© Copyright 2011 - Michael England - Used by permission
Storycodes: F/f+; D/s; spray; coated; confectionary; hobble; maid; costumes; cons; X
Chapter 25: The Dress is for Sale
"Madame and My Lady..." Elizabetta stood near the center of the dining table and addressed the two women as members of her waitstaff moved to the opposite side and began clearing the various plates, utensils, and glasses from the table; "If I may be indulged for a moment, before we continue our festivities this evening, I would like to request that you to retire to the seating area as we clean the table and prepare the room for the dessert presentation."
"But of course..." Jessica snorted to herself; "You've just GOT to have a ‘dessert presentation’." It didn't come as any surprise that Brulée would make a production out of something as simple as dessert, rather Jessica‘s source of humor was the fact that Brulée had become so boringly predictable. Jessica knew Brulée had to have something planned beyond just ‘dessert’, something which required this orchestrated pause in the proceedings. The troubling aspect of this situation was that while Jessica had learned to predict Brulée’s next moves, she still hadn’t learned how to predict exactly ‘what’ Brulée’s plans might be.
As Jessica was about to make an attempt at prying some details from their hostess, two members of Elizabetta’s staff approached the table, marching in lock-step unison. Once they reached a position just behind their hostess, the two fetish maidens peeled away from each other; marched to opposing ends of the table until one each were alongside Brulée and Jessica at which point they pivoted with military precision to face her opposite number at the other end of the table, to stand at rigid attention until additional orders were given by the hostess.
The two assistants mirrored their Hostess’ uniform with alterations to the colour and decorations to denote their status as being lower than that of their fetish commandant. Each woman’s legs were each encased in perfectly smooth deep black ‘licorice latex’, like Elizabetta's, from the cuffs of their calf-length stiletto heeled boots to their waists. And just like Elizabetta's, each of their legs was polished to a matching mirrored shine. However, it was at this point where the uniforms of Hostess and assistants diverged with each assistant’s torso from waist to midsection of their breasts being enclosed in tight red IM corsets, as opposed to the with the iridescent white one of their Hostess.
And again just as with Elizabetta’s, each assistant’s hands and arms were covered with equally smooth gloves of the same black material as their legs and which also disappeared under the iridescent sleeves of a red licorice-latex coat. However, in another clear visual method of denoting their status in the internal pecking order of the house staff, their coats ended at their waists, missing the knee-length tails of their taskmaster. The final difference between the three women, Hostess and assistants; each assistant was missing was the top hat which served as the 'official' symbol of Elizabetta's status as Brulee's favored hostess.
"I'm going to have to get a few uniforms like these for a few of my staff..." Jessica smiled to herself as she finished comparing the assistants against their superior.
"Madame and My Lady if you please; my assistants will escort you to the seating area while we begin our preparations." Elizabetta motioned to the two candied assistants, who each abandoned their military-like rigidity to slowly, fluidly assist their more restrained assigned guest to her feet.
"Just wait until you see what my staff has cooked up for us tonight my little caramel morsel..." Brulée purred as she and Jessica were led through the double French doors to the seating area which was approximately 4 or 5 meters off to the side of the dining room. Both women were directed by the assistants to whichever seat in the room their guests indicated to be preferred, with Jessica settling down on a leather settee while Brulée chose the more opulent couch next to her. The two assistants, their escort duty complete, excused themselves and returned to the activities taking place back in the dining room, closing the doors to the sitting room behind them.
"So my dear..." Brulée began after taking a sip of the rich Port wine from the glass which had previously been placed in the room for her and Jessica; "We have yet to discuss business this evening. Surely you know that I’ve had my staff in their best regalia for more than just a simple dinner?"
Jessica turned to retrieve a similar glass which had been placed on the small table next to the settee, straining against the restrictive caramel material which had been sprayed onto her hours earlier. As she turned back to her original position next to Brulée, a slight smile appeared before she took a sip of the sweet red wine then sat back and pulled her feet off the floor, placing her caramel legs down the length of the settee. She sighed softly as she stretched her caramel legs out before she replied: "I would imagine that you have your staff in their best regalia for just about anything Madame Brulée..." Jessica took another sip before completing her thought. "But you’re right, we’ve yet to discuss business this evening and I am quite curious to know exactly what you have in mind."
