Melissa turned and almost ran into Brian.
âIâll take care of this,â he growled. âYou go bake your little fours or whatever you call them.â
She held his steady gaze, his eyebrows lowered over his deep-set eyes. She would not be intimidated by an employee, but at the same time she sensed he was not backing down.
âOkay. Iâll be in the back,â she said with a forced smile, knowing she would have to talk to him later about the boss/employee relationship. If he was going to work here, they needed to keep a few things straight.
Their eyes held a moment and she couldnât look away.
She couldnât figure out why his attitude bothered her. Brian Montclair was not her type and the last person she would want to have anything to do with beyond the bakery.
Chapter One
He took up her whole office.
At least thatâs how it felt to Melissa Sweeney.
Brian Montclair sat in the wooden chair across the desk from her, his arms folded over his chest and his entire demeanor screaming ââget me out of here.ââ
Tall with broad shoulders and arms filling out his button-down canvas shirt rolled up at the sleeves and tucked into worn blue jeans, he looked more like a linebacker than a potential bakerâs assistant.
Which is what he might become if he took the job Melissa had to offer him.
Melissa drew in a deep breath, brushed her long hair back from her face and held up the worn and dog-eared paper she had been given. It held a short list of candidates for the job at her bakery, Sweet Dreams Bakery. She had already hired one of the people on the list, Amanda True, but as a high school student she was only available to work part-time.
The rest of the names, once neatly typed out, had been crossed off with comments written beside them. Unsuitable. Too old. Unable to be on their feet all day. Just had a baby. Nut allergy. Moved away.
This last comment appeared beside two of the eight names on her list, a sad commentary on the state of the town of Bygones, which she had only recently moved to.
When Melissa had received word of a mysterious benefactor offering potential business owners incentive money to start up a business in the small town of Bygones, Kansas, she had immediately applied. All her life she had dreamed of starting up her own bakery. She had taken courses in baking, decorating and business management, all with an eye to someday living out the faint hope of owning her own business.
When she had been approved, she had quit her baking job at the hotel in St. Louis, packed up her few belongings and come here. She felt as if her life, after all the mishaps and missteps, had finally taken a good turn. A turn she had some control over.
She started up the bakery in July and for the past month she had been running it with the help of Amanda. However, in the past couple of weeks it had become apparent she needed extra help.
She had received the list of potential hires from the Bygones Save Our Streets Committee and was told to try each of them first. Brian Montclair was on the list. At the bottom, mind you, but still on the list.
âI want to thank you for coming here,â she said by way of introduction.
âNo problem,â he said, glancing her way, then looking suddenly away as if unable to hold her gaze. âWhat can I do for you?â