Chapter 19

The girls could barely contain their excitement as they barreled off the plane. We were finally coming home, so it’s not as if I could blame them for being excited. After a week in Los Angeles, we had flown back to Fakahina. Three months of relaxing on a tropical island had done wonders for all of us, but it was finally time to return home.

My contractor had emailed me last week to let me know the construction was finished and the decorators were starting. I had been to several of his job sites over the years and had no doubt that everything would be perfect. I was more excited to see my pet’s reactions to the new house.

Sonia was on my arm, ready to go home and take a nap. At seven months into her pregnancy, she looked radiant but had a hard time getting comfortable enough to sleep on the plane. As I led her to the limo she laughed, drawing my attention to her sister’s antics.

With us being in a semi-public place, I had made them put on their bikinis, but as soon as they got into the limo, Kiera’s top had come off so Marta and Felicia could nurse on her breasts. She had been drained a couple of hours ago, but they wanted to put on a bit of a show for the driver, who was trying hard not to stare.

“Look all you want,” I said when we got closer. “They enjoy the attention. You’ll see far more than that on the trip, as they’re not used to wearing clothes and will be nude by the time you drop us off.”

I had to admire his professionalism as he only stole quick glances at them as he helped Sonia into the car. With the girls situated, I went back to help Ethan and Peter with our luggage. We had only taken two bags to the island, but Katherine and Isabella had begged to properly outfit their new sisters. I was expecting a few sets of their regular outfits but ended up with that and several extra outfits for public use as well.

Once we were loaded up and underway, my pets did exactly as I expected they would. As soon as the limo started moving their minimal outfits came off, leaving them in their boot and collars, or in Marta’s case, a see-through bit of lace. I had left the privacy screen open intentionally, and could see the driver checking them out in the mirror, but Marta seemed to draw his eyes more than the others did. Not that I could blame him for looking, the changes in her over the past three months were astounding.

She had been eating properly for the first time in her life, and the daily exercise on top of it had filled out her slender frame with well-defined muscle. Her disappointment with her flat bottom had pushed her to work harder and she had developed a perfect heart-shaped ass. The late growth spurt that bumped her b cup breasts up to a full c was just icing on the cake. Her transformation had given her a big boost to her confidence as well.

I was a bit surprised by the number of people with Mr. Caputo when we pulled up to the house. I had contacted him last week, asking him to place an ad for new staff, but I wasn’t expecting them to be waiting when I got home. Piero being here was no shock though. As my contractor, I’m sure he wanted final approval before closing the site. If the inside looked half as good as the outside, I doubted there was going to be any problem giving it.

When the driver opened the door, I handed him a hundred euro note and asked if he could put the luggage in the foyer for now. He smiled as he palmed the tip, “It’s part of the service, sir, but I never turn down a tip.”

Piero and James were both waiting as I got out of the car and didn’t bat an eye as my pets crawled out behind me, still mostly naked. There were several gasps from the group behind them, but they had both seen my pets before and were expecting them to be nude. “So, what’s with the party? I didn’t think we would be scheduling interviews for a few days.”

“I knew what time you were going to be here, and as big as the new place is, I figured you might want to get started,” James laughed. “This is just the first group. I pre-screened the applications and pulled the most qualified group based on their experience. We actually have four times as many resumes at my office if we need them.”

I nodded and glanced back at the group, seeing several people looking a bit apprehensive at my pet’s state of dress. “Anyone who has an issue with casual nudity, or the possibility of walking in on a sexual situation, might as well leave now. You won’t be expected to participate, but my girls prefer to be nude and we have become accustomed to expressing our affection wherever we happen to be.”

Several people left the group, but I wasn’t surprised. “For those of you who are still interested, I would like to invite you to join me in my new home. Unfortunately, I haven’t even seen it myself, so I was going to ask Piero to give us the tour.”

