“No. Jesus, Hayleigh, no. I told her to get dressed and then I fired her.”
“You fired her?” Her lips turned down at the corners. “Why was she in the kitchen yesterday?”
“Apparently it didn’t stick.”
To his surprise, she threw her head back and let out a long, loud laugh. “It didn’t stick?”
“No. I went to Derek yesterday and he’s going to start the paperwork to make sure it does stick this time around.”
“So, you didn’t kiss her, and you kicked her out of your office. And that’s all?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
Picking up her mug again, she shrugged. “I wish you’d told me before I had to start a food fight, but I understand. Thank you for telling me.”
“I’m sure that makes sense in some strange way, but you’re welcome. So, we’re good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.”
Chapter 16
Without Julia around,Hayleigh’s trips to the kitchen the rest of the week were far more enjoyable than they had been. Which was a relief, especially since her Daddy practically lived in the kitchen as they prepared for the big Halloween party.
Over the course of the week, she watched as the kitchen staff prepared trays of snacks and desserts for the big party. Anything that could be made ahead of time was put together and stored in the huge walk-in fridge. And that included the giant haunted house made entirely of chocolate that Angel had dreamt up.
It was a masterpiece, even before it was done. Hayleigh watched in awe as Angel carefully cut and rolled and placed different types of chocolates, slowly building a giant, spooky mansion from the ground up.
The day of the party, she joined her Daddy in the kitchen right after breakfast. But he was so busy directing traffic and double and triple checking everything, he barely noticed her.
“Why so glum,chiquita?” Angel asked when she plopped onto a stool at the island where he was currently working on one of the last turrets for the haunted house.
“Daddy’s barely talking to me,” she confided with a pout.
“Your Daddy is a busy man,chiquita. He’ll have time for you tonight, at the party.”
“Nuh uh. He’s gonna be in charge of everything. He probably won’t even notice I’m there.”
“That’s not true. He always notices you. But tonight is very important to him, so you need to show him a little bit of grace.”
The gently scolding tone had a blush rising to her cheeks. “You’re right. I’m being selfish. I just miss him. It’s not the same when he’s so busy.”
“Maybe it would help if you had something to keep you busy, too. Here.” Moving around the island, he laid some chocolate and tools in front of her. “I need some more little shingles, for the roof. All you have to do is cut off a little bit of the chocolate here and then roll it into a ball and flatten it out a bit. Like this.”
He demonstrated a few times, then let her try. It took her a few tries, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly. With Angel nearby in case she had a question, she went to work cutting and rolling and shaping shingles for the roof.
She’d been at it for nearly an hour when her Daddy came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “Those look great, jellybean.”
“Angel showed me,” she told him proudly. “I was sad ‘cause you were busy, so he let me help him with the house.”
“I’m sorry you were sad, jellybean. Next weekend, I’m all yours. Maybe we’ll go somewhere for a couple of days. How’s that sound?”
“Can I pick where we go?”
Laughing, he gave her a squeeze before turning the stool to face him. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll pick out a few places I think we might like, and you can have the final say. Sound good?”