Unscrupulous (13 page)

“Right.” Kiki frowned.

“I’d call Lex to assist us with this project, but Easton Essentials is soaring with retailers. She’s too busy for this.” Taddy glanced down at her Rolex, losing her thought. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a night off with her friends. Lex had amped up her export distributors. Thanks to a few phone calls Blake had made, Easton Essentials was now in Australia and had been featured on numerous fashion TV segments. As a result, her products were selling better than ever. Most of them were sold out. Easton Essentials couldn’t make the garments fast enough to keep up with demand. Exhausted just watching Lex in designer action, Taddy had asked her how she kept up the strength. Lex revealed it was from Dr. Fassenbender’s Vitamin B12 shots, which gave her such energy boosts. The injections also contributed to rapid weight loss. Birdie received the injections also. Five months with no crazy spells. Fingers crossed.

“What about Viveca Farnworth?”

“Vive’s overwhelmed with her work.”

For an undisclosed eight figures, Vive’s
Debauchery
magazine had been acquired by Gotham Media Group. The media giant owned America’s highest-rated TV talk program,
The Poppy White Show
. To sell her company Vive had agreed to a three-way with Poppy and Gotham’s president, Ashton “Ash” Balmain.

Ash was half-Jewish and Sicilian. Smart and ruthless in business, he adored his women strong, hence his passion for Vive and Poppy. Vive shared that he was macho, adventurous and complicated in the bedroom. She also mentioned her relief when Poppy accompanied her to Ash’s place. The foreplay, an oral treat, was smoldering on Thursday, fucking through Friday, rebounding to anal on Saturday and then exploding on Sunday with toys. It was a four-day sex-a-thon where Vive and Poppy took turns riding his dick, feeding his face and bathing his body. Ash enjoyed his new nickname, Pig Boy.

After
Debauchery
merged with Gotham, her workload had doubled over the previous two months. Vive swore she’d remained sober. Recent articles showing Vive “partying” published in the
Manhattanite Times
proved otherwise.

“Miss Brill?” Kiki blinked. “We were talking about Neve’s new lifestyle line.”

“Sorry.” She snapped back to her workaholic reality. “Seeing as how the only thing Neve can balance is a rhinestone tiara on her head, we’ve been contracted to create the brand’s inspiration boards.”

“Where do you intend to get them?”

“My wardrobe closet.” She grinned. Taddy owned the largest closet on the East Coast. It was a separate apartment she’d knocked the wall down to create. Rumor had it she’d terrified her neighbors into moving out from their two-bedroom condo with various horror movie props from film and TV sets. Supposedly they came from her media friends at Universal Pictures. The cooperative board accused her of hiring actors to play evil spirits, zombies and demons. A board member even had Taddy investigated. But with no evidence, the neighbors dismissed their charges.

“Of course.” Kiki eyed her as though witnessing an accident.

Taddy had created a security folder on her penthouse including floor plans and alarm codes, with a detailed sheet listing her butlers, maids, chefs, massage therapists, Shih Tzu’s names, etcetera. She handed the papers over to Kiki. “In the file, you’ll find keys to my penthouse on Park Avenue and Seventy-First Street. I want you to lay out my belts, bags, what have you. Take photos from YSL to Balenciaga and Oscar—everything, got it?”

“Miss Brill, umm…could we go over to your penthouse together?”

Shaking her head, perplexed, she said, “I don’t follow.”

“You’ll pull your accessories. I’ll snap photos.” Kiki withdrew her mobile tablet from her folder and showed Taddy a website where she sold her used clothing and other misfortunes. “My roommates and I resell on eBought.”

To Taddy, eBought looked like a virtual lost and found for damaged and returned garments and accessories no one wanted. Careful not to hurt her feelings, Taddy smiled at her assistant. The painkillers Kiki popped post-breast surgery made her more sensitive than usual. “I’m going to assume I have a few more frills than you do.”

“How many are we talking about?”

She traced back her assistants over the years. Kiki turned out to be her thirtieth, or was it her fortieth? “You’ve worked here since December, correct?”

Kiki nodded. “Yes.”

“Have you ever seen me carry or wear the same thing twice?” She didn’t understand how she managed.

“No ma’am.” Kiki’s jaw tensed with apparent nervousness.

“This lil’ project is going to take you a week—easy breezy.” She dusted her hands, ready to move on with her day.

“I’m nervous to be alone in your penthouse.” Biting her lip, Kiki glanced down at her notepad.

