Chapter 11

Annie and I rounded the entrance to the salon and were greeted by a wall of eerie silence. A few looked toward us as we entered. We'd barely stepped a foot inside before Chantelle's voice rang like an executioner's bell. "Close the doors behind you, Roger."

Once I pulled the heavy salon doors closed, Annie hugged my arm tightly and we took our places in Chantelle's audience. Looking around I noticed some of the chairs from around the walls had been moved into a semi-circle. Chantelle sat on the edge of an over-stuffed black leather chair, facing us. She was rocking back and forth with her hands clasped together around her knees. Claudio was leaning into her ear, whispering and gesticulating. She was nodding with her head down.

There were quite a few concerned faces amongst those gathered. Sitting on the chairs in a semi-circle were Alex O'Donohue, Emmanuel Hammerstein, Royston Gardner, and their wives. Hammerstein and Gardner were keeping well apart, and the men looked worried, while the women looked annoyed to be missing a perfectly good party. The rest of us stood behind the chairs, waiting for the axe to fall.

Neither Josephine nor Sylvia were anywhere to be seen. Looking around, I noticed Adrian and Jonathan were also missing. I figured they were still at their posts. Finally, Chantelle waved Claudio away, eying those around her. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. Later I would swear she looked six foot tall.

"I am very disappointed," she began. "Because among those I called my friends are those who would take advantage of the hospitality I have shown them." Her eyes flickered over us. I wondered for a moment if she meant me. I shook my head at the ridiculous thought as she continued. "Not only have they taken advantage of it, but they have deliberately and callously abused it." She scanned over those standing to my left as she went on. "Both in business and socially I hold honesty to be an inviolable requirement, and I have been let down today."

Emmanuel Hammerstein shook his head. "Pfft."

"Emmanuel?" Chantelle asked. "Am I boring you?"

Hammerstein answered gruffly. "I'm just wondering where this is going, Chantelle. It was just a stupid mistake." His eyes flicked over to Gardner.

Chantelle's eyes narrowed. "Emmanuel, you allowed this to happen on my property. You knew. Despite your apparent lack of active participation, you allowed a criminal act to occur on my property. And to an employee of your own company! As one bestowed with the responsibility of upholding the law, you should be ashamed of yourself." She turned to Gardner. "And as for you... Your desire to play out your disgusting control-freak games sickens me. You are a weak, cowardly, conniving man. I have rarely seen behaviour less befitting of someone I employ. As my lawyers, Gardner and Hammerstein are dismissed. As my guests, you are no longer welcome. You may see yourselves out."

"This is ridiculous!" Gardner almost shouted as he stood. "That stupid Josephine is behind all this. She tricked us into thinking she was Sylvia. It's all her fucking fault!"

Chantelle glared at him. "Who was swinging the cane just now? It's on tape, Royston."

The wives of both men were on their feet and heading to the door. Hammerstein went to protest and Chantelle held up her hand. He stood and strode across in front of us before stopping. Turning to Chantelle, he muttered, "You're all sick."

Chantelle shrugged and replied, "I have the photo, Emmanuel."

Hammerstein blanched. It looked like he was about to throw up. His wife asked, "What photo?" but she didn't get an answer. He hustled her out of there as quickly as he could.

Gardner stood and ground his teeth. He opened his mouth as if to say something but decided against it. He turned on his heel and walked out, his wife tugging on his sleeve and three or four of the top lawyers and their partners following him. I smiled when I realised the head of Videomax wasn't leaving. My boss Mike looked across at me and winked, staying put and looking back to Chantelle. I heard the salon doors open and close heavily, and that was that. There were still about eight of us there. Chantelle turned her attention to Alex O'Donohue.

"I've known you for many years, Alex. I knew you sailed your boat close to the wind, but you have been playing a different game tonight, haven't you."

Alex cleared his throat before responding. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Did you not try to talk Claudio into convincing me to float this business on the stock exchange?"

"Y... Yes, I thought it was a good idea. I still do."

"And when it didn't happen, what did you do?"

Alex hesitated and looked down at his hands. His wife looked like she had no idea what was going on. He looked back up at Chantelle and his whole demeanour changed. "I spoke with Claudio's girlfriend."

"Josephine."

