Shades of Deception - Page 26/118

Today was the grand opening of Gourmet Treats. The shop was selling an assortment of cakes, cookies, tarts, cupcakes, muffins, gift tins, and gift baskets.

The first week's opening was an overall success with over fifty thousand dollars in sales.

By the end of the month, the store made over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

The mail order department was taking off like gangbusters.

Three months later, sightseeing companies were scheduling bus tours to the shop. The owners could not have predicted that the place would become one of the most popular spots in such a short period.

Word of mouth about Gourmet Treats was spreading faster than a running back carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line.

People were arriving from all over, and eventually, orders were coming in from around the world.

Two additional employees were hired, and in six months, Dough became an associate partner. He and Passion were now running a booming and lucrative business.

Cid and Betty felt the shop was now sound and decided to return to New York.

It did not take long for Passion and Dough to become somewhat romantically involved. When they got home from work, the two would engage in foreplay, but he would always pull back. She found this to be quite exciting and odd at the same time but admired him for not succumbing to her lustful desires.

Most of the men she met in the past were only interested in getting it and moving on to the next conquest; she learned that a respectable man would take things at a snail's pace and get to know a woman first before rushing into bed with her. Therefore, she would have waited longer for him to come around.

In its first year, Gourmet Treats netted two million dollars, and customers could now go on-line to place orders, thanks to Dough. While at work, he called one of his cohorts to put his plan into motion. It was easy to call from his office, because it was private with no one to eavesdrop on his conversations. Whenever he made calls to his contacts, he would always use disposable cell phones.

In New York, Cid and Betty were facing a dilemma. A new owner was purchasing the building that housed their shop. The present lease was no longer enforceable. There would be a one hundred percent increase in the rent. They were already paying close to fifty thousand dollars a month.

With the new increase, rent would be over one hundred thousand dollars a month. At this point, they were ready to close that bakery and focus on the one in Carson City.