The living room of the penthouse was alive with the energy of the women who filled it.  Patsy was sitting court in one of the high backed chairs with a large leather bound date book open in her lap.  A Mont Blanc pen was poised in one hand as she made a few notes to herself.  Almond shaped eyes surveyed the women around her who were seated on every available chaise and chair.  They were her stable, the girls who knew every senator, congressman, CEO, or power player in the city of New York.  Some preferred muscle, the power of brawn, but Patsy had always found that where harder things failed a sensual touch could bring the release you desperately needed.

The women who worked for her sold their bodies like human capital, but they did it willingly and with fervor.  They were also trained to delicately pluck pearls from the lips of their clients and feed it back to her.  It was in this way that Patsy was able to hold even the Master of the City in her good graces because information was always worth something.  The men they seduced night after night were unknowing pawns in a much greater game being played throughout the city.

“Congressman Ledger is coming down from the Hill, This time Lau Ma I suggest you come better prepared.  The vote for the tax levy is being pushed through soon and we need….information.”

She looked up at the small asian blossom sitting across from her.  The vampire Lau Ma specialized in clients whose preference was pain.  The tiny woman was pale of milk, her lips a harsh red that looked lovely against the wings of her raven black hair.  Every inch of her was sheathed in black leather so tight it looked like it had been painted on.  She was very good at what she did and could bring even the most inhibited man hit his knees in throes of ecstasy.

“Tara, you’ll be with Viktor this week.  He has some events that he needs to be accompanied to and then the usual.”

Viktor Haven, the Sheriff of Manhattan, was not interested in even the promise of love that some men were.  He wanted a pretty girl on his arm, the impersonal heat of food from her throat, and then her willingness to leave quickly when he was finished.  Tara, Patsy’s southern belle was the perfect accompaniment to the man.  As she was beginning to go over the last items on the list, the girls all taking notes in their own appointment books, her Bluetooth headset made a small noise on the arm of her chair.

Lifting the tiny device she fitted it into the shell of her right ear and depressed the button on the side.  At the same time she held up one long elegant finger and the room fell instantly silent around her.  Ten pairs of eyes watched her, each one a different shape and color, the women all poised as if silence were now their ultimate duty in life.  And since Patsy had asked for silence, that was pretty much the case.  On the other end of the line she heard Jessica’s voice and it made her curvaceously clever lips curl upwards in a smile. 

“Why darlin’ I thought you’d never ask.” -Glancing down at the book in her lap she began to write something on one of the pages in that tight script of hers.- “I think we can be there by the end of the week.  No time like the present.  Now should we bother with a hotel or do you have a room in the pard house for us?”

As she waited for Jessica to answer Patsy pointed one of her French manicured nails at Bella, her second in command.  That finger curled in a come hither motion that drew the smooth figured blonde off the couch and towards her.  When Bella leaned in at Patsy’s side the girl’s wheat gold hair tumbled over her shoulder and Patsy felt the brush of it on her arm.  The tip of the Mont Blanc pen was tapped against the recent note she’d made in the book.  Bella was the one who always took over when Patsy was away and now the woman’s hands brushed against the Nimir-Ra’s thighs as she scooped the book out of Patsy’s lap and carried it over to her own seat.

“Oh darlin’ you’ve got to have a house for them.  Even if you only use it part of the time.  They need a sense of….togetherness.”

Long legs uncrossed in that way that made each movement look like an invitation.  What some women couldn’t do with their entire bodies Patsy managed to do with just the sleek movement of her legs.  Rising from the chair she motioned for Bella to continue the meeting by giving a flippant wave of her hand.  The slightest nod of her chin towards the bedroom told Moksha to follow her and as the two predatory felines moved towards the confines of Patsy’s bedroom suite she heard the girls continuing with business as usual behind her.  It really was so nice when you had competent people to see to such things.

“I’ll tell you what honey.  We’ll rent one of the cottages at Hotel Maison de Ville on Toulouse.  Do you know it?”

The hotel she mentioned was a member of the Luxury Hotels of the World and along with the Chateau  Marmont in Los Angeles it was one of her favorite places to stay.  On a path towards the chaise near the floor to ceiling windows of her bedroom she heard Moksha close the door behind them.  Beneath the clean white sheets of the bed a figure moved, black hair catching the light from the windows as it splayed across one of Patsy’s pillows. A small unfurling of the Nimir-Ra’s natural power would wrest Alejandra from her lazy cat nap as the leopard Queen took a seat on the chaise.

“Why don’t you meet us there on Friday morning and we’ll go look at some houses.  I know a lovely real estate agent down there who’d be more than happy to show us some choice properties.” –Shopping was a particular delight for Patsy, whether it was designer clothes or real estate.  The truth was she just loved the thrill of acquisition.- “Then we can all have brunch at the Court of Two Sisters and you can tell me all about these darling kittens of yours.”

Green and gold flecked eyes looked towards the bed where Moksha was crawling in that effortlessly sensual way of his.  He moved towards Ale and pushed her back down on the bed before looking across the room at Patsy with a wicked smile.  Giving another subtle nod Patsy rested back on one arm as she watched the pair of leopards sinuous curling around one another in the bed.  Sometimes, she liked to watch. 

“It will also give you a chance to meet the leopards I’m bringing down to help you.  After all, I can only stay perhaps…..two weeks? Any more than that and business would suffer here, not to mention my own pard.  I think two weeks sounds like the perfect vacation though, and by then you’ll know my leopards better and have all the help you need.”

Patsy had a gift when it came to training her cats.  They were geared towards strength, sensuality, but above all else obedience.  She liked to catch them before the world had a chance to turn them into the brooding bad-asses that so annoyed her.  That made it possible to craft them and their beasts into the perfect exotic creatures that she desired. The tip of her tongue moved smoothly over the curve of her lips as she watched the very interesting show being played out for her upon the bed.

“So Friday it is then….good.” –The word held the hint of a purring rumble in its depths as she smiled.- “I’ll see you then Jessica…..and darlin’? Don’t lose heart.  You can have anything you want honey.  You just have to learn to reach out and take it.”

With those final words of advice to the leopard who had once been hers Patsy pressed the button on the Bluetooth to end the call.  Giving a snap of her fingers was enough to put a stop to what Moksha and Ale were doing and the two entrancing creatures looked over towards her with half-sleepy smiles on their faces.

“Alejandra, get the Louis Vuittons from the guest room, pack my bags for two weeks.  You know what I’ll need.” –From her slightly reclined position on the chaise she sat up and moved to her feet with a sinuous grace that commanded attention.- “Pack everything you and Moksha will need for a more permanent visit.  We’re going to New Orleans.  Moksha, I want a flight booked through Anubis before the days out.”

She continued to talk to them as she moved towards the door of her bedroom.  “Oh and make a reservation at the Maison for the three of us….do try to get the same cottage we had last time.  I do so love those old claw foot bathtubs.  And book a massage from the hotel for the night we arrive.  I’ll be needing it and you’re far too handsy darling.” Pulling open the door to the bedroom to rejoin her ladies of the night she didn’t bother glancing back, Patsy knew that both Moksha and Ale would already be on task.