Chapter 4

Narrator- 

Cara stared blankly at the person who knocked on her door. Jason looked back with a similar, uninterested gaze. His hands were in his pockets. He wore a simple dress shirt and jeans. His dark hair was gelled and yet fell into it's natural curls and part that hung over his right eyebrow. 

"Good afternoon." Jason greeted casually. 

Cara didn't respond. She didn't waste time in figuring out how he knew her home address, he himself said he came by yesterday after her father was taken to the hospital. 

"Can I come in?" Jason asked, then he reached to his back pocket and pulled out a folded packet of four stapled papers. 

He waved the folded packet next to his head and added, "I'd like to get down to business as soon as possible." 

"I just buried my father." Cara said with a croaked tone, though she couldn't ignore the disbelief that exploded in her chest. 

"And my deepest condolences." Jason replied, placing a hand on his chest. 

Cara kept her face void of any emotion. If Jason was truly sorry, then he wouldn't be standing at her door asking to get down to business. And yet here he was. Cara almost wanted to blame Jason for her father passing away. His visit to the hospital room upset her father, and she could only imagine that this was the stressor which led to his final and deadly stroke. But nonetheless, Cara wasn't one to point fingers. She simply wanted to lay her father to rest, in peace, but apparently Jason had different plans. 

When Jason noticed that that Cara was indifferent to his performance, he continued, "Shall we get down to business then?"

Jason didn't wait for Cara to step aside or invite him in. He entered on his own will, forcing Cara to step back in order to keep the distance between them. Jason walked into the small corridor and made his way to the living area, as if he owned the place. And in a way, he did. Jason took a seat on the beige loveseat facing the TV stand across the room. In between the two pieces of furniture was a glass table. Next to the Loveseat was an imprint on the carpet which marked where Joe's armchair once sat. 

Cara closed the door mutely. She followed Jason's path but walked directly to the small guest bathroom a few paces down the hall. In there, Cara proceeded to wash and dry her face, and removing the contacts she had worn for the funeral. After doing so, Cara went to her room and retrieved a her thick red-rimmed square glasses. Her hair was still in the do she wore for the funeral, and she planned to keep it tamed for as long as possible. 

Feeling slightly more comfortable now that she hid behind her glasses, Cara returned to the living room, where she found Jason holding a picture frame which held one of the few memories of Joe that Cara decided to keep openly displayed around the house. Jason placed the picture frame down as Cara saw to removing a chair from the dining room table, just to avoid sitting close to the heartless man on the sofa. 

Cara placed the chair in the exact spot where her father last sat. She sunk onto the wooden furniture, her palms laying flat on her lap. Her large round eyes looked at Jason, and she waited for him to speak.

Jason, noticing this nodded his head, and spoke up, "I really am sorry to have to bring this up now, but I think it's in both our interests if we get this moving along as soon as possible." 

Cara didn't say a word. 

Jason nodded his head in understanding, "With that being said, because you won't be a regular employee, I have highlighted the parts of this application that you need to fill out. Anything that is not highlighted is not your concern. Understood?" 

Cara still remained silent. She showed no emotion, nor did she make any movement to indicate that she had even heard what Jason said. In Cara's mind, she still couldn't understand how Jason could simply show up in her home, the day that she buried her father, speaking as if nothing has changed. She couldn't comprehend how a man could lack so much compassion, that he would dare to collect from a man who was on his deathbed. Nor did she try to determine whether or not this man had a heart underneath his ribcage. 

Cara felt numb. Her earlier cry and cleaning spree had now rendered her fatigued. Her eyes burned every time she blinked due to her earlier marathon of tears. Her head felt heavy and yet light all at once. Her thoughts focused on nothing in particular, and if she didn't try hard enough, her vision would simply glaze over, and she would quickly find herself slipping into a mindset clouded with clouds of mourning and shrouds of death. Cara was truly lost in the world. 

Jason taking notice of Cara's silence nodded again, but this time he didn't let her silence slide. Jason felt the need to lay the ground rules very earlier on with Cara. Jason knew himself to be a respected man. And that included being respected by everybody, client or not, indebted or not, mourning or not. This is why he couldn't allow Cara a free pass. He was a respected man, sometimes feared, and he needed Cara to fall in line and acknowledge this quickly.  

"Alright, so here's the deal," Jason spoke up, as he leaned forward and pressed his elbows on his knee joints, his eyes boring into Cara's blank eyes, "when I talk to you, I expect a verbal response. After all, with just a few strokes of a pen, I will be your boss." 