Piero smiled as he walked up to the door. “I’ve been dying to show this place off to be completely honest. It’s a rare opportunity to build a house this size and I got a lot of satisfaction watching the design come to life. As we enter the foyer, you will notice we went with a slightly darker hardwood flooring than we discussed originally. You said you wanted the same flooring from the library to the kitchen, and we couldn’t find that shade in the volume we needed, but they had plenty of this and it’s only a touch darker.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I replied. “I honestly can’t tell the difference. My main concern was it blending with the furniture, as I didn’t want to go too dark. I wanted a more cheerful look in the new home, and it looks perfect.”

He opened the French doors to the left as he continued. “Here we have the library. The lighter wood tone of the shelving counters the darker floors to lighten up the room, and you have plenty of space for people to curl up with a good book. If you will follow me back across the foyer, we have the full formal dining room. There is enough room at the table for twelve without even brushing elbows and twenty if you want to get friendly.”

“Down the hall, we have a standard three-piece bathroom to the left, and the extended three-car garage to the right,” he continued as he led us through. “Past that, we have the full chef’s kitchen and informal dining area.”

I heard a gasp from behind me as we entered the kitchen area and glanced back. A striking blond with classical French features was looking at the kitchen space in awe. It was clear she was applying for the cook position and approved of the setup as she walked through the kitchen. I knew the new cook would be regularly preparing meals for a dozen people and had ordered a restaurant-style kitchen to accommodate that.

One of the men in the group cleared his throat and she blushed as she rejoined us on the way to the great room. “The door at the back of the kitchen is to a full pantry and the walk-in freezer, with a stairway down to the wine cellar. The one to our left is the laundry room and main linen closet,” Piero continued as he led us through the French doors at the end of the dining area. “Here we have the main entertaining area and great room.”

Any further explanation was interrupted by the high-pitched scream of excitement from Marta. I looked over and saw the wonder in her eyes as she stared at the Salvi concert grand harp that I had set up in the middle of the great room. She had been a bit nervous leaving her harp back on the island for when we visited, but I knew this was far beyond what she expected.

She looked over at me with a question in her eyes and I nodded. “Go ahead, my dear, it’s yours.” She couldn’t speak as she slowly crossed the floor and ran her fingers lovingly over the walnut finish. After strumming a couple of strings to test the tone, she stepped behind it and started to play. I had heard her practice every day for the past few months, but this was far beyond that. Her passion for her music always came through, but the sound was so much fuller now.

After about ten minutes, she stopped to a round of applause and bowed in acknowledgment before walking over to me. “Master, I don’t know how I can ever thank you for this,” she said. “Is it really mine?”

“Yes, my pet,” I replied as I leaned in to kiss her. “I wanted you to have something worthy of the beautiful music you make. You can play anytime you wish, my dear, but I still expect you to remember to eat and keep up on your exercise.”

She blushed again and nodded, remembering how she used to skip meals to play. “You can play more after we finish our tour. I’m sure everyone would love to listen to you play while I’m doing interviews.”

I glanced over at Piero and nodded. “An unexpected break in the tour, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I don’t think I have ever heard anything that beautiful before,” he told us as he started leading us through the house again. “Here we have the secondary Master suite, complete with large walk-in closet and an extended five-piece bath.”

There were several gasps of surprise at the size of the room, but my pets gave me a curious look at the king-sized bed. We could have all fit on it, but it would be a tight fit. I just smiled and shook my head, indicating this wasn’t my bedroom. I had it decorated for Felicia’s son, Jaden and his wife, Marian, along with their pet after I spoke with them when we were home for the funerals.

“Down the hall, we have the three smaller guest rooms and a large guest room, each with a walk-in closet and full bath,” Piero continued as the group peeked into the rooms. Even the smaller guest rooms were what you would expect for a master suite in an average house. “If we return to the great room and up the main staircase, I can show you the rest of the house.”’

