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“This is the third large contract we’ve lost to this bakery. What are you doing about them?”
“I’ve got Steve looking into our options.” He shook his head in confusion. “I just don’t understand how they can afford to run their operation when they’re offering up bids like this.”
Carl’s eyes narrowed on his nephew. “Hell if I know. That’s what I pay you for.”
He turned and headed back out of the office but paused at the door and looked back. “Eliot, I do not want to get another e-mail like that one.”
Eliot tossed the papers down on the desk and sat back in his chair. “Don’t worry, Uncle Carl, everything’s under control.”
“It better be. Do whatever you have to do, but I will not be undercut by some rinky-dink operation. Do we understand each other?”
Eliot nodded slowly, and Carl knew they were in complete agreement. For all his surface calm, Carl knew that his nephew was a win-at-all-costs individual. Eliot would be as ruthless as necessary to achieve his goals. He knew this, because that was how he’d raised him.
Eliot waited until his uncle left the office before picking up the crumpled letter and rereading the rejection of their bid and contract cancellation by one of their oldest and most reliable clients.
Although he’d hid it well, Eliot shared his uncle’s concern. The amount of the bid they’d submitted to Morningside Nursing Home to service their kitchen and vending machines had been extremely low. They’d wanted to be sure to secure the contract, and yet once again they’d been underbid by the smaller bakery. It was the third time in three months they’d been outplayed by this particular bakery.
The first loss he’d chalked up as a fluke that could not be repeated. But after losing the contract for a private school, it had become clear they had a growing competitor they needed to take seriously. After learning everything he could, Eliot had put together a buyout offer for the competitor—a ploy that had been successful in dealing with previous upstarts.
That was almost two weeks ago. This morning when his uncle had barged into his office, Eliot had been on the phone with their attorney, Steve Ingerman. According to Steve, Mayfield Bakery had rejected the offer.
Eliot toyed with the crumpled papers, frowning thoughtfully. He’d hoped they would accept the offer, but of course he had a contingency plan.
Mayfield Bakery was a small proprietorship. Thanks to some recent upgrades in their equipment and the streamlining of their operation, they were now producing and packaging a unique line of cupcakes, cookies and assorted pastries on a much larger scale than previously possible.
The company was owned by a woman named Mae Anne Mayfield. She also ran the day-to-day operations of the bakery with the help of a small staff. And apparently the little bakery was doing so well they were now negotiating with one of the leading bakers in the industry—Alberto Montagna.
Mayfield Bakery was renowned for an exceptional line of pastries that both looked and tasted like they came out of some loving grandmother’s kitchen and were made with the finest ingredients. But the operation had one major weakness—the small upgraded bakery could never produce the massive quantity of goods that Fulton Foods’s industrial-sized bakery and packaging plant produced on a daily basis. The small staff Mayfield employed could never compete for the larger contracts, the hospitals, corporate businesses and larger school districts that Fulton Foods, which averaged a payroll of two hundred employees, serviced regularly. Not to mention the obvious drawback of such a “boutique” operation. The expensive ingredients, the manpower to process the homemade-like pastries had to cost a fortune, Eliot surmised.
Despite Mae Anne Mayfield’s shrewd business sense and cunning, Eliot understood that no business had unlimited resources, and eventually the laws of economic nature would take their course.
But instead of simply waiting for them to go under, Eliot had asked Steve to set up a meeting with Mae Anne Mayfield. He planned to make an even more generous offer to buy the small operation and absorb their unique line of products and services into Fulton Foods. He would even offer positions within Fulton’s corporate hierarchy to Mayfield and her staff for three distinct reasons.
The first and most obvious was that he could not afford to wait. The second reason was that what he’d seen of the Mayfield product was exceptional. If he could get the recipes and find more practical ingredients to produce pastries with the same taste and texture at a lower cost, the revenue potential would be unlimited.
Finally, Eliot would sell his soul to prevent future visits from his uncle, like the one he’d just received. Even after twenty years, seeing his uncle approach him with the look on his face could still send a shiver of terror up Eliot’s spine.
He had to remind himself that he was not that same terrified ten-year-old boy. He was a man now, more than his uncle match in both size and strength. But the habits of a lifetime were hard to break.
For those reasons, he would make every attempt to absorb Mayfield Bakery, rather than destroy it. One way or another, through cooperation or brute force, Mayfield would yield to the greater strength of the largest baked-goods supplier in the Memphis area and learn what their predecessors already had: that Fulton Foods had an in-house enforcer willing to do pretty much anything to win.