This earned a reaction. 

Cara blinked at Jason's words, and angled her head just slightly to the left. She lifted her chin, and spoke with the grace of a murderous assassin, "I know a thing or two you can do with your expectations." 

"That's fair." Jason noted, and he released a swift smile while nodding his head.

His eyes shifted away from Cara's for a split second, and when he returned his gaze on her, his smile was instantly wipe off his face.  

 "But its also fair to warn you right off the bat, I'm not the enemy, and I'm not the one you want to make an enemy out of, so from this point on, you will respect me, and I will return the favor." Jason bargained, his tone cool, well-paced, but his eyes were hard and unforgiving. 

He was a businessman after all. 

Cara wanted to scoff. Jason was a hard man, and as far as she was concerned, he was already the enemy. 

"Now how about you fill this out, and we can get a move on." Jason ordered rather than suggested when he saw that Cara had nothing else to say. 

Cara stood up with an erect spine. Her shoulders were down, yet stiff. There was no way she could relax in this environment. She retrieved a pen and a book to press on, her heart heavy and wrenching. Cara looked around the house and noticed that she was all alone, with no one to shield or comfort her. This caused a shiver to broil from Cara's scalp and tingle all the way to her toes. It's as if the realization of her father's indefinite absence hit her all over again. In that moment, Cara missed her dad. She didn't want to be alone in the world without him, heck she didn't even want to be alone in her home without him, because he made her feel safe. Especially from men like Jason. And yet ironically, he dies and leaves her in the grasp of that very man. The same man who now entered her safe shelter and tainted all the great memories of her safe space. 

When Cara was ready with her writing material, Cara reached out and grabbed the application silently from Jason's hand. Then she sat back down on the chair, and crossed her legs to support the book and application. The first thing Cara noticed upon unfolding the paper was the name. The word Candyland was written in bold letters, and beneath that was a slogan, The sweetest place to taste your darkest and sweetest desires. 

Cara, unsure of what kind of organization this was continued to read. She saw the address line and contact information for the office. Then she reached the first handful of highlighted lines, which were the basic information of her name, phone number, address and email. 

The next line, though not highlighted, was titled Character Name.

Cara lifted her eyes from the paper, and Jason was staring directly her way. Shocked and slightly uncomfortable at his unexpected and unwavering gaze, Cara cleared her throat and looked away in a moment of weakness. Jason continued staring at Cara while he kept leaning his elbows on his knees, and rested his face against his intertwined fingers. 

When Cara gathered her wits, she turned her eyes back in Jason's direction ready to meet his gaze this time, and she asked, "What is a character name?" 

"Is that one of the required or highlighted information?" Jason asked, his tone strict, almost scolding, as if he already knew the answer to his own question... which he did. 

"No." Cara replied blankly. 

"Well then, it's not your concern. You don't need one." Jason instructed, his tone leaving no place for argument. 

Jason spoke to Cara as if she were a child, and he was reprimanding her. Cara hated that, for Jason's tone made her feel belittled and blunt in the brain. Already in an emotional state, Cara felt the inner lining of her oral cavity run with slimy salt, her nostrils tingled, and she felt the tears forming a lump in her throat. 

"Fine." Cara muttered under her breath, and she swallowed the lump of tears and forced it down her esophagus, hoping to keep her tears at bay. 

Cara returned her gaze back on the paper. Her eyes skimmed the page all the way to the bottom line, where her signature was required. Cara signed on the line, and continued to the next page, titled Limits. 

The first line, though not highlighted asked for Soft Limits. Then there were a few lines that Cara assumed was to be used if someone where to fill that part out. The next line following that was for Hard Limits, and the one following that was for Comfort Zone, Previous Experience, Kinks and Fetishes. Following that, was a line asking about whether the person is a smoker, or drinker, or substance user. The application also asked for experiments, and what kind of risks or new experiences the applicant may be interested in such as sensory deprivation, bondage furniture, and Blood Play. Cara lifted her eyes from the page and blinked as if unsure of what she read. She thought to ask Jason again what this application was about, but she held her tongue and continued reading further. 

Meanwhile Jason watched Cara in silence. He saw her eyes take in every typed word on that page, and he smiled internally. He knew that a curious mind like Cara's would easily be entranced by the new horizons printed on that paper. As soon as Joe labeled Cara as a "good girl" in Jason's presence, Jason knew that he would be the one to ruin her. And even now, while watching her try to keep from asking questions which he knew were brewing in her mind, Jason knew that after signing this application, Cara would never be the same.

