Derek laughed and said sure, black, two sugars, the way a man orders from staff. I poured it slowly. Then I reached under the register and pulled out a slim manila folder Daniel had labeled, in his careful handwriting, OPEN IF DEREK EVER COMES BACK.
Derek’s smirk twitched.
Inside were three things. First: a notarized letter from Daniel, dated six months before he died, stating clearly that Derek had already been paid forty-two thousand dollars as a full and final buyout of any claim, real or imagined, to the bakery. Second: the cashed check, with Derek’s signature on the back. Third: a recording, on a little black USB, of Derek at our wedding rehearsal, drunk and loud, telling Daniel, “I don’t want your sad little muffin shop, bro, I want real money.”
I slid the folder across the flour, same way he’d slid his contract.
“Daniel knew you’d come,” I said. “He said grief makes vultures brave.”
Derek’s face went the color of raw dough. He started talking fast, about misunderstandings, about family, about how we should keep this between us. That’s when the bell rang again. My lawyer, Priya, walked in holding two more folders, because I’d called her the second Derek’s Mercedes pulled up outside. Behind her was Officer Reyes, a regular who came in every morning for an almond croissant.
Priya smiled politely. “Mr. Hadley, we’ve filed for a restraining order and a civil suit for attempted fraud and coercion. The recording is admissible. Please don’t make Officer Reyes spill his coffee.”
Derek stood up so fast the stool clattered. He looked at me like he was searching for the shy widow he’d expected. She wasn’t there.
I picked up his untouched cup. “You said two sugars,” I told him. “But you’ve already had enough sweet things you didn’t earn.”
He left without the coffee, without the contract, and without the bakery. I locked the door behind him, turned the sign to OPEN, and went back to shaping brioche while the morning light moved across Daniel’s handwriting on the wall.
I poured myself a cup of coffee, slow and deliberate, while Brielle’s friends filmed. ‘Sweetheart,’ I said, ‘before you redecorate, you should meet someone.’ The […]
I poured myself a cup of coffee, slow and deliberate, while Brielle’s friends filmed. ‘Sweetheart,’ I said, ‘before you redecorate, you should meet someone.’ The […]
