Mike & Karen Ch. 24

Her cellphone's camera had a splendid timer function, allowing her to set how many seconds passed before it would snap the picture. Once she had it where she wanted it, she set the timer for fifteen seconds and sidled back into her chair. Wearing a longing expression, her mouth just open, she tilted her face to the side but kept her eyes on the camera. She reached back and gripped the headrest of the chair, fully exposing her large, beautiful breasts. Her legs parted wide, sitting atop and bending over the armrests, her wanton pussy on display, smooth except for the thin strip of coppery hair she wore just above on her mound. She was horny enough that her pink inner lips were barely showing, and her clit peeked out from beneath its hood. She was wet and she could see her womanhood glistening on her screen.

She willed herself not to blush, wanting him to take in the sight of her whole body on display for him. Where would he be when he saw it? In his office? In one of the lecture halls between classes?

During a class? Would anyone else accidentally see it?

She almost ruined the picture by giggling naughtily, but she steeled herself and held the pose, baring herself completely to him. She controlled her breathing, waiting for the phone to make a 'click' sound and let her know the scandalous image had been taken. Once she heard it, she released herself from her pose, feeling warm and decidedly slick between her legs. She looked at the picture, thrilled by how well it had turned out. She had to admit, she looked nowhere near her age. She hastily keyed it in and sent it off, tingling in delight because it had been at least a week since she'd sexted her husband. Far too long.

She waited silently, wondering when he'd finally look. She squeaked in excitement when her phone pinged, indicating the reply message, and she eagerly opened the text.

"MOM, WHAT THE HELL?!" Alex shouted at her in all caps. Her eyes went wide in shock, but she barely had time to process the text from her son before another messaged pinged in, this one from her younger sister.

"Yowza, Kar! Want some company?"

Messages rolled in, one after the other, and she went absolutely pale. She hadn't sexted her husband, she'd sent her naughty picture out in a blast!

"Does this mean I'm to join you in your office, Mistress?" Valentina replied.

"Ooooh, well hello Lady Prof!" Jeanie said, followed by a perverted smile emoji. "I just need to know where you are, and I'll be right there!"

"Ma'am, are you certain this picture was meant for me?" Tatyana queried.

"Does this mean you have forgiven me for the bomb on the front lawn?" Freja asked.

"No need to flex, Kar, we all know you're the gorgeous one," Mona pointed out.

"Goodness, Kat, I was already looking forward to my visit, but now I am ever so much more excited!" Jenny messaged, sending a winking emoji.

"Nice, Princess, but you know I'm not lez, right?" came Janet's reply.

"Sorry, Kar, my phone doesn't have MMS, so I can't open what you sent," was Lisa's response.

Karen's hands were shaking as she tried to formulate a reply, her mind racing about how on earth she could ever explain herself. She got up and exited the office, pacing back and forth in her bedroom while she stared at the screen.

Alex. She had to talk to Alex first. She selected his message and began texting.

"Alex, I'm so sorry! That was meant for your father!"

"Well you just blasted it out to me and Alexa, mom. Anyone else?"

She didn't answer quickly enough.

"Oh, shits..." was his follow-up to his unanswered question.

Karen flopped down on the edge of her bed, staring at the screen despondently. This apology was not exactly going swimmingly.

"Y'know, mom, for somebody who solved the Conway Knot in her grad year of university and helped invent quantum cryptography, you're not very damn good at this technology stuff."

Karen bristled indignantly at the statement and messaged him back. "Now hold on one moment there, buster!"

"So does this make us even for me trolling the bishop earlier?" he asked.

"Not even close," she replied, crushing his hopes under her shapely heel. "I made a mistake and sexted you, I didn't sext the bishop. And I certainly didn't get his dander up about the suitability of your marriage, young man. Nice try."

"Fiiiiiiine..."

She ignored her son and moved on to the other victims of her gaffe, some of whom were more appreciative than others. Alexa, Jenny, Andrea, Valentina, Freja, and Jeanie most certainly didn't mind, even if they were slightly confused.

And finally, a reply from her husband.

"I was expecting you to do something like that today, Kar, so I opened it when nobody was around. Good thing we know how to avoid scandal, right?"

