Crazy trouble with love part 8
Bad Girls and Jaune
Series: RWBY
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We find ourselves at a normal looking apartment, and focus through one of the windows that showed a bed. In that bed was a tall blonde boy, our resident dork, Jaune Arc.
He was snoring and drooling on his pillow with a white shirt on that had a rabbit on it, and boxers. Suddenly the alarm clock next to his bed began to go off, making him groan. "Ugh...I don't wanna get up..." He groaned as the alarm kept going off. "Just five more minutes...don't wanna go to work yet..."
It kept on beeping as he pulled the covers over his head and tried to ignore it.
"Just let me sleeeeep!" He groaned as he covered his ears.
It kept on going though making Jaune get more and more irritated.
"Ugh, fine, I'm Up!" He sat up and knocked the alarm away before dragging his ass out of bed.
"Yay...another day another dollar." He groaned as made his way to the closet. 'I wonder if I could get away with calling in sick?'
That's when he heard his cell phone start ringing.
He groaned as he picked it up before answering it. "Hello?"
"Mr. Arc, where are you?" Came a cold woman's voice making him stand at attention.
"M-Mrs. Salem, I just woke, a-and my shift doesn't start for another half hour."
"Well I'm going to need you to come in early today."
"Really? Ok, how early?" He asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Ten minutes early."
"Ah... ok, I'll be over as soon as I can, any reason you need me early?"
"We have a client who is being stubborn with her payment."
"Um...ok, not sure how I'll be able to help but I'll try my best." He said in confusion.
"Just don't dawdle." she replied before the call ended.
"Yay, going to work early with no overtime pay." Jaune fake cheered with a sigh. He moved to get some real clothes on while skipping breakfast. 'I can eat at my lunch break, right now getting to work is more important, the last thing I want is to anger Salem.'
He got on a red tie and white button up shirt with pants and rushed out of his apartment. He ran as fast as he could, praying that he wasn't late this time. Soon he began to see his place of work. It was a normal sized building with a sign on top in the shape of a black animal with a bone cover and a title.
'Grimm loans'
"I-I'm here, and right on time." He sighed in relief as he entered the building. Inside it was a normal building with a waiting room and counter with a girl sitting behind the counter with mismatched pink and brown hair typing on a computer. "Hey Neo, how are you doing, is Salem waiting for me?"
The girl smiled and nodded while pointing to the back.
"Oh yay, well, wish me luck." He sighed as he made his way into the back.
The girl just have a thumbs up as he walked down the painted black hallway.
'Why did Salem insist on black, it would look a lot nicer with white or some other color that doesn't terrify people!' He thought before reaching the door and knocked. "Mrs. Salem, it's me, Jaune, can I come in?"
"Of course." She said as he hesitantly opened the door. "I'm glad that you showed up on time."
"No problem." He said as he walked in. "So, what can I help you with?"
"As I said, we have a borrower who is getting uppity about not paying what she borrowed and I need you to work your magic and get her to relax, otherwise Emerald may have to step in."
"Ok, sure, that doesn't seem so hard." He said with a nod.
"You haven't met the client yet."
"And who is that, is it one of our regular ones?"
"Well-"
SMASH!
"What was that?!"
"The client." She remarked without blinking and sipped some tea. "I'd go and check on her right away."
"R-Right ma'am, is she in my office right now?" He asked as he heard another crash.
"Yes, where else would I send our clients? I'd hurry, anything she breaks will have to be replaced." Frowned Salem making Jaune sigh since his boss could be firm and cold, and her appearance didn't help.
She had snow white skin with black veins around her face and crawling up her arm, her eyes were pitch black with red irises, giving her a very intimidating look. Her hair was done up in a large bun that vaguely resembled a spider as she wore a black and red business suit and heels. all in all she was a very intimidating looking boss. When asked she bluntly said 'a rare medical condition, now get to work' without even facing him too. Since then he wisely decided to drop it. Jaune sighed as he made his way to his office, hearing someone cursing a storm up inside there.
"Fuck this amount! I can't pay it off and you bastards know it!"
CRASH!
"Excuse me, please stop destroying my office." Sighed Jaune as he opened up the door. That's when he narrowly ducked from a lamp and paled. 'Is this the day I'm gonna die?'
"You mother fucking bloodsucking cock sucker! You here to wring me dry for one more dollar, huh?!" Yelled a blond girl with red eyes who had a yellow tank top and short black shorts on who was hefting up a couch with her bare hands with the room looking messy.
"N-No! Please ma'am, put down the couch!" He cried with wide eyes. "Please, I'm here to help you out of your trouble, so please stop destroying my office, I'll get in trouble and the cost of everything will be taken out of my paycheck and added to your debt!"
She growled at him while he felt a shiver seeing her eyes. "How the hell are you gonna help me?"
"Well, first I need to know everything about your lone and your name...and hope that I have a paper copy in my filing cabinet seeing how you decided to break my computer." He remarked seeing the busted machine as she dropped the couch. 'What is she, part gorilla?'
"Well hurry up and get it, I don't have all day." She growled as she sat down.
Jaune sighed and walked over before sitting down in his partially destroyed chair. "So, Mrs..."
"Yang." She growled.
"Yang, can you fill me in on your loan and why you took it out to begin with and how much you owe us?"
"I took out a loan for my little sister Ruby whose been in the hospital with a bad illness, and now that the hospital bills been paid off, your stupid company is demanding DOUBLE the amount given, plus interest!"
"Well did you read the contract before you signed?" He asked as she just growled. "I'll take that as a no, correct?"
"Of course not! I was focused on making sure my little sister was safe."
"Ok, so the blame does lie with you on that part, but I do have some good news, there are some alternative methods to paying off your debt if you're interested."
"Well it's not like I'm gonna just walk out of here, lay them on me."
"Well one of them is a regular payment plan, we set up a certain amount you pay each month if you're on a fixed income, although it might take much longer to pay back in full and my boss is not exactly a fan of waiting."
"Well too bad for he-"
"And if you choose that one we will be adding in a large fee that will be added to your original debt for defaulting to the plan." He finished making the girl glare.
"What the hell, so if I don't pay now I gotta pay for awhile AND pay more than I agreed to?!"
"Sorry, I'm just telling you what it is. Would you like to hear about another one?"
"Sure, go ahead." She growled, anger almost visible.
"Ok, well, you could also take a job at one of the businesses we own, half of your paycheck would go to the debt, but the fee for using this plan is much, much smaller."
"That doesn't sound so bad. Where would I work at?"
"Yeah, so the options available right now would be the massage parlor, the exotic dancing show, or… the naked sushi? Oh, I remember now, this is one of those fad restaurants we bought out, it's where customers pay to eat sushi off your naked body."
Her jaw dropped with a blush before growling and slammed her fists down. "What the hell?! Is that some kind of sick joke!? So I either gotta rub who knows what perverts all over, show off my body so they can gawk and stare, or fucking let perverts eat food off me?!"
"Ma'am, I'm just telling you what we have at the moment. They are legit businesses, nothing illegal." He spoke while trying to sound reassuring and growing nervous. 'Please don't be the punch the messenger type.'
"There has to be other options!"
"W-Well, uh… do you have any collateral, anything of value that you could give us that would pay off your debt?"
"...there's the house my dad let me and Ruby live in, and...my motorcycle Bumblebee."
"Well, then we might be able to work something out, you never said you had a house and bike." He said as he looked through his filing cabinet before finding the paper. "Now this opens up several more options. The first one would be to simply let us liquidate your house and bike and see if that matches the debt, and if it goes over we'll give you back any extra money. Now the next option is a bit unusual, how good at riding your bike are you?"
"You kidding? I fixed Bumblebee from the ground up and didn't spare anything. I made sure she was the fastest and smoothest bike in this whole country." She smirked with pride.
"Good, good, then I say we might have a new option, recently my boss has been dabbling in…. Bike races against competing businesses so to speak and is looking for a good bike and rider. Take these forms down to office 127, in there you'll find a woman named Emerald, tell her I sent you and that you can ride a bike, she'll work out the details there."
"Wait, is this some underground gambling ring? I already went to jail for a few days after causing some trouble at a bar, I don't need anything more on my record."
"Well the final option would be for us to take your sister as collateral." He said, making her eyes go wide. "We could make a pretty penny setting her up for adoption to a couple of people out of the county and possibly help her get out of what seems like a bad financial situation, clearing you of debt."
"WHAT?!" She yelled smashing the table and getting up making Jaune sweat more. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO RUBY!"
