Monday Morning

There was already a lineup of mailgirls at the security desk in the employee entrance lobby when we arrived at the DDE complex at seven a.m. Mailgirls were now forced to undress in the lobby and surrender their clothes to security to be placed in bags and locked up until the end of their shift. This particular humiliation had been cooked up by Barbara over a year ago to allow mailgirls no access to their clothes while on duty. She'd used the time Kelly had gotten dressed and left the complex without permission to talk to me in the condo as the rationale for it. I knew the real reason though. It was intended as yet another demonstration of the complete control the company had over its mailgirls when they were within these walls.

Another change initiated by Barbara was that all mailgirls had to wear an "identity necklace" with each individual mailgirl's number stamped on a plate attached to the front of it. In reality it was the same type of flexible metal collar that I wore full time. Barbara had once actually told a reporter that this was done to give mailgirls a "cleaner, more stylish look" than inking numbers on their bare skin. While this was true it was a pretty low bar to clear since just about anything would have been cleaner and more stylish than scrawling numbers on our skin with a felt tip pen. These collars also contained a RFID chip that would set off an alarm if a mailgirl tried to leave the premises without authorization. Since these collars were locked on at the beginning of each shift and could only be unlocked by a security guard at the end of the shift this made us virtual prisoners of the company whenever we were on duty.

Even though I always arrived to work naked and collared anyway I still had to wait in line to get my MMU, the smart phone that was strapped to each mailgirl's arm that was used to alert us to deliveries, deadlines, compile demerits, and track our movements throughout the large DDE complex. It also held the mailgirl's digital company ID so we weren't allowed beyond the employee lobby without this electronic leash.

While waiting behind Anna I noticed a very pretty young woman dressed in a stylish blouse and skirt staring at me from a corner of the lobby. She looked familiar to me somehow but I couldn't quite place her face. Had she been a student at my college? Obviously she hadn't been one of my friends but could she be someone I'd seen around campus? Anna had just finished handing her clothes to the security guard and was being fitted with her collar and MMU when this woman walked up to me. "You're Mailgirl 9, right?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

"I'm supposed to start training with you today," she said. This was the first I'd heard of it. There was a lot of training going on lately here at DDE to supply the other licensed companies with mailgirls but I hadn't been involved in any of it. Tanisha, a thickly built African-American woman who was working the Mailgirls security counter this morning, overheard this and turned to the woman.

"What's your name, hon?" she asked her.

"Diana Clarkson," she answered. That name sounded familiar. I knew it from somewhere, but where?

Tanisha typed into her computer. "Yep, she's with you today Nine." Then she turned to Diana. "You won't be doing any training like that, hon. Get your clothes off."

Diana took a deep breath to calm herself. "Yes ma'am," she replied as she glanced nervously at the regular clothed employees - the "norms" - entering the lobby to begin their day. She began fumbling with the buttons on her blouse.

While Diana was undressing, Tanisha took a fully charged MMU from a drawer and typed a passcode into it which unlocked my company identification and assigned this particular MMU to me. This passcode also locked me out of the MMU settings so I couldn't tamper with them, not that I would even if I knew how. This security feature had been added after one tech savvy mailgirl had figured out a way to alter the number of demerits she'd received. After it was discovered that she'd been doing this the girl had managed to avoid termination and those huge contractual financial penalties by agreeing to receive 1000 demerits as punishment. Since each ten demerits meant an extra hour of unpaid work this meant an additional 100 work hours that the company could assign as mandatory overtime whenever it felt like it. And since these extra hours wore her down she failed to meet deadlines more frequently which meant accumulating even more demerits. It was a vicious cycle and even though it seemed like this poor girl was always at work it barely put a dent into the number of additional hours she owed the company.

After Tanisha had strapped the MMU onto my arm we both turned to look at Diana who was now down to her bra and panties. I also noticed that she was wearing a necklace, earrings, rings and a watch and also had a handbag that she'd placed on the floor. These were all no-no's for mailgirls when they showed up to work.

