Chapter 15: Watching
751 Words
The Monday after Chloe’s fashion event felt surprisingly normal.
Which immediately made Tamara suspicious.
Life rarely allowed normal.
Not lately.
Not since Guy Harrison walked into her bakery.
And definitely not since Chloe Bennett had decided to take an interest in her.
“You’re thinking.”
Tamara looked up.
Emily stood nearby holding a tray of pastries.
“That’s usually how thinking works.”
Emily ignored her.
“Dangerous thinking.”
“Oh?”
“Guy thinking.”
From across the bakery, Mia appeared.
Instantly.
Like she had been summoned.
“What about Guy?”
Traitors.
Both of them.
⸻
By noon, Sweet Haven Bakery was busy.
Customers filled the tables.
Coffee machines worked overtime.
For once, everything seemed under control.
Then the bell above the door rang.
Tamara looked up.
And sighed.
Of course.
Because apparently Harrison Holdings had developed a branch office inside her bakery.
Guy Harrison stepped inside.
Calm.
Collected.
Infuriating.
“What now?”
Guy paused.
“You always say that.”
“Because you always appear.”
A brief silence.
Then—
“Fair.”
Mia almost dropped her coffee.
Emily grabbed her arm.
“Did he just admit she was right?”
“I think he did.”
“Write it down.”
Tamara ignored them.
Mostly because she was considering murder.
⸻
Guy had barely sat down when the door opened again.
This time, the entire bakery noticed.
Because Chloe Bennett had entered.
Elegant as always.
Confident as always.
Beautiful as always.
The room seemed to shift around her.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Chloe’s gaze immediately found Guy.
Then Tamara.
Interesting.
“Guy.”
“Chloe.”
Professional.
Polite.
Controlled.
The kind of interaction shared by people who had known each other for years.
Tamara hated noticing that.
⸻
Chloe approached the table.
“I didn’t realize our meeting had moved.”
Guy looked mildly confused.
“It hasn’t.”
Another pause.
Then Chloe smiled.
That perfectly polished smile.
“Good.”
The word sounded harmless.
It wasn’t.
Tamara knew that immediately.
Because Chloe wasn’t looking at Guy anymore.
She was looking at her.
Measuring.
Evaluating.
Comparing.
The realization made Tamara uncomfortable.
And she hated feeling uncomfortable.
⸻
The next twenty minutes passed in conversation.
Mostly business.
Mostly.
But Chloe had a talent.
A dangerous talent.
She could mention her history with Guy without appearing to mention it at all.
A charity event from three years ago.
A business conference in Singapore.
A family dinner involving Guy’s grandfather.
Small details.
Harmless details.
Yet together they painted a picture.
A history.
A connection.
A world Tamara wasn’t part of.
And maybe never would be.
⸻
Then something unexpected happened.
Emily dropped a tray.
A very loud tray.
The entire bakery jumped.
Including Chloe.
Including Guy.
Including Tamara.
“Oh my God.”
Emily stared at the mess.
Horrified.
“I am so fired.”
“No, you’re not.”
Tamara was already moving.
Helping her gather the pastries.
Checking for damage.
Making sure she was okay.
Simple.
Natural.
Instinctive.
The bakery staff immediately joined in.
Within seconds, the problem was handled.
The crisis was over.
Life continued.
Normal.
Routine.
Family.
And when Tamara finally looked up…
She caught Chloe watching.
Not with annoyance.
Not with judgment.
But with something else.
Something harder to identify.
Because for the first time…
Chloe was seeing why people liked Tamara.
And she didn’t like the answer.
⸻
Later, after Chloe left, the bakery felt lighter.
Less tense.
More familiar.
Tamara returned to work.
Pretending she hadn’t noticed anything.
Pretending she didn’t care.
Pretending Chloe Bennett hadn’t spent half the afternoon reminding her how different their worlds were.
Unfortunately…
She wasn’t very convincing.
Especially not to Mia.
“You don’t like her.”
Tamara looked up.
“What gave it away?”
“Everything.”
Mia leaned against the counter.
“Good.”
“What?”
“I don’t like her either.”
“Why?”
Mia thought for a moment.
Then shrugged.
“She makes me want to lock my wallet.”
Emily nodded immediately.
“Same.”
Tamara laughed.
Despite herself.
And across the city…
Chloe Bennett sat alone in her car.
Thinking about Sweet Haven Bakery.
Thinking about Tamara Joseph.
And thinking about something she wished wasn’t true.
The bakery owner wasn’t a threat because she was beautiful.
She wasn’t a threat because Guy visited the bakery.
She was a threat because people genuinely liked her.
And that made her far more dangerous than Chloe had expected.
- Writer
