I'll be There for You

Chapter 9: Times Flies: Part II

The day after Jane Anne hired Hayley, the former arrived at work early. She had given her baby girl over to Davina, who had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Hayley hoped that she wasn't pushing the girl too hard, the last thing she needed was to lose one of the people she could depend on to care for Hope. Hope had been crying when Hayley offered her hand to Davina. The child was not used to being awakened before six in the morning and was cranky.

"Be good for mommy, baby," Hayley had ordered Hope, kissing her head lightly. "I'll see you two later today."

Running down the stairs, she narrowly avoided running into the creepy neighbor who just moved in, Ava. She had told Hayley she was a witch and practiced on a daily basis. Personally, Hayley thought she smoked pot or worse on s daily basis. "Got to get to work," Hayley muttered, moving past the thin Brit who nodded with a smirk. Hayley forced a smile at Ava's husband, Vincent who seemed to not share his wife's habits, but Hayley did not have the time to exchange pleasantries.

Hurrying out onto the street, Hayley walked to work and she really hoped that she did not smell too bad by the time she got there. It was warm today and the humidity was making her t-shirt stick to her back. Once she got to the store, she noticed that it was still closed. Sighing, she looked around and was happy when Cami approached her with an ever present Diet Coke in hand. "Hey, you look winded," the blonde commented before taking a sip from her drink.

"A little. I walked over here," Hayley replied.

"Yeah. I try to walk more. Diet Coke just doesn't keep you in shape when you work in a bakery and are constantly tempted," Cami joked, putting her drink down on the sidewalk, she pulled her hair into a loose bun. "So, you ready for the real fun to begin today?"

"Sure," Hayley said as cheerfully as she could muster.

"You know, since Jane Anne is late, that probably means she's busted her sister, Sophie, drunk on her couch again. Sophie knows how to party," Cami said and stopped when she caught sight of something or someone behind Hayley. She waved with a wide smile. "Yo, Jack, she's back. See, I told you that your sideburns don't scare women off that easily."

Rolling her eyes, Hayley turned to find Jackson Keener smiling broadly at her. She blew out a breath and smiled back. There might have been a time that she would have gone for someone like Jack, but now, not with all the drama in her life with her baby, and the father of the baby, and the will-be stepmom of the baby, who did not know that said baby existed, and the brother of the baby. Well, one of the brothers of the father of the baby. Could that family really have more kids? Rolling her eyes again, Hayley sighed before greeting Jackson. "Hey, it's good to see you again," she said awkwardly while Cami watched them. It hadn't occurred to her that any of her co-workers would try to play cupid. And certainly not this early in the week.

"Hey, yourself," Jackson replied with another smile that would have\had the Hayley of years ago, swoon. 'Nope. Sorry, Jacky boy, that's not happening. Not in this lifetime,' Hayley thought silently.

Cami picked up her drink when she caught sight of Jane Anne heading down the street toward them. "Boss is here," she said quietly. And she was right. By the looks of her, Jane Anne was not in a good mood. She was frowning and stalking toward the bakery like she was about to enter the war zone. "Show time," Cami muttered to no one in particular when Jane Anne unlocked the door.

"Stop being so dramatic," Oliver ordered Cami, appearing by Jack's side and slapping him on the back. "I had one hell of a night last night. Met some girl, and danced all night. She was something else, let me tell you. Man, she was hot and foreign. Sounded like one of those British people. I think."