Chapter 11 – Mistress’s Meetings

*** The Mistress ***

Meetings. The true joys of running a business. It is hard to blame the owners who offer themselves to the clients. It would provide a bit of fun. I just can't get myself to be like that. I have a few wives I hide from my employees. They would all let me take clients, but it feels wrong. I'll probably take up one of the men who shows up here when we are ready to try for kids; it would be a lot cheaper.

Vasati wants to talk to me. I need to follow up with the duchess about tomorrow. A princess even has a messenger coming in today. Vasati will probably be the worst. She hates how I treat Alzi. Alzi offered herself up; I just took the opportunity. I treat her better than any other slave has probably ever been treated. Whatever, I'll worry about it when she yells at me.

The first one up should be the duchess, probably just a messenger. I walk into my office and flick the fireplace to life. Another quick spell to check if anything has been touched. The only thing that has been messed with is the safe, just some gold added. I sit down behind my large desk and try to get some balance sheets down before the meetings.

I only get through half of one before a knock says my day is about to begin.

"Please come in," I say in my well-practiced, cheerful voice. The door opens silently, and a well-endowed woman comes in. About five seven or so in height. Ears, eyes, and tail show her to be a dog. "Welcome. Please let us sit by the fire for this. This shouldn't take long, but I want tomorrow to run smoothly." I get up and walk over to the other half of my office. I've split it into two parts: one side is the traditional office, and the other is the more intimate and personal experience one would want from a brothel: soft chairs and some heat from a fire. I don't use it often, but some meetings need that extra intimacy.

"We both want that," she takes the seat next to me. "I have the key and strapon already. I've verified the enchantment is one that will produce semen if the right woman is being fucked by it. I know that is the best we can determine, so that is all in order. I'll have to take your word about the key. I've brought here some paperwork about her pregnancy status currently and what happens in case of a miscarriage or stillbirth. In both cases, we will get to breed her again, but she will live with us for the duration of the pregnancy to make sure her environment does not cause any problems for the unborn kids."

"Yes, that is fine. I have confirmed she isn't pregnant now. Tomorrow, a little after noon, is when you'll be free to come by and do the breeding. She will be yours all day. She just can't be taken out of the stockings. Once you're finished, she will relax and let the children implant, using some of her life's mana to help." I respond. If this pregnancy fails the first time, I'll have a lot of problems with my potential promises to the princess I'm working on. I sign the papers agreeing to the information we both shared.

"Good, glad you made this quick. We'll be here tomorrow for the slave," the dog gets up and promptly leaves.

"One down, hardest next." I sigh, returning to my balance sheet. The next interruption takes less than an hour to come—with another knock at my door.

"Come in," I say, putting my pen down. I'm nearly finished with yesterday's report; there are just the taxes left. Vasati comes through the door. She's honestly worked here longer than I have, doing work when my mother still owned the place.

"Thank you for seeing me. I'm hearing some disturbing things about Alzi. I hope they aren't true." Acting like she doesn't know precisely what is happening.

"I'm always happy to hear from you. You're an essential figure for this brothel. I'm happy you continue to work here. I would struggle to run it all without you." I genuinely do need her; I've got too much happening here not to have her. Brothels have taken off in the past few decades. Nobles have started to see them as places to relax. Smaller and cheaper shows than the theaters let them go out more. The ability to have sex with a professional for the night is a nice bonus for them. It all cost less than a night at the theater. Some weird traditions have spun up with having younger girls have their first night with a professional when they turn eighteen. The big brothels have grown large and complex. Managers are a must to keep the nobles happy.

"Has the Ashmark family been banned?" she asks bluntly, sitting on the other side of my desk.

"No, they paid the amount asked. I can't ban a noble family for paying me and then doing what they paid for." This conversation again.

"The man had no idea he paid for that service. You needed to send someone in to let Alzi know about the change. All of the girls know now that he raped her. The family is basically banned. Just last night, one of the wives was here trying to find a girl. Not a single one said yes. When the man comes, he won't take no without lashing out at the girl. I've shared this with the rest of the brothels, and they have banned them. Why would you not?"

"As I said, he may not have known they paid, but they paid. I'm not getting dragged to court and explaining to the judge that I banned a patron for doing what they paid for. I mishandled it. I know that. I'll watch over him the next time he shows up. When he fails to find a girl, I'll make sure to tell him it would be best if he didn't come back. That is the best I can do."

"Fine, if they hurt our girls, we'll have a more challenging time getting the girls with sex classes. They are what makes the nobles decide to come here over other places. The ones contracted girls are just to fill out the ranks." I can tell she still isn't happy about the stupid family, but there truly isn't much for me to do.

"Anything else you want to discuss?" I ask.

"Yes, you can't sell Alzi. You promised her and her mother you wouldn't do that. You shouldn't even have that collar around her neck. You didn't heal her mother; you didn't keep up your half of the deal. Yet you've taken ten years from her. You can't take more of her future than you already have."

