Elevator Pitch (Hapless In Love #1)

31. Candor Over Cake

31

candor over cake

Greyson

Manhattan, NY | January 9, 2024

I woke up recounting yesterday’s events where I met Audrey and decide to stop by this Korean bakery to bring her chocolate croissants and fresh cream cake. She’s intense, but I know how much she means to Selah. I’d really like to impress her, so I figure these pastries are a good way to do that.

Once I return to my building, hop on the elevator, tapping button number six, and I feel a bit of anxiety about this. It’s not that I don’t think I’d be good for Selah because I know I could be. I’m just nervous that I scared her off. I fear that I was intense and should’ve waited a while to show her that side of me. I’ve become unapologetic about my sexual preferences since my divorce.

Aileen wasn’t open to kink and preferred to keep things simple, both in and out of the bedroom. I pushed it down to go along with what made her most comfortable but, it stifled me. I’ll admit that I took to working more because I didn’t feel safe expressing myself sexually with my wife at the time. I didn’t enjoy making her uncomfortable, but she didn’t compromise on anything with me when it came to intimacy. I attribute it to the fact that we were young and didn’t know ourselves. I don’t fault her anymore nor do I feel ashamed for wanting to be in control.

The elevator dings and I exit down the hall. I spot Selah’s neighbor, Estelle King, as she leaves her apartment, locking the door behind her. She’s lived in this building for a few years and she’s quite the character. I can’t tell her age, but I’m sure she was a heartbreaker back in her day and still is. Estelle is a flirt and known to give you a confidence boost because she’s not shy in the slightest. If she likes what she sees, she will not hold her tongue about it.

She recently stopped coloring her roots and is embracing the gray. Her long hair is styled in loose curls that frame her face, and her makeup is light while drawing attention to her eyes. She dons a cream-colored pantsuit with gold accent jewelry. It compliments her brown skin beautifully. Always dressed to kill and full of sass.

“Good morning, Mrs. King,” I say.

“Morning, Greyson. And we’ve talked about this, call me Estelle.”

I nod in understanding.

“Where are you off to this morning?”

“Brunch with my girlfriends.”

“Well, I hope you have a great time. You look lovely.”

“I always do, but thanks. You can take me out another time,” she adds with a wink.

I can’t help but smile at her.

“I’d be delighted, but I’m kind of seeing someone.”

She gives me a knowing look.

“I’ve suspected that. Let the girl get some damn rest ,” she chuckles.

“I will. See you around, Estelle.”

“Have a good one.”

I ring the doorbell and moments later, Audrey emerges. She’s fresh-faced, wearing sweatpants and an oversized tee. Her long, curly hair is pulled back into a low ponytail. She leans against the doorframe with coffee in hand. With raised brows, she says, “I could’ve sworn I’d run you off yesterday. Good to see you being persistent.”

I chuckle and hold out the bag so she can see if I brought sweets. She peers down and sighs contentedly.

“I love a man who follows my orders. A good boy indeed. Come on in,” she advises, opening the door wider.

Here she goes with that again. I don’t know how to feel about being called a good boy.

I usually am the praiser, but I don’t hate it?

I follow her into the apartment and settle in. She asks me if I’d like anything to drink and I let her know that coffee is fine. She pours me a cup and places it in front of me. The mug has the phrase ‘ thanks for coming, now leave,’ and I can’t help but laugh. This screams Selah.

“Hand over the treats, I’m starving.”

I slide the bag across the counter, and she helps herself. I wash my hands and when I’m drying them off, the deep rumble of a man’s voice startles me. A large man enters from the hallway looking as if he just woke up. He musses his blond hair and scrunches his face in frustration. I’ve seen him before with Selah. I had believed that he was her boyfriend before she went out with me.

His tone is laced with irritation when he asks, “Audrey, what have I told you about not looping me in on your new ‘friends?’” He makes air quotes around the word friends . “Everyone needs to be vetted prior to being alone with you and this isn’t a new conversation.”

“Oh, stop it. I have already vetted this man. He lives in the building and passed a background check. He’s harmless,” she assures.

“Background check?”

“I own this building, honey. I investigated you after our little visit yesterday.” She pauses to sip her coffee. “However, he’s also the one who was bending Selah over this island last week, so your concerns are valid.” She adds, pointing to the countertop.

“ This is the guy?” His brows shoot up as he motions to me, speaking as if I’m not even there. “Alright, Selah.” They both nod at each other in agreement.

I’m not sure what I should say, so I opt for just watching this play out instead.

He approaches with piercing green eyes that appear to look through me. I reach out my hand to greet him in a shake, and he stares at it as he crosses his arms over his chest instead. Then starts littering me with questions about myself. I part my lips to answer when she interjects.

“Don’t interrogate him,” she orders while taking a bite of a chocolate croissant. Her eyes close as she savors it. “He brought me breakfast,” she exclaims with her mouth full.

