Title: New Horizons 1/3
Author:
pushkin666 Pairing/Characters: Spencer/Tom (brief, mostly offscreen), allusions to Brendon/Ryan, Bob & Patrick
Rating: PG13
Word count: ~2500
Disclaimer: See
Community Introduction PostWarnings/Enticements References to bdsm play (off screen)
Summary: He wants something new; something different. In short, Spencer is Bored, with a capital B. He runs his hands through his hair in exasperation. Being back after college is killing him. This falls at the very beginning of the verse and details how Spencer comes to work at Unmarked Place. The three parts are written and the remaining two will be posted Saturday and Sunday.
Author notes: Many thanks to
dreamersdare for an excellent beta, and to my erstwhile co-author/cheer leader
kat_lair as always.
Spencer types in ‘goodnight’ and then exits the chat room. He really isn’t in the mood this evening. He's chatted for a short while with a couple of people that he knows but he couldn't really muster up that much enthusiasm. Chat rooms always feel impersonal to him. He likes to be able to see the person he’s talking to; likes to read their body language.
He has been feeling out of sorts for a few weeks now. Oh he knows the reasons behind it; his seemingly never ending search for a job. It wasn’t anything confusing or inexplicable; he was all too aware of the exact reasons for it, but everything contributing to it was out of his control - Ryan being away and him not really having had the chance to play properly since coming back from college.
The last one should be well within his control, it isn’t that there aren’t subs and slaves to play with at the club, but Spencer just couldn't find one that really interests him. He suspects it is more to do with familiarity and overexposure than anything else. Even after being away at college he still knows most of the people on the Vegas scene, and it’s paled a bit
He wants something new; something different. In short, Spencer is Bored, with a capital B. He runs his hands through his hair in exasperation. Being back after college is killing him. Spencer loved his family, but he was finding it stultifying being at home and having to fit into the same old routine, the routine that had been set before he was born. Added to that Ryan was staying behind at college for additional few weeks, even though the semester was over, and that wasn't helping. Spencer isn’t surprised by Ryan’s decision; offer Ryan an additional chance at holiday classes in writing and he'd jump at the chance! He'd be back in a few weeks which Spencer thinks will go a long way to helping with his peace of mind.
He still needs to get a job though. After all what’s the point in having a degree in business management if he can’t use it?
Spencer clicks into the 'Positions Offered' page on the Family intranet, although he doesn’t hold out much hope that there would be anything there. Normally, the positions offered most often were for scene demonstrators which is not something he had any desire to do. He could and would demonstrate and discipline in public when he needed to and when he plays, he plays hard, but if it was just for him he preferred to play in private, not public. It was just an added complication that those he plays with needed to understand just what is required by a High Protocol Top. A lot of them don’t, which is another reason that Spencer really only plays with people that are recommended to him, normally other members of the Family. A lot of people seem to prefer more informal Tops than he is. He gets it, he really does, but he would really like to find somebody who could take what he gives out, somebody who wants to be with him.
He runs his eyes down the list of jobs offered. Yes, just as he'd thought nearly all of them were for scene demonstrators, some for bar staff and, oh wait ... Club Manager.
That was unusual.
He clicks on the link. It takes him to another page and he quickly scans the details. A new Family club was opening in New Jersey and a Manager is needed to help run it. Accommodation and moving expenses paid. He hasn’t heard of the owners; Bob Bryar and Patrick Stump, but all he needs to do is check their profile pages, see whether they were born Family or sponsored in.
Spencer pulls out his notebook and settles back down to do some research.
Club Manager/Disciplinarian
A Club Manager is required to oversee the daily operations and activities of all areas of the Club and serve as liaison between the members, guests, employees, and representatives.
Required Skills:
Must be a Top or Switch
Disciplinarian - Skilled in all types of discipline
Should have good basics in formal positions, dress, dynamics, power exchange and similar.
Good understanding of community environment
Take interest in day to day running of the Chapter as well as the club.