"I don't want to, I hate doing that, but you're being unreasonable! Either take a job, sell us the house and bike, race for us or lose your sister, what will it be?" he asked seeing her huff and look ready to attack him. 'Gods above, please don't let me go out like this.'
"If I race… can you promise I won't get in trouble, can you promise not a hair on Ruby's head will be touched?!"
"Yes yes, absolutely!" He said quickly. "In fact you wouldn't be racing for us for very long, lots of money passes hands at these races, I'd guess maybe ten, fifteen races top and your debt is cleared!"
Yang seemed to calm down and closed her eyes before nodding. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Good, good, now please take this form to Emerald, she'll give you everything you need to know." He spoke holding the form out which she snatched, looked over, and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"If you go back on the deal, keep this in mind. You won't be able to hide and keep me from finding you."
"H-Hey, we don't do that, no one would make deals with us if we did." He gulped as she stamped out and he let out a breath he was holding. 'Oh thank you gods above, I thought I was a goner!'
"Another satisfied customer, huh Jaune?" Joked a tanned girl with brown hair in a ponytail and wearing a black dress shirt and skirt poking her head in.
"Satisfied? Not exactly, but at least I didn't end up with a caved in skull. She looked scarier than a professional boxer." He groaned. "I just know Emerald is going to kill me later for dumping Yang on her, but I had to get her out before she ran out of office supplies and turned her anger on me."
"Don't worry, Emerald might just try and snatch your wallet as payment." Chuckled the girl while Jaune shook his head.
"Not funny, I almost ran short on rent last month." He groaned. "I can't afford another 'snatched' wallet."
"Then look for a better apartment or hide your wallet better."
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, just show me one in walking distance of this place that doesn't cost an arm and a leg."
"I never said look for one through legal means, I'm sure we could rob some idiot blind and take their place." She remarked casually while taking a sip of coffee.
"No way. I appreciate the thought Ilia, but if I don't try to stick to the rules, then who's gonna be able to keep the cops away and make it feel like we're a legit business?"
"Neo could, she has a way with words after all."
"Yeah, but that just means more paperwork for me, why am I the only one who seems to do normal office stuff here? The others don't do nearly as much paperwork as me!"
"Because you're so good at it." She smiled as he groaned. "Why don't you take an early coffee break? After dealing with that gorilla, you look like you could go for one."
"Yeah, that sounds nice, is Salem still sitting by the machine?" He asked as he got up.
"Nope, but Cinder is on her phone, like usual. FYI, she went out shopping and got a new number, so try not to stare or Emerald might get jealous." She teased.
"Ugh, thanks for the heads up, how does she get away wearing stuff like that here?" He groaned as the two left his office. "I mean I don't mean to sound like that guy, but it's kinda hard not to look."
"Well being Salem's best employee has its perks I guess, or are you just mad that she can get away with wearing anything she wants and you can't?"
"It was a small coffee stain, easily hidden by a tie, there was no need to make me go home and change!" He defended with a huff. "We weren't even dealing with any big clients on that day so I don't get what the big deal was."
"Maybe Salem just wants her eye candy dressing nice." Chuckled Ilia.
Jaune blushed as the two went to the break room where a woman with short black hair and wearing matching high heels with a long blue dress that didn't have any straps and held her body was texting on her phone.
"Hey Cinder, new haircut?" Ilia called as Jaune beelined towards the coffee machine, his exhausted body pushing him forward.
"Yeah, got it the other day." She remarked without looking up while Jaune started pouring himself a cup as the woman glanced over at him. "Isn't it early for a coffee break for you?"
"Not so much a break as it is breakfast, my alarm didn't go off in time this morning." He yawned while going to the fridge and opened it. "Do we have any breakfast burritos left?"
"No, Neo beat you to all of those, all that's left is our lunches and her ice cream, and you know not to touch those."
Jaune shivered and shut the fridge. "Uh, on second thought, maybe I'll just grab something on my lunch break, coffee should be enough."
"Good, then you should get back to work, we have several more financially unstable people coming in soon." Spoke Cinder making Jaune roll his eyes. "I saw that."
'Of course she did.' He thought as he filled his mug with the hot black liquid. "And might I ask how many will be redirected to my now destroyed office?"
"Relax, it's not that many."
"Then why don't you take a few?"
"I'm busy, I have various meetings and contacts to meet with today, you know I've been so busy since poor Mercury decided to go on an extended vacation."
"Cinder, he lost both his legs, he's in the hospital."
"Yes, such a shame really." She remarked casually with a small smile making Jaune shiver.
'I don't wanna even think about what he must have done to piss her off.' He thought as her phone buzzed.
"Ah, duty calls, get back to work you two." She stood up and walked off while Ilia looked at Cinder's rear as it swayed in the dress which Jaune noticed.
"You know that's gonna get you killed, right?" He whispered.
"Hey, Emerald's not around to say anything. Besides, looking isn't bad, you should do it more often." She chuckled with a small blush.
"Right, and this has nothing to do over the fact that since Blake left town you've been getting lonely?" He asked as he made his way back to his office.
"It's things like that you don't have a girlfriend."
"Really? I thought it was the busy work schedule and murderous co-workers." He muttered with sarcasm.
(Later)
"Ah, finally, lunch." Sighed Jaune leaning back in his chair. "Now I can catch my breath and have some me time."
Unfortunately for him his office door slowly creaked open, making him groan.
"Oh come on, don't you have your own lunch today?" He looked and saw Neo standing there with a frown. "Oh, sorry Neo, I thought you were someone else."
Neo looked at him confused before she began to approach him.
"Look, I told you earlier, I looked at the files, and if we fudge the numbers a bit Torchwick will be out of jail in three months, ok?" He spoke as she nodded. "If you came here to tell me you're worried, it'll be ok. Those months will fly by in no time flat."
She nodded before sitting on his desk and grabbed half of his sub.
"Oh no you don't." he snatched it away quickly. "You have plenty of ice cream in the freezer to last you a week."
She simple frowned and tried to take it again, it wasn't the ice creams fault she was still hungry, she needed meat, like that meatball sub!
"No way, not happening, no!" He spoke moving away from her and bit into it before she ran at him making him start running too. "You ain't getting it!"
Give her the sandwich! She needed food besides ice cream, and everyone else was too dangerous to steal from! She tried jumping at him, but he ducked and she landed in a chair.
"Ha! Nice try." He smirked before she pulled her phone out and smirked before texting on it before his phone buzzed. "What did you send me?" He said as he looked at his phone in confusion as she smirked victoriously. He raised an eyebrow and slowly pulled it out before looking, only to go wide eyed and blush. "What the?!"
He was looking at a picture of Neo winking at the camera while tugging at the top of her shirt, flashing it some cleavage, which distracted him long enough for Neo to move over and snatch his sandwich before biting into it.
Ha! He fell for the oldest trick in the book, no one outsmarts Neo, no one can stop her! She inwardly chuckled as she took another bite as Jaune began to regain his bearings.
"Ok, that was a low blow Neo, but the jokes on you. You just gave me a pic I can keep on my phone." He threw back as she smirked and wagged her finger and pointed behind him. "What? What's behind me?"
"Just what are you looking at Mr. Arc? Is that a lewd photo?" Called a stern voice, making him turn around nervously to see Salem staring at him in disapproval.
"A-Ah, Salem, I can explain, Neo sent it to me when I-"
"Mr. Arc, I do not want to hear the details of your affair with Miss Neapolitan, just keep your behavior professional until you clock out, do I make myself clear?"
"B-But it's not like that! S-She did it just to distract me and take my-"
"I. Don't. Care." She said coldly, making him freeze. "Don't make me send you down to HR."
"Yes ma'am." He spoke looking away as Salem walked out making him frown at Neo who gave an innocent smile while biting into his sandwich. "You're the devil, a neapolitan colored pint sized devil."
She texted something making his phone buzz.
"Is that another picture?"
She shook her head no.
He raised an eyebrow and looked to see it was a text.
'I know I am~'
"... either give me back my sandwich or leave please."
She gave a pout before giving a smile and licked one side of it before setting it down and skipped out of the office making him groan.
"You owe me a new sandwich!" He called as he looked at his. 'Do I eat it or just throw it away now?' He looked at the time and saw it was getting near the end and groaned. 'I'll just give it a quick wipe and eat as much as I can.' He thought as he picked it up and tried to clean off Neo's mess.
(Later)
"And just sign here and you can pick up your money on your way out." Spoke Jaune holding a pen out while putting up a smile.
"Really? Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Cried the woman happily as she signed the contract.
