Page 247 of A Taste of Vanilla

“Then why reduce allocation?”

Another pause. “I pushed back where I could.” He ends with a sigh, and I can almost see him shaking his head.

His words tell me more than he likely intended.

“Give me what you can.”

“I can hold the previous allocation for one more week,” he says quietly. “Maybe two. Payment terms are already changed in the system.”

“Who has the authority to reverse them?”

“The accounts director.”

“Name?”

“Sir—”

“Name.”

He gives it to me, and I write it down on my phone.

Then I call the accounts director. Another flour supplier. The dairy vendor. An old contact near Lancaster. An hour later, I know this is about more than flour. The dairy vendor has been asked to “reassess exposure” on local accounts tied to “public reputational volatility,” and the commercial landlord’s property manager has scheduled a building assessment next week.

It’s all bullshit. Not a single explanation makes sense, nor is any of this something a vendor like this does.

An hour after that, I read Halston’s lease again.

The lease isn’t terrible. It’s worse than terrible. The building is old, and the landlord retains rights to assess for structural issues at any point. If they find that there’s an issue, the business will have to close until it’s taken care of.

It’s reasonable, which is why it’s so much more of a pain in the ass.

Another hour later, I’m in Oliver’s office with the lease and my notebook spread across his desk. Oliver sits across from me at his laptop, eating a piece of toast and watching me patiently.

I debate whether I should bring all of this up to him.

I sigh. “Her vendors are changing their agreements.”

His gaze flicks to mine. “How?” His tone is, as always, grumpy and a little abrasive.

“Her flour supply is being reduced, something I’ve never heard of. Payment is now due on delivery. It sounds like the dairy vendor may follow.”

His eyes narrow. “Why?”

I shrug. “It sounds like someone with enough influence has convinced them that Bitter Bloom is a reputational risk.”

But these people don’t care about reputation. They never have. I’ve never heard of a company changing its terms with a business by forcing that business to buy less.

“Grant?”

“Probably, though likely not directly.”

“That family loves to fuck everything up. I told her that for years.”

“I know.”

He leans back. “Does Halston know?”

I don’t answer fast enough.