This story takes place in the year 2029. America is a very different place. New laws have abolished personal bankruptcies and debtors' prisons have been revived. Janie, our twentysomething heroine, was about to be sentenced to just such a prison when she was tricked into signing up for a pilot program that keeps her in a kind of chemical captivity. Medicine released within her body causes debilitating nausea and other symptoms every 48 hours, unless she is administered a rescue dose of another medicine. The rescue dose is delivered through the ejaculation of the man for whom she will be a personal domestic servant, a latter-day concubine. Janie's just been chosen by Mr. Gilpin, the butler of billionaire industrialist Richard Balfour, to be his boss's Gal-Friday-with-benefits, but she's not yet met him.
Read the earlier chapters if you want to know how Janie got to this point.
***
Richard Balfour's house was like none other I'd ever seen, or imagined. It was a vast and sprawling mansion built on several levels on a Northern California hillside, overlooking the rolling waves of the Pacific. The place had been built to his specifications, and included every comfort.
Because Balfour's fortune came from computer hardware and software, it also wasn't surprising that the house boasted the latest wireless connections throughout, as well as a host of "smart" features that I was forever discovering.
Balfour had a number of people discreetly working for him both inside the house and out. Except for Mr. Gilpin, the butler-cum-household-manager, few had clearly-defined roles, but all seemed to pitch in where needed, under Gilpin's overall direction. Phil, the Asian-American man who drove us from the local executive airport to the house, for instance, wasn't a chauffeur in the old-fashioned sense. He had responsibilities in grounds maintenance and security. The car he drove us in was nothing so ostentatious as a limo -- that wasn't Balfour's style, it seemed -- but rather a well-appointed luxury SUV.
Gilpin led me in through a back door and gave me a quick tour of the house's principal rooms. There were grand spaces for entertaining a large number of guests, as well as smaller, cozier rooms for times when the master of the house pretty much had the place to himself.
"This will be your room," Gilpin said at last, pushing open a solid-wood door. I was astounded at the size of it, as well as the view over the Pacific visible from its small balcony.
It contained a king-sized bed, a flat-screen TV, a stereo sound system and a bathroom that contained a two-person Jacuzzi, a large walk-in shower with multiple spray-jets and a bidet. I had never in my life stayed in such a luxurious place, even for one night. The thought of living there astounded me.
"The room you're in," explained the butler, "was first occupied by Mr. Balfour's most recent ex-wife, and at various times after that by women friends he invited to join him here for briefer periods. I will leave it to him to explain the details of his recent relationship history, but here's the shorthand version. After three bitterly-contested divorces and a series of failed romantic relationships, at the age of 54 he's sworn off any serious commitments. He is looking to you, Janie, to see to his day-to-day personal needs, in a way that will allow him to devote as much time as he needs to chairing the board of the Balfour Group of companies and pursuing his various philanthropic interests. Now, let me show you what's over here."
Opening a door, he led me into a walk-in cedar closet. There were a few clothing items on hangers that looked like they would fit me, with space for many more.
"The clothing here has been selected for you, but you'll also have the opportunity to order additional items online, not to mention the side shopping-trips you can take when you're accompanying Mr. Balfour on business trips to major cities. He'll provide you with a cash card to purchase whatever you think you need, within reason. What I'd really like to show you, though, is this."
Gesturing towards the back of the closet, Gilpin indicated another door. "This door, which is locked from this side, opens into a similar but much larger closet just off Mr. Balfour's bedroom. You'll see plenty of that room in time, but not today. The positioning of the doors, as well as the thickness of the walls, means the connection between the two rooms is soundproof. When Mr. Balfour desires you to attend him in his bedroom, he'll unlock the door from his end. Or, he may simply come through and visit you here in your room. The arrangement is designed for maximum discretion. Even if the house is full of guests, no one will know if that connecting door is unlocked except the two of you.