"Yes, Josephine."

"Would you like me to tell all these kind people exactly what you proposed to Josephine? Or are you man enough to do it yourself, governor candidate O'Donohue?"

He suddenly stood up and spoke, "I've had enough of this. I'm leaving. You'll be hearing from my lawyers."

"If I hear from your lawyers, the press hears from me, Alex." He practically wrenched his dumbfounded wife from her seat and stomped his way to the doors of the salon. He turned around and looked daggers at Chantelle before finally leaving without saying another word. It was all happening so fast I was wondering if I missed the explanation. "Roger, Annie, please sit."

Annie and I took two of the vacated chairs and Claudio appeared and sat on the armrest of Chantelle's chair, right beside her. Chantelle sighed before going on. "I suppose you are all wondering what the hell just happened. And I'd like to fill you in enough to satisfy your curiosity, without sounding like I am starting vicious rumours. Let me just say that people I regarded as associates were willing to use my friends and my premises, not only to play their manipulative games, but also to damage my reputation and loosen my hold on the Domina Flagrante."

She looked around at all of us. "This lifestyle does not compromise on things such as honesty, truth, and openness. Just about everything else is relative. One can come and go from the lifestyle. One can dabble or play now and again. There is no need to commit to a new way of living in order to enjoy some of the physical benefits one can get by playing with some of the tools of our trade. In other words, a person can proudly say they just play occasionally and would be welcomed here.

"But when someone comes along, who manipulates, lies, and cajoles people into doing things as part of a grand plan to bring me down... Well, these are the people I cannot tolerate. I hold in my hand the power to ruin these men. And for what? For a 'mistake'? For a 'bit of fun'? One only has one's reputation to fall back on. And it's the one thing that always catches up with you. Oh, you can change your name, or move to a new town. One can always start over. But are the broken hearts and broken promises left in your wake worth it?

"Many years ago, I made a mistake when I wasn't honest. I hurt someone badly and she's never forgiven me for it. Because of the meddling of others I trusted, it almost cost me everything. If I hadn't lied to someone all those years ago, all this could have been avoided. So, I blame myself. But I want you to learn something. Everyone starts somewhere. Pretending you are someone you are not keeps others from really knowing you, which in turn keeps you from knowing yourself. Be honest to yourself first. And start now."

We all gave out a collective sigh. I think most were happy to have their innocence confirmed. That was certainly how I felt. We all sat there, silently mulling over Chantelle's words. Claudio stood and clapped his hands, grinning. "Okay, that's it! Let's go! There's a party out there, and we're missing out on it!"

Chantelle's huge smile was an enormous relief to me. It was amazing how close I felt to her, even though I'd only known her a few days. As she took Claudio's offered arm and I stood up with Annie on mine, I briefly wondered if she would ever find what she was looking for. Or had she already found it? And was that a twinkle I saw in her eye?

She and Claudio walked past us and Annie and I smiled at her. She nodded, waving us to follow and mouthing the words, "Come on!" as she winked at me. After all that had happened, and despite not knowing exactly what it all meant, seeing her smile made it all okay. I knew everything would be all right. Chantelle was in control again.

We fell in behind her as Claudio threw open the doors of the salon. Instead of that strange sense of déjà vu, again finding myself in an entourage behind Chantelle, this time I was hoping it was the first of many. Annie leaned up and kissed my cheek while we walked. "You seem pleased, Sir," she said quietly.

"I feel like I belong here," I said, smiling down on her.

She hugged her body as close as she could without tripping us over. As we exited the salon and turned for the hall, I glanced over at Jonathan, who was again on the phone, chatting and smiling. He nodded and waved to me and I grinned and nodded back. The sound level of the music grew rapidly as we approached the doors of the main hall. I had the bizarre thought that we were about to enter an empty hall and everyone had gone home.

My fears were soon dispelled as we crossed the threshold and found ourselves back in the thick of things. There were people everywhere and the place looked more crowded than ever! The dance floor was packed and it looked like the second shift of dominant and submissive exhibitions had begun. Annie and I found ourselves next to Chantelle and Claudio, and Chantelle leaned up and kissed my cheek. "Thanks for trying to look out for me, Roger," she said.

"I should have come to you sooner," I replied. "There never seemed to be a good time."

