You were shocked at how much the uniforms cost. It made no sense, really. You didn't know that much about fashion, but your boyfriend was a model, so you knew a bit. Your uniforms were of average quality, and they didn't seem to be from any sort of designer. The tags didn't say any fancy materials being used to make it, either. "Sir, why do they cost so much?" you couldn't help but to ask. Fatima laughed, looking at you as if he owned you and currently he kind of did. He had seemed like a nice and understanding boss, but now you were putting things together. No wonder the other workers haven't quit, yet, they were in debt.
"Well, I have a friend who gets these for me and that's how much he charges," he smirked. That sounded incredibly fishy, but it made sense now. Fatima KNEW what he was doing, he did this on purpose to make people work in the way he wanted them to. "Oh, don't worry," he said, "I only take HALF of the money out of each pay check to pay for it." That also meant that you would have to be there longer, "Also, if you don't do your job correctly and are fired you have to pay the whole thing out of pocket in one payment." You felt like you were going to faint. You were scared. You were very scared. "Other than that, though, you had signed to pay for it through your work. So go out there and do a good job!" You didn't want to move, but you knew that you had to. You stood up and made your way towards the door. "Oh, and [Name]~! The costumer is always right~!" You could only nod as you left the room.
Once out of the room, you could see your other coworkers looking at you. You realized they were in the same situation and offered their silent concerns. Leila then began to go on and tell Kassim how it was his fault for the look on your face. You remembered their first argument when you got there. It was about this. All of this. You felt sick, wondering if this were all real or not.
The rest of the day went by pretty slow now that you knew the truth. You were grateful that you just had register duty and not working the floor. Anything could happen there as you saw some guy taking a picture of Leila's ass. You were sure she'd kill him if it weren't for the fact that she could get fired. You did have to deal with their stares, though as you rung their items up. You then remembered those stretches that Fatima had you do to relax you during your interview. It all made sense now. He was sizing you up at the time. You had to find a way out of this and soon... "Ma'am," you heard from your position behind the counter. You looked over to see some guy addressing Toto as she worked with organizing a new display of dirty magazines. You couldn't hear much more of their conversation, but before you knew it you saw Toto sigh, and she went into the back with him. You bit your lip, wondering what could be up.
"[Name]...[Name]!" you quickly looked to the side of you to see Sasha. You wondered why she called your name. Before you could ask, she answered. "Don't worry. Toto will be fine." You decided to just take Sasha's word for it as you continued to stand duty at the register. You couldn't help but to think that you would be working the floor tomorrow while Kassim and Toto would be on register duty for the day. You just hoped that you wouldn't have to deal with any creeps. Toto seemed to be back there for awhile, but when she came out she seemed fine except for a blush on her face. The guy that went with her back there had been no where to be found.
You felt exhausted when the work day was over with. You had thought more about what you could do to get out of this situation. Getting Kouha's help was out since you didn't want him to know about any of this. Your mind had also went to Sinbad...he had warned you about Fatima, and you didn't listen. You bit your lip, knowing that you couldn't go crawling back. You would just have to stick this job out for a little longer until you figured out a plan to get out of it. There was no way you wanted to stay here and keep working. At this point, though, you just wanted to go home and go to sleep, and that was exactly what you did.
The day you had class. You felt exhausted, and you were sure that you looked it. "Wow, [Name], I guess they're right when they say that women don't care once they get comfortable in a relationship." Having to deal with Judal didn't make any of this better. You honestly couldn't believe how it happened, too. This was actually your second semester of having him in one of your classes. It could be annoying, but Judal was fun on a good day. You merely waved his insult off, though, you did know that you would have to get more presentable for work later.
"I'm just tired," you said, trying to ignore him. Judal gave a snort.
"Clearly." You merely rolled your eyes, just wanting to get through this class. You found yourself thinking that quite a bit in most situations. When class was finally over, you left as soon as you could. You kind of didn't want to run into Kouha that day since you weren't feeling up to it at all. Kouha knew all your classes, however, and he usually liked to meet up with you when he could. So you rushed to get to your next class. You avoided him once again when that class was over with, although you could avoid his presence, you groaned when your phone rang. You knew it was him and checking the caller ID, that thought was confirmed.
