The week flew by fast.

Katakuri was nice enough to work with you on paying for your uniform and it was agreed they'd get you fitted for one and pull payments for it from your paychecks. By Monday, you'd have your uniform and would be able to start doing more hands on learning but for now you'd been standing back to memorizing the techniques and recipes. The guys you watched were impressed with how fast you were catching on without being able to actually get in the middle of things yet.

And before you knew it, it was Friday and the rest of the crew was heading out. They pretty much expected you to stay after at this point, learning quickly that you were determined to have everything down as soon as possible. That meant you'd spent every day staying after for about an hour or two and getting home around the time it started getting dark out. Of course it was getting later in the year too so that meant the days were fading faster and you felt like all you did was work, eat, and sleep.

That was okay with you though. The only thing that did bother you was your rent going up in the near future. It had been confirmed only just the day before and it was troubling you greatly. You'd managed to make a budget work with all your bills and current rent but with the increase coming up, you couldn't figure out how to make it doable. Everything was working against you on this and the more you mulled it over, the more you dreaded the outcome you were almost sure was going to come of your situation.

You'd heard people mention certain jobs being "too expensive" and while you thought that made no sense before, you now understood what they meant. The cost of making ends meet with this particular job was becoming harder by the day. It was costing you more money than it was making.

You let out a sigh as you wiped down the last countertop. Since you'd been staying late, you'd offered to do the end of the day cleaning for everyone else. Cleaning was done throughout the day but no one liked having to end the shift on it. You on the other hand, didn't mind as much.

"Tough day?"

Just like the first time, you jumped when Cracker entered the kitchen. Instead of wearing something like khakis and a nice shirt, which was the norm for the Charlottes to wear to work you'd learned, he was dressed much more casually in a pair of jeans and a plain red tee. He pulled up a stool to the counter space you were at and and plopped down in it.

"Tough week." You corrected him as you made your way to the back of the kitchen, gathering arm loads of the stuff you knew you'd need for baking. Everything was clean so it was time to make a new mess.

"Yeah, people say it takes a bit to get adjusted to the job. It's stressful having to get used to all the little rules and memorize everything. All that jazz."

"Well..." You frowned as you brought everything back to your station and started opening drawers, looking for all the tools.

That was something you already had figured out, where everything went. Every single tool, utensil, and ingredient had a particular spot it needed to go. That made switching stations easy on the workers. If you moved spots, you could always guarantee you'd know where what you needed was. It was one of the rules you actually liked; make sure everything goes in exactly the right spot. It made for some really efficient work.

"Learning all this stuff was a little overwhelming at first but it's not really all that bad." You finished your thought when you had everything you needed in front of you.

Cracker leaned an elbow on an empty bit of counter and propped his head in his hand. "I'm no HR rep but I hear I'm a good listener."

The offer was obvious but this wasn't really something you wanted to complain to him about. Boss or not, you worked for his family and sharing personal problems felt weird.

So you shook your head. "Thanks for the offer but I'm good. I can figure things out."

Cracker watched silently you start throwing things together, lost in thought. You were too, to the point that you didn't notice how long the two of you had been quiet until you'd gotten the cake put in the oven. Like always, you crouched down in front of it every few minutes, keeping an ever watchful eye on it.

"Would you be mad if I said I think I could duplicate this?" He asked when you stood up to check the time.

You smirked slightly before answering. "No."

"I thought you didn't want to share the recipe?"

"I don't and I can tell you now, doesn't matter how hard you try, you won't be able to copy it."

"And why's that?" He was having fun with this and you had to admit, you were too. All your friends lived too far away to visit and you missed such casual conversations with people.

"I don't have exact measurements. It's all guesstimation so it's a little different each time."

"Are you serious?" He raised an eyebrow at you. "Baking without making anything exact? That's asking for something to come out funky."

"Not if you know what you're doing~" You practically sang as you pulled the cake out. It was as perfect as the last time.

