She reached for the phone to call Zyair. The second her hand touched it, it rang. She pressed the speakerphone button. “Personal Touch, how may I help you?”
“Um, hello?” the voice on the other end said. Champagne picked up the phone and placed it between her ear and shoulder. “Hello?”
“May I speak with Champagne?”
“This is she.”
“Hey, lady, it's Sharon.”
Champagne was pleased to hear her voice. “Hey.”
“Do you remember me?”
“Of course, I do. How are you?”
“Fine. I was sitting here in my office and came across your card. Since I hadn't heard from you, I thought I'd give you a call.”
“Well, I'm glad you did.”
Champagne held the phone up to her ear and started pacing the floor, feeling a little nervous, as if she was on the phone speaking with a man. Champagne recalled being attracted to her and had even thought about her a number of times. She just couldn't bring herself to call her.
“Are you up for dinner this evening?”
Champagne wanted to say yes right off the bat but she knew she should call Zyair first to see if he had anything planned. She didn't feel like going through the process, so she said, “I'm free tomorrow.”
“I'm not for dinner, but I am for lunch. Is that good for you?
It would only be Candy's second day. Champagne wasn't sure if she wanted to leave her alone in the office so soon. Then again, she was a grown-ass woman, and it was only lunch. “Yes.”
“Good. Listen, I've got to go, but I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. We'll meet downtown at Cora's Kitchen. You know the place?”
Champagne told her, “I do. They have the best soul food in the area. What time?”
They agreed on one p.m. and hung up.
Champagne sat back in her chair, placed her hands in her lap, and closed her eyes. She pictured Sharon and the way sexiness oozed from her body. What if she'd seen her at Fantasies? Would they have danced together? Would she have taken her home?
Champagne wondered what they'd discuss at lunch.
Would they have idle chitchat? Would they talk about one another's sexuality? I could always bring it up in the conversation. The more Champagne thought about it the more she was like,
It's time to get the ball rolling. If I'm going to sleep with another woman, I need to go ahead and do it, instead of thinking about it.
On that note, Champagne decided to call Zyair and see what he was up to, how his day was going. She was ready to broach the subject again.
Chapter Eighteen
“I Wanna Sex You Up” Color Me Badd
Zyair wasn't in his office to answer Champagne's phone call. He'd been to the bank.
The second he entered his office, DaNeen followed behind him. “I don't mean to bother you, but there's something I need to talk to you about.”
“Give me about fifteen minutes to get settled and then I'm all ears.” Zyair didn't like being rushed. He needed a few minutes to get it together.
DaNeen wanted to talk now. “Fifteen minutes?” She'd been putting off resigning for quite some time. Now she was ready to let him know that she'd be moving on. She was going to start her own dessert business and was going to ask him to be her mentor.
“Yes. Then I'm all yours.”
DaNeen stood there and looked at him like she wished he was all hers. “You promise?”
Zyair didn't answer her. He just smiled and watched her as she walked away. After all, he wasn't stupid. He knew that she was attracted to him, and he to her. He also knew not to act on that attraction. Anyway, it would only lead to heartbreak and death. Champagne would kill him.
Zyair thought about the time DaNeen decided she wanted to come onto him. Of course, he turned her down. Now if he wasn't with Champagne, he might have took her up on her offer. She had sexiness oozing off her. That was one of the reasons he'd hired her. He recalled when she came in for her interview.
* * *
When DaNeen had walked in, he almost jumped up and hugged her.
This is a natural beauty,
he thought.
As he interviewed her, he found her to be intelligent, funny, and sassy. For a minute there, he wasn't sure if he should hire her because he was attracted to her, but he was desperate. His other hostess had to resign because of a family emergency. Hire her, he did, and he'd been pleased with his decision ever since.
* * *
Zyair noticed he'd left his cell phone on his desk. He clicked down to MISSED CALLS and saw that Champagne had called. He tried calling her back but it went straight to voice mail. “Hey, sweetie, just returning your call.” He then retrieved his messages from his service.
I'll return phone calls later.
Picking up the phone, Zyair paged the front desk.
“Send DaNeen in please.”
Less than a minute later, she was walking into his office.
“Close the door,” he told her.
She did.
“Have a seat.”
When she sat down, Zyair couldn't help but notice the slit in her skirt revealed a lot of her toned thighs. The skirt definitely hugged every curve.
