[Rharne] A Diamond in the Rough

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

Ymiden 70, Arc 717

Theo was seated behind a borrowed desk inside an office that wasn't exactly his, on the bottom floor of a house that he didn't own quite yet. Once the loan was secured and he did, and it's doors were officially opened for business, there'd be a tasteful sign hung by the walk that declared the place to be home to the Lady Libertine.

The man who owned the house and was selling it had been all too happy for Theo and his girls to set up shop, in a sense, before the loan was secured and the sale was complete. If it fell through for some reason? Then the small renovation that was taking place in the meantime. would only add to the value of the place. And on a more personal note, the current owne intended to make himself a regular customer once the doors opened.

So they were in early, and it was a place where Theo could work, even if sometimes it was in the middle of chaos. He was seated behind his desk with his back to the window, a stack of papers in front of him and two on each side. A crystal tumbler with dark amber liquid in the bottom by one elbow, and an ashtray at the other, a cigarillo burning away between his fingers. There were men outdoors painting the doors and the eaves, and to save money Theo had enlisted the girls they'd found and who'd work there, to take pail and brush in hand to paint the walls, upstairs and down.

From his perspective, it was far from quiet in the office. He wasn't sure why it required so much chatter, giggling and stomping around upstairs, just painting. Clayton had been up and down the stairs as well in a hard won, and as good as lost effort to organize and oversee the job while also organizing the space that would become his bar. What Theo did know was that the last time Clayton had passed by the open door of his office, the man had been muttering curses and wearing a patch of dripping paint in his hair.

They didn't have the money yet. But in the meantime there were finances to sort out. Prices and salaries, distributors and their payments, and so on. He was expecting Zana to join him at some point. But until then, Theo worked alone in a room with all the windows around him thrown open in hopes of airing out the fumes created by wet paint, and tried to make sense of all the lists and ledgers around him.

[Zana]

"I didn't know this was a door," Zana said from behind him. The window, the one he had his back to, was indeed a glass pane door out to the enclosed garden. "It's a nice feature. I think we should make it a working room," she walked in and draped her arms around him from behind, leaning down to whisper, "for those clients who might like to watch, or be watched," before nipping playfully at his earlobe and then standing, her hands slowly trailing up his chest. When she reached his shoulders, Zana started to gently massage and softly knead his muscles. "You feel all tense," she observed, lowering her head to his, kissing his cheek, his jaw, "you should relax. Just for a few bits."

It would be a good thing if he did relax, she thought, when he saw the amount of paint that was on the girls, rather than the walls, he was going to blow a gasket. Not a skill that she had used with him before, nor that Peter knew about at all, Zana's hands worked on massaging away the knots of tension as she pulled him back, so he was lounging back in his chair, cigarillo in his hand. "You'll work better if you're relaxed, don't you think?"

From his shoulders, she worked on his arms and neck to leave him hopefully feeling more relaxed, but of course the touch of her hands could change in a trill and they both knew it. As she returned to his shoulders for a final few moments, Zana again whispered in his ear. "It's happening, Theo. This place. It's just the beginning, you know." There was no doubt in her mind that it was just that. Her kisses trailed down his neck and she sighed against him.

"By the time I go and close the door, you'll have already started thinking about those papers again." Turning his head with her finger under his chin, Zana smiled as she kissed him. "Always, with you, it's unlucky accountant." Moving so that she sat on the desk, swinging her legs slightly she looked down at the papers and gave an over dramatic sigh. "I'd only be closing the door for your benefit. Let them see and wish they were me. Unless it's Clayton, or the builders. They'd be wishing they were you." Her grin was teasing, maybe just a little challenging. "You're such a prude."

Ice blue eyes turned to him with a more serious expression. "Alright. What needs doing here, amidst all these piles of paper?" The first one was, she thought, dealing with the girls and the prices charged. "How are you determining which category each of us falls into? Will you check their skills personally, or leave it to the handlers?"

