Mailgirls Down Under Spotlight No 1

Welcome to Mailgirls Down Under Spotlight. I edited these excerpts out of the main story for the usual reasons -- they didn't work in the original stories, they didn't fit in the timeline, Jackson did not approve at the time, that sort of thing. There are more which I will publish in this series every so often. Sometimes it will be obvious where they fit in the Mailgirls Down Under Universe, sometimes not so obvious. But hopefully they will be as much fun as the regular series.

Firstly, a quick recap for those not immersed in the story: The Japanese boss of Harada Industries ordered the Australian subsidiary to introduce mailgirls, which they already have in their offices in Japan and The States. The local management struggled with how to introduce naked mailgirls down under, given Australia's restrictive workplace laws. After lawyers and other experts turned down the task of drafting the mailgirls' contracts, the Australian office boss Mitchell Johnson turned to Marjorie "call me Jackson" Jackson, a union official who usually works with sex workers, to help Harada Industries come up with a mailgirls employment contract and to start a program that is acceptable to the Japanese boss and the Australian authorities.

To her surprise, on the eve of their mailgirls launch, that local boss, Mitchell Johnson, invited Jackson to become an inaugural mailgirl on a short-term contract, ostensibly because they need her expertise to ensure that the mailgirls program ran smoothly at the start. Now she had to make up her mind whether to accept the role. Is that something she would like to do? Did she expect this not too old, handsome man to ask her to work naked for him?

Excerpt 1 -- Jackson discusses whether to become a mailgirl with her friend.

Fanny Durack sat across from Jackson stirring her coffee and looking eager. But then Fanny Durack always looked eager when she knew she was about to share a confidence. Always seeming to be busy, the trainee psychologist was studying mailgirls for her thesis which was why Jackson had chosen to drop her bombshell on her. Jackson knew that meant Fanny would give her the third degree when she broke the news. Still, Fanny was a friend she could trust. And the one who knew the most about mailgirls.

"Out with it!" Fanny insisted with a smile.

Jackson took a deep breath and looked Fanny in the eyes. "I'm going to work for Harada Industries," she revealed.

Fanny beamed. "The mailgirl company!" She stared at Jackson with hopeful expectation. "You're not?" With wide eyes, the works.

Jackson tried to tamp the excitement down. "I've been helping them write their employment conditions, making sure that they're acceptable to the Fair Work Commission. And, well, making the rules a bit more female friendly than they had originally planned."

"And they want you to become one." Fanny was excited.

Jackson shrugged. "They want me to be there to help with the launch and making sure everything goes smoothly."

"You could do that with your clothes on."

"But that's not what they've offered. And..."

Fanny's eyes lit up further, if that was possible. "And?!"

Jackson looked embarrassed. The thin, seriously dressed, usually assertive women looked down at the table in front of her, trying to avoid Fanny's enthusiasm. "And the money. They're paying a lot. And," she faltered a little, "I am curious."

Fanny sat there for a moment, cogitating. "I'm trying to imagine my upright diligent friend running errands, naked in an office. Have you agreed to?"

"Well, I'm thinking about it..." Jackson started.

Fanny reached across to clasp Jackson's hand in hers. Which forced Jackson to look up at Fanny. "Okay, you want some advice from the mailgirl expert. You want to know what you're going to get yourself into? Let me explain. First of all, have you seen the videos?"

Jackson nodded. "Some of them, I guess."

"And when was the last time you were naked in front of more than one person?" Jackson smiled sheepishly at that but did not answer. "Don't tell me it's one of your fantasies!" Fanny exploded. Jackson's smile remained coy, defensive.

Fanny realised she should change tack. "How about your career?" Fanny asked, shifting to something safer. Jackson shrugged. They had talked often about Jackson's dedication to her job, the excessive hours that she was putting into it, and the question of where she expected her career to go. Still Jackson looked squeamish, still she did not answer.

"Are you planning to prove a point?" Fanny tried.

Jackson found some oxygen there and invoked one of her standard concerns about sex work. "That a girl can exploit and be exploited at the same time? Don't worry, I wrote the contracts. I thought about that."

Fanny gave her friend a confused look. "You may have written the contracts. But the job is essentially spending your day going around an office naked, you know, with people looking at you. And getting punished for anything you stuff up."