"I tried to keep my half, but her mother was already healthy by the time I got there. She put the collar on, knowing what would happen; she did this to herself. I don't have to keep my promise of not selling her. I would have made twice the amount I've got now if I took the best offer I've ever gotten for her. This time, it is a princess making the offer. How am I going to say no to her? Nobody says no to a princess going for the throne. I.."

"Then free Alzi," she interrupts, "you shouldn't have her to begin with, so free her. Let the duchess impregnate her. Free her and have her work here as a masseuse till the children are born. You can make that part of the contract so that the collar can be removed early."

"The second the princess started the negotiations, I lost the ability to free her. I've thought about it, trust me. I'm not happy selling her. I've worked Alzi's freedom into the contract. How is marrying a princess a bad thing? The princess can't have a slave be the baby father and mother to her kids."

"That still takes her future away. If the princess wants a penis for her harem, she can woo them the same as the rest have to. You know Yuki, Mai, and Alzi love each other. The princess won't let Mai into her harem. A debt whore with no affinity. Come on. Kelly also wants in, and Alzi likes her as well. The princess won't let a weak healer in. Alzi is ten, twenty times stronger. Give her a month of training and a real healer class, and Kelly won't have anything to do. Plus, she probably already has a better healer. Don't take her future away just for some gold. You're earning plenty from her body already."

"I already told you. All I can do is get good deals with the princess. I can't say no to her. I'm not losing my head for Alzi."

"Then ask the Queen for help. You and I both know the Queen has been here and slept with Alzi and me before. Hell, the Queen may have even had her newest kid with Alzi. Yuki has performed for her. You can send a petition asking for help. She's smart enough to do it in a way the princess doesn't hurt us, especially if I'm right, and her newest kid is Alzi's."

"I've tried. Matters about slaves don't even make it to her. I got some generic response about not wasting the Queen's time."

"Write a better letter. Work on it. The girls won't be happy to see Alzi leave like that. We can't lose both Alzi and Yuki. That is half the reason anyone comes here."

"The princess is offering us a girl that will work here for two years. Not as skilled as Yuki but good enough to cover us till we train a replacement."

"You should still find a backbone and say no. This will break Alzi. She needs Yuki and Mai. I know you have a meeting with the stupid princess soon. Tell her she'll need to convince Alzi to join her harem, and when the collar falls off, She can have her. Do the right thing." I wish I could do as Vasati wants. You can't get in the way of a princess's attempt to climb to the throne; they'll take your head on the way down if they fail.

"I wish I could, Vasati. But I like living."

"Think about it. One last thing: Summerhide is inviting you and Alzi to a party this coming week. I've written both responses here," sliding to envelopes over. "The typical party, green stamp for yes, red for no. Everything else is working fine."

"Good, thanks for writing the responses. I appreciate all you do. I wish I had worked a better deal with Alzi before the princess came knocking. I truly do. Your head isn't on the line now. I do what I can for her, but there is still a limit to what a brothel owner can do."

"Try. I've got to check the preparations for the big dance tonight. See you,"

"Thanks for everything. Goodbye," both standing. I walk over and hug her before she can leave. I throw the red stamp away. I don't particularly appreciate how they treat her at the parties, but it is essential to show them how much better my girls are. She is the best I have. I'll give her some breaks after it.

It doesn't take long for my last meeting to come up. Hopefully, it is the last knock of the day; I need to keep an eye on the dance tonight.

"Come in," I say for the third time today. I'm already walking over to the fireplace. The princess never sits by the desk. Not that I think the princess is actually the one here. It's likely just a good spell and different messengers.

"Thanks for meeting so late. I've heard you already gave breeding rights to the slave."

"Yes, you weren't giving me a clear indication of whether you would buy her, so I went ahead and made the sale. Duchess this time."

"I see. There aren't many Duchesses that don't have a man already for them." Sitting down in the other chair. "I'm coming closer to a decision. There are just a few more people I need to hear from. I'm planning to make an announcement soon about my aim for the crown. I will need to pick up a man, or herm, after that. It takes four and half months for the slave to give birth, correct?" the messenger asks.

"Yes, she has been late the last few pregnancies. We can induce her to keep her on schedule if you need to. But I'll need some payments to make that happen. It is risky for the kids."

"What do you want?"

"Some wive spots for Alzi. She has a few women she loves here. I want them to get a chance to marry her if they both want that."

"I'll think about it. A few weeks isn't too big of a deal. But I would like my husband to be happy. I'll have a large harem as Queen anyways."

"Thank you."

"Now, what is the chance that it goes well past the four and half months?"

"The only chance is a miscarriage or stillbirth. Both are basically impossible for her to have. She has a new womb tattoo, helping her keep the children alive along with her life mana. There is little chance that the sale would be delayed due to the womb sale."

"That's Good. The next time I contact you, it will be with my decision on the sale."

"I look forward to hearing your choice, Your Highness."

"Goodbye," leaving as fast as she came in.

It sounds like I may be able to sneak Mai and Kelly into the deal. Hopefully, that will keep Vasati happy.