by Wallace Ford
Lutishia Lovely’s new series following the
hot tempers and tantalizing temptations of a
family whose restaurant is the place for a
tasty meal....
Taking Care of Business
Coming in April 2012 from Dafina Books
Here’s an excerpt from Taking Care of Business ...
All was quiet on the West Coast front. And all was cozy in Bianca Livingston’s world as she lay cuddled up next to Xavier Marquis, her husband and the love of her life. Had it only been seventy-two hours ago when she thought she’d go crazy?
Just three short days before this moment, Bianca had stood in the center of TOSTS—her pride and joy—ready to pull out the hair she’d decided to grow long again. The chic, quaint eatery on Los Angeles’s west side, formally named Taste of Soul Tapas Style, was two days away from its one-year anniversary celebration. The place had been in chaos. The truffle, caviar, and special champagne shipments had all been back-ordered, the cleaners had destroyed the new wait staff uniforms, and the chef had been called away due to a death in his immediate family. The stress had brought on the unexpected arrival of Miss Flo, Bianca’s monthly, complete with bloating, cramps, and a pounding headache. What was a sistah to do?
Put on her big-girl panties and make it happen, that’s what. What other choice was there? Forty-eight hours ago, Bianca had huddled with her assistant and the sous chef, who’d then called all over America until they found last-minute supplies of truffles, caviar, and bubbly. After ripping the cleaners a new a-hole, Xavier had called in a favor from a designer friend and had ten new uniforms whipped up posthaste. Finding a selfless bone in her weary body, Bianca had flowers delivered to the funeral home that housed her chef’s brother and Miss Flo, who’d shown up two weeks early due to stress, had vanished just as quickly as she’d arrived.
Twenty-four hours ago, Bianca had finished her day at the second LA Livingston Corporation establishment, the increasingly popular soul food restaurant, Taste of Soul. She’d spent two hours on a conference call with her brother, Jefferson, and the finance department at corporate headquarters; overseen a fiftieth birthday luncheon for a party of twenty-five; and soothed the soul of a hapless vegetarian, who was losing her mind because she’d eaten the cabbage and then realized that this particular selection was seasoned with smoked turkey legs. Bianca had found it ironic that sistah-girl had eaten the entire plate before making this observation, demanding her money back and threatening lawsuits. Not to mention that she’d somehow missed reading the ingredients to the Chaka Khan Cabbage side dish clearly listed on the menu. Bianca was furious, but had too much work and too little time to argue. She’d given the emoting customer a gift certificate for two free dinners and a menu to take home so that she could study it before placing her next order. With a bright smile to hide her frustration, Bianca had asked Ms. I-Haven’t-Eaten-Meat-In-Twenty-Years to pay particular attention to the items with a small V beside the name, identifying them as vegetarian dishes.
Eight hours ago, Bianca had linked arms with her husband and officially welcomed the guests to TOSTS’ one-year anniversary. Tickets for the evening’s event had been steep, six hundred and fifty dollars, but the price included an all-you-can-eat buffet, a champagne fountain (filled with the double-priced bubbly that had to be rush-ordered and Fed Ex’d to the event), and an intimate evening with the night’s entertainment, John Legend. As if pleasing the palate and the auditory senses weren’t enough, the tickets were also tax deductible, with part of the proceeds benefiting a soup kitchen. Following in the footsteps that the Taste of Soul founders, Marcus and Marietta Livingston, had set, the establishments Bianca managed did their part in making the communities around them a better place.
An hour ago, Bianca had kicked four-inch-high stilettos off her aching feet, slid a Mychael Knight designer original off her shoulders, separated herself from a Victoria’s Secret thong, and eased into the master suite’s dual-marble shower. Seconds later, Xavier joined her.
“Mon bien-aimé de chocolat,” Xavier murmured as he eased up behind Bianca and wrapped her in his arms. “You are the chocolate on the menu for which my heart beat all night long.” He took the sponge from her hand and began soaping Bianca’s body from head to toe.
“Umm, that feels good,” Bianca said. She leaned back against her husband’s wide, firm chest. Moments before, she’d been dog tired, but now her husband’s ministrations were filling her with new, lusty energy. She wriggled her soapy body against his, and was immediately rewarded with a long, thick soldier coming quickly to attention. They made quick work of the cleaning process before Xavier lifted Bianca against the cool marble wall and joined them together in the age-old dance of love. The contrast of the cool marble, hot water, and even hotter desire swirled into a symphony with a melody known by Xavier and Bianca alone. This was their first time together in almost seventy-two hours. Ecstasy came quickly, and then they climbed into bed for an encore.
Five minutes ago, Bianca shouted out her second hallelujah, or more like an “uh uh uh oh oh oh yes yes yes ... ahhh.” Xavier, the quieter of the two lovers, had shifted rhythms from second to third gear, before picking up speed and heading for his own orgasmic home. He hissed, moaned, squeezed Bianca tightly, and went over the edge. Too spent to move, Bianca had kissed Xavier on the nose, turned herself to spoon up against him, and vowed to take a shower first thing in the morning. She smiled as Xavier kissed her on the neck. That man knows how to rock my world, she thought as she looked at the clock. It was 4:45.
At 4:50, a shadowy figure crouched along the buildings on Los Angeles’s west side. He stopped, looked both ways, and walked purposefully toward a door on the other side of the alley. It was the back door to TOSTS. In less than one hour, Bianca Livingston’s world would get rocked again.
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2006 by Wallace Ford
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ISBN: 978-0-7582-7756-5
