Kelly led Jennifer to her office, letting her sit down in the leather chair across from Kelly’s desk. “Is this really happening?” Kelly clung to the coveted red jacket.
Jennifer smiled broadly as she set her handbag on the desk and pulled out papers from her briefcase. “It certainly is.”
“Please make yourself comfortable.” Kelly was glad she’d taken the time and spent the money to create an office she could be proud of. The white bookshelves were filled with her favorite cookbooks and cooking magazines. Pictures of award-winning moments dotted the shelves, chronicling her successes. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? A pastry?”
“No, thank you. This won’t take long. Basically, you’re signing a non-disclosure that says you won’t divulge your involvement with the show prior to the airing date, or without express permission from us.”
Kelly signed that.
“We’ll give you a signing bonus of five thousand dollars. Kind of a good-faith thing. I’ve got that check right here.” She pulled it out of her designer briefcase and slid it across the desk.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll send you this itinerary in an email too.” She flipped the page toward Kelly and started going over it with her. “We ask that you get yourself to the airport to keep the anonymity, but we’ll schedule and fund your flight to New York, where we shoot the series. A driver will meet you at the airport. Meals and accommodations during the process. The location where you’ll be staying will be undisclosed. You agree to keep it that way. You’ll also receive a stipend for as long as you remain in the competition. Once you’re eliminated, we’ll send you back home.”
“Okay. Sounds simple enough.”
“You’ll arrive in New York on the seventh of February. The first day, we’ll get you settled in. A production assistant will be assigned to you. She’ll be your lifeline to the outside world, make sure you make it to everything on time, and get you anything you need. The second day, we’ll be doing photo shoots, and some preliminary interviews and questionnaires to use during production and for promotion for when the show airs. We go to great lengths to keep the contestants apart to ensure this truly is a blind competition. You’ll have to adhere to the itinerary we set.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“No exceptions. If you break the rules, you’ll be eliminated and lose the stipend and owe us that five thousand dollars back.”
“I understand,” Kelly said. There was no way she was breaking any rules. There was too much at stake.
“You could be home as early as the eleventh, or as late as the eighteenth, but honestly we usually wrap the post-show interviews up in just a day or two. So I think you can count on being home by the seventeenth. I’ll need you to sign here agreeing to appear on our network’s talk show and we have the right to use any footage for advertising. It’s pretty standard.”
“I love that show.” She read through the document, although really she was just staring at the words. Her thoughts swirled so fast she couldn’t even string the sentences together to comprehend much of anything.
“It’s a fun show to be a part of.” Jennifer smiled gently. “They’ll take good care of you while you’re there.”
“So about eleven days? That’s going to be hard to explain. This business is my whole life. I never go anywhere.” Suddenly the reality of sneaking away and making sure her friends and loved ones believed she was going somewhere was overwhelming. She’d never even been on a plane before. “How will I convince them?”
Jennifer pulled all the signed papers into a pile. “Well, some people have used the excuse of a sick friend, or going on vacation. This one guy told all his friends he’d been hired as a personal chef on a movie set. Everyone believed him. I’m sure you’ll think of something, but it had better be good. If the cat gets out of the bag, you’ll lose the bonus and stipend, and depending on the level of exposure, you could end up in court.”
She jolted upright at the thought. “I can promise you I won’t do that.”
“I wasn’t worried. I hope you enjoy the process. This could really help your business, not that you need it. You’ve done extremely well, especially to be in such a small town. We were all really impressed.”
“Got to love the Internet,” Kelly said. “I have the best of both worlds.” But as calm as she might appear on the outside, she was doing aerials and back flips on the inside. They like me!
“Have you ever been to New York?”
“I’ve never been out of Bailey’s Fork.”
Jennifer’s laugh filled the room. “You’re in for a treat. Bring your camera. All our production assistants are wonderful, and they know everything about New York. Yours will be with you pretty much night and day. So don’t worry. You’ll be in good hands, and if there’s something you really want to see, let her know. We can try to make that happen. Might even take a camera crew along for some candid interviews of your impressions of the city.”
“That would be fun.” Kelly led Jennifer out of her office. The rest of the team had already finished and gone. “Can I get you a little something to go?”
Jennifer raised her hand. “I’m gluten-free. And a vegan. No worries.”
“Oh, wait a minute.” Kelly took a mini cake out of the case. “Gluten-free, dairy, egg, nut- and soy-free vegan. Seriously, it’s so delicious. Rich and fluffy all at the same time.” She presented the chocolate concoction to Jennifer. The two rich, dark layers enveloped a fluffy layer of rich chocolatey frosting in the center and was topped with a swath of frosting and a raspberry on top. “You have got to try this. I’m quite proud of it. My mother is also a gluten-free toe-the-line vegan. I had to make something that she liked, else she might disown me.”
