Chapter 12

Kendra

“All the chocolate products are melting.”

“The lights are out in booths two and three.”

“This kid claims he’s eighteen but I’m pretty sure his ID is fake. Can you take a look?”

And on and on it went.

It was the grand opening of Luscious, everything that could go wrong was going wrong.

It started with an electrical failure in the VIP section. I was the first to arrive that morning, opening the store and turning on all the lights. Unfortunately, as I was in such a rush to get everything ready, I didn’t even realize that the lights in booths two and three weren’t working. And more than that, the iPad attachments weren’t working either. By the time I was able to get through to the electrical company that hooked them all up, they told me it would be several hours before they would be able to come out and take a look.

That was the first problem. If that had been it, then maybe I would have been okay. But nothing was ever that simple.

Within an hour of the doors being open, the air conditioner stopped working. It was the middle of summer in New York, which meant that the days were peaking at a minimum of ninety degrees. The store itself was like a hot box, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the chocolate products had all begun to melt. Like the electrician, the air conditioner maintenance crew were going to take several hours to get out as well.

Surely, that had to be the last of the problems. Those two events had taken place within the first hour of the store being open, and I was sure that despite that, the rest of the day would still be a success. But the day just kept getting worse and worse.

It was the little things that got to me in the end. It was the school kids trying to steal sex toys. It was the pervert teenagers trying to pretend they were adults. It was the pervert adults leering at me and Selena, or standing in the corner and snickering. It was the couple I caught getting carried away with some of the gummy samplers. It was everything and everyone.

And it was all made worse by the fact that everything in the store reminded me of Grant. And every time I thought of Grant, I thought about his date with that Loren girl. And every time I thought of that, I felt physically ill.

“Miss? Miss?” It was a young couple, standing in front of the counter, signaling to me. I hadn’t even realized it, but I had been staring blankly off into space for god knows how long.

“Yes, how can I help you?” I asked, snapping back to reality as I offered the two my most earnest smile.

They were a young couple, maybe only in their mid-twenties. They were also stunningly attractive. The male was Latino, with dark skin, dark hair, and dark everything else. The wife had milky white skin and long, silky red hair. On top of that, they both looked like they were in excellent shape and probably not the type who usually frequented candy stores.

“We were reading about this store online earlier,” the Latino gentleman was saying. “The website said something about a VIP section? It also spoke about the possibility of party hosting?”

“That’s correct,” I said, preparing myself to give them the rundown of what the VIP section had to offer. And that would have been fine if it wasn’t for the way that the redheaded woman was looking at me. There was a chance that I was imagining it, but I was almost certain that she was checking me out.

“Is there any chance you can show us?” the Latino man asked. As he did, his redheaded girlfriend stood up on her toes and whispered in his ear, all the while staring at me. He chuckled at this and stared at me with the same hungry expression that the redhead did.

“Ah, yes, of course I can.” Obviously, I had no choice. As it was the first week of the store being open, heck the first day, Grant had specifically instructed me to open the VIP room to anyone who asked. That was how you got VIP members, after all.

I beckoned for the two to follow me into the VIP section, located just behind the counter. As they followed me, I was very aware of the way the redhead giggled the whole time. I could feel their eyes on me. In particular, on my butt. The corset and pencil skirt that I wore put it on display like never before.

“As you can see, we have a series of private booths located back here. Inside each is an assortment of our specialty products.” I opened the nearest booth, indicating a box that was sitting on the bench. “There’s an iPad instructional video, too, which shows you how each product works.”

“Shows us?” The Latino man asked, looking confused. “I thought that was what you were for?” This got a giggle from the redhead.

“Oh, no,” I balked, trying to remain composed. “I don’t... I’m just here to help where I can. The videos are far more informative than I can ever be.”

The redhead stepped into the booth, reaching her hand into the box. A second later, she pulled it out, bringing with her one of the chocolate dildos. Her eyes bulged at the sight of it, and a naughty smile formed on her lips.

“Oh my,” the Latino man said. “What do you think, sweetie? Big enough for you?”

The redhead giggled again as she held the base with one hand and stroked the shaft of the dildo with the other.

“So,” the Latino man asked, turning back to face me. “As you work here, I assume you’ve had a chance to try out all the products? What do you think of this one? Were you a fan?”

I was suddenly very aware of how hot the VIP room was. The air conditioning still hadn’t been fixed, and I could feel myself sweating. That, added to the way that the Latino gentleman and the redhead were staring at me, I was starting to feel very uncomfortable.

I didn’t know how to respond to his question.