"Yeah, just make sure to pay us back in full within two months."
"Absolutely!"
"Good, now you have a nice day ma'am." He waved as the lady got up and left the office. 'She's gonna need luck on her side to borrow that much money.' He thought as he filed her paperwork away. 'I hope she's a good dancer, because that's where she might end up at this rate.'
Knock knock
"Yes? Who is it?" He called curiously.
"Who do you think?" Came a woman's voice as the door opened to show a woman with light green hair and tanned skin wearing a green suit shirt with blue jeans and carrying a pile of paperwork.
"Hey Emerald, how you doing… and I see you come bearing presents, huh?" He remarked jokingly making her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, think of it as a thank you gift for sending the blonde bitch to me." She huffed walking over and dropped the paper on the desk. "Make sure these are taken care of by the end of the day."
"Wait, what?! I can't do that, it's almost five, I'd have to stay overtime to get it done!"
"Well maybe you shouldn't have been flirting with Neo at lunch and getting Salem angry."
"Hey, that was not my fault, that was all Neo! She's a force of nature, I can't stop her, only Torchwick could and he's in jail!"
"Well if you work your butt off you might come close to being done on time. Now if you'll excuse me I have to leave, some of us have dates to get to."
"Really? You have a date? With who?" He asked making her raise an eyebrow.
"With Cinder, duh."
"Uh-huh… and does she know about it?" He joked, making her frown.
"At least I can get a date, dork." She huffed before walking away.
'Ugh, as stuck up as she is she's right, I'm never going to get a date if I spend every night doing over time.' He thought looking at the stacks of paper. 'What I wouldn't give for a miracle.'
"Hey Jaune, do you have any more instant coffee packets? The machine broke."
"No Ilia." He sighed as she poked her head in. "Neo snatched them all and I haven't had time to restock, how did the machine break?"
"Apparently it's a real ancient one that's Salem bought at a cheap deal. The thing was bound to fall apart any second." She sighed in annoyance. "And she refuses to buy a new one."
"You'd think for a woman who makes a lot with illegal means and who pays Cinder a lot would manage to push some cash aside for just a coffee maker."
"You kidding? Salem refuses to give up a cent more than she has to, there's a reason we're stationed in this old office." She remarked walking over and looked at the stack. "Let me guess, Emerald?"
"Yeah, and I gotta get them done before leaving."
"Well, what if I lend a hand?"
"Really? You don't mind?" He asked excitedly.
"Sure, but it's gonna cost you a favor in the future."
"Anything if it means I don't have to stick around after hours." He said as she sat down on the other side of his newly repaired desk.
"Sure, now let's get to work." She grinned taking some papers and filing what he said for later.
(Later)
"Thank Oum above we're done, and with time to spare too." Sighed Jaune in relief.
"Yeah, I don't know how you do this everyday, this sucks!"
"Well maybe if you girls did more paperwork than just me you'd see what I have to deal with."
"Yeah, sorry Jaune, but that would mean doing more work regularly so...nah." She shook her head as he put the papers away while she looked at the time. "Hey, maybe I'll call in that favor."
"Already? Well that works out, means I won't have to worry about it later." He remarked. "What is it?"
"Well it's pretty late, and we have the day off tomorrow, so why don't we stop at a diner for breakfast?"
"Sure, we can do that, what time do you want to meet up and where?"
"About 8, and maybe at that new diner down the street."
"Cool, see you there then." He said as he got up with a yawn.
"Great, it's a date then." She smiled walking out making Jaune blink and look out.
"Wait...what?" He said as Ilia smiled to herself smugly as she left.
'Yes, I finally did it!'
(Next day)
Jaune was out in front of the diner, currently waiting for Ilia and checking his phone. 'It's already 8:15, where is she?'
"Hey Jaune! I'm here!"
"Well it's about...time?" He let out turning and was caught off guard. "Ilia, is that you?" he asked in surprise.
"Yeah, sorry, I had to get changed." She replied holding her pursue and wearing a black dress that went up to the knees and showed off her legs and frame. "Plus my alarm didn't go off."
"Y-Yeah, ok, I get that...so, breakfast?" He said as he shook his head, trying not to stare.
"Yup, and you're paying." She smiled as they went into the diner.
"Wait what? You never said that."
"Call it part two of the favor, besides, the guy always pays for the first date."
He blushed before they took a booth and picked up the menus. 'Ok she's trying to tease me for sure. Well, at least I can say I've never gone on a date after this.' He thought as he looked over the menu. "Huh, everything here looks pretty good, how have I never heard of this place?"
"It opened up last month but they made it at night without much construction stuff out front."
"Huh, well thank god for that, Salem would have made a big stink if any of us were late due to it." He chuckled.
"So do you know what you're gonna get?"
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna get the omelette."
"For me I'm gonna get some flapjacks, I've been meaning to put on a little bit more weight. Being skinny is fine, but I don't wanna look like I'm a walking toothpick."
"I think you look fine." He said as she chuckled.
"Oh? Are you saying I'm fat?"
"Let's just say if you ate a pile of those, you'd still look pretty slim."
"Aw, such a smooth talker." She said as he blushed a bit. "Well I might just do that, especially with you paying the bill."
"You had this planned all along, didn't you?"
"Maybe~" She chuckled as he groaned.
"Just don't eat me out of everything I have, I need to save some until my next paycheck."
"Ok, ok, but I will enjoy myself." She chuckled as the waiter approached them.
"Good evening folks, may I take your order?"
"Yes, he'll have the omelette and I'll have the supersized flapjack stack please."
"And what would you like to drink?"
"Orange juice for both of us please."
"Alright, your orders will be out in no time." She said as she began to walk away.
"So… new dress?"
"Yeah, it's been sitting in my closet and I figured now would be a good time to try it out. What do you think?"
"I-It looks great on you."
"Aw, glad to hear." She smiled before looking him over. "Maybe you should have dressed up."
"Well I didn't expect you to wear a dress for breakfast at a diner. You sure that's a good idea?"
"Of course, why wouldn't it?"
"Well, you are eating flapjacks, so you might get it dirty?" He remarked with a shrug. "I mean, all it takes is a little syrup to stain a dress that nice."
"Well.. I'm sure I won't spill." She replied before they heard a crash and turned to the kitchen.
"Nora put down the frying pan, calmly."
"Never, they can't have my pancakes Ren, they're mine, MINE!"
"You're not even a full time chef! The job is to make food, not eat it."
"Well I'm not full yet, so no one gets pancakes until I am!"
A sigh was heard. "You left me no choice then."
"Good, then I-wait, what are you doing?" She asked before a yelp was heard followed by laughing. "Ahahahahahaha!"
"You do your job and not cause a scene or I keep tickling."
"N-Not fair, not fair! Stop it!"
"Should we be concerned?" Jaune whispered.
"Nah ...maybe?" she guessed before they heard more laughing.
"Ahahahahaha! P-P-Please hahahahahaha! Stop ahahahaha!"
"Will you do your job then?"
"O-Ok! Ok, I will!"
"Good girl, and if you keep being good I'll give you some 'special' pancakes when we get home, ok?"
"Ok!"
Jaune and Ilia heard the laughing stop while turning red for some reason.
"Um…. so, do you think the food is going to taste good?"
"As long as they don't add in any special ingredients I might be able to keep it down." Ilia said with a nervous chuckle.
(Later)
"Ah, man, that omelette was great. Haven't had anything like that since I lived with my folks." Said Jaune as they left the diner. "How was your flapjacks?"
"Good, except the cook just kept glaring at me the entire time." Remarked Ilia making Jaune chuckle. "It's not funny, she looked like she was ready to jump out and scarf them down."
"Look on the bright side, if you got any stains on the dress she might have been ok to lick them all clean." He laughed.
"Ugh, then I would have had the owner pissed at me."
"Yeah…. Well, this was fun, we should do it again some time." He suggested. "It was pretty nice to go out and have breakfast with someone again. I don't really go out too much cause I don't wanna look like that lonely guy who eats by himself."
"Yeah, same here, I used to go out with Blake before she left for college." She admitted looking away. "Any time I did, it just felt empty and lonely."
"Well, we could try to make it a weekly thing if you want?" He offered. "Some time together where we can relax and not worry about work."
"That sounds nice, I might take you up on that offer."
"But next time you're paying."
"Maybe." She chuckled with a grin.
"Oh come on!" He groaned as she burst out laughing.
"Relax Jaune, I'll do it, but you make it too easy to get you riled up."
"Ugh, you have to stop using me for your amusement."