“What can I do for you?”
DaNeen crossed her hands and placed them in her lap. “I'm leaving,” she blurted out.
Zyair frowned. He didn't understand what she was talking about. “Leaving? Where are you going?”
“I'm resigning. I've decided to start my own dessert business.”
“Wow! Where did that come from?”
Zyair didn't know she baked, didn't know she wanted to start her own business. Hell, when he thought about it, he didn't know a lot about her.
“It's something I've always wanted to do. As a matter-of-fact, when you hired me, I recall mentioning to you that I bake.”
“I know you did but that's not the same as saying, âI want to bake for a living.'”
“At the time, it was just a dream. Between working here, watching how you run your business, and taking entrepreneur workshops, I've realized it's something I could do as a business.”
“Do you have any potential clients?”
“Well, I've been baking for parties and weddings. I also have two mom-and-pop restaurants I bake for.”
“Impressive.”
“You see, my working here has taken up so much of my time. I could use that time to get clients, you know, target restaurants.”
“How come you never approached me about stocking your desserts?”
“I don't know. I just didn't.”
“The first lesson you need to learn about business is to take advantage of every opportunity.”
As DaNeen stood up, Zyair noticed her curves once again.
I wonder if she would be down for a threesome.
“The other thing is, I need a mentor and I wanted to know if you would be it.”
Without a second thought, he told her, “Sure.”
DaNeen came around the desk and threw her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek.
At that exact moment, Thomas came busting through the door. “Yo, man, you wouldn'tâ” He stopped midsentence and wondered what the hell was going on. “Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt anything.”
DaNeen stepped back. “I'm sorry,” she told Zyair. “I just got carried away.”
Thomas was taking it all in with a raised eyebrow. He sat down and followed Zyair with his eyes as he stood up to walk DaNeen to the door.
“Listen,” Zyair told her, “you don't have to quit. We can work something out until you're up and running.”
From where Thomas was sitting, it appeared as if DaNeen batted her eyes and pushed up her cleavage as she said, “Are you sure? I don't want to be an inconvenience or anything.”
“I'm sure,” Zyair reassured her, and closed the door behind her.
Thomas couldn't wait for her to leave the room.
“What's up with you and her?”
“Nothing, man. She's my employee.”
“Are you sure she's not more than that?”
Zyair didn't bother answering the question. He just sat down behind his desk. “What's up?”
Thomas started to speak, “Listen, theâ”
“Wait, before you even tell me. What I tell you about busting in my office without knocking?”
“I see why you feel that way now.”
“Man . . . please. You know I'm as loyal as they come.”
Thomas stood up. “Remember at dinner, my girl kept saying she knew that Khalil dude from somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you're not going to believe this shit.”
The way Thomas was acting, Zyair could tell it was something big. “What?”
“That nigga is a freak. Listen to thisâhe fuckin' hangs out at that club, Free for All.”
Zyair had no idea what he was talking about. “Free for All?”
“You know, the swingers club?”
“How does your girl know?”
“She's a freak too!”
Zyair laughed.
Thomas wasn't done yet. “Not only that but he's done porn too.” Before Zyair could get a word in, Thomas added, “She's bringing me the tape tonight. You know we've got to tell Alexis, right.”
Zyair started shaking his head. “Nah, man, that's something I'm not getting into.”
“What do you mean, you're not getting into it. We're talking about my future wife, and your woman's best friend.”
“And?”
“Do you care about Alexis?”
“Man, don't ask me no stupid shit like that. She's my girl's best friend. Of course, I care about her.”
“Do you care about your boy?” Zyair just looked at him.
“Well, I love that girl.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I'm going to marry her one day. As soon as I get all this fucking around out of me, she's going to be mine. I don't want this Khalil character to ruin her.”
“She's a grown-ass woman.”
“I know that, but I think you should at least tell Champagne.”
“I'll think about it.”
“Nah, man, action. We need some action.”
“I told you I'll think about it.”
“I don't want him destroying my goods.”
“I heard you, man.”
Thomas stood up. On his way to the door, he turned around. “Be careful.”
“Of what?” Zyair had no idea what he was talking about.
“That fine honey you got working for you.”
Zyair waved the comment off. “What is this, first grade? I'm a taken man.”
