Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 79

There was no way I would be up early enough to eat anything that could be justified as breakfast.

“Best I can do is brunch,” I said.

“Sold!” Charity grinned. “I’ll see you then!”

She scurried forward, stood on her toes, grabbed my shoulders, and kissed my cheek. Then whispered, “I’m going to need you to follow through with where we left off last time. Don’t make me chase you.”

She backed off before I could respond, but her gaze suggested that if my dance card wasn’t already full, she’d be dragging me to my room. Last time we saw each other, she was still recovering from a gunshot to the abdomen, and I ended up eating her out after offering her a job.

“We will… promise,” I said.

Then cleared my throat and turned back to Emiko.

“Office?”

***

Even the study had transformed under Emiko’s care. The bookshelves, the large globe, and the massive television were in the same place, but there were other decorations. A sprawling rug that looked soft and expensive lay across the floor between the ebony desk and the door. Tapestries and old collections of weapons and books lined the walls in spaces where available. The books looked like they had been completely rearranged, and even that small change contributed to the overall aesthetics.

“Goddammit, Emiko! Are you a witch?”

Emiko’s laugh was soft and musical. “I was told to spare no expense in making this place feel like a home when you returned. I just did a little research on your interests. Miss Malik assured me that you would not mind me contacting your mother for additional assistance on how I should decorate.”

I looked up from the glass case holding an original Tolkien-annotated map of Middle-earth. “Is this real?”

“It is,” Emiko said. “I wish I could take full credit, but Miss Malik has been in communication with the seller for a while. I only finalized the deal after I was hired. It arrived in New York a week ago, and I arranged to have it delivered after I arrived.”

I blinked back down at the map. It had to cost a hundred thousand dollars, easily. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a dream.

“You spoke to my mom?” I asked Emiko, my head still catching up.

“I did,” she said. “She’s a sweet woman. I hope you don’t mind. I did not wish you to return without a properly decorated space.”

I whistled, not having been as impressed by someone since Erin.

Circling behind my desk, I examined the chair; it was different. My old one was one of the most comfortable pieces of furniture that I had ever sat in, but it looked like the kind of office chair that belonged to someone interested only in comfort. This one looked more vintage and conformed with the rest of the decor. I sat in it to test whether they had sacrificed function for form.

Nope. I could have fallen asleep in this thing.

“Well, I’m impressed,” I said.

Emiko had walked up to the other side of the desk and stood in front of it, hands clasped in simple elegance. “You honor me. Thank you.”

When she remained standing, I said, “Please! Have a seat! Can I call you Emi?”

“Thank you,” Emiko said, as she pulled a chair close and sat in it, crossing her ankles. She even made something as simple as sitting down seem elegant and graceful. “I would prefer Emiko, if you don’t mind. Emi is a little too casual for my comfort.”

Something in her tone left an unspoken ‘for now’ on the end.

“Alright then. Emiko, once again, thank you for all this. It’s amazing.”

She smiled graciously and shook her head. A few strands of her dark chestnut hair slipped free of her bun and fell across her cheek. She tucked them behind her ear. “There is no need to continue thanking me. I am simply doing my job.”

“Why did you choose this job?”

“I felt my path in Japan was ending, and I needed a new one. Miss Malik was the guide who showed me the beginning of my new journey.”

It was a strange way of describing it, but the woman could be poetic in the simplest ways. “What was your old path?”

“I managed a private establishment called the ‘Tsukikage-an’ for seven years.”

“I’m not familiar with that.”

“It is a house of pleasure.”

That caught me off guard. “Like a…”

I searched for a better term than brothel. Whore house? No… definitely worse.

“A brothel?” Emiko suggested.

She must have seen my discomfort at basically reading my mind; her smile grew amused. “It is okay to call a spade a spade, Mister Upton. One of the many services the ‘Tsukikage-an’ offers is sexual release.”

“You don’t have a problem calling it a brothel?”

“That is what it is,” Emiko said. “Of course, it is more than that, but most of its revenue comes from men paying for sex.”

Of course, that brought another question to mind, but there was no way in hell I was going to ask that. I sat back in my seat and tried my best to come up with a different one.