"Hello?" you answered, getting in your car to go home to get ready for work.
"Hey, I didn't see you at all today," Kouha told you, "Judal also told me you looked like shit. Are you okay?" You could strangle Judal with his own long hair.
"I'm just tired, that's all." You connected your phone to the aux cord in your car so you could speak with him while you drove.
"Are you? You know there's this great spa I know. I'll take you there if you want," he offered. You tried not to sigh, because you didn't want him to hear it. You were successful.
"I think I'll be too busy for that," you mused. There was a slight pause on the other end of the speaker before Kouha spoke again.
"Then I could massage you if you want~." You could only shake your head at his words. Your boyfriend was very sexual, and he did not hide that fact from you.
"I think that'll make me even more tired. Look, Kouha, I have to go. I'll call you later though, alright?" you told him. You heard Kouha sigh on the other end.
"Alright, then. I'll talk to you later," he said, before you hung up. It wasn't like he was annoying you, it was just the secret with this job and having to think of a way to leave it was piling up in your mind. There wasn't much room for your school work let alone anything else. You decided to just get ready for work now, removing your conversation with your boyfriend from your head. Today was the day for wearing a maid outfit. You got ready and headed out the door as soon as it was time to do so. You prayed that you wouldn't encounter a customer wanting you to do something inappropriate. It would be an extremely tight bind if that were the case. As you got there, Toto was just getting there, too. Sasha and Kassim were already there. Leila had the day off it seemed. You really couldn't wait for the days you would get off, though Fatima only lets one of you off at a time. You got out of your car and went into the store. There were a few people shopping there and going through the books. You clocked in before doing your assigned task. Sasha gave you quick instructions.
"Just clean off the magazines and put them back," she told you. She handed you some gloves and cleaning material. You rose an eyebrow at this, not exactly knowing why. Before you could ask, she interrupted. "Don't ask," was what she said before stocking some books on the shelves. You rose an eyebrow at the magazines as you wondered about this task. Nevertheless, you began to do it. Some of the pages were stuck together and most of the magazines were just crumpled. Maybe they had been in the rain and stored improperly. It was weird that Fatima would sell damaged items, but then again the guy was a jerk, so you didn't think twice about it. You really didn't like the smell that they gave off, but the cleaner helped with that. The task became very tedious and a bit mundane. The smell was also starting to get to you. It smelt sort of rotted in your opinion. After a while you ran out of cleaner. You sighed in annoyance as you got up and tried to find the maintenance closet. Before you could ask, you heard, "In the back!" You looked over to see Sasha and nodded before glancing at the back of the store where you would see those pervs bring the others. You took a deep breath before heading back there.
You noticed that there were a few doors in the area, so you decided to be a bit nosy after you got more cleaner out of the supply closet. You saw a room with a few couches and 'reading material'. You shook your head at that before seeing another room. It was just empty except for a few random boxes with old VHSes in them. You decided to leave, though you did wonder what the customers needed assistance for in these rooms. Perhaps and hopefully it was just to find things. Since you had the cleaner you didn't see much of a reason to stay back there any longer. You went back to your task of cleaning off the rest of the magazines. you gave them to Sasha when you were done, who reluctantly put them back on the shelves. You just wanted all of this to be over with. You still could not believe the situation that you were currently in. In the back of your mind you were still thinking that there was a way out of this...Sinbad also came to mind again, but you felt weird about it and asking him for help. You would just keep thinking before you resorted to that.
The rest of the day felt really gloomy, though it had always felt gloomy in that book shop because of the situation that you were in. Sure your coworkers were kind and you really liked them, but that didn't stop the situation from being any worse than it truly was. You just wanted to go home and take a warm bath. It would be only momentarily, but it might help you relax some. So, you headed on home once the day was over it. You just were sick of how things had been going lately and actually missed the fun times that you used to have at 'Little Shop of Whores'. No more Sinbad coming in late, no more Alibaba being flustered, and no more visits from your friends. You used to complain about so much of your old job, and now you missed everything about it.
