Chapter 4

Monday started quiet; I left the girls -- almost without worries -- and went to work as usual; they could have cleaned me out before this, and it certainly appeared that they were better off not doing so. I still tended to underestimate the value of their 'training'; theoretically, they would rather live, so they wouldn't chance crossing me, even though they ought to have realized by then that they were perfectly safe. Actually, from their perspective, they were a lot safer 'working' for me than they would have been anywhere else -- and, well, they were right, weren't they?

But word of mouth was circulating, even if I wasn't the mouth; my manager appeared in my cube and said, "I hear you have a new side business."

I don't like Tony -- he's an ineffectual middle-management suck-up with no guts and delusions of grandeur -- oh, and a slimy asshole. "Is that a problem?"

"Not if you come to work, I guess," Tony replied, looking like it hurt him to say so. "I hear it's house cleaning or something."

"I have a couple of girls who cook or clean or otherwise help out for a fee," I replied, "Domestic and personal services, that kind of thing."

"How much do they charge for a one bedroom place?"

"Depends on what you need," I replied, eyeing him. "We would probably want to get a look before making an estimate."

"So you don't have a standard price list," Tony ventured.

This had started sounding like a vice cop trying to get a hooker to commit to something so he could arrest her for soliciting. "We're still shaking down, balancing the costs of supplies and the amount of work against what we think the traffic will bear. Besides, we don't want to get pigeonholed into being just a cleaning service," I replied carefully.

"When could I get one of these estimates?" Tony asked.

"After work?" I replied. "I can drag one of the girls around..."

Tony grunted. "Might take both."

I shrugged, "Then it probably won't be fifty bucks, you know?"

"Yeah." He scratched his address and home phone on a sticky note and handed it to me. "About six?"

"Okay." When he was gone, I called Manny. "Did you talk to Tony?"

"That asshole? No way! But it's a buzz..."

"Thanks for the advertizing -- I think," I grunted.

"Any time," Manny chuckled.

I called the house; the girls were ready when I got home. In the car, I told them, "Look, this guy is my boss -- and I don't like him, particularly. You do what you want as far as giving him things -- but make him pay for it. I'd like to have something on him when this is over, not the other way around."

"Hokay, Boss!" Luz nodded, grinning.

"They're pregnant!" Tony hissed to me as we swept through the door. Tony's 'bachelor pad' was a mess; I wouldn't want to clean the sty.

"Yeah, I noticed," I muttered back, thinking, 'Fucking idiot... ' The girls split up professionally and went all over the place, calling out questions from different rooms. I had a little work order or estimate sheet that had some verbiage about what we were and were not liable for and I stood there with Tony, not saying much while they did their inspection.

When they came back, they discussed things in low whispers and Darla asked Tony, "How clean do you want it and how fast?"

Tony shrugged. "Clean. Like it was when I moved in. Tonight?"

Darla frowned. "That's both of us, maybe four hours. Three hundred."

Tony blanched. "That much?"

"The CDC ought to declare that bathroom a biological warfare lab," Darla said flatly. "We're probably underestimating. But it's a flat rate -- three hundred -- plus materials. We might have to send Donnie for more cleaning materials." I scratched that on the work order and handed it to Tony. It was his move; if he was aware of the other services the girls provided, he would pay -- besides, one look at that sty said no one was getting cheated.

"Okay..." Tony grunted after a moment's thought. I handed Tony the work order. "Pay the man," Darla ordered flatly, "We'll want the deposit up front."

Fortunately, I had gotten merchant services on the Maids Plus website I'd set up Sunday evening; Tony wanted to pay by credit card. It was all tied to that fancy bookkeeping program everybody knows about -- and our bank. It's amazing what you can do online these days. Tony fed the site his numbers and even got a receipt from his printer. In the meantime, Luz went down to the car and got mops and buckets and other crap.

"We're gonna need more stuff, Boss," Darla told me -- and rattled off a list. I was going to have to look for a wholesale cleaning supplies outlet. "Come on back when you've got it." Then she winked at me as we reached the door. I nodded and let myself out.

It took me an hour to get the stuff and return to Tony's. Darla opened the door a crack and accepted the stuff, saying loudly, "You don't want to come in here, Boss. Call Tony about nine-thirty to see if we're done." She winked at me again, grinning, so I just nodded and went away ... At nine-thirty, Luz said, "Come pick me up, Boss. Darla is gonna finish up alone. Tony will bring her home." So I went and got Luz -- and most of the cleaning equipment. I had an invoice for the additional, which Luz took inside to present Tony with.

In the car, Luz said, "You right, Boss. Tony is an asshole." He had barely waited for the door to close behind me before shelling out an additional hundred to have the girls clean in the nude and the bill had shot up sharply from there. Luz did most of the cleaning while Darla split her time between that and entertaining; I gathered that Tony was a bit racist, among his other sterling qualities, and Luz was only good for domestic duties as long as Darla was around. I was willing to bet he would 'lower himself' if Darla wasn't around, though...