I must have taken a beat too long because Emiko, still looking amused at my hesitation, tilted her head to the side. It exposed the graceful curve of her creamy neck, reminding me that not only was she one hell of a domestic manager, but she was also a beautiful woman.

“You’re wondering if I served the ‘Tsukikage-an’ in that role,” she guessed.

Something about the way she looked at me… I didn’t want to lie to her. “I mean, I wondered…”

“It’s okay to wonder. Not asking was... considerate. Most men wouldn’t have resisted.”

I felt growing discomfort at the unspoken question lingering between us, but the seconds ticked by, and she didn’t seem willing to offer any more information.

I decided it was better to move on.

“So, what do you think about your new role?”

Something subtle changed in her that I couldn’t put my finger on, and I wondered if I’d just been tested. I hated the idea that I might be poked and prodded by one of my staff in my own house. This was supposed to be a safe space where I could kick back. I didn’t want to have my guard up every waking minute.

But at the same time, part of me was dying to know if I had passed.

“Your staff is complicated,” Emiko said, easing back in her chair.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I said.

“Jessica is your former girlfriend?”

If I’d been taking a drink of water, I would have done a spit-take. The question was jarring. “Uh… yes.”

“And I take it you know that she wants to renew that relationship, yes?”

“She’s made that pretty obvious.”

“And yet you chose to have her move halfway across the country to be your maid.”

I didn’t like being accused of something. Hiring Jessica like I had may not have been one of my proudest moments, but I already had my own conscience to deal with. I didn’t need to pay for a Jimini Cricket.

“What’s your point?”

“Please don’t misunderstand,” Emiko said. “I’m not passing judgment. In my years, I’ve seen things that would make you blush. I am trying to ensure that I have painted an accurate picture.”

She continued, “She has willingly submitted to this, seems eager to do your bidding, and hopes to possibly win your affection, but you do not see a future with her?”

Jesus Christ.

“I… guess so?”

“Very good,” she said with a nod. “I don’t think Jessica will be a problem in your household, but there is some remaining entitlement that we will need to watch for. She still thinks she deserves respect beyond her station because of your past relationship. My understanding is that she does not.”

I was still unsure of exactly where this was going. “Okay?”

“If she should act outside the bounds of her station, how do you wish her to be disciplined?”

Erin, who the fuck did you hire?

“Disciplined?”

“Yes. Do you have a preference?”

This was not the direction I thought this conversation would take. “Maybe? I don’t know. I kind of deal with Jessica in the moment.”

“Will you think on it?” Emiko said. “I don’t want to step outside my bounds.”

“Yeah. I mean… I guess I don’t have to think about it. If you catch her doing something she shouldn’t be doing, you’re free to do whatever you think needs to happen.”

Astrid sprang to mind.

“Wait! I mean… shit!”

Emiko smiled apologetically and made a note. “Forgive me. I thought Miss Malik would have prepared you better for this meeting. We’ll revisit staff discipline at a later date.”

“Yeah. That… might be for the best.” I said. I knew how to treat the women in my life, but that was driven by instinct. I had grown accustomed to how we treated Bobbi, but that was something Helen and I had built together. I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting a stranger take control like that… especially after Astrid.

“I’ll just continue my assessment, so this won’t take too long.”

Emiko leaned forward in her seat, folding her hands in her lap. “Miss Manalo is a lovely girl. She was shot when you were kidnapped in Vegas?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Why did you hire her?”

“Well, there’s the fact that I got her shot.”

“Did you feel obligated to offer her a job because of that? You paid for her medical bills, correct?”

“Yes,” I said.

“And she received a significant boost to her status as an influencer because of it, so you would agree she was compensated.”

That was true. Her following had blown up in the last month, and there was a definite uptick after the shooting. Still, Erin suspected that her continuing climb up the ladder of internet fame was ongoing because of her association with me. My limitless budget and own fame didn’t exactly hurt her.

“Well, it also made sense to bring in someone who knew how to market themselves.”

“You could have brought someone on with more experience,” Emiko pointed out.

“In my defense, I did,” I said.

“Mrs. Lyons,” Emiko concluded.

“Yes.”

“She said no, so you decided to go with Miss Manalo despite her relatively low follower count before she was shot?”

“Like I said, I felt like I owed Charity, and she had promise.”

“She’s also very attractive,” Emiko said, looking at me pointedly.