Poppy's Fete

by Jodie Johnson-Smith

Genres: Romance; Erotic & Steamy Romance

Synopsis

Poppy is fed up with life at the Pleasure Paradise. While the hotel might be a hot-bed of sexy antics, Poppy never sees any action herself, mainly she suspects because of her lack of curves. But Maria the boss is reluctant to accept Poppy's notice and asks her to organise a fete before she leaves. Rob, a handsome DIY man, turns up looking for work and offers to help her with the preparations. After a session of sexy secrets and soul-baring, he devises a daring plan guaranteed to put Poppy's name, and the rest of her, up in lights. But has she got the bottle to go through with it? And once it's all over, will she go or will she stay?

Reader advisory: this book contains characters featured in Watchers and Growing Pleasures, but this is a standalone story.

Release date: March 14, 2014

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 71

Sample

Chapter One

Poppy climbed the stairs to Maria’s office feeling a little sad. Her days of working at Pleasure Paradise were over. She’d handed in her written notice last week and nobody had even acknowledged it until now.

But a few minutes ago she’d received a summons from Maria, so Poppy assumed she’d be collecting her P45 very shortly …

The door to Maria’s office was ajar, as it usually was, but she knocked anyway and entered on her boss’s command.

‘Hi, Poppy,’ Maria said from the depths of her swivel chair. She gestured to Poppy’s letter of resignation, which was lying on the desk in front of her. ‘Now, what is all this nonsense about? I can’t believe you want to leave us. We think of you as one of the family. What’s the problem? Is it the money? Do you want a bigger room? Whatever it is, I’m sure we can sort something out.’

Poppy sighed. Nobody ever took her seriously at the Pleasure Paradise, which was one of the reasons she’d decided it was time for pastures new.

The idea of a belated gap year, travelling with only a rucksack through foreign climes, strongly appealed to her, although just living somewhere different would make a change. Whatever the outcome, Poppy knew that starting afresh would be for the best. It was time to take on the world.

And besides, she was really far too skinny and flat-chested to be working at Pleasure Paradise. That, along with the fact she was the youngest and most inexperienced member of staff at the decadent hotel, all added to her feelings of unrest.

‘It’s not nonsense,’ Poppy snapped. ‘I’ve handed in my notice because I need a change of scene. And don’t forget I’m not really one of your staff. You just inherited me from Alex when you and Ken took over running this place from him. And I suppose that’s part of the problem,’ she said, backing down a bit as she offered Maria an explanation. ‘Pleasure Paradise has awakened dormant memories in me – something I’d been trying to forget.’

When Poppy had originally been employed here, she’d worked under Alex for Mannings Hotel, which had offered everything you’d expect from a middle-class guest house. But the hotel had seen better days, not to mention that its obscure location made it hard for guests to find. When Maria and her husband bought into the business, they’d taken advantage of that geographical obscurity and Pleasure Paradise was born, an establishment catering for sexual fantasies and little else.

‘That’s true, we did inherit you from Alex,’ said Maria. ‘But you’re still part of the team and I don’t want to lose you. The service we provide is unique to the area and you know all about what goes on here. Finding a replacement with the same commitment and understanding might be difficult.’

‘But I hardly ever get to see anything that goes on, let alone take part,’ Poppy argued. ‘I’m just the dogsbody. Sometimes I’m on reception, sometimes I do a bit of waitressing. On one occasion I served drinks topless – not that anybody noticed. But apart from that I’m treated like part of the furniture. None of the guests are ever going to request a sexual favour from me and I feel like I’m missing out on all the fun.’

It sounded plausible, yet Poppy’s innards were in turmoil, and had been ever since the takeover. She’d been going through the daily routines and rigmaroles while feeling she was walking a tightrope.

Poppy tossed her long, red hair, recently dyed from its original blonde, over her shoulder and glared at Maria.

Her boss was dressed in her customary suit, albeit of a slightly odd and bespoke design. The fronts were cut as two sharp triangles, the points meeting across her ample breasts and held together by a decorative safety pin.

As usual, Maria was naked beneath the navy blue suit, meaning much of her impressive bosom was on display. Poppy tried not to stare at it, as the deep cleavage and plump, fleshy overspill made her feel more inadequate than usual. Every woman who came to Pleasure Paradise seemed to be built along the same lines. What chance did she have?

‘Is that how you really feel? I had no idea,’ Maria said. ‘Is there anything I can do to help? It’s never been our intention to make you feel like that. But if that’s the case and you’re determined to leave – well, I can only wish you good luck and write you a decent reference to take with you. I assume you’ve landed another job – where is. . .