"It wouldn't have changed a thing."

"Perhaps you're right."

"Honestly, Roger. It all happened so fast..."

"I still don't know what actually happened."

"Perhaps one day I'll tell you."

"When you are ready," I said, completely content. Chantelle turned to Claudio and asked him to dance with her and they were off, swallowed up by the crowd on the dance floor. I turned to Annie and smiled. She'd held my hand quietly during the whole exchange.

She looked concerned as she asked, "Do you think I'm still in trouble?"

I pulled her into me and I slipped my arms around her. We swayed to the beat of the music and I kissed her warm mouth softly. "I don't think you were ever in trouble, little one," I said quietly.

She grinned and showed off her perfect teeth. Hugging me tightly, she kissed me with fervour. "I could do with that drink now."

"What would you like?" I asked.

She blushed instantly. It immediately dawned on me what kind of drink she desired. I looked around to see if anyone was standing close enough to overhear what I was about to say. When I realised the coast was clear, I leaned into her ear and asked, "Do you want to suck my cock, Annie?"

The blush in her cheeks intensified and she whispered, "Right now, Sir, there is nothing I would rather do."

"But you can't do it right here, Annie."

"I... I know a place."

"Not the stairwell."

She giggled. "No, not there. Come with me." She took my hand and we headed toward the left side of the stage. Flush to the wall was a door that Annie opened and we slipped inside, closing it behind us. "This is the room where we get ready before going on stage."

"On stage?"

"Yes, the stage is just up those steps and around to your right," she said, pointing. "The light coming through there is from the dance floor."

I looked around the room. There was nothing particularly unusual about it. A couple of chairs gathered around a small kitchen-type table. Coffee maker switched off. A lounge over to one side. A black box up on the wall. A black box up on the wall? "Hmmmm..." I wondered.

"Sir?"

"Never mind. Come here." Annie approached with a wicked grin on her lips. I reached out and took her wavy blonde hair in my fist and twisted. "I am so looking forward to this," I whispered, guiding her to her knees on the carpeted floor. Eagerly she reached for my fly and drew it down, searching inside to grasp my cock through my boxers. I was undoing my belt and unbuttoning the catch at the top when she looked up at me.

"Hurry please, Sir. I... I want this so bad."

I was hard already as I pushed my pants down over my hips. They fell to the floor as Annie drew my boxers down and took my vibrating cock in her hot little hand. She stroked quickly, then spat on it, not once, but twice. "Nasty," I said, smiling down on her.

"Yes Sir," she said, grinning up at me. In moments I was slick and her hand was stroking smoothly.

God, I looked so huge in her small hand. "Can you take it all?" I asked.

She bit her lip and regarded my cock intently, stroking it slowly. Looking down at her, I wondered what was going through her mind. With heavy-lidded eyes, she reached out with her tongue to gather the pre-cum that had bubbled to the tip. "Mmmmm..." she moaned softly. After eying the length and the width, and sweeping her tongue up the side, she looked back up into my eyes. "I think so, Sir. But um, if I can't, you could always just... force me." She blushed fiercely and leaned forward a little, gently taking just the head into her mouth. With her eyes on mine, she suckled for pre-cum, and I groaned.

"I'm not going to last long," I warned.

She smacked her lips before responding. "Just use me, Sir. I want your cum... your pleasure. I want to see it in your eyes. I want it so badly." Her hands went to my ass, and without warning, she pushed her mouth down the length of my cock.

"Oh, fuckkk. Look at that," I said out loud, completely taken aback. I couldn't get my jacket and tie off quickly enough! I tossed them on the couch and slipped the fingers of both hands into her hair. I rocked back and forth and the tight bumpy sensation of sliding in and out of her throat had me on edge in seconds. Jesus, fuck! Her hands tightened around my ass and she wasn't stopping. I'd never been down a girl's throat before and I threw back my head, clenching my teeth and trying to hold off, just for a few seconds more.

Tingles rushed up my legs and my toes curled in my shoes. Faster and faster I fucked her mouth. My body stiffened, every muscle turning to stone. I pulled her down hard, burying myself in her throat. Her tongue danced on the underside, mouth sucking, throat convulsing and I tried not to, but I exploded!