Kaya packaged and stacked each portion of Strawberry Tart as Noel produced them. Even though Noel had promised to let Kaya use the kitchen when she had finished, Noel didn't start until late in the morning.
Kaya wanted to believe it wasn't a purposeful slight.
By the time Noel allowed Kaya into the kitchen, there were few ingredients left to be found. Kaya assessed quickly the time she had and what she would need.
Kaya whipped together the only thing she could think of.
"You have to go now." Noel dropped the last Strawberry Tart into the catering bag.
Kaya quickly packaged the single portion of her own dessert and set it in the same bag. "Yes, ma'am."
"Remember our deal." Noel hefted the second bag and held it out to Kaya.
Kaya blew a stray hair out of her eye. "I remember." Quite clearly.
"Good. Get going." Noel tagged a receipt on top of the bag.
Kaya would have said something else if she could think of anything else to say. Noel was putting her in a difficult situation. Even thinking was hard. Speech was out of the question.
Crossing the street was the easy part of this delivery.
The Conditus building loomed large and intimidating in front of Kaya. It seemed so much smaller from a distance.
The lobby contained airy ceilings, as well as what Kaya would come to call her worst nemesis. The security desk.
Of course, to get into the building proper, she had to pass the checkpoint. The one that required a key card to open. Not that Kaya couldn't jump the gates, but she had no desire to get arrested.
"Excuse me." Kaya hated the small sound of her own voice. She had always been somewhat timid when she didn't have a script.
The guard on duty stood and gave a bright smile. "May I help you?"
"I'm going up to the twenty-third floor." Kaya lifted the giant catering bags in her arms.
The guard glanced down at something in front of him. "May I see some identification?"
Identification? Noel hadn't said that Kaya would need something like that.
"Miss...?"
"Um... one second..." Kaya shuffled the bags in her arms. She had to have some form of ID on her. Somewhere. Right?
Wrong. Kaya didn't even have her phone on her. She must have rushed too fast to get out of Noel's shop.
"I'll be really quick. I'm just delivering for a meeting."
"I'm afraid I can't authorize you without some proper identification. I'm sorry."
"You don't understand." Kaya slapped her hands down on the tall desk and propped her chin between them. "If I don't make this delivery, that's the end of life as I know it."
"What?"
"Life as you know it? Isn't that a little... dramatic?"
Kaya flinched at the familiar voice. She turned to look over her shoulder. "Tobin. Hi."
"I see you've picked up Noel's habit of calling me by my first name." Tobin crooked a finger at her. "Come with me."
"Mr. Crestley, she doesn't have any identification."
"She's my guest." Tobin rested a hand on Kaya's shoulder. "You'll be late. Shall we?"
Considering that he just saved her from certain and immediate death, Kaya followed Tobin through the gates and into an elevator.
"Thank you. For that."
"It's my job to ensure that everything runs smoothly around my boss. This is a part of that."
"Oh. Yeah. For sure."
"I have a few things to attend to. I'm certain you can find the conference room?"
Kaya nodded, unsure why Tobin seemed so formal today. Whatever. To each his own.
Tobin let Kaya off at the twenty-third floor.
Even if she wanted to overlook the conference room, Kaya couldn't. It was clearly marked. She found the doors unlocked and slipped silently inside. Well... as silently as one could with fifty portions of dessert hanging from her arms.
Despite her delay, Kaya set everything up. Forty-nine Strawberry Tarts around the enormous table. Then, at its head, Kaya placed the most precious dessert.
One perfect Brie-and-Blueberry Savory Tart.
The last recipe her mother left to her.
"Save me. Please." Please like it.
If he didn't eat it, Kaya didn't know what she would do. She needed her job to pay her rent. If she lost the job, she would be out on the streets. Alone. No mother. No more sweets shop.
Kaya dropped to a squat and dropped her head into her hands. She wouldn't cry here. She wouldn't cry at all. She had to be strong.
With that determination in her mind, Kaya scooped up the empty bags and turned for the door.
It might have been her imagination, but as she headed for the elevators again, Kaya thought she saw a shadow move.