Chapter 8

Narrator-

Cindy led Cara towards the center of the main entrance, where Cara first entered the mansion. Cindy turned her back on the front doors and faced the stairs. Cara copied her actions, while pushing up her glasses over her nose bridge, with the back of her right index finger.

"Now we won't have a chance to explore all the rooms today, but standing here, I think we can cover a fair amount of the space." Cindy began.

Cara nodded and said, "okay."

"Alright, so when you come in, on your right-hand side of the mansion, you'll find the various sitting and living areas. Further down the hall, there's an indoor gym with a sauna room, and home theater. There's also a small library, but I've never been in there." Cindy pointed to the grand hallway branching off to the right.

"On your left, is the grand dining hall and kitchen. There's also an outdoor dining area on the west side of the mansion that you can access at the end of the hallway." Cindy then turned her attention to the left-hand side of the mansion.

"Cool." Cara commented.

"You already know that upstairs on the East Wing, that's where the entertainers stay. We have ten in total, two men, and eight women. You'll meet them during dinner. Upstairs, the West wing is basically off limits. It contains Jason's room and areas he wants to keep private, so bottom line, we don't go to the west wing." Cindy explained.

Cindy's notion that the west wing was off limits caught Cara's attention. She looked up the stairs, her curiosity instantly piqued. She now wondered what secrets Jason wanted to hide from the rest of the world, but she had no chance to dwell on it, because Cindy was on the move, for she started walking back towards the hallway which led to the back of the mansion. Cara followed after Cindy, unaware that they were being followed.

As the ladies crossed the stairs, Cara suddenly felt a sharp slap on her left butt cheek. On instinct, her left wrist shot out and aimed low, instantly coming in contact with someone's private part. A manly voice suddenly exclaimed a sound of pain, and Cara turned sharply to find Vincent standing with a dark-skinned man, who was now hunched over, with his hands cupping his jewels.

"Oh I've been shot!" The man said dramatically, before slowly falling to the ground.

Vincent made a show of falling at the man's side while he encouraged, "Hold on fellow soldier, we'll get you some help. Man down! We have a man down!" Vincent then exclaimed.

Cindy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Vincent, buddy." The brown man grabbed Vincent's hand.

"I need you to tell my wife that I went down fighting and tell my daughter she's not gonna get another sibling, someone destroyed the family jewels." The man continued before dramatically gasping and pretending to lose consciousness.

"That's what your pervert a** gets, Thomas. What did Jason say about putting your hands on other people?" Cindy scolded.

Thomas took his time before opening his eyes, then he smiled his pearly white teeth and purple gums and replied, "She looked so good from behind, I almost thought it was you."

"Still doesn't make it right. You know I don't play with you. I would've done more than just a punch." Cindy retorted.

"Now get your dumb a** off the floor and meet this girl properly." Cindy ordered.

During this back and forth, Vincent walked around to Cara's side.

"It's a pleasure to see you again gorgeous." Vincent greeted with a smile.

"And you are...?" Cara asked although she had a smile on her face.

"Aww, you wound me." Vincent placed a hand on his chest.

Cara laughed, as the one she knew as Thomas, finally stood up.

"Name's Thomas. Sorry if I scared you earlier." Thomas extended a hand.

"Do it again, and next time you won't be able to walk at all." Cara replied, then shook his hand.

Thomas hissed then commented, "spicy."

"You already know Vincent from earlier," Cindy pointed towards Vincent, "This perv who can't keep his hands to himself is Thomas." Cindy then pointed to the tall man.

Cara nodded.

"Boys, this is Cara. She's gonna be our new secretary, I'm showing her the general layout of the place. Wanna come?" Cindy invited, and both men agreed.

"So now you know the two male entertainers. Come on." Cindy addressed Cara.

The group of four headed down the hallway towards the double doors.

When they reached them, Cindy continued, "so you know the way to Jason's office, the other hallway on your left is for the house-waiting staff. Their rooms are down there." Cindy nodded her head down the left hallway, which housed a series of five doors down each side of the hall.

Cindy then looked at Cara and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "Now for the fun part."

