Never To Late For Love

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mae

Rosetta always knows how to pull off a sale but today she is worried about the client. From what she has told me the bride-to-be is a very hard woman to please. Rosetta knows the groom as he has been a customer of the dinner for years and she wants to help the poor guy get the cake nailed down so he can have less stress.

I have worked for some pretty tough clients but I think this will be my toughest sell yet. I have made a variety of flavors as well as my portfolio. The masterpieces that I made for Abigail West are the centerpiece of my work. The bride and groom are from high-ranking society families so this will most likely be the only thing that will win her over.

"Mae Darling they will be here in about ten minutes. Are you ready?" Rosetta asks as she walks back into my kitchen.

"Of course I am. I hope I can win her over, but you know how the rich brats can act sometimes. Just know that I tried my best for you and your friend." She walks over and hugs me.

She smiles and walks back out into the front of the store. I take a deep breath and grab my trolly with all the samples on it. I head to the special tasting room that we have set up for our private meeting. Rosetta hides it from most people but our bakery is ranked at the top of most food lists for the city. We just keep our name out of the press and most of our high-end customers honor our privacy.

Rosetta has never been one to desire to be famous and overrun with business. She has always said she just wants to make a living and that as long as she can pay her bills and pay her employees well she's happy.

"And there she is. Chelsea, Xavier, Alex, and Mrs. Winters this is Mae Trent. She is the genius baker that will no doubt answer your wedding prayers." Rosetta says to the group sitting around the table.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." I smile and notice that this was an odd group.

"Well, we can only hope that you live up to the hype that your boss has made about you." Chelsea says while looking at me.

I wanted nothing more than to roll my eyes at this girl. I'm not one to usually judge a person based on a first impression but this girl was pushing my ability. Sitting there with her bleach blonde hair wearing her designer clothes she screamed cliche rich snob. her fiancé was dressed similarly but you could see in his eyes that he wasn't snobbish at all. There was a kindness there in his eyes that made me feel sorry for him that he was going to forever tie himself to this girl.

Mrs. Winters appeared to be just like her daughter and then some. She looked at me with a look of disdain that made me want to go over and claw her eyes out. I had to keep it professional so I just continued to smile at her.

Finally, I looked at the guy named Alex and couldn't help but want to keep looking. He was handsome with his black hair sticking up all over the place. His eyes sparkled and the smile on his face seemed genuine. I couldn't help but feel my cheeks flush at the sight of his smile.

I felt like an idiot standing there as a thirty-eight-year-old woman who is blushing like a thirteen-year-old girl who saw her crush. I have given up on men so why in the world am I reacting like this? Besides a guy, this good looking who appears to be a good man has most likely been snatched up by now.

"Well I have prepared multiple flavors for you to taste and I have brought out my portfolio. you will find the designs that I feel are the best examples of my work and also those I did for Abigail West."

I begin placing the samples in front of each person. I feel Alex's eyes on me as I move around the room and it makes me start to feel nervous. I have to get it together. I'm not that girl who lets herself get worked up over some guy anymore. I don't need to be focused on him but on nailing this tasting.

"As Rosetta told Xavier, I make my cake designs based on the people I am designing for. If you like the taste and designs you see and want to work with us, I would spend some time getting to know you both and come up with some designs for you to look at, and then we would work together on the final design. I like for each of my wedding cakes to be centered around the couple and who they are as people." I smile and continue. "I will let you have your privacy while tasting and Rosetta will come to get me when you are finished and have made your decision."

I give the group one last smile and leave the room. My thoughts are all over the place. Do I want to do a cake for someone who is as snobbish as the two women are? Will I be able to handle the pressure of her? Abigail West was hard enough to deal with but these women seem to be on a whole other level of a spoiled brat.

When I reach the kitchen I sigh in relief to be in the comfort of my second home. My thoughts drift to a certain black-haired man who is right at this moment trying the best cakes that I have to offer. Why am I hoping he likes it more than I am worried about if the girl will?

Alex

I watch as she walks out of the room and I smile to myself. I don't think anyone else noticed but Chelsea and Mrs. Winters definitely got under her skin. Mae was doing her very best to be polite and kind to her potential customers but I could see that when Chelsea made her little comment that she wanted to say something back. It appears that she is good at hiding what she is thinking when she needs to.

When she walked through the door pushing that trolly my eyes were drawn to her. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a set of dutch braids and her brown eyes looked like milk chocolate. She wasn't what most would call an extraordinary beauty, but to me, she was more than attractive.

"Well, we might as well get this over with. I mean the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get out of here." Mrs. Winters states in her normal I am better than you tone.

The moment the first bite hits my mouth I couldn't help but moan. I thought that the deserts she did for the dinner were good but this is beyond anything I could have imagined. I look over and see Xavier and Chelsea have the same expression that I have, one of utter delight. I look to Mrs. Winters and she still has that look of superiority on her face that she always has. How can that woman not be completely in love with these cakes?

"Chelsea I love you but if you say no to this I may have to reconsider our marriage," Xavier says while chuckling. Chelsea gives him a wide-eyed look of shock and his future mother-in-law looks at him with pure anger.

"You cannot be suggesting that we use this place for the wedding. My God, what will people think?" Mrs. Winters hisses.

"They will think that you discovered one of the greatest hidden gems in the city. Abigail West used her! if you don't think that this cake is beyond good then you are even more stuck up than I thought." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Xavier bursts into laughter and Chelsea has a look of fear on her face.

"How dare you talk to me like that! You have no say in this whatsoever. You're only here because Xavier likes slumming it for friends!" At that Xavier stands and walks over to her with a look that could make anyone shiver in fear.

"I am only going to say this once so I hope you will do me the courtesy of listening Mrs. Winters. That man has more integrity and intelligence in his pinky finger than you do in your entire body. He is here because I ask him to be. if you think for one second that we are going to base our choice on what baker to use on the pure location then you are sadly mistaken. I will not be one of those people who think that just because I come from money means that I am better than anyone else. So you can either stay and keep your mouth shut or you can leave. The choice is yours." with that he turned and went and sat down while taking Chelsea's hand and giving it a small kiss.

They smiled at each other and I saw that they were going to be picking this place for their wedding. Nothing made me happier than to see my friend happy and with the woman he loves. The two of them gave me hope that even though I am not actively looking for her, there is a woman out there with who I could have that. I just have to find her.