Meeting

Destiny

Typical Blitzer. Rushing through the rules explanation with a pre-recorded video. Freezing the contestants in place in the board room facing the projector. Destiny had tried to argue for a traditional live explanation where the contestant had the opportunity to interrupt and comment. It was more dramatic and gave the audience a glimpse into each one’s character.

Destiny fought tooth and nail for it, but that stubborn woman just wouldn’t budge. To her credit, Talia had compromised by delaying the orientation by 30 minutes so the contestants could meander about and start building the drama. Destiny hated this project. Harem Hotel had a formula and there was a sanctity in that tradition. A group of women slowly being transformed into slutty slaves for the benefit of a single master was like a ritual to Destiny, beautiful in its performance and consistency. Destiny even remembered being quite scandalized when they introduced women as masters for the first time.

Watching through the security feed on her computer, Destiny began taking notes on the interactions. Mr. Mitchell, the only man, had arrived quite early alongside his secretary, Sandra. After meeting Talia at the elevator, the two of them tried engaging her in professional conversation. Mr. Mitchell’s elbow gently tapped Sandra’s back as he pointed to one of the three coffees the young woman was carrying.

The younger widened her eyes and handed Talia the coffee, along with offering packets of sugar and creamer, which Talia declined. Destiny sighed, putting an Ass-Kissing point next to Sandra’s name. After polite conversation, Talia bid them go to his office to get settled, which they did.

Walking across the grey/blue carpet and past all the cubicles to the far wall, the two entered Mr. Mitchell’s office where he congratulated her on successfully sucking up to the CEO. “Networking.” He flashed his brow, leaning against his bare desk after shedding his coat. Sandra giggled excitedly at her mentor.

“I can’t believe she actually asked me about school.”

“Alright, after orientation we can discuss how I’d like my days structured. For now, though, you should explore the floor and see who you meet. Get a lay of the land and introduce yourself.”

“Is anyone even here? I mean all the cubicles looked empty. And like… no decorations or anything, either.”

Destiny couldn’t help but smile. That was the advantage to this convoluted approach of hiring each contestant: watching them piece together puzzle pieces without recognizing the picture.

Mr. Mitchell thought about what Sandra said and nodded. “I think either the department is expanding or a bunch of people, including my predecessor screwed up big time and are all getting replaced.” He theorized, handing Sandra a gift card from a stack he had been carrying. “There might be more cubicles in the annex, though.” He shrugged, which seemed sufficient for Sandra who soon started exploring the empty office while Mr. Mitchell turned on his company computer and began trying to sign in to his email, though finding it difficult since his phone had no signal for him to complete the dual factor authorization.

Next to arrive only a few minutes later was Mrs. Beck who greeted the ‘CEO’ with a very reserved smile and then almost entirely coldly when she saw Mr. Mitchell sitting in his office through the window. “Are these the only cubicles available?” She asked with a frown. The emotional suppression field seemed to be the only thing keeping Mrs. Beck from storming into the office, slapping Mr. Mitchell, and then quitting on the spot.

Still bitter about him taking her old job, Destiny thought with a smile, writing the observation down. “There’s a few more in the annex.” Makarovka gestured towards the break room, receiving a terse nod and smile in response.

Sandra, who was peeking through the cabinets and drawers in the breakroom jumped with shock when the door opened, but quickly composed herself, excitedly extending her hand to Mrs. Beck.

“Oh, hi!” She beamed. “Sorry, I’m Sandra! The new secretary.”

“Careful around your boss. He’s a snake.” Mrs. Beck answered, brushing past the young woman to get to a secluded corner of the annex. Her bag flopped onto the desk and she sunk into the rolling chair, contemplating why she wasn’t storming out.

The next to arrive was Ms. Smith, the divorcee. She had of course been crying her entire walk, but blamed the smeared makeup on the rain when Mr. Mitchell came to make introductions. She knew he wasn’t convinced, though. “I’m sorry. Just, the move’s been a bit of an adjustment for me. I promise it won’t interfere with my work. I’m excited to start.”

“Wait, you’re new, too?” Mr. Mitchell put together yet another puzzle piece.

“Yes, today’s my first day. Why?”

