My Husband Called My Bakery a “Hobby” in Front of His Family. The Next Morning, His Boss Walked Through My…
I ignored that. “How much would I get?”
He named a number. It was good money, and if I hadn’t met Grant that morning, I might have hugged him. Instead I asked, “That’s what the company would pay?”
He hesitated. “That’s what you’d get.”
Not what the company would pay. What I’d get. I felt something inside me settle. Until then, a small part of me had still hoped I was misunderstanding.
“I ran some numbers today,” I said, opening my notebook. “For a large corporate pastry account.”
His expression shifted slightly. “Laura, corporate pricing isn’t the same as selling muffins across a counter. You’d have extra overhead.”
“Included. Delivery, included. Staff, included.”
He gave an impatient sigh. “This is exactly why I said I’d handle the business side.”
“The business side of my business?”
“I’m bringing you an opportunity you never would’ve gotten on your own.”
That was almost funny. “How much did you put in the budget?”
He went still.
“Where is this coming from?”
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know the exact number off the top of my head.”
I slid the notebook across the counter. “I do.” Then I said the amount Grant had shown me.
Hudson’s face changed, tiny but unmistakable. “Where did you get that?”
“Grant came to the bakery this morning.”
He straightened. “Why?”
“He wanted to talk about pastries. Two hundred every Monday for six months, maybe more afterward. They’ve been eating my pastries for months, Hudson. Maya buys them. Grant’s assistant. She’s one of my regulars.”
He stared at me as if the pieces refused to fit. I almost enjoyed that part.
“Grant sent her the first time because he was curious about the bakery you kept telling everyone you owned.”
Color drained from his face. “I never said I owned it.”
“He says you did.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean when you told people you had a side business and your wife handled it while you were at work?”
He rubbed his forehead. “You’re twisting this. I was proud of what we built.”
“We?“
“Laura, we’re married.”
I laughed once. At dinner, the bakery was my hobby. At work, apparently, it was our business. And in the budget, Hudson had made himself the supplier and reduced me to the person producing the food.
“If it’s only a hobby when I’m successful, why does it become your business when there’s money in it?”
His mouth opened. Nothing came out. Finally he said, “You would’ve made more from this account than you make now. I would’ve handled the negotiations, the billing, all of it. You would’ve handled production.”
“You mean I would’ve done the work.”
“And I would’ve created the deal.”
“No. You didn’t. Grant was already planning to offer me the contract before he ever questioned your proposal. The pastries got me the account. Maya kept buying them because she liked them. You had nothing to do with it.”
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