This story has been beta by TheMischieviousPuppyDog.
Jaune sat at a private booth he had reserved at the restaurant that specialized in Vailian food, sighing as he waited for his two other employees. He nervously shook his leg while drumming his fingers on the table as he played the possible conversations that would come.
"Ah, found you!" said Arvo as he and Clementine were guided to the booth.
"Good to see you found the place," smiled Jaune as they sat down, "Hope you guys are hungry, my treat."
"You're the best," grinned Arvo as he quickly looked through the menu.
"Just order the main dish and drinks, I've already ordered us an appetizer sampler," reminded Jaune.
Soon, their drinks and appetizers arrived.
"So, you have something to tell us?" asked Arvo after nabbing one of the appetizers.
"Yeah," sighed Jaune, putting down his drink, "As you might have known, for the next 45 days, we'll be working with Mii Amo. A new masseuse will be arriving tomorrow. I've been told she's good and polite, so return the same courtesy to her as you would to me."
"Alright," nodded the two.
"Secondly, Ren is planning to quit soon as his schooling at Beacon will soon make his usual times unavailable. He has, however, agreed to work as a temporary worker, working if his schedule allows him to and if we need him," continued Jaune, "So I'll be hiring another staff. If any of you have friends that you can recommend and have a good work ethic, I'll prioritize them a bit higher, but no guarantees."
"I might have one," scratched Arvo, "Not sure he's a good candidate though. He's a sloth faunus who unfortunately decided to be a bit lazy with his work ethic."
"None here," shook Clementine.
"If you do think of someone, let me know before I hire," nodded Jaune, taking another appetizer, "And lastly... I've been thinking of getting an office manager."
"So you're hiring one?" asked Clementine for clarification, "So you're hiring two people?"
"No," replied Jaune.
Arvo and Clementine looked confused for a bit before Arvo got the hint, "You're promoting one of us."
"Yes," nodded Jaune, "However, before I make the decision... I want each of you to know I value the both of you. However, being an office manager will mean increased responsibilities as well as the ability to carry those responsibilities with alacrity. That being said... damn it this is going to be rough... who do you personally think is able to do this and why?"
Arvo twitched at this, almost wanting to volunteer himself before giving a side look at Clementine. Based on seniority, Clementine should be getting the promotion. But there was the fact that Clementine was a bit slow on some of the systems in the computer, would get confused a little, and other small stuff. It didn't mean Clementine was a bad worker, in fact, Arvo would say she was very pleasant to work with. It was just that he did a bit more because he was faster and understood how to navigate through everything.
Clementine cleared her throat, taking a sip of her tea before speaking, "I think Arvo should get it."
Jaune and Arvo blinked at this statement before Jaune motioned Clementine to expand on it.
"Simple. He's faster and knows how to work the system. He does more than I do and learns faster," admitted Clementine, "I'm not ashamed to admit that Arvo is better. Seniority wise, yes I'd have the advantage, but only by months, not years. I fully support and recommend Arvo becoming office manager."
"Arvo, anything you want to say?" asked Jaune.
"I... uhh... uhh," stuttered Arvo, unable to form a sentence. This was a rather unique experience for him. His last job, when the new owner swung in, he had been shafted from a well-deserved promotion for the idiot's friend who had no idea what he was doing. And the new hire blamed everything that went wrong on him because he was a Faunus.
"Clementine, not that there's anything wrong with your work, but I also agree that Arvo is better suited for the job than you. I hope you understand that this is in no way a slight against you."
"As I said, I also believe Arvo is better," waved off Clementine.
"Alright, then officially, tomorrow you're the new office manager Arvo. Congratulations," grinned Jaune, giving himself a mental sigh of relief that Clementine was very understanding and humble.
"Cheers, to our new office manager," proposed Clementine, raising her drink up.
"Uhh... uhh.," stammered Arvo, still in shock before Clementine slapped his back to snap him back to reality.
"Stop spacing out and cheer up," grinned Clementine, "Todays a new day for you!"
The three spent their remaining time eating a good meal while discussing Arvo's new responsibilities.
"And that's the last of it!" declared Jaune as the last package was put away.
"Whew. And you do this all the time on your day off?" asked Ruby. She had been tempted to use her Semblance to speed through the process, but an accident that nearly involved her slipping on the floor and dropping a bunch of spices that Jaune had ordered stopped her from doing that. It had been thanks to Yang and Ren that Ruby didn't do so.
"More so than often now, especially with summer break out now," nodded Jaune, "Lots of Beacon students are coming to get massages, and now even college students have been making appointments. Along with what you've told me, with more students from various Academies coming to Vale, I might be packed."
"Then we better get our massages in beforehand," muttered Yang before clearing her throat, "So. What's the news you wanted to spoil? You said something about more slots."
Jaune looked at Ren, who motioned back to them, stating he hadn't said anything.
"I'll be working alongside Mii Amo for the next 45 days as a trial basis on a co-branding. Because of that, they're sending a masseuse to work alongside me, giving me more time slots. Because of that, I'll be putting in two more slots for Aura massages from one o'clock to three o'clock for the next two weeks. After that, I'll see if I should change it to later times or not. Maybe make it six to eight, but I'll see what happens. Ren, I have a spot reserved for you and anyone you want for tomorrow if you don't mind, no charge, as thanks for working so hard here. The official time slots will be posted to open tonight at midnight," announced Jaune.