"Listen sweetie," Tanisha said to Diana, "since this is y'alls first day as a tango I'm going to cut you some slack. Mailgirls are allowed to wear only a single item of clothing to work along with a pair of sandals or sneakers. That's it, hon. No underwear or socks, no jewelry, no purses or handbags. You're not allowed any personal items anywhere on the property past this point and we barely got enough space to lock all of y'alls stuff up in our storage closet as it is without mailgirls showing up dressed like normal folk. You ain't gonna need any business attire on this job, sweetie, so don't wear any to work."

"I'm sorry ma'am," the girl replied. "I didn't know."

"Didn't you get a Mailgirls handbook that you were supposed to read before coming to work?"

"No ma'am," Diana responded. "I looked at one online though. I guess I missed the part about what I was allowed to wear to work. Or maybe I was looking at an older version of the handbook."

Tanisha shook her head. "You're damn lucky you got me working the Mailgirls desk today, hon, because most of the other security guards would've dinged you with some demerits. I ain't gonna do that to you on your first day. Next time I will though." I knew she was telling Diana the truth. Even though Tanisha could be loud and overbearing she actually was nicer to us mailgirls than most of the other security guards and DDE employees.

"Yes ma'am," Diana replied. "I won't do it again."

Tanisha nodded. "Now take off the rest of your clothes. We ain't got all day."

After finishing stripping Diana stood self-consciously nude before us, her arms crossed over her breasts.

"Put your hands at your side," I told her as a warning before Tanisha could. "No covering up at any time." She quickly obeyed and I got a good look at her. She had a beautiful, natural body with soft round breasts that were well proportioned to the rest of her body but a little large for the job and would bounce uncomfortably when she ran. She wasn't fat by any means though there were a few areas that could use tightening up. She was also tall for a mailgirl, probably about 5'9" or so. Her tall, curvy frame meant more body parts jiggling and her feet would take more of a pounding over the course of her shift. Women with firm, compact, athletic bodies generally did best in this job.

This was how I evaluated the female body now, by how well suited it was for the job. While Diana had a beautiful body by any conventional measure I found myself critiquing any tiny flaw that might cause her difficulties as a mailgirl. Her face, however, was perfect. Diana's jet black hair hung down to just over her shoulders framing fresh faced girl-next-door looks and dark brown eyes. This look, along with that tall, curvy body, would make her very popular here or wherever she eventually ended up. As I looked her over I once again had the unshakeable feeling that I knew her from somewhere.

"I'll see you upstairs, Nine," Anna said, clearly bored waiting for me. She turned and headed for the doorway that led to the service stairs without waiting for a response. I turned back and saw Tanisha scrounging through her desk looking for a trainee ID necklace. She finally found one and held it up to read the number printed on it. "You're going to be 17 Tango," she said to Diana. Each new girl was assigned a number with the letter "T" at the end to identify her as a trainee. One ex-military security guard always used the phonetic pronunciation of "tango" for the letter "T" and it had stuck. Now everyone called trainee mailgirls "tangos." After six weeks of training a tango was assigned a permanent number and her collar and number were then recycled to be used by a new trainee.

Tanisha began typing into her computer and then turned to Diana. "There's no company ID photo or personal information on file for you. Didn't you get that shit done when you signed your contract?"

Diana shook her head. "No ma'am. My contract is, um...a little different than the normal Mailgirls contract. In fact this is the first time I've been in this building." This struck me as odd since all Mailgirls contracts were now signed in Donna Haverly's seventh floor office after Barbara had approved the hiring. Tanisha stared at Diana with an annoyed look on her face.

"Fuck it then," she said finally. "Turn around." Diana did as told and Tanisha placed the collar around her neck and it locked into place with a distinct click. It would be nearly impossible to remove now without a special key that was kept at the security desk. Then she typed a passcode into a MMU and strapped it onto her arm.

Tanisha turned to speak to me now. "She's going to have to go to HR to get that shit done and they don't open until eight. Get her showered and shaved in the meantime and then take her there."

"Yes ma'am,"

Then she turned back to Diana. "In case y'all didn't know it, and I'm guessing you don't, I'm gonna bag and tag your stuff and lock it up. You won't have any access to it until your MMU says you're off duty for the day. You're only allowed to have the ID necklace, the MMU, and whatever your mama gave ya until then. Got it, 17 Tango?"