Strategic Planning
1. Develop the club's long-range and annual business plans in accordance with the wants and needs of the committee and the membership.
Staffing
2. Overseeing the recruitment and training of personnel in multiple areas of the club. These may include dining services, entertainment, demonstrations, housekeeping and maintenance.
Member Relations
3. Ability to build positive relationships with the members, their guests, and potential members to ensure customer satisfaction. The Manager must understand the membership's wants and needs and provide the services, special events and facilities to accommodate those wishes.
Finance
4. Be able to establish budgets, control costs and find ways to increase club profits. The Manager should have a strong understanding of cash flow and be proactive in maintaining or exceeding financial goals.
****
Spencer is interested in the position and he discusses the job advertisement with his parents, asking them what they think of it. He knows that his age may stand against him, but he thinks he can do the job and of course confidence is vital with something like that. He checks out the profiles of the two club owners; Patrick and Bob, and is heartened to see that they’re quite young themselves so he hopes he has more of an opportunity. He’s also pleased by the fact that Bob’s profile mentions that he mentors junior tops.
Spencer wants more mentoring. He knows he’s a good top but there are things that he’s interested in that did not fall within his previous mentor’s interests. He particularly wants to learn more about knife play and that’s listed as one of Bob’s skills. He could of course have gone to his mother, as she’s an expert in knife play and cutting, but seriously who wants to go to their parents for sex advice. Just the idea alone was enough to make him shudder. He’d also like to learn how to tattoo and although that’s not listed on either Bob or Patrick’s profile pages as interests he thinks there’s chance he might find someone in the area who would be happy to show him.
Someday Spencer wants to have a sub that he feels strongly enough about that he can mark them with both his knifes and his needles. The thought makes him shiver in anticipation. He wants what his parents and their slaves have; that strong abiding trust and love that he's surrounded by whenever he's at home.
Spencer’s parents both think the job is a damned good opportunity and that he should go for it, even though it will mean him moving away from home just after he’s come back. They do a little investigation themselves, particularly with regard to the people that sponsored Bob and Patrick into the Family. The reports that come back on the two men are good and really there’s no reason anymore for procrastination. So Spencer doesn’t. He types up his application and sends it off, together with details of his own profile page. He’s a realist though and he doesn’t expect to hear back for a while, if ever, so it comes as a pleasant surprise when a week later he gets an email arranging a telephone interview.
He tries not to squeal when he gets the message, squealing after all is something that Ryan does when he finds a new scarf. It’s not something that Spencer is prone to doing, and it’s certainly not something he’d ever admit to! He is after all a manly top. He does allow himself a little bounce though in the privacy of his own bedroom, where no one can see him
Spencer calms himself down before he responds. He sends an answer giving them the times that he’s available, fires off an email to Ryan telling him about the job, and then has a quiet panic attack. The only times he’s been through a formal interview process before were when he was looking for a college place and before his mentor took him on as a trainee. Oh, he’s had mock interviews as part of his college course, but they’re not the same thing. He supposes he should be grateful that the first interview is via the telephone. At least that way Patrick and Bob won’t be able to see his body language, won’t notice that he’s nervous.
Spencer gives his family the news and they decide then and there that they’re going to test him, grill him on what he thinks the job entails; what he wants from it, why he’s willing to move to another city. And when he says family, he means his whole family; not just his parents but also their three slaves. Spencer knows they’ll be no respite from any quarter. The family slaves will give him just as hard a time as his parents. They’ll want to see him succeed in this. His father sets aside time that evening for them to practice. Practice! Spencer shudders when his father says that. He knows exactly what it will entail, and unfortunately he’s proven right.
When the time comes around they put Spencer through a three hour interrogation. His parents are in full Top mode; treating him as though he were a potential sub or slave rather than their eldest son, and their slaves don’t help much either, throwing their own questions in. They ask him all sorts; how he would deal with representatives from both sides, how he’d feel about disciplining somebody he had no relationship with. He comes out of it exhausted and sweating but also more aware of what he needs to say in the interview. Which of course was their intention all along.
