© Copyright 2009 - Michael England - Used by permission
Storycodes: F/f; D/s; latex; corset; leather; cons; X
Chapter 4: About Last Night.
"It was really strange Antonia..." Jessica continued explaining the evening's events as Antonia helped her undress.
"In what way Mistress?" Antonia had helped Jessica remove the corset and put it in a drawer in Jessica's wardrobe, and had helped her wiggle out of the skirt and now stood in the center of the dressing room as Jessica sat down on the sofa. Jessica was nude save for the latex stockings and boots, which Antonia had not managed to remove before Jessica continued her recounting of the gala and subsequent meeting with Ms. Brulée.
"The whole night Antonia." Jessica sat, legs stretched out in front of her as she removed the sticks which bound her hair to the back of her head. Her hair cascaded back to its normal shoulder-length style, aided by Jessica's shaking of her head from side to side. "The greeters covered in... sculpted from... encased in caramel. I don't really know what it was to be honest. The greeter said it was caramel. But it looked a lot harder than what I remember caramel to be."
"There are many different recipes for caramel Mistress." Antonia reminded Jessica.
"True, but then the statue. And Brulée's comment that it was Cardinalli's last session before her disappearance. It's all just odd 'Toni." Jessica reverted to her 'pet' name for her Lady's Maid, which she gave her soon after her arrival from Italy. Antonia knew that whenever Jessica called her by that pet name, Jessica was wanting someone to talk to, the confidante role which had earned Antonia a title of 'Lady's Maid' deserving of someone who had become more than just a mere servant to Jessica. "I was told by her agency that Cardinalli's disappearance was a secret known only to a very few people at the moment; It wasn't yet in the public domain. So how does Brulée know?"
"Maybe Ms. Brulée is one of those few people Mistress?" Antonia was now sitting at Jessica's feet, taking up her usual position whenever Jessica needed a sounding board and confidant during a case.
"I seriously doubt it 'Toni". Jessica stared into the air, considering the possibility. "The last session Cardinalli had scheduled by the agency was a fashion show in Paris. Couture collection. Runway work. Nothing about modeling for Brulée."
"Maybe something Ms. Cardinalli had on the side?" Antonia knew the answer, but she had learned that in her role of confidant she was expected to ask the obvious in the unlikely event that Jessica had overlooked it.
"Not likely 'Toni. Someone as in demand as Linda Cardinalli has every single activity scheduled only through her agency. That's the contract. The agency dictates everything she does, everywhere she goes, every job she takes.. Having a statue done, much less sold, by Brulée would violate that contract unless the agency knew about it." Jessica paused to consider her last statement. "And I doubt that her agency is involved in this, they have too much to lose aside from my fee."
"Maybe Ms. Brulée used high resolution photographs to develop the statue?" Antonia offered.
"Possible and much more likely than an outside gig. But where would Brulée get them from 'Toni?" Jessica responded after several moments of consideration. "From what Heather told me about all the 'intimate' details Brulée puts into her work, and after seeing first-hand Heather's 'audition' for Brulée, that statue would require close ups of every inch of Cardinalli. Including her genitalia. Cardinalli's done topless modeling during a few fashion shoots, but I doubt seriously that any high resolution photos of her pussy have ever been taken. That type of detail usually requires a mold... or a sculptor far better than I suspect Brulée happens to be."
"Then a visit to Ms. Brulée's studio is in order then?" Antonia already knew what Jessica was planning.
"Absolutely. The problem is: I need to find a way to get myself invited." Jessica concluded.
The remaining conversation between Mistress and maiden centered on the people Jessica saw at the gala, the other items that were auctioned off, how people responded to the outfit Antonia had selected, and so on. Antonia took great pride in hearing how everyone complimented Jessica's appearance and how Heather had kept playfully fondling her, blaming it on Jessica's outfit.
"See, I told Mistress that she would have a good time this evening." Antonia reminded Jessica as she followed Jessica into her bedroom for the night.
"Yes, you did 'Toni. You did. And I did have a good time. I just wish..." Jessica stopped herself as she sat her nude body on the side of her massive bed.
"It will pass Mistress. She wasn't right for you..." Antonia waited for Jessica to slide herself onto the bed.
"I appreciate you wanting me to feel better about Lady Alexandra leaving, and everyone keeps telling me that she wasn't right for me..." Jessica slid her long legs onto the bed and rolled over onto her side before Antonia pulled the covers up over her. "I just wish I could see that." Jessica finally murmured.
"You will Mistress. You will see it in time." Were the last words spoken that night as Antonia turned and made her way out of the bedroom, turning off the lights as she went.
A few weeks came and went, with no further word about Cardinalli. Jessica spent the time flying between home and Europe, working her contacts throughout the world. And still, not a single word about the missing model's potential whereabouts and no confirmation from anyone Jessica talked to about any scheduled modeling session with Brulée. Jessica had returned home, and begun to research Brulée and her background.