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing. Just seems to be a lot of that going around is all.” He chuckled, producing another gift card and offering it to Ms. Smith. “I actually just bought these to hand out to the team to celebrate my first day. Figured a coffee bribe would help smooth over me being the new guy.” He leaned back in his seat, watching as the homeless Ms. Gaye stepped off the elevator. “Welcome to the team, Ms. Smith.”

“Call me Kenna.” She flashed him a smile, choosing the cubicle closest to his office.

Ms. Gaye, her scabby and skinny body hidden under the change of clothes Destiny had given her, stumbled into the first cubicle she could get to after a very quick exchanging of hellos with Talia. Fighting the symptoms of withdrawal by bouncing her forehead against the wood of her desk, she was losing the fight to the headache.

There was a gentle knock on her cubicle as a vaguely familiar face walked up, though he pretended not to recognize her. “Hey, I’m Mr. Mitchell, but please, call me Mitch.” He smiled, placing a gift card on her desk as she turned to address him. “I’m assuming today’s your first day as well?”

She stared at him blankly for a moment, swaying in her chair, trying her best to not look crazy. “Um, yeah… Hey, uh, quick question Mr. Bossman, but um, do you know when I get paid?” She asked, realizing just how much of a junkie she sounded like. It was hard for her to string a sentence together with nausea this bad. “And um, what-what exactly is my job here?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure. But I think all those questions will be answered at orientation.”

“Bathroom.” She hiccupped, shooting to her feet as vertigo nearly sent her to the floor. Mitch pointed her in the direction he had seen them and Rachel dashed in the direction, discarding her heels in random directions, which Mitch was quick to pick up and place neatly under her desk just as two more stepped out the elevator and introduced themselves to Talia

The sisters. Katie and Helen Blackwood. One of them, Katie, fussing over her hair trying to fix the mess the motorcycle helmet had made. The other, Helen, probably should have been fussing over her own messy paige boy cut, but had both hands full with each helmet. The girls were two minutes late, a fact that seemed to deeply disturb Helen as Mitch approached them and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m your new manager, Mitch.” He extended his hand to shake theirs, which they both took in turn.

“Mr. Mitch, we—“ Helen started, but was stopped by Mitch.

“It’s Mr. Mitchell, actually, but I prefer just Mitch.”

“Right. Mitch. I’m Helen and this is my sister, Katie. And we are just so sorry we’re late. First day, and I know first impressions are important.”

“Indeed they are.” Mitch nodded. “But I’m willing to forgive it this time because I think bikes are pretty cool.” He laughed, placing a giftcard into each of their helmets. “Just don’t make a habit of it, yes?”

“Right, of course.” Katie nodded. “And thank you so much for the gift cards! We were gonna get breakfast before, but ended up not having time.”

“Well you might check the breakroom. I can’t guarantee anything, but if there’s no food I might be amenable to giving you guys an early lunch so you aren’t working on an empty stomach.

Talia cut in, surprising the three of them. “Mr. Mitchell, may I have a word?” Mitch nodded, assuming he’d just made some mistake.

“Of course. Uh, ladies, welcome to the team, please select a cubicle and I’ll see you in the conference room in a minute, yeah?”

Helen saw the first desk next to the elevator and pointed to it, looking to her sister. “This cubicle look good to you?”

“Yeah, sure!” Katie agreed, setting her purse on it. Helen set Katie’s helmet next to it.

“Good, it’s yours.” She turned and walked across the room, taking a cubicle next to Mitch’s office, opposite of Kenna’s. Clearly still upset about the morning, Destiny mused. Katie seemed a bit hurt and lonely to be sitting so far from her sister, muttering the word petty under her breath.

In his office, Mitch stepped up to Talia with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, have I said something wrong? Is policy much harsher on tardiness?”

“For two minutes, no. We will take some corrective action to set a precedent, though nothing too harsh and as it’s the first day you’ll not be in charge of its administration. However, you have one employee, Ms. Spring, who is going to be twenty minutes late, and whose consequence will be more severe. And another, Ms. Kindal, who has refused to show up entirely and so will be terminated.”