“You do it all! Thank you. I can’t wait to try it.”
“Great. I’ll box it up for you.” She tucked the mini cake into a small glossy box. “Not to sound cocky, but I have a feeling you’ll be asking me to bring some of these to New York.” Several of Kelly’s customers regularly bought them and didn’t even realize they were vegan or gluten-free.
“I just might,” Jennifer said. “As long as it can’t be seen as a conflict. Can’t schmooze the network people, you know, even if I’m not a judge. How about I just order it myself from your website?”
“Even better. No worries on the bribery. I intend to win this on skill alone.”
“I have no doubt you’re going to give the others a run for it.” Jennifer headed to the door, turning back to wave as she pushed it open.
“Let me know what you think,” Kelly called after her.
Kelly stood there next to Sara, neither of them saying a word until Jennifer got into the Suburban parked across the street. When it pulled out of the lot, they joined hands, and both squealed in a happy dance to beat all.
“Oh. My. Goodness! This is crazy. This is real, right?” Kelly’s hands shook.
“It’s happening! You’re going to be on television! We might have to run an extra shift. I’ll be ready to schedule it,” Sara assured her. “We’d better make a list.”
“Yes. A list. We definitely need a list.” Then all of her responsibilities and reality came crashing in. Her team could bake the cakes for the cafe, and the factory handled all the online orders anyway. But when it came to her personal life, there was a problem. “Oh, no. Someone will have to take care of Gray.”
“I can do that,” Sara said. “He’s no trouble at all.”
“What are you saying? He’s nothing but trouble. It’s a good thing he’s so adorable. And smart. You know Gray is needy as heck in the evenings. You’re going to have to spend time with him, and I’ve never been away. Who knows what trouble he’ll get into?”
“Stop worrying. I’ll just stay at your place.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll be an awesome babysitter. He won’t even know the difference.”
She frowned. “He’d better know.”
“You know what I mean,” Sara said.
It wasn’t like she had a lot of options. Her parents were busy with the cafe, and she couldn’t drop a pig off at the local dog kennel for ten days. Not even a smallish pig.
That whole teacup pig thing had seemed like such a good idea at the time. She’d been so upset after she and Andrew had broken off their engagement that finally after three months of feeling lost and hibernating, her girlfriends had dragged her out for a day of pampering to get her out of her funk.
Over too many mimosas at the Pamper Me Perfectly Day Spa, Kelly’s friend Patty had said, “I’m glad you didn’t marry Andrew. We might not be here having a girl’s day. You don’t need him anyway. Good riddance.”
Those words had stung. She knew she had to get over it, but hearing it made it so real. Trying to play it off, she’d lightheartedly shared, “That’s exactly what my mom said.” She threw a hand in the air dramatically, imitating her mother’s more southern drawl. “He doesn’t know what he just gave up. That boy can be easily replaced.”
“Get a puppy,” Sara had suggested.
“I’m allergic.” Kelly couldn’t imagine a house full of dog hair anyway. Not when she did so much baking at home too.
Lulu raised her glass in the air. “My momma always had me gather all the pictures of the heartbreaking rat, and we did a burn-off.” She clicked her long fingers above her head. “Just made him disappear.”
“I can’t do that. I’d have to burn half of what I own.”
“Voodoo doll? My second cousin knows how to do that stuff. Once gave my cheating ex a leg ache he could never explain.” She nodded. “I bet he didn’t take anyone dancing so soon after that.”
Patty shook her head. “I like where we were going with the pet thing. Get a stand-in. A hairless one.”
“A fish?” Kelly mocked the idea.
“Not the same,” Patty said. “I’ve got it. Men are pigs anyway. Just get one of those cute little micro pigs.”
“Those are so cute!” all of her friends had enthused. And Sara had one up on her phone in less than ten seconds. “Look! So cute.”
“Not all men are pigs,” their newlywed friend, Vicki, had defended.
“Says the newlywed,” Kelly teased. “How is Mr. Perfect anyway?”
“Perfect. Not a pig, but those pigs are adorable, like a little Yorkie, only they don’t shed and bark. They have a teacup pig farm over in Boot Creek. It’s not that far. I’ll drive!” And before she knew it, Vicki had called and made an appointment, and all of them had piled back in her Range Rover and headed to the Teensy Weensy Pig Farm an hour away.
That night Kelly had arrived home with a good dose of girlfriend advice, a perfect mani/pedi in “It’s Raining Men” even if it was a little brighter color than she’d normally wear, and had replaced Andrew with a pink-and-black spotted teacup piglet named Gray. “G.R.A.Y.” An acronym for Good Riddance Andrew York, aptly named by Patty who, with five small children, had an acronym for everything, as she talked in code around them.