Again, Taddy smiled to reassure her assistant. Office chitchat circulated over the years with the goings-on at Taddy’s penthouse. Her staff had seen the photos in
Page Six
. They talked about everything, from random photos taken of celebrities riding horses naked in her ballroom during her Arabian Nights Party to women being hospitalized for a diamond-encrusted buttercream-frosted cake fight at her Candy Land Ball.

The brawl had started at the dessert table when LaRosa Badminton who was visiting from Dubai noticed Birdie had been accompanied by her new friend, Charmaine Whitedove. Dressed in Eskandar, Charmaine was one of the top mediums in the world. Charmaine shook LaRosa’s hand and immediately had a premonition. Her spirits told her that LaRosa had an affair with Birdie’s husband Eddie when he was on tour in the Middle East. This usually wasn’t a biggie for Birdie. But when Charmaine insisted LaRosa had a child with Eddie, Birdie lost it.

No questions asked, Birdie punched LaRosa in the face. When LaRosa fell back on the nine-tiered cake created by Sylvia Weinstock, she took Birdie and Charmaine down with her. The fight was caught on video and had become a viral sensation.

Taddy’s A-list affairs ranged anywhere from a bestie handful to well over four hundred Manhattanites. She staffed a separate team to create and execute each soirée. Admission tickets ranged from one thousand dollars to stand and drink to ten grand for a table to sit and play. The money raised went to her favorite charities, but she always kept a tight lip over them. Being public about her good deeds felt tacky.

Her penthouse remained an infamous mystery. Although it was tempting to boost socialite credibility, Brill girls avoided her entire city block at all costs, stating they valued their life more than climbing any social ladder.

“My butler works around the clock if you need anything.”

“Ooh.”

“Plus your coworkers joked with you when blabbing about the torture chamber behind my shoe closet.” In fact, the hidden space existed as a sex dungeon. But she sure as hell wasn’t going to scare her poor virgin away by telling her about the hardcore BDSM contraptions that furnished the room. Kiki was the best assistant she’d hired since opening her agency. She did however want to entice Kiki just a little to talk about sex in hopes she’d loosen up a bit.

“Joking, really?” Kiki’s eyes widened with hope.

“Yes, darling. It’s not a torture chamber. It’s my pleasure room.” Yes, that’s how she’d phrase it to her. Fighting a migraine, she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out her four p.m. green happiness bottle, Excedrin.

“Women get into such—things?” Kiki asked without a judgmental bone in her petite body.

“Ladies may not admit this, but they do.” She cracked open the Coke Zero on her desk, popped two white tablets in her mouth and swigged. Aah.
Kiki is driving me loopy. Please, God, give me strength. Give me one flippin’ day off. Just one. That’s all I ask for. Didn’t you rest on Sunday?

“Such as?” Kiki sat back in her chair, making herself more comfortable.

“My love for porn as an example,” Taddy blurted it out without realizing her audience. It had been ages since she’d turned on her TV, but goodness, how she enjoyed a raunchy DILF video now and again.

Eyes wide, Kiki requested, “May I get personal with you for a minute?”

Taddy nodded. This better be good.

“I’ve never seen an X-rated video.”

“Get the Hail Mary outta here.”

“Pornography is prohibited by our church.”

“So…if you watch a dirty film, will a Mormon van pick your virgin butt up and haul you away to an LDS mission?

“No! Miss Brill. You’re funny.” Kiki laughed then lowered her voice. “What male porn stars do you watch?”

Without giving it a second thought, she answered, “Manuel Coq de la Grande, he’s beefy and goes at it. You will too when you see him.”

Kiki gripped her pen, jotting the porn star suggestion down.

Hmmmm
.

“How does Mr. Coq de la Grande do it for you?”

“Keep in mind I’ve never even met Manuel let alone slept with him, but I have watched every movie he’s ever done.” Again, she reached for her Coke Zero. “Manuel has girth.” She took another sip and continued, “I assume Manuel is like this tin can here. I can’t get my hands all the way around, let alone have such width rammed in my mouth, shoved up my rear or screwing my privates.”

Kiki uncrossed her legs with a muffled gasp.

Taddy returned the tin can to the table. “Manuel’s sweet, yet rough in bed, and he always stares deep into the woman’s eyes while she comes.”

Her assistant fanned herself with her notebook. “I…see.”

