Pure Paradise

by Allison Hobbs

  “Is something wrong?” Ms. Landers inquired sharply as she approached the counter. “My appointment is for ten-fifteen.” She glanced at her watch and then looked up at the clock on the wall for confirmation.

  Unaware that Milan had switched appointments, Ellen, the manicurist, came out at precisely ten-fifteen and greeted Ms. Landers with a solicitous smile. “Good morning. Come with me, Ms. Landers.”

  “No, no,” Milan interjected crossly. “There’s been a mix-up. Follow her, Ms. Marlton.” Milan gestured for the frumpy client to follow the manicurist.

  “This is preposterous,” Ms. Landers exclaimed in a voice strengthened by indignation. The idea that someone else could get bumped in front of her was absolutely incomprehensible.

  “Ms. Landers,” Milan said softly, while giving the woman a telling look. “Shin can take care of you right now.” Milan ushered the woman back to Shin’s meager quarters, where the Asian hottie was caught off guard, shirtless and wearing headphones while practicing new dance moves.

  Milan cleared her throat. Startled, Shin jumped. Ms. Landers pursed her lips in disgust at Shin’s paltry workspace, but cast an approving gaze at his marvelously defined chest.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Milan said and, with a knowing smile, she stepped out of the small room and closed the door, assuring Shin and his client privacy.

  Back at the reception desk, Milan motioned for the receptionist to get up. Milan took the woman’s seat.

  “Look at this! Who scheduled all these back-to-back clients?” Milan shot the receptionist a look of disapproval. Sulking, the receptionist hovered over Milan’s shoulder as if she hadn’t already seen the long list of names on the computer screen.

  “I didn’t overbook,” the receptionist mumbled.

  “Then who did?”

  Tight-lipped, the receptionist shrugged.

  “Pure Paradise is supposed to run smoothly. I’m horrified that I nearly allowed an incompetent screw-up such as you to ruin my business and damage my impeccable reputation.”

  The receptionist flinched. Her face flushed and a deep scarlet shade stained her cheeks. “I’m not the person responsible,” she mumbled beneath her breath as she dragged a shaky hand through her hair.

  Milan propped a hand on her hip, so angry she feared she would spit and sputter if she tried to speak. She took a deep breath and managed to keep her voice at a low and professional register that reached only the receptionist’s ears. “If you didn’t do it, then who did?” Milan spoke slowly and with a deadly tone that threatened that heads might possibly roll.

  Wanting to keep hers, the receptionist suddenly became chatty. In fact, she sang like a bird. “It was Sumi! Sumi booked all those clients. I really tried to stop her, honestly, Ms. Walden, I really did. But Sumi was adamant. She said it was imperative that we squeeze in as many clients as possible. She said we had to increase the volume to keep up with our competitors. She said she only cared about the bottom line.”

  Milan was taken aback. Yes, Sumi was a hard worker—under Milan’s prodding and direction. Since when did her assistant start caring about increasing volume and the financial bottom line? Milan had assumed Sumi was more interested in spending time with her new female lover than running Pure Paradise.

  Still, she wasn’t running it efficiently. Sure, Sumi was bringing in additional revenue with her creative ideas, but how long would that last if Milan allowed Sumi to antagonize the clients by making them wait endlessly?

  The Pure Paradise clientele were mainly a bunch of spoiled, pampered matrons and being made to wait was an indignity that most would not be willing to suffer much longer. So before they took their business elsewhere Milan was hell-bent on getting things rolling smoothly once again.

  Perhaps the pretty little thing hoped to get back into Milan’s good graces and into her bed if she more than quadrupled Milan’s income. Flattered, Milan grinned to herself. Still, Sumi shouldn’t hold her breath if she expected her latest performance to grant her a pass back into Milan’s bed.

  After being with Hilton, after sharing such tender moments, Milan was feeling less and less inclined to engage in sordid, meaningless sex. There was no room in Milan’s life for Sumi. She hadn’t given up on Hilton. Throwing herself into her business was just a distraction until she could figure out a way to regain her place in his heart.

