The Pleasure Boy 27

The Pleasure Boy 27

As yet, I have not said much about Woodruff Electronics in these pages, though I did mention early on that it had gotten its start from patents on the types of advanced tracking, monitoring and communications equipment through which submissives were typically controlled. And not only submissives, of course. Paroled convicts, indicted persons released on bail, many workers subject to close supervision and quite a few children and adolescents wore equipment that my father had designed, and that his firm produced or took royalties from. When artificial intelligence took off in a big way, robots for every civilian and military purpose (including 'smart' ammunition, self-driving cars and trucks, drone aircraft, rockets and ships, and even robotic animals kept as prosthetic assistants, sex toys or pets) - all used sensing circuits that my father had designed and patented.

Though Woodruff had competition from other firms, including some much larger and more powerful than itself, it was still a very successful enterprise, and my father had become a very wealthy man. Nonetheless, unlike most

nouveau riche

, he preferred to live modestly and took no pleasure in spending money just for the fun of doing so. As a respected geisha, my mother had also made good money (though nowhere near Dad's income); and, as they both enjoyed their work, they spent little on vacations or entertainment. In consequence, our family lived simply, but very well. My parents, for fear of spoiling me, had made it their policy to keep me largely ignorant of our wealth. We lived in a very good house and in a prosperous neighbourhood, but it was only upper middle class, and far from ostentatious. Also, my interests went elsewhere. I knew that my father was an electronics engineer and a successful businessman, just as I knew that Mom was a semi-retired geisha. But, like most kids, I was self-centred and wrapped up in my own affairs, with little interest in what the grown-ups did all day. In consequence, growing up, I played, dressed and went to a (very good) public school much like other children, and was scarcely conscious how rich we really were.

Now I had reason to take an interest in my father's business, and so began to read, ask questions and learn what I could about his field and his affairs. I still knew little about electronics, computer science or artificial intelligence, but I read my way into the amazingly short

history

of those fields (starting with Michael Faraday's experiments, Maxwell's equations and the physics of electromagnetism in the 19

th

century) and was fascinated first by the apparent closure of Newtonian physics with the understanding of light as electromagnetic radiation, and then by the discovery of radioactivity, atomic physics and quantum mechanics which cracked it wide open once again.

As it stands today, the fundamental physics, cosmology and worldview of the early 21

st

century are a mess, but its technology - what with gene manipulation, nano engineering, the Internet and artificial intelligence - is mind-blowing. If you stop to think about it, the ubiquitous iPhone, now with a copy in almost everybody's hand or pocket, is a magical device. Its Global Positioning feature, capable of giving up-to-the moment driving directions from Point A to Point B (and much, much more ) for any city in the world is itself a magical feature. Of course, very many brilliant and hard-working people had had a hand in these developments but the contribution of my father and the relatively few people working with him has been significant.

With its new contract - specifically, for the development of remote sensing and sampling equipment meant both to control and to be operated by relatively autonomous, robotic vehicles on the surface of Mars - the contribution of Woodruff Electronics would become larger still. Now I could understand my father's desire that I follow in his footsteps and continue his exciting work. Though I had little knowledge and no practical knowledge of the engineering problems involved, I was truly in a good position to join the HR component of his corporate team, and earn my pay there doing important work in my own field. From reading up on the history of electronic technology, I turned to the recent management research on high-level staffing with mutually devoted couples - inevitably, one more senior or more directly valuable than the other, and therefore somewhat dominant in their relationship. It had been known since ancient times, that personal intimacy and sexual love in such relationships contributed to their durability and effectiveness. The notorious homosexuality of ancient Greek fighting men (under an archetype of the love between Achilles and Patroclus) had been based on this very principle - that no one would wish to appear a shirker or a coward in the eyes of his lover. Now, with sexual prudery largely a thing of the past, and with BDSM (specifically, Dominance/submission) a recognized dimension of sexuality, it was becoming possible to build D/s cooperation, mutual support and teamwork into recognized business practice.

But the idea was still unfamiliar and somewhat

avant garde

that junior people in a given field should not just work for, apprentice with, and be instructed by more senior ones, but would gain much by joining up and bonding with one particular senior, to provide personal and sexual services in an intimate quasi-marital arrangement. And also that senior people could profit, both professionally and personally, by taking on some well-chosen and ambitious junior as a lifemate and putting him or her to good use. The senior and Dominant partner in such a couple would gain a close associate and assistant who usually would know what their Master or Mistress wanted without being told. The junior partner would gain a mentor and protector, and access to the most exciting work in their field.

Myrna Stiles at LifeMates Inc. had been pushing this idea for decades now, and it was catching on. But it was still novel, and the skills and attitudes involved were not only unfamiliar, but still ran counter to the current mindsets of many senior people. It was accepted by and large, but there was still a lot of work to do before it became the norm for building a career.

Lifemate relationships in the business world had been discussed briefly at Guild school when I was being trained as a geisho, but none of my teachers had been especially interested in this area, and I had not considered it myself. That my father was taking his electronics firm in this direction and considered me a potential ally in doing so was immensely pleasing to me. Of course the Mars project, with all its technical, engineering problems at the very edge of the possible, was exciting in itself. Just meeting and speaking with the brilliant people capable of doing this work would be a privilege.