Mitch nodded, thoughtfully considering how he wanted to address the tardiness with this so called Ms. Spring. And of the entirely absent Ms. Kindal. But then another thought crossed his mind. “I hope this question isn’t inappropriate, but am I the only man here?” He asked in a low voice so the others couldn’t hear. Talia gave him a quick assuring glance, folding her arms.

“At the moment, yes. As you can see, there are quite a few unfilled cubicles, though, as we expect this department to expand over the next few months.”

Mitch nodded, not entirely settled by this. “In any case, I think it may be prudent for me to meet with HR.” Destiny could tell he thought HR should have been doing the job of welcoming employees, not just the CEO, but held his tongue. It would also be good, he thought, to discuss his past with Morgan Beck, who he had pretended not to notice. It seemed she still hated him and though he held no ill will against her, he did still want to cover his ass from her vindictive tendencies.

“And who will I be reporting to?” He asked to clarify some questions he’d had since the beginning. Destiny had appreciated Talia’s incorporating her idea of having a mysterious introduction to the company to help build tension in the contestants instead of teleporting them and slapping them with transformations.

“Myself for the time being.” Talia answered.

“Oh, wow. I thought I was just middle management.”

Talia smiled and shook her head. “It will all make sense after orientation. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to set up the presentation.” She excused herself and walked across the stale room, past the copier, and into a door along the left wall, opposite the breakroom.

Ms. Spring, Naomi, had arrived five minutes prior and immediately asked Destiny for directions to the bathroom. Watching the feeds, Destiny could see the NEET furiously masturbating to porn on her phone in the stall. Destiny dilated time so that no matter how long Naomi diddled herself on the toilet, she would only be 20 minutes late at maximum. And Naomi certainly went over the maximum.

She would be fun in the harem, Destiny thought. It wasn’t often that women brought in the show were likely to enjoy at least some of the general concept of being sluttified. Either Naomi was going to enthusiastically revel in her predicament or she was going to be starkly disturbed by the reality of her hedonistic fantasies. Each would be a wonderful arc.

As they waited, Mitch went back into his office, searching all the empty filing cabinets, drawers, and bins. He didn’t know what he was trying to find, but he hadn’t expected to find absolutely nothing. Aside from his computer and paper bin, his desk was empty and plain. The far wall was just a window overlooking the cloudy city. He could even see the Space Needle in the skyline.

The sight was a comfort to Mitch. He’d always found cities more beautiful than the country. Especially when the country was dry with dirt and dead shrubs. The rain pattering against his window sounded like a gentle drumming that set the tempo for his thoughts. It soothed him being so far away from home. Away from everything his life had been. His hand unconsciously fidgeted with his ring finger until he heard the elevator ding, to which he rushed out to greet the arriving girl.

She was young, but definitely older than Sandra, and wore a baggy t-shirt with a suggestively posed cartoon woman on it and jeans along with a puffy jacket. Mitch tried to hide his reaction but could tell that this girl clearly needed to get a wake up call. He smiled kindly and offered his hand for a shake.

“Sandra?” He quickly called to his secretary, who was drinking a protein shake from the staff fridge. “Could you please gather everyone in the conference room for orientation?” Sandra nodded, flashing a thumbs up before stepping back into the break room to inform the sisters and Morgan. Kenna stood from her cubicle and silently walked to the room and Rachel was fast asleep at her desk.

Mitch turned his attention back to Naomi and, seeing that she was not shaking his hand, dropped it, slicing his chin to gesture behind him. “Ms. Spring, could I see you in my office?” He asked, Naomi internally celebrating as she offered him a small nod.

“Yeup.”

He led her back into his office and closed the door, making sure the windows were fully open so everyone could see nothing improper was happening. Neither of them sat since Mitch wanted this to be a quick and casual heads up. “Hey, listen,” he started with a sympathetic smile. “Just gotta give you a heads up that the tardiness is gonna result in some form of discipline after orientation. It’s an expectation that you can show up to work on time and present yourself professionally.”

“Ok.”

“I promise you’ll get farther with more than one word sentences. I’m a reasonable guy, I don’t mind bending here and there if it means better outcomes for my team. But as your boss, I’m responsible for policing your behavior and if you don’t work with me, I’m limited in what I can do to help you out.”

