The Redemption of Temptation

Today was a day when everyone threw their plans out the window and enjoyed the spectacle on offer when Cameo decided to go into a public meltdown during lunch at Sedero's. She discovered Caspar enjoying Bianca and her bounty, which was enough to make her snarl but due to the nature of their business, lunch with a client was acceptable, it was the gift they had driven to lunch in that had set Cameo into orbit. The town stood still and held its breath in anticipation of the second installment of the Caspar Cameo Show since the first was only a prelude to the fury of a once too oft-scorned woman. Caspar while gripped in a delusion of grandeur had taken on Cameo with the vision of creating a party design empire and with the amount of work the glitterati currently offered him, expansion was now a feasible idea. What was not feasible was him working with a deranged, jealous, controlling partner who has translated partnership into happily ever after in that empty space she might have referred to as a mind.

The showdown had come after weeks of none too subtle war between the two women over control of Caspar the more than friendly designer. Bianca had considered him her personal boy toy until the merger with Cameo put a serious spoke in her wheel, now she had to contend with the evil eye from his beautiful but deranged partner. Cameo was not about to allow the ex-porn starlet any leeway with her intended and often would insinuate herself into their meetings going as far as to ensure Caspar was conveniently engaged elsewhere. Mrs. Porn was no shrinking violet and the determination that had secured her a wealthy, husband wise enough to leave her go play was employed to ensure Cameo had enough distractions leaving her an opening to whisk Caspar away. Caspar with his movie star good looks was deft at handling his various clientele and even amenable to being a sexual tiffin to the elite ladies but none of his skills could cope with the lunacy his new partner was prepared to exploit to get her desires fulfilled.

Caspar despite his flair for creation was hopeless at organising, his capable staff handled the events and his office had a short respite from chaos during my employ but after Simon’s and my departure he found himself short staffed and confused in a cutthroat world. In a moment of panic, he asked the less creative but formidably organised Cameo to come on board and the lady took this to mean controlling the rest of his life. At first, Caspar played nice like a good boy, for Cameo was impressive with her talents; she made the merger as seamless as possible with all staff retained. After a few weeks business increased immensely so Caspar, finally able to calm down now did, what he did best when relaxed and that was to seduce everything on her staff, as gender was not really an obstacle to him. It did not take long for the whispers to reach and incense Cameo who had been working her fingers to the bone to impress what she considered her new gentleman. The lady read the riot act to a subdued Caspar who suddenly realised he had invited a tiger into the house who was now in control of his entire life, business and personal.

With a deftness that could only be admired, Cameo managed to isolate and separate Caspar from anything remotely attractive leaving him to the confines of withered matrons, rotund debutants, and middle aged gay couples. Finding his cosmos suddenly minus the beautiful people Caspar drifted around until he bumped into an equally displaced Bianca. Seeing bored kindred spirits the pair happily engaged in business of a design and carnal nature oblivious to the spies of Cameo reporting on their every move. A furious Cameo bailed Caspar up in his office and demanded an explanation for his whoring, since he had been whoring steadily since their association he found himself at first confused as to her meaning. It was not until the name Bianca Sangu was snarled at him did he realise he was in the clutches of a jealousy attack and finally it dawned upon his pretty but vacant head that Cameo had decided the merger was to be personal as well as commercial.

Bianca was not about to allow Cameo to obstruct her dalliance and swept Caspar off at every opportunity as she had a small luncheon for about thirty guests in mind. With such a small event Caspar normally would handed it off to Claudia or Tim to organise but Bianca with her seedy black little heart knew a kindred spirit when she saw one and casually mentioned that the guests at this intimate little soiree were to be the staff from her husband’s erotica studio. Caspar’s trite little heart leapt in glee and he fawned over Bianca with a slavishness that made Cameo sick with rage. She retaliated with all the aplomb of a daft stalker and started to plan a wedding. Caspar with his usual lack of attention assumed it was a commission until Tim with a viper glint asked him when he should book the ballroom for the nuptials.

Unable to cope or living within a stupendous world of denial, Caspar said and did nothing to stop the Cameo express to disaster. If he expected his silence to cause the insanity go away then his distress multiplied when a local jeweler called asking how much longer did Sir care to hold the engagement ring the lady had picked out. This motivated Casper in to seeking solace in Bianca perhaps hoping Cameo would notice and discontinue her impending nuptials, Caspar considered them hers as no way in hell was he about to turn up to marry anyone. Bianca with a romantic victory over another woman became heady with confidence and purchased Caspar a very conspicuous and expensive gift, so expensive it was a wonder Mr. Sangu did not growl in protest.

Remembering how he had admired a sweet little roadster in the car park after one of their luncheons Bianca arranged for a local dealer to have one delivered coinciding of course with their next meeting. A delighted Caspar was keen to take the new toy out for a spin and insisted the triumphant Bianca accompany him and they zoomed off into the bright morning sun. Cameo arrived at work to be regaled with a moment-by-moment description told with the malicious stain Tim called a personality. If his intent was to have Cameo instantly sprackle into a hellion of fury and run off in pursuit of the errant fiancé and his seducer, then he was amply rewarded.

She caught up with them at Sedero's and if they believed a public venue was any protection against the wrath of a scorned bride to be then both were about to receive a little education on the lengths Cameo was willing to traverse in the name of love, and other wedding related matters. Cameo cornered the reluctant groom to be and his amour and pointed out many things in a very loud voice much to the delight of fellow diners. Was she not the personal designer for Chantal and her affairs she would have been tossed on her ear, but a show is a show and even Chantal is not above allowing a scandal or two to keep her restaurant in the public eye. A scathing Cameo started with Bianca’s less than pristine past, moved onto her husband’s occupation and then finished triumphantly with asking if her husband appreciated the gifts she gave her toy boys. Caspar sat like a deer caught in headlights unable to ward off the vitriol passed between the women, closing his eyes in defeat when a furious Bianca demanded he control his bitch of a partner. It was then that a prudent Chantal intervened for a shouting match was one thing but an all out brawl was another. Cameo was convinced to go to Chantal’s office before violence erupted and Caspar regaining his senses ushered out a furious Bianca.

While Cameo had burned her bridges, the rest of the town burned their wires and the gossip spread like wildfire as everyone waited to see if the spectacle was going to fizzle into the realms old news or have an intriguing sequel. Despite no longer part of Caspar’s world, I wound up in a maze of calls as everyone who knew I had once worked for him decided I would be the expert on the affairs of Caspar. I fended off all the questions and realised that wanted or not I was again bound to the lives of others by circumstance. It would have amused me to refuse calls citing that I had a Dubois to murder and therefore had no time to waste on the antics of fools but decorum had me in its grips and I became part of the maze for hiding in plain sight is after all, the best disguise.

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