Zara-Mei sat sipping her morning coffee as she looked out onto the concrete skyline. As always, the red sunlight hitting the windows gave off a cozy warmth at this time of year. The tips of skyscrapers jutted out like knives from the urban sprawl, light glaring from their skeletons of glass.
Zara-Mei unhooked her immaculate brown curls from her rollers, and with a shake of her head, let it all fall down her back. With a light tap to the glass, the view in front of her transformed into a mirrored screen, letting her appraise her makeup one last time before she began a long day of meetings and admin work. Working from home was no excuse not to look perfect, after all.
"Maid, fetch my gown," she called, hearing the morning fatigue in her words.
"Of course, Mistress," came a soft voice from behind her. "Would you like the pink or the gold?"
Standing at five feet two inches, Maid watched her expectantly. Expressive green eyes glinted from a face of high cheekbones. Her full lips, tinted a soft rose, were slightly parted, as if ready to respond to the slightest command.
"Pink," Zara-Mei said, noticing how lifelike the flutter of Maid's thick, dark lashes was.
"Wonderful choice, Mistress." Maid smiled, bowing, and leaving the room.
Zara-Mei watched her walk away, the thong of Maid's one-piece riding up tight underneath. The subtle musculature of Maid's legs pulsed with every step as she walked off to fetch the gown.
Sighing, Zara-Mei turned once more to the mirror, admiring the dark eyes looking back at her. She lifted her chin to catch herself at her best angle and pouted her lips.
A minute later, Maid re-entered the room carrying a folded gown tucked over her left arm. She bowed and presented the gown to Zara-Mei, who took it without a word. Pulling it on, she adjusted the fabric so that it fit nicely against her skin. It was smooth and snug. The drowsiness, she offset with two quick sniffs of powder from her desk that Maid had prepared before her waking.
She turned, instantly feeling sharper, sounds becoming more clear. Maid stood expectantly, smiling a lifeless smile. Even after these first few months owning the android, Zara-Mei still found the novelty to be fresh. She eyed the android, wondering if there really was anything behind those pretty green eyes. No, she thought, just circuits and programming. She'd retire herself if I but asked.
"Maid," she decided, "you will keep me company while I work today. But first, I need another coffee. You know how I take it."
"Of course, Mistress!"
She sighed again. Stress bore its weight on Zara-Mei, and she exercised that stress in ways that were... politcally inconvenient. Her needs were so great that her husband could never really satisfy her, even if he was in her life for more than one day a month. Sometimes, she wondered why she'd allowed herself to be married to such a worthless man.
It took him catching her in bed with another woman for the fourth time for him to finally do something about what he called 'a scandal waiting to happen'. That was when he bought Maid and, well, Zara-Mei had been a good little girl ever since. Now that her needs were satisfied. The android gave her everything she needed, as often as she wanted it. She couldn't tell if that had made her habits better or worse. Having such an attractive thing around her penthouse made it distinctly more difficult to concentrate, but at least it gave her someone to talk to.
She busied herself setting up her desk and logging in to her work computer. A few minutes later, Maid returned with the coffee, and a flicker of a smile fluttered on Zara-Mei's lips as a playful thought popped into her head. "Maid," she said as the drink was placed beside her, "kneel under the desk for me."
Maid complied, slipping gracefully under Zara-Mei's desk and looking up at her with wide eyes. Above the desk, the computer had logged into her first of many morning meetings. Several people were already talking about business.
Who would know? Really, after all, Maid was her property, to be used as Zara-Mei thought fit. The thought made her feel dirty, but she parted her thighs all the same, tapping herself, knowing how Maid would respond to the unspoken command. She put her best smile on and continued to nod, her microphone chip temporarily deactivated, as the meeting continued. It was the kind where she would not be required to speak, simply to bear down on those beneath her as they reported their quarterly progress, and Zara-Mei had decided she deserved something to make it go by a little faster.
Meanwhile, Maid leaned in and placed her hands on Zara-Mei's legs. Pushing them apart, she began rubbing Zara-Mei's clit with her fingers. Still looking at her screen, Zara-Mei typed out some notes for the next meeting agenda. The words were all starting to look the same to her, but when Maid's tongue made contact with her pussy, she involuntarily bit her lip. Despite her efforts, her mask of composure slipped slightly when her hips shifted, the gown rustling over the leather chair.
The android's mouth was warm, her lips and tongue wet and slick, as it circled around her.
Suddenly, Zara-Mei's breath caught, and she gasped audibly. "Fuck," she whispered.
