It's your sixth day in Vale, and you wonder how well you've been doing. You have one employee who is so devoted to you that she'll do pretty much anything, and another that you've hired on a freelance basis. Velvet is prepared to do videos but nothing else at this time, and she'll cost you 120 lien every time. It's not a bad showing, but you do wonder if you couldn't have done better, or if you couldn't be in a more stable financial position.
You had 10,000 lien last week and are now down to 3,734 lien.
Problematically, your last paid day in the hotel would be tomorrow, which means you'll need to pay for another week. No matter which way you cut it, you know you haven't made enough this week to cover all that. Not yet, anyway. Maybe the video tonight with Velvet will make up the difference.
You hope so.
Breakfast is eaten quickly and you make your way to the job centre, determined to keep expanding your options on potential people to work for you. It's the last place you've thought to check, other than going out and hiring other prostitutes. That way lays more money spent, however, so you know you won't be taking that option anytime soon.
You don’t have much money to work with, but you can always hope to find someone as desperate as Emerald was. Emerald comes with you, planning to practice her anal training in the afternoon. She should be good to try anal tomorrow, but for today she needs to finish her exercises.
The job centre in Vale is busy even on a Sunday, with jobseekers coming almost every day to show face and be assigned jobs to apply for. The whole premise is that people can show up and have government employees find jobs for them, give advice, and send them to apply. You personally think it's a bit hopeless because a person who can't put in the effort to find and apply for a job on their own simply isn't going to be someone capable of winning that job.
If you were running a café or retail store and one applicant was sent by the government, and one had looked you up and applied themselves, then you know which you'd pick. The person coming to you of their own volition will be more confident, competent and hard working. And that's not even considering the dispirited attitude of a lot of the people here.
Still, you're not running a café or a retail store. You're running a porn studio. If a homeless girl like Emerald can make money there, then you're sure a hopeless idiot unable to find work can as well. You're after their bodies and faces, not their attitude toward work. Though, to be fair, having someone prepared to put the effort in would still be preferable.
Beggars can't be choosers though, and you're only a week or two off from being a beggar.
You're not really impressed by the quality of the people you see, however. There are a lot of very worn down men and women milling about the building, some talking, others looking over printouts of jobs they're meant to apply to, but all of them shuffling about without much excitement. It's like looking at an old-folks home, except that everyone here ought to be a lot healthier.
"Are we really going to find anyone useful here?" asks Emerald. "They look like zombies."
"I'm not entirely confident myself," you admit, "but it can't hurt to take a look."
If nothing else, these people ought to be desperate.
You let yourselves inside and have a quick look around, spotting a few booths where government employees sit behind glass screens. It's ridiculous that those are even needed, but you trust they're not there because the job centre likes wasting money. Someone in the past must have gotten aggressive when things didn't go their way.
There are two sets of booths and one is much busier than the other. The first is marked off by red rope cordons and a sign saying "Jobseekers" and the next, practically empty, and only manned by two people, is a section marked with a sign saying "Employers". It doesn't surprise you that there'd be more people looking for jobs than providing, but at least there isn't a long line for you to wait in. You join the other side and walk to the front. There are two people there, one elderly woman and one younger, and it's no big surprise which you approach.
"Good morning," says the very professional-looking, and also pretty, young woman. You're struck by how bright her eyes are, a wonderful contrast to the colour of her skin and hair. Everything about her is neat and orderly, all the way to how she sits, ramrod straight with her hands on a keyboard. "I am Ciel Soleil, Employment Liaison Officer for Vale. I trust your being here means that you are an employer looking to register available work. If not, you will need to join the back of the line."
"I'm an employer."
"Very good. I have to be sure because far too many try their luck." Ciel glances down and begins typing. "Please allow me to fill you in on what we do. The Vale Job Centre provides a database service where employers can enter in details of their job, which prospective jobseekers will then be able to access. This service is free for jobseekers but is not free for employers. However, the price is only 50 lien per day to have your job logged with us. This will not only ensure many people see it, but we will actively suggest a position with you to those coming to us for assistance. We meet with an average of 150 people daily, and many more jobseekers can access job details through our web portal."
Ciel's fingers continue tapping away. "Please allow me to take some details down first. You may decide to accept or refuse payment later, but this will save time if your decision changes in the future. May I ask what type of business you run?"
"A porn studio."
Ciel pauses, and her eyes flick up to yours for a moment, but only that. They dip back down and she begins typing. "Very well." Her voice doesn't even sound strained. "And what positions would you be looking to recruit for?"