Cindy placed her hands on the doorknobs. She twisted her wrists and threw the doors open, to reveal a grand ballroom area, bordered with large glass windows on the wall parallel to the entrance. Cara walked in with her mouth on the floor.

Cindy flipped a series of switches on the wall to the right of the doors, and the room lit up. The ceiling was adorned with various styles of chandeliers and lighting fixtures. On both the left and right walls bordering the doors, were two large bar areas, with tall shelves of liquor. There were couches and lounge areas all over the ballroom, but the room itself was cut off on both the right and left side, where dimly lit hallways branched off on both sides.

The walls themselves, were painted a tender beige color, soft on the eyes and reflected the light well. The other color themes included dark hues of greys and reds, with a bit of white mixed in. There were sculptures of women who resembled Greek goddesses, and the walls were adorned with grand portraits of whom Cara could only assume were entertainers, for she identified all three of her current companions on at least one of the portraits. Though the portraits were grayscale, the women's' lipsticks, eyes masks, and even the men's items such as ties in the photographs were bright red. The glass wall was covered in sheer white curtains, and there was also a pair of double doors leading out to a patio, and eventually the lush green lawn that surrounded the mansion.

Cara gulped while looking all over the room, mesmerized.

Cindy looked back at Cara and laughed, "yeah I had a similar reaction."

"So obviously, there are lounge areas. At any given time throughout the night, there will always be four entertainers on the floor. Now those two hallways on each side of the room lead to the playrooms." Cindy explained while walking deeper into the large room.

"Playrooms?" Cara echoed.

Cindy sent a look over her shoulder in Cara's direction, "yeah. So there's six playrooms in total. Three in each hallway, and it's where we go with the clients for private sessions."

"Wanna see one?" Vincent suggested, while taking the freedom to wrap an arm around Cara's shoulder.

Cara looked at Vincent and smiled, "listen you sexy European, I may be new but I'm not naïve. If I'm stepping in a room with someone, it's gonna be Cindy."

With those words, Cara removed Vincent's limb from her person.

"Ooo, I'm down for some girl-on-girl action." Thomas voiced, while pressing a fist against his mouth.

"I'll get the bills." Vincent supported, and the men clapped their palms together.

"Never gonna happen boys." Cindy laughed, then turned to Cara.

"But do you want to see one of the rooms?" Cindy offered.

"Um.. m-maybe another time." Cara decline.

Cindy sent Cara an understanding smile and pulled out her phone. She noticed that she had less than ten minutes left before they were to report to the dining room for dinner.

"Alright, let's check out the backyard real quick, and then we can go to dinner, and you'll meet everyone else." Cindy offered and walked through the hall.

Cindy opened the back entrance of the hall and emerged out onto the custom designed rock patio. The patio had raised walls, topped with flowerbeds, currently blooming healthy and vibrant red roses. The corners of the raised walls held solar powered lamps. The patio ended with a set of five stairs, which then led to the extensive, luxuriant green yard that reached as far as the eye could see.

"I know we won't have time to see all the backyard amenities, but we have a pool, a tennis and basketball court. We also have a volleyball area. Like I mentioned, on the West wing is our outside dining area. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a chance to show you." Cindy said.

"It's a bit overwhelming honestly." Cara expressed with a sigh.

"Yeah, but you get used to it." Cindy replied.

"Cind, time to go." Thomas warned.

"Yeah, come on." Cindy ushered.

Cindy and the two men returned back inside the hall with Cara in tow. They closed and locked the back door and crossed the hall to the other side. Cindy turned off the lights and closed the wooden doors after the rest of the group spilled into the hallway. They then rushed to a small guest bathroom below the stairs, where taking turns, they washed their hands.

"Come on, I bet you Jason's already there." Cindy rushed, and all their feet scurried towards the dining room.

Cara had no choice but to copy the hurried behavior of her new companions. Cara followed Cindy into the dining room, and upon entering, the group found Jason standing at the head of the long, rectangular twenty-seat table.

"We're late, I know. You don't have to give me that look." Cindy said, flashing her eyes towards Jason, and grabbing Cara's hand, to lead her to the two empty seats near the front of the table.