  CHAPTER 29

  A few moments after Milan had sufficiently brought order to the chaotic appointment list, separating traditional manicures, pedicures, therapeutic massages, and body wraps from those waiting for a selection from the specialty menu, Ms. Landers cleared the waiting area. She let out a piercing scream that sent the waiting patrons scurrying toward the exit sign.

  Royce came running, huffing and puffing with his long tongue hanging and his hand pressed against his weapon, ready to draw. Grimacing, Milan imagined clients who were in the midst of enjoy a soothing massage, scrambling off the towel-covered padding and finding a safe haven beneath the sturdy wooden table while the massage therapists took refuge behind potted plants or wedged themselves into corners, hiding from whatever horror awaited them outside their cloistered confines.

  “Oh my God!” Milan whirled on her heel and, with Royce at her side, she hurried into Shin’s cubicle. Ms. Landers was standing, still screaming as she gawked down at her cum-covered bare feet.

  With his sizeable dick still in hand, Shin gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I squirted her feet with the deluxe softener and she started yelling her head off before I could massage it in,” he explained.

  “What kind of sordid, sick, disgusting hellhole are you running?” Ms. Landers shouted at Milan.

  Milan was bewildered that Ms. Landers was making such a big fuss. Shin had squirted a copious amount of semen on her perfectly pedicured feet. She couldn’t imagine why the woman was screaming like a banshee.

  “What’s wrong?” Milan asked, sincerely perplexed. “Aren’t you pleased with Shin’s work?”

  Ms. Landers fluttered her lashes in shock and then dropped her gaze down to her semen-soaked feet. “Are you out of your mind? This maniac—this perverted sex fiend—pretended that he was going to apply a top coat to my pedicure and then out of the clear blue sky, he extracted his penis and sexually assaulted me.”

  “No, no. It was a misunderstanding,” Milan interjected, holding her head at the horror of making such a monumental blunder. “I must have accidentally switched your appointment with someone who wanted The Spicy Asian pedicure. Please accept my apology.”

  “I will not.” Ms. Landers stole a look at her feet and grimaced. “I’m calling my attorney.” She pulled a cell phone from her purse.

  Milan glared at Shin. “Hurry, clean her up!” she demanded shrilly.

  Shin rushed to get a warm, moist towel.

  “No!” Ms. Landers shouted. “I need evidence.” Using her phone, she started snapping pictures of her creamy feet. “I’m filing assault charges—”

  “Against whom?” Shin questioned, his voice trembling with fear. “I didn’t commit a crime; I was doing my job.” He shot a glance at Milan, expecting her to corroborate his claim. Milan rolled her eyes at Shin.

  “Your job!” Ms. Landers squawked. “That’s ludicrous! Young man, you are a sick pervert and I’m having you both arrested. I want you both brought to trial, and I’m going to make sure that this bordello is shut down!” Ms. Landers declared and snapped a couple more pictures before dropping into a chair and allowing Shin to clean his gook off her feet.

  “Ms. Landers,” Milan said, in the calmest voice she could muster after hearing such terrifying words as arrested, trial, and shut-down. Oh dear Lord, she doubted she could endure any of the threats. The possibility of doing hard time was like freakin’ déjà vu. Her heart was pounding like a sledgehammer, seemingly loud enough to be heard echoing throughout the corridors of her prized salon. “I’d like to offer you manicures, pedicures…any service of your choice…free of charge, of course. For a year,” she threw in
and then forced her lips to stretch into a hopeful smile.

  Ms. Landers replied with a snort, “I wouldn’t cross this threshold again if you gave me ten years of free services. My attorney is going to file sexual assault charges and we’re having you both arrested. The doors to this vulgar sex den are going to be permanently closed.”

  The woman’s threats had Milan so dizzy with fear, she staggered out of Shin’s cubicle. Pushing buttons on her cell, trying to get a hold of Sumi, Milan stumbled past gawking staff and the remaining die-hard patrons who were still hoping to keep their appointment with Shin.

  After entering the sanctuary of her own office, she finally got Sumi on the phone. “Where are you?” Milan hissed, wondering why Sumi hadn’t come running at the sound of Ms. Landers’ high-pitched scream. Then it dawned on her that the lower level was soundproofed to keep down the hollering, yelling, and pleading that erupted when BodySlam throttled his clientele.