Thomas wasn't fooled. He knew Zyair was bothered because what he'd said was true. Thomas looked at him real serious and said, “Yeah, and you need to remember that shit.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Temporary Love Thing” Full Force
Champagne was nervous as she got ready for lunch with Sharon. Was it just lunch, or would it be considered a date?
Maybe it was because she was going to lunch with a lesbian, or maybe it was the fact that she figured that Candy was either gay or bisexual.
Champagne had noticed how appealing Candy was when she'd interviewed her. And today, for some reason, she kept sneaking peeks. She knew if she didn't hurry up and handle this threesome thing with Zyair she was going to go crazy. It was consuming her. Maybe once they did it, it would be out of her system.
“I'll be back in two hours,” Champagne told her after she'd given her a list of things to do and a few phone calls to make.
“If I have any questions, should I call your cell phone?”
“That would be fine.”
Fifteen minutes later, Champagne was entering the restaurant. The second she put her foot through the door, she and Sharon spotted one another at the same time. Champagne could feel Sharon checking her out as she walked across the room. She found herself looking down at her outfit, hoping Sharon liked what she saw.
When Champagne reached the table, Sharon surprised her by standing up, walking around the table, and kissing her on the cheek.
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
“No need to thank me. I wanted to.”
Sharon licked her lips. “Did you now?”
Champagne caught it and figured it was just something she did when talking, that it wasn't a signal or a sign.
At that moment the waitress walked over and placed menus on the table. “Would you ladies like something to drink?”
Sharon looked at Champagne. “Diet coke, please.”
“I'll take the same.” The second the waitress walked away, Sharon said, “So tell me about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Let's start with why you said yes to my invitation.”
“I found you interesting,” Champagne told her.
“Interesting how?”
All of a sudden Champagne felt shy but she wasn't going to let that get in her way.
“Maybe interesting is the wrong word. What I mean is, you know how you meet someone and you like their vibe immediately . . . when you feel like, that's a person you can kick it with?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, that's why I agreed. That and the fact that Hunter thinks you're cool as hell.”
“The feeling is mutual. Hunter and I have known each other for ages.”
“Do you want to know why I called you?” Sharon asked, breaking Champagne out of her thoughts.
“Because you think I'm cool as hell?”
“Cool, cute, and sexy.”
The waitress came with their drinks. “Are you ready to order?”
They told her they needed another minute.
Champagne and Sharon quickly picked up their menus and started looking at the choices.
“I think I'll order the salmon dish,” Champagne said.
“Yeah, that's a good idea. Plus, it's light.” Sharon waved the waitress over and placed their order.
While she did that, Champagne decided to continue flirting with Sharon. Why sit here and pretend? She was on a mission. When the waitress walked away, Champagne said, “So you were saying?”
“I was saying that I think you're cute.”
“Cute's for kids.”
“How about, I think you're sexy as hell?”
“How do you know I won't get offended? How do you know if I'm even attracted to women?”
“I don't know. If you're offended, please tell me.”
“I'm not.”
“Good. Because when we met, I thought I was feeling an energy.”
Champagne frowned. Was she that obvious? “What kind of energy?”
“And I'm checking you out on the âquiet-tip' energy.”
Champagne laughed. She did think it was on the quiet tip. “Damn!”
“Let me ask you this,” Sharon said. “What's your sexual preference?”
“Confused.”
Sharon leaned across the table, surprised that Champagne gave her such an honest answer. “Confused?”
Champagne spotted the waitress heading their way with their plates. She waited until she placed them down and walked away. Then she told Sharon, “Listen, I want to be clear, honest, and upfront.”
“Damn, girl, didn't know this lunch date was going to be this serious.”
“I didn't either, but I've got a feeling about you.”
“What kind of feeling?”
As they ate and talked, Champagne talked about the Hedonism experience she and Zyair had. She hadn't told anyone else about it, and it felt so good to get it out.
“Ever since that experience, I've been thinking about doing it again. I want to see if I'll enjoy it as much sober, or if it was just a drunken experiment.”
“What do you want it to be?”
“I'm not sure. I mean, what if I enjoy it the second time around and can't get enough? What if I get turned out?”
“How are you going about looking for this female? Don't tell me you and your man went to a strip bar or a gay club.”
Champagne started laughing. “Why not?”
“You have, haven't you?”
“Yep.”
