Chapter 27: Masterson's Proposition

The next morning my secretary advised me Greg Masterson was on the line. When I picked up he greeted me warmly and said he had a business proposition for me and would I be free for lunch that day? I was intrigued and readily agreed, quickly rescheduling another appointment. With Masterson it was best to accommodate to his schedule.

I arrived at his favorite restaurant on the Upper East Side near Central Park. It was the same restaurant where I had my original fateful meeting with him to plead Stephanie's case. This time I took a GPS guided robo-taxi. It was not lost on me that such a vehicle probably would not have been possible without the sophisticated collision avoidance system pioneered by none other than the man I was meeting for lunch. As I approached the front door of the restaurant I remembered that I had walked to this restaurant for the earlier meeting and had encountered quite a protest demonstration on the way.

This time the maitre d' recognized me at once.

"Ah, Mr. Steelforth", he began, "Mr. Masterson has just called to say he is on his way and has asked me to seat you at his favorite table where you might enjoy a glass of wine while you are waiting."

"That would be fine, I am sure."

"Before I seat you", he continued, "I must ask your preference for the sex, race and age of your server. Also you may specify his or her physical type."

"Physical type?" I queried.

"Yes, Mr. Steelforth. Let me show you our menu of servers currently available and you can select one from the photos."

He handed me a leather bound folder and inside there were photos and descriptions of the various servers. Each photo with its accompanying description was inserted into a pocket inside the folder. This enabled the maitre d' to update the folder as different waiters and waitresses came on or off duty. I looked through the folder and was struck by the variety of different physiques on offer — ranging from voluptuous to athletic to thin. My eye was drawn to a very attractive and slender young black twenty something woman who was pictured in a black vest, a modest white blouse and a full-length form fitting black skirt that ended at mid calf. I noted also that she wore black nylons and black high-heeled shoes.

"I would like to be served by that one!" I said, pointing to the photo of the one that struck my fancy.

"Excellent choice, sir! Shawna has been with us for three years now and is one of the most often requested by regular customers. She will be assigned exclusively to yourself and Mr. Masterson for the duration of your dining experience with us. You do have one other choice to make, Mr. Steelforth. It concerns her mode of dress while serving you. We can offer you some limited options in this area consistent with our desire to maintain decorum."

"What are my choices?"

"You can choose a blouse style that is long sleeved and modest with a high neckline, like the one you saw in her picture, or a sleeveless shoulder baring style, or a short sleeve one with a plunging neckline, or a short sleeve one that is midriff baring. You may also choose the length of her skirt."

I had always had a thing for seeing the well defined shoulders and collarbone area of a slender woman. Also I was more of a leg man than a breast man. I made my desires known accordingly.

"I would like her to wear the micro skirt together with the vest and the sleeveless shoulder baring blouse."

"Excellent choice, sir!"

With that he led me back to Greg Masterson's favorite table in a somewhat secluded rear alcove. A drink waiter shortly appeared. I saw that he was tall and slender and attired in a white ruffled shirt w bowtie, black vest, and full length black slacks that fit him like a second skin — leaving little to the imagination.

"The waitress you selected", he began, "is now donning the clothing you selected for her sir. In the meantime perhaps you would like to order a drink sir?"

I ordered a glass of Merlot, dismissed him and turned on the small TV monitor in the alcove near the table. I had been enjoying my wine and idly watching the news of the day for perhaps ten minutes when Greg joined me.

"Bill, I apologize for the delay and I am so glad you could meet with me on such short notice."

"Not a problem Greg."

Just then our tall drink waiter returned and Greg, following my example, ordered a Merlot.

Our attention was then drawn to a news announcement from one of the local New York City stations.

"Word just in that Robert Dexter, well known to our listeners as the owner of Dexter Pharmaceuticals, has failed his annual citizenship examinations twice. Sources at the Citizenship Bureau advise that he will now forfeit his standing as a citizen of Capitallia and as a citizen of New York State. He is eligible to reapply in two years time, but in the meantime, as a non-citizen, he is no longer able to own the business he founded, nor can he maintain ownership of the 10 million dollar mansion he maintains in the Hamptons. Mr. Dexter's stock in the corporation and his home will go up for auction a week from next Monday. Dexter Pharmaceuticals has been placed in temporary receivership until such time as a new owner can take over control of the business."