"Actors and actresses."
"I see. Are there any criteria I should note? Please be aware that some people might ignore those and apply anyway. We cannot guarantee the common sense of everyone who uses our services. All we can do is push people toward you."
"They would have to be attractive."
"That is a subjective thing, is it not?"
"Fine. They have to be fit. Healthy."
"Very well. I will make a note to judge attractiveness for any individuals our team sees and refer from here as well." Ciel types away some more. "And what of gender? Do you wish to set the position for men, women, or both?"
>Men
>Both
>Women
“I’m open to both.”
"Very good. I shall take that down." Ciel types some more. "Finally, we come to the matter of payment. Jobseekers are unlikely to apply for work unless they know how much it pays. How much would you like us to put down?"
If beauty is subjective then a person's idea of "acceptable pay" is as well. Velvet, for instance, was always going to accept a lot less than someone like Coco might. There's no easy option here, but you'd better give a flat fee rather than a cut, because these people aren't going to be interested in a % cut where the numbers are vague.
"What would you suggest?" you ask Ciel. "You know your jobseekers better than I do."
"The average wage in Vale is 15 lien per hour. If you are paying for an hour's work, then I would normally suggest around that value. However, your work is… questionable." There's little judgment from her, and she manages to sound polite the whole time. Somehow. "I expect that many will find the idea of sex work to be distasteful, and so you may have to make an offer that is several times above the average value. I believe 150 lien would be adequate enough to draw attention, but you may try lower. There may well be attention even at just 100 lien. I do not imagine lower than that to be very successful."
In all honesty, you don't imagine even 150 lien will get you any high-quality talent, but then you were never going to find stars at a place like this. Not unless you can convince Ciel to work for you. You suppose it won't hurt to try. You put on your best smile.
"How much does someone like you earn here?"
Ciel pauses again, her bright blue eyes flicking to yours again, holding them for a second, and then flicking back to her screen. There is no drawn in breath, no colour on her cheeks, nor even the briefest widening of her eyes to suggest shock or embarrassment.
"I thank you for the implied compliment on my appearance," she says, not sounding all that thankful at all. Not upset, either. Just neutral. Polite. Professional. "However, I have my career quite nicely mapped out and do not believe part-time work in adult content to be a fit with my goals. Thank you again for your interest. Now, how much should I put down your opening wage at?"
It was worth a shot.
>60 Lien per video
>120 Lien per video
>180 Lien per video
“I’ll start it at 120 lien per video,” you say. “That seems fair.”
"Thank you. I will log that into the system. There, your job is now available to promote." Ciel pauses, and then runs through the specifics again. You listen and nod once she's listed them all as a double-check for mistakes. "Very good. In that case, would you like to begin promoting your vacancies through us? It will be 50 lien per day while it is active. I will reiterate that we cannot guarantee how many applicants you will receive, nor their quality, only that we shall send people through to you. They will be given your contact details so that they can speak to you directly."
You hum and consider your options. It may not be much at 50 lien per day, but that'll be another 350 lien added to your weekly expenses, and that's almost 10% of the money you have left. As she says, there's also no guarantee as to the quality of the applicants.
"Does this get me any extras?" you ask.
"What do you mean?"
"If I don't get any talent from this, or no one applies. What then? Will you offer advice on how to make my position more attractive?"
"We can," Ciel says, inclining her head slightly. "I would be your employment liaison officer, so if there were any changes in circumstances or any issues, then you could come to me for a consultation. These are at no cost, but they are limited to two per week, at one-hour per consultation. In those, we can discuss the applicants you've received, how to hold interviews, make changes to the job posting or anything else you might think of." Ciel pauses, then says, "That is professional in nature."
Interesting addition, there. Maybe she isn't as immune to embarrassment as she puts on. She's just good at keeping up the professional façade and not letting any of it show. "You'd be excellent at poker," you say.
"Thank you. However, I believe gambling to be a tax on the foolish." Ciel sets her hands on her keyboard again. "Will you be taking us up on the offer?"
The consultations might be a good way to get to know your liaison officer a little more, but you'd be paying for the privilege and there's no telling whether "getting to know her" will lead to anything. If she's this focused on her career and being professional, then she probably isn't going to be easy to win over. Ciel is obviously very career focused and professional.
Those could be two different areas to attack, but you don't exactly have a lot of clout right now to throw around.
What could you offer her that she would be tempted to take?
And, ultimately, do you want to add 50 lien per day to your expenses?
“I’ll have to think about this, but keep me on file,” you say. “I’ll come back with an answer soon.”
