Chapter Text
“A box would have six cupcakes.” Lana spoke into the landline receiver.
“Right. So I’m gonna need four boxes of cupcakes. No, make that five actually.” The customer corrected himself.
“So, a one kg hazelnut praline cake, and five boxes of chocolate cupcakes. Do you want me to write anything on the cake?”
“No. That’s it.”
After the call, she meticulously noted down the address and date on a sticky note.
Bhavan interiors. She’s seen the building in passing.
The bell rang and she turned her attention to the customers walking in.
Four deliveries. She’s usually never this busy, so of course it’s today her part timer gets sick. Putting her staff in charge, she stepped in for the deliveries herself, and completed three without any delays or issues.
The traffic got heavy on her way to the fourth, and she was fifteen minutes late from the time she had promised. Wiping the sweat already formed with her sleeve, she parked the car and opened the trunk. She balanced two cupcake boxes on top of the cake box, and turned, right into someone.
The impact made her stumble backwards and tip, with all the boxes in her hand. The boxes slid from her hand in slow motion she couldn’t stop, and all she could do was curse all the gods to ever exist. To whatever minuscule extent of luck she had for the day, the angel she bumped into, balanced the boxes with one hand, and caught her by her shoulder with the other.
Even as she regained her balance she knew she messed up. The cake definitely moved. The cupcakes too.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bump into you like that.” He looked apologetic.
“Do you work here? Has the party started yet?” She could salvage this. Hopefully.
“No. It’s not till 45 mins actually. Are you from Callisto bakes?”
Relief washed over her. Okay. If the cake isn’t crushed she could fix it. She has her tools in the car. She thought to bring it thankfully. “I am from Callisto. The frosting might be a bit smushed, but I can fix it. I just need a table to work on.”
“Yeah, sure. You can work in the cafeteria. It should be empty now.” The angel continued to rain blessings on her. “I’ll actually bring the other boxes.” He stepped in and took the rest of the boxes.
“Thank you.” She found the pouch she bought her tools in.
He led her to an elevator, which came quickly, empty. She went in first, he followed.
“Again, thank you. I’m already late, and now I messed up the cake.” She looked at the angel properly for the first time since the chaotic meet. He stood taller than her, with a beard and a moustache, adorning a wine coloured shirt tucked into black trousers, and a charming smile. The scent of his perfume was light. A woody note.
“It’s alright you know. It’s a really informal party for the staff here, and nobody’s gonna really look at the cake before finishing it.” He assured her.
“But still, I can’t give you a damaged cake.” Her cakes were her pride. They were some of the best available on taste and design, if she might say so herself. Her mood dampened again, thinking of her cake.
The elevator bell chimed and the doors opened, he led her to the company cafeteria, a really ambient space with lots of greenery and interestingly shaped furniture. Maybe she could hire them for when she expands upstairs.
“No decorations?” She asked, seeing the lack of it.
“I told you, it’s very informal. The food and booze is all we need.”
She carefully set the boxes and opened the cake box. It clearly slid to one side and ruined the frosting decor, but the cakes itself seemed intact. The cupcakes were mostly fine with only a few messed up frosting. She let out a breath. She could easily fix it.
“Would your boss mind me working here? I’ll be very quick.” She was already scraping off the messed up frosting even as she asked him.
“I am the boss. And it’s not an issue at all,”
He sat down in a nearby bench, watching her work.
“Oh. That’s great then.” She got to work, fixing it up, like nothing ever happened. “What’s this party for then?”
“We had a pretty important project, and my staff went above and beyond to make it happen. So it’s like a thank you for their efforts.”
“Just cake?” She asked cocking an eyebrow, already relaxing now that the cake was coming together.
“There’s booze too.” He replied, with mirth. “And bonuses of course. But most importantly, the drinks.”
A huff of laughter escaped her, “Of course, booze is the most important.”
True to her word, she fixed it up in no time.
“Do you have a freezer? It’ll do good to pop it in for a while.”
“Yeah. There.” He helped her store everything in the freezer, and like that, crisis averted.
She washed the frosting off the tools and packed it up back in the pouch. “I’m sorry for all the inconvenience I caused. I’ll do a partial refund.”
“There is no need for such thing. The cake is here, it’s all goo—” his phone rang, cutting him off. He answered his phone, turning a touch more serious. “Can you hold for a second?” He asked into the phone. “This will take a while, will you be alright?” He asked her, holding the phone away.
“Yeah I can see myself out. Again, thank you. And sorry.” She gave him a last smile, which was returned with the same warmth.
Going down, she fixed herself in the elevator mirror. She found herself smiling ear to ear, and slapped her face between her palms. No. Life’s already too complicated without crushes.
Besides, he’s older. In his thirties if she had to guess, so he’s probably already married.