THE BAKER (614 words)

Donna was determined to make this job work. QuestTech was her fourth job in less than a year, so she was being careful. In these first few weeks, she had reached her desk by 9:00a.m. every morning. She dressed professionally, and pretended to be excited to be there. So far, so good. This morning, a beautifully decorated cupcake was waiting on her desk. It had thick, creamy icing and a bow made of fondant. At first, she wondered if it was a birthday gift, but surely the staff knew her birthday was months away? After all, she had signed the office birthday list. It must be a welcoming gift from the girls in the office, she thought.

It was delicious. Moist and rich, but not overly sweet. During break time, Donna thanked the girls for welcoming her. They smiled and said they were glad to have her. The next day--another cupcake! This one had two flavors of icing, swirled together. Again, it was scrumptious. Again, Donna thanked the girls, who looked confused. The next day was Friday, and there were three cupcakes on her desk. They had the words FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY written in the icing. Such a cute idea, she thought. She ate FRIDAY and took SATURDAY and SUNDAY home.

She did not feel well Monday morning, but was not about to call in sick so soon. When she arrived--yet another cupcake. I think I’m getting sick of these cupcakes, she thought. Then, Donna looked around the office and felt confused. Where in the world was everybody else? The only people she had seen were the security guard downstairs and the night custodian, who was finishing his duties by mopping the hallway. What a weirdo, she thought, as she caught him staring at her. Suddenly, she realized—of course, the holiday! She felt like such an idiot. I should have stayed home, she thought. Donna sat down at her desk and picked up the cupcake. She wondered, who the heck is making these? The cupcake had YOU ARE MINE written in pink icing. It reminded her of a candy heart on Valentine’s Day. Underneath the cupcake, for the first time ever, was a note. She picked it up and read it:

TOP TO BOTTOM, TODAY YOU ARE MINE!

These cupcakes I’ve been giving you were made just for you.
How I have enjoyed watching you eat them!
Every time you take a bite, you are one step closer.
You have no idea I even exist, so, I started thinking, why should you?

After all, we can be together, in a way, for always.
Real love is doing it yourself, so I made you treats.
Eat, drink, and be merry-- while you can, right?

Pretty lady, I have been your secret admirer since you started here.
Over the weeks, I fell more in love with you.
I only wanted to make you happy.
Somehow, you couldn’t see it.
Other people could, and they all laughed at me, behind my back.
Now, I don’t love you anymore and I have just one more thing left to show you…can you see it?

There was no other writing. Donna turned the paper over. Nothing. No other markings of any kind. What the heck? She looked again, and noticed the title was all in caps, as were the first words of each line of the note.

TOP TO BOTTOM, TODAY YOU ARE MINE!

“TOP TO BOTTOM”—what did that even mean? Then, realization struck, and she saw it. Oh my God. She suddenly felt very sick. Her legs buckled and she thought she might pass out. The custodian appeared and moved quickly to her. “Let me help you, Donna,” he said, “ today, you are mine!”

(614 words)