 Halfway down the page, Cara saw a list of items which the applicant had to either label as Used, Never used but interested, or Will Not Use. Though she knew that none of these sections were highlighted, out of curiosity, Cara decided to take a peek at the listed items. Some of these items she had never heard of before, and others sent tremors of fear down her spine. Among the listed, Cara noticed a whip, a flogger, handcuffs, bondage masks and hoods, posture collars- and there Cara decided she's had enough. 

Her eyes ran away from the choices quicker than an ostrich chasing away humans. Cara shook her head and blinked, unable to understand what this application pertained to. She told herself that she would avoid that page entirely, for there was nothing highlighted that truly required her observation. But just as Cara prepared to turn the page, the last and final space needed to be filled out caught her eyes. 

A line labeled, Safe Word. 

Cara spoke before she could control her mouth. 

"Safe word? What's a safe word?" She questioned, her eyes snapping back to Jason's hard yet knowing gaze.

"You don't need to fill that part out." Jason simply replied. 

Cara scoffed, her eyes now running all over the page in a panic. 

"I mean, kinks and fetishes? What kind of a job application is this?" She demanded, refusing to go any further until Jason answered her question. 

Jason seeing this resolution in Cara's eyes straightened his spine, and now leaned his back on the sofa. Jason stared Cara down until she blinked and looked away. He knew he was intimidating her and that was his aim. Since he met her in the hospital, Jason found Cara to be too outspoken and head strong, even for a good girl. Jason like his women to be submissive, which meant for Cara, he didn't like her, so he wasn't going to play with her.

When Cara dared to look back at him for an explanation, Jason hardened his gaze further. Jason didn't like being defied, and Cara was doing just that by placing the pen down and crossing her arms stubbornly. This irked Jason more than anything, and he felt his blood boil in his veins. Cara didn't care much for the obvious annoyance displayed on Jason's face. She wouldn't place another dot of ink on the paper until he answered her question. 

It's as if Jason understood that Cara was mentally placing her foot down, so knowing that soon he'd have Cara under his control, Jason decided to appease her curiosity. 

"I run a club," Jason started, " A very private and exclusive club. Since you're going to be working there for a different purpose, you won't need to worry about some of the aspects or details of the job that my regular employees do. Bottom line, you'll be working on the floor, serving drinks if necessary, keeping the guests entertained by engaging in conversation, but nothing more." Jason didn't give much away. But for now, Cara was satisfied. 

She took her time before picking the pen back up, and continued going through the application. On the next page, Cara had to fill out an insurance-oriented page. Cara proceeded to sign where necessary, initial and print. The final page was the one Cara really cared about. It clearly stated the terms of their agreement. She was to work for six months in total, and she would earn just enough per month to pay off her debt. Her pay would come biweekly at twenty-five hundred dollars. Cara prepared to sign the last page, when something in the fine print caught her eyes. 

"Wait a minute," Cara blurted, "I have to live at this place?" 

"Yes." Jason replied calmly. 

"I can't leave my house. This place is all the way across town, how will I make it to my actual job?" Cara demanded. 

"Your job?" Jason echoed, "As of today, this is your job. You're going to have to quit working at the school." Jason said as if he expected her to know this.

"I'm sorry, what?" Cara asked, her tone perplexed with an undertone of disbelief. 

"Yes, I require that all my employees. For the duration of their employment, they are to live at the mansion. And while you're not a regular employee, the same rule applies to you as well." Jason answered calmly.

"This is unbelievable." Cara shook her head and pressed her hands against her temples. 

"You will be expected to send in you letter of resignation immediately." Jason pushed, wanting to get a move on. 

He was already irritated with Cara and her attitude, he didn't care that he was being cruel. Cara made a mistake when she chose to stand up to him, and enter a situation that did not involve her in the first place. Jason saw this as Cara's crops for thinking that she could stand up to him. As far as Jason was concerned, Joe cheated him by missing the payments, and leaving his daughter to pay his debt created the perfect opportunity for Jason to ruin the good girl that Joe thought Cara to be. Jason was going to make her life hell, starting now. 

"You should also know that you only have about thirty minutes to gather any personal items you want to bring with you to the mansion. I have a car waiting outside, once you're settled there, we'll send in that letter." Jason placed the final nail, and Cara simply stared at him with an expression of shock, loss and disbelief.