Page 78 of Masters of Pleasure
Master Chef
Prologue
Nick
As much asNick loved his job, it wasn’t nearly as much fun on nights when his sous chef, Avery, wasn’t working, especially on the weekends.He couldn’t stop thinking about what she might be doing instead.
Not going on a date, he was pretty sure, but all she’d said was she had ‘plans’ and needed tonight off.It made him grit his teeth, but he’d agreed… what else was he supposed to do?
Demand she tell him her plans?
As her boss, that wasn’t allowed.
Despite a few hot kisses and a wild attraction, they weren’t dating.Technically, that probably wasn’t allowed as her boss, but as long as she was willing, he wasn’t pushing her into anything she didn’t want, and they didn’t let it affect their work.
Still, he was in a worse mood than usual when he had to go upstairs to ask his brother’s girlfriend, who was also the manager, about the wine that was supposed to have been delivered today to be the pairing for tonight’s special.He had to do his best not to take his mood out on her because she was his brother’s girlfriend, and his brother owned the place.
Yeah, Nick got his job through good old-fashioned nepotism.At least, that’s how it sometimes felt, even though the other two owners had interviewed him and agreed to hire him.He didn’t consider it a bad thing.It just made him that much more determined to make Marquis one of the top restaurants in the city and prove his place as executive chef was deserved.
Marquis worked a little differently than most restaurants because it was only a restaurant on the main floor.The second floor was a BDSM theater and hotel, which also provided dinner and room service, along with their other offerings.
It was the BDSM part that made Nick uncertain and uncomfortable, in large part because he knew his brother and his brother’s girlfriend were participating in some of those activities.
The fact Luke was Olivia’s submissive, rather than the other way round, made him even more conflicted.When he’d first learned Luke was interested in kink, he’d been horrified—men shouldn’t hit women.Period.It turned out, Luke was the one getting spanked.
Which really fucked with Nick’s head.
His big, strong, bossy brother being spanked—and other things he didn’t like to think about—by a woman?
It didn’t make sense, although meeting Olivia had helped dispel some of that.
The woman was scary as hell when she wanted to be.
He’d also learned a bit more about kink since they’d been together.Not enough to be entirely comfortable with it, but he’d never seen a woman or man leave the second floor look unhappy, as if they’d been abused, or… well, they all looked as though they’d thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Olivia had been after him to take one of the introduction classes.She thought he’d make a “good Dom,” whatever the hell that meant, but Nick always refused.
For one, he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to spank a woman.Boss one around?Sure.He was bossy—he owned that—but hurt her?The very thought made his stomach tighten to the point of nausea.
Second, he was interested in Avery, his sous chef, who not only went toe-to-toe with him in the kitchen but knew what went on upstairs as well as he did and had never brought it up as a point of interest.If she had, he might be more predisposed to learn more about it, but right now, he was just fine without knowing.
Heading upstairs, Nick nodded to Freddy, who was manning the desk outside the Marquis’ main room where the stage was.Dressed in a pink suit that clashed violently with the red-and-black décor of the room, Freddy looked entirely at home.The blond grinned and finger waved at Nick before returning his attention to the computer in front of him, probably going over the reservations for the evening.
From here, everything looked like a normal hotel lobby, although decorated a bit more boldly than most hotels.However, behind the door to the right of Freddy’s desk, things got wild.
Shaking his head, Nick knocked on the door to Olivia’s office and waited until she called out, ‘Come in’ before opening it.That hadn’t always been the case.For the first few months, Nick would knock and immediately open the door.That had ended the day he’d discovered his brother and Olivia didn’t always remember to lock the door when they were enjoying their intraoffice romance.
He’d seen his brother’s junk plenty of times as a teenager and really didn’t need to see it as an adult.He hadn’t been able to look Olivia in the eye for weeks after seeing her boobs.
Opening the door, he found his brother was there as well, although fully clothed and sitting across from Olivia’s desk, doing something on his phone while she worked.
Looking up, Olivia’s silvery grey eyes locked on him, and a thin smile curved her lips.She was a stunningly beautiful woman with red hair and creamy skin that looked good in the red suits she often wore.Not that Nick was a fashionista, but he knew redheads supposedly didn’t look good in red—Olivia defied that stereotype with ease.
“Hello, Nick, to what do we owe the pleasure?”There was a slightly sardonic note to her voice, as if she was inwardly laughing at him.She’d sounded like that ever since he’d walked in on her and Luke.Apparently, she’d found it hilarious, especially his reaction.
Taking a seat in the chair next to his brother, Nick gave Luke a quick smile before turning his attention to Olivia to ask about the wine shipment.Of course, because Luke was there, they chatted for a few minutes after business wrapped up.
The dinner hour was fast approaching, and Nick felt the urge to get back downstairs, although he knew his staff would have everything handled.He was the control freak Avery often accused him of being, and being away from the kitchen during a busy hour made him itchy.
