Chapter 1
Corrine glanced at the clock as she finished applying her lipstick. Crap! I'd better hurry and get down there before Mrs. Greystone realizes I'm not there yet! Besides, this was your idea! Corrine was nervous, but still excited. She had been given the task of throwing a gala for the opening of the new Victorian Exhibit. After six months of planning, opening night was here, and she prayed that everything went well.
Corrine had decided to throw a Victorian masquerade ball, complete with a string quartet and a pianist, the food served would be in line with what would be considered elegant for the time. The invitations went out to the contributors and other elite members of society in the region clearly stating the required dress was to be Victorian black tie. To be on the safe side, Corrine had ordered a supply of elegant masks for those who did not have them.
She took one last look in the mirror before heading out the door, satisfied with her costume. Corrine had chosen a midnight blue taffeta ball gown with a bustier corset and a bustle complete with a longer train. She also commissioned a matching blue and black lace mask and satin elbow length gloves to complete the look. Her hair had been in curlers for most of the day, slightly uncomfortable, but well worth it, her hair looked great and it hid the elastic of her mask well.
Corrine rushed down the hall to the stairs and started to make her way carefully down the wide, curving steps, her button up booties making a crisp click against the marble. She paused halfway down, and just watched as streams of people were lining up outside the main entrance to the museum. Oh my goodness! So many of them! They all look wonderful! I hope the photographer is getting all of this!
"Miss Fowler! Are you going to stand there all night or are you planning on joining us this evening? This is your show, in case you have forgotten!"
Corrine winced, hearing Mrs. Greystone's tones, and made her way down. Mrs. Greystone looked as if she walked right out of one of the portraits lining the hall, every detail perfect as usual. She wore a stately 3/4 sleeve gown in a pale blue with white lace ruffles cascading to her wrists. Her mask was more traditional, white and gold full face, embellished with pearls and a spray of feathers and tied on with ribbons. If I hadn't heard her voice, I wouldn't have recognized her, Corrine thought to herself.
"There's only 15 minutes before we open the doors. Please make sure everything is ready," Mrs. Greystone instructed. As Corrine hurried away, Mrs. Greystone called out to her one more time, freezing her in her tracks.
"Miss Fowler, you do look splendid, you may have outdone yourself," Mrs. Greystone said with a warm smile.
"Th-thank you, ma'am," Corrine stammered, "you look amazing as well." Blushing slightly as she curtsied, Corrine then turned and hurried away.
Did she really just compliment me? I honestly never thought I would ever hear something nice out of her mouth! I've heard some strange rumors about how she disciplines the staff.. Corrine quickly pushed those thoughts away as she went over her mental checklist of the important details to check. She stopped just inside the doors to the main exhibit and let her eyes sweep the room.
The layout was incredible; the exhibit took up five entire rooms of the lower right wing. They had transformed the area to look like a portion of a Victorian Manor, complete with a ballroom. She could see all the hired help scurrying about, dressed as they would have been in the mid 1800s. All the servers were dressed in standard livery uniforms, short waisted coats with coattails that reached the knees, and they also wore matching masks of white and black covering their eyes. Corrine could hear the band doing a sound check in the next room, the delicious aromas of the food were wafting through the air, and the hushed murmurs of assorted staff reassured her that things were going as expected. She started to head towards the ajoining room when Mrs. Greystone announced that the doors would be opening five minutes earlier, due to an unexpected rain shower. Shit! Oh well, there's nothing to worry about, everything and everybody seem to be fine, Corrine thought as she turned back to the museum's main entrance. Let the show begin!!
A sudden flurry of movement caught the corner of her eye as she turned around. I did not just see those two idiots making out in the corner, did I?? Corrine whipped back around and quickly marched over to the just barley hidden nook besides a large bookshelf. Sure enough, one of the servers had his masked face buried in the exposed breasts of a woman, her leg was thrown over his arm and her gown pulled up in the front showing off her skimpy panties as his hand groped her ass. Seriously?!? What the fuck is wrong with these two??
Corrine cleared her throat loudly, waiting for some kind of response. They obviously didn't hear her, they were too wrapped up in the heat of the moment, Corrine could see his hand slipping into her her panties and the woman moaned loud enough for Corrine to blush. She cleared her throat again, louder this time, they must have heard her this time since the server paused his movement long enough for the woman to whimper slightly at the interruption of her pleasure.
"What in the holy hell is going on here? You two couldn't wait until later on to get your rocks off? Knock it the fuck off," Corrine hissed at them. "Didn't you hear Mrs. Greystone? The doors are opening now!"
The server quickly let go of the woman's leg and she stumbled back into the wall. He turned to face Corrine, clasping his hands behind his back as he hung his head. She couldn't help but notice the large bulge in the front of his trousers, if she wasn't so pissed, she might have be impressed. His lady friend was muttering some choice words as she was trying to get herself presentable, glaring at Corrine through her silver and maroon eye mask.
"You," she said, pointing at the woman, "get yourself situated and then meet me at the bottom of the staircase. We will discuss this... whatever it was.. shortly. As for you, I want your name," Corrine hissed at the server, the anger flashing in her eyes.
"Parker, ma'am. Justin Parker."
"Take off your mask, Mr. Parker, so I can see you properly. I will not stand for this, this behavior is completely unprofessional and there will be repercussions," she warned.
Justin slowly reached up to do as instructed. He met her glaring eyes with a sorrowful look, looking as if someone had kicked his puppy.
"I apologize ma'am. I know I shouldn't have, but she ordered me to... to make out with her."
"What do you mean, she ordered you?" Corrine raised an eyebrow, almost in disbelief of what he was claiming. Just who was that tramp? I mean, he is pretty hot.. strong jawline, perfect kissable lips, gorgeous green eyes... and that generous bulge... Her eyes briefly glanced back down and felt her cheeks get hot as she noticed the bulge still straining against the tight front of his trousers. She quickly averted her eyes and realized he had spoken.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"She told me she wanted me to... take advantage of her.. and if I didn't, she'd have me canned. She told me she was Amanda Greystone and she could have me fired in an instant if I refused."
Justin met her eyes again and Corrine could tell he was being honest. Everybody knew that Mrs. Greystone was the museum director, so it was entirely plausible that she had invited a family member who would flaunt their family name. Corrine glanced behind her as she started to hear excited but hushed conversations as the patrons started to filter into the hall. Sighing, she turned back to Mr. Justin Parker.
"First off, try and get yourself under control," she glanced down quickly and back up to meet his eyes. Did he really just have a smirk on his face? "Secondly, for the love of God, go wash your hands, then get back to work. I will come find you later in the evening after I've had some time to figure things out. I better not see you in that state again tonight."
Justin thanked her and bowed before heading for the lavatory, brazenly checking her out as he did so. Corrine shook her head in amazement, but couldn't help herself from admiring his ass as he walked away. Her eyes lingered on his form until he got lost in the crowd, then steeled herself to meet this Amanda Greystone.
