Chapter Twenty-One
A/N: I know nothing about dresses. I am a man. I had to research dress types and put that nonsense on my Google search history forever. Keep this in mind as you read this chapter. Oh, and have fun with this one by the way, because the fun's just beginning.
Three days had passed since the incident at ArenCorp, and Anna was busier than ever. Once she rolled out the newly prepared chocolates off the proverbial factory line, they became an instant hit. It seemed like she had as much of a knack for making chocolate as she did for making baked goods. With demand increasing by the minute- at least that's what it felt like for Anna- the bakery had to increase the supply, which meant longer work days for both Anna, Rapunzel, and the rest of her staff.
And if that wasn't enough, they had just gotten word from Mulan the day before that they were chosen to be the dessert caterers for this fancy party that ArenCorp was having with Corona International. Anna didn't know much about the politics and history between both companies, but she knew enough to know that Warm Hearts being chosen to cater this was a big deal, and that it would take even more work from this little bakery that could. So, with this renewed sense of urgency, Anna went into overdrive as the head baker.
"Make sure you use a knife to scrape the extra flour off the top of the cup, Manny. Gotta keep the measurements super exact."
"You got it boss.", Manny replied as he picked up a butter knife.
"Easy with the crank on the mill there, Owen. We've only got one."
"I'll be careful.", Owen said bashfully as he slowed down his revolutions with the chocolate mill.
"Check the temperature on the ovens, Riley. Remember that the- "
"The right oven cooks faster than the left, I gotcha.", Riley interrupted as she checked on the cakes baking in the oven without opening them.
Constant micromanaging to make sure that every baked good and chocolate was up to her standard was now half her job, constantly trying to remind her staff how valued they are was the other half. "Thanks guys!", she exclaimed from the middle of the kitchen, scooping out cookie dough onto a tray, "You're all daisies in a field of roses."
She had no idea if Elsa picked their bakery because she thought they were the best ones for the catering job, or if this was some sort of punishment for her and Hannah "breaking in" to ArenCorp, but she had to get the job done regardless. Although, it didn't hurt that this would bring some much-needed revenue and attention to the bakery. There was very little room for error, however, and because of that there was very little time for a break.
Well, Anna's employees had time for a break (because she made it mandatory), but she barely did. The two times she had some breathing room were before the bakery opened, and after it closed. Her lunch break was spent in the middle of the kitchen, barking out orders with half a sandwich in her mouth.
Thankfully, day three of this hell week was winding down, and she could finally breathe for a second time. With her employees cleaning up the back of the kitchen, she took the time to check how Rapunzel and her own army of employees were doing up front.
"How'd it go today? Did you live?", she asked her best friend as she emerged from the door.
Rapunzel gave her a tired smile as she wiped down a counter, "Barely…I sent the other guys home and said I could clean up from here. How'd it go in the back?"
"Everybody's still got their limbs, so I guess it went pretty well. Once they finish cleaning up, I'm gonna go back in there and take inventory." Anna sat up on one of the counters that Rapunzel already cleaned and frowned, "I still feel bad though, I think I'm overworking them a little."
"Anna, they used to work at a school, I think they're used to a high stress environment. Besides, Oaken assured us that they're one of the best employees he has, so we shouldn't worry about it too much."
"Yeah, but still I mean…I gotta reward them somehow after this whole mess of a week is over."
Rapunzel slung the cleaning rag over her shoulder and exhaled from a job well done, "Well I'm sure you'll think of something. You've got a knack for caring about people."
Anna smiled at her best friend, "So do you."
"I never said I didn't.", Rapunzel giggled, "Now if you excuse me, I need to clean myself up a little bit. Flynn will be here any minute now."
Because Warm Hearts Bakery was only needed for catering at the party, that meant all the work would be occurring in the back, and with the venue providing caterers, that meant Rapunzel wouldn't be needed in that department either. Obviously, she felt guilty for basically leaving Anna to do all of the work that night, but Anna reassured her that she would be okay, and that Rapunzel's services were needed out on the party floor anyway.
Right now, she was about to go dress shopping with Flynn at the fanciest dress place in the city, Arendelle Designs; her job at the party would be as the talking head for Warm Hearts Bakery, talking up the rich business folk and letting people know where the delicious cake they were eating was baked at.