You turned down the road where your apartment was at before you noticed a very familar car out in front. It looked like Kouha's to you. You let out a groan as you hoped that was someone else's car. You kind of doubted it, though. Getting out you decided to face the music and deal with this, though you would probably tell him that you were too tired for a visit. You walked to your apartment in the building and then sighed as you noticed that the door was already unlocked. "...Kouha?" you said, softly as you entered. You rose an eyebrow as you saw it was pretty dark. You looked to see light coming from your bedroom as well as the smell of something very nice. With a sigh, you walked over and opened the door. You wanted to rub your eyes from exhaustion as you saw Kouha.
"Hey, honey~," he purred. The room was dimly lit except for your lamp. You noticed a bottle of wine as well as some wine glasses next to what looked like massage oil or lubricant, you couldn't exactly tell. Kouha had been on your bed, and he got up and went over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist, kissing down you neck. After the day that you had, you weren't exactly in the mood. You thought that he would have figured that from your talk on the phone.
"Kouha, what are you doin-" He cut you off by kissing your lips. Your face flushed a bit, but you pulled away, only to feel his hands stroking at your hair softly. "What are you doing here?" you repeated. Kouha smirked softly.
"Since you seemed kind of frigid on the phone I came to make sure you were okay...and then I figured out why you've been so evasive towards me~. I hoped I didn't ruin anything, but I just couldn't help myself~," he purred as he started to kiss at your neck again. You pulled away from him, wondering what he was talking about. "I can see you're ready as well~." You felt one of his hands stroking down your body as the other was wrapped around you. You were confused at that before you noticed 'The Joy of Sex' book that was now on your bed as well as the work uniforms out and also laying on the bed. And speaking of uniforms, you had managed to forget that you were still in the one from work that day. Kouha must have thought you were planning on doing something with him. So now you had two options...doing it with Kouha in your tired and not in the mood state or coming clean and telling the truth. You bit your lip, feeling a headache coming on. "Is something wrong~?" Kouha asked as he held you tighter. This was just too much for you. All because of that stupid job. That stupid stupid job. You let out a sigh, trying to think rationally.
"Kouha...you love me right?" you couldn't help but to ask him. The last thing you wanted was for him to think that you were trying to hurt him by withholding this information. Kouha rose an eyebrow and seemed to take on a more serious tone at this.
"I do," he said, "Why do you ask?" You pulled away and went to sit on the bed in your room. Kouha followed after you, doing the same.
"This is all kind of a misunderstanding here...," you began to say, making Kouha look very confused, "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do here, but...you see...these are all things for my current job."
"Wha-...Are you some kind of stripper?!" Kouha almost yelled. You quickly perked up at that shaking your head as much as you could.
"No! No! I work in a dirty book shop!" you told him. Kouha seemed to calm down as he was told this, though he tiled his head a bit in confusion.
"So...you went from a porn shop to basically another porn shop?" he questioned, "It would have been nice to know this sooner." He crossed his arms, looking as if all of his effort to put you in the mood had been wasted. Kouha wasn't the type to force himself on you, but he did get a bit pouty when you two didn't get to do anything at times. You nodded slowly, looking down a bit.
"Yeah...," you said. At least this misunderstanding was over with, though, you did wonder if Kouha would spend the night now or not and if he'd try to seduce you again. You waited for him to say or do something, but when you looked up you noticed that he was looking at you concerned. It shocked you a bit. "What? What is it?" you asked. Kouha sighed.
"I'd like to think I know you well enough and based on your mood these past days you must not like this new job or rather it's not a good job. I mean when you were stressed from your old job you used to come to me and ask me to relieve it. Now you just look pretty depressed," he told you. You really did always forget how smart and observant he could be because of the cute way he acted towards you. Kouha let out another sigh, he wrapped an arm around you gently and leaned back in the bed with you, "[Name], suck up your pride and quit. I can set you up with a nice job being as lots of people in my family own their own companies." A lot of them were his married sisters or their husbands. He also had older step-siblings who were successful.