“Because it is quite big,” he said, smirking. As he did, the redhead wrapped her entire hand around it. I could see her fingers squeezing it as she stared at me. “Were you able to take the whole thing?”

I had taken the whole thing, but I didn’t want to tell her that. She didn’t need to know what I did in the privacy of my own home. I might have told her if I didn’t think she was getting off on asking me these filthy questions. I would happily discuss our products, but only to customers. Not to a couple looking to get their jollies by harassing me.

“How’s everything going back here?” Brody asked as he walked into the room. Seeing him, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Brody,” I said. “This couple was just asking about the...” I trailed off and gestured at the huge chocolate dildo gripped in the redhead’s hands.

“Oh right,” Brody said. “That’s a great piece. Trust me, I’ve had nothing but good feedback about it. Do you want me to take it from here?” He asked as he reached me, putting a hand on my arm.

“Yes, I think I better be getting back out front.” He offered me a wink as I walked past him, and I returned it with a grateful smile.

I couldn’t get out of that room fast enough. I didn’t think of myself as a prude, not by a long shot, but there was something very disconcerting about the way that Latino man was asking me about the dildo and the way his girlfriend was playing with it while staring at me. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was on their minds, and I didn’t want a part of it.

“Well they were interesting,” Brody said, popping up next to me a few moments later.

Brody was the first person that I hired for this store. I hired him on the spot. He was a little young, perhaps, but we clicked the moment the interview began. By the time it was over, I felt like I had known him for years. I got the sense that he just had that kind of personality and had a way with people.

On top of that, he was also very handsome. I wasn’t usually into younger guys, but there was something about his smile that captured me. It was a knowing smile as if he was in on some sort of personal joke that no one else knew about. It gave him a mysterious presence that I couldn’t help but be attracted to. And besides, as this was a sex shop of sorts and Grant made it clear that looks mattered, I figured that he was perfect for the role.

“That Latino guy definitely played both sides of the field. When I told him about the dildo, I got the sense that the redhead would be using it on him. And then I thought at one point, he was going to invite me back to his place. With the redhead to boot.” He let out a laugh, shaking his head as if the whole thing were some sort of game.

“And you don’t mind?” I asked, intrigued by his casual attitude about the whole thing. He was so much more confident than me. Especially for someone so young.

“Nah, I used to work in a sex shop. I’ve had some pretty odd propositions in my time, and as flattering as it was, I don’t think my girlfriend would appreciate it too much.”

“Girlfriend?” I asked, working to hide the disappointment in my voice. It was stupid, but the mention of such a relationship bothered me. Not that I ever thought anything was going to happen. But after the way that Grant had acted around him, it was nice to think that maybe I could use him to my advantage. Especially after the way he acted with Loren. That bitch.

“Yeah. She and I have given most of these products our own little test run. Our favorite was the gummy treats. I tell you, if I’m not twenty pounds overweight by the time I leave this place, it will be a miracle. But then again, maybe all the sex will balance it out? We’ll have to wait and see.”

“I know. I need to lose some weight, too.” I touched my stomach unconsciously.

“You? Are you kidding? You have a great body.” He said it without a hint of self-consciousness.

I couldn’t help but beam over his comment, even feeling myself go a little red in the face. This feeling of elation was very quickly extinguished, however, when I remembered how he had a girlfriend and he was most likely just being kind.

“I kind of wish my girlfriend had your curves,” he continued. He didn’t even act like he was speaking to me, but more to himself, just out loud. “She’s got more of a body like that one that was in here last week with Mr. Marcus. You know who I mean?”

It was just then that the store phone rang, and I was glad that it did. The mention of Loren had me seeing fire, and the great mood that Brody had put me in was gone as quickly as it had come.

“Luscious, this is Kendra, how can I help you?” I answered the phone, glad to see Brody walking away. He was cute but so obviously young. Just the way he spoke his mind so freely was a sign that he hadn’t hit adulthood yet. He wasn’t a man.

“Well spoken. Polite. I’d give that greeting a nine out of ten.” It was Grant, being his usual, arrogant self. Usually, I found the act endearing and somewhat sexy, but he’d caught me in a foul mood. One that was a direct result of him.

“What do you want?” I snapped, without meaning to.

“I want you to drop that attitude,” he said, all hint of playfulness gone from his voice. “Otherwise, I’ll make you drop it.” This was followed by a silence. I wasn’t sure if he was waiting for me to say anything or if he was just testing me. Seeing if he could make me snap again. “I’ll be coming down in a few hours to see how the store is going. I just wanted to call ahead and let you know.” He hung up.

Great. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any worse. As much as I loved seeing Grant, I knew that he was coming down with the specific intent of torturing me.