Seven Books for Seven Lovers

by Molly Harper, Stephanie Haefner, Liora Blake, Gabra Zackman, Andrea Laurence, Colette Auclair

  “Ooh! Lemme see!”

  Mia slipped the disc into the computer and the women gathered around the screen. The first image was a close-up of Oliver’s face. Mia’s stomach flip-flopped and a tingle flittered through her body and rested in her southern region. She could still feel his hands scorching her skin, his tongue flicking her nipples. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm her psychotically beating heart. Bad Mia! No more X-rated thoughts of employees!

  “Yumm-o. Me likey.” Bryn’s voice pulled her out of Oliverland as she scrolled through the photos one by one.

  “These are really nice,” Penny said. “They’re going to work great with what I have planned for promo.”

  “Good. There’s a couple that might be good for the packaging.” Mia pointed to the screen, one of the shots of Logan completely naked. “The text can cover his parts, so he will look completely naked on the box without actually showing the goods.”

  “I like that. And these ones in the hot pink undies,” Bryn said and giggled. “I can already picture the banner for the shop. So glad I thought of them.”

  “It was hell getting them to pose in a photo together, though.”

  “Men and their egos.” Bryn shook her head. “But we’re gonna milk it for all it’s worth. I heard about this thousand-dollar bet they have going. That should make things interesting.”

  “We need to talk about this party,” Penny said and pulled out her notepad, covered with scribbles. “I have some ideas, but I need to know what kind of budget we’re working with.”

  “Well, there’s not much,” Bryn answered. “I took out the last and final loan I could get. Most went toward the product, but I have about five hundred left. That’s gotta cover promo materials and the party.”

  “Oh. I was hoping for that much just for banners and postcards and such.”

  “Not happening. I can probably give you half.”

  “Okay. I’ll have to scale back the number of posters and make them smaller. Maybe we’ll skip the postcards, too. I have to do the guys’ head shots, though. They need something to autograph during the party.”

  “How about we do postcards for that instead of full eight-by-ten glossies?”

  “That could work.”

  “What else do we need for the party?” Mia asked.

  Penny scanned her sheet. “Food, obviously. Drinks. I’d originally planned on champagne or wine, but we’ll have to forget that.”

  “Let me check with the bakery down the street. Maybe they can give us a deal on mini cupcakes or something. I don’t want to go crazy.”

  The wheels in Bryn’s head were obviously turning. “I can so see hot pink icing with candy penises on top. We can buy candy penises, right?”

  “Uh, yeah. I think so.”

  “Great. I think that’s all we need. They’ll be here to see the men, and women don’t eat in front of hot guys.”

  Bryn had a point.

  As the women scrolled through the photos again, writing down the numbers of the ones they liked for promo items, Grant walked in, box in hand.

  “Good-bye. Good luck. Good riddance.” He started toward the door.

  “Grant, wait,” Bryn raced over to him. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m done.”

  “Come on. You can’t just walk out on us.”

  “I can. I refuse to continue working for people who don’t take me seriously and don’t approach their business professionally. I’m done being your entertainment and on the receiving end of your insults.”

  Mia jumped from her seat, panic filling her. “You know we were just joking with you. Like a little brother. Please stay. We need you.”

  “You don’t need me, you need a shrink.”

  Mia’s jaw dropped.

  “Hey. You can’t talk to her like that. Get out.”

  “My pleasure.”

  The women watched him leave, silent, until Bryn pointed out the obvious.

  “Well, he was a stick-in-the-mud anyway. That guy needs a good fuck.”

  “I agree, but what are we going to do? Who’s going to take care of the financial stuff? Oh, God! What about payroll? I don’t know how to work that new software. Do you?”

  “Relax. We’ll figure it out. We used to do it ourselves once upon a time. We’ll go back to the old program if we have to. And besides, think of the money we’ll save having one less check to pay out.”

  That would be nice.

  “I’m sure we can look for someone part time and pay them less. It will all be fine.”