"That is acceptable. There’s no rush to decide, and our services will always be available to you. Thank you for coming."
You stand up and leave Ciel behind her counter. Emerald mostly stayed silent throughout, and you wonder what she's thinking. Did she feel jealous when payment was mentioned, or maybe robbed? The money involved might sound like a lot, but it's less than a room in a cheap hotel and a meal, so she probably knows it's extra money for people who already earn a wage. No one is going to be able to make a living off the wages you offer, so you're only going to be able to recruit part-timers right now.
Still, that might be for the best until you have more income coming in. Full-time employees will expect payment every day regardless of whether they star in a video. That would be a good way to have them fully at your control, however.
On your way out, you hear a commotion at the front of one of the jobseeker lines. There are raised voices, and you suddenly think those screens might have been a good idea after all. "It's not like I would have got the job anyway!" shouts a feminine voice. "He took one look at me and decided he wouldn't hire me!"
"Please calm down," speaks another, loud, but steady. "The employer hires faunus. You are projecting your issues—"
"Projecting!? I'm not going to sit here and listen to that! I want a faunus liaison officer!"
"Ma'am, you are causing a scene. Please sit down."
"To hell with this!"
"Miss Amitola! Ilia Amitola!"
It's no use. There's a scuffle off in the line, but it looks like someone forcing their way out rather than starting a fight, so that's good. You notice a girl with tan skin storming out from the mass of jobseekers. She has reddish hair and odd markings across her skin that look like enlarged freckles. They look to carry down her neck and over her shoulders."What are you looking at?" she snaps, catching you watching her. There's an aggressive edge to her voice, but you expect it's because of what happened at the front of the booth. Something about someone refusing to hire her.
"What are you looking at?" she snaps, catching you watching her. There's an aggressive edge to her voice, but you expect it's because of what happened at the front of the booth. Something about someone refusing to hire her.
"I'm just a man looking for people to hire," you say. "I came here to register my job and try to find some employees. If you're interested—"
"I'm not."
Ilia makes to walk past you, but you reach out for her. "Wait! Aren't you here looking for work? I'm offering—"
"Go away!" she snarls, yanking her arm away before you can touch her. "Like I'd work for a human like you. You're all the same. Probably just want cheap faunus labour." Ilia snaps and scowls at you before storming down the sidewalk, hands in her pockets. You watch her go, one arm outstretched.
"But I didn't even know you were a faunus…"
"Is she gone?" A man jogs up, breathing heavily. He's wearing the same uniform as Ciel. "That woman!" he groans. "Sorry if she caused you any trouble, sir. We've had problems with her. Seems to think every human is out to get the faunus and demands we put her through to faunus employers. As if they even want someone who'll verbally harass half the staff they employ."
"I guess she's quite the character."
"You can say that again, sir. Forgive me, I need to get back inside and see to people."
The man leaves, and you're left outside with Emerald.
"She was a bitch," she says.
"I don't disagree but… ah, never mind." You shake your head. "I can't change the fact I'm not a faunus. Let's go get some lunch."
You head back to the hotel for lunch, so that Emerald can again slip back to your room for anal training. You also suggest she watch some lesbian porn to get ideas, so she's less unsure when you inevitably make her act with Velvet. You don't expect this will make her any better at it, but she'll at least be less bad. It should make her more open to the idea of it, though.
You figure it couldn't hurt.
You also drop a quick text to Kali, since she's at work, asking her if she'd be up for your date. You get a response back quickly enough.
"I'd be free on Friday or the weekend ❤"
You'll have to contact her on Friday, Saturday or Sunday if you want to take her out on a date – and it'll take up your morning or afternoon. If it goes well, then it might take up your evening as well, so you'll need to make sure you're prepared. You'll also need to decide where to take her on the day, but you have options.
While you're at the hotel eating, you also decide to flick through property options in Vale. You doubt you have the finances to afford anything, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared, and sometimes seeing what you can aspire to can be a good motivator. You find a real estate website soon enough, and then, even more surprising, you find one that caters specifically to the sex industry. It must be because of how big the industry is here.
It's not surprising in a way because some estate agents specialise toward retail stores, and others toward warehouses. You've just found one that focuses more on your particular market. All things told, your options are split in two – residential and commercial. Residential is apartments and houses, which you could run a very rudimentary porn studio or brothel out of, but it wouldn't be very successful. Of course, you could also sleep at your brothel as well, but that would take up one of the active bedrooms available to use to serve guests.