Sharon just shook her head. “Don't you know that's what all couples do when they're trying to get it on? Why do they think it'll be that easy?”
“Believe me, we know it's not.”
“Why don't you two use someone you know?”
“We don't know anyone that will be down.”
“What exactly are you looking to make happen?”
Champagne couldn't help but wonder,
Was Sharon asking all these questions because she might be open to it, or was she just asking out of curiosity?
“Well, Zyair can look, maybe touch. I'm not even sure about that.”
“What else can he do?”
“What do you mean, what else can he do?”
“Is he going to be involved sexually?”
“As in intercourse?”
“What else?”
“No, this is really about me.”
Sharon sat back in her seat. “What if I told you I was interested?”
Champagne sat back in her seat too.
Shit, she's just playing with me.
“I thought you didn't like men?”
“I never said that. I don't have anything against men, I just don't want one in my bed. Plus, you said he'd just watch.”
Champagne felt her pussy get instantly wet. Could this really be happening? Had she actually found the person? What would Zyair say? What would he think of Sharon? After all, she is fine. Would he be attracted to her, not that it would matter, because she wouldn't be attracted to him.
“I don't know what to say.”
Sharon reached across the table and took Champagne's hand. “Don't answer that right now. Go home, talk to Zyair about it. Let me know what he says.”
Liking her touch, Champagne asked, “Why are you offering to be the one?”
“Because you look like you'll taste good.”
There was nothing Champagne could say to that comment. She was sure Sharon could feel her hands sweating.
“Let's enjoy the rest of our meal,” Sharon said.
All Champagne could do was agree.
* * *
On the way back to the office, Champagne imagined her and Sharon making love, Sharon's hands and mouth all over her body. She thought about Zyair sitting across the room or on the foot of the bed watching as Sharon played with her titties and licked her juices. She pictured him masturbating while watching.
Champagne knew her thoughts were racing out of control when she almost ran a red light. How she made it back to her office in one piece was a mystery to her.
Candy was sitting at the receptionist's desk, and on the telephone when Champagne walked in. In the sitting area on the couch sat a young lady reading a magazine.
“Hello,” Champagne said.
“Please hold,” Candy said to whomever she was speaking to on the telephone. She looked up at Champagne. “This is a potential client.”
Champagne glanced at the young lady on the couch.
“Hi, I'm Shay,” she said as she stood up. “I was down at my uncle's, and he told me you were looking to hire someone. I thought I'd drop my resume off.”
The last thing Champagne felt like doing was speaking on the phone or interviewing someone. She needed to get her head together after the conversation she and Sharon just had. She also wanted to call Zyair, but she didn't want to be rude. She told Candy to take a very detailed message.
Champagne walked over to the desk and reached past Candy. “Excuse me.” She couldn't help noticing how good she smelled. She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to Candy. “As a matter-of-fact, ask them these questions and tell them I will get back to them.”
She looked at Shay and told her, “Give me five minutes and I'll speak with you.”
“Thank you,” Shay answered.
Champagne went into her office, closed the door behind her, and exhaled. She sat at her desk to clear her head and tried to focus on the business at hand.
Five minutes later, she opened her door and told Shay, “Come on in.”
Champagne could see the nervousness on her face. “No need to be nervous. This isn't an official interview.”
That didn't turn out to be true, because thirty minutes later, Shay was walking out the door with the job. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she told her as she was leaving.
Champagne smiled. She felt in her heart that she'd made the right call hiring this young lady. There was something about her, that “it” thing people talked about. She'd moved here on her own with money saved, found an apartment, and up until this moment was working various temp jobs.
After she was gone, Candy knocked on Champagne's door.
“Come in.”
“So did you hire her?” Candy sure hoped so. She couldn't wait to do hands-on work, get involved with the stars, party plan, do the fun and exciting part of the job.
“I sure did. She's starting tomorrow.”
“That's good.”
Champagne told Candy to have a seat, and they talked about how her first day on the job went, if it was what she expected.
Champagne then told her that she was going to let her assist with planning a party for an up-and-coming actress.
Now that's what I'm talking about,
Candy thought.
As Champagne stood up to leave, Candy stopped her, “Champagne?”
“Yes?”
“I just want to thank you again for this opportunity. I promise, I won't let you down.”
Champagne nodded. “I know you won't.”
“See you tomorrow,” Candy told her.
“That you will.”