Gray weighed less than a can of soda and literally fit into a teacup the day she brought him home. That was seven years ago though, and now Gray was nearly a foot tall and schlepping around a whopping thirty-eight pounds. She loved that silly pig. He’d been there for her through the good and the bad times without fail.
Leaving Gray behind for the competition wasn’t going to be easy. On the other hand, getting out of town while Andrew York was around was a bonus.
“Sara, you can’t do everything while I’m gone.”
“Why not?” Sara pulled her hand up on her hip. “You covered me for two weeks when I went to Alaska with Dalton.”
“That’s completely different.”
“No, it’s not. You can’t tell anyone where you’re going, and the more people you have covering things, the more lies you have to cover. No offense, but you’re the worst liar I know.”
That was true. “I’ll make this up to you. I promise.”
“Just win!” Sara untied her apron and hung it on the peg outside of the office. “Besides, this is the best advertising you could get for The Cake Factory. And they’re paying you to do it. It’s a win-win for everyone. The whole town will benefit.”
Making Bailey’s Fork an attractive town to live and work in was important to her. She was proudest of the jobs she’d brought to the community. “I hope I’m not in over my head. You know most of those contestants have fancy culinary degrees and have worked for swanky resorts like the Four Seasons. I’m just a hometown girl who likes to bake.” She let out a breath. “It’s not about the money. I want to prove myself. It would be validation. I’m tired of apologizing for having learned to bake at my grandma’s and daddy’s hip.”
“And you shouldn’t. You should be proud of that, and trust me, there’s not one single customer who gives two toots about some cooking degree. You’re an amazing baker with original recipes and more God-given talent than those fancy pastry chefs have ever learned. Don’t you freak out on me.” Sara placed her hands on Kelly’s shoulders. “Repeat after me. ‘I’ve got this.’”
“I’ve got this.” Kelly straightened her shoulders. “I’ve been hoping for this chance my whole adult life. I’ve totally got this.”
“That’s my pal.” Sara held the clipboard in the air. Right now it read,
Take care of Gray
Stay at Kelly’s
Cover Kelly’s shifts starting the 7th
“Can you approve payroll for me while I’m gone too?”
“No problem.” Sara added it to the list. “I’m putting this in your top drawer. Just add to the list when you think of anything, and I’ll divvy up the to-dos and get them done. No worries. Please promise me you’ll just concentrate on this amazing opportunity. It’s going to be the best Valentine’s Day ever. I know it.”
“At least I don’t have to worry about people talking about me not having a date at the Valentine’s Day steak dinner again this year. How am I going to come up with an excuse that will fool my parents?” Kelly had a feeling that might be harder than the competition. “I’m going to have to find a quiet spot to brainstorm on this one.”
The chimes clanked against the front door, followed by a friendly, “Yoo-hoo!”
Kelly followed the voice out to the counter. “Dawn?” It was just one surprise after another today. There was no doubt in her mind that Dawn had been playing matchmaker with that huge order for Andrew’s surprise party. She wondered what she was up to now. “Hey there. What brings you back twice in one week?”
“I just wanted to stop in and personally thank you for those amazing desserts. They made the party.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed them.”
“I really hope we can spend more time together again. It’s just been too long. I let life get busy, and I regret us not maintaining our friendship. I hope you’ll forgive me,” Dawn said.
“Forgive you? I let myself get busy too,” Kelly said. “It works both ways.”
“She works too much,” Sara butted in. “I’m always telling her that.”
“You still have your horse, don’t you?” Dawn folded her arms across her chest.
“Absolutely. Don’t ride her near as much as I should, though.”
“I’m going horseback riding this afternoon. You should come,” Dawn said with enthusiasm. “Nothing long, just a quiet ride through the old creek trail. It’s as good as yoga, but a lot less sweating. Better scenery too.”
Sara nudged Kelly. “Kelly was just saying she needs some quiet thinking time.”
It would be nice to ride with someone, and she did need to come up with some kind of story about being gone. “I haven’t been down the creek trail in a while.”
“You’ve got to come. Just an hour or two. It’ll be fun,” Dawn said.
Kelly looked to Sara, who was practically pushing her out the door. “That sounds good.” It would give her a chance to reconnect with Dawn. She needed to spend more time with friends.
“Let’s meet where the creek splits off. We’ll take it around to the old barn and then we’ll go from there. We can make the short loop. In about an hour?” Dawn glanced at her watch. “Actually, make it an hour and a half. That’ll give me time to get my stuff together.”
“Yeah. That should be plenty of time. See you there.”
Dawn left just as Kelly’s mom came in the side door. “Was that Dawn I just saw leaving?”
“It was. We’re going horseback riding.”
“I’m so glad. You two used to be so close. It’s good to see you finally taking time for yourself.”
“I’m going to try to start doing a lot more of that,” she said, hoping the change in scenery would grease her fictional rails to come up with an excuse for going out of town that her folks would believe.