"Sweet!" grinned Yang, "I'm definitely reserving a slot."
"I'll take Nora," said Ren, pointing to Nora, who cheered in excitement, "But shouldn't Velvet get the chance to know about this too? She did work here too."
"Oh crap I should let her know," mumbled Jaune as he took out his Scroll, "Uhh, you guys don't mind if I let Velvet take Thursday's slot with anyone she chooses?"
"Nope, go for it," waived Ruby. Team RWBY had snagged spots next week at the individual night slots, but with this, they would get the chance to get earlier time slots. Being delayed by only two days than a week was better than nothing.
"Alright, I'll call Velvet and change into some other clothes, and we can go see that new movie you two have been so excited about," smiled Jaune as he went upstairs.
"Yaa!" cheered Nora and Ruby.
Jaune quickly dialed Velvet's number while changing clothes. It didn't take long for Velvet to answer.
"Hello, this is Velvet," answered Velvet.
"Hey, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," greeted Jaune, "It's Jaune."
"Oh, Jaune! How are you doing? Did you need me for something?" asked Velvet, "And no, you didn't catch me at a bad time."
"Yes he did!" hollered Coco from the background, "You're still only wearing your towel wrapped around you from the shower! You're lucky we're still in the bathroom when you bent over, otherwise you'd be giving the boys a heart attack!"
"Coco!" shrieked Velvet in embarrassment while Coco cackled, "Don't believe what Coco is saying! It's true that I finished bathing, but I'm in my pajamas right now and not what Coco said!"
Jaune had to take a deep breath, chasing off the sudden vision of Velvet wrapped in just a wet towel that clung to her curves before continuing, "Ahem, I'm glad that I didn't catch you at a bad time. Anyways, what I wanted to speak to you is about the appointment that you have for next week."
"Hmm? Is something wrong with it?" asked Velvet.
"No, it's just that since I'm going to be having another masseuse working with me, I'm opening two more one hour slots from one to three for Aura massages. Since you worked with me, I was thinking that if you wanted, I can reserve this Thursday's slot for you and whomever you choose, unless you're busy?" said Jaune.
"No, of course not! I'll happily take those slots!" exclaimed Velvet.
"Good, good," nodded Jaune, "That's about it. See you Thursday."
With that, Jaune hung up. Velvet turned around to see Coco without her sunglasses, her body positioned so that she was looking up at Velvet with big eyes.
"So you're going to take me with you?" asked Coco.
"Hmph, I'm not sure," mused Velvet as she placed her finger on her chin, "I feel like this would be an excellent time to bond with Yatsu, wouldn't you agree?"
"You wouldn't!" gasped Coco, horrified at what Velvet was doing.
"Who knows, maybe I'll take Fox instead," hummed Velvet, ignoring Coco's pleas.
"C'mon, don't be like that. Please?" begged Coco, now on her knees.
The boys of CFVY would come back to see Coco now hugging Velvet's feet, much to their amusement.
Jaune took a deep breath, having woken up early and ready for the new day. He stood outside waiting until he saw a female with light skin and brown shiny hair tied up in a ponytail walking towards his clinic.
"Miss Eirwen?" asked Jaune as she stopped in front of Jaune.
"That would be me," bowed the lady, "My full name is Ellana Eirwen. I don't mind being called just Elen, though."
"Elen," nodded Jaune, "As you might know, I'm Jaune Arc. Come on inside and meet the staff, then we'll get you settled in. We're in for a busy day, though with you helping split the load, it won't be as bad for now."
Ellana, or Elen, nodded as she walked inside the clinic.
"Ah, I so needed this," moaned Nora as she laid on the bed as Jaune went to work with his Aura, "Feels sooooo good."
Ren had decided to let Nora go first, sitting at a corner with a book on hand.
"I'm glad you like it," smiled Jaune as he pressed down, "So how's Pyrrha anyways?"
"She's fine," answered Ren, looking up from his book, "She texted us that she would be back next Tuesday night. Her work has taken quite a chunk of her time with her agent pushing her to do something since we won't be participating in the Vytal Festival. Though I hear that the agent keeps pushing Pyrrha to transfer to Haven so as to work closer at home and guarantees her a team to fight in the Vytal Festival. She declined even when Haven sent her another offer with a full scholarship and the top team, stating that she couldn't abandon her team here."
'Not to mention she would hate to be so far from her favorite masseur,' thought Nora before twitching as Jaune worked on another knot.
"So how's the situation look?" asked Ren as he laid on the bed for his turn while Nora napped.
"Pretty good, the new masseuse knows what she's doing," nodded Jaune.
"That's good to hear," hummed Ren as Jaune began the massage.
"So anywhere that you've been having trouble lately?" asked Jaune.
Ren closed his eyes to ponder about it.
"Knees," answered Ren, "I've been feeling a bit of pain every now and then, especially when I put a lot of pressure on it."
