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"I think you want to go this way," the man said, pointing to her left. "You're headed to 216, right?"
Oh, great. The jerk was probably going to the same place she was. Perhaps management thought getting a "real person" who worked in the arena would be good to help them judge her desserts. She was already nervous with the ten people who were going to be in the room including the head of catering, her friends from Icing, and the Otters' team owner -- no pressure.
And here was Maggie stuck with some maintenance guy walking awkwardly beside her as she pushed her cart with a smashed cake on it.
She needed to get a grip and take a breath. Yes, she had a major bump in her presentation, but there were plenty of other options she was presenting to the group and she had to do it like the true professional baker she was. Maybe she should start her presentation with the liquor in the shot glass instead of ending with that, get everyone buzzing so they wouldn't notice the crushed cake.
Maggie and the jerk from the elevator got to the door at the same time. "Excuse me," he said quietly as he pushed past her and opened the door to the suite for her.
She gave him a polite smile and walked in with her cart to see people were already there.
"Yes! Dessert is here!"
Riley Rookwood, who played Otters and invested in Icing, came bounding over with a smile. Georgia and Cora were also there, and Maggie was particularly excited to see them again and show them what she had whipped up for this presentation. She would have to focus on the good stuff she had on the cart and try to forget the cake failure.
"These look amazing," Georgia said as she walked over to the cart. "Let me help you get these displayed before everyone else gets here."
She grabbed a tray of cookies and another with the petit fours on it.
"Oh no," Cora said as she picked the cake box off the cart. "Do I dare ask what happened?"
"Uh, that was my fault." The jerk sheepishly raised his hand. "I accidentally knocked it off the cart but saved it from hitting the floor."
"I can see that," Cora said as she delicately put it on the counter.
Maggie watched as they all crowded around Cora while she lifted the lid. Cora gave the cake a sympathetic look while the jerk from the elevator cringed upon seeing what he had done to her cake.
Riley closed his eyes with a look of ecstasy on his face. "I don't care. That smells delicious and I'm going to eat it."
Maggie dared herself to peer into the box. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but it definitely wasn't great. There were a few cherries pushed deep into the chocolate and her chocolate cherry frosting was smeared all over one side of the box.
"It does smell amazing," said the jerk from the elevator.
Riley turned to Maggie and gave her a teasing smile. "Sorry our team owner sucks, but I'm sure your presentation is going to be great anyway."
Maggie's eyes darted between Riley and the jerk from the elevator.
"Your who?"
"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself yet with the whole cake thing." The jerk in the jeans stepped forward and put out his hand. "I'm Charlie Westmore. I own the team."
Maggie stared at him. The jerk in the elevator. The guy who made a pair of jeans and high-vis vest look good. The man who crushed her cake. He was the owner of the Chicago Otters?
Well, crap.
"Where are you coming from?" Georgia demanded.
"What?"
Charlie pulled his hand away slightly, which was fine because Maggie was still too stunned to shake it.
"Sorry." Georgia cleared her throat, probably realizing her tone was a little harsh. "It's just that you're here with the vest and the boots and whatever, and I'm a little worried about you shaking hands with our dessert specialist."
Charlie laughed and pulled his hand farther away before stuffing it into his pocket rather than waiting for Maggie to shake it. She hoped he wouldn't think badly of her for being too stunned to respond.
"That's fair," he said with a smile. "I was helping with the drains for the ice runoff because they were clogged, and I promise I took extra time to wash my hands, which is why I was rushing into the elevator and accidentally smashed the cake."
"Oh." Georgia looked at the counter and then the cart, then the cake and back to Charlie. "OK, that's fine."
