Pillow talk and an apology

Having arrived home, mom was already heading to bed. I put her food in the microwave and ate. It was weird, being this alone, but it was late, can't judge anyone for not staying up for me.

I headed down to the basement, Amber was already sleeping. I woke her up with a kiss on her cheek, and brought her to bed with me. Today has been tiring, and I'm a bit cold. I brought Amber to my bed and we just hugged, it was wonderful.

"Master, is everything okay?"

"Yeah Amber, no worries. Just wanted to hug you. Be my teddy bear for the night."

My thoughts drifted back to that creep on the subway. With the app, I never needed to worry. I mean, Amber even asked me for permission with Klara. And in a way, even if the app and its effects disappeared all of a sudden, I'm pretty sure at least Amber would stay with me. I think it's fair to say that Amber has a special place in my heart that nobody else does.

"What do you think I should do, Amber?"

"What do you mean, master?"

"With the app and everything? I'm not sure what to do from now on. I think I got to know a lot of the people in the app, but well..."

"Klara bumming you out?"

"A bit, I guess, but it can't be helped. And Gloria seems like a fun person, but we've been slow."

"Hmmm..." Amber was thinking. "You know master, I think you should still go after them. You've helped me and Isabella a lot with our lives. Did you help Donna too?"

"Maybe? I'm not so sure. Beth talked to me on Friday, she's a bit unsure how to go ahead with the magazine. I suggested Donna as a successor if she ever wants to leave. I don't know if I was the one helping, though."

Amber kissed me. "Master, you're helping people a lot with your presence in their lives, right? Even if you just helped out Gloria for a day, you still helped her. Judging by your scores with Christine, you seem to be interacting a lot with her too, and something tells me you didn't gain those SP by bossing her around."

"I... know I'm helping, Amber. I'm trying to be a decent person for those around me, but what I wonder is... Is it the right thing to do with the app? I don't think all of the women I meet love to be dominated, the app makes most of them want it, assuming I even get this far. The question is whether their personal problems are so bad, that their total submission to me is an adequate price to pay for them. I don't think you regret it, and I don't think mom regrets it, either. Donna seems like someone who'd agree to a lot sexually with me anyway, so the submission doesn't make a big difference."

"I get what you mean but... I think you have to find that out yourself. For Christine, I could see it. She probably needs a good man in her life to give her hope about your kind anyway, and whether that's a decent husband or a decent master, not that big of a difference, if you ask me. For Klara... she probably needs a friend, a person she can trust too, and quite frankly, I don't think I'll be that. I don't know the rest too much. Maybe the girl that sent you nudes also has some issues you'd need to fix, too."

"I think I get what you mean. Amber, thanks for the help. I love you so much."

Amber squeezed me. "Master, sorry, but I've been dying to hear these words from you since college. I... Thank you. They still mean so much to me."

"You know Amber, all this time, I've been a bit hesitant about the app. I always worried that it would disappear one day, that everything I do to people could come back to haunt me once they're back at -50SP or whatever. But now that I've had it for over two weeks, I've become less hesitant. I wasn't sure why, whether to be scared of myself or my now-dominating desires. But I think... I think I noticed that the app usually enhances some desires of people, it makes them more ****, but it never really creates them. And that means... That means it's probably okay for me to help with these desires, right? I mean, imagine if I never interacted with mom just because the apps makes her feel orgasmic about compliments. She'd still have self-esteem issues. And if the traits are too awful, I can always sell them. Maybe I should ask mom though, if it's okay for me to have this influence over her."

"Yeah, you're right, master. Just... be careful in describing the app to her, okay?"

"I will, Amber."

"You know master, I find it funny how we're like a normal couple right now. Just lying in bed, talking about what matters to us."

"Normal, huh?" I tapped her breasts and made them jiggle a bit. "If it's too boring I can always lock you back up in the basement."

"Haha, whatever you want, master." She gave me a brief kiss, and we slept.

I woke up in the morning to the sound of the doorbell, Amber was still asleep, and mom had just woken up to prepare breakfast. I open the door the lawyers were here.

"We're sorry to be this early, Mr. Goodman, but we finished setting up all payments and you need to sign the transactions." "We already prepared some letters to inform them all. If you can sign everything now, and drop them off at our office later, everything should be done by today."

"Oh, uh... thanks, I'll do that. How much will the company pay, though?"

"All together, a bit over 10 million."

"H-How can we afford that?"

"The money is paid in monthly installments over 20 years, tax free." "Meaning the company would have to pay 42.000 every month."

"That's just a bit over the money we paid for the ****. I think I can get the other two thousand from my own salary, it should be fine."

"Alright, we'll leave you to it, then."