Jackson smiled. And perked up as she shook her head knowingly. "I wrote the contracts. There is no punishment. Only incentives for doing the job better than expected." Now she smiled with pride.

Fanny looked impressed. "Neat, that's different to The States. I didn't expect that. Now I have to find out how this is going to work." She thought for a moment. "Girl, no wonder they wanted you. This is radical. Apart from the other thing." She gave Jackson an enigmatic look.

"What other thing?" Jackson asked.

"Well despite what you think, you're pretty good looking. I'm going to make a guess here. Someone in that company decided that they want to see you without any clothes on." Fanny's look strongly said 'come on, tell me who it is.' Jackson pretended that she had no idea who. So Fanny went onto her academic interest in the subject. "This is really interesting, it's not going to be mailgirls as we know it. From what you told me so far. And I'm going to guess there's more?" Jackson stared at Fanny, didn't say anything, rather let her continue. Fanny, excited was speaking quickly now. "Knowing all that, I am now getting behind you. You have to become a mailgirl. Why? So I can see how this social experiment plays out. You will report back to me. And even better, this is all happening in my home town too. This time I don't have to try to work out what is happening thousands of miles away." Fanny looked very pleased. "I get to sit ringside while you tell me everything."

Jackson nodded a vague promise to do that. But she needed to hear more from Fanny. "Look, I'm happy if my sacrifice is going to help out your research. But seriously what do you think it will do to my career?"

Fanny put on her serious face. "Okay then, about you. What about your career?"

Jackson stirred her coffee. "This is 2023, what is a career? What am I going to be doing in five years' time. Still fighting for the rights of sex workers? And if I take, I don't know, two years away from that?" She pulled a pretended disgust face. "What if I enjoy doing it?" And then she got serious again. "But me, working naked. I mean that was never part of the plan. Will this close doors for me? I don't know, what doors it might open..."

Fanny gave Jackson her serious 'over the top of her glasses' look. "And the man who made you the offer..."

"Mitch," Jackson tried to be matter-of-fact about him.

"Mitch," Fanny juicily repeated, a knowing smirk on her face. "He'll be there, hunky in his business suit. You'll be naked. Totally naked. Bare tits, pussy right out there where everyone can see. Fully exposed. You're going to have to sleep with this guy. Mitch," she pronounced firmly.

Jackson shrugged. "I guess." She thought about it for a moment. "No!" she decided.

Fanny exploded in laughter. "That would be perfect! No sex for the naked mailgirl! Your weird attitude to sex will be my next research topic."

Jackson shook her head. "Weird attitude? Not sleeping with the people I work with?"

Fanny gave Jackson a knowing look. "Even the ones who want to see you naked there?"

Jackson sighed. "There you go again. Everything is a research topic to you. If you're not careful, I'll turn you into a mailgirl too."

Fanny ignored that for a moment then suddenly seemed inspired. "Maybe," she riffed, "see if you can?" She gave Jackson a sly look, then reverted to being the researcher. "Tell me, have you trialled the being in the nude part. How are you planning to do that?"

"I haven't agreed to the role yet," Jackson complained.

Fanny gave her another knowing look. "I think you have. You just haven't actually said yes. Have you thought about the first time you are going to appear naked in front of your handsome Mr Johnson?"

Jackson concentrated on her coffee, acted serious again. "It's funny because I've been working with him over the past little while with my clothes on. And suddenly he springs this."

Fanny clapped her hands. "That's exactly why it's my research area. Isn't it fascinating? All the permutations, all the embarrassment. And not to add whether it's turning you on. Are you turned on now, talking about it?"

Jackson looked aghast. "Fanny!"

Fanny was unperturbed. "You're going to be roaming an office naked all day soon. And you're telling me that you haven't considered whether it's going to turn you on. Showing yourself off like that to everyone who is lucky enough to work there. You're going to be attracted to some of the people. And what if they are attracted to you? Oh, of course it's not about sex, I forgot." She smiled.

Jackson tried to ignore Fanny's assertions and went completely into officious mode. "That's all in the conditions. They can't do anything, even touch us without our express permission."

"Your express permission." Fanny seemed to be chewing on that for a moment. "But if they do, if they cross that boundary of behaviour?" Fanny wondered.