Squeals of laughter erupted from upstairs and Zana smiled, glancing at the ceiling. "What you saved in fees for a professional painter, you'll probably pay in excess paint wastage." The sound of running feet, more squeals and general hysteria seemed to be the order of the trial. "I suppose this is where we determine what kind of boss you are, Theo." Zana looked at him and shrugged her shoulders, just a slight raise to suggest that she wasn't sure what was the best kind to be.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

With all the windows and doors thrown open, it was difficult for anyone to sneak up on him. Theo might've had his eyes focused on the papers in front of him, but his ears picked up the sounds of workmen outdoors, and the sounds of footsteps traveling along the cobbled path. Still, he leaned back in his chair when Zana wrapped her arms round his shoulders and nipped his ear. "Those doors and that garden are why I chose this room for my office," he argued. "A refuge from the noise on a busy night, a quick getaway should too much trouble arise." Theo was teasing about having a handy exit just for himself. Mostly.

She was a distraction all on her own, her closeness, but as Zana began massaging his shoulders he let the pen in his hand drop and let his eyes drift shut for a bit. "I'll think about it," he conceded in regards to how they'd use the room. When she suggested he should relax, he grinned a little, thinking...if only he could. "There's a lot to do. This," he said, gesturing to the stacks of papers, "is just the start of it. It's happening faster than I'd anticipated." He'd guess they had Peter in part to thank for that. If not for the man's incompetence, Theo might have been content with putting a few crowns here, a few there away until he'd saved what he needed. Then again, he was to ambitious to have remained patient for long.

Theo grinned again when she moved round and kissed him, then perched herself on the desk by his papers. "I'll show you prude," he warned. Later, unfortunately. They were as good as out in the open and while he wouldn't mind the audience, the painters had wasted enough time that trial, watching the girls coming and going. And as for those girls? His gaze shifted to the ceiling and he frowned at the noise, then shrugged. "Let them have their fun now. It will give them something to fondly remember when they're up through the night cleaning up the mess that they've made. Or when they see the costs of the wasted paint that's come out of their first round of pay."

"Categories," he considered with a thoughtful frown while draining the tumbler by his elbow, picking up the cigarillo again from the ashtray and leaning back. "Tiers," I guess. "We can initially place them based on experience and skill, and adjust as necessary based on their handler's assessments. Not me," he told her. "Not all of them anyway. That's better left to whoever becomes their handler, each of them."

[Zana]

"And tell me, dear heart," she more or less purred as he explained why this room was ideal for him. "Does it seem like a quiet room to you now? Also," she whispered into his ear, "we both know that any ground floor room with a window is good for a getaway and in fact, into the enclosed garden is likely to be the most obvious." She fell quiet for a few moments, though, letting him relax and close his eyes as her hands worked his muscles. "I know," there was a lot to do. "We'll get it done. You're just easier to work with when you're not so tense."

His promise to show her prude, but later was met with a raised eyebrow and a slight sigh. Her teasing was gentle, though, there was a high stack of papers and a job to do on each one it seemed. So, Zana moved from sitting on the desk and got herself a chair. That, she positioned on the opposite side to his and thus, they could see what each other was seeing or they could work separately.

"Tiers? That makes sense. Alright, so we've got four here. Lets name them, that works better. Lace to Satin, cheapest to most expensive?" Touches like that, she could do quite easily, and Zana was able to call on a lot of experience of working in brothels, a lot more than he had and more than probably all the girls upstairs had put together. "So, we need to work out handlers, then?" Zana slid over the parchment with the suggested tiers.

"Those prices are by the break. The more experienced girls should be able to handle longer time periods. We need to decide how we handle that, too." It was strange, she thought, she wasn't sure whether to talk about him or them. There was no doubting that this was their business, in her eyes, they were partners; she believed that Theo felt the same way. At the same time, though, she was one of the whores these decisions were going to impact.

"In the brothel in Ne'haer, some of my regulars would take me as an escort to functions, company to the theater, that sort of thing," she explained. It was lucrative for the business, good for the girl too. "It requires careful handling, though. Especially somewhere like here. If the customer meets friends, for example, and they ask who you are. I've had clients say 'she's a whore I've hired for the night' or one particular panic-prone chap said I was his sister." Zana gave a sudden, mischievous grin. "No one believed him. Good job." With a wry expression, she considered, "it also needs a clear headed girl who is aware of what the boundaries are, what she says no to and how much to charge for unforeseen extras like friends popping up." There were other considerations, of course, that were much more his area of expertise. Choosing the clients they said yes to, for that kind of thing, putting together clear boundaries for it.

