Chapter 10 : Pieces of Puzzle
946 Words
Guy Harrison disliked assumptions.
Assumptions led to mistakes.
Mistakes led to consequences.
And consequences were expensive.
Which was why he spent the next ten minutes staring at the newspaper clipping instead of jumping to conclusions.
Daniel Carter.
Recently engaged.
The photograph showed Daniel smiling beside a beautiful blonde woman.
Both looked happy.
Or at least happy enough for the cameras.
Guy placed the clipping back on his desk.
Then picked it up again.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
Because the image kept colliding with another one.
Daniel standing inside Sweet Haven Bakery.
Looking at Tamara.
Like she mattered.
The contradiction bothered him.
Not because it was his business.
It wasn’t.
Not remotely.
But because he hated puzzles with missing pieces.
⸻
Across town, Tamara’s day was going surprisingly well.
Which should have worried her.
Experience suggested that whenever life became manageable, disaster was usually nearby.
Still, she wasn’t complaining.
Orders were on schedule.
The replacement parts for the mixer had finally arrived.
And Emily hadn’t accidentally ordered industrial quantities of fruit in nearly four days.
Progress.
Real progress.
“I heard that.”
Tamara looked up.
Emily was carrying cake boxes.
“You were thinking about me.”
“I was.”
“And?”
“I’m proud of you.”
Emily blinked.
Then immediately smiled.
“That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
Too late.
Emily was already grinning.
⸻
The bell above the bakery door rang.
Mia looked up first.
Then immediately groaned.
“Why?”
Tamara didn’t need to ask.
She already knew.
Daniel.
Again.
At this point, he should have his own loyalty card.
Daniel walked toward the counter.
More cautiously than usual.
As if approaching a wild animal.
Smart man.
“What do you want?”
Mia asked.
Daniel sighed.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“No.”
Tamara almost smiled.
Almost.
Daniel turned his attention to her.
“I brought coffee.”
Mia immediately took one.
“Thank you.”
Daniel stared.
“You weren’t supposed to take one.”
“You brought coffee into my bakery.”
Mia took a sip.
“That’s on you.”
Emily accepted one too.
“Thanks.”
Daniel looked personally betrayed.
Tamara decided not to help.
⸻
That evening, Harrison Holdings hosted a charity committee dinner.
One of many.
Guy attended because avoiding them created more work later.
Unfortunately.
Chloe Bennett arrived fifteen minutes after he did.
Fortunately.
Or unfortunately.
He wasn’t entirely sure anymore.
“You’ve been quiet lately.”
Guy glanced up.
“So I’ve been told.”
Chloe smiled.
A practiced smile.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Predictable.
Most people found Chloe easy to admire.
Very few realized how carefully she observed everything around her.
Including him.
Especially him.
“You’re thinking about something.”
“I usually am.”
“Not like this.”
The smile remained.
But her eyes sharpened slightly.
“Does it have anything to do with Sweet Haven Bakery?”
There it was.
Direct enough to be noticed.
Subtle enough to deny.
Guy placed his glass on the table.
“No.”
A lie.
Not a complete lie.
But close enough.
Chloe didn’t challenge him.
Which was somehow worse.
⸻
The following afternoon, Guy found himself standing outside Sweet Haven Bakery.
Again.
This was becoming a habit.
An unfortunate habit.
A dangerous one.
The bell above the door rang as he entered.
Immediately, Emily noticed him.
Then grinned.
Uh-oh.
Guy didn’t know Emily well.
But he recognized that expression.
The same expression people wore before causing trouble.
“Mr. Harrison!”
Every head in the bakery turned.
Excellent.
Wonderful.
Exactly what he wanted.
“Miss Parker.”
Emily looked delighted that he remembered her name.
Across the room, Tamara looked significantly less delighted.
“What are you doing here?”
Direct.
No greeting.
No small talk.
Guy almost respected it.
Almost.
“We need to discuss the gala timeline.”
Tamara stared.
Then glanced at the clock.
Then back at him.
“It’s four in the afternoon.”
“Yes.”
“You have an office.”
“Yes.”
“You have telephones.”
“Also yes.”
Mia made a choking sound.
Very suspiciously similar to laughter.
Guy looked at Tamara.
Tamara looked at Guy.
For a brief moment, neither spoke.
Then—
“You came all the way here for a timeline update?”
Guy considered the question.
It sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud.
Unfortunately.
“Apparently.”
Silence.
Then Mia burst out laughing.
Emily joined immediately.
Even Tamara looked like she was fighting a smile.
Guy should have been annoyed.
Instead…
For the first time in a long while, he found himself enjoying the sound.
And that realization was far more dangerous than anything Guy Harrison could ever be.
⸻
Later, after Guy left, Mia sat across from Tamara with a look she knew far too well.
“No.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
“I absolutely was.”
Emily nodded enthusiastically.
“She was.”
Traitor.
Both of them.
Mia leaned forward.
“He’s weird.”
Tamara frowned.
“Guy?”
“Yes.”
Emily nodded.
“Very weird.”
“He came here for a timeline update.”
“Exactly.”
Tamara blinked.
That wasn’t helping.
At all.
The two women exchanged a look.
The kind that made Tamara nervous.
Very nervous.
Then Mia smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
“Oh, this is getting interesting.”
And somewhere across the city…
Guy Harrison was thinking exactly the same thing.
Though he would rather walk barefoot through broken glass than admit it.
- Writer