Anna laughed to herself, "You're gonna look so pretty yucking it up with all those rich people, subtly promoting our bakery like a ninja, it's gonna be great."
"A ninja in stilletos doesn't sound like the most effective ninja.", Rapunzel untied her apron and made her way to the restroom. "By the way, you invited Hannah, right?"
"Of course, but she's been so down in the dumps from the whole Elsa thing a few days ago, and from not finding a new internship, I don't think she'll want to go. So far, from what she messaged me earlier, she's still a big maybe."
When Anna told Rapunzel about the fiasco at ArenCorp, her best friend took her side immediately. Hannah hadn't taken the ordeal very well, and hit the bottle hard that night. Anna stayed with her at the bar to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself or do anything too stupid, and once again her dejected friend stayed the night at her apartment.
Ever since then, she'd vented pretty much daily to Anna about everything she hated about Elsa, which gave Anna a lot more insight on the woman that her former best friend had become in the past few years. With all the information that Hannah indulged unfiltered, and the way that she talked about Elsa, so animated and with a lot of pain in her words, she could sense even more than before that there was more to Hannah's relationship with Elsa; but still Anna didn't pry, reasoning that Hannah would tell her if she wanted to.
"You try insisting that she come?", Rapunzel suggested, "I'm sure she'd be pretty happy to hear that you want her at this party, I mean…even though she isn't technically an ArenCorp employee."
There was a slight raise of her eyebrow when she suggested this, and Anna frowned at the implication in her best friend's words. "Stop trying to make me and Hannah a thing, 'Zel. I've told you we're just friends, and that's all I want us to be."
"And I'm telling you that you'd be a dummy not to at least think about it.", Rapunzel replied before disappearing into the restroom, turning around one more time to look at Anna with a knowing glance. "If I leave before you get done cleaning, I'll see you back at the apartment, okay?"
Anna rolled her eyes, not wanting to add that she had thought about it and hopped off the counter. "Unbelievable.", she muttered as she walked back into the kitchen.
"Just a few more days.", Elsa said to herself. "Just a few more days, and this nightmare is over."
This was a mantra she'd been repeating ever since she had gotten her most recent "mission" to sabotage ArenCorp's relationship with Corona International, and it was this and her fierce determination to win this twisted game of Simon Says that was keeping her sane. This mantra would have to prove extra useful today, as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.
There was one more caveat added to her newest task, as evident by a box that showed up at her office with a typed-up note that said "Make sure you wear this on your big day! ; )" She made a mental note to have a talk with security as she opened up the box, and pulled out…a dress. It should have put her mind at ease knowing that it wasn't a bomb or something like that, but it actually made her more uneasy. Why was it so important that she wear this dress to the party?
She got her answer when she finally put it on, because it was the most revealing piece of clothing she'd ever worn.
It was an incredibly short halter dress that ended a couple inches above the knees, there was no back, and the V-line that converged at her midsection showed more cleavage than she was comfortable showing. This was a dress meant for twenty-something year olds going clubbing, not for a formal party. Perhaps the only good thing about the dress was that it was an icy blue, and it had a floor-length tail so she didn't have to worry about anyone staring at her butt.
She knew, however, that if she showed up to the party in this, all eyes would definitely be on her, but not in a good way. It wasn't one befitting for a CEO to wear, it would throw any basis of class and decorum out the window.
Still, she had to tell herself that she only had to put with this nonsense for a few more days. Not wearing the dress was out of the question, she had to continue playing along with their demands until she could hunt them down at the party and end this charade for good. So, she needed to swallow her pride, tell herself she would spend the rest of the year if she had to building her reputation back up again, and put away the dress so it didn't get torn or stained.
Once she slipped back into her more comfortable, more appropriate workplace attire, she checked her phone and frowned.
UNKNOWN: Did you like the gift?
Elsa: I'm not even going to ask how you knew what my dress size was, just know that it's incredibly disturbing that you do.
She never let her blackmailer know that she was "on board" with the new task they'd given her, but considering that the article hadn't been released yet, she had to think that they weren't taking no for an answer, and that they were staying loyal to the one-week timeframe.
UNKNOWN: Ms. Andersen, you should know by now that I have my ways. I do hope that the paparazzi take lots of pictures, it was hard work picking out the best dress for the job.