Jackson recited "There are sanctions. I've written them in to the contracts. But we are relying on a combination of general human decency and the career / earnings motivation to keep any problems at bay. You know, ultimately they will want to keep their jobs and not get dismissed for sexual harassment."

Fanny nodded. "Optimism, I love it. I hope it will work. And I love how you hide behind your rules and conditions." She smiled a sort of victory.

Jackson looked at her somewhat unnerved. "What do you want me to say? I'm telling you how I've set this up. And if the mailgirl wants something to happen..."

"Aha," Fanny exclaimed. She then shook her head. "I want to know how you are feeling. You are a career woman with a track record, someone on the up in the union movement, someone with potential, as they say, who is taken seriously in your world. You've given talks and spoken at conferences about what you do. Advocating on behalf of stigmatised workers who don't find it easy to organise in the workplace. Heck, you've even been on Life Matters. And even on The Morning Show with Larry Emdur answering all the hard questions. And you're about to strip off and join the ranks of nude women in the workforce. And you're telling me about the rules that apply to the dressed office workers."

"Uh," Jackson managed to utter before Fanny cut her off and continued.

"And don't you dare say 'it's just another job.' Because it's not. You'll be a sexual commodity in a conventional workplace in a way that no one else in Australia is. It's not just another job." Fanny crossed her arms.

"Well, if you put it like that..."

"So I'm asking this as a friend as well as a snooping academic, how are you going to feel the first time you are in there without any clothes on, facing a full day fully exposed. And then the day after that. And then..."

"Okay, I get the point."

Fanny crossed her arms. "But surely you want to feel what it is like to be naked in public, knowing you cannot just go back and put your clothes on because you've had enough."

Jackson threw her hands up in surrender. "So what are you suggesting?"

Fanny uncrossed her arms and drummed her fingers on the table. "That's more like it. Why don't you come back to the lab with me so we can get right into the nitty-gritty."

*

Jackson gritted her teeth. Why had she agreed to do this? She walked the short distance from the cafe to the Uni with Fanny who had chosen to use their walk to press Jackson about her non-existent sex life. "Am I too choosy?" she asked Fanny, realising how sad it must sound to her.

"You've got Martin," Fanny shot back. But she instantly picked up on Jackson's tight look. "Oh, something up?" Jackson nodded. "Better not to talk about it?" Jackson stared. "Okay, next subject. But don't forget I'm your friend when I'm not writing you up for my next research paper. You can talk to me."

Jackson murmured her thanks.

They stopped in the corridor at a nondescript door. "In here," Fanny advised and went in first. There was some sort of vestibule and another room. She continued on as Jackson followed. The inner room had a desk facing the door. Fanny went around and sat down facing the standing Jackson.

Fanny placed and elbow on the desk and rested her chin on her fist. "So you want to be a mailgirl," she asked Jackson. "Well, let's check that you won't get stage fright or anything. So..."

"But you left the other door open and there's no lock on this door," Jackson complained.

"Are you scared that someone will see you? I'm sorry but I think that is the point." Fanny became quite stern with her friend. "Either you can be a mailgirl or you can't."

Jackson nodded. She stood in the middle of the room and bent down to take off her shoes. But she stopped, stood up and lifted her top over her head. The bra came next. "I don't know why you wear it," Fanny observed. Jackson's smallish firm breasts did not need any support. Fanny even hefted her large breasts, clearly defined even under her various pieces of clothing to suggest a problem which Jackson did not have. Jackson managed to keep from covering her breasts as she stood facing Fanny, trying to look seductive or at least sexy. "You don't have to try to do that," Fanny told her, "you've got it naturally. Now, the job is only half done." Surrendering to the inevitable, Jackson again bend down to step out of her shoes, drop her skirt then roll down her tights. "Oh yeah," she pretended to just realise, "these." And slid her panties down her legs. And like that she was completely bare. Feeling she had to convince Fanny she was comfortable naked, Jackson ran both her hands through her hair to show that she did not need to cover up.

Sitting at her desk, Fanny picked up a sheet of paper and looked at it. "I need you to run this down to the Dean's office. It's down the corridor, turn left and at the end of that corridor." Fanny held out the sheet to Jackson.

Jackson reached for the sheet then realising, suddenly recoiled. "Fanny, I can't do that!" she exploded.

"You're the mailgirl," Fanny tried, as straight of face as she could be.