Karen groaned in despair as she tossed her phone over her shoulder and fell back on the enormous bed, covering her face with a pillow. This day was determined to not end until it had somehow killed her.

The phone kept on pinging.

***

A while later, downstairs...

With help from available staff members, Theresa was attempting to de-flour her central island and also testily working on the necessities for what was hopefully a passable lunch. It was to be quick work, since there was still dinner to think of, not to mention having a small array of light snacks for when the bishop arrived, in case he was feeling peckish. In a day filled with unavoidable gaffes caused by everyone else, she was thankful to the good Lord above that she hadn't made any glaring errors of her own. Just about everyone was pitching in with the cleanup, and while the staff members were helping her, Alex and Alexa were moving large and heavy bags of soil in the greenhouses. Their friends Freja and Jeanie were conspicuously absent. The Danish girl might still very well be running toward the horizon.

Everyone was doing their best to stay out of Mrs. DeBourne's way.

"Any chance of you moving faster with that scrubbing, Val?" Andrea asked as she worked underneath the vegetable washing and rinsing sink, replacing a j-pipe. How the Hell had the mess from the explosion gotten into and completely plugged up a protected drainpipe? "Kinda cramped in here."

"E' venerdi, non me rompete I coglioni..." the junior maid grumbled as she worked at the tiles and grout on the floor around the sink with a stiff brush. She was on her hands and knees in front of the sink that Andrea was working under, and the larger woman had to wait until she was finished. "Can't believe Glenda gets to miss all this fun."

"She would no doubt be missing it anyway, since she lives in the rooms over the garage and would be blissfully ignorant of what happened," Tunde grunted, wiping down a wall for a third time. Another layer of flour, baking powder, and sticky chemicals had appeared. What had been in that mixture the girl Freja had made? Theresa had tried to stop her, but the Danish woman had apparently been insistent, and was quite strong for her small size. Then the implosion-explosion happened. Theresa lost seven bags of flour and Heaven knows what else.

How?

"This is not how I prefer to spend my time on my hands and knees," Valentina groused, which garnered a loud giggle-snort from Andrea, still underneath the sink. "Oh, you know I didn't mean it that way, tu stronza."

"I think it's cute how you start speaking in Italian when you don't want anyone to know you're telling them off," the taller girl said, somehow shuffling out from beneath the sink and wiping her brow, smirking at Val.

"Alexa and Mistress speak it, but none of you lot do," Valentina pointed out.

"Just as well, since I'd probably beat your ass if I knew what you were saying," Dave announced from his area he was cleaning, high up on a wall.

"Don't threaten her with a good time," Andrea laughed, drawing chuckles from the others while Val just stuck out her tongue. Even Theresa laughed while she worked away as quickly as possible, trying to get something ready for lunch. She was excellent at multitasking in the kitchen, but the accident with the power, along with Freja's attempt to implode her workspace, not to mention the day's general chaos, had put her significantly behind. She was catching up, though. Her many small side tasks were nearly complete, and she was back to the important jobs. Cleaning the kitchen, however, was a tall order.

"Has anyone seen either of the couriers yet?" Marie asked while she swept up some newly appeared flour on the floor for the twentieth time. Was there no end?

"No, but Trilby is in the grand library, instructed to wait dutifully until one of them arrives," Dave replied, standing on a small stepladder to reach up to a corner and wipe it. Even for him it was difficult, because the ceilings in this place were damned high. He imagined the only person it wouldn't have been a challenge for was their employer, Mike DeBourne, who was just short of seven feet tall.

"Huh, lucky," Andrea said, standing up and rotating her neck before turning on the sink to test the drain. At least the water was running clear now.

"Don't be so sure," Val said, sitting up on her knees for a moment to rest her back. "She hates sitting still and doing nothing. She'd probably rather be in here with us. The only time she really sits still is if she's got couchlock."

"It's true, she does get around a lot," Dave agreed, grimacing as he felt muscles in his lower back that was wasn't familiar with protest at the stretching. He might need to get Andrea to work those knots out later. "She comes across as so laid-back, but when she's on the clock, she's a machine."

