Page 8 of Derek

“Hi, Trudy,” Sonja answered. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sonja?”

Trudy lowered her gaze and blushed. “Of course, Sonja.”

Sonja smiled and nodded. It wasn’t the first time she’d wondered if the girl was submissive or merely shy.

After they took care of the payment, Trudy said, “Let me call the vet tech, and he’ll have Snuggles with you in no time. Please, take a seat. Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you.” She was particular about her coffee and couldn’t understand how people drank the motor oil that came out of most coffee machines. When she’d started working with her mentor Carol, the woman had told her, “When you visit a restaurant, always order a cup of coffee and go to the bathroom.If the coffee tastes good and the bathroom is clean, the food will be good, too.”

At first, Sonja hadn’t believed her, but over the years, the theory had proven itself consistently accurate. Luckily for Snuggles, the rule didn’t apply to vets, since Dr. Phillips was one of the best in town despite having the worst coffee.

A loud and displeased “meow” had her looking up, and Tom, the vet tech, grinned at her. With a lean build, a mop of red hair, big ears, and an endearing grin, he always reminded her of Fred and George Weasely from Harry Potter.

“Hi, Tom, how is my baby?”

“Irritated but well, Ms. Madden,” he answered, his statement underlined with another low mewl that held a hint of a growl. They both chuckled. Sonja took over the carrier, and Tom dug in his coat pocket. “Here are his painkillers and antibiotics. We’ve taken care of his meds today, so you don’t have to start them until tomorrow. You know how to pill him, don’t you?”

Sonja accepted the small pill bottles and answered, “Yes, I do. He’s easy to medicate.”

The expression of disbelief on Tom’s face was so funny, Sonja had to contain her laughter. “We had a tough time this morning.”

“Did you hide the pills in a treat?”

“No, that works with most dogs, but we don’t even try it with cats. They lick the treat off and leave the pills.”

“Apparently, Snuggles is more dog than cat, then. He takes his medicine that way all the time.” Sonja smiled and thanked the staff again for taking care of her fur baby. She was anxious to get him home, and from the sounds he was making, Snuggles felt the same.

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 thecustomers 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.

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