Unhelpful Helper

There she was, sitting at a nearby table, staring at Victoria while she dealt with customers. Hearts were practically beaming out her pupils as she slowly sipped her coffee, her chin resting in her palm as if she was admiring the most breathtaking view of her life.

Every time Victoria moved; Isabelle's gaze would always follow her, her serene expression unwavering. It was like she was in a trance, completely ignorant to everyone around her except for Victoria.

Her loving gaze had momentarily stopped when Victoria had snapped in front of her face, pulling Isabelle back into reality. Isabelle's eyes flutter a couple times as she looked up at the irritated woman standing before her.

"Hey, if you're just going to be here for the entire day, why not just make yourself useful and help me out?" she asked placing a brown apron on the table.

"Are you saying I'm useless?" Isabelle questioned, grabbing the apron with her free hand.

"Obviously," Victoria deadpanned. "All you do is sit there and stare at me like some lovesick fool. But I guess I could give you some credit for at least buying something."

A smug grin grew on Isabelle's face as she put the apron on. "So, what you're saying is, you want me around?" she teased, tying the apron behind her back.

"No, I'm saying you are a useless lump taking up space in my bakery and for once I'm offering you to make yourself the least bit useful," Victoria shot back, already regretting this idiotic decision as she shoved a tray filled with freshly baked sample-sized pastries. "Go outside, attract customers and give 'em some samples to enjoy."

Isabelle grabbed the tray, making her way to the front door, but stopping midway. "What do I get in return for helping you?"

"I won't sock you for being a waste of space."

Isabelle scoffed as she raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that's the best you can offer? I'm volunteering to help you, and you're threatening to punch me?" she teased, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.

"Just get the hell out there, and don't even think about threatening customers to come in," Victoria spoke, pressing her index finger on Isabelle's chest.

Isabelle rolled her eyes, turning around to finally go outside. "Whatever you say, your royal highness," Isabelle mocked.

Victoria watched as Isabelle strutted outside, her posture exaggerated and her expression full of confidence. For a moment, Victoria wondered if she had just made the worst mistake of her life by letting Isabelle work here. But then again, the worst mistake was ever dating that annoying, idiotic fool. Or was it perhaps breaking things off with that loving soul?

Victoria sighed, not wanting to think about it any longer. She walked back to the counter to take the customers' orders again. Throughout the day she couldn't help but glance over at Isabelle who was doing an unsurprisingly horrid job at attracting customers.

Not even a minute later, she began hearing a commotion outside, and when she looked up, she saw Isabelle likely threatening a lady to eat a sample. Isabelle held the piece of bread up to the woman's mouth, trying to force it in.

This is amazing. Victoria slammed a 'Temporary Closed' sign on the counter and marched outside, determined to stop Isabelle before she took this too far.

As soon as she made it outside she grabbed Isabelle's arm, dragging her back into the bakery.

"What in God's name do you think you're doing?" she questioned angrily.

"What do you mean? I'm giving you some nice publicity, aren't I?" Isabelle replied, seemingly confused on how her actions were bad.

"Yeah, the bad kind of publicity. You're going to get the town to burn down the bakery, you idiot," Victoria exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples as she resisted the urge to strangle Isabelle on the spot. "Now you're on counter duty. All you do is take orders from customers, is that simple enough for you?"

"What the hell am I? A child? I'm sure I can handle some simple cashier duty."

Victoria folded her arms, unimpressed. "We'll see about that."

Isabelle scoffed. "Please, how hard can it be?" She sauntered behind the counter, rolling up her sleeves like she was preparing for battle. "I take orders, push some buttons on the register, and hand people their stuff. Easy."

Victoria gave her a flat look. "Great. Then you won't mind handling the lunch rush by yourself."

Isabelle's confidence faltered for a split second, but she quickly masked it with a smug grin. "Bring it on."

The next ten minutes were peaceful—too peaceful. Victoria should've known better.

The moment the first wave of customers arrived, chaos erupted. Isabelle misheard orders, gave out the wrong change, and at some point, she somehow managed to set the receipt paper on fire. Victoria had no idea how that was even possible.

By the time she stormed over to take control, Isabelle was leaning dramatically against the counter, exasperated.

"Okay, I'll admit," Isabelle sighed, fanning away the faint trace of smoke from the now-extinguished fire. "This might be a little harder than I thought."

Victoria clenched her jaw, inhaling deeply. "Get out. Now."

"But—"

"Out!"

Isabelle held up her hands in surrender, backing away from the register. "Alright, alright! No need to get all violent." She sidled toward the exit but hesitated at the door. "Can I at least get a muffin to go?"

"Absolutely not. Get out now!" Victoria yelled, pointing at the front door.

Hours passed and Victoria was starting to close up shop when Isabelle walked in, smirking as she leaned on the counter. "How about I get a reward for doing so good?"

"How about no."

"And why not? I know you're thinking about how much of an immaculate job I did," Isabelle bragged, her eyes closed and her head slightly facing up as she placed the tips of her fingers on her chest.

"You literally made me lose customers today. Even the ones already in the shop left because you kept threatening everyone."

Isabelle chuckled, clearly unfazed. "They were just scared of my charm. Besides, I was helping you get attention. It's called marketing."

Victoria stared at her, deadpan. "Marketing? You chased them out and almost lit the place on fire. That's not exactly the kind of attention I need."

"Oh, come on. They'll talk about it. Word of mouth, you know? I'm practically a walking advertisement." Isabelle winked, clearly pleased with herself.

Victoria rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the oncoming migraine. "You seriously think scaring away customers is good for business?"

Isabelle grinned, clearly unbothered by Victoria's frustration. "Oh, come on. You saw their faces. They won't forget this place. It's all about standing out, Vic."

"Yeah, well, standing out isn't the same as driving everyone away," Victoria shot back, wiping down the counter in exasperation. "I need people to come in, not run for the hills."

Isabelle crossed her arms, leaning back against the counter with a mischievous glint in her eye. "But they'll talk about you, right? Word of mouth. That's how you get real business. You should thank me later."

"I'll thank you when you stop turning my business into a circus act," Victoria said, pushing Isabelle outside and locking the door. "Don't come back, you ass."