Elsa stared at the box labeled "Arendelle Designs", the finest clothing shop in the city, and sneered. They really did go all out in the dress-choosing process, even the cheapest dresses there cost more than a quarter of her paycheck.
Elsa: Why does everything you say always sound so creepy? Is it instinct? Or do you find a way to make sure you sound as off-putting as possible?
UNKNOWN: Is that your next question?
Elsa: Do I even have a choice anymore?
UNKNOWN: Oh, Ms. Andersen, why do I get this feeling that you think we're in the endgame? I assure you that the fun is only beginning.
"Oh, it's definitely the endgame.", Elsa grumbled but didn't text whilst gritting her teeth. One way or another. she would make sure this all ends at the party. She just had to make sure of one important thing.
Elsa: Look, I got your stupid gift, and maybe I'll wear it and maybe I won't; regardless I do have a question that I wanted to ask.
UNKNOWN: Hmm, well I AM feeling a little bit more benevolent after sending the dress, so go ahead. Fire away.
Elsa: Are you going to the party?
…
…
…
UNKNOWN: Well I guess you'll find out in a few days now, won't you?
There were no other texts, and Elsa was left to stir with that non-answer. It wasn't a definitive yes, but knowing that there was a high chance it was an Arendelle employee, and that every employee had to be at the party unless they had a legitimate excuse not to go, and knowing the blackmailer's penchant for invading her personal privacy…it was almost a guarantee that they'd be there.
It should have instilled a much-needed amount of confidence in Elsa, and it did, but there was also a nagging doubt in the back of her mind, one that hadn't gone away: What if the blackmailer was Hannah?
She didn't want to believe that, after all the two had been through, but she couldn't think of anyone else in her company that had big enough reason to seek revenge on her. So, once she went to the party and turned on the tracker, if it somehow lead her to Hannah, what was she going to do? For now, Elsa figured that she would at the very least hear her out, understand why she did what she did; and afterwards, she would pass judgment down accordingly. Elsa was already determined to be take more control over this whole situation, and she needed to follow through on her assertiveness.
Of course, this would all be pretty moot if Hannah didn't even show up to the party; and because she didn't want to look too suspicious, and make their already awkward, strained relationship even more awkward and strained, she couldn't exactly invite her to the party either. So, for this plan to even work, she was banking on Anna's strange, newfound friendship with her former assistant to get her to come. It was one of the reasons why she assigned her bakery to provide desserts- plus, putting her stubbornness aside, she knew Anna was a damn good baker.
These were all factors that weren't in her control, or wouldn't be for a few more days, so Elsa didn't want to waste any more time worrying about them. For now, she put the dress on her bed- out of sight, out of mind- and got back to work. "Just a few more days…", she said to herself again once she sat back down on her desk, "…and this nightmare is over."
Anna didn't think she would ever get used to the cold of the walk-in freezer, but she also knew that taking inventory was the most boring job in the bakery, and she wanted to send all her employees home after they got done cleaning the place. Which is how she found herself doing this boring job inside this freezing freezer, equipped with nothing more than a clipboard, a pencil, and her big brain becoming less and less accustomed to the drop in temperature and loud fan.
"Just a few more carts of chocolate.", she reasoned to herself, "Just a f-few more carts of chocolate, and this n-nightmare is over."
She wondered if she could drag Rapunzel in here and help her out, mostly with the math cause she hated counting and anything to do with numbers, but with Flynn on his way, she didn't want to steal her best friend away for longer than she needed to be.
"That's okay…", Anna continued to reason to herself, "I can totally do this b-by myself…I just gotta keep count, not get distracted, not…wonder why chocolate needs to be th-this cold anyway…"
A few more minutes of using her limited brainpower to count chocolate and calculate it's internal temperature, Anna was saved by the ringing of her phone. Before she could even consider whether bringing her phone inside of a freezer would affect it somehow, and how cold it would be when pressed up to her ear, she answered it.
"Hello- oh yeesh, that's cold! Ahem…hello?"
"Anna? You okay? You sound like you're inside a washing machine."
Anna was thrilled to hear that it was Hannah on the other end, she hoped that this call would be less of her venting about Elsa again, and more of her giving her a definitive decision about going to the party or not. "Hey Hannah! I'm good, I'm just in the freezer right now inventory…ing the chocolate, and I forgot that phones get really cold inside of a f-freezer."