Chapter 2
Meanwhile in Selmer, TN
“Sophie! Look ou—”
“Whoa! Whoa—ouuwwee!”
The loud crashing sound reverberated through the building and brought people running from every direction.
“What happened?” Lonnie, Sophie Mayfield’s cousin, was the first to arrive. “Sophie, did you fall?”
Sophie bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at the younger woman as she stated the obvious. She knew Lonnie couldn’t help her simplistic thinking. But with her leg throbbing painfully, Sophie was finding it hard to be sympathetic.
Wayne was immediately at her side, struggling to help her to her feet. “Sorry, I tried to warn you.”
Trying to stand on her left leg proved impossible, as the sharp shooting pain raced up her spine. “Ouch-oww.” She shook her head frantically. In too much pain for words, she tried to signal to Wayne that standing was not an option.
Apparently he understood, because he gently lowered her back to the floor. “That bad, huh?” His big brown eyes were filled with concern.
“What happened?” Mae pushed her way through the small group to find Sophie bracing herself against the walk-in refrigerator.
She gestured over her shoulder “I fell off that stupid step stool.”
Mae pushed her flour-covered apron aside and knelt beside her granddaughter. “Let me see.” As soon as she touched the injured leg Sophie howled in pain.
“Dante, call for an ambulance,” Mae called to the last person who’d joined the group.
With a quick nod, the slender teen loped off to make the call.
“I’m sure it’s just a sprain. Give me a minute. I’ll be fine.” Sophie smiled up at the huddle of worried faces. “Really.”
To prove her point, she attempted to stand again, but the pain returned with three times the intensity, and a muttered curse slipped from her lips.
“Just sit your ass down,” Wayne muttered in his gruff way. “You’re not going anywhere anytime soon.” He crossed the room to examine the step stool.
“I told you we should’ve got rid of that thing a long time ago,” Mae said, shaking her head, her eyes focused on the rapidly swelling leg.
“You want some water or something?” Lonnie asked, wringing her hands in distress.
Sophie did not like the looks of that hand-ringing. “Lonnie, look at me.” She used her stern voice to gain the girl’s full attention. “I’m fine. Understand? I’m fine.”
Lonnie nodded, but her eyes were still filling with tears.
Just then, much to Sophie’s relief, Dante returned. “Paramedics are on the way.”
“Dante, can you take Lonnie out front with you to wait on the paramedics?” Sophie jerked her head in the direction of the front door. Dante frowned down at her for a second, before understanding hit.
“Oh, right, right.” He took the girl’s hand. “Come on, Lon, let’s go look for the ambulance.”
“But, what if Sophie needs something?”
“I’m fine, Lonnie. Go with Dante.” Sophie forced her most confident smile despite the pain coursing through her leg, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the two left the room together. The last thing she needed right now was a Lonnie meltdown.
Wayne grunted behind her. After five years of working together, Sophie recognized the sound. “What did you find?”
“The bottom bolt came out. Damn thing’s rusted.” Wayne gathered up the pieces. “I’ll take it out back and dump it.”
Mae watched him leave and shook her head once more. “Told you we should’ve got rid of that thing.”
“I know, Grandma, I know.” Sophie shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position, but nothing worked to lessen the pain.
“What were you doing up there, anyway?”
“Trying to reach those boxes.” She pointed over her head. “Have Wayne get them down while I’m gone. We have to get that order for Centerfield Academy ready by Tuesday.”
Seeing her grandmother’s distant expression, Sophie frowned in worry. There was so much to do, and only Sophie knew that Mae Anne was no longer up to the task of running a busy bakery. A fact she’d tried hard to keep from the rest of the family.
She knew Wayne could easily manage the day-to-day stuff, but she needed to be there to help with the new clients. And then there was the new baker she’d hired.
The baker no one but she knew about. The baker they could not really afford but needed desperately. Sophie had thought it best not to say anything to the others until he arrived. Mae would not take well to being edged out of what she considered her kitchen. And she knew Wayne, Lonnie and Dante would probably be less than eager to accept an outsider, especially given his sophisticated background. Sophie knew she would probably have to referee for a while. Which was why she needed to be at the top of her game over the next few days, not hobbling around with a bum ankle.
What a lousy time for this to happen. “Grandma?”
Mae blinked rapidly, as if startled. “Yes, I heard you. Have Wayne get the boxes down.”
Sophie nodded, satisfied that the task would be completed.
Mae’s wrinkled face took on a troubled expression. “What if it’s more than a sprained ankle?”
“It’s not. I’ll go to the emergency room, get a bandage and some painkillers, and be back here by nightfall.” She reached out and touched the older woman’s arm. “Don’t worry.”
