What We Do In The Shadows: "Jen..."
Summary: There are unexpected consequences when Laszlo seeks a new human familiar…
Part XVIII…
"So you guys just follow the Mistress and her friends around? And us humans, uh…Familiars, right? And record all we do?" Ginny Zeller, seated in her car stares. "Jen says you're trying to document us as we become servants to our vampire overladys and lords?" shakes head. "I can't say I'm crazy about that idea. But the Mistress says I should cooperate so… The thing is I've had trouble with reporters in the past. Did Jen say anything about my ex-husband and his things? No? Well, that's good… Ok, fine then, ask me what you like, I'm ordered to answer truthfully." sigh.
Cut to living room of manor, Nadja firmly insistent in her orders to Ginny. "You will cooperate with nice documentary people. If they ask questions, you answer…Truthfully. You understand me, Ginny Zeller?"
"Yes…Mistress." Sigh. "But if they ask about my business…"
"They are interested in you as my slave and familiar, only. But, if you have done wrong, like pig landlord in my home village, you should admit truth. They are not bailiffs or police. They can't arrest you."
"They wouldn't…Tell?" nervous tone… "Even if no one could prove anything, it would hurt my business…My girls."
"Their film will be seen. Most won't believe, some will. It will be historical document and could be profitable, so they tell us. An earlier one was, this one…Eh, who knows."
"Oh, I have confidence this will be as big as the New Zealand one. Probably more since we're American vampires, sort of…Legally, by Colin's documentation." Laszlo, beside Nadja on sofa, notes. "But don't frighten the poor woman, Nadja. She's clearly got a few skeletons in her closet but don't we all? It'll be quite all right, dear…" reassuring pat to Ginny in her business suit, facing them, standing, somewhat woebegone expression. "These folks can be trusted. And we can ask them to use false names…That'll be all right, right folks?" he eyes camera.
"There, see…No problems."
"Just heed my commands, Ginny." Nadja, frowning. "Cooperate and be truthful. Your daughters will be fine, they are better with honest mother."
"Truth above all…" Laszlo agrees, solemnly. "After all, this is for History and Posterity."
"Yes, Mistress…Master Laszlo." Nod.
"Though...Is it really that bad?" Laszlo, curious…Slyly…
"Laszlo. Enough…She is my familiar, let her be and have her little secrets. Go, child. But set better example for your daughters, do not lie and cheat the people whom you deal with."
"I just push the envelope a little, Mistress…It's a tough business."
"Not that tough, little one." Nadja frowns. "You are about to get huge commissions, from us and those other owners…And if you are good familiar and follow my orders, I will see you do well for your little ones."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mistress." Bow of head.
"And I want the whoring to stop." Stern look.
"Mistress?"
"I know from Jennifer you urge your women to what did she call it, Laszlo?"
"I believe it was 'go the distance'." Laszlo notes.
"Yes. In other words, whore to please clients. That must stop."
"But, Mistress…I never tell my girls, specifically…It wouldn't be legal."
"Don't take this old gypsy girl vampire for fool, Ginny. You push girls to please clients. Jen told us how you urge and push them. Deal is close, sleep with guy. Or girl, I understand?"
"Oh, my. Wait? Did Jen say…?" Laszlo, blinking. "She never told me that."
"Mistress, sometimes you have to do a little extra for a client to get him or her over that line…Everyone else does it, sometimes, I'm sure." Ginny, plaintively.
"An honest person does not…" Nadja fumes. "When I was gypsy, we were terribly poor and the villagers would call us whores but we never whored. I only took men I cared for, I never whored. I thought you modern women were independent."
"Ma'am, it's just business…And I never give a girl who won't any trouble."
"This is not what Jen says." Nadja, grimly. "She says you fire girl who won't sleep with clients."
"That's not true…This is about Angie Gonzales, isn't it? The guy said she slapped him and was disrespectful."
"Jen says she defended self and you punished her. What is truth? Ginny?" Nadja, staring intently.
"I…I didn't want to lose the deal. But Angie made too big a deal out of it. He only groped her once. And she shouldn't have slapped him, that was assault. Or, he coulda claimed it was. I had to make him happy." Sigh. "Angie made too big a deal out of it."
"So you fired the girl and you slept with him?"
"Just once…But I didn't fire Angie for not sleeping with him. She shouldn't be slapping clients."
"This does not happen again. If clients want whores, let them go buy whores. You tell girls they never need to do this. Understand? This is my command."
"Yes, Mistress. Can they be nice to them? My girls are very friendly girls, very personable. I chose them for that."
"Oooh…Define 'Nice'?" Laszlo beams.
"Laszlo!"
….
"I think the deal should go okay…" Ginny notes, rather relieved that the crew does not pursue a line of inquiry about her business practices.
Though these no longer include pressure on her staff to "go the distance"…
"…Though I do worry about what Master Laszlo and the Mistress may have to do to put this over. I gather Mr. Robinson has pretty good paperwork and there will be a proper electronic transfer of assets, but…" sigh.
"Well, that's their job. Mine is to get all the paperwork done at our end and bring the clients together. The masters and mistress will do the rest." Wan smile. "It actually does make things a lot easier."
