The CEO’s New Baby

Chapter 8

“No! Not there. The color of the roses have nothing to do with those of the lavender Meredith had placed in the corner,” Kayla shouted from the kitchen door.

Ryan tried hard not to burst into a fit of laughter, his lips pressing onto one another as he swallowed the chuckle that threatened to vibrate through his chest. Kayla was worse than a bridzilla. He had never thought her to be so attentive to details such as the matching colors of flowers. It was funny, however, to watch her walk around, her long hair wrapped in a very messy bun. Her clothes were wrinkled too, the blue button-up shirt she was wearing clung to her small baby bump, showing off its curve whenever she moved. The black apron she had on top only exentuated it more.

He must have done something to grab her attention because she immediately turned his way, her eyes meeting his. She was serious. In fact, he doubted he had ever seen her so motivated in her life. But then again, he did not blame her. The opening was only a day away, and she had to make sure that all the work she had invested during the last three months wouldn’t dissappear.

“Stop smiling and come here. I need you in the kitchen.”

It was Meredith who chuckled this time around. She looked at her son and smiled knowing well enough that it was his time to get scolded.

“Here, take these to-” Kayla had begun walking away before he even completely entered the kitchen, her hands shoving a stack of papers in his face. They were probably the invitations they printed out a week ago.

Ryan took the papers, but placed them on the counter beside him before she even got to finish the sentence.

“Ryan!” Indeed, he once again agreed that Kayla looked incredibely cute while angry. She looked like a kid with her wrinkled nose and wide eyes. Her small hands curled into fists as if she was going to launch towards him any moment now.

He did not let her to say anything else. Instead, he wrapped her hands around her and pinned her against the wall behind him. The impact, although low, made her gasp, his close presence making it suddenly hard to breathe or focus. She opened her mouth again to say something, but her brain failed to think.

Ryan’s lips hovered above hers for a second before he folded them together with a swift move. The kiss was not long, it merely lasted as long as the blink of an eye, but it had been enough to make her lose the firm posture she had had before.

“Breathe!” he whispered, his hand slipping under her chin, raising it so their eyes could meet. “Everything is ready, you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

“But the opening is tomorrow. And we have to finish everything before the baker arrives, and we still have to recheck the list. And-” He kissed her again. He was like her drug, her painkiller, her sedative. Whenever she needed him, mind and body, he was there. His kiss could make everything better. “Okay, okay, I am breathing.”

Ryan chuckled as he pulled away, his hand still holding onto her arm.

“Okay, I will go give these to my secretary, she will mail them out. I will have to spend some time at the office though, is it okay?”

“Of course! You need to finish your work. Now come on, off you go, I need to clean this mess up before the cook arrives.”

Just as Ryan was about to leave, Emily danced her way into the kitchen. Her pink dress swirled around her legs as she twirled through the door.

Kayla thanked her lucky stars that she did not come in a minute ago, she and Ryan often found themselves in such positions.

“Mom, can we go home? I am bored!”

“Oh, darling! I am sorry, I didn’t have much time for you today.” It was true. Kayla had been so busy with the final details of the bakery that she had failed to give her daughter much attention.

“Why don’t you come with me? We can get ice cream on our way to the office, and you can play on my computer while I sign some documents.” That fun wasn’t any more fun than the bakery at this point. But she loved being there anyway, Kayla knew immediately that her daughter would love the idea.

The little girl nodded and jumped in his arms, her hands holding onto his neck as she showered her dad with kisses.

“Kayla, Mr. Barson is here,” her mom’s voice suddenly said as Tanya peeked her head through the partially open door.

The news made Kayla enter a sudden zone of panic. The baker had arrived before she got to finish her work in the kitchen. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She needed to calm down, or otherwise she wouldn’t get anything done.

“Okay, I will be out in a moment. As for you two-” She meant Ryan more. He had distracted her and now she was late.

“We are out.” He chuckled, already exiting the room with Emily in his arms, and the invitations stuck under his left arm.

Kayla followed them outside, her hands moving over her black apron, trying to smooth out the wrinkles although she knew that her current state was beyond repairing. She had been moving around since morning, and it was more than evident. She could feel her hair sitting on the crest of her head like a birdnest.

“Pete! You arrived!” She tried to look excited as she welcomed her new employee. While she walked, Kayla could feel her head going lighter, her vision blurring a bit before going back to normal.

Not now was all she could think. She could not afford to faint or become sick, not there, not at that moment. She had so much to do, and no one aside from her could do it.

Pete was an old man with a big beard and short white hair. His eyes were icy blue, contrasting with the pink tint in his cheeks. When Kayla first met him, she could have sworn that if Santa Clause was real, he would be him. Emily had loved him too, but then again, Emily loved anyone who brought her cupcakes and candy. But despite his charisma and warm looks, his baking was beyond everything else. The dough he made was devine. It was sweet and soft, you could taste each and every aroma he added in the mix. Kayla had never tasted anything like it before. And hopefully, the customers would think the same.

“Kayla! You look-”

“Horrible, I know,” she joked. Another thing about Peter was that his personality was sparkly. He was the kind of man with whom you could get along with almost instantly. He would joke and laugh around from the first second, skipping the awkward part altogether. They had known each other for two months now. He had been an important element in the entire process of getting the bakery to where it was that day.

“I was going to say ‘focused,’ but-“

Kayla narrowed her eyes and fought a smile, but she had to admit, the line was pretty good.

“So, did you bring everything?” she said, sighing.

“Yep. We are ready to start baking!”

It was night outside, the sun had long ago settled. Inside the bakery, the only light breaking through the darkness was that coming from the kitchen. Everything was in place and ready for the coming day. There were blue ribbons on the chair, baskets of bread, and sweet cupcake sat on the counter right by the row of colorful lollipops.