Exploding: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #1) by Tuesday Embers Read Free Book Online Page A

if I could handle it all myself back here.”
    Jen looked her straight in the eye, cupping Fallyn’s chin. “You can’t. No one can. Even with an extra baker, you might still fall behind. This is a lot of work, and your food is the best. The quality will start to suffer if you’re muscling through every day. You have to hire someone today.” A fist pounded on the backdoor. “See? That’s probably the new cashier now. You need to get some space. Get some air. Take those resumes and go home for a bit. Get some sleep. You’re no good to me half-dead.”
    Fallyn’s lower lip quivered, and she blamed the offense on the extreme nature of her exhaustion. It had been too many nights she’d worked around the clock. She flung her arms around Jen’s neck and squeezed. “Thanks, Jen. I’m so tired, I can barely see straight.”
    “Well, then you’re not driving.”
    “I’ll just catch a quick nap at my desk after showing the new girl around the place and training her.”
    “How about I train the new girl, and you go home.” Jen opened the door, revealing a leggy blonde in a short skirt that looked to be in her mid-twenties. “I can see why Declan hired you,” Jen simpered, extending her hand to the girl. “I’m Jen. Welcome to Sweet Somethings. Do you have any experience with a cash register?”
    “Three years retail. I’m Hannah. And you’re the owner? Fallyn O’Keefe?” She turned to greet Fallyn with a bright smile that Fallyn was sure would attract customers for miles. Declan had an eye for that sort of thing.
    “Yes. Good to meet you.” She handed Hannah an apron and was about to start in on showing her around, but Jen had other plans.
    Jen placed her hand on her best friend’s back and lightly shoved her toward the door. She trotted to the office and gathered Fallyn’s things, placing the stack of resumes, the pink purse and heels in Fallyn’s hands. “Go find us a new clone of you. Go home, take a shower, take a nap. Come back at noon. Sound good?” Jen didn’t wait for a response. “Good.”
    Fallyn stood in the back alley, flabbergasted that she’d been kicked out of her own store. The air was crisp in the early dawn, and she breathed in the scent that was not laced with the constant refrain of sugar she’d been inundated with. She knew she should go home, but the constant call of work would only be solved with hiring a second baker. She drew in several steadying breaths, slipped on her heels and strolled down the street to see if anything was open so she could sit down while she leafed through the stack.
    Sweet Somethings was the only place that opened at six, which guaranteed them a solid morning crowd. Fallyn meandered back to her store, but knew she wouldn’t be able to get inside without Jen throwing her back out again. So she took down one of the white aluminum chairs that had been stacked on the patio and flopped down into it. With how overly tired she was, the rigid back and unpadded seat could have been a luxury sofa. Fallyn started reading the first resume, determined not to have another day like yesterday happen every day of her life.
    After the third lackluster recounting of a person’s employment history, Fallyn’s eyes began to droop. She fought off her exhaustion valiantly, getting through two more resumes and ruling them unfit before her head found its home on the tabletop. Fallyn shut her eyes, leaving the bakery to take care of itself.

7
Handguns and Accepting Help
    A man’s hand ran down Fallyn’s back, softening her trek back to wakefulness. “I can do it by myself, Declan,” she murmured, not bothering to open her eyes.
    “Am I so forgettable that you’re confusing me with another barista already?” came a voice that was certainly not her brother’s.
    Fallyn’s eyes flew open, and her head shot up, a resume sticking to her cheek as she whipped her head around, shocked that it was almost mid-morning. “Jiminy Cricket! What time is it?”
    James chuckled.