"I guess Jen had to tell her Master all about what our girls would do for clients…" Ginny sighs. "I know I couldn't refuse to answer. Still, I just hope she didn't give it away without an order. Jen's always been one I could count on to keep her mouth shut on important matters. Not that I would want her to keep anything from the Mistress or her Master…Never, I would never want that." anxious look. "It's good the Mistress knows all, that's how I want it. It's a better example for my own girls." She eyes camera… "Have you seen my girls? Eloise is at college, Jackie is in high school. Lovely girls, see." pulling wallet and showing photos. "The Mistress said they were." Fond beam, nod. "Naturally I offered them to her but she very kindly said it wasn't right to take them just now. Let them live a little, she said. It's nice to know really that when I get old, if I haven't been turned, that they'll be ready to step in and take over the business and serve the Mistress and her family." She pauses to press button for buzzing cell phone.
"Yeah, Anne? I'm on the road."
"Ginny? There's a call from Joanna Reynolds and Tom Biggins wants to move his eleven o'clock to ten-thirty if you can take him then? Are you on your way in? Phyllis and Angie need to speak with you."
"Ok for Tom. Yes, I'll be in in ten and I'll see the girls when I get there. Put Ms. Reynolds through…" she eyes camera. "Uh...Fellas? This is business, so…?"
….
Jen, at her desk on phone…Ginny, with vague reluctance and under compulsion from Nadja having agreed to those of the crew following Jen to film her at work, to amused yet concerned looks from the rest of the staff. Video cameras at work not really being a good thing in their experience. Allowed in only under court order in the past…
But in this case, to general astonishment, allowed in with Ginny's wan confirmation...Just an eccentric buyer's whim, the Cravensworth guy must have money to burn to hire a documentary crew like that...
"Well, sure Troy, if you like, we can work that into the counterproposal…But really, the buyers have come up to nearly all of your terms. I'm not sure if they can go much further, especially regards the roof situation. Oh…No, not really…I can't come over today. Nope, not tomorrow, I'm sorry. I'm swamped and I know Ginny can't spare me." Sigh, then wan smile to camera.
"I do consider this a big deal, Troy. I've worked on it for three months. No, I'm not…No…No, no, no…It's my call, I'm answering to no one. Yes, I do take it seriously. Hang on a sec, ok?" Jen presses button for a hold.
"Erika?!" call over to another cubicle where a striking blonde of about thirty-five in grey suit, pink blouse somewhat tight and unbuttoned perhaps one too many…Sits, reading her computer screen.
"Ye..ah…?" slight Germanic accent.
"How'd you like to take over Troy Meister? I can't deal with him right now and he wants someone to come over and hold his hand…" sigh.
And a few other parts, along with letting him hold some of yours, she did not say…Aware the said Erika was quite aware of Troy's preference for detailed customer service.
"The Meister? Seriously?" incredulous stare… "I got lots on my plate right now."
"Oh, please? Forty-sixty split."
"Jesus, I'll take that if she won't…" Phyllis, a forty-something brunette in black suit, white blouse, a bit more buttoned up with bunned hair, from her cubicle.
"Honest, Jen…? Forty-sixty?" Erika called. "F-off, Phyl. Done if you're serious."
"I can't take my eyes off the two biggest I got right now…It's worth it to me."
"Well…Ok." Nod. "If he can go with it, I'll take it."
"Troy? Sorry to keep you waiting…Look, I really can't make time but I've got Erika ready to take over and she'll have everything I've got on the deal. Yeah, Erika Swinburne…Yeah, that Erika." Jen gives thumbs' up to waiting, watching Erika who raises her phone.
"Hey, Troy…Erika Swinburne. I'm gonna fill in for Jen for the rest of the arrangements. Well, we want to give you undivided attention and Jen is getting swamped right now. Oh, sure…" chuckle. "I'd love that, I'll be over in twenty minutes. Looking forward to it, Troy." She hangs up.
"The latest?" she eyes Jen who indicates a stack on her desk which Erika, rising from her own, hurries over to scoop up and quickly skim several folders on the top of the stack.
"And the next two…" Jen notes.
"Right, great…" Erika, reading and walking back to her cubicle. "This looks just about all set…"
"Just some roof work he's hedging on…"
"Well, that's easy money…" Phyllis notes. "Though of course…There are the 'fringe benefits'…"
Guffaws…
"He just likes a little extra attention…" Jen shrugs. "It's not bad…"
"If Hetty Meister doesn't catch the two of you." Phyllis grins. "Though, given I've seen Troy Meister close up…I would put a reservation on that 'not bad'."
"Believe you me, for forty percent on Meister, I'd take much worse…But are you sure, Jen? You did the work on this…" Erika eyes her. "Lets make it thirty-seventy."
"And it's still a crime…" Phyllis chuckles. "After three months with Bluto, I wouldn't give you ten to save the whole deal."
"It's fine…" Jen notes. "Thirty-seventy."
"Done. Let me finish looking this over…" Erika at cubicle…
"All he'll care about is how easily he can unhook you…" Phyllis, lewd grin.
