She saw Stephen disappear through a door behind the bar, which she suspected led to his office. Or the staff quarters, if he didn’t have his own office. When he didn’t come back after a few minutes, she started to feel really quite ridiculous. She didn’t have her drink yet, of course, so she looked like she was simply sitting there, needlessly taking up a table. At least the manager knew she was a genuine customer - or about to be - so she was in no danger of being thrown out.
Just to give herself something to do while she waited, Hilary pulled her phone out of her pocket. She checked her emails, noting that, as usual, they were all either spam or trying to sell her something. Companies seemed to think people had endless money supplies - didn’t they know there was a recession on?
Quickly bored with clearing out her email inbox, she flicked to her new favourite website - Pinterest. It provided hours of entertainment - many of them during office hours when she had bugger all to do - as she scrolled through seemingly endless images of beautiful houses, gardens, libraries, cute animals, popular film and television characters and, last but certainly not least, sexy men. That was her preferred area of the site - the drool-worthy images of male models, celebrities and regular hot guys in varying states of dress. Some of them were definitely not safe for work, but in the office she had her back to a wall so no one overlooked her computer screen - hence the regular surfing of non-work related sites.
Here in the pub of course, she could look at whatever the hell she liked and nobody would care. Therefore she was still grinning stupidly and raising her eyebrows at a delicious man in a particularly sexy pose, with nothing but a baseball cap to cover his modesty when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Closing the app double-quick, she turned her head and her grin widened as she saw it was Stephen that was sliding into the seat opposite her, having placed her drink in front of her.
“Thanks,” she said, gesturing towards the drink. “So, what did you find out?”
“Well, it’s good news. There’s absolutely nothing to say that you can’t just have the Chocolate Feast. I’m surprised, actually. You’d think upper management would cover all bases, make it as difficult as possible for people to actually win this thing, wouldn’t you?”
She nodded, then took a sip of her drink before replying. Damn, but she was thirsty. It was Stephen’s fault - him and his sexy arse were making her all dry-mouthed. “Absolutely. Especially since you don’t just get the dessert for free - you win a prize, too.”
Stephen smiled. “I know, it’s crazy, isn’t it? So, am I going to be giving away one hundred pounds worth of vouchers tonight, or what? I have to confess, I’m not quite sure where you’re going to put it all. You know you’re disqualified if you hide ice cream in your handbag, don’t you?” He winked.
“Yep,” she replied. “Not to mention sticky. The handbag, I mean.” Inside her head, she was cringing. God, what a stupid thing to say! What with saying that and him almost certainly seeing the scantily clad men on your phone, he probably thinks you’re some kind of pervert. Well... he’s probably right. You’ve been lusting after him for long enough, haven’t you?
“Okay,” Stephen said, oblivious to her internal conversation. “Well I’ll go and get that ordered then, shall I? I really ought to go and do some work, hadn’t I? I mean, I know I’m the boss and everything, but it’s not setting a very good example if I’m sitting chatting with a customer, is it? Even if I’m advising them on the rules and regulations of our Chocolate Feast Challenge.” He winked at her, then got out of his chair and headed to the bar. She saw him move around the other side of it, then go to one of the tills and punch in her order. He glanced in her direction when he was done, and seeing that she was looking at him, gave a thumbs-up to indicate her challenge was imminent. She smiled back and took another sip of her drink, just to give her something to do other than watch him as he served a couple of other customers at the bar.
Turning her attention to people-watching - with the occasional glance in Stephen’s direction to see what he was up to - passed the time while she waited for the dessert. It didn’t take long - the pub was quietening right down and her order had been sneaked in just before food orders were closed for the evening, too. She watched as one of the waiters emerged from the kitchen with what could only be described as a mountain of ice cream and confectionary. Hilary’s tummy gave a grumble - she hadn’t eaten since lunchtime, so she was definitely ready for this. She was also pretty confident she’d complete the challenge. Her sweet tooth and sheer determination would see to that.
Stephen had obviously spotted the waiter, too, as he intercepted him, took her dessert and delivered it to her table himself. “Madame,” he said, with a silly grin and a mock bow. “May I present a week’s worth of calories. Probably two, actually. I’m beginning to think I should have an ambulance on standby every time someone has one of these. It’s so full of sugar I reckon one sniff of it would send a diabetic into a coma. You’re not diabetic, are you?” He suddenly looked anxious, and Hilary laughed.
“Of course not!” she said. “Do you think I’d be eating this if I was? I’m not suicidal, you know!”
His facial expression turned jovial again, and he pulled a napkin out of the holder on the table and handed it to her. “Now, as much as I would love to sit and watch you eat that, I’m going to leave you to it. I’ll keep peeking to make sure you’re not cheating, though. And I’ll come back when you’re done.”
Hilary gave Stephen a polite smile, then waited until he’d walked away before picking up her spoon. She examined the dessert. Chocolate Feast was definitely the right word for it - but in the old fashioned sense of the word, where great halls would be packed with enormous long tables, all of them full of food, and guests would spend hours, even days, eating. It was absolutely enormous. The thing it was in must have been custom made for huge ice creams - it resembled a large saucepan on a thick stem, but made of glass. And without the handle, of course.