"Aw, but it's so fun." She pouted making him give her a deadpan look.
"I'd love to see you do this with Neo, or even Emerald, see how that works out."
"Please, I like not being shanked." She said as she rolled her eyes. "And ever since you came they're all focused on you...unfortunately."
"What do you mean? Having to deal with most of the work by myself isn't really unfortunate for you as it is for me."
"Yeah, work… that's what I mean." She muttered under her breath. 'I almost let it slip out for a second.'
While they walked down the street a pair of eyes looked at them from around the corner with a frown before texting on her phone.
'They just got done at the diner.'
'Anything out of the ordinary?'
'Ilia was wearing a very nice dress, she seems to be trying to woo the blonde.'
'Send me a pic of it before they get away.'
'Yes ma'am, you got it.' texted the figure as they quickly took a picture.
'Hmm, nothing too revealing, but it does show off the legs. Keep following them and make sure nothing big happens.'
'Yes ma'am, might I ask why though?'
'No, you may not.' Came the response followed by a frowning face. 'Just do it.'
'Ok, ok, geez, I'll follow the dweeb, I'll text you if anything happens.' They texted back and followed the two back to Jaune's apartment while ducking in a bush. 'They're entering his apartment.'
'WHAT?! Follow them!'
'But they'll see me for sure!'
'I don't care, just do what you have to do!'
The figure groaned and headed to the door and found it unlocked before slipping in. 'Breaking and entering, this wasn't part of the job description.'
"Wow, this place is smaller than mine."
"Yeah, well I only really get to spend time here when I'm sleeping or getting ready for work." He remarked looking around while sitting on his bed. "But it works for just one person at a time."
"I dunno, I bet it could fit two if we really tried." Idly remarked Ilia making the figure frown and Jaune look at her in confusion.
"Huh? Why would we do that? It's only ten am."
'Ilia is trying to get the blonde to sleep with her.'
'Stop her!'
"Oh! Uh, what I meant was if you tried. You know, if you ever have relatives from out of time and you wanna make some space for them."
"Oh, yeah, I guess so, luckily mom and dad live out in the country with my sisters." He remarked before hearing a loud knock on the front door that sounded like a bang. "Huh? Who is that?" He asked in confusion as he sat up and began to make his way to the door.
Ilia sat down on the bed and looked around before Jaune opened the door and blinked.
"Neo?" He said in confusion as his half pint coworker stood in the doorway, a large frown on her face. "What are you doing here?"
She texted something making Jaune's phone buzz before pulling it out. 'I came to remind you that the boss wants you nice and cleaned up tomorrow for a big client.'
"Um, ok, I can do that, but I have about twenty four hours before I have to be there, why couldn't you have texted me?"
'To make sure you didn't ignore my texts. Remember the last time you did for a whole day?'
"You were spamming me with memes for five hours straight, of course I was gonna ignore you!" He groaned as she pouted. "Look, I'll make sure I'm up early and get a shower in, promise."
'Good, you better!'
"I will, I will, thanks for stopping by Neo." He moved to shut the door, but she stopped him. "What? I already promised."
'I know but… maybe I should stay to make sure you do it!'
Jaune blushed and shook his head. "What?! N-No way! I don't need you here just to take a shower!"
'Yes you do, I'm staying!'
"No, you're not. Sorry Neo, but I can take care of myself." He spoke trying to force the door shut with Neo keeping it open. "Go back to your own place!"
'No, it's boring there all alone! Let me stay!' She urged texting while using her back against the door as Jaune groaned.
"No! I'm gonna enjoy my day off!"
'Meanie! Lemme in, lemme in!'
"No!"
"Jaune? Is everything alright?" Called Ilia from his room.
"Yeah, it's just Neo being Neo." He called back, making her frown.
'Neo? What's she doing here?' Wondered the girl who was currently holding Jaune's pillow up to her face and sniffing it before dropping it and walked out before seeing the girl. "Hey Neo, what are you doing here?"
'I'm bored, don't worry about it!' She texted as Ilia walked over with a hand on her hip.
"Jaune, what did she say?"
"Just to get cleaned up for some big client coming in tomorrow. I promised her I would, but she won't leave now."
'I'll never leave!' She texted as Jaune groaned.
"Come on, what if I give you some ice cream money?"
'...how much we talking?'
"Fifteen dollars, that should get you at least two gallons of whatever flavor you want."
'...deal.' She texted as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the money.
"Now will you leave me alone?"
'...For now, see you later~ :-)' She texted before skipping away.
He groaned while Ilia glared at the girl. "I swear she eats enough ice cream to keep dairy companies going for the next year."
"Yeah, and apparently she enjoys ruining dates." Muttered Ilia before sighing. "I'll see you around Jaune."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." he said as she left as well.
Ilia waved to Jaune and pulled out her phone before sending her own text. 'I know what you tried to pull Neo.'
'Whaaat? Me? What are you talking about?'
'You saw us hanging out and had to stick your nose where it didn't belong.'
'Noooo, that's crazy talk, why would I do that?'
'I have a suspicious why, but I won't say it now. Just don't make it a habit, or else.'
'Please, as if you could stop me, just back off and no one gets hurt chameleon.'
She growled and smirked. 'Alright, then I guess you can use that money to buy some new ice cream, you won't need all the ones in the freezer.'
'YOU BITCH, DON'T TOUCH MY ICE CREAM!'
'Then stay away from us if me and Jaune are hanging out.'
'Bitch, I can't even if I want to, I was there on orders!'
'Ah ha! I knew it! So you WERE doing it for Salem!'
'...I didn't say it was Salem, for all you know it was my own orders.'
'Bull, if it was your own you wouldn't have gone through the effort of breaking into his apartment.'
'I didn't break in, he let me in.'
'Uh-huh, sure, and the key you need to get into the building?'
'... no comment.'
'I've got my eye on you.'
'Trust me, I'm not the only one you should be worried about.'
'Oh I know.' Thought the woman gripping the phone.
(Next day)
'Ok, so far so good, I'm on time, I look good, nothing can stop me now!' Thought Jaune making sure his hair was brushed and sat at his desk. 'Now to win it big with the client.'
"Jaune? You in there?" Cinder called. "We're ready for the meeting."
"Yup, ready and waiting."
"Good, then let's go to the conference room, and do NOT mess this up."
He gulped and made his way out and to the big room while double checking his hair. 'Ok Jaune, just stay cool, you got this!'
When he entered the room he saw the other girls there with a woman with long black hair, red eyes, and a matching suit sitting with them and who did not look like the joking type. "Ah, Miss Branwen, I'm glad you could join us today." Jaune said politely.
"I came here early, some of you just came here late." She remarked bluntly with Neo looking away.
"Well, I apologize for that, shall we get down to business?"
"Not yet, I have a bone to pick, does the name Yang Xiao Long ring a bell?"
"Uh...I don't think so."
"Really? Because she's racing for Salem's gang, she won a few races against my guys already and cost me a pretty penny."
"Um...so you're sore about losing?" He asked in confusion.
"No, I'm annoyed because apparently you're having my daughter race in illegal races to pay off a debt." She frowned making Jaune stiffen up and pale.
"You...You're her...mom?"
"Yeah, and I want to know what you got over her and end her debt, NOW." She said, making him pale.
'Crap crap crap, what do I do?! I can't just drop the debt, Salem would be pissed, but I can't piss Raven off either!'
Salem cleared her throat with an impassive look. "Miss Branwen, whatever debt your daughter accumulated is in her name, not yours. You may be her mother, but I found something rather interesting before we set up this meeting. Apparently you married a man named Taiyang Xiao Long, had Yang with him, and divorced soon after."
"So? What does that matter, I obviously didn't try to keep it a secret, did I?" She said in annoyance.
"Oh no, but I find it funny." She smirked making her workers shiver. "You don't keep your husband's last name, and your daughter decided to keep his though. And yet you come here demanding we take care of a debt for Yang Xiao Long, when, as far as I can tell, you have no reason to get involved?"
"I'm her-"
"Yes yes, simmer down Branwen." Salem waved her off making Raven glare. "Quite frankly, I'm a mother myself, but unlike you, I was there for my daughters. Yang Xiao Long knew what she was getting into when she came here for a loan, so it's her job to take care of it, not you." She said before turning to Jaune. "And just was that loan for Mr. Arc?"
"Um, from what I recall she needed the money to help pay medical bills for her younger sister."
"Pay medical bills, that sounds like something a real mother would have taken care of, especially one who has more than enough money, right Miss Brawen?"