Thomas and Vincent made their way on the other side, and each took their respective seats towards the head of the table where Jason stood. The other attendees in the hall giggled under their breaths at the group of four's nervous and rushed entrance.

But soon all eyes focused on the newest face in the room. Cara's round eyes made quick eye contact with some of the other pairs in the room, but then she felt nervous and quickly looked away. Jason noticed that Cara pushed her glasses close to her eyes with the knuckle of her index finger and avoided making eye contact with the other people in the room. He found her actions to be interesting, given that thus far, Cara has proven to be anything but shy.

"Right then," Jason began.

"I won't waste any more time. Tonight's theme is Candy and Sweets, and as usual your outfits have been delivered to your rooms." Jason began, and the entire group watched him attentively, except for Cara, whose eyes found it best to study the natural spots and lines found on the table's wooden surface.

"We have a new addition to the team." Jason then turned the attention on Cara.

"Her name is Cara Thompson, she will be acting as my secretary. I hope that you will make her feel welcomed." Jason said, then he waited.

No one spoke. All eyes turned on Cara, and she managed to look up at the faces around her, before looking away again. Neither Cindy, Thomas, nor Vincent broke the silence. They already knew Cara. It was now up to someone else to speak and welcome her.

Except, when the silence was broken, it wasn't the accolade Cara hoped for.

"I thought the shared meals were for entertainers only." A brunette with an oval face and straight nose expressed.

"Entertainers, and my personal assistant." Jason stressed, then he added "At least now, there won't be any complaint that I take too long to answer your requests. If you have anything to ask, they go through Miss Thompson."

"So what's it gonna be, do we call her Cara or Miss Thompson?" Another woman, thin, blonde with grey eyes, said.

"Her name is Cara." Cindy spoke up, but Cara didn't miss the slight edge in Cindy's voice.

The blonde rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Jason studied the tension in the room. Then he chanced a look at Cara. He could tell that she no longer felt comfortable. She avoided eye contact, and constantly pushed her glasses as far up her face as possible. Her shoulders were slightly hunched forward, and though her spine was straight and leaning against the backing of the wooden chair, the times that Cara did manage to look up, it was to stare at the wall.

It seemed, Cara was starting to understand that this wasn't nothing close to a comfort zone, and that pleased Jason. Maybe then, Cara would learn to tone it down with the attitude.

With one last look around the room, Jason smiled and nodded his head, "Enjoy your meal."

With that wish, Jason made his departure.

The double doors that lead into the dining room closed after the boos took his leave. After the echoes of the closed wooden barricade faded into the thick silence of the room, Cara managed to build up her strength and look at the different faces around the room. With only ten seats filled, the rest of the long table remained empty, and yet all placements were neatly arranged on the table. The dining area was decorated with various potted plants, and large colorful paintings.

The table itself was empty, and Cara wondered about the food. She made a show of looking around the room, although it was more of a stalling tactic, and before she knew it, her palms were brushing over the fabric that covered her lap.

"Alright, y'all can stop staring at her like that. Yes she's the new girl, and yes she's black. She's freaking gorgeous and she's my roommate." Cindy broke the silence.

Cara looked at Cindy and smiled softly and gratefully.

"Can she talk?" The blonde spoke up again.

"Yes she can." Cara now replied staring at Simone dead on.

Vincent and Thomas shared a look, while the blonde looked at Cara with a displeased gaze. She looked ready to say something, when a door on the far-left side of the dining room table flew open. Two men dressed in waiter uniforms rolled out large metal carts that carried dishes covered in large silver domes. They began walking around the room and placing a plate in front of each guess and uncovering it as soon as the plate was safely on the table.

When one of the waiters reached Cara, he placed a white place on the table and removed the dome to reveal a grilled chicken breast, sitting on a small pile of white rice, with grilled asparagus and baby potatoes on the side. Once all the dishes had been delivered, the waiters then placed two large bowls of gravy on the table, as well as two large bowls of tossed salad, two small ceramic pitchers of salad dressing, and two baskets of garlic bread slices.