"Mmmmm.... I’ve lots in mind for you my little morsel...." Brulée purred as her eyes slowly drank in Jessica’s caramel-coated legs stretched out a meter in front of her; "But those ideas will just have to wait until another time my little tidbit." Brulée put her glass down on the side table which separated the couch from Jessica’s settee, "And as I don’t want anything to get in the way of our enjoying dessert later, I agree that it’s time to discuss business." Brulée rose to her feet and slowly ambled her way over to the other side of the room as if gathering her thoughts, taking several moments before turning back towards Jessica to begin the discussion; "Ms. Darling..."
"’Ms. Darling?! My... we’re being remarkably formal for someone who is holding me captive in her mansion..." Jessica laughed as she interrupted the fetish confectionaire.
"Ms. Darling, I am not in the mood to engage in our usual game of verbal fencing so if you don’t mind, I’ll just cut to the chase and put my proposal to you directly..." Brulée countered, the fetish woman’s hands clenching as she paused and, after taking a deep breath, continued her presentation. "Ms. Darling, as I have indicated to you previously, a woman in my position in her chosen industry has made many enemies..."
"Excuse me..." Jessica interrupted again... "I'm sorry... 'Enemies’? Now just how could a kind, gentle, outgoing person like you manage to have ‘enemies’? Brulée, saying that you have made many 'enemies' is kind of like walking into the 'dollar store' and asking for a price check; it's a monumental 'DUH!'."
A loud sigh erupted from Brulée as she again took a deep breath before continuing: "As I have a significant clientele in the celebrity and fashion circles, and have a brand which is recognized by the most elite of society, I have made many enemies..."
"Gee... you think that maybe, just maybe, kidnapping and imprisoning some of those client’s friends and associates might have something to do with it?" Jessica laughed sarcastically as she sipped on her wine.
"Goddamn it! Would you just sit there, shut the fuck up and let me finish?" Brulée erupted. "I’m trying to offer you a very profitable position and yet all you want to do is freakin’ antagonize me! I told you I’m in no mood to spar with you tonight! Fuck! Why do I even bother?"
Jessica surveyed the fuming woman a few meters away from her. Jessica realized that while she could continue to antagonize Brulée, it wouldn’t actually serve any real purpose while she was constrained by her caramel clothing. If Jessica had been wearing the IM catsuit she’d previously been encased in, she’d continue to antagonize the Madame until Brulée dropped her guard long enough for Jessica to body-check her into the bookcase on the other side of the room. "But there’s not much chance of that happening when it takes me ten seconds just to move one leg across the other in this stuff..." Jessica thought to herself.
The two women stared at each other from opposite sides of the room for several minutes, as if each were attempting to decide if the other was going to talk just so they could interrupt them.
After several tense minutes; "What I am proposing to you my dear Ms. Darling, is what you could consider a... 'partnership'." Brulée finally continued.
"Partnership?" Jessica almost choked on the word along with the sip of wine she had just taken, barely finishing her thought by coughing out; "You’ve got to be out of your friggin’ mind!"
"Why not at all my dear morsel! It makes perfect sense!" Brulée sauntered over to Jessica and offered up a glass of water as Jessica tried to clear her throat.
"Something just went down the wrong way" Jessica sputtered as she turned down Brulée’s offer of water.
"Obviously... but as I was saying, it makes perfect sense for us to work together." Brulée continued as she moved back towards the other side of the room. "After all, we do have compatible needs."
"’Compatible needs’? Just what the hell does that mean Brulée?" Jessica finally cleared her throat enough to prevent the conversation from remaining a one-sided affair.
Brulée paused to take a sip of wine before turning to look at the puzzled investigator; "Why my dear Jessica, I’m surprised at you. I’d have thought you’d figured it out by now." Brulée giggled before she pointed out her definition of the phrase; "'Compatible needs', as in I need someone with your particular talent, in several areas I might add..." Brulée licked her lips as she scanned Jessica’s caramel coated legs again, "and you have a need to keep me happy."
"'Happy'?" Jessica pondered in her mind where this madwoman could possibly be headed with this conversation before it suddenly dawned on her just as Brulée shot the words out of her mouth.
"Yes, 'happy'." Brulée slowly strutted towards the still seated Jessica. "As in ‘satisfied’, as in ‘ecstatic’, as in ‘content’, ‘overjoyed’, and ‘thrilled’ my dear caramel morsel."
"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Jessica had a pretty good idea of where this would lead, but she didn’t see any point in denying the fetish show-woman her moment.
"Why, it’s very simple!" Brulée moved to sit beside Jessica on the edge of the settee; "By doing as I instruct, doing as I command, performing specific 'tasks' for which you are uniquely qualified..." Brulée’s words trailed off as the fetish candywoman’s lips drew closer and closer to Jessica’s earlobe until they delivered a soft nip.