****
After all of his panicked imaginings Spencer manages to get through the telephone interview without embarrassing himself too much. He finds it really strange to be interviewed by two people over the phone, but hey, he's happy to rack it up as a new experience. He’s never had issues with learning new things and he thinks that’s what one of the main things that makes him a good top. He watches, looks at people’s reactions, researches and then puts things into practice.
Spencer celebrates getting through the first hurdle by taking a night off and visiting the local Family club. Even though he gets to play it leaves him feeling slightly unfulfilled. He’s been seeing the same people now for too many years, both at home and here in the club. And that’s one of the reasons why he knows he needs to get away. Find a new city to explore, meet new people, new experiences. Yep, there's that word again - new.
Spencer takes some time out to go and see his old mentor, Daniel. Spencer worked with him for two years before he’d left for college. They haven’t seen each other since the incident with Ryan and Brendon, and it’s good to catch up with him. They spend a few enjoyable hours together chatting about people they know, things Spencer has done at college, and how the interview with Bob and Patrick went.
After that it’s just a matter of waiting to hear further. Although, Spencer would like to tell himself that he’s not waiting for the call, he has always been honest with himself. He knows that he wants this job and from having spoken to Bob and Patrick on the phone he thinks he could work with them. They’d basically gone over the job description with him, explaining how the club was standing at the moment, telling him about their two backers; Gerard and Lindsey Way. Spencer had been interested to learn that Patrick would be a silent partner at first, choosing to stay in Chicago until the club was up and running. What he hadn’t realised was that there was no official Family Chapter in New Jersey and to hear that Bob and Patrick were intending on starting one up sounded exciting. To be in at the beginning of a new Chapter and a new club was pretty damned rare. God, he wanted this job - he really did. So he waits, hoping for the call or email to tell him whether he’d be going forward to the second interview.
When the response comes it’s by email and it asks Spencer to attend a further interview. The email gives details of the flight they’d like Spencer to come out on and the hotel that they’ll book him into. He’s also advised that not only will he be interviewed by Bob and Patrick, he would also meet Lindsey and Gerard, and be required to give a demonstration. Bob specifies wanting to see both his suspension and his rope work, and also tells him that they would like to see him discipline. Bob confirms that their Sub Representative, Tom, has agreed to be Spencer’s scene partner for the demonstrations and that the Top Representative, Miss Victoria, will also be observing along with the ‘rest of them.
‘No pressure then,’ Spencer thinks, running his hands through his hair nervously. He knew going in that this wouldn’t be an easy interview process but he wasn’t expecting quite this much. It makes sense though. Bob ends the email by saying that they’re both looking forward to seeing him and should Spencer wish to bring somebody out with him for the trip they would have no issue with that, although Bob does stipulate that Spencer cannot bring his own scene partner. A final post script asks Spencer to let them know whether he will be bringing his own toy bag or will he be happy to use one they supply.
Spencer is shaking by the time he closes the email down. Although he thought he’d done well on the phone interview he really wasn’t sure whether they’d ask him for further interview, although he couldn’t deny he had hoped. He picks up his phone and calls Ryan, asking him if there is any chance that he might be able to come back from college to fly out with Spencer. He wants Ryan with him, for support if nothing else.
Ryan had been up all night writing but after cursing Spencer out for waking him up, he tells Spencer off for even doubting that he’d come with him. Besides, as he points out to Spencer, it’s a great opportunity for him to go clothes shopping. Spencer rolls his eyes and terminates the call telling Ryan he’ll see him in a couple of days, and to say hello to Brendon for him.
He sends a reply to Bob, telling him he’ll be happy to attend and that he’s looking forward to meeting him and Patrick. He also mentions that Ryan will be coming along with him and that he’ll bring his own toy bag.
Part 2