Page 32 of Grounding the Baker
There was no point in arguing about Austin giving him a lift now. It was happening.
“I’ll pick you up at six o’clock, just in case we hit any traffic. If we get there early, we can have a coffee in that café near the station.”
“I can make you a coffee before we leave.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Liam.Put Giselle back on.”
“See you tomorrow.”
He passed the phone back to Giselle. He wasn’t sure what Austin said to her, but she started laughing. That made him feel self-conscious because they had to be talking about him, or was he just being paranoid?
Once she hung up the phone, she picked up her tea and downed it before standing.
“I think my work here is done. Now, make sure you ask Austin for that first date on your drive tomorrow, so he can woo you.”
“How did you know about that? You know what, never mind.”
He stood up and walked with her to the door. Liam loved having a separate entrance to his annexe, so visitors didn’t have to go through his parents’ house. The downside was that he didn’t have a barrier to prevent Giselle getting to him, not that his dad could have stopped her anyway.
“Thanks again for doing this, Austin,”said Liam, getting into his truck and pulling his seatbelt on.
“I’ll have to thank Giselle for calling me, or you would have been in a taxi, and we wouldn’t have had this time to talk.”
He looked across at Liam and gave him a smile. Austin’s gorgeous brown eyes were something he couldn’t stop staring at. It was like all his insecurities slipped away when he was near him. Liam didn’t know what it was, but he was nervous about this meeting. It would be his first time in the office in two months. He spoke to his colleagues all the time on Teams calls, but this would be different, especially with his manager being gone. Liam didn’t even get to say goodbye. That’s how cutthroat this industry could be.
“How are you feeling?” asked Austin.
“Fine.”
“Really?”
“Just a bit tired.”
“You seem tense. Are you worried about this meeting?”
“I don’t think they’re going to get rid of me, as they would have just done that on a Teams call.”
“They’d fire you on a Teams call?” Austin sounded horrified.
“It’s pretty normal these days. No drama in the office then. As soon as you get off the call, all your access is shut off immediately, and they send someone round to get your equipment.”
“Isn’t that more of a thing they do in America?”
“Yes, but it’s a US company, so all they do here is write you a cheque and you’re gone.”
“Jesus. But you don’t think that’s going to happen to you?”
“No. I’m already leaving. That’s definitely what they did to my boss, even though they haven’t said anything. Today is about meeting the new boss.”
“When did they sack your old boss?”
“I was told on Friday that he’d left.”
“And you like working for a company like that?”
“No. Never have, but the money’s good, and it will help set me up for the future. I’ve worked in financial services for seven years, and have a fair bit saved up. I wanted to have more before I took over the bakery, but... well, you know.”
Austin nodded. “How long do you have left at that place?”