Jessica shuddered as the Brulée’s tongue grazed the lower edge of her ear and her index finger traced a short line down her caramel-coated thigh. She shifted slightly in her seat before a slightly trembled "and just what if I don’t agree?" worked its way past her lips as she tried to put some distance between herself and the nuzzling Brulée.
"Oh my little morsel, why must you be so obstinate..." Brulée sighed as she slowly moved back to the loveseat to the left of Jessica.
"All good things come to those who wait..." Jessica parried, her voice dripping with sugar.
"That may be, and I know just how ‘good’ you are my dear; however I don’t think I should have to debate the various aspects of my offer to you, it should be fairly obvious for you..." Brulée countered.
Jessica sat silently mulling Brulée’s proposal of a ‘partnership’, as the madwoman termed it, in her head. While it seemed incredibly cliché to her, it just didn’t make any sense. While it was true that Brulée was paranoid about her "position" in the confectionary industry, the woman had made some significant ripples in an environment which had a tendency to be rather fickle and cutthroat. While Jessica understood that Brulée’s intent was to use Jessica to gain information and industrial secrets from her competition, there couldn’t be any way that Brulée would ever seriously trust her. "So what’s the point of the proposal?" Jessica questioned in her head. There had to be more to this than just some ‘partnership’, something that Jessica was missing. If there wasn’t any substantive ‘trust’ between her and Brulée, then exactly what could Brulée use to ensure that Jessica didn’t take everything she had learned of Brulée’s operation the moment she walked out the front gate?
"Oh... don’t look so troubled my tidbit..." Brulée cooed from across the room, "I can see the wheels turning in your head. After all, working for me does have certain 'benefits'..." Brulée stood up and moved away towards the other side of the room once again, turning to stare intently at the seated Jessica.
Jessica was about to point out the numerous reasons why she thought Brulée was completely out of her gourd when the fetish Madame continued: "And my dear Ms. Darling, you seem to forget that I have your little friend running around here somewhere, and while I certainly don’t want any harm to come to her I do have a rather large facility here and there are so many ways she could get into some type of ‘mischief’ if she weren’t properly ‘supervised’ during her stay."
Jessica would have kicked herself if she thought her leg would bend that far, it was the piece which she had somehow overlooked in exactly how Brulée would maintain ‘control’ over her; Brulée had Heather and would use her as leverage to get Jessica to do anything she wanted. Regardless of recent appearances of her being well treated, Heather was still in considerable danger if the ‘Madame’ had a sudden change of heart. And Jessica had seen those changes come on nothing more than a whim.
"Again..." Brulée tsked, shaking her head at her guest: "such a troubled look on your delectable face." Brulée sauntered over once again to take a seat besides Jessica. "My dear little crumpet, I certainly would hate to think that the only reason you decided to work with me is because I have your little friend in my loving care." She punctuated her sentence with another light brush of her fingertips up Jessica’s candied thigh.
"Then let her go." Jessica smiled back as she tried to ignore the soft caresses being administered to her right thigh.
"Now Jessica, I said that I would hate to think that she’s the only reason, not that I wouldn't be willing to make her the only reason, if it came to that." Brulée stopped her gentle caresses and slowly straightened up in her seat to better face Jessica: "I am a very determined woman my pet...You should know by now that I will use whatever means necessary to get what I want."
Jessica didn’t acknowledge Brulée’s implied threat; she didn't need to, Brulée wouldn't have a second thought about torturing Heather if she thought it would get her what she wanted. So Jessica took a different tactic: "My dear Madame Brulée..." Jessica finally replied; "Let’s not kid ourselves; we both know you’ll do anything if it gets you what you want. After all, you’re a conceited, manipulative, narcissistic, twisted, psychotic bitch. However..."
The two women sat staring at each other, Jessica waiting to see just how long it would take before her antagonist demanded the rest of the sentence, Brulée waiting to see how long Jessica intended to sit there staring back at her. It amounted to a silent, mental game of 'chicken', the loser being the first person to break the silence.
"However?" Brulée finally broke the extended pause in the discussion, her voice carrying the same impatience as a child’s eagerly awaiting the delivery of gifts at their birthday party.
"However..." Jessica finally conceded; "there should be more of an 'investment' in this partnership than just your threat of doing physical harm to my dearest friend. That would hardly seem like the proper way to start a relationship." Jessica looked up at the fetish Madame and slowly broke into a Cheshire-cat smile.
11.03.11