are waived for your continued work with Anthony. I expect you to work remotely with him to establish a plan for existing and future holdings, just as you have done all these years. If it makes you feel better, we can agree that you must remain working with the company for one more year in exchange for the waiver of fees to remain valid in perpetuity.”
He glared at her while she hid a smile. “I don’t need the gift or the incentive. You know I’ll work for you as long as you’ll have me.”
“Damn you’re stubborn.” She shook her head. “You’ve always been loyal. To me and to Howard. You’re more like that overbearing big brother I never had and always wanted. This is my way of showing gratitude. Please accept the gift.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Fine. You win.”
“I do love the sound of that.”
They shared a chuckle.
“I’ll get legal to draw up the contract so everything is official. Then I don’t ever want to hear about this nonsense again. We’ve got important things to discuss.”
“Agreed.”
She glanced over her shoulder to the closed office door behind her, then returned her attention to the call. Leaning forward, she cupped her face in her hands and smiled into the camera. “Now, tell me about Ben. I want to know about the guy who has you all soft and gooey inside.”
So he did.
March—two weeks later
Ben wrung his hands, waiting. As much as he loved watching Natalie shove a second forkful of cake into her mouth, he needed the feedback.
Like…now.
For the last three hours, he had obsessed over the cake she was tasting—preparing, baking, and decorating it until it was perfect to slice into. Not only was it an opportunity to do what he loved, it was a much needed distraction.
The close call had cemented Gabriel’s decision on a career change that would take him out of harm’s way. And for the last two weeks, Gabriel had stepped away from the bakery for meetings and conferences, preparing a transition team. Even though they had only known each other a short while, Ben had wanted to ask if he had played a part in the decision, even a tiny one, but he hadn’t dared. Hope was sometimes dangerous. And where Gabriel was concerned, his mind wandered to happily-ever-afters at lightning speed.
The movement of Natalie’s lips drew his attention, mumbling something he couldn’t read.
He frowned, wondering if it was rude to ask her to repeat what she had said even though she was talking with her mouth full of cake. The cake he had baked after making changes to a recipe she had tried some time ago and hated.
Hated because she couldn’t get it right.
Natalie was a master at elegant desserts and pastries. Her French wedding cakes were always in demand. But her croquembouche was anything but a traditional cake. It was a masterpiece of puff pastries stacked into the shape of a cone and finished with threads of caramel surrounding it like a delicate web of angel hair. Nothing like the traditional batter cake with icing he had baked.
Natalie finally set the plate down and wiped her mouth with the small napkin. “Sorry,” she signed. “I couldn’t stop at one mouthful. It’s that good.”
A smile twitched the corner of his mouth.
“I’m guessing you changed a few things?”
He nodded and quickly grabbed her cake recipe and the second sheet with his notes. He had searched online, watched videos, and had jotted down things he wanted to try.
She ran her finger along his scribbled notes as she read, then tapped her finger. “Here,” she signed. “With this change to the batter, you also need to reduce the cook time.”
He nodded, making a mental note of Natalie’s words as he always did when she took the time to impart some of her baking wisdom.
“What about changing this?” he signed, pointing to the icing portion of the recipe and penciling a note on the paper. For weeks, he had helped with preparations, watching as she worked, and paying close attention to every lesson she signed and note she wrote explaining why she used certain ingredients for their texture and how they interacted with others to affect baking time, consistency, and new flavors. He never thought he would be given the chance to prepare something from start to finish. Let alone take one of her old recipes and make changes. He hadn’t dared attempt more than one change, even though he had been itching to make a few