"So far? Not much... In fact I've found damn little about our mysterious Crème Brulée." Jessica replied to Antonia's inquiry as she refreshed Jessica's coffee. "It's like she appeared out of nowhere..." Jessica continued to read through her notes, sprawled out over the top of her desk in her study. "She's not been through any of the top culinary schools in Europe... or the world for that matter..."
"Is she a chef Mistress? Or an entertainer?" Antonia inquired, hoping to help her Mistress make some type of headway in the case.
"More of an entertainer if the articles on her are any indication 'Toni..."
Jessica walked over and gazed out the large window at the corner of the study. "She throws these lavish parties, real spectacles, and invites the biggest names in entertainment." Jessica continued as she watched the daily activities on her estate. "But something really funny..."
"Mistress?" Antonia had picked up Jessica's coffee, walked it over and offered it to Jessica who took it from the maid's hand. "You said something was funny Mistress." Antonia reminded Jessica.
"Yeah, it's odd. Brulée invites all these people, but from what I can figure out only the lower level celebrities, 'b-list' they're called in the trade, show up. It's very rare that any of the really 'a-list' ones show. And even then its usually only when Brulée is not the main attraction."
"So she's not the 'Confectioner to the Stars' as she claims Mistress?"
"She does have a significant business selling candies, pastries, and cakes to celebrity clients. That's how she first connected with the industry, got a break catering to a singing diva who then raved in a few interviews how good Brulée's stuff was." Jessica continued staring out the window, taking the occasional sip of coffee and letting the morning sun warm her legs though her black leather pants. Antonia had laid out Jessica's standard 'office' attire: Leather pants, pantyhose or stockings, silk blouse, waist cincher, and either short boots or pumps. Today, Antonia had suggested a pair of black leather pants, opaque black hose, pale pink silk blouse, black waist cincher that buckled in the front, and Jessica's favorite pair of black patent leather pumps that buckled around the ankle. Just to put her Mistress in a more playful mood, Antonia chose the pumps that required Jessica's little silver padlocks to secure the ankle straps.
"From there, her company started providing the deserts and sweets at parties, galas, movie premiers, etc." Jessica continued recounting the short history of Brulée's company. "Then, based on the financial statements I located, her company started buying up any and every company that could have been a threat to her position."
"She has good business advisers then?" Antonia questioned.
"Well, I'd say she has an entrepreneurial spirit coupled with a showman's touch 'Toni. I'd assume, based on her ego, that she's the one calling all the shots." Jessica's only meeting with Brulée had confirmed in her mind that there was no way Brulée would let anyone tell her what she would or would not do in her own company.
"Where did she come from Mistress?" Antonia returned to stand behind Jessica's antique mahogany desk and scanned the various articles on Brulée that Jessica had strewn over it.
Jessica walked over and stood beside her Lady's Maid "That's just it 'Toni. Nobody seems to say. Or, Brulée hasn't confirmed anything in any interview I can find." Jessica picked up one email she had printed out... "But, something really curious. One of my sources in the European intelligence community told me that near as he can tell someone fitting Brulée's description first surfaced coming out of one of the former Soviet states."
"I didn't know intelligence agencies worried about chefs Mistress..." Antonia laughed.
"That's just it 'Toni. They don't. But I couldn't find out why Brulée tripped something on their radar." Jessica put the email back on top of one of the piles on her desk.
"Have you been able to contact Brulée's company and set up an appointment Mistress?"
"Nope. Nothing. I sent over two cases of our latest champagne and two cases each of our best Chardonnay and Merlot with a message that I'd be interested in discussing potential business opportunities with her." Jessica picked up another piece of paper from a different pile on her desk... "And nothing. All I got was this polite letter from some corporate lackey 'I have been instructed to express Madame Brulée's sincerest appreciation for your lovely personal gift of the wine and for your interest in doing business with House of Brulée. I have also been instructed to refer you to our legal department on any inquiry related to business contracts....' blah, blah, blah." Jessica cut reading letter short since it didn't contain anything else relevant to Antonia's original question.
"At least she 'instructed' someone to thank you Mistress." Antonia halfheartedly volunteered, which elicited a sarcastic snort from Jessica.
Jessica continued to shuffle through her notes when another member of the housekeeping staff appeared in the doorway of the study and handed a note to Antonia before retuning to her duties elsewhere in the house.
Antonia opened the note and read it to herself as she walked the several feet from the doorway to the desk where her mistress continued to rummage though her notes.
"What is it Antonia?" Jessica asked as the her trusted maid returned to standing by her side.
"A note from Miss Heather Jensen. It seems she has some 'great news'" Antonia quoted the words scribbled on the note.
"Well, for Heather that could mean that there's a sale at either 'Get Your Kinks' or 'The ToyChest'." Jessica referred to Heather's two favorite fetish stores with a chuckle.
Antonia simply looked at Jessica and smiled which prompted the somewhat impatient query: "Well? What is it 'Toni?"
Antonia smiled, "It seems Miss Heather has just been 'granted' a modeling appointment with Madame Crème Brulée at Madame's estate in the south of France."
26.04.09