You would take up 1 Active Bedroom if you were staying at a place, and any other Active Bedrooms could be used to let people sleep, be that alone, or with paying customers. In fact, if you bought a small brothel with 1 room then you would still want to stay in a hotel, so one of your girls can use the room to entertain customers.
The big advantage of having a residential home outside of a commercial one is that you could bring people to it without freaking them out. If you wanted to bring Kali for a romantic evening, for instance, then she wouldn't want to be invited to a brothel for it. It would also be much easier to have other people visit who aren't yet comfortable with the idea of working in a brothel. As a way to "ease them in" to the idea.
You can also allow other people to "stay" at a residential home, assuming you have a bedroom for them, which may be useful for those without somewhere to stay. Having someone stay with you (for free) would be a surefire way to win a lot of affection with them and might make them feel very indebted to you indeed.
A slave could also be allowed their own bedroom, if they deserve it, and this might improve their mood.
Some girls also might be difficult (or impossible) to recruit without a residential home.
There are a lot of options there, and some of them might suit you well in the future. That's for the future, however. None of it is of any use to you right now. Given you're already on the issue of property however, you decide to slip by the front desk and pay for another full week at the hotel. You don't have the money to move out, and other hotels are more expensive than this one. When you get there, the clerk is very polite, agreeing easily and taking your details—
Before he pauses.
"Ah. It seems there's a note on our file, sir. The Hotel Manager has asked to speak with you directly."
Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good. "Oh? Can it wait until after I've booked another week?"
His face becomes apologetic. "I'm sorry, sir, but there's a note that you must speak to him before you can book any further time with us."
That, you think, is a bad sign. You make your excuses and try to look like it doesn't bother you, as the boy summons another member of staff to escort you to the manager's office. Emerald has already gone back to your room, so luckily she doesn't get to see this. You're escorted to a nice office and let inside. The door closes behind you.
The manager is a squat and somewhat unattractive man with a hefty paunch stomach and a bald head. He looks the type to feel fatigued after a short jog, but he's dressed professionally and is the one in charge here, so you clear your throat. He looks up.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Goldmane, is it? I am Roger Bark. Please take a seat. Coffee? Tea?"
"Water will do, thank you."
He pours you some water and gestures for you to sit. You feel a little nervous, and your feet tap on the floor.
"You must be wondering why I asked you to meet with me. The fact you're tells me you're looking to elongate your stay here. Is that right?"
"Yes. Another week."
"I see. Mr. Goldmane, we pride ourselves on being an affordable hotel. You may see our title as the cheapest hotel in Vale as an insult, but, in truth, it is a viable strategy. We are almost always close to capacity because most everyone who comes to Vale looking for work chooses to stay with us. We run a very successful hotel, and we are quite proud of that fact."
Roger places his hands on the desk, one over the other, and fixes you with a level gaze.
"What I am trying to say, Mr. Goldmane, is that your room does not sit on an island in a vast and empty ocean. There are guests in the room to your right and left."
You wince. "Ah."
"Yes. Ah." He mimics you. "And those guests have raised quite a few complaints, as you might imagine. Now, this is Vale, and we don't begrudge people having a little fun, but the variety you are having is quite a bit more than that, isn't it?"
He turns his computer screen around to face you, and there it is, slap-bang on the screen. A freeze-frame of you fucking Emerald on the hotel bed. You feel your stomach drop, but you force a calm expression. There's no point denying it.
"I'm sure you're quite the entrepreneurial young man, Mr. Goldmane. Or Joker now, is it? Regardless, you are running a business, so I am sure you understand that I am running a business as well. And that your noise is causing me issues. Quite a few, in fact. Sound does carry, and you are anything but quiet. I also expect you intend to continue with this."
"…"
"Nothing to say? Well, let me cut to the chase then. We will honour your week's booking, which lasts until the end of tomorrow night, but we are not prepared to let you book a further stay with us. Nowhere was it agreed that you could run some illicit porn studio out of our rooms."
"That's a problem," you say, trying not to panic. "Because the other hotels in the area are quite a bit more expensive than you."
"I am aware, yes. We are currently charging you 250 lien per day. Our closest competitor charges 350 per day, which includes food for two people. That would put you at 2,450 lien per week I believe. Quite an increase, I understand, but what you must understand is that the rooms to either side of you have lain barren this week after the guests checked out due to the noise. I am losing approximately 2,400 per week myself just allowing you to stay. I am sure you can see why I find this unreasonable."
You can. You're not an idiot. Though, maybe it was naïve to think you wouldn't be caught. It'll be even more obvious tonight when the people working see you bring Velvet up. They'll be even less likely to want you hanging around if they know you'll be bringing other people into this.
