Chapter 9 - THE CONTRACT
Emily reached the distributor’s office twenty minutes before Margaret’s attorney did.
Daniel wanted to come inside.
Emily told him no.
“This one is mine.”
The regional buyer, Sam Ortiz, met her in a glass conference room overlooking the warehouse.
He looked uncomfortable.
“Emily, I like you. I like your product. But legal sent me a file this morning.”
“From Margaret Merritt?”
He didn’t answer.
“That’s a yes.”
Sam slid a printed packet across the table.
It claimed Sweet Ember’s recipes had been developed using proprietary test-kitchen work paid for by Merritt Foods, a company Daniel’s family had sold years earlier.
Emily almost smiled.
“What?” Sam asked.
“My first brownie recipe came from my grandmother’s index card.”
“That doesn’t solve the claim.”
“No, but this might.”
Emily opened her laptop.
She had recipe development photos, dated kitchen notebooks, ingredient testing spreadsheets, and emails with her first pastry mentor going back twelve years—long before she met Daniel.
Sam leaned back.
“That helps.”
“It destroys it.”
“It still has to go through legal.”
Emily nodded. “I know.”
Then she saw a familiar name on the last page.
The sworn statement supporting Margaret’s claim had been signed by Victor Shaw.
It said Victor had interviewed a former Sweet Ember employee who accused Emily of stealing proprietary materials.
“Who is the employee?” Emily asked.
Sam pointed to the name.
Lena Price.
Emily stopped breathing.
Lena had been her first assistant manager. Three years earlier, Emily had fired her for skimming cash deposits.
Daniel waited outside in the car.
When Emily got in, she handed him the packet.
He read the name and cursed.
“Margaret found her.”
“No. Margaret paid her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Lena.”
Emily took out her phone and called Mia.
“Do you still have the old payroll archive?”
“Yeah.”
“I need Lena’s termination records, the missing-deposit report, everything.”
Mia went quiet. “How bad is this?”
“Bad enough that I’m done being polite.”
Daniel looked at her.
Emily ended the call.
His phone buzzed next.
A security alert appeared from the house.
BACK DOOR OPENED.
Then another.
STUDY MOTION DETECTED.
Daniel’s face changed.
“No one is supposed to be there.”
He started the car.
Emily grabbed the dashboard as they pulled away.
“Daniel—who still has a key?”
He didn’t answer.
May you like
Because they both knew.
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