"Yes ma'am," Diana replied.

Tanisha waved her hands at us. "Shoo then. You got mailgirls lined up behind you waiting."

Diana - aka 17 Tango - followed me through the entrance to the north wing service stairs that led up to the fifth floor Mailgirls showers. "God I can't believe I'm actually doing this," I heard her say as we climbed.

As she spoke there was something familiar in her voice that rung a bell. We were in between the third and fourth floor when it finally struck me. I knew who she was.

I stopped and turned to Diana. "You were one of the Bixby girls, weren't you?"

Diana smiled. "I could tell you were trying to figure out where you knew me from. I get that a lot."

"I do remember you now! You were the youngest daughter, Ellie. God you were so young on that show!"

"I was six when it started and thirteen when it went off the air."

"That was my mom's favorite show," I said. "I used to watch it with her all the time." 'The Bixby Girls' was a family-oriented network drama about a single mother raising four daughters in a small Midwestern town that had been popular when I was a teenager. Its run had ended during my senior year of high school so that had been, what, nine years ago? That would make Diana about twenty-two now. I remembered seeing her in a minor role in a movie while I was in college but she had all but disappeared since then as far as I knew. "So you're going to be a mailgirl now?" I asked.

"Not exactly," she replied. "You know that Mailgirls movie they're going to start filming here in a couple of months? I'll be playing the lead role in it."

"Really? I hadn't heard that."

"Yeah, it hasn't been publicly announced yet. Now that I'm doing this though," she said waving a hand in front of her nude body, "I'm sure it won't take long for word to get out."

I knew there was a Mailgirls movie in the works. It was a project that Barbara had been pushing for almost two years and what Barbara wanted at DDE, Barbara got. It was set to go into production soon with most of the filming being done on location here by DDE's film department. This was the first time I'd heard that Diana Clarkson had been cast in it though. "Wow, that's a big departure from your role as sweet little Ellie Bixby," I said to her.

"Yeah, no shit. That's why I'm doing it. I've been typecast by that role for so long that it's hard to be taken seriously as an actress in adult roles. When you're a washed up child actress you can try to create a new image by either going into rehab, constantly making an ass of yourself in public for the tabloids, or by taking your clothes off. Since I've never done either of the first two things I'm doing the third." I could see why Barbara wanted Diana for the role. The movie was part of her plan to help push Mailgirls into the cultural mainstream so who better to have playing one than a girl who had once been one of America's sweethearts?

"So you're doing research for the role now by doing this?" I asked.

"Yeah, that was part of the agreement to get the role. Barbara Anderson insisted I had to go through the full six weeks of Mailgirls training in preparation for it. God, does it really take six weeks to learn how to deliver shit around an office building?"

"No. You can learn the basics of the job in a few days. Most of it's about getting the girl in shape and making sure she'll accept her role as a naked inferior."

"What if she doesn't?" Diana asked.

"Then they'll wash her out of training."

"Really? Do they have to pay the financial penalties if that happens?"

I shook my head. "No. The first six weeks are considered probationary. Tangos are paid minimum wage during training and the company has the option of washing them out or the girls can quit during that time without any penalties."

"That's surprising. I've always heard they were like slave contracts and once you start as a mailgirl it's just about impossible to get out."

"That's pretty much true after completing the training. If a girl wants out she'd better do it before the contract is put up for bid and the full bonuses and penalties kick in."

"Well at least they're giving them a chance to back out if they decide they don't want to do it after a couple of weeks," Diana said.

"They aren't doing it for the tango's benefit, believe me," I scoffed. "There are so many women applying for Mailgirls jobs that Barbara wanted to be able to weed out the weak ones along with any potential troublemakers. If a girl racks up too many demerits during training or shows any kind of insolent attitude they're gone. Barbara wants only the most beautiful, fit, and obedient girls to come out of training and go up for bid."

"Are there really that many women applying?" Diana asked.

"Oh yeah. There are many more applications than openings. Women come from all over the country to apply."

