For the Love of Donuts

1. I’m Engaged

Skye

I, Skye Meredith Carson, am a terrible person.

Not because I haven’t plucked my caterpillar eyebrows. And not because I honked my horn this morning at that little old lady for being slower than my apartment building’s Wi-Fi. And it’s not even because I almost forgot that I need to buy a gift for my identical twin nieces to celebrate the upcoming two-year anniversary of their adoption day. Well, I do feel guilty, but at least I didn’t actually forget.

As bad as all those things are, I’m not a terrible person because of them.

I’m a terrible person because today, earlier at work, I lied to my boss with the hopes of gaining a promotion. And it wasn’t a teeny-tiny white lie either.

Nope, this lie was HUGE.

~Earlier today at work~

This—is not how I imagined my life going when I took that internship for Dovell Donuts. A twenty-three-year-old assistant who STILL gets mistaken for the nineteen-year-old intern?

Hard pass.

I blame my “good genes.”

Yeah, I know, I’m sure I’ll appreciate those genes twenty to thirty years into the future. However, it would be nice to look my age instead of a high-school-graduate-who-just-got-done-with-her-gap-year teenager. If I did look my age, I might have a better chance of moving up from my role as our social media team manager’s assistant.

Don’t get me wrong, Cynthia is great. I’ve learned a lot from being her assistant. But I’m tired of filing papers, sorting documents on the computer, taking and making calls, getting coffee or snacks for her and the rest of the SM team, etc.

I want something new.

I feel…stuck.

And I hate it.

That’s why I want Cynthia’s job.

She’s going to be transferring to our Texas location next month since her boyfriend has a good job opportunity over there, and then her position will be WIDE open.

I. Would. Be. Perfect. For. Her. Job.

Reason #1: I love donuts. Duh. Donuts are my thing, that’s why I started working for Dovell Donuts in the first place!

Reason #2: I know the ins and outs of social media. I mean, I’m not addicted to the internet or anything, but I don’t live under a rock when it comes to what’s trending.

Reason #3: I want the dang job and I’ve been here for over three years already!

So, anyway, I think I have a fairly good chance.

And that’s why I’m currently sitting in the waiting area of Zoya’s office.

Zoya Trevino is the founder of Dovell Donuts. Dovell is her maiden name, and she named the company in honor of her Swedish-American grandparents who raised her and encouraged her to follow her donut dreams . Almost ten years ago, she started out with a little downtown donut shop right here in Port Reina, Florida…and now she has three exclusive locations.

The OG Dovell Donuts—obviously, the Dovell Donuts in Texas—as I mentioned, and then the Dovell Donuts in California—which opened a few months back. The company has gained MAJOR popularity because of its social media presence, especially with all the frequent posts made by web stars and influencers spotlighting our cute, aesthetic donuts.

I know that’s a lot of background info, but what can I say? I’m passionate about donuts and this company! Isn’t it obvious that I’d be a great SM manager?

“You can go in now,” Johnny—the office secretary—tells me with a wave of his hand. “She’s ready for you.”

Am I ready for her though? Probably not.

I’ve seen Zoya’s chill and fun side. I know she loves new ideas and has a massive appreciation for creative energy. I also know that she’s a hopeless romantic because she’s always begging to hear about everyone’s love life. So, yeah, it’s not like she’s a workaholic monster.

But I’ve also seen her no-nonsense and company-first side.

It’s intense.

“Hey, you okay?” Johnny asks me with creased eyebrows. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

Oh good, at least I haven’t passed out or anything yet.

Get it together, Skye ! You are a strong, upbeat woman who is more than capable for this job .

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, Johnny.”

I totally got this.

“I just don’t know if you’re capable for this job, Skye.”

I blink at Zoya, hoping that I misheard her somehow. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

Because it sounded like she just took my entire peptalk and essentially said: “PSYCH! YOU THOUGHT WRONG!”

“You’re a great employee,” she states in a matter-of-fact way. “And when you started out as an intern, I knew you’d fit right in with us here at Dovell Donuts. But…just hear me out, okay?”

No, NOT OKAY. I don’t want to hear her out if it’s just going to mean that I’m stuck wearing the assistant cap!

I don’t say that though—obviously, because I’m not looking to get fired—instead, I just silently sit there in my pink donut-printed armchair. Zoya’s choice of donut-themed décor might seem extreme to others, but I honestly think it just makes working here even more fun.

“Skye, here’s the thing,” she says, tucking some of her coffee-colored locks behind her ear, “Cynthia and I did talk about you taking over her spot when she transfers to Texas.”

Okay, well, now I’m even more confused. Did Cynthia like, badmouth me to Zoya? WHAT THE CRAP?! I was planning to get that backstabber a going away present! She’s not getting anything from me now. I won’t even write in the office farewell card when the time comes.

“However,” Zoya continues, thankfully unable to read my mind, “you’ve just seemed really…distracted during the last few months. I’m not sure you’re ready for the responsibility that Cynthia’s job requires.”

Distracted? Distracted ? Have I really been THAT distracted? I mean, I guess if being distracted by my discontentment as “assistant” counts. But it’s not like I can tell her that! I don’t want to seem ungrateful for my job. I just want a new position! I want a dang promotion!

Lillian Ambrose—now Lillian Nugen —just recently got promoted to sales manager, and she started here around the same time I did.

Sure, she’s seven years older than me.

And has more “business experience.”

But that’s beside the point!