He glares at me with a raised brow and asks, “How do you know about the sweets?”

“I came by yesterday with cinnamon rolls and she asked me to come back here with more treats. So here I am. Can’t say I recall you being here. I would’ve remembered that.”

His glare is unwavering, but he reaches out his hand for me to shake, introducing himself.

“I’m Audrey’s bodyguard, Eric. I’ll admit I’m not always this rude. That’s Audrey’s job.”

She snorts while eating.

“I’m not rude, I prefer the term assertive.”

He grabs a croissant, eyes widening when he takes a bite.

“Shit,” he says, stunned. “How were those rolls yesterday? Good?”

She nods assuredly and takes a sip of her coffee.

“I think we gotta keep this guy around. He’s spoiling us.”

“If you had stayed asleep, we could have enjoyed these without having to share.”

I reach into the bag and remove a small box, lifting the top to reveal a slice of fresh cream cake .

“Whoa,” they say in unison, causing me to glance up.

Eric opens a drawer; I hear clanking and he returns to his spot with three forks. He gives a suggestive look, to which I nod and they quickly move towards me, dispersing the forks. They each carve into the slice, shove it into their mouths and assess. I glance over at them and he inhales deeply, relaxing his grumpy face and Audrey wears a smile.

“Is there more?”

“Of course,” I say.

Eric damn near knocks her over as he rushes to the other side of the island to retrieve the box.

“You’re sharing with me,” he says to her, leaving no room for argument.

She huffs in response. They dig their forks into a slide of their own.

“I’m glad you are enjoying it. It’s called fresh cream cake. I got them from a Korean bakery on West 32nd St.”

“Cake is my favorite thing in the world. Do you know how to make these by chance? I’d love to learn. Baking keeps me from—” she trails off. “Baking keeps me from harming people.”

Eric starts to laugh and breaks out into a fit of coughs. She reaches for his back and he raises his hand to signal he’s okay, coughing a bit more before grabbing a sip from Audrey’s mug.

“Stubborn ass.”

“I was going to say bullshit before I started choking there.”

“Don’t embarrass me in front of company,” she advises.

“I’m certain you threatened him. Am I right?” He looks expectantly at me.

“Well,” I draw out the word. “Yes.”

“And you still came back? Maybe you are good for Selah. You don’t scare easily.”

“Mmhmm,” she adds.

Operation impress Audrey, and now Eric, is going well.

“Thank you for that. As for the cake, I absolutely can show you how to make one. ”

She pulls out her phone and asks, “Are you free to show me now? What do we need? I can order groceries.”

“I am. You may have everything here already. I can take a look and let you know.” I rise up and head over to the pantry, scouring for ingredients.

A loud meow comes from the bedroom and Peach struts into the main area.

The cat rubs against Eric’s leg on her way over to her food and water bowls.

I finish my rummage through the pantry and inform her of what ingredients she’s missing for the recipes. She’s placing a grocery delivery and asks if there’s anything else we need without looking up.

“Selah never has any Oreos or real milk here. Always that weird oat or almond shit. It’s not very accommodating for her houseguests,” he pipes up.

She laughs softly. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re not the house sitter, isn’t it? She stocked everything I liked.”

“Everyone knows that I go wherever you go. So, I will be expecting Oreos and two percent milk the next time she’s out of town.”

“Sure. Drop it in the suggestion box,” she says sarcastically, aiming her head towards the trash can. “I’ll order your damn milk and cookies, relax.”

He sighs in relief, and I chuckle to myself.

These two are quite a pair.

“Oh shit,” she blurts, her tone laced with frustration.

“What now?” Eric asks beside me.

She places her hand on her head and says, “Brian is getting our groceries. A fucking man is doing our delivery . Prepare for the order to be wrong.”

“Dammit,” he huffs.

“Am I missing something here?” I inquire, genuinely curious why that’s a problem.

“Men aren’t always the best grocery shoppers. At least not in our experience. They’re lazy and just grab anything to get out of the store.” She looks to Eric, “Your cookies will be broken or even worse…they’ll be golden Oreos,” she teases.

“Take that back,” he says through gritted teeth. “He better bring me Doublestuf Oreos or I’m going to lose it. And that milk better be two percent.”

The fact that he is serious makes me hold in a laugh. Audrey, on the other hand, erupts in laughter and he’s unamused.

I change the subject and ask, “When is Selah’s birthday, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’ll only tell you if you let me in on the plans. You’ve only messed around one time, but you seem very interested in her. Am I wrong?”

“Well, I don’t suppose I haven’t thought that far into it, but I think I may be interested in more? Selah challenges me in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Sure, you’ve met my ex-wife, so you know I’m capable of committing to someone.”

“Her birthday is May seventh. As for your ex…” She pauses and starts humming as she loads the dishwasher.