The waiters then pushed the carts up against one of the walls that bordered the dining room table and exited the hall through the same door which they emerged from. Cara looked at her plate and the entire set up. She gulped, feeling overwhelmed and out of place. But that moment was cut short when the doors flew open again, and the waiters returned with two crystal pitchers filled with hand-pressed strawberry lemonade.

They placed the pitchers down, and soon delivered two metal containers filed with ice cubes, then the waiters disappeared. Soon after, the entertainers began to dig into their meal. They ate and chatted softly amongst themselves, but no one made an effort to entertain Cara, except for Cindy, who spoke under her breath while pointing at each entertainer.

"Wait, so Jason doesn't eat with you guys?" Cara wondered after a moment of silent chewing between herself and Cindy.

"Not often." Cindy shrugged.

Cara nodded but didn't pry any further.

"So the blonde from earlier, her name is Simone. She usually plays the role of a dominatrix." Cindy started her introductions.

"Dominatrix?" Cara wondered, her brows furrowing.

"Ah babe, you have so much to learn. In total, three of the eight women here are doms, while the rest of us typically play submissive roles. I'll get into the details of terminology later." Cindy said, then continued on.

"That gorgeous Mulan lookalike, is Lexi." Cindy turned Cara's attention to a young woman of Asian descent, with bone straight dark brown hair that could almost past as black, and round face.

"She's a sub and very flexible, so a lot of our clients that are into freaky contortions love getting alone time with her." Cindy explained. Cara nodded but said nothing.

"Our three Sexy plus size girls, Mona, Tyra and Savannah," Cindy pointed to three women with heavy curves and voluptuous figures, from left two right, respectively.

Mona, was a woman with olive skin and black hair with reddened tips. Tyra had golden blonde hair and hazel eyes. Savannah had wavy hair, but her accentuated cheekbones told Cara that she was from a Hispanic ancestry.

"Mona is another one of our Doms, while Tyra and Savannah are subs."

"Beautiful Indian girl over there, her name is Shyla. That girl's hips don't lie, and most of them men just like watching her dance." Cindy nodded her head in the direction of a thin dark olive-skinned girl, with a golden piercing on the crook of her right nostril. 

Her almond shaped dark-green eyes and darkened lips gave her an exotic appealed, and when she smiled at something Simone said, Cara could understand why Cindy dubbed her as beautiful.

"And last but not least," Cindy sighed and looked in the direction of the brunette woman who spoke from earlier, "That's Monique. Girl's stomach is flatter than a flea and she's one of the favorites around here. She was Jason's first hire. She plays the perfect dominatrix, but I can tell you girl she wants nothing more than to be Jason's submissive."

Cara could tell by Cindy's tone, that only the clients favored Monique.

"What do you mean?" Cara asked.

"Well she walks around like she's the queen bee, right? Snarky attitude, and she knows she's pretty, so it's even worse. But I can tell by the way she looks at Jason, she'd do anything to belong to him in a Dom/Sub relationship." Cindy explained hen took a bite of her food.

Cara also took a bite of the surprisingly delicious meal, then she drank from her glass.

"So why doesn't she?" Cara wondered.

"Well for one, Jason has a strict policy that prohibits any sexual relation between the entertainers, he also prohibits personal relationships while we're in his employ to avoid any diseases or reasons for lawsuits. He himself also respects that rule. Don't ever expect to find Jason in bed with one of us. He's a dom that doesn't like to share. But with that being said, he hasn't had a submissive for a while. And if he did pick someone, I'd doubt that it'd be Monique." Cindy explained, though her voice was hushed.

"Why would you doubt that? Monique is beautiful." Cara said, while glancing towards the brunette.

"Yeah, but in this kind of relationship, its more than just about being beautiful, and plus she's not his type. But like I said, there's a lot you have to learn, on our trip to the mall tomorrow, I'll fill you in." Cindy offered.

"What are you girls whispering about over there?" Vincent spoke up, and all other conversations ceased, and all eyes turned to Cindy and Cara.

Cindy shrugged, "well since all y'all wanna act all territorial and sh*t, I can't leave my girl hanging like that."

Monique rolled her eyes and Simone shrugged.