She couldn’t remember exactly what was in the Chocolate Feast, but it looked bloody good. Starting from the top, it had chocolate sprinkles, a chocolate flake poked into a generous helping of whipped cream. Beneath the cream, there were scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and then a layer of what looked like Maltesers. Then more ice cream, another layer of something Chocolatey - she couldn’t see it properly, but she’d figure it out when she got there. The structure repeated itself a couple more times before ending in a brown mass at the bottom of the glass, which she suspected was chocolate brownie.
Hilary’s mouth watered. Even without a main meal, only the most dedicated chocaholic could complete this task - there was just so much sweetness, so much sugar, that many people would find it too sickly. Of course, there was a chance that Hilary might, but she doubted it.
She was going to finish the damn thing, even if it made her vomit afterwards. But she’d have to start it, first.
Grabbing her glass, she took a sip of her drink, a tiny one - after all, she didn’t want to fill up on liquids. She needed all the room she could get in her stomach. Then she looked around to make sure no one was watching her - she hated people watching her eat at the best of times, never mind when she was about to munch down a ridiculous amount of high calorie food.
Satisfied that no one was paying her any attention, she dug her spoon into the whipped cream and put it in her mouth. Closing her eyes in bliss, she made a contented sound - she hadn’t even gotten to the main bit yet, and already it was delicious. A couple more mouthfuls of cream later, and she couldn’t resist any longer - she pulled out the chocolate flake and took a nibble. It was Cadbury’s, too. Her favourite.
Chapter Three
Stephen watched Hilary from his vantage point in his office. He somehow knew she’d be uncomfortable with him watching her eat, so he’d left her to it. Or so she thought. Instead he’d disappeared into his office and stood with the door open a cra
ck. He could see her, but she couldn’t see him. It was perfect.
She’d been frequenting the pub for months now. He’d often thought how weird it was that she came by herself. Not that it was wrong for her to be single - though she was so sexy, that it was kind of wrong no one had snapped her up - but that she didn’t even come with a friend, or a relative. Perhaps she was a loner. But then, why come out at all? Wouldn’t a loner prefer to be, well, alone?
Each time he saw her, though, he became more sure of the fact that she didn’t come with anyone else because that was exactly how she wanted it. She never looked bored or as though she was lacking for company. And she was friendly, too. If they ever happened to make eye contact, she always had a smile for him. Or a little small talk, if he happened to clear her table. Which was quite often, actually. He knew nobody expected their tables to be cleared instantly, even if the place was busy, but he used it as an excuse to get close to her, exchange a few words.
The trouble is, the words that he really wanted to say to her wouldn’t come out. He’d been dying to find out if she was, in fact, single. And if she was, he had every intention of asking her out. But it was just so difficult. Circumstances dictated that he had to be professional at all times, particularly if other staff or customers were around to hear what he was saying. He fancied Hilary, but he didn’t want to get into trouble with his boss. He had no doubt in his mind that if a certain member of his staff could grass him up to the area manager, he would. Especially since he’d noticed him staring at Hilary on more than one occasion. The only saving grace was that she never smiled at him the way she did at Stephen.
Perhaps he was in with a chance.
Snapping out of his daydream, he focussed on what she was doing. And instantly wished he hadn’t. Watching her consume the whipped cream had been erotic enough, but now she’d moved on to the chocolate flake. She’d taken a small bite, made a very happy face, then started to suck it. She was fellating the damn thing! Suddenly, Stephen was harder than he could ever remember being in his life. He wanted to burst out of the staff room, cross the room and replace the chocolate in her mouth with his aching cock.
He rested his forehead on the edge of the door. What was he going to do? Obviously his previous wish was completely out of the question - he’d be fired immediately - but every single thing she did with that damn ice cream was making him hornier and even more attracted to her. Because it wasn’t just about the sex - there was something about her, about her demeanour that really drew him in. If she’d have him, he was sure they’d have a really good time, both in and out of the bedroom.
Reluctantly, he moved away from the door and sat down. At least if anyone came in now, his hard on would be safely hidden beneath his desk. God, if he’d watched her for much longer, he’d have been tempted to flick the lock on his office door and wank himself silly. There were no cameras in his office - the safe was in another room, which was where all the takings were counted, so there was no need for one. He could do whatever he liked in the privacy of this room - but he’d never wanted to before. Not until he’d developed this thing for Hilary.
He wondered how she was getting on with the Chocolate Feast. She’d been pretty confident she’d complete the challenge. Stephen hadn’t been sure at all - she was a curvy girl but certainly not what you’d call fat, so where on earth would she put it all?
It was then he had an idea. And it made him hope desperately that she would eat the whole damn thing. Because if she won, if she completed the Chocolate Feast Challenge, then he had a genuine reason for bringing her into his office. To congratulate her formally, have one of the staff take a photo of him and her as he handed over her gift vouchers. Then all he’d have to do is shoo away the member of staff and he’d have her all to himself. Then, finally, he could ask her out.
