also talked about cakes with paintings on them.”

 
     
“Are you kidding me? Working out the
logistics of something like that could take longer than the actual making.”

 
     
“You know I’ll help out any way you can.”

 
     
“The last time you tried to help me, you
nearly burned the kitchen down. No thanks. When is the big event?”

 
     
“End of next month?”

 
     
“Sheesh.
That’s
when the bakery is opening. It’s not going to give me much time to do what I
need.”

 
     
“The kitchen will be ready if you need to
use it. And I can place some help wanted ads in the newspaper to get you the
assistance you require. “

 
     
“I don’t know much about running a
business, Paul, but it seems like everything is happening so fast. You’re
getting me more orders than I think I can handle, not to mention the day-
to-day baking I’ll need to do for regular menu items.”

 
     
Paul squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry.
You can do this.”

 
     
“I wish I had as much faith in me as you
do.” Though she complained, secretly it pleased her to know how busy she’d be.
This ensured she’d have no time to think about James and soon she’d be over
him. If only soon would hurry up and get here.

 
     
“James, thank God you’re here!” Eleanor
didn’t look her usual put-together self. Her hair was slightly messy and her
clothes were a bit askew as if she’d gotten dressed in a hurry. Her face bore
no artifice, making her look years younger than the thirty-two he knew her to
be.

 
     
He cupped the side of her face to comfort
her.
“Any news?”

 
     
“No, the doctors are still working on him.
They’ve been in there for almost an hour. I’ve been pacing the floor driving
myself crazy. I’ve probably worn my heels down an inch. I’m glad you’re here. I
know how busy you are.”

 
     
“Eleanor, you’re my fiancée, where else
would I be?” He kissed her forehead. “Have you eaten anything?”

 
     
“Who has the stomach to eat at a time like
this?”

 
     
“You have to take care of yourself
otherwise you’ll be of no use to your father. When was the last time you ate?”

 
     
“Mother and I had lunch at Pierre’s around
two.”

 
     
“So tell me what happened.”

 
     
Eleanor sniffed. “Mother, Daddy and I were
at the club for dinner .We
were
in the middle of
giving our drink orders when Daddy complained of chest pains. One of the
waiters who happened to be a second-year med student managed to give Dad CPR
and got his heart pumping again. I was paralyzed with fear. Mother was crying
hysterically and all I could do was stand there and watch. I felt so useless.”

 
     
“Try not to beat yourself up over this.
It’s difficult to know how you’ll handle a situation unless you’re in it. Let
me get you a cup of coffee and a little something to nibble on from the
cafeteria.”