"In other news today..."

I remembered a much younger Robert Dexter from one of the slavery conferences twenty years ago. He had been a passionate advocate for full chattel slavery and helped to pass the legislation we now operated under.

"They will probably let him continue to manage the business as a salaried CEO", Masterson remarked. "He can still make a good living as a salaried manager. Maybe one of his friends will buy his home and lease it back to him for the next couple of years. While he can no longer own Dexter Pharmaceuticals, the court appointed receiver must sell his stock at a fair price and award him the proceeds. So he won't be bankrupted by this. If he uses his time wisely he may be able to ace those exams when he comes up for citizenship review in two more years."

Our attention was then drawn to other news from the Chinese government.

"They have just announced", the newscaster intoned, "that they will be the third country in the contemporary world to legalize chattel slavery. The 'Chinese Capitalist Party' - what used to be called the 'Chinese Communist Party', made the decision. While they have forsaken communism in favor of capitalism, they have not forsaken the autocratic rule that Communism brought in 1949."

"Does this mean you will be building a plant in China now?" I asked.

"Hardly. The Chinese version of slavery is likely to be very brutal indeed. They will have few of the refinements or safeguards that have evolved in our society of limited franchise democracy. I would not want to be involved, or have my managers operating, in an environment of enslavement of political dissidents and the brutal practices they will follow. Perhaps in another twenty years their system will evolve into something that would be compatible with Western sensibilities. But that is not for now."

"What then?" I responded. "Are there other parts of the world that might be more promising for expansion of your business interests?"

"Ah yes! That is one of the things I wanted to talk about. The second country in the world to legalize chattel slavery is Brazil. That was just two weeks ago. Perhaps you have heard something of that?"

"Yes indeed", I replied.

Just then the very leggy black waitress that I had earlier selected approached our table, presented Greg with his drink, and asked about our lunch orders. She was sexier than I could have hoped for with her delicate and well defined shoulders bared and her attractive nylon clad legs on display almost up to her crotch. Masterson indicated he would have the Salmon with the Mornay sauce, steamed asparagus au gratin, and a salad. I indicated I would have the same and Masterson dismissed her ... I did not miss the opportunity to gaze with awe at her long slender legs as she turned away in her high heels.

"Now you might say why Brazil?" he continued. Many countries who have been traditional allies of the U.S. have been watching our Capitallian experiment and looking to see if their economies and their penal systems could be improved by following our example. The problem is that most of these countries are now 'social democracies'. They have adopted the socialist model with cradle to grave security for all their citizens. They are also very egalitarian."

"How does this factor into their decisions about slavery?" I asked.

"The overwhelming majority of people in these countries believe in a strong social safety net. They also believe no one person should be allowed to have that much more than what can be guaranteed to all. They have highly confiscatory taxation schemes. So the idea of one person being allowed to actually own another person is not something most of these people can ever accept."

"So how was it different in Brazil?" I wanted to know.

"Brazil certainly has a stronger democratic tradition than China" he replied. "But it is more of an elitist democracy where there have long been great extremes of wealth and poverty. There is, in effect, a ruling class in Brazil that concentrates governing power more than in the European social democracies. I think this is why the idea of one human being owning another is more acceptable there."

"Will this affect your business prospects in that country?"

"In time, yes. And I may eventually have need of your services there."

"Greg, there is another matter I would like to bring up. You recall Stephanie asked you at our meeting if you would look into the possibility of improving the situation of the dancer, Jennifer Maisten. I would like to be able to tell her something."

"There is a problem with that, though perhaps not an insurmountable one."

"What is the problem?" I asked.

"Jennifer is a criminal slave" he responded. "She was convicted in a private prosecution by the ballet company for embezzling funds. The ballet company, as the successful private prosecutor, and as the victim of her crime, was given the usual prerogative by the Court of defining her sentence within the statutory guidelines. So even though they subsequently sold her to me, I am still bound by the terms of her original sentence."