“Here we have what I refer to as the living room. We set up the entertainment area and a bit more cozy seating arrangements than you have in the great room,” Piero told us as we went up the stairs. “On the one side, we have the hallway to the servant’s quarters and the other three more of the larger guest rooms.”

The servant’s rooms were about the same size as the smaller guest rooms, each with their own walk-in closet and bathroom. “Wow, this is bigger than the bedroom at my apartment, and I have to share it,” one of the girls said as we looked through the rooms. I couldn’t help but smile, as I knew the apartments in town were fairly expensive for a single person.

We checked the other guest rooms before Piero stopped in front of the door at the end of the balcony and fixed me with an amused grin. “Finally we have the Master bedroom, which had the girls on my design team blushing as they set it up.”

As we filed in I heard several gasps of surprise, both from the group and my pets as they looked around the room. The thousand square foot room was dominated by a custom twelve-foot four-poster bed with a full canopy. Each of the support posts had restraints already attached and the full headboard had ring-bolts for more if needed. Kiera’s punishment tools had been unpacked and were hanging off the walls along one side of the room next to a padded mounting block with restraints.

All of my pets enjoyed being restrained for sex play, while Kiera and Sonia enjoyed being spanked. The room was my promise to them that I was willing to practice both. I could see the excitement in their eyes as they took in the decor, and the way they kept licking their lips when they looked at me made it clear they were imagining the fun we could have in here.

Their excitement grew as I led them into the bathroom and past my kitten’s new litter box. The shower enclosure was easily big enough for all five of us and was designed so you could block the drain and turn it into a comfortable two-person soak tub. The best part was the full six-person hot tub, so we could all climb in and relax.

From the excited expressions, I knew they wanted to try it out now, but we did have other business to deal with first. “Well, Piero, I have to say you and your people did excellent work here. How did you do on the budgeting end of it?”

I saw his smile get bigger as he answered. “We didn’t have to touch the hundred thousand extra you had as an emergency fund, and actually came in twenty-five grand under due to the volume of materials we were ordering. Most of the suppliers gave me a discount on the bulk orders and we saved a bit going with the in-line water heaters instead of tanks. It also has the advantage of no one ever having to worry about a cold shower.”

“Remember that bonus I promised you? I want you to cut a fifteen hundred euro check for each man on your crew and a three thousand euro check for yourself out of the construction account,” I told him. “You’ve all earned it with the work you’ve done here.”

I saw his eyes go wide and a jerk from the young man who was talking with the blond cook earlier. The bonus was just over a month’s wages for each man on the crew, but it was well worth it in my opinion. The quality of the work, and having finished it as quickly as they had, was amazing.

“Thank you, sir,” Piero replied in shock. “I can guarantee every man on my crew will be overjoyed when they hear the news. It was an honor working for you, and if you ever need any other work done, don’t hesitate to call.”

I nodded as I turned to James. “Once the bonus checks have cleared, you can take your fees and bonus out of the remainder before releasing the rest back to my regular account.” Having a lawyer you could trust was always nice, and James Caputo was a rare breed.

“Always a pleasure to work for you, Alonso,” he replied. “I’ll have the rest of those resumes couriered over tomorrow in case you need them.”

“If everyone else could join me back in the great room, we can start the interviews.” As everyone filed out, I gathered my pets around me. “Don’t worry my dears; we’ll have plenty of time to play here later. For now, however, Sonia, I would like you to lie down and take a nap. I know you didn’t sleep well on the plane, and despite the excitement, I know you’re exhausted. Would you like one of your sisters to stay with you?”

“If it’s okay, Master,” Sonia told me. “I have a hard time falling asleep alone, but I don’t want to make someone stay with me.”

“Kitten, I want you to stay with Sonia for a while,” I told her. “I know you are anxious to see your family, but Jaden told me they wouldn’t be leaving until almost noon, so you still have a couple of hours before they get here. I’ll wake both of you up when they arrive, okay?”