  Good thing one of them could stay positive.

  HER FIRST day off in over a week, Mia slept until almost noon. The sunny Sunday afternoon begged to be taken advantage of. She threw on a T-shirt and a pair of yoga pants, not that she had ever done yoga, and her sneakers. She headed to Delaware Park, the biggest in Newford, for a few laps on the path encircling it.

  Mia had always loved to run. She’d even done track her senior year of high school. She tried to keep to a routine, but in reality her motivation came in spurts. A few months on, a few months of slacking off. But now that the weather was consistently warm, it was time to get back to it. It had always cleared her mind, helped her focus. And she could definitely use some focus now.

  After a few calf stretches, she started a slow jog, weaving in and out of dog walkers and stroller pushers. By the end of the first lap she had graduated to sprinting. She found her stride, zooming around the path, blocking out all sounds, all faces.

  “Mia!” A screech in her ear followed by a hand on her arm.

  The jolt of it made her wobble a bit, her left foot catching on her right. Oh shit! I’m going down!

  He caught her before she face-planted.

  “You okay?” Oliver asked, once she was in his arms, stable, still upright, somewhat.

  “Uh, yeah. What did you do that for?” She wiggled free of his embrace, needing to distance herself from his skin, the musky smell of him. Did all men smell this good when they sweat?

  “I started calling your name a few minutes ago. Took me a couple to catch up to you. You run here often?”

  Was this the new pick-up spot? Instead of a bar, it’s the park? “Sometimes.”

  “I come every day. During the week before work, but on the weekends, it’s later.”

  That explained the boulders for butt cheeks.

  “You wanna run together?” he asked.

  Probably wasn’t a great idea. But it was just running. An employer and employee could run together, right? “Sure.”

  They took off, Oliver keeping pace with Mia. If he ran every day, he could probably run the park twice in the amount of time it took her to circle it once.

  “You don’t have to stay with me, you know.”

  “I want to.”

  The sun glinted off the sweat moistening his upper lip. Since when was sweat sexy? Eyes on the path, not on Oliver.

  “You ever go to the art festival in the park?” he asked.

  “A few times. I love it, but no one ever wants to go with me. It’s hard for Bryn to bring the kids to something like that, and to my family, ‘art’ means the graffiti on the highway overpass. It’s just another thing I was into and no one else. Not in my uncultured little hometown.”

  “Well, you know me now.”

  “Office troll by day, art fan by night?”

  “Something like that. I used to sketch but gave it up when I had to get serious and study harder. Can’t get your MBA by drawing during your free time.”

  “If you enjoy something, you need to make time for it. Especially now, with your career set and all.”

  “But I just started a new career. Office troll slash erotic model. I have to say, I have been quite inspired lately. Must be the new job. Or maybe the new people I’ve met.”

  “You gotta be talking about Logan.”

  They kept on running, but Oliver had turned his head to her, his smile wide. “Yeah, his puka shell necklace really turns me on.”


  Mia burst out in a fit of laughter so hard she could barely breathe, and she slowed to a trot. Oliver was next to her, his laughter mirroring hers. He stopped running, doubling over, hands rested on his knees.

  “I hate those things,” Mia told him when she managed to recover her breath.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” he said, calmed once again. “I went to Cancún for spring break my freshman year of college. Had to have one.”

  “You did not!” More giggles.

  “The ladies really liked it.”

  “Oh, it hurts. My stomach is going to explode.” She breathed deep, trying to control herself.

  “Come on. Let’s get some ice cream.”

  “Doesn’t that cancel out the run we just took?”

  “I guess. But it’s so good. My treat.”

  After selecting their frozen concoctions from the cart nearby, they sat on a bench.

  “So, an MBA? Parents must be proud.”

  “I guess. My father didn’t really give me a choice. It was either that or be the family pariah. He didn’t like the idea of an underachiever for a son, hence the insistence I give up my art classes.”

  Huh. Sounded a lot like the Great Antonio Montanari.

