The tigress sat across the kitchen table from her boyfriend. They were both having breakfast on a sunny Saturday morning. She just finished up her toast with another sip of coffee, then she wiped her lips and chuckled. “So… can you explain that to me again, Tashi?” She asked. “Your stepdad knows my boss, and he owns a bakery in town. And he needs someone to take it over?” She seemed a little confused about the message that the stallion had told her about some days ago. “Yes! He’s got quite some connections, even now that they moved away. But apparently, he wants to slowly get rid of his businesses and retire. Go on some world trips with my mother or what, enjoy his golden age, he said.” He replied and chuckled. “Apparently your boss let it slip that you are such a diligent worker and good with the customers. He obviously didn’t think that he might lose you to the old business buffalo!” The stallion rolled his shoulders and took another sip of coffee as he looked back at his girlfriend.

She nodded at him and asked. “And you are sure he only wants me for my work talents?” She grinned and winked at him. “Yes! I doubt we’ll ever see him around very often.” Tashi replied and then lowered his voice as he kept speaking. “After all, he’s got a hoof fetish not even your paws can overcome…” The tigress playfully bit her lower lip and looked at him. “Is that why your mom’s hooves are painted red?!” She finally burst out. Tashi nodded and chuckled. “Yes! She’s been doing that ever since they started dating. Not just red, once they were painted green! I still think it looks so weird and I’ll probably never get over it!” He shuddered when he thought about the things his stepdad and mom must have been getting up to all these years. Then he shook his head to quickly get those images out of his mind again. “Anyways! Yes. It’s the bakery just a few blocks away from here. The small one that doesn’t belong to any of the big chains. It’s a rarity but apparently people love it a lot because the employees have always been nice. And they’ve got the best cinnamon roll recipe in town!” He licked his lips in-between sentences. “I haven’t had one in months, but I still remember the last one. Such tasty glazing and all. So… I could reduce my work hours by a few to help with the bookkeeping and such. And he’d want you to become the manager! He said he’d like you to start out by just learning from the old one that wants to retire as well. You’d report to my stepdad, just a few e-mails and such. But he would give you full pay right away. I guess, eventually, he’d want to transfer the bakery over to you altogether!”

The stallion was smiling at his girlfriend as he emptied his cup of coffee. “You really must have left an impression on him. I’m not surprised, though. You make such good coffee! That along with the cinnamon rolls, people will be queuing up around the block!” Luckily, their kitchen table wasn’t that long. It allowed Tashi to reach over to grab the tigress’ hands. “And I believe in you as well.” Alex looked down at those white fingers intertwined with her own orange ones. “So, it’s a bakery and a café?” She asked, seeming somewhat skeptical about the whole prospect. “How many employees work there right now?” Tashi had to think for a moment before replying. “I think there are four or five. Excluding the manager. I’m not going to lie! It’s probably going to be more work, at least at first. But I’d be there to help you! And wouldn’t it be cool to have your own shop? You could still work on your music on the side. The bakery closes in the afternoon, so no more late nights at work.” He caressed the backs of her hands carefully, then he rubbed her cheeks and smiled at her.

“It’s a lot to think about…” The tigress replied hesitantly. Tashi nodded at her. “I know. He said you can take your time to reply. I doubt he’ll think any less of you if you say no. But he mentioned that he’s desperately searching for someone nice and reliable.” He smiled at her. “And I guess when he saw a pretty tigress that is so good at her job with hair that smells like coffee.” The stallion took a break to rub her ears and wink at her. “He must have thought he’d like to take a chance.” Alex looked out the window. “I guess it would be quite a short trip to work.” She mumbled and then asked. “So, I would create shift plans and manage stock, too?” The stallion nodded at her in response. “You’ve been such a good waitress! I bet this wouldn’t be so different. More selling pastries, less running around! And you could let your creativity run wild with the cakes.” He smirked. “I’ll try not to get too jealous when you draw paw prints into the coffee foam for others!” Her boyfriend winked at her and made her chuckle.

“Alright, alright. Tell him I’m considering it, okay? It’s not urgent, right?” She asked him and kissed his hand before he leaned back against the chair once more. “Yes. We have a few months to decide. It’s not something he desperately needs to get done right away.” The stallion smiled at her, then some bread crumps stuck in the long white feathering on his arms caught his attention. He carefully brushed them out of his fur and back onto the plate in front of him. “Can we go there this afternoon?” Alex asked him cheerfully. “Now that you mentioned them, I’d love to try those cinnamon rolls!” The stallion’s ears wiggled around, and he nodded at her. “Of course! He said we could go and have some stuff for free to see if we like it! But they won’t give us the recipe until you agree to take the position. Haha… I wonder if they use some special yeast to make them so fluffy! It feels like they just melt on your tongue.” Her boyfriend kept singing the praises for the pastries. “Stop it, Tashi.” She interrupted him and chuckled. “You’re making my mouth water even though we just had breakfast.” The stallion smiled at her in return. “Alright. I’ll shut up until you can taste them on your own tongue. Let’s go later, then you can look at the place and talk to the employees. Find out if you like them and could see yourself working there. I would have taken you there sooner, but it just never came up. Didn’t even know the place belonged to my stepdad, to be honest. He’s got some takeout restaurants and such, too. I lost track.” Tashi scratched his neck and looked at Alex. She nodded at him. “Don’t worry. We had so many other things to do and our jobs kept us busy enough.” She replied, got up, and picked up her plate. Her boyfriend followed suit. “We better only prepare a small lunch. You’ll want to leave some room for all the other nice things they have!” He teased her as he got ready to help her clean up.

***

A few hours and a short walk later, they were standing in front of the bakery they had talked about that morning. It didn’t stick out much next to some hairdressers, a butcher, dry cleaner, and flower store. A big clean shop window, an inviting glass door. It must have been modernized not too long ago. Flowers and some baked goods were arranged behind the windowpane, giving a nice welcoming display and stimulating the appetite of any passersby. Nice, curved letters gave away the name of the establishment: “Sweet Cheeks Bakery”. Tashi chuckled when he saw Alex read it. “Maybe they’ll have to rename it to sweetest cheeks when you start working there!” He teased her. The tigress wanted to reply, but a chubby cheetah just opened the door and walked out, carrying a big box of pastries. All she could do was playfully spank her boyfriend’s butt before they had to move to the side to let the customer pass. “Guess you just met one of your potential regulars.” The stallion whispered to her and playfully squeezed her hand. After the guy had walked out of earshot, the tigress replied. “Guess so! They must be good if they can even make a cheetah put on some weight! Now I absolutely have to see for myself.” Tashi chuckled and nodded at her. “Darn… I’ll have a hard time staying slim if we really do this!” He replied.



Story continued on my Patreon or my SubscribeStar!

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