I pulled them both in and kissed them before Felicia dragged Sonia over to the bed. Even after sleeping half the flight, I had no doubt my kitten would nap with Sonia. She had a habit of falling asleep when she was snuggling someone.

As we walked down to the great room, I looked back to Kiera and Marta. “Marta, I know you’re anxious to play your new harp, but I want you to go check the other one first. I got you a professional lever harp as well and had it placed up in the solarium because I loved watching you play with the sun shining over your skin. It’s just up the spiral staircase in the corner. We skipped it on the tour because the only things up there are a few lounge chairs and your second harp.”

“Kiera, I want you to stay with me while I do the interviews. Some of the group seems to be avoiding looking at you girls,” I explained. “I want to see how they respond with you sitting next to me. You can be affectionate, but try not to go overboard for now.”

When we came down the stairs, James was waiting for me. “Here are the resumes for those who are still here and the standard contracts for employment. Most of them are housekeepers, but they all have at least five years of experience. I would advise you to interview Zara and her husband Marcello first. They are the only cook and groundskeeper applicants here, but they were the best-qualified applicants you had.”

“I’ll do that,” I replied. “I wanted to thank you for all the extra help these past few months. I know it’s outside of your regular practice and I really appreciate it.”

“You were one of my first customers after I graduated. You’ve been one of my best clients for over thirty years now and have steered a lot of business my way in that time. The little extras are never a problem, especially with what you pay me,” he chuckled. “Good luck with the interviews and I’ll see you when I bring over the paperwork to close the escrow account.”

Marta had already rushed off to check the harp in the solarium, so I took Kiera over to one of the couches. Looking over the group, I chuckled to myself at how nervous some of them looked. “Before we get started I need to make a couple points clear. These are all live-in positions, so room and board are part of your salary. The salaries are a bit below what you could make at a regular employer, but with no other bills, you end up with more spending money. The second point is even easier to remember. I’m retired and prefer to keep things a bit less formal now, so feel free to call me Alonso.”

Marta was already back at her harp and had started playing as I asked Zara to join us. As she sat down, she made eye contact with Kiera and smiled, completely at ease with her being curled up against me. “So, tell me why you are interested in this position. With your experience, I would think you’d prefer finding work with one of the larger restaurants, or even a hotel in the area.”

“Honestly I would,” she chuckled. “After two years at Le cordon bleu and graduating from ICI you would think I could find better work, but I’ve spent five years as a sous chef with no opportunities to advance. I want to be able to experiment and create my own menus, and as a private chef, I would be able to do that. After seeing that kitchen, I would almost pay you to let me cook there.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I laughed. “As a sous chef, you had several chefs working under you. Do you see yourself having any issues cooking for a dozen people by yourself, as well as doing the necessary shopping and following the dietary restrictions for most of the household? Simply put, most of the household doesn’t eat any red meat.”

Her smile grew wider as she shook her head. “I was a very hands-on sous chef, who spent most of my time jumping between stations helping the other chefs, and would prefer to be doing the cooking myself. As for the no red meat, I can make sure you have something different every night for months before I run out of recipes and have to start repeating menus.”

“Perfect, now the salary I’m offering for a cook is two thousand a month plus room and board,” I explained. “I’m assuming that your willingness to accept a position would be based on if your husband is offered a position as well?”

“The salary is acceptable, considering what I was making and what we paid in rent for an apartment in Bari,” she replied. “You’re right that I couldn’t accept unless my husband was offered a position as well though. I’m interested in accepting, but I don’t want that to influence your decision on hiring him.”

“I can appreciate that, but the fact that neither of you has even batted an eye at my pets’ state of dress is a strong point for both of you,” I told her. “I have looked over his resume, and unless something odd comes up I see no reason I won’t be offering both of you a position. If you could send your husband over, I’d like to speak with him next.”

“Of course, Alonso, I’ll send him right over. I hope you’re as impressed with him, as I think we could be very happy working for you,” she said as she stood up. Kiera and I both admired her figure as she walked over to her husband.