  “I hear ya. My father has a low tolerance for things he feels are worthless. He hopes my business fails. He thinks I’ll have no choice but to work for him. I’d rather flip hamburgers than sell cars.”

  “Wait. Are you one of the Montanaris? The ‘Make It Rain’ people?”

  She closed her eyes. “Yes.” Before opening them, she heard the snicker. “Try growing up with that.”

  “You win. You had the worse childhood.”

  “Thanks for the recognition,” Mia said. “But it sounds like we both had it pretty rough.”

  “Us damaged kids gotta stick together.”

  The thought of that tickled her insides. And her other parts, too.

  MIA SAT at her desk, daydreaming. Her brain kept showing her snippets of her afternoon with Oliver. After the ice cream, they’d made one more lap around the park to work off some of the calories they’d ingested, laughing some more, mostly at Logan’s expense. It had been a long time since Mia had hung out with a guy like that. It felt nice.

  He’d invited her to dinner, but she’d declined. No point ruining what they’d shared. It had been a lovely afternoon, two friends/coworkers hanging out. Nothing sexual. Completely appropriate behavior for a boss and her employee.

  She’d just ignore the fact that she’d gone home and spent far too long in a steamy bath with the mental image of Oliver’s naked body and the waterproof vibrator she’d taken home from the shop without anyone knowing. She may not be able to date him, and had given up on dating in general, but Bryn had definitely made a good point back in the beginning of this whole venture. Mia was a prime example of a woman who did not want a man in her life, but still desired a certain part of his anatomy.

  Penny danced into the shop at noon. “I can’t wait for you to see the promo stuff! I picked it up this morning!”

  She hoisted the box onto the front counter and yanked out the postcards.

  “Oh, these are nice,” Mia exclaimed. “I love the black-and-white ones.”

  “I know. I went with a couple different designs, a black and white and color for each guy. One close-up, and one full body.”

  “How many do we have?”

  “Only fifty of each pose.”

  “If we have two hundred women through here on party day, I’ll be ecstatic.”

  “I think we’ll have to monitor these babies though. I can see each customer taking one of each.”

  “Good point. What else you got?”

  Penny pulled out the first banner, an almost life-size photo of Oliver.

  Oh my. “That’s . . . um . . . good.”

  Mia noticed Penny’s sideways glance. “It’s a whole lot better than good.”

  Mia agreed wholeheartedly, but needed to keep her lust under control. “Well, let’s get these up on the wall.”

  Penny got to work, hanging a vertical banner on the wall, and a horizontal from the front counter. The door opened and Bryn walked into the shop.

  “Holy shit, those men are hot.”

  “I know, right?” Penny said, unrolling another poster.

  “Miss Mia did a fine job of finding us some sweet pieces of man candy.”

  The front door opened and a customer entered, a semiregular who came every few months for a bra fitting and a couple of new items.

  “Oh. What have you got going on here?” the middle-aged woman asked.

  “We’re branching out,” Bryn said.

  This was it. The moment of truth. This would be the first time they shared their crazy idea with a customer, someone who would either cheer them on and support their endeavor, or run for the hills. And Bryn was the one to break the news. She had a way with the ladies who came into the shop.

  “We’ve got lots of sexy stuff going on, including some new spokesmodels. Aren’t they beautiful?”

  “They are. But what do handsome men have to do with a lingerie store?”

  “Well, we’re branching out, hoping to accommodate some of our customers’ other needs. We’re now carrying a line of adult toys,” Bryn said, motioning to the display. “And we’ve even designed our own custom toys, modeled after these amazingly gorgeous men.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. The moment of truth. “That’s . . . interesting.”

  Was that a good or bad “interesting”?

  The woman looked to one poster, spouting details about the release party and meet and greet. “So, they’ll be here? The men? Posing for photos and selling their, um, toys?”

  “Yep.”

  Mia, Bryn, and Penny waited for a reply. Mia’s heart raced and she was pretty sure she could hear Bryn’s, too. Would the woman love it, hate it, run screaming from the shop?

