Page 5 of Estranged Biker Daddy

CHAPTER FIVE

Megan

If it was ever possible to bury myself alive in a hole and die, now was as good as the time as ever. I couldn't believe that I was standing face to face with the same man I had seen arrive at the bakery on his motorcycle the day I got hired. Despite the T-shirt he was forced to wear as part of his uniform, he still looked as mean and tough as before. I cringed as I stared at him and shock and disbelief.

How long had he really been standing there, watching me work like a mad woman while I fought to keep up with the many orders that I was receiving from Rebecca in the front? What was even worse was the fact that I had told him to either stay out of my way or to actually help! While, I normally wouldn't have felt bad if he were literally anyone else, seeing him standing there made me feel all the worse. It wasn't because I felt bad for being rude. It was because I was afraid of him that I regretted saying anything in the first place.

He stood there for a moment with his hand extended towards me, seeming to be waiting for me to shake his hand while I stood there staring at him and frozen terror. When I didn't shake his hand, he crossed his arms across his chest and smiled at me, looking me up and down as he examined my appearance. Thanks to the rush, I had been in when I first got here, my shirt was covered in flour and batter, and I was certain that my face was as red as a strawberry. After another moment of silence, he burst into laughter and shook his head at me.

"Not very chatty when it comes to regular conversations, are you?" he asked as his laughter died. When I didn't respond, he shrugged. "It's okay if you're not. I'm not usually much of a talker myself either." I winced as I brushed some loose strands of hair out of my face.

"Are you here to help me in the kitchen?" I asked. Raising his eyebrow at me, he sighed.

"That's a bit rude," he commented as he stared at me. "Didn't your parents ever teach you how to respond when being introduced to someone new?" Blushing in embarrassment, I lowered my gaze.

"I'm sorry," I replied when I finally had the courage to look back up at him. An amused smile was plastered on his face as he stared at me expectedly. Realizing that he was waiting for a proper response, I offered him my hand. "My name is Megan." He nodded his head in response as he took my hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, Megan," he replied politely with a gentle smile. "Was that so hard?" Before I could even think of how to respond, Rebecca return to the kitchen and stopped when she saw us standing there mid handshake.

"Even though we're not as busy up front," she began as she looked from me to him and back again, "but can I trouble you for a few extra batches of cookies? That last match you made was extremely popular, and I want to try to get ahead of the rush whenever lunch comes." Pulling my hand free, I nodded at her.

"You got it," I replied. "I should have those out for you in about half an hour." She gave the man a suspicious look before ducking back into the dining room, and I turned to look at him. "So, are you supposed to be my helper?" He shrugged casually as he crossed his arms again.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he began as he shook his head at me. "I actually don't know how to bake anything." Confused, I looked back towards the door to the dining room, hoping that Rebecca would pop back in to request another item.

Why on Earth would she hire somebody who didn't even know how to bake and have them work in the kitchen? If anything, this man belonged in the front running the cash register or serving up coffee with everybody's order. The fact that she had thrown him into the kitchen at me was a bit concerning, and I was already worried that this was going to end in a disaster.

"Do you think you could teach me?" he asked, and I considered this for a moment.

"I don't see why not," I replied with a gentle smile. "A lot of people think it's really hard, but, in all honesty, it's all about following the instructions." Pulling out the recipe card for the cookies that Rebecca had me baking, I motioned for him to come see.

Before the lunch rush hit, I helped him understand the different measurements of all the equipment in the kitchen, showed him a few pointers on how to cream butter, and even shared a few life hacks about how to bake the perfect cookies. The awkwardness of our encounter together had disappeared completely, and we started to get along perfectly as we made each of the different treats together. After lunch was finally over, we sat down for a break, and he smiled at me.

"You seem as though you've been doing this a long time," he commented as he sipped his coffee. "Have you worked at a bakery before?" Immediately, I shook my head and stared down at the bitter brew in my cup.

"No, actually, I haven't," I admitted to him. "I just graduated culinary school, and this is my first job." He seemed impressed by this and nodded his head in respect at me.

"Congratulations!" he said as he gave me a gentle smile. "You're certainly doing a great job here." Thankful for the compliment, I blushed.

"What about you?" I asked. "What have you done up until this point?"