  “I’m holding down the fort downstairs as you instructed, remember?” Sumi said snippily.

  Like Milan, Sumi preferred her own spacious office to the meager office housed in the lower level. Her sarcasm didn’t escape Milan and it would be dealt with later. At the moment, Milan’s focus was on getting the hell out of Pure Paradise before the police arrived.

  “There’s a minor problem upstairs. I need you to multi-task—”

  “Isn’t that what I’ve been doing for the past year?” Sumi snapped.

  More sarcasm. Oooh, Milan couldn’t wait to put Sumi in her place, but her punishment would have to wait.

  “Tell BodySlam to get his client out of here, now. Tell him to leave also. Have Harper padlock the spanking room and then lock off the entry to the lower level. I want you to get upstairs and discreetly send all of the specialty staff home. Then get Harper to shut down the specialty website. Don’t leave a trace. Make it appear that it never existed.”

  “Why would you want her to do that? Milan, what’s going on?”

  “You overbooked and there’s such a clog of traffic, the neighboring businesses are complaining. They claim that our clients are parking in their designated spots,” Milan lied. “Some of the business owners are actually threatening to call the law.” Milan heaved a great sigh. “Sumi, I can’t believe you placed me in such a terrible position. You created a hell of a disaster,” Milan accused as she snatched files and quickly stuffed them inside her briefcase.

  “Is that so,” Sumi shouted. “Nothing I do pleases you—”

  “There’s no time for a tantrum. This is a place of business,” Milan said coolly. “Listen, I’m distraught and I’m going home for the day. Call me when you’ve managed to sort things out.” Milan snapped her cell shut, grabbed her purse, and darted down the stairs that led to a back exit. Outside, she took a sweeping glance of the area and walked briskly away from Pure Paradise. She didn’t call her driver to pick her up until she had walked three blocks away. She ordered him to bring the limo two blocks over, where she walked to ensure that she was nowhere near Pure Paradise and safe from being entangled in a raid.

  Safe inside the limo, Milan tried to settle her nerves, but gruesome images of police badges and handcuffs flashed through her mind. Suddenly, her cell jangled, the sound causing her to practically jump out of her skin. She flipped the phone open and squinted at Sumi’s name but was afraid to answer. A part of her wanted to know what was going on, but another part thought it best to wait until she spoke with Maxwell.

  She looked at her watch. Shit, she really needed to remember to keep a watch on hand that kept track of the time in Japan. Damn you, Maxwell! Why’d he have to be on another continent when she needed him most?

  She truly needed to talk to Maxwell and bring him up to speed so he could assemble his legal team to repair the damage. She called his cell and it went straight to voicemail. Milan rubbed her tummy. She could feel a horrible case of nausea coming. When the phone rang again, she hit the ignore button and shut off the annoying jangle.

  But Sumi wouldn’t be deterred. She called repeatedly. Obviously she hadn’t been arrested or she wouldn’t be able to make so many back-to-back calls. And Milan hadn’t heard sirens or any signs of police involvement, so she assumed Sumi was just calling to brief her on the spectacle Ms. Landers was creating. Milan wasn’t in the mood to hear any more bad news. If Sumi hadn’t created the specialty menu, none of this would have happened. So, until she spoke to Maxwell and had access to his highly paid counsel, Milan would not be taking any of Sumi’s calls.

  Good luck, Sumi; hope you don’t end up in the clink. But then again…Sumi could use a reality check. A night or two behind bars might be just the attitude adjustment the self-important assistant needed.

  But Sumi rang Milan’s cell incessantly. Though annoying, each ring assured Milan that Pure Paradise had not been raided and shut down.

  CHAPTER 30

  Around ten o’clock that evening, and after hours of trying to hunt down Maxwell to no avail, Milan finally took a call from Sumi.

  “Why the hell didn’t you return my calls?” Sumi sputtered into the phone.

  “I’m sorry, Sumi, I’ve been resting,” Milan said softly, rubbing her temple and hoping Sumi would imitate her calm tone.

  No luck. “Do you realize that I had to handle an irate client who was threatening to sue and have Shin arrested because he mistakenly ejaculated on her feet?”

  “How’d that happen?” Milan feigned innocence.