In the next few weeks, with some input from my Dad, I carefully re-wrote my resume, emphasizing the training I had received as a geisho specialized in BDSM. After the part on education and training, this new version mentioned my own experience as a trainer both of submissives and Dominants, my personal proclivity for the submissive role, my experience and accomplishments as a graduate student of Russian and Central Asian history, and (with its special relevance) my complex relationship with Professor Natasha Sorkin as her senior student, advisee and assistant, submissive houseboy and bedpet, and her instructor (by topping from the bottom) n becoming a skilled Mistress. This resume exercise boosted my confidence. It convinced me that my father's tapping me to work under Judith Arruda, his vice-president of Human Resources, was more than nepotism. To encourage lifemate relationships in his senior workforce, what he needed was a young person with almost exactly my qualifications.

When the time came, my father informed me that Arruda was expecting to hear from me. "I've suggested you, and briefly described your training and experience," he told me. But, as I warned you, the interviewing process and the final selection are completely up to her. What she doesn't know about interviewing and staffing is not worth knowing. I couldn't possibly give her directions in that area without insulting her. Expect that she will take her time because the job is an important one, and because in staffing this position, she is choosing a lifemate for herself. You will have serious competition and will have to win the job on your own merits. If she hires you, that by itself will be a feather in your cap."

I emailed my resume as instructed. A good two weeks passed before I received a reply inviting me to phone and make an appointment for an interview. I did so, and was told by a secretary that the earliest time I could be seen was almost a week later. So I booked an appointment for what I knew could only be a preliminary interview and chewed my fingernails (only figuratively, of course, because no trained geisho would do such a thing) until the day arrived.

Taking pains to be well-groomed, well-dressed and punctual I went to the address I had been given - not that of my father's firm - and found to my surprise that the woman at whose desk I sat was Myrna Stiles, the CEO of LifeMates Inc. I had once been introduced to her by my mother, and had seen or met her several times before.

"Good morning Jim," she opened. "I remember who you are and that your Mom introduced us years ago, but for this interview, we have to pretend that we don't know each other. I've been hired by Woodruff Electronics to conduct preliminary interviews for this position with Woodruff's VP of Human Resources, as you're aware. After this meeting, if you make the cut, there will another interview (and perhaps more) with Judith Arruda, the VP herself, who will be your immediate supervisor if your get the job; then I'll be making a recommendation that may contribute to Ms. Arruda's choice. So I have to be completely objective with you, and you must do your best to impress me."

Before I could say a word, she went on: "The interview starts now, and it is being recorded. Strip!"

The command did not surprise me. I'd known from the beginning that interviewing for a position as a submissive, they would want to see me in the nude, partly to look me over, but mostly to see how I conducted myself. I began by removing my shoes, unknotting my tie and opening the top of my shirt. Next, I unbuttoned the shirt completely, making sure to face Mistress Styles squarely and keep my eyes on hers as I did so. I carefully returned to this stance after each article of clothing was removed, folded neatly, and laid on the small table behind me and right beside my chair.

When I was nude, I again stood squarely before her breathing evenly, this time with my eyes downcast and my hands folded atop my head in the 'display' position. Mistress Stiles looked me over, making the gesture to turn slowly and then to come closer, so that she could examine my grooming in detail - the way my hair was barbered and combed, my fingernails trimmed, and the condition of my teeth and tongue. She took notes on a pad, then pressed a button on her desk, saying nothing. A young man, came into the room, holding a camera. He walked around me, taking a series of photographs and then walked out again. Stiles said nothing about getting dressed again, but gestured me to the chair beside her desk and then sat down behind the desk herself. "All right," she said. "So much for your file. Now help me get to know you. Tell me why you want this job and why you think you should get it. Apart from the fact that you're the CEO's son."

This jab too did not surprise me. She was raising an issue that we both knew I would have to deal with, and she wanted to see how I did it. I had decided weeks ago that candour would be my best strategy.

"It was my father who suggested that I apply for the position as Judith Arruda's lifemate and assistant, because he thought I was right for it. But he warned me that if I wanted it, I would have to win it on my own merits, because he could not and would not take any hand in the hiring decision, and that being the boss' son might be a handicap. He also told me that if I got the job, in case of any conflict, or conflict of interest, my loyalty should always be to Ms. Arruda as my Mistress and immediate supervisor."

"When I thought it over on my own, I decided that I really did want the job, and that he was right - that objectively, I really was a strong candidate for the position, and that I should not let my blood relationship with him be an issue for me, although I knew it would surely be an issue for some others. As for loyalty, I knew that I would betray training and status as a qualified geisho and professional submissive if my loyalty in any situation went to someone other than the Master or Mistress to whom I was bound by contract."

