Chapter 3 – Refusal to Serve at Le Petit Chat Noir
Chef Dominique Mirabeau's driver was waiting at the airport.
"Mademoiselle, my name is Luc and I will take you to Le Petit Chat Noir."
He took her bag and led her outside where an old white Rolls Royce purred invitingly at the curb. He bowed his head and opened the door; she stepped in and the door clicked shut. From the back seat she watched the finely boned hands of the driver maneuvering the polished wooden steering wheel as they made their way into the heart of Paris.
Everything stirred the senses. Outside the air was resplendent with the fresh scent of a recent rain shower. They drove down the Champs d'Elyse and she gazed up at the Arc de Triomphe. Along the wide avenue, people strolled arm in arm and sat talking in cafés. Inside the car, her hands stroked the soft leather seat as she stared out at the lights of the city.
Le Petit Chat Noir was located in the Madeleine section of Paris and as they drove on she began to open herself to the moment and emotionally prepare for the role she was about to play.
Chef Dominique Mirabeau was famous. He had managed to maintain the Petit chat Noir's five-star reputation for six years and the French treated him like a celebrity. He had written a treatise on French cooking which had acquired academic status and was mandatory reading in every major culinary institute. Under a pseudonym he had also published "Avec le Doigts – La Verite Nue" (Finger Food – The Naked Truth) a cookbook on the delights of aphrodisiacs.
This was his 40th birthday party and a rare occasion to close the restaurant for an intimate dinner of friends for whom he would prepare this most exotic meal.
Jane Prynn would both serve and be served.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Luc took her into the kitchen. She had studied French service on the plane and she waited for instructions. Waiters and sous chefs ran from station to station, slicing meats and chopping vegetables. Steam rose in delicate smoking coils out of stockpots and the aroma of freshly chopped herbs and melting butter wafted out from under the lids of saucepans that sat in rows on the burners of a tremendous flaming stove.
She began to sweat and her top clung to her upper body, outlining the shape of her breasts. The anticipation of the evening consumed her thoughts and now she too was hungering for this experience. As it drew nearer, a hot wave of pleasure flushed her face, she could feel the dampness between her legs. Her nipples were hard and fully visible through the now translucent white silk.
Staring through the oval glass in the kitchen door, she surveyed the restaurant. Once the family home of a Baroness from Gstad, the Petit Chat Noir now inhabited the former living room. A fire blazed in the grand old fireplace and the mantle was covered with candles, tea lights and vases of peonies. The wide pumpkin-colored planks of the wooden floor cast a warm glow throughout the room. Black and white photographs of Paris in the 30's and 40's mingled with colorful paintings from the same period, grounding the room in another time. Visitors had the impression they had stepped out of the modern world and into a fashionable salon which held the promise of heady conversation and a meal which would match any lofty subject word for word, flavor for flavor.
It was not large and on a busy night might only hold 15 tables. Tonight only the table in front of the fireplace was set for four. She looked at the clock on the wall above the door, it was nearing 9 o'clock and the guests would arrive soon.
She would know them only as Monsieur Phillip, a wealthy French industrialist in his early fifties who had flown in from his casino in Monte Carlo; his 35-year old wife Madame Justine, a sculptor of some repute and Rene, an art dealer from Paris in his mid-forties.
"Excuse me Mademoiselle," a young Frenchman with a wry smile, startled her by the door.
"Allow me to introduce myself . . . Louis," he held out his hand. "I am the Sommelier."
"Pleasure." Jane met the soft green eyes and held them with her steady gaze. He smiled.
"Mademoiselle, would you like to taste tonight's first bottle?"
"I'd love to."
He presented bottle of Chateaux Margot of what must have been an admirable vintage.
With a practiced hand, he poured and held out the silver sommelier cup. She went to take it and he shook his head, stepped closer and gently pressed the edge of the cup against her lips. She drank in a sip and let it rest in her mouth . . . heavy, velvety, it suffused her taste buds with the flavors of blackberries and coffee. She swallowed. He reached over to catch a drop of wine in the corner of her mouth and licked it off his finger.
"Please wait here for now. This is for you." He reached behind him for a glass from the cupboard, filled it with wine, placed it in her hand, bowed slightly and went inside to stand beside the table in anticipation of the guests' arrival.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed off the walls and a great commotion ensued in the stairwell across the kitchen.
"Now, now, it must be now! What are you all doing? Waiting for a sign from God? Onion tarts in the oven now!" It must be him, she thought, the great chef barking out his orders.
The kitchen burst into a flurry of activity, one set of hands reached over to agitate a saucepan, another to slam an oven door. Sous chefs and waiters murmured to each other in French. Still the great chef did not emerge from the larder.
Then Jane heard sounds coming from the dining room. She brought the wine glass to her lips, the crystal was as thin as paper, delicately she took a large swallow and opened the door a crack to look inside.
A man with a lion's mane of wavy dark grey hair strode into the dining room and greeted the sommelier. On his arm, clad in a green silk slip dress, a lithe fine boned woman was laughing. It was Monsieur Phillip and Madame Justine. They arrived in the middle of a spirited conversation which they continued when they sat down. In a moment, Rene, the third guest greeted them each with a kiss and together they sat in anticipation. Jane surveyed the table set before them. Large glasses for red wine sat beside each plate, which bore the initials D.M. In the center of the table, a white porcelain bowl filled with water held the glossy heads of exotic flowers and floating tea lights.
The sommelier offered them a taste of the wine. They nodded and he returned to the kitchen and gave the bottle to Jane.
"It is now time for you to serve." He handed her the bottle and as she turned to go out the door, he gave her a light smack on the ass.
"Bon appetit!"
Jane walked into the dining room.
"My dear, may I please have some more wine?" Monsieur Phillip was listening intently to Rene discuss the merits of his most recent purchase.
Before she could answer, Justine pulled at her elbow.
"Refuse him," she whispered. "He would like it very much, if you would refuse him . . . vehemently."
"The wine please!" He demanded again.
"No." Jane held the bottle to her chest.
"I said, the wine, you are to serve me at once!"
"I will not." she said impassively.
"So you are our little cat for tonight? Do you scratch, do you hiss and bear your teeth? Come here."
He pulled her onto his lap and parted her legs with his knee. With one hand he reached under her blouse and caressed her breasts.
"Do you still refuse to serve me?" He squeezed her nipple hard.
"I do." She held her breath.
"Ha." He slapped her breast and held it in the palm of his hand.
"Then I shall pour for you." He took the bottle, refilled his glass and pressed it to her lips.
"Open your mouth." She sat still.
He removed his hand from her shirt and grabbed a fist full of hair behind her head. Gently he tugged.
"Open your mouth, my dear."
She lowered her jaw slightly. Justine reached over, dipped a finger into the wine and painted it onto Jane's lips. Then she reached over and kissed her.