"Listen here you pale skinned brat." She spat making Salem frown. "I came here because I'm losing money the more she beats my men!"
"Ah, so it's not a matter of caring for her well being, but because YOU can't hire proper riders. Your true colors have come out, and quite frankly, it's quite sad. The only person at fault here is you and your failure to manage your own drivers." She said as she shook her head. "If you are so concerned about money we can easily move your daughter to another one of our business ventures though, with a body like hers she would certainly make enough as an exotic dancer or maybe a call girl?"
"Don't you fucking dare!" She snapped standing up making Emerald, Cinder, and Neo stand up with frowns.
"Oh? And why do you care? You seem to only care about the money you lose. I don't like to work with people unless I know the real them. Are you here for your own selfish reasons, or because you're trying to pretend to be a 'mother' to her?" She said as she narrowed her eyes. "So I'll let you choose, show me if you want to be a 'mother' or if you want more money. We were quite flexible with your daughter when it came time to collect her dues, but that can change easily. So tell me, what will it be, money or family, which do you value more?"
Jaune felt the air get tense as the two women glared at the other. 'Oh crap, I haven't seen Salem this serious and cold since I started.' He thought, feeling as though he could cut the air with a knife. 'This is bad, if this escalates any more this could mean an end to the treaty Salem has with the Branwen clan and mean war!'
"You seem to like shooting yourself in the foot." Scowled Raven. "I walk out of here and the treaty comes crumbling down."
"Oh that's fine with me, I'll just bring it back up with your brother." She said with a smirk. "I happen to know he has a good relationship with your so called daughter, imagine what he would say if he knew the situation." She said as Raven growled.
"Don't bring that weakling into th-"
"And imagine what will happen to your reputation once word of this gets out, the mighty Raven Brawen acting like a spoiled child because things aren't going her way, considering family she all but abandoned important when it suits her, how pathetic."
Raven growled and looked ready to kill while Salem brought her cellphone out.
"You're free to leave, but without making any business you've wasted my time, my employees' time, which is time we could be done to make a profit. So tell me your decision and this meeting won't be a total loss."
"...Fine, keep Yang racing, it's only until her debt is cleared, then I'll be able to take her back into the family." She growled, realizing she had lost.
"Good, now since you're here, may I interest you in a loan?" Smirked Salem making Raven stand up and march off with the woman putting her phone away. 'Checkmate.'
'Oh man, I thought I was gonna die!' Thought Jaune letting out a breath he held and leaned on the table. 'It feels like my heart is going a hundred miles an hour.'
"Mr. Arc, how much was the debt Miss Xiao Long has with us?" Salem asked, turning to him.
"Huh? Oh, um… from what I remember just about three hundred thousand dollars, it's a lot but nowhere near the largest debt we've had, why?"
"Just checking, I want you to schedule it so all of her next races will be against the Branwen clan, this will not only show Miss Branwen not to mess with us, but make the times she can pay off the debt farther apart, keeping her with us longer."
"But ma'am, what if she comes back angrier than before?"
"Then we'll just tell her 'daughter' that her mother almost landed her in a brothel and watch the fireworks while also making her feel indebted to us for not doing so, we've done nothing wrong and none of the other gangs will find fault in what we're doing." She remarked casually. "Now that the meetings done, you can all go back to your usual stations."
"Yes ma'am." They all said before they began to leave the room.
"Not you Mr. Arc, I need to have a word with you." Said Salem, making him freeze.
"O-Ok." he said, getting a bad feeling. 'Is she mad because I'm the one who had Yang start racing for us?! Oh god, is she going to kill me?!' He watched the girls all leave and turned to Salem who looked at her phone. "Y-Yes ma'am?"
"So, I'm sure you know why I made you stay behind, yes?"
"Uh ...yes?" He tried smiling, which showed he was scared.
"Good, now tell me why what you did was wrong."
"Uh...um...I...was too honest?"
"Honest? How so?" She asked, looking up from her phone.
"I...confirmed it was the same girl who was her daughter and should have been oblivious?"
"What? No, that's not it. I'm not talking about the Raven incident, you handled that like you should have, and did so in a way that gave us a valuable asset. I was talking about your inappropriate behavior with Miss Ilia."
"Uh..and what inappropriate thing would that be?"
"Dating a fellow co-worker and bringing her home after the first date."
"Oh! You mean the morning breakfast thing?"
"Yes, that was inappropriate behavior and can decrease your productivity in the work environment, you are to cease it immediately."
"Wait wait wait, how is that bad? The dating part I get, but we were just out to have breakfast, that's it. And if it's bad to date your co-workers, what about Emerald and Cinder? I know for a fact those two have a thing going on."
"That is different, they were already in a relationship when I brought them on and they have performed flawlessly since, and they don't do as much important paperwork as you do."
"Because they push it on me." He grumbled to himself. "All I did with Ilia was get breakfast, take her back to my apartment afterwards where Neo showed up a-"
"You're involving another co-worker in your debauchery?!" Yelled Salem sitting up with Jaune blushing.
"No no no! It's not like that I swear! N-Neo just showed up and insisted on watching me get cleaned for some real weird reason! I only brought Ilia over to see my apartment!"
"So your co-worker was trying to see you naked in the shower?" She asked with a frown. 'I didn't tell Cinder to tell her to do that, I'll have to talk to her later.'
"I-I don't know. I mean...it sounded like it." He admitted looking down with a bright blush.
"This is the behavior I was talking about, completely unprofessional."
"But nothing happened, I swear!" He pleaded. "I didn't even think about them in that way!"
"Oh? Then it should be simple for you to drop this behavior with Miss Ilia and Miss Neapolitan, right?"
"There is NO behavior! I swear to you miss Salem, there's nothing going on between me and them at all. I swear it on my life."
"Good, then keep it that way and get back to work Mr. Arc."
"Yes ma'am." He nodded before walking away out of the room. 'What was that, why was she insisting that I was doing stuff with them?'
Salem waited till Jaune was gone before looking at her phone showing some lingerie on sale and scrolled through them. 'I'll need his opinion on something important later. After I speak with Cinder.' She thought as she got up to find her right hand woman. 'Then I should have a long talk with Neo.'
Jaune sighed as he sat at his deck and looked at the computer. 'I wonder if I can get away with playing Angry Birds to get my mind relaxed.'
(Later)
"Hey Jaune, there you are, I need you opinion." Emerald said as she walked into his office.
"Opinion on what?"
"On what to get Cinder for our anniversary, every year she gets herself whatever she wants ahead of time and gets me something amazing." She remarked sitting on his office. "I wanna get her something that she won't expect and it has to be really throw her for a loop."
"Ok… let's start by listing things she likes." He suggested. "From there we could try and find something she either can't buy or hasn't gotten yet."
"Well she likes dark nights under the moon, horror movies with lots of blood, gothic music, expensive clothes, and one time I tried to get her a pet, but it ran off as soon as it saw her."
"...ok, I now have questions I never want answers to. You said she likes horror movies with lots of blood, right? Is there a theater nearby that might be showing one of them?"
"No, she already saw the ones that are out."
"Ok… what if I look to see if we own any or have any contacts that would be willing to rent out a theater so you could show her favorite films for her?" He suggested. "I mean if it's rented out, you two could binge watch a marathon with just the two of you and no one to bother you."
"That… actually sounds like a perfect gift!" Emerald said as she began to grin.
"And if you saved up some money, maybe you could get her something small, but her style. Like...how is she on jewelry?"
"Extremely expensive, but not too flashy or nothing at all."
"Well maybe you could get her something gothic that's not cheap after it's done or during a suspenseful moment in one of the films." He offered. "Maybe something like a choker?"
"Maybe, I did see her looking at a few earlier…"
"And maybe you could make her some of her favorite dishes and have them waiting in the theater along with her favorite drink?" He suggested. "I mean you do have money saved up right?"
"More than enough, we have enough never to work again and still live comfortably."
"Well if you do all that, then she'd be crazy NOT to be thankful by the end of the day." He said, making her smile. "It might not be the most expensive thing you can do but it's the thought that counts, right?"
"That all sounds perfect. Thanks Jaune." She said as she got up with a smile. 'Huh, that was kind of sweet, maybe he's not such a bad guy after all.'
"No problem." He waved as she walked out. 'If things go alright, maybe she'll lighten up on me. If not? Well then I guess I won't be getting much sleep for a week.' He thought as he remembered the last time he gave Emerald bad advice. 'I just hope Cinder likes it.'
(Later)
"JAUNE! JAUNE!"
'Crap!' He ducked under his desk. 'I knew it was too good to be true! She sounds like she wants blood.'
