Project Harem

Author’s Note:

Welcome to Project Harem!

As the title and synopsis suggest, this story is about a young man’s mission to have his very own personal harem of women. This is a bit of a slow burner, building a harem takes time! But to get the ball rolling I've published the first seven chapters in one go.

Those who’ve read my work before will know me as an author who mainly produces -based stories. Project Harem will NOT feature any , which represents quite a big step out of my comfort zone.

I noted on other stories I've written that there was a considerable amount of readers who prefer that their male protagonist do not share the women in his harem with other male characters. I've taken that feedback on board and I'm happy to confirm that James will be keeping his harem entirely to himself!

_I’ve made a cast page which has photos of our main characters, there’s no spoilers there so it’s safe to have a peak. _

I write because I enjoy it, but it’s the feedback by way of likes and comments that spur me on to keep writing, so please do hit the like button or comment if you enjoy a chapter.

Thanks for Reading.

Dansak

---

James checked his watch, it was three thirty, he had half an hour before the end of his shift. He looked at the stack of tinned food that remained on the pallet, if he took his time he could make it last until four o’clock. If he rushed like crazy he could get it done in half the time, but what was the point in that? Nobody would thank him for the extra effort, so he plodded along and let his mind drift away somewhere more interesting than the mundane aisles of the supermarket.

“Excuse me, um hello?” said a female voice from behind him, snapping him out of his daydream.

“Oh, sorry, I was miles away,” he said, blushing.

“Could you tell me where the pesto is please?”

“Fresh or in a jar?”

“Oh, fresh please.”

“Aisle six, on the left with the fresh pasta, top shelf.”

She looked at his name badge and said, “Thank you, James” then wandered off.

Jessica stifled a giggle as she walked off to find the pesto. Like most women, she was used to the unwanted attention of being ogled by men. But she thought the way the awkward young man blushed and stuttered after noticing her cleavage was kind of cute. When she stopped and turned to reach for something from a shelf she caught him in the corner of her eye, looking her way. She smiled to herself and put an extra wiggle in her step as she walked off, she was happy for him if her denim-clad bum gave him a bit of a thrill.

In aisle six Jessica found the pesto exactly where she was told it would be, along with two young girls, dressed in the unattractive deep red uniforms of the supermarket.

“It could have been worse, imagine if it was James who had asked you out,” said one of the girls.

“Ewe, don’t say that, I’ve just eaten, you’ll make me vomit,” replied the other one.

“I know, right? He’s proper gross.”

“Gross doesn’t begin to cover it. Is hyper-gross a thing?”

“Dunno. Maybe creepy-nerdy-hyper-gross-dickwad is a thing though,” said the smaller of the two girls, at which point they both started giggling.

Girls could be so cruel. The snippet of conversation she’d overheard reminded Jessica of her tormentors from her school days. With the pesto in her basket, she strolled off and left the girls to their gossip. A minute later she spotted a man with manager written on his badge.

“Excuse me…” she said to him.

“Yes madam, how can I help?”

“There’s a young man a few aisles down, his name badge had James written on it. I just thought you should know that he is a credit to your company. He’s polite, helpful and seemed to be working very hard. You need more staff like him.”

The manager looked quite shocked.

“James, the young man with dark scruffy hair?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know your comments, thank you so much.”

In truth, she didn’t think James was working hard or more helpful than any of the other staff would have been, but she felt sorry for him and hoped her words to the manager might bring a smile to the young man's face. Happy with the little bit of good karma she’d sent his way Jessica walked off to finish her shopping.

---

James checked his watch, two minutes to four, close enough. He made his way backstage towards the male changing rooms and along the way he bumped into his manager.

“Ah, James, well done young man, well done.”

“EH?”

“I had a customer tell me how helpful you were today, she even said you were working hard. Keep it up, that’s exactly what we like to see.”

“Really? Which customer was it?”

“An attractive lady with red hair and blue jeans.”

“Ah, okay, I remember her. Erm, thanks.”

“Keep up the good work,” The manager said and strode off.

James had never had a comment like that from a customer and he’d certainly never been accused of working hard before, which left him somewhat confused as to why she would say such things. Whatever her reasons he was grateful, she’d not just made him look good to his manager, she also left him with a lovely memory of her peachy arse as she walked off.

When he left work James took himself into the shopping mall next to the supermarket. Despite it being a warm day in May he was looking for a winter coat. His father and step-mother had long since stopped buying clothes for him and he’d learned his thrifty skills the hard way. If he was lucky he’d find a warm coat in the sales and be able to tuck it away until winter.

Despite his expertise in searching out bargains, he found nothing suitable and with the sales of last year's winter stock all but finished he resigned himself to putting up with his old coat for another year. It was probably for the best anyway, if he bought a coat now the chances were that his father would find it and either claim it for himself or sell it. As he took the lift from the top floor of the mall his stomach rumbled and he wondered what, if anything, there would be to eat when he got home.

---

The last stop on Jessica’s shopping trip was to the health food place on the first floor of the mall to stock up on vitamins. Once they were tucked away in her bag she made her way to the lift. When it opened she found herself face to face with the young man from the supermarket.

“Oh hello,” she said with a chirpy voice.

“Hi,” replied James, blushing.

“Finished for the day?”

“Yeah,” he said, as she pressed the ground floor button.

The next few seconds of awkward silence felt like an eternity for James. Mustering courage he never knew he had he smiled at the woman and spoke to her.

“Erm, thank you for what you said to my manager.”

“Oh it’s nothing, shop assistants work so hard and don’t get the praise they’re due. I’m sure that…”

The lift came to a sudden halt with a horrible screaming sound of metal on metal. James and Jessica looked at each other, then at the lift panel. James pressed the button but there was no movement.

“Looks like we’re stuck,” he said.

“Oh hell bells, really?” said Jess, pressing all the buttons.

“This lift is always getting stuck.”

“Well isn’t that just typical, why on earth don’t they maintain these things properly?”

“Beat’s me.”

“I suppose we’d better press the help button then?” she said, pressing the red button.

“HELLO, DO YOU NEED HELP?”

The swiftness of the answer and the volume of the male voice that came through the panel made Jess jump.

“Yes, yes we do, we’re stuck. The lift won’t move.”

“Okay, what lift are you in?”

“What lift? The one in the mall.”

“No, I meant what number?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I mean, how would I know what number the lift…”

“We’re in thirty-seven north,” said James, pointing at a small sign above the button panel.

“Oh, yeah, that one again. Okay, sit tight, we’ll call an engineer in,” said the voice.

“Will it take long?”

“Sorry?”

“I SAID, WILL IT TAKE LONG, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ENGINEER…”

“Well it’s not the weekend, so that helps. Maybe an hour if we’re lucky.”

“AN HOUR!”

“If we’re lucky. Oh, and please try to remain calm, help is on the way.”

Jess turned to James and said, “I suppose an hour is not too bad.”

“I think an hour is optimistic.”

“Oh come on James, don’t be pessimistic, you never know, it could even be quicker.”

“Last week an elderly couple were stuck in here for seven hours.”

“SEVEN HOURS?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh, Christ on a stick. Well bang goes my dinner plans then,” said Jess and got her phone out of her handbag.

She furiously tapped on the screen and then put the phone to her ear.

“Dani, sweetie, you’ll never guess what’s happened…”