“I’m sitting.”
Richard’s mouth tightened.
Arthur continued.
“If a seventy-six-year-old man sitting quietly is enough to disrupt your operation, you have more serious problems than I thought.”
A customer coughed to hide a laugh.
Richard looked around.
“Everyone, please continue. We apologize for the delay.”
Nobody moved immediately.
Then the line slowly resumed.
Emily went to the employee room.
Her hands were shaking now.
She removed her apron.
Folded it.
Then unfolded it because the fold was crooked.
She hated herself for caring.
She placed it on the shelf.
Her purse hung on a hook.
She took it.
Inside was her wallet.
Thirty dollars lighter.
She stared at it.
The reality hit her suddenly.
She had no job.
No paycheck next Friday beyond the hours already worked.
No certainty she could replace the income quickly.
Her school envelope would become rent money.
Then grocery money.
Then disappear.
Emily sat on the small bench.
She covered her face.
For the first time, she cried.
Quietly.
She did not hear Arthur enter the hallway.
He stopped before the employee room.
He did not come inside.
“Emily?”
She wiped her face quickly.
“Yes?”
“May I speak with you?”
She took a breath.
“Sure.”
Arthur remained outside.
Emily appreciated that.
She stepped into the hallway.
He held the cake with both hands again.
His phone was hidden.
He looked exactly as vulnerable as before.
Emily almost felt angry about it.
“What was that?”
Arthur nodded.
“A reasonable question.”
“Did you know your card would be declined?”
“No.”
She studied him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“You were testing me.”
Arthur did not answer immediately.
Emily’s face hardened.
“You were.”
“Not in the way you think.”
“What other way is there?”
Arthur looked toward the bakery.
“I came here because I needed a cake.”
“That doesn’t explain the phone call.”
“No.”
“Or the board.”
“No.”
“Or why Richard looked like he saw a ghost.”
Arthur gave a tired sigh.
“Richard doesn’t know who I am.”
Emily frowned.
“Then why was he scared?”
“Because he knows enough to be worried about not knowing.”
That only annoyed her more.
Emily crossed her arms.
“I lost my job.”
Arthur’s face softened.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“No, I mean do you actually understand what that means?”
Arthur did not respond.
Emily continued.
“I don’t have savings. Not real savings. I’m not working here for spending money.”
“I know.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“How?”
Arthur caught himself.
Too late.
Emily noticed.
“How do you know?”
He was silent.
“You looked me up?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Arthur leaned against the wall slightly.
“I’ve been watching this bakery for several months.”
Emily stared.
“That is somehow worse.”
He almost smiled.
“Again, fair.”
“What are you?”
Arthur looked at her for a moment.
“Someone trying to solve a problem.”
“What problem?”
Arthur glanced toward Richard.
“Succession.”
Emily blinked.
“What?”
“That is all I can tell you tonight.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“You called a board because I bought you a cake.”
“Not exactly.”
Emily laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You know what? I don’t care.”
She picked up her purse.
“I need to figure out how to tell my mother I’m unemployed.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
“Emily.”
She stopped.
“I will not let you lose income because of what happened.”
She looked at him.
“I don’t want your money.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It sounded like it.”
“I meant the termination will be reviewed.”
“You can do that?”
Arthur said nothing.
Emily shook her head.
“Of course.”
She started toward the front.
Arthur spoke again.
“The most important thing you did tonight happened before you knew any of this.”
Emily stopped.
Arthur continued.
“You believed I had nothing.”
She turned.
“I didn’t think you had nothing.”
“You saw an old man whose card was declined.”
“So?”
“You paid anyway.”
“It was sixteen dollars.”
“Twenty-eight fifty.”
“I mean what you were short.”
Arthur smiled slightly.
“You noticed.”
Emily exhaled.
“Why does this matter?”
Arthur looked at the cake.
“Because people behave very differently when they think generosity might be rewarded.”
Emily studied him.
“That sounds like a test.”
“It was an observation.”
“That’s corporate language for a test.”
This time Arthur actually laughed.
“You may be right.”
Emily looked toward the bakery entrance.
“Whatever this is, I’m going home.”
Arthur nodded.
“Come back tomorrow at ten.”
She stared.
“I’m fired.”
“Come back anyway.”
“For what?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Answers.”
At 9:58 the next morning, Emily stood outside Bennett Street Bakery.
She almost did not come.
Her mother had told her not to.
“This sounds insane.”
“It is.”
“Then don’t go.”
“What if I can get my job back?”
Her mother had sighed.
“Do you even want that job back?”
Emily had not known how to answer.
Now the bakery looked different in daylight.
Less dramatic.
The rain had stopped.
The sidewalk was still wet.
Emily pushed open the door.
The bell rang.
Richard stood near the counter.
His eyes met hers.
He looked as though he had slept even less than she had.
“You came.”
“You sound surprised.”
Richard glanced toward the back room.
“I was told to expect you.”
Emily looked around.
Arthur was not visible.
“By whom?”
Richard said nothing.
“Still mysterious?”
His jaw tightened.
“I wouldn’t joke.”
That caught her attention.
Richard motioned toward the office.
“Go through.”
The office was normally reserved for management.
Emily had been inside twice.
Today, three people sat around the small table.
Arthur Bennett.