arranging canapés on silver platters.
“You’re late,” she told me.
“I didn’t have a lot of warning.” After Delilah had left, I’d quickly blown out the candles, turned off the oven, and left a note for William. The message was brief because I was afraid that Jasmine or Ariel would find it. All I’d written was: Sorry, duty calls. L. I hoped he understood.
Barb frowned, taking in my face and hair. “Well, at least you’re pretty.”
Because of my demon’s powers, I can alter my physical appearance, and I’d made myself taller and more willowy. My hair was shorter and blonder, and I’d added glittery, purple makeup that swooped like a fanciful Mardi Gras mask over my eyes.
The coordinator ordered me to follow her, then strode across the room. As we approached an enormous ice sculpture of a bare-breasted mermaid, she slowed down. A scrawny waiter whose thinning hair had been dyed a flat black was attempting to chat up a young waitress as she arranged fresh fruit around the base of the sculpture. The fact that the woman was young enough to be his daughter didn’t stop the man from ogling her breasts and standing too close to her.
Barb’s sharp eyes narrowed. “Milo!” She barked out the name like an insult.
The man jumped guiltily, then smiled at the coordinator. “What is it, sugar bear?”
“Leave that poor girl alone so she can do her job.”
“Sorry, sugar bear. I just wanted to taste her grapes.” He took Barb’s hand and kissed her cheek while his eyes slid up and down my scantily-clad body.
This man was my client, I realized. I would have tempted him right then, but my succubus reminded me that we hadn’t been given all of the tools yet.
Despite Milo’s innocent smile, Barb continued to glare. “Watch yourself, or I’ll see you in divorce court,” she warned. Before walking away, she slapped his butt a little too hard for it to be affectionate.
She led me over to a table that held an enormous platter of sushi and ordered me to disrobe. Worried, I glanced around the busy room. Get undressed in front of everyone? Was she kidding? Underneath my robe, I wore a skimpy bikini so, technically, I wouldn’t be naked. Still, I wasn’t eager to show that much skin to this many people. “Where’s my costume?”
She frowned. “What costume?”
“You know. The one I’m modeling in?” I had figured being a sushi model meant wearing a kimono as I walked among the guests and offered them sushi from a silver tray.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re modeling the sushi . Now take off that robe and lie down on the table, so I can set out the food.”
My eyes traveled from the platter of sushi to the linen-covered table and back again. “You aren’t seriously thinking of using me as a sushi display, right?” Either this was a joke, or another of Delilah’s epic blunders.
“Of course. That’s what sushi models do.”
I backed away from the table. “No! No way.”
Barb clapped her hands at me. “Chop, chop! You’re not getting paid to debate this.”
My succubus needled me, a reminder that I did want to see Grace one last time before my evil overlord destroyed me for disobeying her orders. Helen and I had already faced off once this week. One more showdown like that, and I’d find myself locked in an iron maiden alongside Patrick. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. Okay, semi-naked, covered in sushi… It wasn’t pleasant, but how bad could it be?
I let the robe slip from my shoulders and reluctantly laid on the table which, thank goodness, was padded underneath the white cloth. Barb placed an enormous pair of lotus blossoms over my breasts and a broad, glossy banana leaf on top of my nether regions. Then she laid the cold, sticky rounds of sushi in a line along my shin bones and on my outstretched arms. As she worked, she said, “The rules are that the guests cannot talk to you, touch
“You’re late,” she told me.
“I didn’t have a lot of warning.” After Delilah had left, I’d quickly blown out the candles, turned off the oven, and left a note for William. The message was brief because I was afraid that Jasmine or Ariel would find it. All I’d written was: Sorry, duty calls. L. I hoped he understood.
Barb frowned, taking in my face and hair. “Well, at least you’re pretty.”
Because of my demon’s powers, I can alter my physical appearance, and I’d made myself taller and more willowy. My hair was shorter and blonder, and I’d added glittery, purple makeup that swooped like a fanciful Mardi Gras mask over my eyes.
The coordinator ordered me to follow her, then strode across the room. As we approached an enormous ice sculpture of a bare-breasted mermaid, she slowed down. A scrawny waiter whose thinning hair had been dyed a flat black was attempting to chat up a young waitress as she arranged fresh fruit around the base of the sculpture. The fact that the woman was young enough to be his daughter didn’t stop the man from ogling her breasts and standing too close to her.
Barb’s sharp eyes narrowed. “Milo!” She barked out the name like an insult.
The man jumped guiltily, then smiled at the coordinator. “What is it, sugar bear?”
“Leave that poor girl alone so she can do her job.”
“Sorry, sugar bear. I just wanted to taste her grapes.” He took Barb’s hand and kissed her cheek while his eyes slid up and down my scantily-clad body.
This man was my client, I realized. I would have tempted him right then, but my succubus reminded me that we hadn’t been given all of the tools yet.
Despite Milo’s innocent smile, Barb continued to glare. “Watch yourself, or I’ll see you in divorce court,” she warned. Before walking away, she slapped his butt a little too hard for it to be affectionate.
She led me over to a table that held an enormous platter of sushi and ordered me to disrobe. Worried, I glanced around the busy room. Get undressed in front of everyone? Was she kidding? Underneath my robe, I wore a skimpy bikini so, technically, I wouldn’t be naked. Still, I wasn’t eager to show that much skin to this many people. “Where’s my costume?”
She frowned. “What costume?”
“You know. The one I’m modeling in?” I had figured being a sushi model meant wearing a kimono as I walked among the guests and offered them sushi from a silver tray.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re modeling the sushi . Now take off that robe and lie down on the table, so I can set out the food.”
My eyes traveled from the platter of sushi to the linen-covered table and back again. “You aren’t seriously thinking of using me as a sushi display, right?” Either this was a joke, or another of Delilah’s epic blunders.
“Of course. That’s what sushi models do.”
I backed away from the table. “No! No way.”
Barb clapped her hands at me. “Chop, chop! You’re not getting paid to debate this.”
My succubus needled me, a reminder that I did want to see Grace one last time before my evil overlord destroyed me for disobeying her orders. Helen and I had already faced off once this week. One more showdown like that, and I’d find myself locked in an iron maiden alongside Patrick. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. Okay, semi-naked, covered in sushi… It wasn’t pleasant, but how bad could it be?
I let the robe slip from my shoulders and reluctantly laid on the table which, thank goodness, was padded underneath the white cloth. Barb placed an enormous pair of lotus blossoms over my breasts and a broad, glossy banana leaf on top of my nether regions. Then she laid the cold, sticky rounds of sushi in a line along my shin bones and on my outstretched arms. As she worked, she said, “The rules are that the guests cannot talk to you, touch
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