Mae nodded in agreement, but it did nothing to allay the concern in her eyes. Just then Wayne walked back in from the alley.
“Wayne, I need you to get the Centerfield order ready to go.” Sophie looked up at him, grateful to have such a competent assistant.
“No problem,” Wayne answered, watching as the paramedics maneuvered the stretcher through the narrow hall that lead to the back kitchens.
“And keep an eye on Lonnie. You know she doesn’t handle stress well.” She sighed, trying to think of all the things that would need to be done in her absence. “And have Dante clean that tunnel oven in the back.”
“Uh-huh,” Wayne muttered, moving to the side to make way.
Despite his seeming lack of interest, Sophie knew from experience that Wayne’s mind was like a trap and he would remember precisely everything she was saying.
“And if you have a chance can you review that contract for the Fielding wedding? Sheila Marks called this morning; apparently she and her fiancé are beefing again. Check the cutoff date for the deposit return.” She shook her head. “This is the third time she’s done this to me.”
After checking her vitals, the paramedics gently lifted her to the stretcher. “Oh,” Sophie added, “and remember to—”
“Sophie!” Wayne snapped.
Sophie’s eyes widened. Wayne hardly ever raised his voice.
“I got this,” he said, returning to his typical monotone. “I got this.”
Sophie took a deep breath. “I know.” And she did, but the habits of the last five years were not easily broken.
They heard a commotion at the front of the building.
“I’m going with you,” Mae announced, pulling her stained apron over her head.
“Grandma, you don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
“Hush, child.” She glanced at Lonnie and Dante as they led the way into the back area. “Lonnie, run upstairs and get my purse.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl hurried away.
Sophie started to argue, but what was the point? It was a well-known fact in Selmer that Sophie Mayfield had inherited her stubborn nature directly from her grandmother.
Wayne and Dante watched in silence as the paramedics rolled her down the hall leading to the storefront.
“Back to work, guys,” Sophie called playfully. “We have a growing business to support.”
“I want to keep you overnight.”
“What?!” Sophie stared up at her doctor. “But you said you could just cast it and send me home.”
“That was before I saw the X-rays.” Dr. Michelson frowned at her over the top of his bifocals. “That break left a pretty nice tear, young lady. For it to heal properly you are going to have to stay off your feet.”
“Fine—send me home and I’ll stay off my feet.”
He huffed in disbelief.
Sophie frowned. That was the problem with a small, tightly knit community. Sometimes your neighbors and friends knew you too well. “But, Dr. Michelson, I have a business to run.”
“Well, it looks like Mae and Wayne are going to be on their own for a while.” Dr. Michelson continued to scribble something on his pad. “I’m confining you to bed rest for the next six to eight weeks.”
“Six to eight weeks?!”
“Sophie, I would appreciate it if you would stop screaming in my ear.”
“Sorry. Dr. Michelson, but we just signed this really important contract. Is there anything you can put on it to protect it? I know—maybe if I were on crutches or even in a wheelchair…”
Eric Michelson watched her for several seconds before crossing the room to pick up one of the X-rays. Holding it up to the light, he pointed to a blurry white patch. “See that? That is the broken bone. Because of its location the healing could go either way. If I set it and you keep it still for the next six weeks, it should heal completely and you will be as good as new. If not, the bone will not heal properly—and for the rest of your life, you will probably have chronic pain in your ankle. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not.”
“Then let me do my job. That bakery was standing long before you were born, and since I delivered you I can attest to that fact. Trust me, it will survive without you for six weeks.”
Sophie bit her bottom lip to keep from expressing her own doubts about that. Before she was born her grandmother was a young woman working alongside her new husband, helping to build their family business. But today, her grandmother was an eighty-year-old woman with a failing memory. And Sophie had noticed that a few times Mae seemed to just stop paying attention right in the middle of a conversation. But when Sophie had asked, Mae was too proud to admit that anything was wrong.
“Sophie,” Dr. Michelson said. He watched her with compassionate eyes. “You’re a grown woman. When I release you tomorrow you, of course, can do what you want. But I want you to understand the price you’ll pay for the stubborn streak you seemed to have been cursed with.”
She nodded. What was she supposed to say? Yes, Dr. Michelson, I want to be crippled forever. As much as she hated it, she knew she would take his advice. It was the only reasonable thing to do.
As he turned to leave, her mind was already calculating what needed to be done over the next six weeks. “I’ll go get you a room and let Mae know what’s going on,” he said. As he opened the door, Mae shuffled past him.
She wrapped Sophie in a tight hug, as if Sophie had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