"Let me stipulate this now: Even though it is Woodroffe Electronics ultimately paying for my services, it can only do this by somehow reimbursing Ms. Arruda who will be my only employer. My contract will have to be with Ms. Arruda, not with the Corporation, and my primary loyalty will be to her. My contract with her will have to specify any exceptions, and Ms. Arruda, as my Mistress, will have to formally accept these and sign off on them. Of course, she will have her own contractual obligations to the Corporation, and my contract with her can require me to be aware of her obligations and to warn her if she is coming into conflict. But if I'm to be her lifemate, my own contract will have to be directly with her, and Guild lawyers will have to approve it and allow the Guild to register it. This is a professional requirement for me, and I'll explain it to anyone who asks."

"A good answer," Stiles said. "You're right, of course. As a private individual, you can contract with anyone about anything, but if you're selling your services as a geisho, the Guild will have to approve and register the contract. I'm not sure if Arruda or the Corporation are aware of this condition. I'll have to make sure they understand it."

"And please make sure too," that they understand I will not consider signing on as a private individual, and recommend strongly against hiring anyone willing to do so."

"For the record," Stiles asked, "would you explain why?"

"It's simple enough," I answered. "Someone who took on the role of lifemate to an employee of the corporation but whose primary loyalty was to the corporation could not be trusted by anyone. Certainly not by the partner; and not by the corporation either. If he was pretending to be an authentic submissive on this occasion, why not pretend something else on a different occasion. A lifestyle sub whose true loyalty is to someone other than his Dominant, is not authentically submissive. He is lying to both parties, and probably to himself."

"Agreed," Stiles said. "Let's move on to something else. I've read both your resume and your Guild file, so I know your qualifications - at least, your paper qualifications - for a lifemate position. Now tell me why you want this job."

"Please make a small distinction," I said. "I'm applying for the job as it's been described to me, but I'm not sure yet that I will accept a position as Judith Arruda's lifemate until we've met and found that we want each other. Even then, my first contract with her can only be for a trial period - I'd say, at least three months. We have to like and trust each other and find that we get along. As we both know - as you're in business teaching everyone to know - a lifemate relationship is like a marriage in that way. She must commit to me and I to her. And we must both have learned to trust that we're committed to each other. That's the only way it can work."

"True enough," Stiles answered. "I have to say, you're doing very well. Now tell me what you know about the job, and why you're applying for it."

"Well, I've been interested in space flight since I was a kid, and was excited by the Apollo Lunar landing in 1969. The knowledge that we will soon be exploring, mining, and eventually colonizing Mars is thrilling in itself, and the possibility of participating in that project, and making a real contribution to it is much more so. Also, my long-term ambition as a geisho specialized in BDSM has been to work in the same branch of that field that you and my mother are in: encouraging and training serious Dominants and submissives for lifestyle D/s relationships. Working with Ms. Arruda, Woodruff's VP of human resources on the corporation staff-up for this Mars project would be 'one giant leap' in that direction - as Neil Armstrong said when he took his first step on the Moon."

"Also, my personal taste is for the submissive's role, though as geisho I've been trained to be Dominant when I need to be. As you've seen on my resume, I had a few years subbing to my history professor while helping her learn to Domme while I was learning Central Asian history from her. From what I've learned about this new job, my relationship with Mistress Arruda (as she would be to me) will be similar to my former relationship with Mistress Sorkin - learning from her, teaching her and serving her, all at the same time."

"Expand on that, if you would," Stiles came back at me. "I'd like to hear your views on each point. What do feel you will need to learn from your new boss and Mistress?"

"The field of human resource management," I answered. "We touched on HRM a little in my geisho training. I understand that geishi often act as facilitators when there is friction or negative emotion in the business world. But this is a field I've never worked in. I will need to learn all the practical aspects of it from the ground up. "

"And you feel you are capable of picking up HRM law, customs and skills in record time? Because most other candidates already have that background, and you do not."

"Admittedly," I replied. "But most of those other candidates, if they have a strong background in HRM will probably lack my geisha training and my experience and training in lifestyle D/s. I think it will come down to a judgment call on which is easier to acquire. Ms. Arruda already has the HRM background herself - from what I hear, she's a world class expert in that field. A lifemate with that same background would be redundant. It's the background in coaching and supporting lifestyle D/s teams that she should hire for. But that's a self-serving argument. She herself will have to make the decision - with input from you, of course."

"What services do you think she'll want from you?"

"I think that if I'm chosen for another interview, she will have to tell me herself how she wants to be served and what she needs and wants to learn. For now, I'm trying to keep an open mind, and not make ignorant guesses. I don't know much about her department and its duties - only what I've read or been told. I don't know anything at all about her private life. I can only promise to learn as I work for her, and to serve her as I've been trained - with competent, intelligent, responsible obedience. She will always know as much of what I think as she wants to hear; she will always have the best advice that I can give her; and she will always have the last word. I know how to be a good submissive. But I assume she's not trying to hire a slave or field hand who simply does what he's told. She taking on a close associate who will give her the benefit of his knowledge and experience, but who will leave the ultimate decisions to her, and follow her instructions."

"OK," Stiles said. "Your turn now. Do you have questions for me? I'll answer to the best of my ability but, as you know, I'm doing these interviews on contract. There's a lot about the job that I don't know."