Sugar Rush by Elaine Overton Read Free Book Online

and he was followed by Mae.
    They all crowded around Sophie as if it were a family reunion and they had not seen each other in years. Eliot knew from earlier conversations she’d spent only one day away from them.
    Mentally, he compared this small group of five to the hundreds of employees of Fulton Foods. The differences were like night and day, and yet this small group was now giving Fulton a run for its money.
    It was amazing, really, and Eliot knew without a doubt the woman on the crutches was the reason why. She was the reason for all that new equipment in the back. She was the one who wanted to go after their contracts. She was the one with the ambition; she was the one who’d rejected their generous offer, not Mae. And therefore, as much as he might not want to, he knew she would have to be the one he brought down. And since he’d already decided he could not steal Mae’s recipes, he had no idea exactly how to go about his mission. Especially considering Sophie, unlike her trusting grandmother, seemed to have suspicions about him. He only hoped his earlier phone calls worked.
    “I was meeting our new baker.” She gestured to Eliot.
    “El here has been working his little heart out this morning.” Mae came to his side, making herself his advocate. “Even though he was hired to bake, he has been a real sweetheart about helping me with the inventory all afternoon.”
    He nodded, his mind on the way Wayne stood protectively close to Sophie. It was becoming apparent that the two were close, and irrationally, Eliot found he didn’t care for their relationship.
    “That’s good to hear, we like go-getters around here.” Sophie smiled at him again, and Eliot felt his heart skip a beat. The woman really was too gorgeous.
    “We got the back room all fixed up for you, Sophie,” Lonnie said happily. “Wanna see?”
    “Right now all I want to do is find somewhere to sit down.” She smiled and winked at Eliot. “And of course, get to know our newest addition.”
    Sophie repositioned herself on her crutches and headed toward the back, the small group following patiently behind her, each giving her reports of what had happened in her absence. Soon Eliot was left alone.
    Slowly, Eliot turned and followed the group as he replayed that smile and wink, and the possible implications of what she’d meant by getting to know him.He smiled to himself. This day was getting more interesting by the minute.

Chapter 5
    Chapter 5
    Wow.As she settled into her desk chair, and placed her crutches against the wall, Sophie released a pent-up breath. Wow.Her new baker had completely lived up to the sexy voice she’d heard on the phone that morning.
    She tried to focus on the conversation around her as Lonnie and Dante filled her in on every moment she’d missed. Her grandmother had said something about being hungry and left the room already. Wayne was standing in the door, half watching her and half watching someone in the kitchen; she could only assume he was spying on El. Wayne had made his feelings about the man perfectly clear, although she’d already decided to take his assessment with a grain of salt. After all, Wayne had a lot of alpha dog in him, and the thought of another grown man in what he considered his kitchen would have never sat well. Which was part of why she hadn’t warned him ahead of time.
    Despite his bias, he’d been dead on regarding appearance. Despite the dirt and dust, El did look like he’d stepped out of the pages of GQmagazine like Wayne said, and although she thor oughly enjoyed the whole package, the pieces didn’t completely make sense.
    For instance, she expected him to be arrogant and a bit of a prima donna. After all, he was one of the breed of chefs that considered themselves more artist than cook. Many of his type managed large staffs, as he probably did in his previous employment. So self-assuredness was expected, although this man radiatedauthority.
    He looked as if he should be sitting at