"Oh…okay, well don't stay in there too long or your hair will get all white and sickly. I don't know if that's true or not, I just heard that at a mixer once, and it sounded true."
"I'm gonna go ahead and believe that anyway, I don't even w-want to be here longer than I need to. Anyway, what's up?"
Hannah sighed, "Yeah, so…I wanted to talk to you about the party."
"What about it?", Anna asked anxiously.
"Well I know I said that I wasn't sure if I should go or not, but this whole week has been really kicking my ass, and I've been striking out every time in the internship department, so…I'm seriously thinking that I should go."
"O-oh? How come?", she definitely didn't think that was where she was going with this.
"Yeah, I just need like a break from all this stress for a little bit, at least for one night, and in a place with less dancing and booze, or at least booze I don't have to pay for. Plus… I'm starting to think that's a big sign for me to, ugh, I dunno, come back and grovel for my job again, I guess."
Anna's eyes widened, and realizing that Hannah couldn't see her, she let out her surprise by saying, "Huh…how come?" She leaned on one of the cold shelves, ignoring the way her skin was yelling at her to get off, waiting for Hannah to explain herself.
"I had a good thing going being Elsa's assistant, all the bitchiness aside, and besides I only had a few hours remaining on my internship with her. Working for her was okay I guess, it was just working with her that was horrible. If that makes any sense."
Anna nodded, "Yeah…" She need only to think back to before the festival to realize how true that statement was.
"Either way, I'm planning on coming to the party, and trying to find her, see if I can't strike some deal to bury the hatchet for a little while I get these internship hours done. If she wants to be all cold and stuff to me then…that's just, whatever. I'll just keep my head down and keep doing my work. Besides, I've got this feeling that she needs me more than she's letting on."
"She did seem p-pretty out of it when we saw her.", Anna added, taking a chance by bringing up their encounter with her at ArenCorp, and not asking why she wanted to work for Elsa when she could have been interning for anyone else at the company.
"Gee I wonder why.", Hannah muttered. "Well anyway, I don't want to keep you on the phone for too long, you've got a job to do. You want to meet up to eat something after you're done?"
"Sure, that sounds great!"
"Awesome, Imma get an Uber and see you in a little bit."
Anna hung up after they had said their goodbyes; there was more to Hannah's words than what she was actually telling her, more to the story that she wasn't fully understanding. She was still undecided on whether she would ask Hannah to tell her everything or not, maybe she would decide when she got to the bakery.
"Come on Anna, these chocolates aren't going to count themselves.", she said to herself encouragingly.
As she got to work recounting a cart she had been working through before, she heard the faint sound of the kitchen door opening from outside the freezer.
"Hannah, is that you?", she shouted before realizing that there was no way that her friend could get here that fast, and there was no way anyone could hear her from inside the freezer. Anna set her clipboard down, and opened the door, but before she could ask who was in the kitchen with her, she heard a voice make an ominous statement.
"Everything's going according to plan, sir."
A voice in the back of her mind told Anna to hide, the tone in this mystery person's voice made it sound like this wasn't exactly a good plan. She ducked under one of the worktables, hoping to eavesdrop on the rest of the conversation.
"No, she has absolutely no idea who's blackmailing her, in fact I think she's going to try and go after her old assistant."
Blackmail? Old assistant? A sinking feeling in her gut told Anna that she knew exactly who they were talking about, but she didn't want to believe that this had something to do with Elsa and Hannah. That was way too coincidental, then again her life has been full of coincidences recently.
"…yes, I'm confident that she doesn't suspect me at all."
The voice sounded incredibly familiar, and Anna was kicking herself for not knowing who it was right away.
"It doesn't matter whether she ends the partnership at the party or not, one way or another, Ms. Andersen's career is going to be in jeopardy."
She inched closer to the edge of the table to get a better look at who is, and it made her more confused than before; because although he had his back turned to her, Anna knew exactly who it was.
"ArenCorp is going to be completely vulnerable…", Flynn said confidently. "…and you'll be right there to reap the benefits."
Anna stifled the gasp that tried to escape her throat, and stayed where she was, until she knew for sure that Flynn had left the kitchen. She retreated back in to the freezer to try and make sense of everything she had just heard, but couldn't. The only thing she knew for sure was that she needed answers, and with Hannah coming over soon, she was determined to get them.