Cheryl picked at her peanut butter doughnut. "Well, they're having a big liquidation sale, so getting all these doughnuts was at a good deal. Danny's Donuts will close at the end of the week."
"NNOOO!" Gloria cried in delayed reaction. She had to choke down her sixth doughnut. "So someone has bought it out?"
Cheryl regarded her notes as she munched on her doughnut. "That's the funny thing. I made an inquiry with the current owners. They weren't interested in hearing any other offers because they already have a deal with the new owner. Although they said you would be welcome to the public auction."
"Auction?" Gloria paused in ravishing yet another doughnut as she had already eaten half a box. Her stomach was getting bloated. "Why is there an auction if there's already a new owner?"
"It would appear that the new owner doesn't need every asset from the original business," Cheryl shrugged. "I couldn't get many answers right now, more details will be announced at the auction and closing."
"Who would have the AUDACITY to buy out a place like Danny's Donuts and then splinter off pieces of it in an auction?" Gloria declared. As if she hadn't thought of that particular business strategy before, it had been a favorite tactic building up her restaurant empire to the point people took her acclaim seriously.
Then the realization hit her as she chewed into a Boston Creame. "Of Course! The doughnut recipe!"
"Huh?" Cheryl asked, feeling thirsty after a peanut butter doughnut.
"Let me guess, the auction is mainly filled with some of the equipment, decor, and remaining merchandise?" Gloria asked. Cheryl confirmed her suspicions. "So this new owner bought out Danny's Donuts only for their divine recipes! Plus they recoup losses by auctioning off the rest. Or it's a joint effort to convince the Danny's team to stick by the original deal."
"Wow," Cheryl was stunned at Gloria's inductive reasoning. "That really happens? Buying out another eatery just to get at their recipes?"
Gloria gave a hearty, piggish chuckle as she wiped the sprinkles from her mouth with a napkin. "My dear Miss Allen, you're quite too new to this game. I once undercut the market space of a regional barbecue hut just to get the exclusive rights to their sauce!"
"Fiendish," Cheryl muttered to herself. Every once in awhile Ms. Vandergast would surprise her at what lows she would sink through to get ahead. Although she was usually reciprocal of her workers' good efforts with kickbacks and business gifts. She had half expected Gloria to claim all of the doughnut boxes for herself yet her boss wanted to make sure she had enough.
"Try the apple cinnamon, you'll see what I'm talking about," Gloria said, trading out doughnuts from the assorted menagerie into the peanut butter box by Cheryl.
Her newest intern took a bite. "Scrumptious! It's so fluffy and soft but it has a bit of a glaze shell. It's better than a muffin!"
"I know," Gloria said, pushing more doughnuts Cheryl's direction. "If they're only after the doughnuts, they must trust their expertise. What could their plans be for the location? There's one shrewd customer afoot but they're not going to get away from it if I have anything to say about it!"
Gloria savored another bite, eyes closed. When she opened her eyes she was dismayed to see Cheryl slowly picking at her second doughnut. "Eat up, Cheryl! I'm not palming off the city's best doughnuts to you to only watch you stare at them!"
"Urp," Cheryl looked at the varieties in front of her. Boysenberry jam, french toast crueler, old-fashioned chocolate with maple frosting, confetti batter... Cheryl usually didn't each that much at breakfast. Her plump rump was an outlier as she didn't have that much of an appetite, especially when it came to big eaters like Gloria. "Must I? These are very decadent doughnuts. I'm feeling full after just two! I'm not going to have room for lunch."
"This isn't an early lunch, Cheryl, this is research!" Gloria replied vehemently. "Why else would I have you put them on the company card?"
Because you had really wanted them, Cheryl thought, although she wisely bit her tongue.
Gloria had an immediate followup. "If a new owner squirrels away the recipe, I'm not about to let them get away with the legacy of Danny's Donuts scott free! We are going to crack the secret of the recipe! I want answers as to who this silent buyer is. I want to corner the auction before too much of the old bakery is lost to the wind. And I want you to finish off that doughnut sampler and write me a full report, Cheryl."
"Report?"
"Tell me what you think of the taste, the texture. What to you glean of the ingredients and method behind their creation? Your personal ranking on flavors from top to bottom. I know what a connoisseur of doughnuts like me would think but other opinions might offer me additional insights." She set aside a few untouched boxes. "Get these out to the rest of my staff, I want everyone's critiques filed.
"Yes, Ms. Vandergast," Cheryl sighed.
"Save the receipt too, I want to check if we've missed any flavors," Gloria said, leaning back in her chair with a cherry rosette. "Because those that can be gotten with tomorrow's order. And eat up your doughnuts, Cheryl! You don't let perfection like this get stale."
Fake smile plastered across her face, Cheryl's mood dropped after she exited Gloria's office. Now she was forcing each of them to eat and report on a quota of doughnuts? All to show up the new owner of Danny's Doughnuts? Cheryl had thought working for a big boss in the restaurant industry would be a trendy way to be kept abuzz of the newest thing in food. She hadn't anticipated Gloria would rope her into being a makeshift food critic for doughnuts of all things.
How could anybody eat that many doughnuts without something to drink? Cheryl was thirsty after two, desperate for a glass of milk, and she could barely stomach the thought of getting the rest of these eaten.
Meanwhile, the boss was left alone with more than a fair share of doughnut boxes. She reached into her private fridge for some creamy, cold press coffee. Getting comfortable, she pulled the lever of her chair to lean back, licking her lips...
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