You could see Cracker almost drooling at the sight and smell of it. As soon as it was cool enough, you got a generous sized piece on a plate and pushed it in front of him with a fork. He didn't give it a second thought as he dove in immediately. You stared at the rest of the cake, debating on having a bite yourself before deciding against it.

It was funny, when your mom made it, you were always happy to have some. But when it came to you making it, it just wasn't the same. Others loved your cake but even now all you could do was compare it to your mom's. Your memories of your Nana's version were far too vague to compare your take on the cake to hers and you felt that was probably a good thing. It was bad enough that you still always wanted it to taste just a little more like your mom's.

"You aren't going to have any?" Cracker finally noticed you were zoned out when he had his plate cleaned.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll take that constructive criticism you promised though."

He eyed the rest of the cake and you pushed it towards him, encouraging him to have more. It wasn't like you'd be having any. He took a second sizable slice, this time starting on it much more slowly.

"I'll be honest, I don't do the baking in my family. I'm no expert on the subject."

"So you came here planning on eating my cake without giving me anything to work with?"

"Guilty as charged."

You felt a bit of stress from the week melt away as you laughed. The things Charlottes do for their sweet tooth.

"Tell you what though, I think this is my new favorite. Could I talk you into letting me take the rest home?"

"Sure. I'd hate to let food go to waste. Just don't tell Peros, he mentioned possibly asking me to make more in the future. He might not like missing out on this."

"My lips are sealed." He grinned happily. "How about letting me know when you make more?"

You sighed, the stress that left immediately coming right back. "I don't know if I'll be able to make more here."

And just like that, the playful air that surrounded him suddenly vanished. Cracker frowned at you disapprovingly and you were reminded about how intimidating he was. He'd gone from childlike to scary enough for you that you had to fight the urge to take a step back.

"You know these kitchens are available for you to use personally to encourage creativity. Did someone tell you you couldn't?"

"No." You answered quickly, a bit of nervousness leaking into your voice.

"What's the problem then?"

"It's complicated."

He stopped eating, leaving the cake half finished as he put his fork down and turned in his stool to face you better. "Like I said, I'm not HR and I'm not your boss. But you do work for my family and while you aren't my job, it's still important to look after employees. So what's the problem?"

He wasn't going to let you avoid this and you'd never dealt with such a strange company. Few would ever look into their employee's issues and actually want to provide a solution. You gave in and wiped your hands off on a rag before speaking, gathering up your courage.

"Money is the problem. I don't think I can afford to keep working here."

"So you're thinking of quitting?"

"Yeah, I guess so." You felt the corners of your lips try to pull into a frown and you fought it.

If you gave into that, soon enough you'd be an emotional wreck and that would not happen here and now.

"Okay." He inhaled sharply. "Would you care to elaborate on why money is an issue?"

"Why's that important? I'll leave and you guys can fill the spot in easy. I haven't been here long enough to make an impression or be useful."

"Don't you remember the process of getting hired?"

"Yes."

"Last I checked, it's hard. Every single person that works in our kitchens in this building is required to have their master's. They need to show exemplary technical skills and creativity. They need to be quick on their feet and able to work long hours. Things like that aren't easy to find in people. We're picky with who we hire and for good reason, this is a top dollar company and customers expect nothing but the best from us. We can't replace employees easily, especially ones with such promise as you." He nudged the cake towards you. "You haven't been here long but you've made an impression. I can say, with confidence, most of our employees never make things of this quality if they aren't following our recipes. It'd be stupid to let you go without seeing what we can do to keep you around. So why is money an issue?"

There was no other way to put it, you were blown away. So many large businesses only looked out for themselves. To have one actually care for someone like you was out of this world and had you temporarily at a loss for words. When you finally found your voice, all you could do was let everything out at once.

"I don't live close by." You started shakily, trying to compose yourself. "I spend two hours of my day getting to and from here and its getting expensive. And then I figured, hey, I'm almost thirty, I should be a proper adult by now and actually have health insurance. That adds up but I know the second I decide I don't need it, I'm going to hurt myself and wish I had gotten it. Your uniforms are, like, super expensive so there's that. I've got school bills to pay for that master's degree and then to top it all off, my lease is up at the end of this month, the apartment has a new owner, and they're jacking up the price."