“Master, will we be allowed to play with them as well,” Kiera asked quietly. “Her husband is cute, but she is just gorgeous. Some of the girls who are applying for the housekeeper position are pretty hot as well, and I wouldn’t turn any of them down if you were okay with it.”

“We will discuss that with them after we get through hiring them,” I replied. “I see no issue with you playing with them if they’re interested and are willing to be tested, but it will have to be their choice.”

She nodded as Marcello walked up and took a seat across from us. After an exchange of pleasantries, I launched right into the interview. “Your resume says you have worked on and off for Piero for the last seven years. What kind of work did you do for him?”

“Mostly landscaping, but I’m a jack of all trades,” he replied. “February is usually a slow month for construction, so when he called me for the build I was more than ready to get back to work. As I said I mostly do landscaping, but I have experience with plumbing, heating, electrical and general carpentry as well. I was in here helping through most of the build, working where ever he needed me for the day.”

“My previous groundskeeper used to do general repairs around the house on top of keeping up the grounds, would that be a problem for you,” I asked. “He also maintained the outdoor pool and spa; do you have any experience with that kind of work as well?”

“General repairs aren’t a problem, and I’m smart enough to know if I can’t fix something, so I’ll let you know if we need to call a professional,” he told me. “I do have some experience with pools and spas because we would occasionally have to recondition them as part of a remodel or build them as part of a new home. I can handle most repairs myself, but again would be able to tell you if we needed a professional for more extensive work.”

The admiring looks he kept giving Marta and Kiera told me he would have no issues with their state of dress. He didn’t leer at them, but he certainly wasn’t trying to avoid looking. I was more than willing to offer him the position. “The salary I’m offering for a groundskeeper is twelve hundred a month. If you need some time to discuss it with your wife, we can wait for you.”

He glanced back to where Zara was watching us anxiously and waved her over. “I don’t think that will be necessary. We are both interested in the position, and the salary is more than we were expecting,” he said as Zara joined us. “I can safely say we would both like to accept your offer.”

“Excellent, of course, I would like you both to start as soon as possible, but I know you may have other obligations to take care of first,” I told them. “You will also have a choice to make on your living arrangements. You can choose to take one of the rooms in the servant’s quarters, but there is also a grounds keeper’s cottage behind the main house that you can choose to live in.”

“I think we will take the cottage, but we’re both available to start right away with one minor restriction,” Zara told me with a slight grin. “Piero hasn’t lined up work for Marcello yet, because he knew he was applying here. My last shift at my current job is ten to four tomorrow for the lunch service.”

“That confident I was going to hire both of you,” I asked her. “You seemed a bit less sure earlier.”

She favored me with that electric smile again as she shook her head. “I have been interviewing with the Oriente Hotel for a dinner service sous chef position. The final interview was Wednesday, but it was just a formality, as I only had to show up and sign my hiring paperwork. This is a better opportunity for both me and my husband, but we both would have had work if you didn’t choose to hire us.”

I flipped through the papers James had given me, pulling out the contracts and tax paperwork they would need to fill out before setting them on the table. “These are standard service contracts, stating your terms of employment. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d like you to start as soon as possible, as I’m pretty sure the only thing in that fancy new kitchen is the appliances and dishes. If you’re interested, I would like you to start tonight and make your first duty a shopping trip for the next few days until you have time for a serious shopping trip.”

They both scanned through the contract before signing it and quickly filled out the tax forms before handing them back to me. “We’d be happy to start tonight and do some shopping for you after we stop and pick up a few essentials from our apartment. I’m not sure how you handle your accounts though.”

“Right to the point, I like that,” I said as I pulled ten one hundred euro notes out of my wallet and handed them to her. “That should cover what we need for the next week or so, as I know you’ll have to stock the spice rack as well. I’ll take you down to the bank and Metro on Wednesday so I can have you added to my house accounts, then you can just sign for the purchases after that. Assume you’re cooking for twelve, as the rest of my household is showing up tonight, although I’m not sure about the two housekeepers.”