"Thirty seconds unless he wants to pay for a new bra or blazer." Erika, calmly, taking seat.
"Ladies…" Another voice down the row of cubicles… "Lets keep it clean, cameras."
"Lets hope he is, Gwen." Erika calls. "Later, I'm off to Troy...A German bearing some neat gifts." pulling on blazer and rising, grabbing folders, then heading for the office door.
"Wear a trojan with that horse, girl." Phyllis guffaws. "Nothing like using your college education..." she beams round.
"The girls are just fooling around…" Jen notes, a bit sheepishly. "Why don't we get some coffee in the break room?"
Phyllis rolling eyes at Gwen, a fiftyish red-haired woman in suit. "Her highness, Jenerys the Shit-Eater hast spoken..." hissed whisper. "Five to one, she's sleeping with all three of them."
"Ten to one, she's been wearing a wire and those clowns are feds..." Gwen noted.
….
"Really, I don't want you or the Master to get the wrong impression." Jen, seated with coffee at break room table. "We may kid around and do some flirting sometimes but you know…We keep it classy. I mean, yes, sometimes with an insecure guy like Troy or if the deal is really hinging on the client's attitude, most of us will do what needs to be done. But within boundaries and as you saw, Troy was reaching mine. Hopefully he'll be happy with a new face and a little flirtiness. Erika's good at keeping it in limits…European women know how to handle guys like Troy." Sipping.
"I'll have to be a little careful…The guys found it strange I'd give up even thirty percent of the commission on that one and what with the negotiations and the work around the old and new places, I'll probably have to cut back on several projects and not take too much more on. I guess I can drop some hints that I've done well and want more time for Suzie and Dave. Heck, I'll have made a couple of good years' salary with these two deals plus the ones I have in the works. About time I took it easier."
"I was so relieved to hear Gui isn't in too much trouble over that Mr. Afanas…Poor kid, I know he was worried. But it really wasn't his fault…These things happen. But Master Nandor was very kind about it, as was Mrs. Afanas. I should really send some flowers, with a card. I'll let Gui know and put his name on it as well."
"So, nearly two weeks of enthrallment and really, I've never been more productive or felt so alive and connected to the world." Jen beams. "I know, you guys think…I'm a slave now and ready to off myself or anyone I've ever cared about…Degrade myself…Hand over my best friends as food to my master…Not exactly the best definition of connected to the world, right?" shrug. "But, really…I've never felt so one with everything. Work used to obsess me…You've seen how I would 'go the distance' at times, really not much better than slavery, if you think about it…Slavery to work, to money, if I'm honest about it. And the Master has never, not once, asked for anything like that. Not even asked me to kill for him, not even for feeding, which I mean…Hey, we all kill to eat, right?" sincere look.
"But now, work really doesn't mean a thing to me. Don't tell the guys here that, ok? Gotta keep my rep up, even if Ginny doesn't mind, quite so much, now, herself." Wink, smile. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I still love my job and it's nice knowing my little girl is taken care of and if anything happens to David's career, he's ok financially, even if I…You know, move on, courtesy the Master or his friends? But I'm no longer…The next deal, the next deal…" She makes hand movements in wheel motion… "Bigger, more…Nothing matters but going the distance and closing the big one…You know? Now...Heck...We could retire tomorrow and we'd be fine, Suzie'd be fine. I could do community work freelance as well as my work for my master and I'd be happy as a clam. Though I'm glad to be in a position where, if my overlords ever need money, I can produce, legally, without too much risk to them, for their sake's, not mine. I'm at peace, content, more than I've ever been...And two weeks ago, while I was fairly happy with my life, I wasn't at this place." Warm smile.
"And yeah, you could argue it might seem terrible that I could, if push came to shove, do what the Master bids, even if he decided David had to go. But I don't think Master Laszlo ever would do that, unless say I was stupid and David found out and got all antsy and 'must save my beloved, kill the foul creature defiling her' and all that. Which is kinda what I think he'd do...He's so sweet, really...And very brave. A real hero when he was in the military…" fond smile. "So, I'll be careful never to let him find out."
"Anyway, it might seem bad, as I said, that I could act against my husband like that but really, I don't see it happening, at least not to the 'I'm sorry but I hafta kill you, honey. Maybe we'll be together in the afterlife' stage. And I really think if anything, all that's happened has made me appreciate Davey and Suzie more. And get away from some of the nonsense, that really...And it was my fault, I know...Came close to ruining our lives. My obsession with work and all that...Which seems so empty and foolish now. I could have let it push David and Suzie right out of my life, especially if I'd gone on doing whatever it took to move deals until it destroyed my soul. Now, I feel like I know what's important...What matters… And while Master Laszlo is the center of my universe now, David and Suzie will always be important to me." shrug.
"Hey, Jen?" Phyllis at break room entrance. "If you guys could finish it up? No one wants to use the break room while a camera crew's filming everything…?"
"Sorry, we'll finish in the parking lot..."
"Yeah...You guys got release forms? I know I prefer not to have my face on film without my permission."
