Read Online For the Love of Cake by Erin Dutton - Free Book Online Page A

contact with each mentor in turn as she spoke. “I failed in the consultation this morning. I can’t sugarcoat that. And I’m not proud of my team’s work this afternoon either. In fact, in our shop, I wouldn’t even have shown that cake to a client. We didn’t work well together, and I should have done more to fix that problem.” She locked eyes with Maya and felt as if she were speaking only to her. Maybe the decision was already made, but if she had any hope of affecting her fate, she needed Maya to hear her, to understand how badly she needed more time. “But I haven’t shown you everything I have yet.”
    Maya narrowed her eyes and jerked her gaze from Shannon’s face to Damien’s. “Damien, why should you stay?”
    “Between the two of us, I’m the better decorator. I’m more creative and more experienced.”
    Shannon stared at him, but he didn’t look at her. Her face heated with embarrassment and anger. While she’d tried to be diplomatic and focus on herself, he apparently wasn’t pulling his punches.
    “That’s a bold statement,” Wayne said. “Shannon, do you have a response to that?”
    “He doesn’t know me well enough to judge my creativity or my talent. As for experience—well, you aren’t looking for ‘America’s most experienced pastry chef,’ are you?”
    “We are not.” Wayne looked impressed with her answer. But when he and Jacques both looked to Maya, Shannon’s suspicion that Maya alone controlled her fate was confirmed.
    “Damien, I’m sorry, but you won’t be continuing in the competition,” Maya said.
    He looked like he wanted to say something else, but her tone left no doubt the decision was final.
    Shannon exhaled slowly, trying to ease the adrenaline jitters. Her knees felt weak, and she shoved her hands in her pants pockets to hide any visible shaking. She’d survived. For one more day, at least. She didn’t look at Damien.
    “Shannon, you may join the rest of your team. A car is waiting to take you back to the hotel.” Eric’s statement signaled an end to filming for the day. The crew immediately began bustling around, everyone seeming to know exactly what they needed to do before leaving. Shannon tried to stay out of the way as she headed toward the lounge.
    When she stepped through the door, Alice cheered and jumped up to give her a hug.
    “I was hoping it was you. Now it’s just us girls.”
    “I am not so happy about this,” Lucia said. Then when Alice gave her a look, she said, “I’m also glad you returned. But I do not want to be up for elimination again.”
    “I agree. We can and will do better. I don’t want to be on the bottom again.” Shannon herded them toward the door. “Let’s go back and get rested. I’m sure tomorrow won’t be any easier.”
    She recalled Maya’s question about whether middle of the pack was good enough for her. As it turned out, today, she’d have been quite happy with the middle. But not for long. She’d rearranged her life to be here, given up her job at Drake’s, would probably miss her granddaughter’s birth, and traded living in her own home for a hotel room. She vowed to work hard enough to make all of that worth the sacrifice.
    *
    Maya shoved through the door to her dressing room and closed it quickly behind her. She crossed to the mini-fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and took a long drink. Then, after recapping the bottle, she squeezed it until the plastic crackled. The excessive talking she’d done these past two days could only partially explain her dry throat. This elimination had worked her up more than she’d expected.
    Damien was an easy choice for her today. He lacked the skills and discipline to go to the end. And, based on what little interaction she’d had with him, she didn’t like his attitude. But she’d worried that Wayne and Jacques wouldn’t agree. If they both found some reason to keep him around and send Shannon home, could Maya, as the newest mentor, really have gone