She gave me an odd look as she stood up. “Wait, you mean the twelve people are including the staff?”

“Did I forget to mention that,” I chuckled. “You won’t be making separate meals for the staff, as my family and I eat in the kitchen dining area with the staff most of the time. I have always been a bit informal that way. You’re not just cooking for my family, but yourself, your husband, and the housekeepers, as I prefer to keep a more family feel with everyone living with me.”

She still had a confused look as she replied, “I’ll try to remember that,” before walking away. Most would have thought I was crazy just handing her cash right after meeting her, but I had a good feeling about the two of them. The worst-case being I was wrong and was out a thousand euros. It wasn’t as if I was hurting for money, especially now. Mandy had asked if she could help with my stock portfolios shortly after I returned to the island. At Julien’s recommendation, I had agreed, and Mandy had tripled my worth in the first month. I don’t know how she did it, but that woman was a genius when it came to playing the markets.

With the cook and groundskeeper positions taken care of, I turned my attention to the housekeeper applicants. Arranging them by experience, I started calling them over for interviews. The first four interviews went quickly and the applicants were just as quickly rejected. They were all very qualified, with over ten years of experience in housekeeping, but the looks they gave Kiera disturbed me. It was clear they weren’t comfortable with her being naked and curled up against me. One of them even looked clearly disgusted when Kiera reached over and ran her hand up my thigh.

I was starting to think I would have to look through the less qualified applicants and train someone when I called the next girl over. At twenty-three, she was half the age of the other applicants, but the way she had been watching Marta play gave me some hope she would be comfortable with the way my pets dressed.

“So Vivianna, I’m curious what would make you choose to go into housekeeping,” I said as she sat down. “From your resume, it appears you went into housekeeping as soon as you graduated.”

“It wasn’t so much a choice as what I had to do, but I found I was good at it,” she replied. “My mother got very sick shortly before I turned eighteen and was unable to keep working. Daddy’s income wasn’t enough to support the family, so I had to drop out of school and find whatever I could to help support my family. The Rondo hotel was willing to take me on because they were short-staffed and I was working for them up until last week.”

“Yes, I noticed your resume says you were terminated, but my lawyer’s notes say your manager just claimed it was a difference of opinion that led to them letting you go,” I told her as I glanced back down at the resume. “Would you care to elaborate?”

The laugh she gave in response was deep and musical. “I guess you could call it that. The manager that hired me retired six months ago, and his replacement was a jerk, but he was also the owner’s nephew. He kept trying to get me to agree to date him and I kept turning him down. At my last review, he actually suggested I would have to sleep with him to keep my job. I reported it as sexual harassment, but they swept it under the rug and terminated me. The sad part is I probably would have agreed to date him if he had approached me with any class instead of treating me like a piece of meat.”

“Master, can we keep her,” Kiera asked. “She’s the only one so far who hasn’t made me feel like she wants to scrape me off her shoe, and I like her openness. She’s also adorable, and I think my sisters will like her.”

Vivianna blushed a bit at Kiera’s comment but didn’t seem offended. “I guess the next question is obvious. Would having a naked woman flirting with you be an issue for you? My pets will respect your boundaries, but they tend to be open about their sexuality.”

“I have no issue with flirting, even open flirting, as long as it’s not crass,” she replied. “It was the comments like ‘shake that rack baby’ as I was walking toward him or ‘damn I’d like a swing like that in my backyard’ as I walked away that offended me.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head. “You certainly won’t run into that here. Comments like that are disrespectful to any woman in earshot. I have to agree with Kiera though, as I find your open nature refreshing and I’m inclined to offer you one of the positions I have open. The salary I’m offering for a housekeeper is a thousand a month, but of course, room and board are included as part of the contract. If that is acceptable for you, I’m curious how soon you would be able to start.”