"She certainly helps keep me on the move," Val giggled. "I can't believe we're all getting our own rooms soon. I dunno what I'll do without Tril as my roomie."

Andrea shrugged. "Ari mumbles in his sleep, and while I don't hate it, having my own space seems cool. I can walk around in the buff and not worry about his eyes bleeding."

"Hey, my eyes don't bleed just because a biological female gets naked in front of me," Ari protested from where he was working on scrubbing out between appliances in a corner. This was so annoying. He had half a mind to hack into Freja's phone and change all her ringtones to the Wiggles or Teletubbies. See how she liked 'Fruit Salad' for a ringtone. "I've watched you shave, woman."

"He means my legs," Andrea said hastily, trying to not blush.

"If you say so, She-Hulk," Val laughed, joined by the others.

Down the long hall, back in the grand library...

Trilby was sitting in a chair, waiting for the couriers. She had picked up and was reading a book, but it wasn't really holding her attention. She was terrible about sitting down on the job, even if this was her assignment, direct from not only Tatyana, but the boss lady. Tatyana had retreated to her office to do admin work, while Karen DeBourne was no doubt prowling somewhere. She'd been unusually uptight today, but maybe that was understandable, since the bishop of her church was coming and ridiculous things kept happening.

But Trilby didn't have to do nothing while she was here, right?

She found that the grand library got dusty rather easily, not just because of the massive number of old books around the place, but there were old vents at various places in the three-level room, and they needed to be flushed regularly of dust until they got replaced this spring. She could dust around the library and still do her assigned job. She got out of the comfy chair, grabbed her light cleaning and dusting supplies, and scurried up the ladder that led to the second-floor gallery, basically a walkway that was nothing but bookshelves and a few chairs which overlooked the main floor of the library.

She'd come to understand that she couldn't keep this library dusted enough. And it was rather important to do so, since so many of the books and volumes in here were very old and irreplaceable. Dust caused damage, and that was to be avoided. Apparently concealed and silent air purifiers would be installed, but it hadn't happened just yet. When the former master of the estate, Mrs. DeBourne's father Jonathon Blackwell, had died, the library had been locked up tight for almost three years, while the family tried to figure out what would happen next. The oldest books were sealed away from light and exposure, to help preserve them as long as possible.

It made her wonder what priceless literary treasures had been lost to mankind due to neglect. It made her want to do the best she could at preserving the works in this immense family library.

She made her way up a tracked ladder to the third level...

The front door...

"Hello?" the intern called, leaning in his head in the open front door. The place intimidated him, and he perhaps hadn't called as loudly as he could have. "Anyone here?"

Nobody seemed to be answering, so he ventured in further. It was rather odd that he didn't see anyone, but under the circumstances, he also didn't mind too much. His supervisor had intimated to him that Mrs. DeBourne was seemingly in a dangerous mood today. With any luck, he'd avoid her and merely speak with a member of the staff. He walked slowly into the grand foyer, still looking around in wonder, even though he'd already seen it this morning, trying not to swallow as he passed by a tall, intimidating set of armour from the late Middle Ages that loomed in the open recess created by the Grand Staircase. It looked like it could drop its halberd on him at any moment.

"Hi there, who are you?" Ari asked as he walked into the foyer from the kitchen, having finished his task. The intern started slightly and turned to face the newcomer, holding the bag handle in both hands.

"Uh, hi. I'm from the museum, I'm returning a bag that was given to us in error," he said, wiggling the attaché case slightly to emphasize his point.

"Okay, good, I know what to do about that," Ari said. "C'mon, we're gonna put it in the library, and then we'll go find Mrs. DeBourne."

"Maybe you could find her?" the intern asked. "I... she scares me."

"Okay, fair enough," Ari allowed, indicating the man should follow him. They walked through the foyer and the hall to the grand library, where Ari indicated the intern should deposit the bag on one of the tables. He then turned and left to find his boss, who would no doubt be pleased. With the way her day had begun, any good news would be welcome.

Much as he had in the foyer, the intern turned in a slow circle, gawking at his surroundings. He'd never seen this many books before, except at the Toronto Reference Library. Or his older brother's collection of Tijuana Bibles.