Jaune acknowledged as he began working the legs, feeling the muscles on the calf.
'Nothing seems wrong with the muscles here,' thought Jaune as he continued to prod, not feeling too much stress on it, 'Which means the problem is probably right... here.'
Jaune took Ren's foot, lightly lifting up while having a firm grasp on it, and pulled, jerking his foot back. The result was a loud crack coming from Ren's ankle, much to his surprise.
"Thought so," grinned Jaune as he put the foot down, "Your ankle was just slightly misaligned. Because of that, when you put weight onto your foot, it wasn't properly distributing the weight of your body correctly, thus putting a strain on your knee. That loud crack just let me know for sure."
Ren nodded, already feeling a strain on his knee that he hadn't even noticed disappear. He closed his eyes, letting Jaune continue his work as the warmth of Jaune's hand and Aura washed over him.
"So, any complaints or suggestions?" asked Jaune as the day finished, looking at Elen and Arvo.
"We might need to consider increasing the number of beds," suggested Arvo, "One of the key things patients like is being able to take a small nap after a relaxing massage. With the increase of another masseuse and customers, we won't be able to do that."
"Hmm, but there's no room for another bed inside the rooms," hummed Jaune, "Add another and it'll be too crowded."
"Jaune, you own this whole building, right?" asked Elen.
"I am renting this whole building, but yes," nodded Jaune.
"Could you perhaps use the roof as an open-air massage?" suggested Elen, "we can probably put two beds up there for your Aura massage. If needed, we could probably put a canopy with sidewalls to offer privacy. The buildings that surround you don't overlook your building so people won't look through the windows just to spy on you, though you would have to be careful of people who hang around their own roof. Also not an ideal spot if celebrities come as it exposes them too much for comfort."
Jaune placed his hand on his chin, pondering about that.
"Well we do have a spare table and bowls for spices, so it wouldn't be too much to set up. And you can easily use a Scroll to set up the musical ambiance. You also have those portable massage beds laying in storage that you never used. We could use that as temporary placements until you need or want to get other beds," nodded Arvo.
'That's right, I bought those as I was considering doing home calls!' thought Jaune, 'I totally forgot I had those!'
"If you could, you can also put in the option of having a choice between a room and the open air," added Arvo, "Though you'd have to make sure you get the programming right. Elen, do you mind if you use the roof sometimes too?"
"I'm used to open-air massages, so it makes no difference," nodded Elen.
"I can get my tech on that job," stated Jaune, "Anything else?"
"Mmm nothing else pops into mind," hummed Arvo, "Stock seems good and all."
"Nothing else here either," commented Elen.
"Great! Have a nice night," waived Jaune, with the other two doing the same.
"Today was a good day," said Jaune to himself as he stretched out his arms, "Making Arvo the office manager was a good choice. Now then, to prepare for tonight's patient."
However, before he even began to prepare for it, he made a quick call to Roman.
"... Hey blondie! What's up?" answered Roman after a few dial tones, "How's the contract going?"
"Good, and they came up with a few more suggestions," smiled Jaune before launching a summation of the meeting and an explanation of what he wanted.
"Hmm, giving patients choices when they make an appointment online... Simple enough. But, errr I got a favor to ask of you," whispered Roman nervously.
"What do you need?" asked Jaune.
"Neo is a bit upset with me that I didn't tell her earlier about the Aura massage. Unfortunately, she's going to be busy after the next two weeks, and you've already filled up. She also can only do night times. Any chance you could squeeze her in earlier? Please? I'm begging for my life here," begged Roman.
"Well, I just updated the schedule so... hold up, I got a message on my computer," said Jaune, taking a quick look at the message, "Let's see... can't make it... reschedule to this day... accept... and done! Well if you want, I can pencil Neo in for tomorrow night. Though any chance you have some sort of large canopy with retractable side walls?"
"One, thank you so much for that! My hat and my life are safe now. And two, no idea and probably don't have that but ask Junior. His nieces go to beaches sometimes and have the boys set up a canopy for them, he probably has several thanks to them," breathed Roman as he exhaled, feeling safe for now.
"No problem and thanks for the help," smiled Jaune, "Gotta go and get ready for the next patient."
Roman hung up and turned around only to almost jump in fright as he saw Neo standing right in front of him, her eyes open with excitement and hope.
"Yes Neo, I managed to land an appointment with you tomorrow with Jaune," grinned Roman, "Now could you stop trying to stab me?"
Neo cheered silently as she ran up to her room to prepare for tomorrow.
"Geez, the things I do for the girl," sighed Roman before sitting down onto a computer, "You know... I should set up an appointment for one of the higher-ups in the White Fang residing here. Obviously not the big man himself, but someone in his second in command perhaps.. Make them know that this place isn't a place they can trash up for fun and try to avoid having their little fights there. Let's see... I'll just make an appointment on this day... perfect... and now to make a call."
Roman cracked his fingers as he got to work. Jaune cracked his fingers at the same time as he prepared dinner and ready himself for the next patient, who happened to be Sky.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
Business meeting done! Sometimes those meetings go smoothly, you know. New worker acquired! And finally, Neo gets her massage!