Scandalicious (26 page)

Solay was getting on Melanee’s last nerve. She was worrying aloud about fulfilling her promise to bake two thousand cupcakes for a charity event.

The way Solay kept repeating, “I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done and still manage Scandalicious,” was really aggravating. Had Solay asked Melanee’s professional opinion, she would have told her that a job that big couldn’t be done without a team of experienced bakers. But all Solay saw were dollar signs. She hadn’t asked Melanee’s opinion, and so Melanee didn’t offer it.

And now she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, acting clumsy—clattering and banging pans and she even dropped a whole carton of eggs.

Melanee turned her head away from the slimy mess, defiantly refusing to give Solay any assistance. She did not intend to involve herself in Solay’s problems.

She was bored with making the same ole butter cream and cream cheese frostings, but Solay was too cheap to jazz up the menu. As she blended sugar and butter, she couldn’t suppress a yawn. A good hour of sleep would be refreshing.

After being ejected from Madam’s house, Melanee had spent
the next few hours lying in her stuffy little bedroom as thoughts and worries jostled in her mind. The butler’s contempt for her was apparent. His words, “I never want to see you again,” stung like hell. Not that she cared to see him, either, but she was concerned that he’d be able to convince Madam Midnight that she was unworthy of serving her. That prick of a butler wanted Madam all to himself. Though Melanee was certain that she’d satisfied Madam, the butler seemed to have a great influence on the woman’s decisions.

Reminded that Madam had clearly said that she belonged to her now, Melanee felt somewhat hopeful. She wondered if Madam would hold an official ceremony to declare Melanee as her prized possession.

She thought of Colden and sighed. She actually felt a little guilty for betraying him. But she had a right to be with the master of her choosing, and Colden was always too busy for Melanee. He’d never really taken control of her the way that she desired. Madam lived her role as a dominant twenty-four-seven and Melanee longed to be at her beck and call.

During her many troubled thoughts, she wondered if Madam would contact her through Colden. She preferred that Madam contact her directly, but Melanee’s feelings were inconsequential. Being an insignificant submissive, she had no say-so or knowledge in the manner in which dominants traded chattel.

All she could do was wait and hope that she’d hear from her new mistress very soon. Maybe she could quit this dumb job and bake for Madam—using only low-fat ingredients, in order to help Madam maintain her beautiful physique.

Racks and racks of cupcakes had cooled and were ready to be frosted. Piping bag in hand, Melanee stretched her mouth open and gave an enormous yawn.

At that exact moment, her phone jangled softly.

She dropped the bag of frosting and ripped the phone from her apron pocket. Colden was calling, and Melanee didn’t know what to expect. Ignoring Solay’s curious glance, she walked out of the kitchen and went into the dimly lit dining area to take the call in private.

“Yes, Master,” she whispered, but even spoken softly, the words sounded hollow and false.

“Am I? I’ve been told otherwise,” Colden responded in a chilly tone.

“What do you mean?” She feigned innocence, but her heart quickened in anticipation of news from Madam.

“I loaned you to Madam Midnight, but it appears that you two have been plotting behind my back.”

“No, I’d never do that,” Melanee lied. “She told me that I belonged to her, and what could I say? I was under the impression that you gave me away.”

“I did nothing of the sort. And it’s completely inappropriate for Madam Midnight to claim something that doesn’t belong to her. She’s overstepped her boundaries.”

Wow, this is not going the way that I’d hoped
. Melanee pulled off one of the plastic gloves she wore while baking and anxiously nibbled on her fingernail.

“Do you want me to contact her, and tell her that she misunderstood?” Melanee sounded sincere, but she really wanted Madam’s contact information so that she could plead for her to take her.

“No,” Colden answered. “Madam Midnight is a powerful woman and very well connected. She is not the sort of woman that anyone wants as an enemy.”

Melanee sighed in relief. Colden was going to relinquish her to Madam. She wished that she could leave work early, go home,
and start packing. There was no doubt in her mind that she belonged with Madam Midnight.

While Colden was quiet, no doubt thinking of how to outwit Madam, Melanee was imagining going to bed each evening and waking every morning with her face buried between Madam Midnight’s sculpted legs.

“I have an idea,” he said, sounding peeved as he interrupted her sensual reverie.

“Yes, Master, what do you have in mind?” she asked in a shaky voice. Colden was a clever man, and she feared that he might have come up with a conceivable plan to keep her for himself.
Save me, Madam; don’t let him keep me!

“Madam Midnight bores easily. She never keeps her subs for very long. Only last night, she sent that blond boy packing. She shipped him to Toronto to work for her Canadian modeling agency.”

Melanee was intrigued by the information, and terribly flattered.
Madam kicked Garrett to the curb for me!

“You and I are going to indulge Madam’s whims. Between you and me, I am your rightful owner, but until Madam replaces you with another, we have no choice but to go along with her wishes.”

Melanee’s lips spread into a broad grin. “What’s next, Master? I don’t know what to do. I don’t have any experience serving anyone except you.”

“She’s an odd woman, with an odd way of doing things, so until she claims you, I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” The thrill of excitement gave her a cold shiver.

“Meet me at my place tonight. Unfortunately, it may be the last time we spend time together for a while,” Colden said solemnly. It took Madam Midnight’s interest in Melanee for Colden to realize her value.