"She's not an entertainer, she's gonna be stuck behind a desk, I don't see a reason why she needs to be initiated into anything." Simone spoke first.

"Alright you front tooth, calm down." Cindy rose her hand in sign of halt.

"You probably should remember that all your requests will now go through her. Jason said so. So I'd advise a little respect." Cindy warned.

"Oh listen to the little lap dog, 'Jason said this, Jason said that'," Monique mocked then scoffed, "could you be any more obvious Cindy?"

"What?" Cindy asked smugly, then she feigned concern, "Oh don't worry Mon, I'm not into Jason like you think, trust me babe, you still have the chance to be his little sl*t. Oh wait, except he don't want you girlfriend."

Thomas released and 'oof' under his breath.

Vincent spoke up, "Alright ladies, retract the claws. This is not the way to make a first impression on the newest employee at the mansion. Show a little kindness."

"Oh shut up, Vincent. If the new girl can't handle the heat, she might as well get out." Simone snapped.

Vincent shook his head and laughed. Then he raised his hands as if he wasn't looking for trouble.

The dining room fell quiet again.

Cara wanted to laugh at the entire situation. But the daunting reality that she wasn't home and had no footing for a comfort zone in place made her more on edge than anything. Cara knew that the best thing would be to keep her head down for the most part. It was only six months, Cara told herself, only six months.

A few minutes later, the clattering of utensils against dishes began to fill the room. Cara nibbled on her food, and Cindy was visibly upset. The two men in the room shared glances and soft chuckles, but no one spoke directly. When Cara did muster the courage to look around the room again, the first person she made eye contact with was Lexi. The Asian beauty smiled softly, and Cara smiled in return.

Cara then looked at Shyla, who also smiled. The three plus-sized girls smiled at Cara when she looked their way as well. Cara chanced a glance at Simone, who was glared daggers then rolled her eyes. And finally Monique. When Cara looked at Monique, the brunette brought her glass to her lips and sipped the red lemonade slowly. Then she removed the glass from her mouth and tapped her index finger against its crystal wall. Then she placed her glass down and stood up.

"Well, I'm done with this charade. As you can see Cara, this isn't your place, but I wish you the best of luck." Monique said, then she left the table.

Simone was the next to move. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up as well.

"You're gonna need it." Simone sized Cara with her eyes, and then walked away as well.

When the double doors closed, the tension in the room seem to improve significantly. The other women in the room appeared more relaxed, and even Vincent and Thomas appeared more at ease.

"It's nice to see a new face around here, Welcome to the mansion Cara." Shyla was the first to speak.

"Thank you." Cara nodded while Shyla stood up and took her leave.

"Don't let those girls turn you off, if you ignore them long enough, it's almost as if they're not there." Mona shrugged, the other two plus sized girls laughed at her comment, and with each exchanging their welcome with Cara, they then also took their leave.

"Are you coming to the hall tonight?" Lexi invited, Cara's eyes widened just slightly.

"Um, I'm not sure yet." Cara admitted truthfully.

"Well, it's still nice to have you here. At least now there's a middleman between us and Jason." Lexi said, then she also stood up and left.

Cara sighed when only her three earlier companions remained.

"Gotta say, that went a lot better than I expected." Thomas commented.

"Yeah, although I was ready for a plat to fly between Monique and Cindy." Vincent added.

"Yeah, well she needs to know her place. I know she's thirsty for Jason, that's why she thinks she can walk over everyone else. But sis is mistaken, she knows damn well." Cindy replied.

Cara simply shook her head, "It's quite the colorful family y'all got here."

"Don't worry about it, they'll warm up to you soon enough. But with that being said," Cindy trailed while pulling out her phone to check the time, "we gotta go get ready for tonight. Finish your dinner, and then you can come back upstairs." Cindy explained.

Cara nodded, and Cindy along with the two men took their leave.

When Cara was alone in the dining room, she leaned back against her chair and released a breath through puffed cheeks. She thought of the entire showdown during dinner, and she shook her head in disbelief. All the while, she was unaware of the camera that recorded her reactions, which were all being spectated by Jason, who in that moment was in his bedroom, watching the monitors on his television screen.