Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 157140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Why are you putting butter on the graham crackers?”
“To make the crust.”
“But I thought we’re making cookies?”
“Belgian cookies,” I correct her with a smile. “Key difference.”
“Belgian cookies have crust?”
I pick up the mini bar baking pan. “These do.” I spoon a lump of my buttery cracker mix into a slot. “See, now I’m going to press this down so it’s even, and that’s it. Get up and grab a spoon so you can help. There’s another pan on the other side of the counter.”
“Okay!” She slides down and fetches the spoon and pan like the good helper she is. I’m not sure why Lancaster was even worried. “Um, aren’t you afraid Dad might find out? He’s a massive hardass when it comes to rules. He could yell at you.”
“Eh, he’ll do that anyway, sooner or later. We might as well get these cookies right and cut out the middleman,” I say.
Destiny giggles, grabbing another baking pan and spoon while she sets to work.
I focus on pressing my cracker mix into the last slot and tamp it down.
“There. We’ve already preheated the oven. Once you’re done with that tray, we’ll put them both in and set a timer for ten minutes. Use the big rubber mitts—I won’t risk you getting burned.”
“Gotcha!”
After I’m sure she’s not heading for the oven yet, I run to my desk, grab the reusable shopping bag I brought with me this morning, and head back to the lab. I’m lost for a second as I scan our surroundings.
“What are you looking for?” Destiny drops a spoonful of graham cracker into her pan.
“I just realized...we have an oven but no cooktop.”
“The cooktops are in the food lab, I think.”
I blink at her. “You’re sure? I thought you always stayed upstairs?”
She laughs. “When I was little, Dad and Kate would bring me down here all the time. The food lab was always my favorite because they gave me treats.”
Such a cute kid.
If I met her anywhere else, I’d never know she’s a billionaire’s daughter.
“Why do we have an oven?” I wonder out loud.
“It’s just a roasting accessory, I’m pretty sure. Do you want me to go to the food lab and ask if we can use a cooktop?”
Frowning, I consider it for a few seconds and shake my head.
“No. We don’t totally need it right now. I want to pair a cookie with that mocha so Commander Coffee thinks it’s good to go, but I also don’t want him to know I’m working on it until I have the right cookie.”
She smiles. “You’re sneaky, Honey Badger. I like it.”
I make an exaggerated clawing motion that pulls a laugh out of her. I’m not even sure if it’s what badgers do, but since when do honey badgers care?
“Actually, I used a grill yesterday to brew the coffee. Maybe I’ll fire that up and give it a shot.”
I pull out the grill, set it up, place a fresh bowl in a saucepan on top and throw a lump of Kerry Gold from the keto coffee line into the pan, followed by cocoa and milk powder.
Destiny pops the mini bar pans into the oven and comes to watch me. “What are you doing?”
“Making chocolate. Grab two more mini bar pans, please.”
She nods and disappears like the race is on to do this in record time.
I can’t help but smile at the girl’s energy.
By the time I have a silky smooth milk chocolate, she’s back with my pans. I pick up a spatula and carefully pour melted chocolate into each slot.
“We’ll have to refrigerate this first,” I say.
“So cool. I’ve only seen someone make chocolate from scratch once, this nanny we had years ago...”
My ears twitch.
Nanny, huh? What kind of father is Cole Lancaster?
It seems like she’s turned out decent enough, but was that all him or did he have a lot of help? And where’s her mother?
“Well, it’s super simple. You just stir it over heat and let it cool to harden. But you have to be patient.” I put the chocolate in the fridge for cold drinks, fighting the urge to ask nosy questions. “So, I don’t mean to pry, but are you in summer school?”
“No, not much. It’s just an easy work experience thing for an extra college credit over the summer, plus a math class I wanted to knock out. We’re doing our job shadowing assignments and turning in a paper at the end.”
“And you wanted to shadow your dad?” I flash her a pained grin. “Brave girl. I think I would’ve picked one of the other five thousand companies around SeaTac.”
“He pretty much insisted,” she says with a sigh. “That’s Dad, though. Always obsessed with the family business and legacy and blah, blah, blah. Deep down, he really wants me to take over this place just like he did...”