When Lillian was doing all her wedding planning, she was wayyyy more distracted than me. And yet, she still managed to get promoted. I even remember Zoya gushing over the wedding details with her! Are you kidding me?

So what? Being distracted is only okay if you’re getting married?

Seriously? That’s lame and totally unfair.

“Skye, is there a possible reason why you’ve been more distracted lately?” Zoya asks, her dark eyes watching me carefully. “Is everything okay?”

Right then and there, I make a decision.

A crazy, I’m-in-way-over-my-head decision.

But I want this promotion.

And if it worked for Lillian, I can make it work for me.

“Everything is fine,” I tell her, sitting up a little straighter. “Everything is great, actually, because I am—getting married. I’m engaged. That’s why I’ve been a little more scatter-brained lately.”

You know what? SCRATCH THAT. There’s no way I can make this work for me!

I. Take. It. Back.

Except, I can’t take it back. It’s too late.

Zoya’s red lips form a perfect “o” as she stares at me with wide eyes. “You—you’re engaged? I didn’t even realize you were seeing someone, Skye! I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me!”

I try not to cringe at the eager look on her face—after all, this is what I wanted.

Right?

I want her to be invested in my fake engagement.

I want her to buy my excuse for “being distracted.”

I want her to give me the promotion.

“So, tell me everything!” she continues before I can utter another word. “What’s your fiancé’s name?”

“Tatum!” I blurt out, not sparing a second of hesitation. “His name is Tatum.”

Why the heck did I choose “Tatum” out of all the other name options we have in our very large world? Well, it’s very simple. Tatum is my best friend. He’s been my best friend since the seventh grade, back in middle school. But guess what?

We have never—NEVER—even gotten remotely close to being engaged!

I had the smallest , microscopic crush on him when we were fourteen, but that disappeared once he started dating Paisley Lenton; the annoyingly sweet, perfect, level-headed POSTER CHILD for “outstanding student.”

To this day, I still don’t know what she was trying to prove.

We were freshmen for crying out loud!

After that brief phase, there hasn’t been anything romantic between us.

At all.

Nothing.

Zilch.

However, Tatum is the only non-relative guy in my life right now. So, of course, his name came to mind first. I definitely wasn’t going to use my ex’s name. Jeff isn’t a bad guy, but he is happily married to a woman named Valentina. And I wasn’t going to use the names of my last two dead-end dates, Collin and Dwayne—emphasis on dead-end .

Using Tatum’s name just made sense!

None of this makes sense.

“How did you guys meet? When did he propose? Where’s your ring?” Zoya shoots rapid-fire questions at me, her eyes still wide. “Have you picked out a date yet?”

I am SO fired. Yep. Zoya is going to fire me once she realizes there is absolutely nothing engaged about me.

“I’m sorry, Skye,” she apologizes, letting out a little laugh. “You look scared to death, and here I am babbling away. My husband insists that I’m a total sucker when it comes to love, but I can’t help it!” She proceeds to sigh. “I do have an appointment right after this though, so we should probably stay on track.”

Oh, thank God.

Her eyebrows suddenly pop up. “You know, I just had a great idea. Angela, our regular blogger for The Donut Blog has recently informed me that she’ll be working elsewhere, and I need a temporary fill-in for her until I find someone new.” She nods, a thoughtful look crossing over her face. “I think it should be you.”

I point a finger at myself. “Me? You want me to do the blog entries?”

The Donut Blog launched almost two years ago, and it’s been a really good boost for our social media exposure with all its cute, random donut-related content.

BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE THE NEW BLOG GIRL. I WANT TO BE THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER.

This is so frustrating.

“Consider it as a way for you to show me that you’re ready to take on a different role,” she muses, folding her hands underneath her chin. “It’s only two entries a week and I’ll have our new intern act as Cynthia’s assistant, that way you can focus on the blog. And I know how time-consuming wedding planning can be, so as long as the blog posts are ready to go live every Tuesday and Friday…your schedule is totally up to you. That way you can balance the blog and your wedding planning.” She gives me an excited look. “What do you think? Are you up for something new?”

If running the blog and having a fake fiancé—one I hopefully won’t have to talk about—is what it takes for me to get my promotion. then, heck yes . We’re doing this.

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Fantastic!” she exclaims, opening her laptop up. “I’ll make some changes in the system, and then I’ll talk to Cynthia about everything, okay?”

“Okay,” I echo her as I stand up. “So, when do I start?”

“Well, today is Friday and the post is already up,” she drawls, her lips quirking to the side. “Which means your first post will need to be ready for Tuesday.”

“Got it. First post by Tuesday.”

“Oh! And congratulations to you and your fiancé, Skye,” she says as I start walking to her office door. “I would really love to hear all about Tatum—” I hold back a cringe at her usage of his name. “—when I’m not so swamped. I just love weddings so much! I can’t tell you how many bridal shows I binge on MoreFlix.”

How fantastic.

“Yeah, absolutely!” I force a laugh, even though I could totally bawl my eyes out right now, while fumbling with the stupid doorknob. Have my hands been this sweaty the whole time? Ew. “We’ll definitely…need to…do that.” Darn my sweaty hands! “Thank you for squeezing me in today, Zoya. And for giving me this opportunity.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, giving me one of the sincerest smiles I’ve ever seen. “I’ll have Johnny email you some information for the blog, all right?”

HALLELUJAH, I FINALLY GOT THE DOOR OPEN!

“Okay,” I reply, offering a weak smile in return, “sounds great.”

I’m dead.

I am so—without a single, freaking doubt— dead .