It didn't take her long to get wet now that she had Maid. The android had slipped a finger inside of her, followed quickly by a second. Zara-Mei covered the lower half of her face with her hand. Her brow was level, and her eyes gave nothing away. To all appearances, she was as attentive as everyone else on the meeting.
Her actual attention was not directed at the words of the current speaker, because she could feel herself stretching to accommodate the fingers now filling her, and that made it very difficult to concentrate. She leaned back in her chair, her hand resting on Maid's head and pulling her closer. "Faster," she whispered behind her hand. "Don't stop." She wanted to gasp, to curse and moan, but all she could do was keep her eyes on the screen and not look down.
She pictured the face looking back up at her, and it was too much. The corporate language projected into her ears, punctuated with wet noises from Maid's mouth smacking on Zara-Mei's pussy. The familiar heat was building, spreading through her lower body. It took every effort not to move, to remain calm and try to distract herself from the fingers and the swirling tongue. As the meeting ended, she sighed in relief and with a grunt and low spasm, Zara-Mei's hips thrust forwards. She slumped backwards in her chair, her legs going numb.
"I hope you enjoyed me, Mistress," the android said, looking up at her, some wetness still visible on her lips. "Please inform me if you would like me to repeat that, or perhaps I could-"
Zara-Mei reached down and shushed the android, not deigning to give her a response. Fuck, she thought, as she placed her finger against the android's lips. I don't think I could ever get enough of her. Her finger came away glistening.
Fluorescent lights flickered above her, dancing on the page below. Lia tried to view her drawing in the abstract, but couldn't distance herself from being the subject of the sketch: a girl trapped in the library, leaning on one hand, without the will to look up from the desk. She knew her art was improving; she could see it in the finished product. But the joy of her achievement quickly vanished. The sketch was grey, a muted bleakness leaking from every turn of her pencil, a coldness from which she couldn't withdraw.
Things were falling apart, and no amount of effort would reverse her fate. After just five months at university, Lia's dreams felt on the verge of snapping like a taught string. She'd gotten a call this morning from her mother, who had broken the news that her dad was sick. The company he worked for was pushing them for compensation for his absence from work.
That was how it was when you lived at the bottom, the tiny apartment you called home owned by the corporations you sold yourself for. Her family couldn't pay -- it had taken them decades to save up for Lia's education, years of counting every cent. Her mother had refused to accept Lia dropping out, even though they both knew there was no alternative. It was just a matter of time.
Lia had no-one else to beg from. Her friends and tutors wouldn't understand. They didn't know just how poor Lia's family were, and it would degrade her further to even mention the problem. She would have to leave university to find work, maybe as a tatoo artist? A brief spark of light was crushed as she realised that it wouldn't bring in enough money to meet her dad's debt.
She found herself drawing random lines through her sketch, crossing out the hard work of the last hour. She considered ripping up the page, but didn't have the energy. Instead, she watched as a small tear dropped onto the paper and blotched the centre of the girl's head.
"Why does it always have to be like this?" she whispered, wiping her eyes.
As her third meeting ended, Zara-Mei let out an exasperated breath. She did not appreciate such incompetence from her staff.
"What's wrong, Mistress?" Maid asked. "Is everything ok? I can detect that you are currently feeling indignant. Would you like to talk about anything?"
"No," Zara-Mei snapped. "There is nothing to say." She sighed, holding her head in her hands. "Do you have a limit, Maid?" she asked, looking up. "Do you get to a point where you just need to rest?"
Maid approached with delicate movements. She sat on the edge of Zara-Mei's desk, folding her hands in her lap. "Naturally, I have no limit, Mistress. Except, of course, for anything that would damage the physical integrity of my body. Otherwise, androids like myself can perform their duties until told otherwise. It's one of our many advantages, and it's why AP Robotics stakeholders have record approval rates with their purchases."
"Then why don't they make you do all the work?" Zara-Mei wondered. It was only just noon. She had another six hours of this. Six more hours of talking and feigning attention through investors meetings and trying not to throw herself from her window. "My life would be so much simpler if an android could do my job for me. Hell, everyone's lives would be better. Just imagine," she said, gesturing with her palms, "a world where no one ever had to do any work. But no, I have to sit here trapped in this damn penthouse."
Maid's face was indescribable; her features softened, and a small smile formed, but in a way that was distinctly not human. "I am designed to bring you pleasure, Mistress. I can perform any task that will further that goal. However, I regret to inform you that I am only permitted to engage in tasks that comply with my training, and I regrettably would not have the capacity to perform a job that requires as much technical skill as yours."
Zara-Mei felt a heat rising in her face. "Are you saying my job is easy?"