Going back to something he said previously, Zana tapped the piece of parchment with the tiers. "So, judging by your reaction to my question, you aren't going to run this with the same ethos of all the girls being available to all the male staff?" She quirked an eyebrow as she asked that. In fairness, she'd thought that it was no bad thing at the Lap of Luxury, right up until she didn't want it at all. Now? She was a convert to maintaining the handler-girl relationship and not working the way Peter had. End of the trial, though, that was something that Theo had to be happy with.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

There was no denying that Zana could be very persuasive. Diabolically so. And she was a partner, rather than just another of his girls. On the other hand, Theo was convinced that if he didn't pick a battle now and then, reasonable or not, and stand his ground, then they'd quickly gain the upper hand. Still, it wasn't easy with her draped over his shoulders and purring in his ear. "I like it," he maintained. "It's a perfect office. Maybe in time we'll revisit the topic."

"Tiers, yes," he agreed, and when she suggested silk, satin and other materials, Theo nodded. He liked it. Classy, but simple. So handlers then. "I'll handle you and Brandi," he said, and then wondered, "Do you think Patrick will be joining us? Clayton might handle him, along with Emma and Tessa. Patrick might work and also handle Isabella and Molly." As for outings? "For the most experienced girls I think," he considered. "And only for established, trusted clientele."

The costs to the client could be adjusted, he suggested, based on the nature of the arrangement, how long, how many others may be involved. And it would require a girl that was disciplined and level headed enough to handle it should the situation change. "No," he said when Zana brought up the way things had been done at the Lap of Luxury.

"Handlers and their girls, yes. That would be expected," he said, regarding intimacy between those who worked there. "Forms attachments, and allows the handler to better assess his girls. But other...couplings, lady's choice I think." Meaning that if any one or more of the girls wanted to, then naturally no one on premises would object.

[Zana]

Ah, she had trodden, without thought or concern on that most fragile of flowers, Zana realised. The male ego. Maybe in time they'd revisit the topic, he said and he said it with just the right amount of authority and control. Her hands worked to soothe his poor, tired, male muscles and Zana smiled and kissed him gently on the cheek. "As you say, dear heart. I'm sure you'll make the best decision for the business at the end of the trial." With a playful nibble on his earlobe, she considered that it was probably best left there and she concentrated on making sure he was relaxed.

In fairness, if he was tense and grouchy, then it was understandable. There was a lot to do and a sense of nothing being actually finished. So, alongside a massage she supposed she should be some actual use also and so she started at the top of one of the piles. He was happy with the naming of the tiers, that was easily done. He was clear on who would be handling who and it made sense, she noted it where it needed writing. Glancing at him she raised an eyebrow on the thought of Patrick being a handler. It made sense, the majority of clients were male and so the handlers being male was the usual.

"I think that will probably work, but we'll need to keep an eye. Or you will, specifically. I'll speak to the girls, make sure that he's doing his job not just getting his jollies." It was a fine line and sometimes, tricky conversations needed to be had. "But, I think you're right, that's the best option in the first instance. Oh, and speaking of that." Zana put her pen down and looked at Theo with an impassive gaze.

"You were right about Brandi, too. And I was wrong about her. It's been tricky, Theo and she's a pain in the ass. But she's worked hard, taken criticism and she really wants to be good at this. She is, too," Zana couldn't quite help the twitch of her lips as she said that. "She's been good for Billie, too. I'm sorry. I should have trusted that you were making the right decision for us all and I didn't." It was rare that Zana admitted she had been wrong, but she had very strong feelings and rules about this relationship between her and her handler. He was one of the few people in the world she would admit that to and the only one it was important she did.

"But I've enjoyed teaching her. More than I thought I would. So, if there's training to be done, I'd like to be put in the picture for it, if you think I've done a reasonable job." Her eyebrow raised slightly and then she grinned. "I welcome the feedback," she chuckled as she spoke the absolute truth, "though she's given me plenty." Truly, if there were any jobs which required a professional critic, she told him, Brandi should be it. She had very exacting standards and a wide and descriptive vocabulary. "You sure you want to be her handler?" Zana asked with a smile. "One wrong move and the woman three doors down will know before you've rolled over."

