Hi everyone! Thank you for choosing to read this book even though I'm not that great of a writer, but whatever I'm glad people are reading it. ANYWAYS, have fun reading my book and when you're finished with this one (if you haven't yet) go check out my other book! Thanks for reading!

" You're quitting? But I just hired you last week?!" I exclaim at my now-former employee, Brian, as he shakes in fear of what I might do next. Honestly, I did feel like punching the life out of him, but then that would just mean I would go to jail, and I definitely didn't want that to happen.

Why am I about to take the life of this young man you ask? Well, let's just say this person is one of the very few employees that I had left working with me at my grandfather's- my bakery, Eleanor's, and it's pissing me off. I mean, what's wrong about the bakery, it used to be a legend for its amazing cakes and pies, but now it's just.... it's just isn't like it used to be.

" I-I'm sorry! I really am, but the people from down the street- "

" Let me guess. Offered you better pay and a free stay at their beach house?"

" How did you know?"

" Because this will probably not be the first or the last time, they steal my employees!" I yell to where China could hear it and instantly regret it. No wonder so many people were leaving. Maybe it was not because the Grays' business was clearly better than mine, maybe it was just me.

" I'm sorry." I sigh, sitting back in my seat as I run my fingers through my hair. " I shouldn't have yelled.... you can leave now. Good luck with your new job." I say to him with a forced smile, and the boy awkwardly smiles back and quickly leaves.

I do not think this is what my grandpa had in mind when he gave me the opportunity to take over Eleanor's after he passed. It's just as if after my grandpa died no one seems to come here anymore, I mean, I've memorized all the recipes for each pie, cake, cupcake, cookie, everything, and yet I still don't get as many customers as Grandpa did. What am I doing wrong?

" Hey Chloe, I'm going to go ahead and put the macaroons in the oven......" my friend Harley trails off when she opens the door. Her curly golden-brown hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was covered in macaroon batter. She wasn't a new employee; she was actually one of the oldest ones. She started before I took over Eleanor's but even before she was employed at Eleanor's, my grandpa always let her learn how to bake along with me. We used to go to the bakery with my grandpa every Saturday and learn a new recipe. My favorite to make was always the connoncini alla crema. It's pretty much a cream-filled donut roll if that makes any sense. It was simple to make and best of all was delicious to eat. Anyways, Harley and I are not as close as we used to be, it's like since my grandpa passed were just not, but that's alright since I already have an amazing best friend. Don't get me wrong I would still do anything for Harley but as far as being super close with her I'm really not.

" Another two-week notice?" She asks and I nod in reply. My friend gives me a smile but I could see that this hurt her as much as it was hurting me to see that our favorite person's pride and joy was crumbling into ashes, or in this case, flour...you know, since it's a bakery and there's a lot of.....never mind bad joke.

" Hey, one day it'll get better, trust me," Harley tells me.

I shrug, " I really do hope so because right now our only everyday customer is Mike the homeless man."

" And what's wrong with that? He still loves the free strawberry cupcake that we always give him."

" That's probably because he isn't getting anything else. Besides, it probably won't be long until he also goes the Grays' bakery."

" Well, we also have that sweatshirt girl." She says.

Oh, right, the sweatshirt girl, or at least we think it's a girl, we really can't tell since her face is covered up with a hood. She's a person that comes in every morning and buys one of each and everything we have, and if it wasn't for her then we would probably already be out of business, but she hasn't come in a week or so and I'm starting to worry.....about her of course. Even though she seemed quite skinny I always wondered what she was doing with all the food, assuming that she ate at least some of it that are but still....it's just a little weird why someone would want to buy every single type of sweet we bake.

" Speaking of which have you seen her today?" I ask. Harley shakes her head no and a huge pit forms at the bottom of my stomach.

" I'm sure we'll get some new customers or even bakers soon Chlo, don't worry about it."

"Let's hope so," I mutter.

" What was that?"

" Nothing. Go finish your macaroons."

" Fine but before I do that, I need to tell you something?"

A burnt smell fills the room and I look up at Harley to see a worried look in on her face. " Shit." She says and runs back into the kitchen.

●●●●

" Hi Grandma, I'm home," I say setting my school bag down next to the front door. It was around nine-ish but it was already pitch black outside, so it was most likely that my grandma has gone to bed. You see she has this thing where she'll go to bed at sunset every night, and it does her some good since she will get up early to go for her run. I know, surprising that a seventy-year-old woman goes for a run every morning, but she is still one of the strongest people I know.

The thing is, my grandma, owns the bakery, but I run it. I take care of the bills, and most of the sweets, and clean, so we usually just call it my bakery even though it's been a bad habit of mine calling it my grandpa's. The only time my grandma has to do any work is when I don't have anyone employed that is out of school, which thankfully, I do.

Now you're probably wondering, hey, where are your parents? Well, my 'parents' left me when I was eight to move all the way across the country since they won the lottery. They didn't even think of taking me with them they just clicked a button, bought a house, packed up their bags, and left. I give them some credit; they do visit every Christmas and every fourth of July when it's in the summertime and they want to go to the beach. Such great parents they are.

Anyways, since it's a Sunday and I have school tomorrow, I decide to finish up my homework in the dining room. I'm not like my best friend Aubrey who can get any nerd boy to do her homework with an " Oh will you please do my homework? It would mean so much to me if you would." Besides, Grandma would kill me if I ever tried to do something like that, she already can't stand Aubrey for what her family is doing to our bakery, but it's not her fault, she's just trying to make some money, and what's a better way to do that than to work at your own family's bakery?

Some days I wish I was like Aubrey. She can do anything she wants, she can get everything she wants, and get away with it. While she was already at the tip of the latter of popularity, I had to cling to each handle to get where I'm at. See, in a cliche type of book with the awkward, nerdy, bullied, girl, I would be called the queen bitch's minion. Honestly, I'm sure that's what a lot of people think about me, but honestly, I've gotten this far I really can't back out. Besides, Aubrey is my best friend and I wouldn't change it for the world. She was there when my Grandpa died, she was there through everything. Well....not really since I only became friends with her in high school, but I wanted to make it sound better.

" What are you doing up so late Chloe? It's nine-thirty." Grandma asks, knocking me out of my thoughts. I look up to see that she was all ready for bed with her sweatpants and a giant T-shirt that almost swallowed her whole.

Unlike most grandma's who wore silk nightgowns and eye masks to bed, she likes to wear what she would call trendy clothes. I love my Grandma.

" Just finishing my homework. Why are you up? Usually, you're in bed by now." I reply.

" Well, I was waiting until you got home so that I know that you're not at some party getting drunk."

" Well don't worry Grandma, I wasn't. I closed Eleanor's late today. Brian quit."

Grandma sighs with a slight sadness showing in her eyes and comes over to give me a hug, " Don't worry 'hun, everything will be alright." She says to me.

" Why does everyone keep saying that?"

" Well, there has to be some good point in people's life, right? Not all of life is bad."

I sigh and give Grandma a big smile "Whatever you say, Grandma."

" Now young lady, I am old and that means two things. One: I am much wiser than you. Two: I know what I'm talking about."

" Isn't that the same thing?"

" No, because it doesn't use the same words ergo it is different."

" Whatever you say, Grandma."

" Whatever I say,Chloe is correct." She corrects me. I laugh and with one last hug, Grandmawalks out of the room, leaving me to finish the rest of my homework