Velvet and Lace(40)

Daphne believed that everyone should get to enjoy sex and that it didn’t have to be a topic that needed to be kept under lock and key and not talked about. She wanted to be available for people to ask her questions.

Daphne stood at the front counter where she set up a display of key chains and fun things for people to browser at the register. She had a good view of the three gorgeous men setting up sex toys in the shop and thought she had to be one of the luckiest women. There was a knock on the front door and she could see a small brunette through the glass. The door was locked but at her nod, Trent let her in.

She was sheepish as she entered the shop and Daphne tried to figure out where she recognized her from. She waited to see what the young woman wanted and she finally made her way over to the counter.

The newcomer was young with dark brown, stick straight hair that hung down over her shoulders to about her shoulder blades. She had gorgeous green eyes that had flecks of gold in them, but Daphne noticed her gaze stayed mostly on the floor.

“Hi, can I help you?” Daphne smiled trying to put the other woman at ease. She was clearly nervous.

“Hi.” She tried for a small smile. “My name is Leah DiAntio and I went by Patty’s earlier to try and find a job and she sent me here, thinking you might need some help.” She seemed shy but she finally looked up at Daphne.

Daphne almost shook her head. Patty had always been known for her meddling. She hadn’t even considered hiring anyone. She had people run her other shops, but she planned on running this one in particular. But she thought that it wouldn’t be too bad to have some help around the shop.

“Do you have any retail experience?” Daphne asked the question and watched as Leah’s cheeks blushed. Damn it, she had made the shy woman nervous again. “How about this, what was your last job?”

“I was a waitress at a small restaurant in Atlanta. I worked there for a few years.” Leah stood quietly as Daphne thought it over. Atlanta was a few hours away from Ambrosia.

“Why did you come to Ambrosia?” Daphne was now more curious than anything.

“I had to leave Atlanta.” Leah didn’t say anything else, keeping her secrets to herself and Daphne respected that. She had a decent feeling about Leah and thought it was best to trust her instincts and see where they took her.

“When can you start?”

“You mean, you are going to hire me?” Daphne watched as the first real smile spread across Leah’s face and she was taken aback at how gorgeous she was.

“I figured a trial run couldn’t hurt anything. The shop is almost set up and I have had some signs around town stating that tomorrow is going to be a grand opening. I’m not expecting a huge crowd or anything but if you would like to start tomorrow you can come in around 10 a.m. and we can discuss pay and hours and talk a little more, if that all works for you.” Daphne offered her hand and Leah shook it enthusiastically.

“Thank you so much, Ms. Brooks.”

Daphne waved away the formal name. “Call me Daphne please.” She smiled and felt extremely pleased with her decision. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Leah nodded and backed her way out of the shop until she bumped into Officer Gordon who was coming in the front door. He caught her in his arms before she lost her balance and Daphne almost laughed at the shell-shocked expression on her face. She stared up at the sheriff for a few moments before she bolted out the door.

Unlike this morning when he had been in uniform, Justin now wore a pair of dark blue jeans, black boots, and a green button down shirt.

Justin stood there staring after her for a minute, before he shook his head and made his way over to Daphne, raising a curious eyebrow at the toys now being displayed.

“I was wondering what kind of shop this would be, and now I understand. You sure do like to stir things up don’t you, Daphne?” Like a true southern gentleman, he leaned over the counter and placed a kiss on her cheek as a way of greeting.

“Have you found out anything?” Daphne knew that him stopping by was probably not good news.

“I was trying to ease you into that part, but I see that you prefer things more straightforward.” He looked around for a moment, before he placed his hands on the counter and leaned in closer to her. “We inspected your tires once we got it to the garage, and discovered that they were definitely slashed. I had hoped someone just took off the caps and let the air out, but we found knife marks in each tire. I know that is not comforting news at all, but I wanted to keep you in the loop on everything.” He patted her hand and she felt some comfort, appreciating him thinking of her, but she hated the news. She, like Justin, had been hoping that it was just a stupid prank. But a knife definitely meant a violent act.