Chapter 6

Amelia’s POV

One month later, the pastry business is up and running. I gave it a homely feel, thanks to P*******t for the ideas and I took Emma’s advice to put the business on I*******m. Running the business alone has not been easy, and I plan to employ an extra hand once I pay dad back, which is soon.

The wine company opposite me is planning their opening party, and I was contracted to handle their dessert by their HR person, Charlie. Charlie is a regular at the store, so she must have convinced them to use my cakes as their dessert. I was invited to the winery to see their budget and make arrangements on where the dessert would be placed. This contract would help boost my social media and on site business, because the winery is a famous one with a large number of followers. Their budget was huge for a 300 person party, but it would help me pay my dad back and have some change to put back in the business, so I took it and tried to hide the joy on my face. I brought some sample cakes with me, so that after the budget meeting I would pass them round to everyone present, and give some extra to Charlie for getting me the deal on my way out. They all complimented the sample cake I gave them. After the meeting, I signal Charlie to meet me outside on my way out.

“Hey, thank you so much for this.”

“No need to thank me, your chocolate cakes are magical and it would not be fair if the world doesn’t have at least one bite in their lifetime.” 

“I won’t disappoint you, and here’s some extra sample cake to say thank you.”

She takes the bag from me with a smile on her face, and waves goodbye when a man in a sleek black suit walks in.

“Charlie.” he calls her back as she tries to leave.

“Hello Stan.” she greets, standing right where she was.

I wouldn’t want to intrude or listen to their conversation, so I leave and head across to my shop.

Stan’s POV

The night at the hotel was quite long, and with no company to spend the night with, I played some mobile games after eating. The hotel food wasn’t so bad, but with the way every person from New York I’ve ever met talks about their food, I really needed to eat something other than hotel food. With no one to show me around tonight, I go back to bed. I wake up to the sound of  multiple car horns, it’s 6am on my wristwatch. 

“Why is anyone awake and on the road by this time of day?” I thought aloud.

I head to the bathroom to freshen up. I come out an hour later and call my new driver to come pick me up. He arrives 30 minutes later, and I head out to meet him.

“Did you sleep well sir?” the driver asks when I got to the car.

“Yes, thank you. I need a good breakfast place, then we’ll head to the office to check it out.”

“I know a good place not very far from here.”

“Is it always busy every morning?” I asked the driver.

“No, most people do take out. Since you’re eating there, they’ll attend to you on time.”

“Not the restaurant, I mean the city.” 

“Oh! Always.”

We drive in silence for the next 20 minutes and he pulls into a classy looking cafe with a medium sized signage that reads, ‘Brown Cafe’. I pull out my phone and turn on my location to know the address of the cafe for future purposes. I go inside and the smell of coffee greets me, and some freshly baked bread is staring at me. The whole cafe is filled with brown everything, brown tables and chairs, staff in brown uniforms, brown floor and brown wallpaper with some touches of cream. I find a seat, and a waiter comes to my table with a menu.

“I’ll have item 6. Thank you.” I tell him, and keep looking around in awe of this cafe. 

The owner definitely went all out to make sure the cafe was true to its name. Few minutes later, the water comes back with a tray of two freshly baked bread, two sausages, scrambled eggs and a large cup of coffee. As soon as he leaves, I dig into the food. A part of me fell in love with New York, the food tasted great. I signaled the waiter when I was done, and he brought the bill. I paid and gave him a tip for his smooth service.

“Hope you like it here sir?” my driver asked as I walked out of the cafe.

“Yes. great place, good food.”

Feeling energized and ready to see the new winery, I got into the car and we headed to the winery. We were there in 10 minutes. I calculated the distance from the hotel, to Brown, and the winery, it was a 30 minutes drive.

“Once we’re done here, I need you to take me to a good realtor. I need an apartment around Brown cafe, since it’s a 10 minutes drive from there.”

“I’ll make some calls before you come out sir.”

This is my first time here, so I looked around the building. It is beautiful and has a modern feel, an upgrade from the Hughs Wine i grew up in. 

Some of the people my dad sent were already here. I head into the building and a lady is waiting for me.

“Hello, I’m Charlie. The HR here, nice to finally meet you.”

“I’m Stan Hughs. We haven’t met before?”

“No sir. Welcome to your office.” I could tell she was trying hard to be put together.

“We are trying to recruit some hands here in New York.”

“How’s that going so far?”

“Very well. Your dad is suggesting we have the opening party in two weeks.”

“Yes, the accountant should be here by then. Thank you for holding everything together.”

I head into the door with my name on it and dismiss Charlie, just how I want it. All that is left is me in the office, working. I stay in the office for a few more hours, interact with other staff that were in the winery and head out. By the time I was leaving the winery, I had decided to get the apartment after the opening party. The driver drops me off at the hotel and heads home. “Another night of not exploring the city?” I asked myself.

There are some taxis outside the hotel, so I ask one to take me to a cool bar. The bar was lit, no one knew me and I enjoyed being at a bar for the first time.

Two weeks later, Gerald is here. I pick him up from the airport, drop him at the hotel and head to the winery. On getting there, Charlie is talking to a lady which is against the policy except she was here on tour, which I doubt. She sees me, waves her friend goodbye and attempts to leave.

“Charlie.” I called.

“Hello Stan.”

Her friend walks away, not wanting to see her friend being punished.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“That was Amelia. She’s in charge of the dessert for our opening party, and she brought some sample cake.”

“Let me see.” She shows me a piece of chocolate cake wrapped in a see through foil.

“You can have this one, let me know what you think boss.” Charlie says and heads back to her desk.

I take the cake into my office and bring out a bottle of wine from my shelf, I pour myself a glass and sit down. The cake was good, reminded me of breakfast at Brown, and with the wine, it tasted unreal. Nothing could beat the taste of this cake and Hughs wine. I’ll just have to wait till the opening party to eat this cake again.