Eric joins her and they’re both humming a melody I’m unfamiliar with. I’m not sure what it is with them, but he is just as odd as Audrey is. Odd, but good company.

“What were you going to say about Aileen?” I interrupt.

She grows silent and turns to face me, opening her mouth to speak when Eric blurts, “Why did he mention Aileen? Are you her ex-husband?”

“What did you think I was humming for? You joined me!” she exclaims .

“I just like that song; I didn’t know you were doing it intentionally.”

“Please explain the humming and then tell me what you were going to say about her.”

Eric says, “Audrey has a habit of humming when she doesn’t have anything nice to say.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be the first person that had something unkind to say about her. My friends have their opinions as well,” I admit.

“Are you sure you want to hear my take? You two seem cordial.”

“Go for it,” I urge.

“This is better than any reality show,” he adds, placing his head on his chin and waits for her to share.

“Remember what you asked for. Last chance before I open the floodgates.” She looks to me for permission and I grant it with a nod.

“I’ve worked with a lot of brides in my career, so I’ve seen it all, but Aileen, she’s one for the books,” she says with a scoff. “The past eight months working on her wedding have been interesting to say the least. She’s manipulative and there’s a motive for everything she does. Even if it doesn’t make sense to question her actions, you should. I’m not sure how she was when you were married because she said you were young, but if she behaved anything like she does now, I’m not surprised that you’re divorced.

I haven’t had the pleasure of working with Daniel often, but I’ve seen enough to wonder why he’s marrying her. He loves her, without a doubt. I just don’t think he really knows her.”

She sips her coffee before asking, “Would you like for me to continue?”

“Absolutely,” I say, crossing my arms in front of me.

I’d love to take a bite of cake, but I fear she may say something that’ll cause me to choke, so I’ll wait.

“In this industry people tend to show their ass in ways you wouldn’t imagine in preparation for a wedding. I get paid an awful lot to oversee things, mostly bullshit. All they need to do is show up, say their vows and get on with their lives. However, she insists on tagging along for meetings, as if she doesn’t trust me to honor her wishes. Most brides hand it off to me because they’ve got better things to do.

I assumed she was just needy or lonely with Daniel working in the UK currently, but she likes to show me off to her friends like a show pony. Even makes posts on her socials about me being her new ‘ bestie. ’”

Eric is vibrating with excitement, and I am still along for the ride.

“This woman has also had the balls to ask me if she can stay at one of my family’s resorts for free . As if her billionaire fiancée can’t afford it. When I asked her why she would expect something like that from me, her response was ‘I thought we were friends.’ I informed her that I’ve been hired to do a job and have a strict policy against mixing my business life with my personal life. She didn’t love that, but she backed off.”

Pausing to sip her coffee again, she says, “Last chance before I go for the jugular. You can opt out now.”

I grab a bite of cake and shake my head as I swallow. “I can handle it.”

“Finish her,” Eric chimes.

We break out into a fit of laughs, before settling down.

She continues, “I’m not going to say I’ve never had a bride that I’ve wanted to drag outside and fight in the street before, because that would be a lie. I will say that your ex-wife is one of my top three brides I’d love to get in the gloves with or go bare knuckles. I’m not sorry,” she adds with a shrug. “Oh, and I think you should bring Selah to the wedding so she can see how much better you can do. Any questions?”

Well, fuck.

She really went for it.

Am I surprised to hear these things about her? Not really.

“I have a few, actually. Though I’d like to process everything you just said.”

“Understandable,” she says.

I look to Eric and ask, “was that entertaining enough for you?”

“Sure was. I hear a lot about her on the rides home from the office, but I’ve sat in on a few meetings and can confirm everything she said is true. Now that I know you’re her ex, I fully support you moving in on Selah. Hell, I’ll even help.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” she says.

“Even better. This is in my job description, you know?”

“Meddling is not in your contract,” she argues with a laugh.

I like the idea of bringing Selah, but it could also be awkward for her. I need to know if she is interested in the arrangement first. I know she mentioned the arrangement should benefit us both. That could work, but it could also scare her off and that’s the last thing I want to do. I also don’t mind showing up without a date.

“I’d like to think about the wedding date. I don’t want to move too fast with her.”

She gives me an incredulous look. “You had that woman spread on this very countertop and you’re concerned you’re moving too fast by asking her to be your date to a wedding? Honey, y’all are way past that.”

She isn’t wrong.

The doorbell rings and Eric rushes to answer it. Greeting the delivery person and retrieving the bags. He shuts the door behind him and peeks to make sure his order is in there. Picking up the Oreos and shaking them near his ear.

He unloads the bags and she cross-checks every item and confirms it is indeed correct.

“It better have been,” he grumbles.

“Anyways,” she changes the subject. “Let’s get to baking and talking about Selah!”

I perk up at the sound of her name.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”