You Belong To Me

Chapter Theodore

'I simply do my job.
Nothing more, nothing less.'

"A Ms. Loretta LaVoure."

Loretta LaVoure was the tallest woman that Trey had ever had the company of. Her skin was almost white she was so light skin. Loretta had big teeth and they made her smile seem sinister. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her nose no amount of makeup could hide but she wore them, along with her red hair, wonderfully. She was also the most prominent and distinguished dressmaker in the area. Her tall thin framed came draped in all the finest fabrics and all the best bonnets and hats and the absolute worst cologne Trey had ever smelled. He literally couldn't stand it. She floated when she walked into the room though, something Trey imagined she did when she walked into any room. Her jewelry was paste but perfectly matched to her day dress She wore older styles to accentuate her own figure but she modernized them enough to add flare. The only thing more intolerable about Loretta than her odious smell was her fake French accent.

"Monsieur," she gushed and reached as soon as she glided in.

Trey was careful, according to a woman he knew about town, to never speak actual French to her. She couldn't speak a word back. The report was she would spit on the ground, claim you insulted her, and storm out without ever having to explain herself to anyone. Trey might have liked to see the spectacle if he didn't need her so much.

As it were, her job was already done.

"How are you Loretta?" He  kissed her hands and she sank to her seat. Trey remained standing. "Can I offer you some sherry?"

Loretta produced a matching half-moon fan from nowhere and began fanning herself vigorously. "Oh I couldn't be persuaded to have more than a single glass!" Her eyelashes fluttered and Trey motioned to Theodore to pour the lady a drink. "I am well I can boast. Though, as you know, my work is never done. Always busy, in demand!"

Trey intercepted the drinks. "A sign of good business."

When he turned back to Loretta one corner of her mouth turned up at the site of her drink. Trey poured his glass, the one he hadn't intended to drink, into hers. Loretta smiled, careful to take the handoff without spilling a drop. "It is the only one," she explained about her drink. "And of course, business is good. Although," she sipped liberally and paused. Trey sank to the seat in front of his desk beside her. "I won't lie, my curiousity is peaked. You've never been a customer of mine."

Trey sat back and smiled. He and the woman had had a hand or two of cards together in one of the finer establishments in town. She drank whiskey like a fish and cursed when there were no women around. Other than that, however, he had no association with her. She certainly didn't frequent the same parties or balls... a gaming hell was quite different.

"This was a long time coming, wasn't it?"

"Most certainly. And being that I've met your lady companion I can carefully say that I don't imagine her size to be anything like the items you've commissioned."

"Is that right?"

Loretta forged on, her eye inquisitive. "I can only assume, then, that the items in question are for someone else, another ladybird?"

Trey stood and went around to his side of his desk. Courtney, his mistress, was a well off enough woman in her profession. She rubbed elbows with the higher ups and became somewhat celebrated. She and Loretta had been invited to the same card games on occasion. Or the same show or dinner. That much was acceptable. Courtney was shorter, more full in form. Ali, on the other hand, was slender but perfectly designed, more than a handful of everything a man might need. Sweet faced, smooth skinned.