"JAUNE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Called Emerald as she busted down his door. She walked around and looked everywhere. "GET OUT!"
Jaune gulped and saw her flip his desk. "N-Now Emerald! Calm down!"
"I'M NOT CALMING DOWN!" She roared before yanking him up by the shirt. "Wanna know why?"
"Uh ...it didn't work out?"
"FUCK NO!" She yelled before pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "IT WENT GREAT!"
"It...it did?" He said in confusion, trying to process what was going on. He felt her shake him around without letting go before he was let go and fell on his ass while taking in a deep breath. "But...you sound angry, upset, beyond pissed."
"OH! Sorry." She coughed and cleared her throat. "I didn't drink any water and my throat wasn't cleared. Truth is I'm not angry at all, I'm ecstatic."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, and not just because I won't be beat up now." He joked as she helped him up. "So, what happened if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, when we pulled up to the theater she was a bit disappointed, but that changed when they led us to the private theater, it was freshly cleaned and had those nice leather chairs in it, I had all her favorite movies there, her favorite meal and three bottles of her favorite wine waiting for her, and when she turned to me in surprise I got on one knee and gave her the choker I got her."
"Alright, sounds like it all went smooth."
"But that's not the best part, oh no." She smiled like a schoolgirl. "By the end when the movies were over and we have the food, guess what she said. Go ahead, guess."
"Um… that she loved it?" He guessed curiously.
"Beyond that. She said she accepted my proposal. She thought I was asking for her hand when I gave her the choker, which had some blood red rubies mind you, and I was so happy I could barely speak."
"Wait...so you and Cinder-"
"That's right, getting married!"
"Holy shit, I did not see that coming!" He cried in surprise, the ecstatic green haired woman nodding in agreement. "Congrats Emerald, when's the wedding?"
"We don't know, we wanna plan it out ahead, but by gods! I feel like I could just die!"
"Yeah, well, I'm glad that everything worked out." He said as she nodded happily.
"And it couldn't have happened without you." She said happily as she pulled him into another hug before they heard a cough from the door.
"Yes, it seems a thank you is in order Jaune." Cinder said with a smile, the choker around her neck.
"Oh!" He jumped as Emerald let go with a blush. "N-No need to thank me, really I was just lending a hand is all."
"No, no, without you Emerald wouldn't have given me this, and I admit while both our feelings were in the right place we were waiting for the other to propose, it seems now was just the right time." She remarked while touching the choker with a smile. "We just needed the right push, and that was you."
"Well, uh, I'm just glad to see everything worked out." He said sheepishly. "I wish you two the best."
"Oh trust me, something tells me we're going to have quite the...interesting life ahead of us." She said as she looked him over. 'I'm sure Emerald will agree to my plan now that she's seen how capable Jaune is.'
"So I can expect an invite?" He guessed.
"Of course, it would be rude not to invite you." Cinder said with a devious smirk. "Come along Emerald, we better let the others know."
"Of course, I can't wait!" She said giddly as she left Jaune's office.
'I have never seen her that happy before in my life.' Thought Jaune in amazement. 'I wonder if she'll manage to keep it together at the actual wedding. Now that would be a sight to see.'
(Later)
"Jaune, are you in there?"
"Yeah, but I'm a bit busy at the moment!" He called out while typing on his computer. "Come back later!"
"Do you need some help?" Called Ilia's voice.
"Kinda, maybe, probably!" He called as he looked at the massive pile of papers on his desk.
"Ok, I'll help, but we have to talk as we do it." She spoke entering and locked the door before moving over and took some of the paper.
"Works for me, just don't stop when you start." He said, looking over the paper with a groan. "When is Salem going to fix my computer?"
"Did you ask her?"
"Yes, and she said 'maybe', so that might mean never." He muttered in annoyance while Ilia sat across from him. "So what did you wanna talk about?"
"Well, I kind of feel that you've been avoiding me."
"Oh, yeah…. I'm not trying to, but Salem said that us going to breakfast together was 'unprofessional'."
"How? All we did was go eat an omelette and pancakes."
"Amd go to my apartment, but she called it 'debauchery'. So I've been trying to lay low until she forgets about it."
"Why? What did she think we were doing? She makes it sound like we were...oh god!" She blushed.
"Yeah, right? I tried to explain but she wouldn't hear it." He admitted with his own blush. "I think Neo might have told her, I mean she WAS the only one who saw us together."
"Yeah, Neo." She growled in annoyance. 'Why does Salem want me away from him, I'm at least close to his age!'
"I mean is she old fashioned or something? Since when is having breakfast together wrong?"
"No, I have a feeling it might be something else." She muttered with a frown.
"What was that?" Asked Jaune who was distracted by some of the numbers.
"Nothing, nothing, so… do you want to get breakfast again some time?"
"Gonna be hard, if we do that and one of the other girls see us, Salem might find out again, then I can kiss this job goodbye."
"Nah, you're safe, you handle all the legal stuff, she can't afford to lose you, especially with tax season coming up, but she can make our lives hell."
"Too late."
"Please, she could take away all the pens and paper and still tell you to finish your work, and it's not all bad, right?"
Jaune turned to her with a deadpan look. "Name the last time you stayed over night just to file in tax forms."
"...touche, you could ask for a break?"
"I feel like she has it out for me. I asked for one, and she said that the extra work would help me in life. Remember when she said she use to have a daughter? Did she deal with a divorce or something?"
"I…. think it was worse than that, from what I heard when she and her husband split things got violent, like really, really violent. He was trying to leave the state with her children after learning what her real job was." She replied looking away. "I don't know the complete details, but it's a sensitive topic."
"Oh… wow, I didn't… just wow." He said as he leaned back in shock. "I never even pictured her as the motherly type."
"Well, maybe she's just different now, losing a child can do that and I think she had multiple daughters."
"Huh… hey, do you think that's why she was so mad that Raven seemed to be pretending to care about her daughter?"
"If I was in her position, I'd probably be ready to punch her."
"Yeah, I guess that's why she made me keep Yang as our driver and not send her to a brothel or that weird naked sushi place to piss of Raven." He said as he got back to work. "Kinda wonder what it's like in person though." He idly remarked making Ilia frown.
"Hey, stop dreaming of naked women and get back to work or I'm leaving."
"Huh? Oh! Right, sorry." He blushed.
'Idiot….I wonder if he's imagining me naked right now?' She thought with a blush. 'Or if he imagines any of the women here like that. I mean it'd be pretty hard not.' She thought as she tapped her chin. 'I mean, he's the only guy here in an office full of beautiful women...well dangerous, beautiful women, but that's besides the point.'
Knock knock
"Huh? Who is it?" Jaune called as he looked up. His door opened and Neo peaked in with a smile making him sigh. "Neo, what is it?"
'Is that anyway to ask someone who came here with a present?' Came her text on his phone.
"And what present would that be, your paperwork?" He asked as she smirked. "Because if it is I'm not doing it."
'No, this.' she held out a small container of ice cream she walked over and set on his desk, making Jaune and Ilia stare at her in shock. 'What?'
"Neo? Are you...giving someone...ice cream?" Asked Ilia.
"That never happens...is she sick?" Jaune said as he looked at the ice cream in shock.
'Hey!' Pouted Neo. 'I can be generous when I want to.'
"Neo, you threatened to castrate me when we first met because I moved your carton of ice cream to the side so I could fit my lunch in the freezer." He deadpanned. "That doesn't really make it sound like you'd be willing to give up one carton, or even a spoonful of the stuff."
'Hey, I've changed, and I've gotten to know you, just take it!' She frowned pushing it in his hand before walking out with a huff.
"...we're not hallucinating, right? We both saw that, right?" Asked Jaune. "I'm not just seeing things because I'm tired, either that or I'm going mad."
"Yeah, this is pretty crazy, for her to do something like that must mean she really likes you...oh shit." Ilia muttered as she paled a bit. 'Was that her version of a proposal?!'
"Likes me? Either that or she wants to prank me. For all I know this stuff is fixed." He remarked looking at it and looked at Ilia. "Wanna have some?"
"No, she said she was giving it to YOU, not me."
"Yeah but you're helping, which means you're involved too." He said as he picked up a spoon and hesitantly scooped up some and took a bite. "...not bad."
Ilia looked at him eating the treat and sighed before grabbing her own. "Fine, but if I end up sick it's on you."
"I'm just glad to enjoy ice cream here without having to keep an eye on Neo. Last time I brought in an ice cream sandwich she dove for it. Literally, she dove for it like a dog diving for a steak."
