Erotic Fiction

I got a call from John at work a couple weeks after I bailed the band out. He had set up a gig in Baltimore for the end of the week. We’d be doing our new set, so we had major practice to do this week. I called up Loni and told him I’d be late getting home every day until Friday. He understood, and he was excited to see me on stage.

I went to the practice which was set up at Brad’s home, which had soundproofing in one of the rooms. I had installed it for him, as he liked to practice his drumming, and was afraid he could be heard by his neighbors. We kept our stage equipment in that room, so we practiced on what we were going to playing. By Thursday, we had nailed down the set. Eight songs, four new, four old, all very well put together. I sang my song, and was happy to do it. Spending the rest of the songs stuck behind the keyboard, I memorized the rest of the lyrics. John and I had an arrangement that if either of us ever had to miss a show, we’d take over for each other. He was just as good a pianist as I, and we were both excellent singers. The rest had replacements to take over for them. Understudies, in a way. The replacements sat in and watched us while we practiced, and were at every gig in the hopes that someone got sick, or called away on other business. Lance liked to call them the musical vultures. I liked that nickname.

Apollonious made it his mission to have food ordered in by the time I got home every day that week. I reprimanded him, telling him that the food he ordered costs enough money to feed half the population of the midwest. He shrugged every time, digging into the delivered dinner.

I laid out the outfit, a black tank top, black leather pants, a pair of leather cowboy boots with silver stitching, and of course, the strange arm piece, a leather gauntlet of sorts, fingerless, with tubing which ran to an elbowpeice, which seemed to me was a modified elbow-guard for sports, and a cuff above that, made of leather, supported by the bicep, the tubing running from the elbow guard upwards. I pulled out another armcuff for my left arm, and the costume was complete. Loni said I put too much thought into the outfit, and I shrugged it off. The fact that I put thought into it irked him, it seemed.

I went to work on Friday, and was sent to a lady’s house to discuss in person, what we had planned for her house. I arrived on her doorstep at eleven AM. She let me in. Young, for her wealth. She was in her mid twenties, properly groomed in the physical looks, however, her body language gave away her past. She grew up without wealth or the need to act proper. We sat in her living room and discussed the business of creating aesthetic space. She seemed wholly bored by the whole concept, and I called her on it.
“This wasn’t your idea, was it?” I smiled, knowing the answer.
“No. A new friend of mine suggested it. I didn’t know what to do with everything I owned. I have so much space now, and all the new things, I just don’t know how to handle it.” She smiled bashfully and I mirrored back a smile of confidence.
“Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here. I’ll tell you what, either I can leave the layout plans with you and you can look over them on your own time, or I can give you a brief rundown of each room you wanted done, and I won’t feel like so much of a delivery boy.” With that, she laughed.
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect someone as…” she paused and blushed.
“As what?”
“Handsome. I was expecting a charmingly homely guy or an old woman. You know, like in the television shows.”
“Oh, well, sorry to dissapoint you.” I chided her a bit and she laughed again, she seemed nervous around me.
“No, not in the least! I just don’t know what to do around all this wealth and beauty. I inherited it from my uncle’s business, he left everything to me, and I just assumed that he knew I wasn’t for it.”
“Oh? Sorry to hear about your loss, and massive gain. Wealth is a burden, I agree.”
“You do? That’s a first. I’m sorry for laying all of this on you, I just haven’t met anyone who’s agreed with me. Everyone I talk to about it says that I’ll get used to it, that it’s a good thing. I just don’t want to be a snob, running around in high society. It’s not me. I don’t want to pretend to be someone I’m not.”
“You don’t have to. Just do what you want with the money.”
“If I did what I wanted with it, it’d raise a lot of red flags given the current situation.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, my uncle was Minister Lehrer.” I mentally chuckled at the coincidence.
“So this is brand new money for you.”
“Yeah. I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“You assume too much.” I chuckled and leaned foreward, to impart a bit of a secret. I whispered to her, “You’re not the only one with money and the desire to just buy your band better equipment without setting off the radar.”
“You’re one too?” Her eyes widened and lit up, she looked at me in awe.
“Certainly. I’ll tell you what, if you call me up tomorrow, I’ll give you directions to my gig. I’ll be playing in Baltimore.”
“You’re serious!” she laughed. “That’s awesome!”
“You know what? You don’t need this.” I held up the folder of plans for her house. I threw it into my briefcase and locked it. “You know what you could do?”
“What?”
“Well, I’m assuming that you’ve already sunk in a good chunk of money to even hire the firm to send me out here.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“And you really don’t feel like going for the whole Rich Bitch look.”
“Yeah.”
“Call them up when I leave. Tell them you want me to work on your house personally. I’ll make this place more like you want it, not like the design team figures it should be.”
“Yeah, alright! That sounds great. I do trust you over a bunch of faceless yes-men, anyway. Okay, that sounds wonderful!” Through her excitement, she had the look I’ve seen so many times. She was looking at me with the eyes that said “Do me.” I would, darling, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re too precious to wind up dead.
“Well, Call me tomorrow. I’ll see what I can do about the place. And don’t forget to ask for directions. I want to see you there tomorrow night.” I stood up and picked up my briefcase. I tightened my ponytail.
“Okay! I will!” she held out her hand for me to shake, and I took ahold of it, kissing it lightly. “Don’t forget.” I handed her a card and she blushed, nodding. I walked out before I could do or think anything else.

I got a call from the Boss on the way back to the office.
“I don’t know what you did there, Winters, but you got yourself another private customer. You’re a miracle worker!”
“I just aim to please. She didn’t like the styles of the layouts. She’s sure to like mine.” I grinned widely.
“You’re on my list for a giant payraise if you keep this up, Winters. You’re the only person they ever ask for by name on our firm. Keep it up, Winters, and you’ll be running with the big dogs in no time.”
“I’ve heard that before, boss. Promises, promises.”
“Ah, but I’d rather have you making more money than me and still be in our firm than have you be the competition.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on defecting any time soon.”
“So tell me, What’s your secret?”
“Charm. Something you can’t learn.” I jabbed. I earned his trust, I could say whatever I wanted and he’d brown nose me like I was his boss.
“Strong words. That’s why I like you, Winters. I’ll tell you what, you’ve done enough business for me for today, she said you’d be there tomorrow, and I don’t like my kids working on the weekend without pay. I’ll comp you but don’t work your tail off like you did for that Starkey case last month. Going all the way to Philly like that, you’re the hardest worker on the firm.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” I grinned wickedly. I took the exit to go home.

Loni laughed when I told him the story.
“You mean your boss has no clue?”
“None in the least. He’s too busy trying to keep me working for him to notice a damn thing I do. I could fuck his sister and he’d compliment the rhythm.”
“Damn, dude, well, it’s a good job.”
“Doesn’t hurt that I started him down the thought pattern that I was God’s gift to interior design.” I shrugged a bit. “Doesn’t matter, really, it’s only to pay the bills, you can’t make money being a menace to society.”
“Good point.” Loni smiled. I started practicing the lyrics to the songs for the next night’s show.