"I can't...," you said, softly, shaking your head. It did feel good to be comforted by your boyfriend. You were so exhausted that you just wanted to fall asleep like this. Kouha gave your hair a soft tug, causing you to whine.
"I said, suck your pride up. I'm your boyfriend. Don't feel like you can't ask me for help with these thi-"
"No...I can't because...because...I'm bounded by contract...," you told him, "If I want to quit I have to pay my boss for the uniforms which are somehow twenty-five thousand dollars from the money I've made, and if I get fired I have to pay it all on the spot." Kouha looked rather shocked at this. He could tell right away that it was all a trap.
"Those uniforms are made from incredibly cheap material," he said, "If you had been set on role-playing I was going to suggest buying some better outfits for you. Your boss is an ass. Who is he?" he asked you, he seemed oddly calm about this and you wondered why.
"His name is Fatima," you told Kouha. He looked a bit confused before shaking his head.
"The name sounds a bit familiar, but I don't know where I heard it before," he sighed. You looked at Kouha, before just having to ask.
"Kouha, you seem a bit calm about this," you mused. You wondered if it were a bit vain to automatically want him to be worried about what you were going through. Kouha just shook his head.
"I am," he merely said, "I'm just going to give you the money so you can pay off those uniforms." Your eyes went wide slightly and before you could say anything, "If anyone is going to own you it's going to be me. I'm not going to have you in such a situation just because your boss wants to force people to work for his shitty ass." You bit your lip, wondering if this would all work out. Fatima did say that he would take the money from your pay check, but he did allow you to almost quit that one time...unless he had been messing with you to reveal that he had pretty much owned you at this point. You guess you would find out a way to do this soon enough. For now you just wanted to relax with Kouha.
"Thank you," you said softly, hugging onto Kouha tightly. He gently rubbed at your back, kissing your cheek. Kouha decided to stay the night, and you didn't mind at all. You were actually happy that he did because him cuddling you gave you comfort. You felt fortunate for him and you thanked God for having met someone like him. Someone who really loved you. You and him didn't have sex or anything like that that night. You just snuggled one another.
The next day, when you woke up you took a shower since you pretty much fell asleep instantly that night after you revealed what was going on to Kouha. He was still asleep in your bed and once you were dried and dressed you left to make breakfast for the both of you. You weren't as good as Kougyoku, but you did hope that he would like what you were making. It was just simple eggs and pancakes. Nothing too special. You made a decent amount before going back to your room where Kouha was still sleeping. You kind of hoped that he wouldn't sleep in too long. You did love his company, and you hadn't seen him for awhile after all. With a sigh, your eyes wondered a bit down from his sleeping face. They landed on his crotch and your mind immediately went to how some people wake their partners up with oral sex. You flushed up at the thought of that, covering your mouth with your hand momentarily.
Kouha now began to stir and wake up. He rubbed at his eyes before looking up to see you and your red face. "Good morning, [Name]," he said, wrapping his arms around you to pull you down in the bed with him. "Are you alright? Your face is red."
"N-Nothing!" you blurted out, knowing he'd tease you if he knew what you had been thinking about. Kouha chuckled softly and kissed your cheek.
"Alright, I won't ask." After Kouha had showered and changed in some extra clothing he kept at your place just in case he would ever randomly spend the night. You two ate breakfast and then planned for the day. Sure it was fun to goof off with Kouha, but you still had your current job to worry about. "Try paying if off, and then if he tries some bullshit excuse then get yourself fired, okay? Text me if anything happens." You nodded. You still had a few hours until your job. You just hoped that everything would work out in some way. At the same time, though...what about your coworkers? They would have to stay and deal with Fatima. Kouha noticed the look on your face and rose an eyebrow, "What is it?" he asked you.
"I mean...I'm just thinking about my coworkers...They're really nice to me, and they'll still have to deal with that ass-"
"[Name], let's focus on getting you out as soon as possible. After that we need to get our hands on a contract, and I'll ask Mei to look for a loophole or some shit," Kouha told you. You bit your lip, though nodded. You would trust Kouha on this. It really didn't help you to over-worry about it...though you were worried.