But the other hotel is just too much. You're paying 1,750 per week here with Emerald's food bill added to yours, and that increase of 100 per day will mean you'll need to fork out 2,450 lien for a week at the next hotel.
And there's no guarantee they'll be any happier to have you run a porn studio out of the room. You'd need to make enough in that week to buy an apartment, and that won't be easy. In fact, that'll be really damn hard. You'd need to earn 5,000 to afford the smallest apartment on the market, that including the deposit and a week's rent, and you'd only have about 1200 left after moving into the next hotel.
You'd need to make over 542 lien per day.
None of your videos have matched that yet.
"There has to be a deal we can make," you tell the man. "I admit it was wrong of me not to ask permission, but what's done is done. Can't we haggle for a higher room price? Something between yours and the next hotel's?"
"Mr. Goldmane. You essentially occupy three rooms while paying for one."
You grimace.
"That said…" Roger Bark links his fingers together and looks at you. "I understand the… challenges of staring a new business. I also understand not wanting to work in the mines or subject yourself to some unfeeling company. I am not an unsympathetic man, but I am a businessman. I consider things in terms of profit and loss, and not all profit comes in fiscal terms. If you know what I mean."
A deal on the side. A favour. You lick your lips. "What do you want?"
"The girl you have in your room. The one from the videos." His voice is blunt. "I want her to come to my office every Monday morning, and to serve me throughout the day and into the night. She will be returned to you on Tuesday. Unharmed, naturally. In return, I will allow you to rent your room with us indefinitely, at the previously agreed cost of 250 per day. That will be 1,750 per week. I will make sure the complaints go away as a result. In fact, I will even stomach the loss of two empty rooms. A fair deal, I believe, for what is otherwise a rather sizable loss you are costing my company."
He leans back, and you can see his smile. He's satisfied with himself, and why not? He has the power here, and he's well within both his rights and the law. If you've really emptied the rooms around you, which isn't hard to believe given the noise, then he should kick you out. By all metrics he should. But his more carnal desires might be your opportunity.
"Can we negotiate?"
"No negotiation. No videos. I have no desire to star in them. The deal is on the table and will be taken now or not at all. I really don't care if you do or do not, Mr. Goldmane. I can afford to buy my own whores if needs be. Make your choice."
>Accept the deal: Emerald will be unavailable on Monday, but your weekly rent will remain at 1,750 lien
>Refuse the deal: You will need to move into a new hotel after tomorrow, increasing your weekly to 2,450 lien
“I accept your deal. Mr. Bark.”
You sigh as you say it, and already start planning how you’ll tell Emerald. You don’t think she’ll refuse. Emerald cares about staying off the streets, and she knows money is tight. If she’s willing to sleep with other men to make a porn video better, then she should be fine sleeping with a man to earn even more than your average videos are.
“Very good, Mr. Goldmane.” Roger doesn’t even seem to care. To him, it’s less a desire and more a convenience. Having a girl under his desk to keep him satisfied. Emerald is nothing special to him. “I’ll see to making the complaints disappear, and you’re welcome to rebook with us tomorrow for the following week. I’ll make sure no one bothers you or questions you bringing more people to your room.”
“Thank you…”
“That said, I expect the girl bright and early tomorrow. After breakfast – before nine. Have her come to my office. I’m sure I can find room for her under my desk, or atop it. Depends on how I’m feeling, I suppose.”
“Will you at least use protection?”
“Of course. Of course. I’ve no desire for any children here.”
You know you’ll have to talk to Emerald about this tonight. You promised to keep her off the streets, and she put her faith in you. It'll be your failure if you can't fulfil that promise, and she'll have every right to leave you. Hell, she might even rob you as she does. At that point, you wouldn't blame her.
It'd be your own poor financial decisions that led to it.
You have 3,734 lien now, and if you refused his deal then you’d be stuck paying 2,450 to stay at the new hotel. That would have meant you’d have 1,284 lien remaining. If you couldn’t make enough money in the week, you’d be out of the hotel and on the streets.
And Emerald would be gone.
You need to start bringing in more money.
This way, you still have at least 2 weeks of rent in the bank, and plenty of time to earn more.
Sadly, Emerald is in her room stretching her ass for you, so you’ll have to tell her about this arrangement later.
Author's Note:
Original Quest: https://fiction.live/stories/Running-the-Red-Light/z3DQkYE5X8YBXovZ8/home
Visual Novel: https://andoravn.itch.io/running-the-red-light