  “I’ll have to mark that date on my calendar.”

  Mia tried not to look as relieved as she felt.

  “Great!” Bryn said. “So are you here for a bra fitting?”

  When Bryn had disappeared into the fitting room with the woman, Penny let loose a sigh. “Oh my God. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack.”

  “Me, too. So far so good, though.”

  “Good afternoon, ladies.” The door chimed as the mailman stepped into the shop. “Whoa. What’s going on in here?”

  “Big things coming,” Mia said, and Penny snorted.

  “I get that from the posters.” The young mailman winked.

  Mia’s face warmed to a thousand degrees. “Oh . . . no. I meant changes. Big changes are happening.”

  “Your original statement wasn’t wrong.” Penny giggled again.

  The mailman set a pile of envelopes on the counter. “Good luck with your big things.”

  Mia sorted through the various pieces of mail, most of which were junk. She slid her thumb under the flap of the electric bill, Past Due in glaring red across the top.

  Bryn came out of the fitting room, grabbing a few different bras for her customer. She looked up at Mia. “What’s wrong?”

  “Electric bill.” She held it up. “It hasn’t been paid in two months. What the hell were we paying Grant to do?”

  Bryn sighed and walked over. “I told him not to pay it.”

  “Why?”

  “I only meant to do it for one month. They don’t say anything if it’s only one. But then we still couldn’t pay it.”

  “You should have used my salary.”

  “You know I would never do that. It will be fine. By next month, we’ll be rolling in dildo profits.”

  “I still have the two-fifty food budget for the party,” Mia told her. “I can pay that to the electric company and it will take care of a portion of the bill.”

  “We can’t have our party without penis-topped cupcakes. I already bought the candies. It will all work out.” Bryn was always the cheery optimist. “By this time next month we’ll be able to p
ay the electric bill with money to spare. These guys are hot. There’s no way the product won’t sell. It’s a gold mine.”

  Sometimes Mia let Bryn talk and rolled her eyes at her positivity, knowing better. But this day, she really wanted Bryn to be right. She needed Bryn to be right.

  Bryn went back to her customer and Penny back to her posters. The quiet of the shop left Mia with nothing but her thoughts. Was this the only bill Bryn had told Grant to ignore? How many more past due notices would they receive?

  Mia’s cell phone rang in her purse, Riley’s number on the caller ID. “What’s up?”

  Baby Nico’s wail made it almost impossible for her to hear her sister. “You told me you’d help, so get your ass over here.”

  CHAPTER Fourteen

  Mia rang Riley’s doorbell. Nothing. She knocked. Still nothing. Should she just go in? The door was unlocked, so she peeked her head in. “Hello?”

  A shrill scream, then the blur of a naked little body with dark curly hair whizzed past, then retracted.

  “Mi Mi!” Gianna giggled and threw her arms around Mia’s legs.

  She picked up the little girl and hugged her. Please don’t pee on me. “Where’s your mommy?”

  She pointed toward the hall. “Baby.”

  Mia found Riley in the nursery, head back, hair straggly, dark bags under her eyes. Baby Nico was attached to her breast, but it appeared that both of them were asleep.

  “Let’s go get you dressed,” she whispered to Gianna and took the little girl to her bedroom.

  She diapered her and pulled out a random pair of cotton pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt. Riley would never let her daughter be seen dead in an outfit so mismatched, but oh well. Aunt Mi Mi was in charge now. She plopped Gianna in front of the TV with a bowl of Cheerios and what looked to be a semieducational cartoon.

  Mia headed back toward the nursery and crept inside. She gently pulled Nico from Riley’s chest, her eyes popping open with the release of his suction.

  She jumped with alarm. “What are you doing?”

  “Let me lay him down so you can take a real nap.”

  Riley breathed deep, her eyes closing for a second. “Okay.”

  Mia laid the baby in his crib then helped her sister to bed, covering her and flipping off the light.