As mom prepared breakfast, I sat in front of the stack of papers. About a dozen letters to inform current and former tenants, and just as many bank transactions that I ask to be made in the company name. I briefly looked over the sums and names. It seems that those who have experienced sexual advances by my father got far more, which makes sense. Laura received very little, having lived not that long in her apartment and being left alone by my father. I put Laura's letter aside, I was going to meet her this evening anyway, I might as well save on fees.

Then came the biggest check. Six thousand a month, sent to... Floria Werther. Is... Is that her? I text Donna.

'Hey Donna, what's Floria's full name?'

'Floria Werther, why?'

'Did she have to move recently?'

'Yeah, she lived in a very cheap house way out in some suburb. I think she wanted to cut down on her commute.'

'I'll explain everything some other time, thanks, Donna.'

'No problem, babe.'

Fuck, it seems like Floria was probably the biggest victim in this. I put her letter aside as well. Mom had finished breakfast and I gladly ate my meal in silence. Mom went down to Amber, and judging by the length of her stay, Amber had locked herself up again. I took a train early, gave the lawyers the signed bank documents, and dropped off the letters at a mailbox. I checked the mail I received at my new second home and found a letter adressed to... me? Hesitantly, I opened it.

'Dear James,

in light of the bad news surrounding the trials of your brother and me, I have decided to grant you full ownership over GRC. Our previous arrangement regarding your caretakership is hereby null and void and all my rights to the company relinquished. Please continue operating with the best interests of our tenants at heart,

Dad.'

Fuck, I have no time to deal with this. Can he even do this? He initially said it'd be two years. And can I just give the company to Bartholomew when he returns? I'll have to ask the lawyers later.

I entered Floria's and Gloria's office.

"Gloria not here?"

"Nah, she got a nasty cold. Why?"

"Hope she gets better soon. I wanted to talk to you, in private."

"Huh?"

"May I come in and close the door?"

"Uhm, sure." Floria +10SP (-14SP) I enter the room and close the door behind me.

"Floria, I... I wanted to apologize for what my father has done to you." I handed her the letter.

"What's this?"

"I said the company will pay for compensation, right? That's the letter to inform you." She hesitantly opened the letter.

"2.4 million, that's... so much."

"It's about what you would have gotten if you sued. I know it can't undo what my father did, but I didn't know what else to do."

"I... I think I'm gonna quit."

"Huh?"

"James, that's tax free 10k a month. I don't need to work anymore."

"And what would you do after that? What about a retirement fund, health insurance and everything?"

"I'm sure I can manage somehow."

"Uhhh... To be frank, I don't think that's a very good idea. Nobody will hire a 45 year old with only a few years of job experience."

"Ugh, you're right. But then what?"

"I don't know, your money. You can certainly travel the world with it, so you can sweeten your vacation time. Or maybe buy something big, a house, a car, something like that. Maybe just experience a wealthier lifestyle, buy your friends some gifts, buy the things you always wanted. Maybe even a mix of all of this."

"Hm..."

"I'll leave you to it, then. Sorry for distracting you, but I... I wanted to apologize in person. Klara told me what happened and... I feel bad about what occurred."

"James, weren't you shocked?"

"I... not anymore. That week was awful and I learned so much about who my father really was. He took my brother on a fishing trip because my brother got cheated on and divorced. Then he caught my father cheating on my mom on that trip, they got into a fight, and are detained there. That caused me to become caretaker and when my mom and I tried to get on top of everything to run the company and then we found out about the cameras and called the police. When Klara told me later that he showed up here too... I wasn't that surprised anymore, you know? At this point I had lost pretty much all respect for him."

"I see. Must have been hard for you, huh?"

"A bit, I guess. I feel like you probably had it worse. My mom had it worse than me too, she was an emotional trainwreck the first few days. She had expected him to cheat on her, but to know for sure, and to know that he went for a girl much younger than her really broke her. I think some part of her still loved him and held out hope. It got utterly crushed." I paused for a moment. "I'm sorry for talking about my problems, this is about you and not me. Sorry for distracting you like this."

"It's... okay, James. I appreciate what you're doing. I kinda think I needed our talk. Ever since these incidents with your father, I got along well with Christine, we were both very cautious and suspicious around men. I'd like to think I kept a cooler head than her, but seeing you here, I couldn't help but be afraid and mentally push you in the same corner as your father. But... this conversation helped me see that you're more than your father, that you're your own person with your own struggles and beliefs in what is right and what is wrong. I... feel bad for misjudging you, especially with Gloria's blackout." Floria +9SP (-5SP)

"It's okay, Floria, after everything my father pulled off, it's hard to see why you shouldn't be cautious. I'll go now. We've got work to do. Oh, and please stay. Not just because of what I said, but because you'd also miss this workplace. I'm sure Helen and Gloria would be sad, and if you travel around the world all the time, you won't have that much time to meet them."

"Haha, yeah. I'll stay... for now." Floria +3SP (-2SP)

"Thanks, one less reason for Beth to chop my head off, bye."

She laughed as I left.