Chapter 14
Daniel finally made his decision about Carter Bakery’s contract.
He declined the old arrangement.
Rocco did not negotiate.
Instead, Daniel proposed something different.
Shorter term.
Clear payment deadlines.
No family handshake clauses.
No automatic renewal.
Either side could leave under ordinary commercial terms.
Rocco read it.
“You trust paper more than me?”
Daniel considered the question.
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
Rocco nodded.
“Fair.”
They signed.
The relationship continued because both men chose it under new terms, not because their fathers had done business together.
Maeve returned to the club for the first time since the incident when Daniel delivered sample pastries before reopening.
She stopped at the lobby entrance.
Rocco saw her body hesitate.
The brass emblem had been repaired and mounted securely on the wall rather than returned to its old freestanding position.
The champagne display had been replaced.
The management desk was smaller.
Still, Maeve remembered.
Rocco did not walk toward her.
He let Daniel decide.
“You want to come in?”
Maeve looked at her father.
Then at Rocco.
“Is the mean man here?”
“No,” Rocco said.
“Ever?”
Rocco chose the answer carefully.
“No.”
Maeve entered.
She carried a bakery bag.
Rocco glanced at it.
“You eating that one?”
She immediately hugged it to her chest.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Maeve studied him.
“You hungry?”
“I’ll survive.”
She thought for a moment.
Then opened the bag and tore off a very small corner of a cookie.
She handed it to him.
Rocco stared at the crumb.
Daniel tried not to laugh.
“You’re getting less charitable,” Rocco told her.
Maeve nodded seriously.
“Daddy says we charge now.”
Rocco laughed.
May you like
It was the first sound in that lobby that did not seem to belong to the memory of Dominic.
He paid Daniel for the full sample order before either of them left.
