Episode 42: Bitter Shock
The cold, hard metal of the beam pressed against Sugar’s back as Miles backed her into it. He gently captured her chin, tilting it upward, his fingers feeling so good on her skin as he examined her forehead for any sign of injury. “I doubt it’ll leave a bruise or a lump, but we can err on the side of caution and get you some ice for that pretty little head of yours.”
Sugar let out a low, two-note giggle. “I don’t think ice will be necessary, but I have to say I’m rather surprised you didn’t offer to kiss it all better, Mr. Thibodeau.”
“Oh, I was gettin’ to that part, honey.” With a smirk, Miles leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. Soft, breathy moans escaped her lips as his kisses, feather-light at first, then more insistent and hungrier, trailed down from her face to her neck.
“God help me, woman. I just can’t get enough of you.”
He couldn’t get enough of her?
Likewise, Miles Thibodeau, likewise.
“Well, last I checked,” Sugar stuttered out, his tongue tracing the curve of her earlobe. A shaky gasp escaped her as his teeth tugged gently on her earring before dragging it—and her earlobe—into his mouth for a suck.
Her eyes rolled back, the world swimming around her. “You’ve got some of me already. Am I ever going to get those back?”
After all, her panties were hidden away in his back pocket. She wondered what he intended to do with them. Her imagination ran wild. First, she pictured him in his office, at his desk, burying his nose into the fabric once again, breathing her scent in. Then, at home, in his bed, her crumpled panties and his hand around his dick as he pleased himself and thought about her.
Her fantasies made the physical ache pulsing through her almost unbearable.
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” he returned.
Then an ambulance sped by in the world beyond this banquet room, beyond her restaurant, beyond this moment. Its sirens cleared away the haze in her mind.
It sobered her up.
“Miles,” she whimpered. “You’re making it really, really hard for me to finish this tour. I need to open up this place on time.”
He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. “I’ll behave for you, honey. But the next time I get you alone—”
“Outside of work hours,” she whispered, with a playful lilt.
“Outside of work hours.” His lips curved into a slight smile. “I intend to work you out, honey. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about that.”
Sugar replied, “Sounds like a plan.”
Then she resumed her tour, gesturing to the sprawling space she nearly let him dick her down in.
“As I was trying to say before I tried to give myself a concussion. If all goes well, Sugar Mama will not only be a premier restaurant for desserts but a premier venue for weddings. So, what’s your honest opinion from one business owner to another?”
Miles glanced around the banquet room, clearly impressed. “It’s a sound business strategy. The wedding industry is lucrative as hell. Once you generate more revenue, you could open up another location and expand your empire.”
“Oh, no.” Sugar laughed, snorting as she gazed around the room with love. “This place is my sanctuary. I’ve poured every cent into it. Every drop of blood, sweat, and salty tear. I don’t want to go anywhere else. This is it for me.”
“There’s nothin’ wrong with thinkin’ big, honey.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with staying small. Size isn’t everything, Mr. Thibodeau,” she teased as she approached him, tapping a manicured finger against his chest.
He raised an eyebrow, looking all sly and suggestive. “Depends on the situation.”
She rolled her eyes, fighting back a smile. “It’s time for me to open up the restaurant.”
“What a shame. I feel spoiled when I get you to myself like this.” Miles watched her go past him and back to the stairwell door. Then he followed after her.
“Spoiled? Maybe I should be a little meaner then,” Sugar said as they descended downstairs.
“Joke’s on you, darlin’. I eagerly await the day you show me how mean you are.”
Through a painted metal door, they entered the dining area again. She craned her neck to look around the exposed brick wall barrier that separated the waiting area from the rest of the front of the house.
Sugar’s staff waited outside the restaurant’s glass door entrance.
“Sit right there, and I’ll have someone get you a menu.” She patted her hand on a two-top table near the grand piano. Her skin flushed as she remembered…
She wagged her head to expel the memory and marched off quickly to unlock the entrance door. A chorus of hellos greeted her as the workers poured in.
