Started as His Wife (ON HIATUS)

Brioche

"Well, it was nice meeting you. I'll give you a call within a few days to let you know," Luke says as he slides the paper off of the clipboard. 

"Oh, well actually. I was thinking that you could let me know over dinner," she suggests, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. 

"That won't be necessary. A phone call would be more convenient," Luke politely smiles and gets up from the chair. 

I'm sipping on some of the fresh strawberry juice Luke blended this morning, not realizing I'm leaning in over the counter. She looks up at me as she gets up and I nearly spit in out. With all my strength, I purse my lips and only a bit of it dribbles out of the corners of my mouth and onto the counter. 

Luke notices and hands me a napkin while he starts tending to the coffee machines again.

"You can grab something to eat if you'd like. On the house."

"Oh, what's an item that you baked? I'll try that."

"A bit of everything. Wendy here does most of it though."  

"Oh I see," she forces a smile as she grabs one of our chocolate cornets. "This looks-" 

"Oh, the bread. Shit," Luke mutters slipping away into the back. 

She watches him go back, and after standing a bit without him coming back out, smiles, thanks me, and leaves. After a bit, Luke reappears empty-handed. 

"The bread okay?" I ask him. 

"Nah, it's not great. I think I'm going to have to repurpose them somehow. Maybe make breadcrumbs," he sighs, leaning on the counter beside me. 

"She seemed nice," I comment before tilting my head down and wrestling the straw into my mouth for another sip of strawberry juice. 

"She was, but I don't know. She seemed distracted during the interview," Luke shrugs. 

"Um, I think that was because she was into you," I point out, laughing slightly. "Then again a lot of women who come here are."

"I want someone who's gonna take this job seriously," Luke says, looking concentrated at the window display. "Do you think the front glass looks a bit smudged?" 

"Luke, is something wrong lately?" I finally muster the courage to ask. 

"Yeah, why? Do you think something is wrong?" he replies, turning his head to look at me. 

"I mean, you've always insisted that we should be the only employees to ensure quality, but now you're interviewing people to hire. Are you finally tired from being overworked?" I joke, nudging his arm slightly. 

"Eh, I guess I was just being too stubborn. Let's try things your way for once," he explains. "Anyways, I'll make sure to train them well so they don't fuck up the place when I'm not here."

"You're always here," I laugh. 

Luke pauses for a bit, his eyes widening, but then his face relaxes and he gives me a gentle smile. "You're right." 

Suddenly, the front door swings violently open, nearly slamming into one of the decorative potted plants. Logan's girlfriend storms inside, her purse flying up behind her as if its caught wind. 

"Hey, Shay-" Luke greets her, but he's cut short by the slamming of her palm onto the counter. My cup of juice trembles and we both spring upwards. 

"Call Logan. I need to talk to him," she demands, her eyebrows knit and chest puffing. 

"Why? Is your phone broken?" Luke asks, his posture relaxing once again. 

"He fucking blocked me," she coldly says. "And his landlord said he moved away. That asshole didn't even tell me."