Icing on my cake

"Please... Don't do this!" Eyes filled with tears, voice trembling with fear, Lilian pleaded with Brandon, the ruthless CEO who only cares about his sister and company.

He is known for making and breaking business with just his signature, but this wasn't any business. This was the only thing left of Lily's parent, so she pleaded again, "I'm begging you," she said in a whisper.

Her throat was closing in on her, so a whisper is all she could let out.

While waiting for Brandon to say anything, her mind trailed back.

"How could anyone be this unlucky, how could an unintentional accident be costing me this much?"

It had started on a beautiful morning. Lily was trying to keep up with orders, her face smeared with buttercream, and her chocolate-frosted apron was enough evidence of how busy the morning had been.

Just as she was wrestling with the old rusting oven to get out the last set of pastries before it burned, the bell over the bakery jingled.

Lily's heart skipped a beat. "Please don't let it be the client picking up the cake... I haven't even started that yet."

"Wow, Lil, seems you have a lot going on."

A wave of relief washed over Lily when she realized it was not the client but Anson, her boyfriend.

He flashes Lily a teasing smile and strides over to a fresh set of pastries Lily set aside, immediately helping himself to one.

Lilly, still fighting the oven door that chooses the worst moment to jam, "Anson," she gasped, her voice thin from all the efforts she has put in wrestling the oven door, "can you... help me with this?"

"Babe, come on, I just got here," Anson said, his mouth twisting into a cute little pout.

Seeing as Anson was not ready to help, Lily clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and gave one final sharp pull. The door finally gave way.

"Ahh, finally," Lily said, a smile escaping her lips.

"See, babe, I knew you could do it," Anson said.

Lily shot him a dry, mildly scornful glance very briefly; her lips soon curled up into a smile-she still finds him cute after all. Just as she was setting the tray on the table, the bell over the shop jingled, and Lily panicked again, but it was just Taby, her best friend.

Taby stopped short in her step and gasped, eyes widening like she saw something crawling.

"God, Lil... your face looks like someone tried to frost it and ran out halfway."

Anson snorted, "Guess they figured it wasn't worth finishing."

Taby immediately tossed her head back in a high-pitched laugh. Anson leaned against the counter wearing a proud grin as if he had just told the world's cleverest joke. Lily let out a painful smile and proceeded to pack her orders.

Taby went on about how Lily looked like a half-baked masterpiece, and Anson added something about needing more icing.

Lily felt something painfully tug at her heart, but she couldn't be distracted. She had orders to pack and a cake to deliver.

Behind her, Taby was on her phone and helping herself to Lily's pastries. She would glance at Lily and nudge Anson to whisper something to him, and he would respond with a smile.

Once she's had enough to eat, Taby stretched and headed for the door.

"Bye, Lil," she said while giving her a light tap on the shoulder. "Careful not to frost yourself into the cake next time."

For a moment the shop felt more quiet, and it was like Lily could breathe more comfortably. Anson still lingered in the corner, carried away by his phone.

Lily wiped her hands and turned to face Anson.

"Can we talk?" her voice lower and softer than she meant.

Eyes glued to the phone, he answered, "Yeah," and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know... sometimes I'm not very comfortable with the jokes you and Taby make."

"Come on, babe, it's just a joke. You know Taby loves to play around," still tapping away at his phone, barely giving her a glance.

Lily looked at him painfully, waiting for him to show a little concern, but he kept staring at his phone unbothered.

Her insides were burning. She unconsciously clenched her jaw and bit down on her lips.

"Why does the joke have to be at my expense though?" Her voice came out louder than she had planned.

The seriousness in Lily's voice finally made Anson look away from his phone. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and for the first time that morning he really looked at her.

Realizing she was very upset, he dropped the phone and moved close to her.

"Babe, come on... You know Tabs was just messing around. She thinks she makes good jokes but her jokes are not even all that, I just laugh not to make her feel bad... don't take things seriously.

We were just messing around." He looked into her eyes, wearing a mastered boyish smile he knew usually worked on her.

"Don't let it get to you, okay? You're too pretty to frown," he says with a big smile plastered on his face.

Lily's shoulders stayed stiff, her eyes still sharp, ready to probe more. But then, reluctantly, the tightness in her gaze softened.

She forced a small smile, the knot in her chest loosening just a little-but not disappearing.

Trying not to get on Lily's bad side any further, Anson stood up and offered, "Tell you what, babe.

Why don't I help you drop off this pastries and you can focus on the cake, and when I get back, we can clean together," he said in a light tone.

Very eager, he reached for the box before Lily could protest.

She let out a smile, grateful for the help.

"Thanks," she said softly, her gaze warming up to him.

Once Anson left, the shop was quiet, and she finds herself still thinking about what happened. In a bid to stop the thought, she shook her head.

"Alright, back to work," she murmured to herself.

She placed the cake batter in the oven, and before closing it she gave the oven a warning, "Don't you dare try to act up this time."

Then she closed it. She laughed at her silliness. Pastries gone, cake rising in the oven-all she needed to do for the rest of the day was clean and finish the cake, so she started cleaning while the cake baked.

As if timed, a call came in just as the oven bell tinged, indicating the cake was ready. Lily glanced at the caller ID.

"It's Amy." She smiled and answered the call.

"Lily, thank God-" amongst all the heels tapping hurriedly on a marble floor, voices frantically asking for a document or another, and chairs screeching across the floor as multiple people try to get up at the same time, Lily could barely hear Amy.

"Lily, I need to ask a favor. I have a meeting in 5, and this is not just any meeting-the CEO is coming. Brandon Luca is back in town."

Brandon Luca-a man Lily has never met, but she has heard enough stories to know about the two things Luca doesn't joke with: his sister and his company. From Amy and other employees of THE LUCA, of all the stories she had heard, two etched the name Brandon Luca to Lily's heart:

One time, when he flew back to the country at midnight so he wouldn't miss his sister's recital, and how he never misses any of her events in school.He would ignore even the most important client to attend to his sister's needs.

The second story is a legend.

As early as 6am, Brandon Luca was the name on every radio and TV station. "The anonymous funder of the failing startup company now worth $100 billion is the corporate daredevil Brandon Luca." As an avant-risk taker, he had decided to invest $75 million to save a failing company, and now that the company is succeeding, the press are wilding at how much profit Brandon was raking in just because of the risk he decided to take.

The owner of the startup company in his interview also said Brandon was the one that made all the decisions that lead to the company's success.

Lily jolted back from her thought when Amy shrieked, "Hello!" loud enough to make Lily's ears hurt.

"I can't make it down to pick up the cake. Could you please make a delivery?"

"Yeah, I could-"

"Great!" She shrieked again. Lily had to move the phone away from her ears because one more shriek from Amy could make her deaf.

"Bring it straight to THE LUCA conference room B. I owe you one. Bye."

She hung up immediately.

Lily smiled and shook her head. She proceeded to pack the cake and head out to make the delivery.