As Victoria entered, Sugar pulled her waiter to the side with a tight smile, her voice low. “Tory, a special guest is sitting in your section. Make sure he gets top-tier treatment, please.”
Victoria grinned, giving a two-finger salute. “I’ll treat him like royalty.”
Soon, the lunch crowd trickled in, and daily operations at Sugar Mama were in full swing. She beelined between the kitchen, her office, and the dining area.
Occasionally, while she was in the dining area, she caught sight of Miles indulging in one of her desserts and sipping cocktails from the bar. Victoria kept her word about treating him like a king, and some other waiters wandered out of their sections to ask if he needed anything.
As Sugar stood behind the server’s station, she heard gossip about how hot Victoria’s customer was. It took every ounce of her strength to fight back a laugh.
Darren, one of her hosts, entered the server’s station, heading straight for her. “Erm, Mrs. Wallace?”
“Is something wrong, Darren?”
“There’s a party of six here,” Darren answered, his smile nervous.
Sugar arched an eyebrow at him before she briefly glanced around the packed dining area. The only table available for a party that size was directly beside Miles’s.
“OK, you can seat the party in Tory’s section.”
“There’s a bit of a problem,” Darren returned. “Your, um, ex-husband is with that party.”
Sugar’s eyes widened at his words. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
“Your ex-husband, Lance, is here,” he repeated, gesturing toward the waiting area on the brick wall-barrier’s other side.
“I see,” Sugar said, clearing her throat. “Thank you, Darren.”
She sauntered up to the front, her heart beating violently.
This was not good.
This was not good at all.
To have Lance and Miles in her restaurant at the very same time had to be some cruel fucking joke.
“You look absolutely ethereal, my dear, dear Sugar,” Albert Markson, the old white man who signed her ex-husband’s checks, greeted. He held out his meaty hands, and, out of polite instinct, she took them into her own.
“Oh, you’re such a sweet talker, Al.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek, casting Lance a sharp glare over his boss’s shoulder. This earned her a smirk.
“Lance has been nagging me for months to pay Sugar Mama a visit. He says the desserts are the best in town,” Albert informed as they broke apart.
Sugar shot an artificially sweetened smile at her ex-husband and placed a hand on her chest, feigning a touched expression. “That’s so sweet of you, Lance. No pun intended, of course.”
That earned her a chorus of hearty laughter.
“Well, gentlemen, if you follow me, I’ll get you seated.” She swirled on her heels, marching into the dining area with the small army of men in tow.
Far too late, she remembered that the only suitable spot for six was a table directly to the left of Miles.
“Here’s your table.”
“Tory,” Sugar said as the waitress was about to leave Miles’s table after delivering another cocktail.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Please get six menus for these gentlemen.” Sugar had been so preoccupied with wanting to wring Lance’s neck for pulling this stunt that she’d forgotten to get the menus herself.
“Absolutely,” Victoria replied before hurrying off.
Sugar assured the unwanted guests as they claimed their seats, clasping her hands in front of her belly, all business-like. “Tory will take great care of you.”
“Won’t you sit down and join us, Sugar?” Albert requested, his eyes bright and playful. “Maybe, catch up on old times? I need to entertain our special guests with a few good stories.”
Sugar wagged her finger at him. “I’m not very good at working and playing. The only one who is an expert at this is Lance.”
“Ho, ho, ho! That’s a good one,” Albert cackled, slapping Lance’s back hard. “How could you let a woman like her escape, son?”
“I picked my cage’s lock,” Sugar teased with a wink.
“Then he should’ve invested in a better lock,” Albert returned with a chuckle.
Her ex-husband joined in with a warm chuckle of his own, his eyes cold.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I only invest in things worth my time,” he addressed his guests. “As a matter of fact, I invested a pretty penny into this restaurant to help kickstart it.”
Her hands balled into fists, her fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her palms as she listened to him spout lies so smoothly with his snake tongue.
“You invested wisely, Lance,” Albert commended.
Just then, Victoria returned with an armful of menus, handing them out.
“Why are you such a fucking liar, Lance?” Sugar snapped, unable to stop herself.
