Chapter 1
Claire sat in her car, head leaning against the steering wheel, lightly sobbing, as she tried to compose herself. The parking lot was for a small strip mall-style sex shop. The car was on its last leg, not starting every fourth time, the interior falling apart, and smelling like a cat had given birth there, but it was all she could afford. Her life was hard.
Her life had always been hard. Born to a highly conservative, almost cult-like family; she had a poor education, little social interaction growing up, no life skills outside of 'traditional woman's' roles, and no friends or family to rely on. Then when she had nowhere to go, no options, no future prospects; her parents kicked her out. She'd offhandedly said a woman on television was attractive, and apparently that made her 'gay' and a sinner in the eyes of god and she was literally thrown out the door at the age of 17.
Not turning 18 for several months made getting anything harder. She'd even considered turning to prostitution, but her upbringing still held hard in her head and instead, she begged for change and slept in her crappy car with her handful of possessions.
She was attractive, a little malnourished at the moment, but at 5'5", with wide hips, large breasts, long dark hair, a button nose, and surprisingly nice skin for having lived rough on the street, she was sought after by many. So the day she turned 18 she went to the strip club to try and get a job. She didn't know if she could bring herself to dance, but she needed to try something, she needed money fast, and she didn't want to give up her virginity to earn it.
She was waiting to talk with a manager when a tall, attractive, blonde woman in a small tight leather halter top and leather short shorts came up to her. "Here for a job?"
"Yes," she stammered out nervously.
"How old are you?"
"18. Today."
"Happy birthday! But, this is a bar-slash-strip club, you have to be 21 to dance or work here."
"Oh," she said sadly. She thought this was the best, fastest way to get her somewhere warm to sleep.
"Listen," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. "There is a place. It's kind of stripper adjacent... A weird job with a whole lot of 'perks'. Sex is not required, but it's strange... I can't say more. But it's safe, it pays well, it's clean, and it's private, so you don't have to have half the town know what you do. Interested?"
"Why can't you say more?" She asked worried.
"You have to sign something saying you won't talk about what you see. It's legally binding."
"Oh. And if I go and see... I won't 'have' to do it?"
"No. It really is safe. Several girls here tried, but it's... unique, and not right for everyone."
"Okay. Thank you. I have little to lose here."
She was given the address and drove straight over. But seeing it was a cheap sex shop made her think she was being played. So she hyper-ventilated in her car. Finally, not having much choice, she exited her car and entered the building. Behind the counter was a young, 20-something, thin, black girl with a small chest and a head of unique braids in a rainbow of colors. She gave a full, real smile, as Claire walked in.
"Hi! What can I do for you?"
"Oh, um, I..." Claire paused, afraid of being pranked and worried about asking about a weird job. "A, um, woman, at the strip club, said I could find a... ah, good job here."
"What'd she say about the job?" The woman asked intently and sternly.
"Oh. She said, it was, ah, stripper adjacent, had unique perks, was weird, and paid well. She also said she couldn't talk about anything specific."
"Oh, okay. Good. I'm Deiadra by the way. Let me call the boss for you." She picked up a phone, pushed two buttons, and started talking quietly into it. Claire heard bits and pieces; she described her and described how she heard about the job, before finally setting the phone down. "He'll be out to fetch you in five to ten minutes. Is that okay?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
"No problem! What was your name?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Claire."
"Nice to meet you, Claire. I hope we can work together," she said with a smirk and looked Claire's body up and down. She had to remind herself, 'stripper-adjacent'. After looking around the shop for about ten minutes a man came up to her and said, "Are you the girl looking for a job?"
She stammered and looked at the man. He was tall, a little over six foot, with a strong-looking frame under a gray suit, maybe in his late 40s, strong chiseled jaw, dark hair, and bright green eyes. He had an aura of wealth and power that made Claire's knees a little weak. "Yes... Sir."
He smiled wickedly, "I'm Alan..." he said putting his hand out.
"Oh, um, Claire, sir." She said shaking it.
"Nice to meet you, Claire," he said and flashed a confident and beautiful smile. "Follow me." He said it with authority that he expected her to follow and she did almost without thinking. They walked through a door marked private, that was another 'shop', this one with equipment and whips and paddles and collars and so much more; more 'advanced' sex tools. But, before she had a chance to take it all in, he walked up to a black door, used a key card, and punched in a code, before opening it and holding it for Claire. She had just a moment's fear as she looked at the security of the door. She feared for a second that she was going to be human trafficked, she didn't tell anyone she'd be here and she heard about it from a stripper she didn't know...
Her heart skipped a beat, but she entered the door and saw a large well-lit room with beds, sex equipment, and a stage. It didn't look sinister. Alan placed his hand on the small of her back and directed her to follow him again. They moved through another door into a normal-looking hallway that wouldn't look out of place in any other office setting. They entered the last door on the right and entered a normal-looking office with a large wooden desk taking up much of the space.
He took a seat behind it and gestured for her to sit in the one in front of it. She took the seat and sat for what was going to be her first job interview. She looked down at what she was wearing; dirty ripped jeans and an old band t-shirt she found at a charity shop and suddenly felt very self-conscious.
"So, Claire. Tell me about yourself."
She did, she told him of her difficult childhood and the even more difficult few months of living in her car. Then she told him about trying the strip club and the ominous job opportunity that was suggested.
"Hmm..." Alan leaned back. "Okay, I want to help you, and don't want to be accused of taking advantage of you. So, whether you're the right fit for this job or not, I will get you placed as a waitress or secretary and get you three months free in a partially furnished apartment. That should give you enough time to get on your feet. But, I am going to require that you get your high school GED, with either option. Okay?"
Claire's mind went blank, she didn't have to do anything and could get a place to live, a job, and a possible future. "Oh my God! Yes! Thank you! Sir... That's all I needed... A chance."
"It's fine. I'm happy to help. Now as for the job you came for. Please read this and sign it." He said handing her a paper.
She grabbed a pen and started to put it down to the dotted line, so grateful for the chance. Then he grabbed her wrist gently. "Woah. No! Read it first. Don't get taken advantage of!" He said sternly.
"Oh. Ah, sorry." She felt ashamed of disappointing him. Then she started to read it. It was a non-disclosure agreement and it seemed simple, nothing that required her to work for him, pay him, or serve him; just not talk about what he says or what she sees. She read it a second time, and nothing jumped out, so she finally signed it and returned it to him.
"Good. Thank you. So, you heard the job was weird..."
"Yes..." She said carefully.
"Well as you could probably tell by what you've seen so far, this is a private sex club. Mostly BDSM, but also a place for people with unusual kinks to find each other, to find clean, safe, secret partners and not be judged for it. The job you will be applying for will have what I'd call three levels of intensity.
"First, you will work a normal-ish job as a cashier of the public shop. For the job, you need to understand the product, talk to people about their kinks, explain which toys to use for them, and not judge them. If you can't bring yourself to learn, understand, and discuss these products with customers, then you're not right for this job.
"Second, roughly once a month, there is a large event, and about every two weeks there are smaller parties. You will be expected to act as a waitress at these events, wearing bikinis, lingerie, skimpy outfits, or possibly being naked. If you don't think you can comfortably do that, then you're not right for this job.
"And third, you'd be expected to dance and take part in bondage demonstrations, usually on stage. This includes being tied up, paddles, whips, ropes, clamps, and spankings. For this, we prefer those who actually enjoy such acts, those who are actually submissive, or those who will beg for the opportunity. If you don't think you'd enjoy that, then you're not right for this job.