  “Don’t pretend like you don’t know what happened. Shin told me you were there. How can you be so deceitful? According to the receptionist, you switched appointments. You screwed up and left me to clean up the mess. That woman, Ms. Landers, was incensed, making all sorts of threats. You knew she intended to get the police involved, and what did you do? You fled the scene and threw me under the bus. How could you do that to me, Milan? After all we’ve meant to each other, I can’t believe you’d actually try to set me up for something I didn’t do.”

  “Listen, you little twit, that specialty menu was your idea and I’m not taking a fall for you or that stupid Shin!”

  “I noticed you enjoyed raking in all that money the specialty menu brought in.”

  “All good things have to end.” Milan gave a solemn sigh. “So, what happened with Ms. Landers? Is she going to take legal action?”

  “It was a very close call. She wanted her attorney to call the media and have Pure Paradise exposed as a whorehouse. The clients could hear her loud complaints. She was very disruptive, so I remembered how you redirected the last dissatisfied client down to BodySlam.”

  Milan gasped. “Oh, God. Please tell me you didn’t take that prissy woman downstairs! Sumi, you have to use judgment when you introduce someone to corporal punishment, and I seriously doubt if Ms. Landers would be the right candidate for a session with BodySlam.”

  “Don’t worry, Ms. Landers didn’t get the spanking she deserved. BodySlam had gone. Remember? You told me to send him home for the day.”

  “Oh, yeah. Right.” Milan breathed a sigh of relief. “So, how did you appease her? Did she accept free manicures? Everything is okay now, right?”

  “Right!”

  “Thank goodness!” Milan wiped perspiration from her forehead. “That heifer’s panties were twisted in a really tight knot,” she joked, laughing as she spoke. Now that everything was all right and the smoke had cleared, she was able to show a sense of humor.

  “I managed to untwist her panties,” Sumi said smugly.

  “Meaning?” Milan arched a brow.

  “I gave her what I used to give you.”

  She gasped again. “You introduced her to your pussy snaps?” Milan said in a screechy voice she hadn’t intended.

  “I sure did. Licked her snatch, too. She went crazy, pulling my hair while she came all over my face. She wants to see me again.”

  “But…but you’re not on the menu.”

  “You left me in the lurch, so I had no choice but to offer myself as the day’s
special,” Sumi said snidely. “Ms. Landers left me a very generous tip. You can thank me for sparing Pure Paradise all that unwanted publicity. I also had to promise to see her again tomorrow. Turns out her husband has been neglecting coochie. Gives her some cock every now and then but he’s not taking Viagra and he doesn’t last very long. She says he never bothers with foreplay, so you can imagine how very grateful she is for my special technique. She says she only wants to have sex with women now and she also said, starting today, she officially hates men. I think she’s in love,” Sumi bragged. “The woman’s loaded. She’s good looking for her age, but she’s really not my type. What do you think I should do? String her along in the manner that you treat me?”

  Milan winced at the jab and then went though a swift range of emotions: shock, jealousy, anger, and finally acceptance. “Do whatever it takes to keep her mouth shut. Thanks, Sumi. You’re a true friend.”

  “Friend? I thought I was your lover.”

  Milan heard Sumi swallow as she nervously waited for Milan to respond. Milan switched subjects. “I’ve been thinking…I want Pure Paradise back the way it used to be. After this scare, I’m through with all the smut and sordid sex. I want my salon to run smoothly, like a normal, upscale salon. Seriously, Sumi. I’m bored with all that decadent sex.”

  “Are you bored with me?”

  Sumi had her on the spot and Milan was squirming. “Uh…not really,” she stuttered.

  “You have an odd way of showing it.” There was an edge to her voice.

  “Aren’t you involved with what’shername?”

  “Harper.” Sumi supplied her assistant’s name.

  “Yeah, her.”

  “No, we’re just friends. Cohorts would best describe us, especially when you use us to do your dirty work to Maxwell.”

  “I see,” Milan said uncomfortably. Sumi was really laying it on thick; trying to make her feel guilty for the things she was paid to do. True, the way she had rescued the day by pussy snapping Ms. Landers was above and beyond, but that was the dynamic of their relationship. It wasn’t based on anything remotely resembling equality.