"Why?"

"Lots of reasons I suppose. It's a tough economy for young people right now and there are virtually no other jobs out there that pay this well to start out."

"Yeah, I can most definitely relate," Diana said. "If this movie flops I may have to become a full time mailgirl myself to make ends meet." I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"Don't you have any money left from being on The Bixby Girls?" I asked.

Diana shook her head. "Not much. Most of it went into a trust fund that my dad raided when he left my mom. I've had to sue him to try to get it back. I'm earning some residuals on syndication but that money's mostly going toward lawyers' fees."

"Ugh, that sounds like a mess."

"It is. It's the kind of crap that's pretty damn typical in Hollywood, though. I don't know any child actors who haven't eventually ended up in some kind of financial mess because of family, agents, taxes, bad financial advice, the studio screwing them, or whatever."

"I didn't know that," I said.

"Yep. I need the money so that's why I'm doing this. My mom thinks doing this movie will kill off my career like 'Showgirls' did for Elizabeth Berkley though."

"Do you really think it's going to suck that bad?" I asked.

Diana shrugged. "You never know but it's not as if my phone was ringing off the hook with job offers anyway. I doubt it, though. I've read the script and it's actually quite funny and sweet."

"What's it about anyway?" I asked. "Besides tits and ass."

"It's a rom-com about a mailgirl and a computer geek who fall in love and have to keep their romance a secret from their friends and co-workers to keep the company from finding out. Boy meets naked girl, boy loses naked girl, boy overcomes obstacles to get the naked girl back. Not exactly original, except for the naked girl part. Most films in this genre are pretty formulaic though." It may not be original but it sure as hell was a lot closer to reality than Diana realized. They could just follow Anna and Ben around with hidden cameras and film pretty much the same story, I thought to myself.

"It's not nearly as raunchy as 'Showgirls' was," Diana continued. "And I really like Katherine DeAngelo as the director. I would never have signed on if not for her." Although DDE would handle most of the technical aspects of the filming Barbara had insisted on going outside of the company to hire mainstream screenwriters and the director. Romantic comedies weren't exactly in DDE's wheelhouse.

"So are you going to be naked through most of the movie?" I asked.

"Some of it takes place off the job so I'll be wearing clothes in those scenes. There will be plenty of nudity in it, though. I've talked to Katherine and she's planning on starting the film with a long unedited tracking shot of me running naked through the building on a delivery."

I thought about Diana having to resort to this to try to revive her acting career. "You're so beautiful and talented I have a hard time believing you're having trouble getting offered roles."

Diana sighed. "Beautiful women are a dime a dozen in Hollywood and talent is only marginally important," she said. "The film industry is no meritocracy, that's for sure. I can totally nail an audition for a part that's perfect for me and it'll end up going to some girl who has a look they want or is blowing the producer. That's why most actors tend to be so damned neurotic. You never know where your next role or paycheck is coming from. Even if you're successful for awhile you're always just one or two flops away from the scrap heap."

"If it's like that why do you want to keep doing it?"

"Damn good question," she laughed. "Believe me I've asked myself that more than a few times. Vanity mostly, I suppose. I liked being famous and I miss it. I hate it when people look at me now like you did and wonder where the hell they used to know me from. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love acting but if that's all it was about I could just do community theater."

"And you think this role will make you famous again?" I asked.

"It'll get me attention again, that's for damn sure. Whether that turns out to be good or bad remains to be seen. For better or worse, though, I've decided to roll the dice on this project and see what happens." Diana wrapped her arms around her body and shivered. "Damn, it's cold in this stairwell."

"Yeah, I think they intentionally keep the stairwells freezing to keep us moving and make sure our nipples stay hard." Down below us I heard the sound of a door opening and several female voices. Probably more mailgirls heading upstairs to the showers. "We'd better get going," I said. "You do know you're going to have to shower and shave right now in front of a bunch of horny geeks, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," Diana said. "Believe me my mom made damn sure I was aware of every sordid aspect of the job before I signed on." She sighed as she looked up the stairwell toward the fifth floor. "Let's go do this. Lead the way Mailgirl 9."