"But this is not a mailgirl office," Jackson reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Fanny feigned to remember. "But tell me how it made you feel?"

Jackson strode a few paces around Fanny's desk. "I guess I can manage this, so long as the aircon is like this..."

Before she could continue, someone strode into the office. A male voice rang out, "Fanny were you able to confirm that roster..." and then stopped when he realised that Fanny had company, naked company. He stared at Jackson non-judgementally for a moment, only about a metre away from her. "Sorry," he regrouped, "I didn't realise you were doing mailgirl simulations today." Like it was normal or something. He held out a hand to Jackson. "I'm Brett. Fanny and I run one of the labs."

"Jackson," she replied accepting the man's handshake as it if were the most normal thing in the world. Although she tried not to look at his face.

"I'll leave you to it then," he concluded. "I'll come back to discuss it when you're free," he told Fanny. And was gone as quickly as he had come in.

Fanny smiled at her friend. "How was that?" she tested.

Jackson smiled back with some sudden confidence. "I didn't have time to get flustered, do anything." She thought for a moment, scratched her chin. "It was easy," she concluded.

Fanny smiled back carefully, believing that Jackson was most of the way there.

Excerpt 2 -- Jackson knew one of the other mailgirls at Uni.

Jackson felt a certain inevitability about becoming a mailgirl. Although she had not yet told Mitch that she would agree. She realised that since he had made the offer, she enjoyed the look behind his eyes in their meeting, she could tell he was imagining her without clothes. And she was getting a little turned on at the thought of displaying herself to this handsome man. Of course there was the question of displaying herself to the rest of the office. She would have to work out how to come to terms with that. But her experience with Fanny had helped with that. She could do it.

After finishing her meeting with Mitch, Jackson was waiting at the lifts to leave. The lift going up stopped at the sixth floor, and a tallish woman with a strong and striking face got out. She looked at Jackson and Jackson looked at her.

"Don't I know you," the woman blurted just before Jackson could say the same.

"I was thinking the same thing," Jackson replied as she tried to place her. Jackson was cautious in such situations. Was this office worker also moonlighting as a sex worker, is that where Jackson had seen her, while doing her 'day' job enforcing sex worker rights, meeting the workers, visiting the premises? She looked at the other woman, surmising that she certainly had the figure and demeanour to do it.

"Lauren Marks," she introduced herself to Jackson.

"Jackson," she replied.

Lauryn clicked. "Got it. Uni. Gary and Leigh." Jackson looked none the wiser. "Double date," Lauryn continued, "the two of them best mates, not bad looking either of them. But a bit neanderthal..."

Jackson remembered. "Oh shit," she laughed. "I haven't thought of them for years. And you also, sorry. What are you doing here?"

"Business Analyst," Lauryn confided. Then her face widened. "I just remembered." She looked around to make sure that they were alone. "One certain night. We went back to one of their places. They were egging us on, wanted to swap or have an orgy or something."

It was Jackson's turn to clasp her mouth as she too recalled. "We kissed. Put on a show for the boys. How could I forget that? Sorry." She looked at her friend reunited in a different way. Was she blushing?

Lauryn giggled. "I'm trying to remember how much of a show we did or did not put on." She gave Jackson a weird look. "Shit." Then she recovered. "What are you doing here?"

Jackson smiled, hoping for a dramatic reaction. "I'm writing the rules for the mailgirls."

Lauryn's eyes widened. "You're kidding." She looked around again to ensure that they were still alone. "I've applied," she stage whispered. "Don't know if they'll have me, if I'm what they want."

Jackson made a big issue of carefully looking Lauryn up and down. "There's no way that they're going to reject you," she told her admiringly. She also now remembered that her session with Lauryn indeed involved a lot more than kissing. Did Lauryn recall them loosening each other's clothes and the fingering? Now she wondered why they had lost touch. Life, presumably, had moved on.

Jackson sighed inwardly, story of her life. But she kept outwardly bright. "You will be fantastic," she insisted. And she pecked Lauryn on the lips. Why not, she thought, for old times. Taking Lauryn by surprise, she got no pushback. Lauryn let her invade her person like that for a long moment. They finished just before someone walked into the lift lobby and pressed the down button. The lift came almost immediately, before either woman could think of a follow up. Other than the conventional.