Homeless

Chapter 7

Danielle's POV

I get to the bakery right at 1 and see Derek waiting at the backdoor.

"Hey," I say, walking up. When I get closer, I see that he's freshened up quite a bit. His hair is neatly pulled back in a bun and it looks freshly washed. His beard is also trimmed and I can see a bit more of his face. It's hard to tell for sure but this is the first time I'm seeing that he might actually be very attractive underneath all that hair. Not to mention his dark brown hair coupled with his electric blue eyes make for a very nice combination.

"Are we gonna go inside?" Derek asks, looking at the ground."

"Oh yeah, sorry." I fumble for my keys, worrying I got caught staring.

When we get inside, Derek heads straight to the pantry, seemingly on auto pilot. I follow him inside to grab a few things to prep for the week.

Once I have what I need, I get started on this week's recipes. Christmas is only two weeks away and I have been hustling. We've been selling out of cupcakes before noon every day of the week. I'm trying my best to increase supply to keep my new and returning customers happy but it's a lot of work.

"Everything is done."

I look up from my work space to see Derek standing at the back door with a trash bag. I then look at the block and it's only 2pm.

"You organized the pantry, disinfected the front and cleaned the front in an hour?"

Derek nods.

"I..." I hate to be rude but I want to double check. "Give me a second," I say. I quickly walk into the pantry and it is spotless. Looking at a few expiration dates, everything is still fresh and organized by expiration date. I then quickly check the store front and it is in fact spotless. It smells good too.

I return to the kitchen, absolutely shocked.

"Wow," I say. "You did a really good job."

Derek gives me a tight smile. "Guess I'll see you next week." He lifts the trash bag and starts to head out the door.

"Wait!" I call out. "If you have some time, I could actually use some help baking for tomorrow."

"Sure," Derek says. "I'll be right back."

I watch him as he lifts the trash bag off the ground and heads to the dumpster. It's the first time I notice his arms. They're strong, lifting the heavy bag with ease.

I quickly take my eyes off him and focus back on the task at hand. I'm working on the Christmas peppermint cupcakes for tomorrow. I have a massive order for 500 cupcakes to be picked up at 11am tomorrow by a local tech company. If I can finish them today, it will make my life a lot easier tomorrow.

When Derek comes back, I spend a couple minutes teaching him how to make the frosting. It's an easy task and one that's nearly impossible to mess up. He learns quickly and an hour later has made enough frosting for all 500 cupcakes.

"You're a fast worker," I comment. Derek simply nods.

While the cupcakes cool, I show Derek how to fold our bakery boxes. He folds enough boxes for this order as well as enough boxes for the week of sales coming up.

Before I know it, it's 8pm.

"I'm sorry for keeping you so late," I say as we clean up.

"No problem at all," Derek says. "I learned a lot today."

"I'm glad." I take off my apron and hang it up. "Let me pay you for this week and last."

I go to the safe and pull out $400 for Derek. When I go back to the kitchen to pay him, he shakes his head.