Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
On Monday, Sonja returned to work in a great mood. Snuggles was back home and seemed to be doing well. He’d already eaten half his breakfast and swallowed the pills she’d fed him whole with the slice of turkey wrapped around them. The entire night, he’d slept beside her on the bed, purring with contentment.
She looked around her little café and was pleased to see everything was running smoothly. She had time to indulge in coffee and a fresh treat from Suzie’s bakery counter before the rush hour started. Breakfast and Suzie’s baked goods were a big hit, and Sonja sometimes wondered if they should move to a bigger place. She made a mental note to discuss a new location at the next meeting with Connor and Suzie. She was making more money than ever, and it still felt strange after her years of deprivation as a teenager and young adult, struggling to have food on the table.
“Good morning, Suzie,” she greeted on entering the kitchen. Her petite partner looked adorable with glowing cheeks and a smudge of flour on her face. Sonja grinned. “You’ve been busy again.”
Suzie nodded. “Yes. I’m trying a new recipe for filled chocolate croissants, and I’m anxious to find out what the customers think. Have you seen the requests for the catering jobs? I think we need to hire on extra staff. Do you think Yvonne might be willing to do a few of them?”
Talk about changing the subject in one breath. Sonja scratched her head. “I don’t know if we can afford more staff just for catering jobs yet, but I think we can ask Yvonne. Once she got over the embarrassment of dropping the tray at that party, she seemed to enjoy serving people, and our guests liked her.”
Suzie chuckled. “Chris especially seemed to like her, but I think you’re right, and she is over dropping that pile of plates.” Suzie shook her head. “I didn’t see Chris with her that day, but according to Laura, it was pretty hot.”
Sonja said, “I didn’t see the actual event, but I talked with her shortly after. She was active in BDSM in the Netherlands, went to an Amsterdam club regularly, and she was pleasantly surprised to discover we all belong to a BDSM club here. All right, I’m going to ask her. Pity, she’s here on a visitor’s visa and can’t work regularly, but she does enjoy meeting people and practicing her English.” Sonja scrutinized the display case. “Now, where are these new treats you’ve made? I’m starving.”
Suzie laughed and made quick work of putting one of the new pastries on a plate. Sonja accepted and bit into the fluffy confection. She moaned as the taste of chocolate and—wait—raspberries hit her taste buds.
After she swallowed her first bite, she said, “This food is orgasmic.” At Suzie’s shocked expression, Sonja insisted, “No, really, this is better than sex.”
“Sonja!” Suzie spluttered, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard.
“What?” She raised a questioning eyebrow and innocently widened her eyes as she bit into the pastry again, making any conversation impossible. Actually, sex with Derek had been pretty amazing, even without intercourse.
As the customers started to arrive, Sonja thought back to her weekend and had to keep reminding herself that she was at work and not with Derek. Eventually, she managed to put the incredibly hot man out of her mind, but it was almost lunchtime when that happened. The afternoon was relatively calm, and she got through the workday.
Entering her apartment later that afternoon, Sonja was welcomed with a displeased meow.
“Hello, Snuggles,” she greeted the black cat. Sonja knew she worked long hours at the cafe, but it wasn’t more than usual, and Snuggles had never complained before. Maybe it was because of the surgery. Still, Snuggles seemed to miss her lately and had more need for cuddles and affection. Many people thought it was impossible for cats to feel human emotions, but Sonja knew better. Snuggles loved her, and she loved him back. Cats might not have the ingrained need to please that dogs seemed to have, but Sonja reckoned cats were better. It almost seemed like Snuggles thought of her as another cat.
For Sonja, having Snuggles around meant she wasn’t completely alone. Because she had no family, she often felt lonely—more than she would ever admit. Coming home to her cat was better than nothing, but she did long for a partner, someone to share a meal with and talk to, to snuggle up against while watching a movie. Her mind wandered to Derek and their night at the club. Their play had been different from her previous experiences at Club Indigo, and the connection she’d felt had made the scene even more intense. Although she had freaked out initially, being at his home had been fantastic. The whole Daddy thing had her spooked, though.
Derek sat down at his desk and sighed in frustration. His office was extra hot and stuffy with the air conditioning on the fritz. Why did the powers that be always go with the lowest bid when they replaced something? They had just put in a new system that spring, and already, it was broken.
After his crap day, the small office with cheap carpet and beige walls didn’t help his mood. He had spent the afternoon dealing with a family he believed was beyond repair. He’d made a scheduled visit to the home of Mike, Roberta, and their three-year-old son, Kayden. The parents were twenty-one and nineteen. They had already lost custody once, a year ago, due to neglect; they hadn’t known how to take care of their child. After parenting classes and counseling, social services had returned Kayden to them three months ago, over Derek’s objections. He believed there was more to their problems than simple ignorance, and he’d been keeping a close eye on them ever since. Although he didn’t like what he was seeing, he hadn’t had grounds for removing the boy until today. Even though they were expecting him, or should have been, he arrived to find both parents high on meth and little Kayden crying in his playpen, filthy with feces and stinking of urine. He had bruises on his back and welts on his legs, so the case for removing him was clear. The police had arrested the parents and found more drugs when they searched the apartment. If Derek had his way, their parental rights would be terminated, and Kayden would have a shot at a decent home. At three, he was still young enough that they should be able to find a suitable adoptive home for him.
While Kayden was being cleaned up and fed, Derek started making calls to his emergency foster parents, hoping someone had room. He lucked out on his fifth call, with a placement where the boy could stay for up to a month while he was treated and evaluated for his developmental state and any apparent psychological trauma. Now, he was going through the files of foster-to-adopt families who might be interested in Kayden.
The third file he looked at seemed like it had potential. The young couple’s application information was excellent. He would need to meet with them before he made any decisions on longer-term placement. The husband was a firefighter, and the wife worked part time as a grocery store clerk. He called and made an appointment to visit them the next day.
Next, he needed to finish the write-up on Kayden’s removal and his recommendations. It was already 6:00 pm, and he didn’t expect to be done for another hour. So much for dinner. He had a parenting class to teach from 7:00-9:00 pm, and he really liked this bunch. They were all taking the course voluntarily, as opposed to those who signed up by court order to get back their children. This group consisted of young women and men who were expectant parents and wanted to do things right.
Only one was a couple; the rest were there without their partners. They were all in their late teens, most referred to the class by their high school guidance counselors. He was particularly impressed by the six young men in the class. Three hadn’t known their fathers, while the others had had bad examples they didn’t want to emulate.
It was this kind of group that reminded him why he had gotten into social work. He was helping these young people so their children wouldn’t end up like Kayden. He loved helping children—he wished he could get to them before they suffered serious damage.
He moved his head from side to side to get rid of the kinks. An unpleasant pressure forming behind his eyes told him his neck and facial muscles were tense, and he needed to relax to avoid a full-blown headache.
He pushed his chair away from the desk and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his neck. His thoughts returned to the previous weekend and his rewarding visit to Club Indigo. One of his police contacts had referred the club to him.
He fully expected a BDSM club that had members like Jackson to be a great place but meeting Sonja and playing with her had been an unexpected bonus. Taking her home with him had been an impulse, however. Sonja awakened his protective needs like no one had since Angie.
But where Angie had been clingy and needy, Sonja was independent and stubborn in her insistence she wasn’t a Little. He wasn’t deterred by her resolve to keep him at arm’s length. He would give her time and space but make sure to show her how it would be between them when she gave him a chance. When, not if, because he knew they fit together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.