A Slice Of Heaven

The oven timer shrilled as it went off, the kitchen filled with the rich and deep aroma of chocolate cake. Rosemary hastily wiped her hands on her apron and swiped her forearm across her sweaty forehead.

"Another masterpiece in the making." she muttered to herself as she delicately pulled the cake out of the oven and walked it to her cake cooler. This was the last order of the day, a plain chocolate cake. It was kind of boring, she thought, but it would be fast and easy. It would take a couple of minutes before the cake was chilled and ready to frost so it gave her time to finish the closing process.

'Rosemary's Confectionaries', was the name of her bakery. She knew from the wee age of five she wanted to be a baker, and you bet she put in loads of sweat, blood, tears and love for this place. Rosemary's bakery was her pride and joy. It was already seven-thirty, and her bakery closed thirty minutes ago yet here she was running around like a mad chicken to get everything cleaned up and the register counted and still frost the cake when it's cooled.

It was close to eight-fifteen when she finally whipped out the cake and got to work, it shouldn't take long, just a simple layer of chocolate to complete the cake. She pushed up her sleeves, filled her piping bag and got to work. To Rosemary, this was more than a job making sweet deserts, it was her passion.

As Rosemary carefully smoothed the layer of chocolate on, a sharp rap on the glass front door could be heard through her quiet bakery. Startling, she jumped, smearing a thick layer of frosting right off her cake.

"Son of a bull dog biscuits!" she yelped and ran for the door. On the other side was a tall man wearing a hat in a long dark coat, knocking on the glass door impatiently. Pointing to the 'Closed' sign, Rosemary mouthed 'sorry' and shrugged. The tall man did not seem to take that as a good answer considering he continued to knock even harder.

Second guessing herself on letting a strange man into her bakery this late at night, she huffed, smoothed her hands on her apron and unlocked the door. The strange man pushed past Rosemary and went straight to the closest table to sit. Not only was she uncomfortable, she was peeved. How dare this rude man just walk into her bakery like that even when it obviously says 'Closed'?

"Excuse me Sir, but incase you cannot read, the store is closed for the day."

Maybe some snippy politeness will get him going.

The strange man took his baseball cap off and raked his fingers through his shaggy brown hair and gave her a grin.

"I do apologize, really, but I have an order I put in and I need it now. It's kind of important."

Oh sweet heavens, his deep, rumbling voice made her weak in the knees. But important or not he could have called before her bakery closed and chose to not show up this late.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave and you can get your order in the morning. If you refuse I will have to call the authorities."

"Jacob," he said while standing back up and slowly walking toward her, "my name is Jacob."

Rosemary's breath hitched as this tall, beautiful specimen of a man lumbered closer.

"Well- I - I am sorry Mister Jacob but I'm asking you to please return tomorrow."

Jacob stopped in his tracks, cocked his head and the swiveled as he made his way toward the kitchen.

Oh, this rude, weird man! Rosemary quickly followed him as he made his way into her kitchen and stopped behind him as he stood in front of the chocolate cake she was working on before he so rudely interrupted her.

"Sir-" she started as he took a finger and swiped it across the top of the cake.

"Call me Jacob, please." he mumbled, sticking his finger in his mouth and savoring the rich chocolate.

"Jacob, I absolutely cannot have you sticking your nasty mitts in another customers cake! How dare you!" Rosemary was beyond flustered now, she would have to make a whole new cake since he ruined this one with his germs!

Jacob only chuckled and reached into his pocket. Rosemary held her breath until he pulled out a wad of cash and sat it on the counter and then picked the cake right up and stuck it in an open cake box near by.

"What in the world do you think you are doing Mister Jacob? Stop right now, put that cake down!" She yelled at him and tugged on the sleeve of his coat.

"I do believe this is my cake anyways, right? Or has another patron of yours ordered a plain chocolate cake?" he chuckled and put his hand to her shoulder to keep her back, like a mean sibling taunting another.

She flailed her arms, before stopping and realizing his words.

"Mister Jacob, even if this is the only plain cake in here what makes you think you can waltz right into my bakery at this time of hour and take it! It's not even finished!" she screeched.

She stood for a second hoping to get a decent response from him. She startled as he reached forward with his right hand and swiped a thumb across her cheek and then produced a card from his left. Confused, she took the business card into her hand. Jacob Marks. She hissed in a breath and backed up. She wasn't going to stand in the way of the cities biggest entrepreneur, especially since his business was the reason she was able to get a loan to start her bakery.

"I apologize Mister Marks, enjoy your cake and have a lovely evening." she mumbled as she grabbed the cash from the counter and started to leave the kitchen.

"Wait," he tugged on her elbow. "I do apologize for the impromptu visit, please forgive me Miss Rosemary."

She turned slowly and focused on his nose, hesitant to look in his eyes.

"My niece arrived in town ahead of schedule, it's her birthday and she is obsessed with just plain chocolate right now. I was planning on getting it tomorrow, but I couldn't have her show up and not be greeted with her favorite cake."

Shocked, Rosemary looked into his pleading eyes and nodded.

"Yes, uh- well next time do please try to ring ahead. Pardon my brashness, but I'm surprised someone like you has a soft spot for children. I always had this mental picture of you as well, an asshole." she said sheepishly with a shrug.

Jacob gave a deep and hearty chuckle, making her knees weak again. "Don't judge a book by it's cover my dear little baker," he said, and stepped toward her, leaning to her ear, "because when you open the book, you might find it's just what you like." he whispered.

Chills ran over Rosemary. Is this really the egotistical asshole the tabloids gossip about?

Shuffling past her, Jacob clutched the box close to him and stopped at the front door and paused.

"My niece is going to love the cake, it doesn't have to be perfect to impress a three year old." he said with a grin. "Have a lovely night, Miss Rosemary, and I apologize again for the inconvenience I caused. I'll have to come back another time, during the day of course. You have a nice little slice of heaven in this shop. I'd like to experience it more often."

Rosemary stood in awe, her cheeks red from embarrassment, and maybe something else. Slowly she walked absentmindedly to the door and locked it, while watching Jacob disappear into the night. Butterflies threatened to burst from her stomach. "Ugh," she grumbled and scrubbed her hands across her face. How dare her hormones like someone like him.

As Rosemary finished with the safe, locking away the money and preparing to call it day, she couldn't help but grin. She was hoping she would see a certain someone in the future, again.