“Yup.”

Mitch winced, nodding to himself, realizing that this was gonna be a brick wall. He’d have to have this conversation with her again after disciplinary actions. “This your first job?”

“Yup.”

He flashed an amused smile. “Yeah, my first job was phone sales. Showed up first day without a tie, because, well, what are they gonna hear my tie over the phone?” He chuckled, feeling a wave of satisfaction seeing the small smile break Naomi’s lips. “Boss pulled me into his office and screamed his head off. Put the fear of God into me. Now I can’t even leave my house without feeling my neck to make sure I’ve got one on, even on weekends.”

He reached into his pocket and handed Naomi a gift card. Naomi took it and stared at it like it were a rubiks cube, then looked up at Mitch with an expression as if to ask ‘aren’t I supposed to be in trouble?’ Mitch laughed and opened the door, gesturing for her to leave.

“From me, not corporate.” He clarified. “We’ll meet after orientation to discuss your punitive measures and also strategies to prevent tardiness and unprofessional behavior. Meeting room is that way.”

Naomi nodded confusedly, not anticipating this almost kind reaction. Everything she’d seen of managers in TV, movies, and porn led her to believe he’d be a narcissistic hard-ass looking for any reason to fire her. She was wearing a t-shirt with an anime upskirt for fuck’s sake. How was she not fired? Almost out of shock alone, she went to the meeting room, Mitch following a few seconds later.

The room wasn’t massive, but it was quite large, with the wall opposite the door being made entirely of glass so one could see the skyline and Space Needle. Morgan understood that such view was geographically impossible, but could scarcely comment on it when she was frozen in her chair staring at the whiteboard the seats were arranged to look at.

Sandra was helping a heaving Rachel into a chair before she quickly stepped over to Mitch and whispered. “I don’t think Rachel’s ok.” Mitch nodded and thanked Sandra for her concern. He walked up to Ms. Makarovka at the front of the room to echo the concern of Sandra.

“I think Rachel may need to go home for the day.”

“Whatever for? She seems fine.”

Mitch turned around and saw Rachel was now sitting bolt upright and staring at the whiteboard like everyone else, her breathing no longer labored. Mitch apologized and took a seat in the front, next to Sandra. When he looked at the board, he was suddenly frozen.

Ms. Makarovka stepped towards the lightswitch with slow, deliberate steps, darkening the room. Then with the same unconcerned coolness, she lowered the blinds so that the room was dark aside from the glow of the projector. Internally everyone was screaming, terribly concerned that they were having a stroke or seizure. But none of them could do anything but sit and watch, with the same bored expression any meeting room would be filled with.

Destiny had thought an orientation video that explained all the rules without the contestants being allowed to interject and disrupt was stupid and a waste of good drama. But when Talia was dead set, she was dead set. The point of the show was the competition, and having the rules clearly laid out at once in a single place would help with cohesion. Destiny didn’t agree, but had to admit that filming it had been fun. It was good to be in front of a camera once more.

Besides, it was so much like Season One with Leah, where she locked the contestants in a room with the rules until they agreed to them. Destiny figured Talia was quite amused with her appeal to tradition working in that argument, but nonetheless it had worked.

Talia was smug and stubborn, with an obnoxiously stony expression that had a way of making Destiny explode when she might otherwise be just upset. Nothing seemed to affect her, no insult, no suggestion, no slap across the face. No matter what Destiny did, Talia responded only ever with a cool analytic response. But even despite that, Destiny was surprised that any of her suggestions were heard.

Not nearly enough of her suggestions, and often not the important ones, but still Talia did not dismiss Destiny’s input. Even if she was quick to shut down an idea, she would always first hear it and then deny it with an explanation that demonstrated she knew what Destiny was suggesting, understood why she was suggesting it, admitting to its (frustratingly considered) advantages, and then listing frank reasons as to why it would not be implemented. The issue most certainly wasn’t that Talia didn’t listen, it was that her show was different and stupid.

After a few weeks of screaming, crying, threatening to quit, and a slap, Destiny was starting to settle into a comfortable working relationship with Talia.