Negotiations 1
Happy Thanksgiving!
After mulling the next step in the series Maintenance, I've decided to conclude it and start a new writing experiment, a sequel, called Negotiations. Again, I make no promises about the result. I want to toy with short chapters (like Maintenance) and take the story a bit down the rabbit hole -- perhaps even outside my own comfort zone. I toyed with skipping this journal altogether and posting it on AO3 instead; I'm interested in your thoughts on this. I feel like people may feel more comfortable commenting in the confines of this private journal, but I'm open to AO3 if folks would prefer it.
The timeline picks up at the end of Maintenance 53.
BRIAN’S POV
The call came to through your office line around two thirty on a gray Wednesday in early February. It was Dave from Release with obvious stress in his voice. You assumed that he was calling because the live feed you’d help them set up and market straight from their website wasn’t monetizing as quickly as they’d hoped, but when you inquired, that idea was met with resistance. “No, no, Brian,” Dave said, “I’m not calling about the website or anything.”
“Well, then, what can I do for you?”
“Well...I have a situation here...with your partner...slave, I mean.”
“Come again?” You found this odd.
Dave sighed into the phone, “Justin is at our front desk asking to dissolve his slave contract...immediately.”
The reality of what Dave was saying took a minute to traverse through your brain and make sense to you, and after pressing your thumb and finger against the bridge of your nose in quiet frustration, you advised him, “Then go ahead and let him.”
“It’s just that… I mean, of course, we will, but this isn’t how we do things. The two of you entered into this contract together and technically, the way our situation works here, you would dissolve it together. I guess, I’m saying that we’re not in the business of letting slaves call the shots; there’s a respect issue at stake here.”
The idea that this was happening without your knowledge miffed you on a level you don’t entertain while at work, but you knew there was only one way to handle the immediate problem, “Honestly, if he wants to dissolve it, please let him, and if there’s a fee to do so, make sure he pays it.”
“Oh, there’s no fee. We don’t have this happen enough to have a fee,” Dave said with laughter in his voice. “I don’t mean to imply that this is funny. Sorry about that.”
“Well, you called more or less to get my permission, so, please, make sure there’s a hefty fee, and if for some reason he won’t pay it, then send him a bill.”
Dave’s words were hesitant, “What kind of fee...would you like?”
“At least a thousand dollars.”
“Um, okay. There’s a thousand dollar fee to break a slave contract here.”
“Sounds good. Thanks for the call, and have a good day.” You hung up on the phone, pressed your lips together and shook your head in a bit of amazement. A few minutes later you got a one line text from Dave: ‘He paid it.’
Negotiations 2
After mulling the next step in the series Maintenance, I've decided to conclude it and start a new writing experiment, a sequel, called Negotiations. Again, I make no promises about the result. I want to toy with short chapters (like Maintenance) and take the story a bit down the rabbit hole -- perhaps even outside my own comfort zone. I toyed with skipping this journal altogether and posting it on AO3 instead; I'm interested in your thoughts on this. I feel like people may feel more comfortable commenting in the confines of this private journal, but I'm open to AO3 if folks would prefer it.
The timeline picks up at the end of Maintenance 53.
BRIAN’S POV
The call came to through your office line around two thirty on a gray Wednesday in early February. It was Dave from Release with obvious stress in his voice. You assumed that he was calling because the live feed you’d help them set up and market straight from their website wasn’t monetizing as quickly as they’d hoped, but when you inquired, that idea was met with resistance. “No, no, Brian,” Dave said, “I’m not calling about the website or anything.”
“Well, then, what can I do for you?”
“Well...I have a situation here...with your partner...slave, I mean.”
“Come again?” You found this odd.
Dave sighed into the phone, “Justin is at our front desk asking to dissolve his slave contract...immediately.”
The reality of what Dave was saying took a minute to traverse through your brain and make sense to you, and after pressing your thumb and finger against the bridge of your nose in quiet frustration, you advised him, “Then go ahead and let him.”
“It’s just that… I mean, of course, we will, but this isn’t how we do things. The two of you entered into this contract together and technically, the way our situation works here, you would dissolve it together. I guess, I’m saying that we’re not in the business of letting slaves call the shots; there’s a respect issue at stake here.”
The idea that this was happening without your knowledge miffed you on a level you don’t entertain while at work, but you knew there was only one way to handle the immediate problem, “Honestly, if he wants to dissolve it, please let him, and if there’s a fee to do so, make sure he pays it.”
“Oh, there’s no fee. We don’t have this happen enough to have a fee,” Dave said with laughter in his voice. “I don’t mean to imply that this is funny. Sorry about that.”
“Well, you called more or less to get my permission, so, please, make sure there’s a hefty fee, and if for some reason he won’t pay it, then send him a bill.”
Dave’s words were hesitant, “What kind of fee...would you like?”
“At least a thousand dollars.”
“Um, okay. There’s a thousand dollar fee to break a slave contract here.”
“Sounds good. Thanks for the call, and have a good day.” You hung up on the phone, pressed your lips together and shook your head in a bit of amazement. A few minutes later you got a one line text from Dave: ‘He paid it.’
Negotiations 2