Luz hit the kitchen to make a late dinner -- sandwiches -- and went upstairs to shower; I didn't get in her way, believing she'd earned a cleanup and to be able to relax. Frankly, I didn't expect the meal. At around eleven, about the time Luz and I settled on the couch to watch the news, Darla came through the door. Reaching in the pocket of her maternity stretchpants, she fished out four hundred dollars in crumpled bills. "Normally, when I go around the world, I give a discount -- but that bastard I did a la carte," she laughed. Apparently, going around the world a la carte cost three hundred...

"Did you keep any?" I asked.

Darla cocked her head. "No."

"Why not? You've got baby things to buy..."

Darla shook her head as if to clear it. "Donnie, the last time Roscoe asked me that question, he stripped me naked to make sure and slapped me around a little, threatening to get serious about it if he found out I was lying and had stashed some money somewhere..."

"Fuck..." I rubbed my forehead. "I'm not Roscoe. I would suck as a pimp, per se. I'm your boss -- your business manager. Yeah, I expect to at least recoup some expenses out of this deal, but not one hundred percent."

"Well, we're behind on startup payments -- aren't we, Luz?" Darla replied. "If you're holding the money, I know where to get it from."

"Yeah, okay, whatever. I'll put it toward the health insurance premiums or something," I muttered. "Luz made you a sandwich."

"Let me wash the taste of Tony out of my mouth first," Darla replied and headed for the bathroom.

Darla wolfed down her sandwich and we watched Letterman in bed, the three of us. I was willing to let things pass, but Luz seemed to feel that the day wasn't over until my balls were empty, so I did her doggie. It didn't hurt me or anything. Hell, I hadn't had a lot of pussy, but either one of them put anything else in my experience on the street. I wonder how many women know to loosen up on the in-stroke and clamp down on the out-stroke? Darla and Luz had it down pat in all three holes...

Tuesday morning Luz made me eggs and bacon and passed on sex -- which was fine. I was getting so much I didn't know what to do with myself. I was Tony's favorite guy at work -- and he had a big mouth, too, from my instant popularity. Four or five of the guys made sure I went out to lunch with them so they could pump me for info. "So, hey," Mike Fowler asked, "Do these girls do parties?"

"You mean like wait staff?' I asked, pretending ignorance, "Yeah, I imagine they would. Maybe planning and catering, too -- I'd have to ask." Manny sat off to one side, grinning. "We would kind of have to look the situation over before agreeing to do it -- and pricing is negotiable."

"Uh huh," Jock Matthews grunted. "Who negotiates?"

"Well, we figure out a basic price for the job at the outset," I replied, "but if you want something extra, the girls will work it out with you on the spot." I was enjoying the doubletalk.

"So they do laundry and shit?" Jock pressed.

"Oh, yeah, sure..." I waved it off.

"Hey, you know, I do poker at my place on Thursdays..." Mike rejoined.

"Yeah? Is that the kind of party you're talking about?" I asked. "That sounds simple. Keep the food and drink flowing..."

"Yeah..." Mike's eyes glazed over. "Do they have uniforms?"

"If you were looking for something special, we could probably work it in -- but these chicks, well, they're preggers right now, you know? Fancy uniforms might get costly and wouldn't have much of a shelf life."

"Yeah, they're probably better off without..." Manny interjected, then looked carefully away ... Somebody snorted...

In the afternoon, I got an email from Mike, seriously asking about a Thursday night gig. I wrote back that we should probably come out and have a look at his place and lay out the job and pricing and we set a date for that evening. I picked up the girls and we cased Mike's joint...

Mike had a small studio apartment that needed some cleaning -- and a poker table. I was all business, and so were the girls, talking about food and alcohol and setup and takedown and what in general would be expected. Mike got in a few double-entendres, but Darla kept it clean in my presence, telling him "We need to get the basics down, first." When we'd about exhausted everything, Darla said, "I think that's the basics. Anything else, we can talk about as we go."

I took that as my cue. "Okay, "I'll write this up downstairs and email it to you, Mike. We'll want the basics in advance, and the cost of any special equipment or supplies, so make sure Darla knows everything."

"Yeah, sure..." Mike eyed me dubiously.

Darla took his arm and led him off a bit, "I'm sure you want to see our resumes..." I hit the door.

Fifteen minutes later, the girls were downstairs. Luz grinned from ear to ear and tossed fifty bucks at me. "He wanted a test drive, Boss."

"What ELSE does he want?" I asked.

"Nude service," Darla replied. "Something hot and sexy to start, but nudity to follow. The boys pay their own way, sexually. He wanted to know what would happen if he invited you; I told him you get pussy for free." She eyed me, grinning. "You had him running, there -- he wasn't sure whether you knew about the hooking or not! I told him if it got out generally that you did, he could cross us off his Christmas card list. I let him know we were into plausible deniability."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like at a massage parlor. So, he likes Luz?"

"He's gonna be a regular, Boss -- watch and see!" Luz cackled.

I took them to dinner at one of those Mediterranean chain restaurants and we all ate well, then went home -- and it was apparently Darla's night for ball draining. We experimented with various things and ended up basically in the missionary position with me upright and Darla spread under me with her butt up on a couple of pillows. I took my time and took it easy and made a serious effort to bring her pleasure -- which she seemed to appreciate, but...