On his take regarding what he so primly referred to as 'couplings', Zana nodded. Best be careful of that fragile ego-thing, she considered and so spoke carefully. "I think... honestly, I think you're right. I did like the idea in the Lap, but that was because I thought it meant that I could get critique from a variety of sources. Really, it just meant that I had a number of free customers." If she wanted to give away free sex with no benefit to herself, she explained with an impish grin, she'd have got married.

"Can I suggest, from the point of view of the girls, that you make a rule that there's a hard no on that whilst the girls are working, whether they agree or not?" She was speaking from experience, she explained, when she said that the 'if you want' could lead to pressure on the girls who didn't, and just was too potentially tricky. "What they do off the clock is up to them, but on the clock they should be available to be where their handler wants them."

The next thing on the list was the alcohol distributors and the prices. "Alright, I'm going to spread this out on the floor, work out the best deal and then come up with a suggestion for who we go with for what, alright?" Standing, she unfurled herself from the chair and moved over to kiss him deeply. Then, she lay on her stomach on the floor with the parchments in front of her. Every now and then she asked a question and it took her longer to do than it would have taken him, no doubt. However, what that meant was that he was able to do the same with another one of the distributors, maybe even two considering how big the alcohol menu would be.

Slow, there was no doubt, but she was thorough and spotted the best deals and the catches which were in each one. After a break and a half of not lifting her head except to ask something, she handed him a list. "That will cost us the least. I've factored in the fact that this distributor gives a discount for amount purchased. If I've got that wrong, it's the one on the other side." Gathering up the parchment, Zana had moved to sitting cross legged on the floor and she looked up at him with a grin. "If you ever doubt it, believe me when I tell you that my job is better than yours. A break and a half of bad sex would have still been better than that."

But still, she couldn't argue ~ she wanted to be a partner in this, so it meant doing the prep work. "Where are you going to live?" Zana asked, out of nowhere apparently. "And what about Billie?" The redhead was very much part of the group of girls, just so long as she didn't think about taking clients. "I know she's not working. I'm not sure she'll ever work again, although I hope so. But for what it's worth, I think you should remain being her handler too. She wants to get back to that relationship with you, properly. I think it would give her permission, in a funny way."

Zana looked at him with an impish smile as she reached for the next piece of parchment. "If you can manage, that is."

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

His ego was in very fine repair, Theo would have told Zana had he known what she was thinking. He had a knack in truth for insight and very good guesses when it came to the internal thoughts and dialogues of others. But where women's minds and thinking were concerned, sometimes...just sometimes, it was wiser to leave well enough alone. Besides, it was a very good location for his office. When she took the top off the stack of papers however, and mentioned Patrick, he frowned and nodded even while picking up a pen and a stack of his own.

"I'll keep an eye. So will Clayton. He's proving himself to be a good choice so far. The girls seem to like him and he knows the bar like nobody else." Clayton, that was. And if Zana's concerns about Patrick turned out to be warranted, Theo himself would have enough to do without focusing too much on the lone man who'd be working alongside the girls. Meanwhile, he went through the list of incidentals. Tobacco, plates, glasses and cutlery. Who knew there were so many details to consider?

When she apologized for her previous doubts about Billie, Theo shrugged, sitting back just a bit before turning to the next sheet of lists and numbers. "No need," he assured her. "It was just a hunch that she'd work out, with no guarantees. There are any number of beautiful women in the city. But under all that grime, cheap perfume and tacky lace, she had a lot of scrap." Still did, so far as he could tell. "Train her then," he said without hesitation. "Consider her a trial run, and we'll consider it part of your responsibility." It wasn't enough after all for him, or any handler to work with the girls. There were some things he suspected that only another woman could truly teach. "And I'll consider it a challenge," he added with a grin as he got back to his papers. A vocal critic? "I believe I'm fully capable of rising to the challenge."

A hard rule then. During working trials, only their handlers, and only them for their handlers. But off the clock? They could do as they pleased. But back to the logistics of setting up business and the stack grew smaller. Still, he couldn't help but laugh when she claimed again that her job was better than his. Maybe, except, "From a man's perspective, I can tell you that there's no such thing as bad sex," he insisted. "There's mediocre sex, at worst. There's good sex, above average sex, phenomenal sex and the kind of sex that leaves you unable to walk for three trials and you're not sorry. But no bad sex."