He winced as he felt a twinge between his legs and looked around, needing the bathroom. Damn his temperamental bladder! He scurried off to find a lavatory, certain there had to be one on this main floor...

Tatyana came down the grand steps and made her way into the foyer, thinking about how behind they were in relation to the visit of the bishop. She wasn't used to being behind, and especially not with this crew. She wouldn't necessarily tell them this, but they were the finest and most efficient team she'd ever had the privilege to work w-

Her cellphone buzzed at her and she saw it was Karen. She picked up, thankful that it wasn't another accidental sext. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Tatyana, Ari has informed me that the attaché case from the ROM has arrived. Please gather the staff and meet me outside the library," Karen instructed. "We need to get back on track."

"At once, ma'am," Tatyana said, ending the call and heading into the grand library, spotting the case immediately.

She picked it up and headed to the kitchen, where she found seven of her staff members just finishing washing their hands, having finished scrubbing the room after Freja's flour bomb had gone off. "Mrs. DeBourne wants us to meet her at the library for further instructions about the attaché cases. Let's go you lot, quickly now..."

"Good news, for a change," Andrea said as she walked beside her supervisor. They might all just survive this day yet. They waited with Tatyana until they heard Karen coming down the grand staircase, accompanied by Ari. While her expression remained somewhat neutral, she nodded when she saw what her seneschal was holding.

"Here we are, ma'am," Tatyana said, relinquishing the case. Karen took it and frowned almost immediately. What was wrong here? The weight seemed off. She wiggled and lifted the attaché a few times before giving it back to Tatyana.

"Hold this up, please," she said as she began working the number lock that kept it securely shut. Another frown, that morphed into a scowl and then a grimace. "Why won't this unlock? I know the combination. It must be jammed."

Karen turned and marched into the grand library without another word. The staff members all looked at one another and then followed her, knowing better than to try and make a break for it at a moment like this. She had put the attaché case on the table and was leaning over, putting her ear to the lock mechanism while her fingers rattled with combinations with an almost preternatural swiftness, her eyes darting back and forth. Nobody made a sound as they watched the scene. They were all more a little surprised to find out that Mrs. DeBourne seemed to know how to crack locks.

Karen blinked and smiled for a fraction of a second as she was rewarded with a 'click!', and then stood up and opened the bag, pulling it wide and looked in.

"What the..." she said in a quiet voice, trailing off. Valentina, who happened to be standing closest to Karen, leaned forward and peered inside.

"Ummm... Mistress?" she said uncertainly.

"What... is that, ma'am?" Tunde asked as Karen pulled something out of the case. It looked like a long, thin, brownish-black rock, very crinkled and not at all smooth.

"It's coprolite," Karen murmured in bewilderment, holding up a rather wrinkly, cigar-shaped specimen in front of her eyes. She put it down and picked up another sample. "It's all coprolite..."

There were nearly two dozen specimens, of various sizes and myriad shapes. No wonder the case had felt heavy! It was full of petrified-

"What're we doin'?" Alex asked as he sauntered into the library covered in sweat and soil still from the greenhouse. He'd definitely need a shower before the bishop arrived., He paused as he saw the look on his mother's face and knew danger was imminent. "Is that one of the attaché cases?"

"No, it is not," Karen said evenly, in a quiet voice. She stepped aside and gestured to the case and its contents. "I don't suppose you, my child, would know anything about this?"

Very uncertainly, Alex walked up to join his mother, the staff members parting like the Red Sea before him. He looked down into the opened case and frowned. "Is that... coprolite?"

"What is this 'coprolite', anyway?" Tunde asked, wanting to look without getting closer. He knew better.

"Prehistoric petrified crap," Dave answered. "Literally."

"Why are you in possession of a case full of petrified feces, ma'am?" Tunde unwisely queried.

"How would I know?!" Karen said rather loudly, rounding to look at her staff, who all took an involuntary step backward. "Ari, where did you say this case came from?"

"The... the intern brought it, ma'am," Ari said, trying to hold her nerve. It was proving difficult. "I met him in the foyer."

"He was supposed to bring back my underwear!" Karen asked in a rather forceful tone. Dave and Theresa frowned at the mention of their employer's underwear. What was going on?