"And you couldn't leave the office because she managed to rip off your pants at the same time. That was still hilarious."
"Not really, Salem kept coming into the office with Cinder to ask me about paperwork all day!" He groaned, making Ilia's eyes widen.
'What? Did she know or was he just sitting behind his desk the entire time?' She thought with a frown before Jaune blinked and felt his stomach gurgle.
"Ugh, excuse me for a second, I think I need some real food quick, I'll be right back." He got up and headed to the kitchen while Ilia felt her own stomach make the same sounds.
"Hey, wait for me." She said as she began to follow him.
"Ah, Mr. Arc, there you are." Called a familiar voice as Jaune saw Salem walking towards him after he rounded a corner.
"Uh, hey miss Salem." He greeted standing straight.
"I see you aren't busy at the moment, would you mind coming with me to my office?" She said, making it clear this was not a request but rather a polite order.
"Uh, well actually I was-" He saw her give him a firm look and gulped. "Coming with you right away to your office."
"Good, now let's go." She said as she began to walk off with him following behind like an obedient pet. Ilia saw, but headed to the break room while feeling herself getting a bit warm.
'What was in that ice cream?'
Soon Jaune and Salem reached her office which was located in the middle of the building. When they sat down in the large and ominous room Jaune noted how it felt a little stuffy.
"So… what did you want to talk about?" He asked as she pulled some papers from her desk drawer.
"Jaune, you're a young man, I imagine a boy your age is looking to become a homeowner, correct?"
"Um...not exa-"
"Great, now I know money may be tight, but I have a solution. I have decided to allow you to make a deal with us."
"Um, Miss Salem that's really no-"
"Now if you just sign here we can give you a very generous non negotiable loan to purchase a very nice house nearby, there's a flyer and pamphlet for it underneath the contract."
"I uh… I'm happy with my current apartment Miss Salem, really." He said in confusion. "I mean it's a bit small, but I'm not the one who's really rushing to get a house."
"Ridiculous, everyone wants to get a house of their own, correct? I'm sure we can find one and give you plenty of time to pay back any loan you take from us."
"Um ... not to sound rude, but I'drather not take any loans from this group." He spoke while wiping at his forehead. "Is it a little stuffy in here?"
"No, and why wouldn't you want to take a loan from us?"
"Well, besides the fact that we're loan sharks who make sure that all our 'loans' have huge hike ups, hidden fees, and ridiculously small windows to pay it all back?"
"Oh relax, as an employer here you'd of course get a discount."
"But I don't NEED a loan, I'm happy in my apartment!" He tried to insist while tugging at his collar. 'How warm is it here? It feels like it's going up.'
"So you are refusing, but why? You can't possibly be happy in that tiny hovel!" Frowned Salem making Jaune shiver at the tone.
"I-I kinda am." He gulped. "Back home I had to share a lot of space with my sisters, but after getting my own place, it's been a relief."
"I still believe it would suit you better to get a proper house."
"Why? There's no houses near work and I spend all my time here, my apartment is basically used for sleeping and storage, that's it." He replied while wiping at his head and undoing his tye making Salem raise an eyebrow.
"Are you starting to sweat from our talk? It's not that nerve wracking."
"No, no, it's just so hot in here." he panted as he wiped his head again. "How high is the temperature?"
"Sixty degrees, if anything you should be cold." She said with a frown.
"I'm sorry, it's just I feel like I'm in a sauna." He spoke looking at her and found himself staring at her. 'Wow, miss Salem feels different today.'
"Hmmm, you may be sick." She muttered before getting a text from Neo. "Excuse me." She looked at the phone while Jaune groaned.
'Great, getting sick? I hope I don't barf.' He thought as Salem's eyes widened.
'Where's Jaune, I put something 'extra' into some ice cream and all I can find is a horny Ilia!'
Salem looked at Jaune who stared at her before looking away before she texted back. 'Neo, what was this 'extra' exactly?'
'Ummmm…. Some aphrodisiacs?' She texted back.
"What?!" Yelled Salem standing up making Jaune jump.
"Uh...miss Salem?"
"Mr. Arc, stay right here, don't set a foot outside, I'll be right back."
"Huh? Why?" He groaned as she stomped out of her office.
"Just do it!" She ordered slamming the door shut while in the break room Neo was trying to keep Ilia from taking her clothes off. "Neo, get Ilia to the meeting room and then find the others, staff meeting, NOW!"
The girl nodded while Salem stamped off.
'I'm getting to the bottom of this.'
(Later)
"I think you all know why I've called you here, correct?"
"Not really miss Salem." Spoke up Emerald.
"Then let me clarify and say that SOMEBODY here thought it was funny to slip a little something into one of her favorite treats." Salem said with a frown as Neo cringed. "An then decided to give said treat to Mr. Arc."
They turned to said guy who was panting besides Ilia, both of them tied down to the chairs and squirming.
"And it would seem Ilia had some as well. Neo, tell the others what it was, now."
'Aphrodisiacs ...powerful ones.' She texted with a blush to everyone present. 'But I had a good reason I swear!'
"Then tell us." ordered Salem while crossing her arms.
'Well...I...I was told to.' She texted getting a frown from Cinder.
"Miss Salem, I find that hard to believe." She crossed her arms. "Think about it. Neo, the ice cream addict, says she went ahead and was told to feed Mr. Arc something to make him horny? Sounds to me like she's trying to get out of her punishment."
'Don't give me that! I don't let anyone touch my ice cream! But you talked me into spiking it!' Frowned Neo. 'You're the one who even gave me the vial, which I have on me!'
"Lies and slander." Cinder denied with a frown.
'I have the texts and I secretly video taped the whole thing just in case you tried to throw me under the bus like you are now!' She spoke holding her phone out to Salem with Emerald standing up.
"That's crazy! What reason would Cinder have for something like that?"
'Probably for some sadistic pleasure!' She texted with a frown. 'She's been making me follow him for awhile now.'
"So THAT'S how I was told about these two." Spoke Salem with narrowed eyes while crossing her arms. "Cinder, explain."
"... Fine, just hear me out, I wanted to learn about Jaune and seduce him. Emerald is amazing, but I feel like we could have used one more member in the relationship, someone who was kind, dependable, hot, and Jaune fit all three groups." She revealed making Emerald go wide eyed. "I was going to tell you when we had him alone, and I figured if we ever wanted a child to raise, who better than the same man who helped get us together? If things had turned south I would have blackmailed him into leaving the baby with us, but that was plan b."
"Cinder… why didn't you tell me any of this, don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do Emerald, but I wanted to surprise you, just like how you surprised me. Besides, I thought with him already hot and bothered, it would make things easier for you. Besides, it's not like he wouldn't have been out of control. The aphrodisiacs make the person horny, but they'll be very willing to answer anything while listening closely to what they're told."
"And please tell me WHY you decided to drug him here now of all places?" Salem asked with a frown. "Were you planning on having your debauchery done here in MY building?"
"No Miss Salem. I told Neo to give him the ice cream yes, but not during work. That's all on her."
'She didn't tell me how strong they were!'
"ENOUGH!" Yelled Salem making them jump with the woman frowning. "I'm not going to let my property be turned into an orgy mess because you wanted to surprise your wife, what have I said about keeping personal things out of work?"
"... To keep it professional, no funny business."
"Yes, and this leads us to another problem, if your plan had succeeded the rest of your co-workers would have been pissed at you for doing that to him, did you think about that?"
"No Miss Salem." Cinder bowed her head. "I apologize."
"It's not me you'll be doing that to. It'll be these two when that stuff wears off. Just how long until it does?"
"About… three hours?"
"Ugh, fine, you all look after Miss Ilia, I will take Mr. Arc somewhere else." Salem said as she stood up.
"Uh, Miss Salem." Spoke Emerald. "Shouldn't we keep them both together to keep a better eye on them? I mean what happens if he breaks free and you're the only one nearby?"
"Then I'll deal with him."
"Ok… but where are you taking him exactly?"
"My personal office, if things get out hand I have a few weapons hidden there, which you never heard of." she spoke firmly before moving over to Jaune and pushed him out with the chair while he groaned and squirmed in the ropes.
The girls watched her and turned to Ilia who strained against the binds and even tried to bite at them.
"So hot….Jaune….JAUNE!"
'Bitch.' texted Neo to Cinder making her frown.
"Don't blame me because you messed up."
'Did I, or did I not want to lose Jaune to you?' She threw back making Cinder narrow her eyes before Emerald coughed.