He scooted out of his chair and resumed his previous position at the door. By now, Hilary was around halfway down the dessert and showing no sign of slowing down. Thank God. He continued to watch, willing himself not to get another hard on as he’d have to go out soon and she how she was getting on. The last thing he wanted was for her to see the front of his trousers tenting out.
When she was devouring the very bottom layer, he stood up straight, checked his cock had gone back to behaving itself, and left the room. He strode purposely, but not too quickly towards Hilary’s table. When he caught her eye, he smiled. She swallowed her mouthful and grinned back.
“Almost done?” he asked.
“Yup,” she said, scooping a gooey lump of chocolate brownie onto her spoon. “Told you I could do it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not done yet. I’m here to adjudicate.”
She shrugged, slipping the confectionary between her lips. Stephen’s cock twitched, and he sat down quickly in the chair opposite her, gripping his thighs hard, hoping the pain would distract him from the undercurrent of arousal that flowed through him. He managed to keep his erection at bay as he looked around the restaurant, in an attempt not to stare at Hilary as she finished eating. There was hardly anybody left, and those few people were done with their meals, and were draining drinks. Unless something went horribly wrong, nobody would be asking to see the manager between now and closing time. Which was - he glanced at his watch - in ten minutes.
Basically, he had to get through the next couple of minutes and then he could get Hilary alone. He could hardly wait.
Finally, her spoon clanged down into the glass, and she looked at him with a highly satisfied smile.
“Well done,” he said, giving her a round of applause, drawing glances from the few remaining customers and the staff. Leaning forward, he asked, “But, admit it, you’d never have done that if you’d had a main meal, wouldn’t you?”
“God, no,” she said, rubbing her belly. “I’m full to bursting as it is!”
He chuckled. “Well, I can confirm you’ve completed the challenge. Congratulations. Now, would you come with me into my office?”
She nodded and moved from her chair, grabbed her bag and coat, then followed him behind the bar and into the small room behind it.
“Okay, wait for a sec. I’m going to grab someone to take our photo, then kick everyone out. There’s no need for anyone to hang around while I dish out gift vouchers.”
He left the room and spoke to the nearest free member of staff. “Hey, Tim. A customer just completed the Chocolate Feast Challenge. Could you come and take our photo?”
“Sure!” Tim replied with a grin. “Wow,” he whispered, “is it a big fat guy?”
“Not exactly,” Stephen said. “Now hush.”
They moved through the door. “Hilary, this is Tim. He’s going to take our photo, okay?”
He unlocked his desk drawer and pulled out a digital camera. Removing it from its case, he switched it on and handed it to Tim. “Okay, mate? You know how to use it?”
“I sure do,” he replied. “Now pose, you two!”
Stephen stood next to Hilary and held out his hand. She looked at it, momentarily confused, then took it and they shook. He felt another spark, like the one when they’d touched earlier. There was definitely something between them - he just didn’t know if she realised it yet.
The camera flashed, and Stephen stepped forward to check the photo before dismissing Tim. He turned to Hilary. “Bear with me.”
Stepping from the office, he noticed all the customers had gone by now, so he just had to send his staff home.
“Okay! Listen up, everybody!” he yelled. “You’ve all done a great job, so as soon as you’ve cleared everything up, you can go.”
Immediately everyone sprung into action, tidying and cleaning everything that hadn’t been done already, eager to get home. With a smirk, Stephen pushed open the kitchen door and repeated himself. Then he went back into the office, deliberately leaving the door open to avoid suspicion from the staff.
He sat down, and indicated Hilary should sit opposite him. Then he put the camera away in the drawer, and retrieved a book of gift vouchers.
“So,” he said, grinning at Hilary. “How do you feel? Other than full, of course!”
She giggled. “It’s easing off a bit now, actually. I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime, so I was pretty hungry. And yeah, I feel delighted. I’ve been eating in here for ages now, so it’ll be nice to get some food for free!”
“Glad you’re feeling okay. I don’t want you being sick on my office floor.” He winked. “And, yep, you’ll be eating quite a few meals for free - so we’ll be seeing more of you, which I’m very happy about.”
“You are?” she said, her facial expression curious.
“Yes.” She’d given him the perfect opening. “I like to see you. In fact, I’d like to see more of you. And I don’t mean just in here. I mean like... a date.”
Chapter Four
Hilary was incredulous. Here she was, working out a way to ask him out, and he’d saved her the job! At least now she knew for sure he liked her. She was very glad the consumption of a bazillion chocolatey calories hadn’t been in vain. Her plan had gone well. She’d got his attention, retained it... and then he’d done the last part for her. But she certainly wasn’t complaining.
“Err... well?” Stephen said, looking at her worriedly.
She snapped her attention back to him, a bubble of lust growing in her groin as she met his gorgeous blue eyes. “Oh, sorry! I was waiting for you to actually ask me. But don’t bother - my answer is yes. I’d love to go on a date with you.” She took a deep breath. “That’s what this was all about, you know. The challenge. I only did it because I wanted to get your attention and find a way to ask you out. I’ve been trying to figure it out for months.”
“Really?” his expression morphed from worried to surprised. “You did it for me? And... months? You’ve liked me for months?”
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