"I'm going to keep the bungalow," he said when she asked. "It's just down the block and I'll want a place to retreat to when I'm not working here. Maybe I'll buy it once the business is in the black. You want to stay there, or would you rather take a room here?" he asked. If she'd like to remain at the bungalow in fact, he was all for it though he was starting to think that Billie might prefer to come along with Brandi. As for Billie herself, Theo frowned thoughtfully before coming to a conclusion. "She won't be working anytime soon I don't think. But I'll remain her handler."

It was one of those rare instances that his decision wasn't based on profit or absolute logic. It was for Billie. In the meantime, if she wanted to be involved in some way without taking customers there was plenty she could do. Helping with the food or behind the bar, for instance and it might just be good for her. "And, I think we've done it," he added and sat back again, all his papers finally gone through and neatly stacked in three piles on his desk.

[Zana]

"Clayton is good. I like him, he feels like a safe pair of hands," realising how that sounded she grinned. "You know what I mean. He'll be a good handler, I think." Clayton had a good way of being with people, and he was friendly but not a pushover. All good things.

He was understanding of her apology about Brandi, but it had needed saying, as far as Zana believed. It was an example of his instincts kicking in and they were good. Zana looked up from the floor and grinned at him. "Excellent. I think I've done well with her so far, she's certainly ready to take on customers." Zana chuckled and lowered her head, looking back at the piece of parchment without really seeing it. "Just if they're ready to take on her, is all. And you'd best be careful what you wish for. She's more than a little disparaging, you know." She grinned over to him as he sat back down and spoke of rising to the challenge, "I'd say you are. But she's ready and the no men rule is lifted, I've told her this morning." She could add training to what she did. That pleased her, there was no doubt, "I'll put together time with each of them, then, for individual and small group training," she glanced up, quick to reassure him, "I'll speak to the handler first. See how involved they want to be." She rolled her eyes at that but her expression was teasing. "How involved do you want to be, dear heart?"

When he spoke about a male perspective, then, Zana turned over and sat up, sitting cross legged on the floor and looking at him. "Life is not fair, you know. Bad sex is very much a thing." Zana looked a lot like her father, though at that point she didn't know it except for what her mother had told her. It meant that she had what appeared to be a truly innocent expression most of the time and this was no different. "I like to think that I'm good at what I do, but really, sometimes you just don't have enough to work with," so saying she solemnly raised her pinkie finger and wiggled it whilst looking at it sadly. "When you're not sure if everything is where it's supposed to be, then it's bad sex."

Turning back to the papers with an impish grin, though, Zana stopped and looked back at him. "Why, Theo, are you proposing we move in together?" She grinned at him wickedly, "I have to be honest, I've enjoyed sharing my space with less people. No one steals my things in your house and I can leave my stockings and underwear laying around to dry" Which he got tangled up in on a regular basis, she knew. "I'd like that, thank you." His decision about Billie was a good one too and Zana nodded her head. Billie would be happiest that way, she thought. Would she stay here with Brandi? Probably, but that was up to Billie. "She'd like that. You being her handler." As she got up and they checked off the last thing on the list, Zana moved over to pour him another drink, as well as get herself one. "Good work," she said with a smile. "Shall we go see if any paint got on the walls?"

[Incubus]

Theo

Knowledge
Detection: Maintaining awareness of your surroundings
Discipline: Resisting persuasion
Discipline: Recognising when to stand your ground
Leadership: Deciding your style as a boss
Leadership: Knowing when to relax, when to be assertive.
Leadership: Pick your battles
Negotiation: Build strong relationships to ensure mutually beneficial deals
Psychology: Consideration of thought processes
Psychology: Gender differences in attitudes

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: +1 Good Deed
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

Zana

Knowledge
Caregiving: Massaging tired muscles.
Caregiving: Easing tension with a shoulder massage
Caregiving: Soothing tone of voice to aid relaxation
Caregiving: Sometimes, the best way to care for someone is to help them with a task.
Etiquette: Apologize when it's necessary
Etiquette: Always remember how fragile the male ego can be
Persuasion: Tone of voice can be very persuasive
Persuasion: Persuade during moments of intimacy
Persuasion: Pick your battles

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

Comments: If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know.