"Uh, Cinder? Were you...honest? About wanting to have a baby?"
"Yes, dead serious, I want to spend the rest of my life with you Emerald." She spoke seriously while taking the girl's hand. "And I want us to raise a small bundle together."
"R-Really? You mean it?" She asked, her face lighting up as Cinder nodded.
Neo rolled her eyes and looked at Ilia squirming more. 'We're gonna need some ice.'
"J-Jaune! Lemme at him, I neeeeed him!"
"No, what you need is something to cool you down. Neo, we'll have to use your stash."
'Never!' She texted as she growled like a feral dog. 'I'll kill you all and then myself if any of you touch them!'
Cinder and Emerald glared while Jaune struggled harder after Salem got him back in her office.
"I can't take it anymore! It's too hot! I need to get out of these clothes!"
"Not yet Mr. Arc." She said as she locked the door and began to search through her desk drawer. "Give me a minute here."
"Too hot...I can't take it, let me go!" He growled tugging harder. "I've had to take it easy too long, all of you teasing me over and over again! A guy can only take so much!"
"Yes, yes, boo-hoo and all that, now hold on and I can take care of you." She remarked. "Ah ha! Here it is."
"What?" He groaned only to see her hold up a large box of condoms.
"I always keep these on hand just in case I bring someone here." She put them down and put her hands on her hips. "But before we do that, I think I'll take advantage of this to ask you a few questions. First off, tell me what you feel working with nothing but girls."
"It feels like I have to keep it together or risk getting sued! One guy with a bunch of beautiful girls around him? I get stuck with all the paperwork, but damn if I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth it to cop a look every now and again!"
"So you're saying you HAVE looked at the others?"
"Or course!"
"...tell me, what about them do you pay attention to?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "What parts of them seem to draw your eye?"
"Neo's short, but damn does her not saying anything make her cute as hell! It's like I wanna taste what flavors she had just to feel her lips!"
"Uh-huh, and what about Ilia, you seem to be spending a lot of time with her, what do you like about her?"
"Damn, she's just so nice, plus her legs just look amazing and that tight ass." He said, having no control over the words coming out of his mouth.
"What about Emerald?"
"Lesbian or not, she's got one hell of an ass. Every time I see her bend over to pick something up makes me wish I was Cinder, don't even get me started on that walking wet dream."
"Well I'm ordering you to, so talk."
"Well everything she does is sexy, she wears tight dresses that show off everything, she always talks like she's about to seduce someone, she's like every fantasy come true!"
"Ok, and what about me?" Asked Salem with her hands on her hips. "Tell me what you think of me."
"You're like a dominatrix in every way." He groaned tugging at the bonds harder. "You demand respect, expect everyone to listen, and you wear all black. It's like you're just waiting to bring out a whip on somebody. Truth be told I've had some fun dreams involving you and the others about every week."
"Really, and would you be opposed to living out some of those dreams?"
"No, not at all!"
She grinned hearing that. "Good, then let's have some fun." She said as she began to untie him.
(Later)
"Ugh ... ow...my head…." Groaned Jaune who rubbed his forehead and found himself looking up at the ceiling. "It feels like I got run over by a train."
"You didn't, but you do hit like one~" Chuckled a voice next to him, making him freeze. He turned and went slack jawe seeing a naked Salem next to him with a smile. "I haven't had sex like that since the divorce."
"W-W-W-What happened?!"
"Long story short? Neo drugged you with aphrodisiacs and what I'm assuming was a load of other things under Cinder's orders so she could have her way with you." Remarked Salem casually making Jaune's eyes nearly pop out of his head. "Frankly I'm just glad you didn't go into a coma, who knows what was mixed in. You were going at it like a doberman in heat."
"But...I...you…. How?!"
"Luckily for you Ilia also had some ice cream so Neo tipped me off, and we were also going over a contract. I called a meeting, got the truth and took you to my office."
"Oh god ...Miss Salem, I am so so so so SO sorry, please don't send me up the river." He begged in fear.
"Calm down Mr. Arc, I don't get rid of those who can make me feel good like you did. Besides, you were under a drug, you had no real control, well except for your hips." She joked.
"So… I'm not in trouble?"
"No, not at all, but this does raise a new problem."
"What?"
"I think the others may want a piece of you." She said with a frown. 'That and it's not a safe day for me, but I'll tell him that when I'm sure.'
"...what?" He looked at her in shock.
"Ilia and Neo for sure, Emerald and Cinder? Possibly, Cinder said having you as part of their relationship might be good, especially to help give them a baby."
"...what?" He repeated.
"Emerald is unsure and I don't blame her, the girl loves Cinder, but she might be open to experimenting with you if you get what I mean."
"...what?" He parroted again.
Salem rolled her eyes. "Let me put it in simple terms. The others want your dick. Understand now?"
"...WHAT?!"
"Mr. Arc, do I have to slap some sense into you?"
"I...I...I just ...I think I'm gonna pass out." He said before doing just that.
"Hmmm, can't blame the boy, though I better tell the others that he's open to taking turns." She chuckled as she began to get dressed. 'I wonder if Ilia went back to normal without any problems.'
(Later)
"Ok, just gotta move this file here...that one there...and...there, done." Jaune said with a grin as he finished the days work. "Finally, and right on time, maybe I'll actually be able to relax tonight."
"You're wrong bitch!" Came a woman's voice outside followed by other voice making Jaune wince.
"Then again, I could be wrong."
"Tonight's my night and you know it!"
"You're deluded, it's my turn!"
"No, it's mine, it clearly says my name on the schedule!"
'I wonder if I should try and make a run for it. If they're yelling at each other too much, they might not see me.' He thought as he began to slowly open his door. 'I still think I should have had a say in that stupid schuedle.'
"I say it's unfair! You two get him together, so that means you should share the same time!"
"Well suck it up, you agreed to the schedule same as us!"
"I was out of my mind from that drugged ice cream!"
'Blame Cinder!'
"Hey, you agreed to it too backstabber!"
Jaune slowly tiptoed past the angry women and towards the door. 'Come on, just one evening curled up on the couch with all the monster movies I can watch, that's all I want!' That's when he felt his phone buzz and stiffened up while closing his eyes. 'Ignore it, don't check, just keep going.'
His phone just kept buzzing as he got closer and closer to the door. 'Almost there!'
"Ahem."
He stopped and slowly turned to see the girls looking at him with frowns while Neo pointed to her phone. "Oh...hey girls, didn't see you there."
"Really, you didn't see or hear us right outside your office?" Cinder asked with a frown.
"Oh! Was that you? I must have had my headphones on." He remarked with a nervous smile.
"Check your texts." Spoke Emerald.
"Oh, I have my phone on me?" He said as he slowly pulled out his phone.
'Were you trying to sneak off? :( ' Neo's most recent text read with almost a dozen others that he had ignored.
"Um… sneak off is a strong word, can we call it a strategic retreat?"
"You were." Spoke Ilia with a huff.
"Well, in my defense, I didn't wanna get pulled in the middle of it."
"Well I think you should, this whole argument is over you after all, it's my turn tonight."
"No, it's mine and you know it."
'No, mine!'
"Um… how about it be my night and I go home and go to bed early?" Offered Jaune nervously. "And then tomorrow I'll take you all out for dinner at once."
'No, I want sex!' Neo pouted.
"You always want that." Remarked Cinder rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's obviously my turn."
"Look, Jaune's right." Spoke Ilia. "If we give him a break tonight, he can spoil us tomorrow. Besides, it's at least something instead of us fighting over and over like this."
"Hmmm… perhaps, that might work, I'll tell Salem so she can join us."
"Fine, but when it's my turn, we're going over stuff for the baby shower." Spoke Emerald. "I want us to plan out some names and just how we raise it."
"Deal." Said Jaune with a nod. 'Ok, I can work with that, at least I'll be able to walk afterwards.'
"Remember to dress nice, use that nice suit I got you last time." Spoke Cinder.
"Ok, ok, why do I feel like I'm going to be robbed for everything I have tomorrow?" He said as they just chuckled.
"It's part of the package." Teased Ilia.
'As long as the place has good desert, I'll be happy.' texted Neo.
"Keep eating that much sweets and maybe you'll grow out." Jabbed Emerald with a smirk making her glare.
'Says the girl with more junk in the trunk then anyone here.'
"Hey, Jaune and Cinder happen to like it!"
'No arguing there.' Thought Jaune before leaving the office and sighed in relief. "Well, my life's one huge insanity package, but at least I can safely say I'm probably the only guy in this whole city with five girlfriends."