“Manuel speaks French.” She laughed then added, “It’s good for women to fantasize—keeps the juices flowing.” For a nanosecond, she shut her eyes, envisioned Manuel grabbing her by her red hair—in a respectable way—and slapping her porcelain skin firmly on the cheeks and giving her a slight neck-grabbing choke. Some women considered striking the face open palmed and choking abusive and humiliating. On the contrary, Taddy knew better. A smack suited Manuel’s unique way of ensuring his Red paid attention. Most women, she imagined, when sleeping with Manuel would get lost in their own euphoric Candy Land with floating honey clouds passing them by.

Ignoring Kiki’s Chicken Little squabble, she tugged at her bra straps. She reached under her desk without notice and rubbed her hands over her tweed Chanel skirt. Massaging herself, she thought about Manuel—twisting her nipples—pounding her ass—banging her clit.
Go, Red, go. God, screw one day off, I need a weekend. Please, Lord, give me a whole weekend.

Scared perhaps her boss would orgasm, Kiki eyed the far wall and coughed. “Speaking about fantasies—you didn’t place an order for NFL tickets this year to any Brayden Brooks games.”

A siren went off in her head. “I’m too busy for games.” She held up the paper printout detailing her schedule Kiki had issued over espresso. The hour-by-hour rundown helped keep Taddy on top of her appointments. “Every man-fantasy must come to an end, darling, including my lust for Brayden.” She smiled. “When you’re at my home digging for Neve’s inspiration, help yourself to whatever videos you fancy. Maybe they’ll arouse you as they do me.”

“Wow. Thank you.” An unfamiliar peachy glow surfaced over Kiki’s cheeks.

“Take any handbag and accessories too. My earrings are off-limits though.”

“You are the best, Miss Brill. Thank you.” Kiki stood to leave, smoothing her pastel-colored cashmere sweater over her new mounds.

“Do me a favor. Track which loot you swipe. I don’t care to lose my mind searching for it. Lord knows I have in the past.”

“Sure thing.” Walking tall, Kiki closed the door behind her as she left.

Thoughts about Kiki and DJ Dejon fresh on her mind, she reached for the phone. “Put me through to airline reservations. I need to book a trip to Cannes.” She couldn’t get back to work on the Neve project until her assistant’s needs were met.

* * * * *

Taddy’s migraine subsided. Earlier attempts to book the airline ticket had failed. Everything was sold out. This meant she’d be forced to pull media strings. Over the phone, she reached out to a former client, Air Euro Airways’ president,
Monsieur
Jérôme du Tautou. After small talk for twenty minutes on how his wife and kids spent their Whit Monday holiday, she asked
Monsieur
Jérôme if he’d gift her executive assistant Kiki a first-class ticket on his jet to Cannes to meet DJ Dejon. In addition, she asked
Monsieur
Jérôme if he could assist her in finding a hotel room for Kiki. She hoped DJ Dejon would spin more than vinyl to make Kiki dance.

“Due to the Cannes Film Festival’s activities, Air Euro flights are oversold,” Jérôme snapped in a pompous tone.

“Are you certain, Jérôme? You can’t find me, Taddy Brill—your favorite media maven—one seat on your planes?” Didn’t he realize the dish she had on him?

“No. There also are no beds within thirty miles.” He laughed in a thick French accent at her. Taddy could’ve sworn he mumbled “stupid bitch” under his breath when he exhaled. The second she heard it, she stood from her chair and twisted her Nina Ricci four-and-a-half-inch Python Pump heel into the office carpeting.

“No flights or hotel rooms, are you sure…?”
Honeybees are ready to be unleashed on your bare ass, Monsieur Grey Poupon.

“Taddy,
s’il vous plaît
, do not waste my
précieux
time with frivolousness.” He sat as the CEO to France’s leading airline, a publicly held company, with indirect shareholdings reaching over fifty percent.

What
Monsieur
Jérôme may not have remembered prior to pissing her off was something that happened last December. She’d taken Lex and Birdie to Vancouver, allowing
Monsieur
Jérôme to stay at her penthouse. Without her permission, he’d utilized her pleasure room.
Monsieur
Jérôme made a shitty mess with her expansive—and expensive—dildo collection. He’d stretched out her favorite corset and broke two imported leather BDSM whips gifted to her by her beloved cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Hugo Fassenbender. Her French guest also left behind videos and photos in action. Oh yes! Busted.

At first glance, Taddy had assumed the woman on the tape carried on as Manon Pésange, the teen mistress he’d screwed for years. No biggie, his wife knew about Manon. Until Taddy observed this
lady
, with stunning bosoms and crazy gorgeous hair—ramming
his
pecker into
Monsieur
Jérôme’s hairy ass. So busted.