One man’s trash is another woman’s treasure!

After hanging up with Colden, Melanee returned to the kitchen feeling uplifted. She couldn’t help smirking when she noticed Solay mopping the section of the kitchen where she’d dropped the eggs. Solay had overextended herself; now she was further delayed, having to do grunge work. It served her right.

“You seem to be going through it, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Melanee asked, sounding genuinely concerned, while secretly taunting Solay.

“The charity event…” Solay rolled her eyes. “I’m going nuts trying to run the bakery and start preparing for that big event. It’s next week and I don’t know how I’m going to pull it all together.” Solay lifted her forearm, and used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe sweat from her forehead.

Melanee pondered for a moment, wondering if she should lift a finger to help Solay. She had, after all, shot down Melanee’s contribution to that boring menu, and then had turned around and had tried to steal her idea by adding her own specialty items. But that didn’t last very long. Solay was too stingy and didn’t like thinking outside the box.

What the heck?
She’d be leaving Scandalicious soon, and catering to Madam Midnight’s sophisticated and discriminating palate. It wouldn’t hurt to help Solay out of the mess she’d gotten herself into.

“I can call the pastry school if you’d like. They could probably send some students over to help out.”

“Are you serious?” The way Solay’s face lit up, one would have thought Melanee had offered her a million bucks.

“Yeah, their labor is cheap. Costs next to nothing. The students need the experience; you know what I mean?” She knew that Solay didn’t know what she meant because Solay didn’t learn the craft
at a prestigious pastry school. She wasn’t trained and knowledgeable like Melanee. She was taught to bake by her grandmother, for heaven’s sake. It was a miracle or some kind of a fluke that Scandalicious was actually succeeding.

Solay propped the mop against the fridge. “This is the best news you could have given me. Oh, my God! You rock, Melanee.” She rushed over and gave Melanee a big hug. Melanee stiffened in response, declining to return the gesture. Solay wasn’t one of her favorite people. But with a pack of students baking those two thousand cupcakes, Melanee wouldn’t have to worry about Solay hounding her to put in more hours.

“H
ow come you’re not dressed?” Deon asked when Solay opened the door for him. She was wearing a pair of clingy, low rider sweats and a short crop top—showing off lots of bare skin.

“I had a rough day, thought we’d stay in tonight. I put this on just for you; don’t you like what you see?” She ran both hands along the curvature of her waistline and around to her taut stomach. “I was thinking about getting a piercing, right here…” She touched her navel. “What do you think?” she smiled seductively.

“I think piercings are sexy as shit. But you’re sexy already; you don’t need none of that extra stuff.”

Solay smiled at her man; he always knew what to say. She eyed Deon up and down, noticing that he was looker even more hot than usual. He was dressed so sharp, he could have been preparing to make an entrance down an urban-wear runway. His cap, shirt, and jacket were perfectly color-coordinated. His sagging jeans were of a high quality, appearing to have cost a whole lot more than Solay paid for her jeans. The new pair of boots on his feet did not come from Footlocker—they screamed Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom or some exclusive, men’s shoe boutique. Deon loved to dress, but he was looking a little too spiffy, being that he was about to come right out of that pricey gear.

“Put something on, baby. Don’t you get tired of being stuck in the house all the time?”

“Not really.” She didn’t need the outside world as long as she had Deon.

“We’re going out tonight. I’m serious. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Okaaaay,” Solay said reluctantly, thinking that the surprise she had for Deon would have to wait.

She went through her closet, and frowned. There were several hot semi-formal dresses and an undetermined amount of business suits from her corporate days, but she hadn’t invested in too much casual chic attire. Scandalicious took up so much of her time, she rarely went shopping.

Solay finally found a cute pair of jeans that hugged her butt nicely, but the label wasn’t impressive at all.
Oh, well!

She put on a tight red cashmere V-neck with the jeans and admired herself in the mirror. But she concluded that she was going to have to step up her gear if she was going to hang out with such a fashionista as Deon.

Although her business was on South Street and her residence was right off of South Street, it was rare for Solay to browse the famous tourist strip, or even eat in the numerous restaurants that lined the street. She was too busy running Scandalicious in the daytime, and she didn’t feel safe to walk South Street alone at night. The out-of-town crowds and the Philadelphians were known to get drunk and out of control at night. Besides, Solay went to bed early. At this phase in her life, she had goals to achieve. Enjoying local nightspots and having an active social life was at the very bottom of her list of priorities.

Solay would have been perfectly content to stay home, order some take-out and watch a movie with Deon at her apartment, but he was pretty emphatic that they get out and have some fun.
A healthy relationship required compromising and coming outside of your comfort zone, from time to time.

On their way to the comedy club, Laff House, they held hands, window-shopped, and stopped to smooch along the way. Deon looked fine as hell in clothes and buck naked, and Solay couldn’t even get mad at all the women that gawked at him. But Deon wasn’t paying those brazen females any attention.

You can look but don’t touch, bitches!

Solay and Deon were approaching two teenage girls that were hanging out on South Street—both sporting visible piercings and tattoos. The taller girl made a lewd comment to her girlfriend: “Mmm. Now that’s my type right there; I wonder how he’s holding down there?”