You shrugged like it was no big deal but this had been eating away at you for the past few days now.

"This was my dream job and I worked my ass off to get to this point but I'm too broke to work here. I don't come from money, I can't make ends meet and have all this too."

"Yeah." Cracker scratched along his jaw thoughtfully. "That does sound like it'd make for a rough time."

"It's all personal problems. I appreciate you wanting to try and help but...."

"I did a terrible job holding up on my end of the deal." He point to the cake. "I don't have any criticism for you. But maybe we can make a new deal, one I think you could benefit from this time."

"That's not going to help me." You felt like walking out. It didn't seem like he was taking this seriously after all and you weren't in the mood to play games.

"Hear me out. Maybe we can do something kinda like a sponsorship. We'll get you better situated, make it possible for you to stay."

"I don't think I get what you have in mind." Now you were thoroughly confused.

"I can take care of some of the stuff bothering you until you're able to take care of your stuff yourself, get you on your feet."

"What stuff exactly are we talking about?"

"Well, it'd be easiest to deal with your apartment and travel problem. I can set you up with a place closer to here and take care of the finances."

You had to be imagining things. There's no way he was offering to pay for a new apartment for you.

"That's.....very generous but I can't accept that." You weren't sure if you wanted to. He had to have ulterior motives to be willing to do such a thing.

"Why not? It should save you enough money to be able to keep working here. If I'm paying for everything, you'd have some money freed up for your other stuff." He was smiling away happily, like he'd found the perfect solution that you couldn't turn down.

"I don't mean to be blunt, but you get nothing out of this."

"Not necessarily. I will need something from you in return."

This was only getting weirder by the second. You were sure he was going to ask for creepy things. There was no way he wasn't getting ready to offer to be some kind of sugar daddy. That was exactly what this was.

"I'll keep it simple," He started, filling you with a sense of dread as you prepared yourself to gently turn him down and beat a quick retreat. "I'd like you to bake for me on occasion and let me come over from time to time."

"Uh, come over?" This wasn't going well.

He chuckled, almost nervously. "I know, that sounds bad, but I promise you I've been needing an excuse for this for some time now and you've provided me with the perfect opportunity. Part of what I do here is go through and finalize what stays, what goes, and what new things we have in production. A lot of my younger siblings get annoyed that they don't get to know the details on all that until the changes are officially made and find ways to bother me constantly. It's been driving me up a wall and I've been trying to find somewhere to go for some quiet time without them. Someplace they won't know where I am, you know?"

For fuck's sake, he was looking for a hiding place from his nosey family, not for someone to pay to hook up with. You felt your cheeks burn with embarrassment as you realized you'd read the whole situation wrong.

"That's it?" You asked, trying to get over how stupid you felt.

"Oh, one more thing, you can't tell anyone about this. If you accept it that is. This isn't typical business practice, doesn't always look good, but I'm desperate for some quiet time once in a while and you'll get to keep your job. It's a win-win, what do you say?"

If that was all he really wanted, it'd be weird but tolerable. Plus it would only be temporary. Once you reached the six month mark and got the pay raise, you were sure you could handle things by yourself. It was even more strange with him asking you to keep quiet about the whole deal but he did have a point, no business would ever go this far for an employee.

"How often would you be over?"

He looked away, thinking. "Not sure exactly. Maybe once a week?"

You could make that work.

"And you really don't mind paying for a whole apartment you'd only be at once a week?"

"Yep."

You let out a defeated sigh. This was either going to be the best or worst decision of your life. "I don't need anything fancy."

"So it's a deal?" He jumped to his feet, positively beaming.

"It's a deal."

"Perfect! We'll figure out details and I'll finally have some peace once in a while."

You hoped this wasn't as stupid of a decision as it looked. The things you were willing to go through for the sake of your dream job were getting your of hand.