Puppet Master

“I really would love to come out, Myra, but I’m dead broke. Dead. Buried. The funeral has been had. People have mourned. They have moved on. And you’re not exactly swimming in spare change either,” I yelled to my phone, charging on the other side of the room as I dug through piles of clothing I’d picked up from my local Goodwill earlier that day.

“Oh! Speaking of, guess who got a job? I did! I got a job! And it pays pretty well too, especially for the hours I have.” Myra’s naturally sing-song voice seemed particularly excited.

“Nice! That’s awesome! Where at?” I waded through the clothes and grabbed my phone, preparing to google wherever hired my best friend to see if I had a chance of getting onto their payroll too.

“Oh no, sweetie. It’s really not...your kind of place. Just get a job at a café or something.”

“Myr, I would love to “just get a job at a café or something”, but rent is expensive. Bills are expensive. Food s expensive. I need a job that will pay well. I don’t care about what kind of place it is! I need the money.” I flung myself onto my bed, also covered in clothes, and took my phone off speaker, before pressing it to my ear.

“Babe, you really don’t want to know the name. It is not your scene. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to work there.” Myra’s voice was noticeably hesitant, even over the phone.

“Yes, Myr, I really, really do.” I rolled onto my stomach and grabbed a notebook and pen from my bedside table, ready to take down all the necessary notes.

“Ok, fine, fine. On one condition. You are not allowed to think any differently of me after I tell you. Not even a little but”

“Dude, of course. I didn’t think any differently of you after you told me what kind of shit you did with Dylan, I won’t think any differently of you for how you make money.”

I heard a deep breath over the phone. “Ok. I work for Arousal.” The words were clipped.

“Arousal? The porn site? You mean you’re making pornos.” I asked, sitting up. That really didn’t seem like Myra’s kind of thing. Freaky sex things with partners she told me about, absolutely. Making videos of said freaky sex things, and sharing them with other people on the internet? Not at all.

“No, no. They’re not just a porn site. They do a bunch of other things. Like, they also make sex toys. And they need people to test them. They also have a bunch of like, BDSM clubs around the country and shit, but I don’t work in any of them. So... Yeah. That’s what I do.” Myra’s voice was small, not sounding like her usual confident, extroverted self.

“Oh, ok. Cool. Do you have to do it, like, in front of people? Or can it be in private?” I put my notebook in front of me, pen in hand.

“You could do either, but you get paid more if you do it in front of people. And you get paid the most for doing it meetings, and things.” The confidence I loved so much was slowly creeping it’s way back into my best friend’s voice.

“In meetings?” My hand stilled.They just sit around a table and watch people play with themselves?

“Yeah, if a meeting is taking a while, and people start getting restless, the CEO will usually get someone to come in and ‘test out some products’ for a bit, if you know what I mean.”

“Ok, that seems pretty pervy, I don’t know-” I was quickly cut off.

“No, no, not really in a pervy way. I haven’t done it personally, but I spoke to some of the other girls there - there are a few boys, but there’s like a million times more girls - and they all said that it didn’t feel weird, more like a fun, little, exhibitionist thing. You kind of have to be one, to work in this place.”

“I, uh, haven’t really thought about any kinks like that. But... I wouldn’t be opposed to trying it. Give me their number, Myr. I think I’m going to call them.” I posed my hand again to write their number down.

“You sure? I don’t want you to do anything... rash.” My friend’s voice became hesitant once again.

“Yes. If I really don’t like it, if it makes me madly uncomfortable, if it makes me feel horrible, then I’ll just quit. They don’t make you sign a contract so you can’t leave, right?” my voice shook reaching the end of my sentence.

“No, no. Of course not. It really is a good company to work with. They make you sign a contract saying what you’re comfortable with, what kinds of things you consent to, and what you definitely don’t ever want to try. But you’re allowed to change them whenever you want. I’ll give you their number.”

I smiled at my friend’s directness, before taking down the number she rattled off. She knew I would hesitate, even knowing what my decision would be. She knew that all I needed was that little push.

“Thanks. I’ll call them soon. I just need to sort through these clothes, get them photographed, and then I’ll do it. Promise.”

“Ok. Call you tomorrow?”

“Definitely. Love you.”

“Love you too!” Myra giggled, and I laughed in response before hanging up the phone.

Just do it, what’s the worst they can say? ”No, sorry, you’re not exactly what we are looking for at the moment. Have a nice day?" That surely isn’t so terrible. Just call them. Don’t be a pussy.

Before I could psyke myself out anymore, I pressed the green button on the bottom of my screen, and the number that had been dialled for about an hour.

"Hello?"A female voice answered after only a few rings.

“Hi, uh, my name is Eloise Baker, and I was wondering if your company was hiring at the moment?”

“Hi, Ms Baker. Yes, we are hiring at the moment. What kind of position are you looking for? We have the options of testers within the company, testers in our clubs, dancers, bartenders, or waitresses in our clubs. Are any of these the kinds of positions you were looking for?”My pen flew across the page, copying down each of the positions she mentioned.

“Yes, I was thinking of starting as a tester within the company, and maybe a waitress at a club of yours, and then maybe go on to be a tester in a club, if that is possible.” I worked my best to keep my voice from shaking.

“Ok, that should be fine. Do you have a CV you could send through?”I heard clicking on a keyboard, and then expectant silence.

“Yes, is there a specific email I should send them through to, or should I just use the company one on the website?” I put the call onto speaker and opened the Gmail app on my phone.

“I’ll give you my company email. Send it to that, ok?”

“Ok.” I copied down the email she read to me, before attaching everything on my CV, and sending them through.

“Ok, I just got them. I’ll have them sent to my supervisors, and we’ll bring you in for an interview. Does tomorrow, at around two-thirty work for you?”I heard more clicking from her keyboard.

“Yes, that should be perfect.” I hurried to put the time into my calendar for the next day.

“Good, someone will see you then. Just go to the main office and tell the receptionist your name and what you’re there for, and they’ll send you to where you need to go. Does that sound alright?”

“Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you so much.” I hung up the phone after a pleasant ‘You’re welcome’, and hugged myself tightly, falling back onto my bed, laughing.That really wasn’t so hard, was it?

Picking myself up and moving to the part of my apartment that was supposed to resemble a kitchen, I started making something for lunch, before texting Myra to tell her about what happened over the phone call, and that I got an interview.

“I havenothingto wear! What did you wear to your interview?” I asked, collapsing onto my bed in front of my laptop. All I got was a laugh from the display of a video call from my best friend.

“I wore my dress, you know the hot one? That one, with lingerie underneath, and a blazer on top.” Myra, confident as ever, obviously had thought out the perfect outfit.

I sifted through the few nice clothes I had, before selecting a cute, mini black dress, lacy tights, and my skimpiest black lingerie underneath.

“This look good?” I stood in front of my laptop with my arms out and did a 360-turn, showing my best friend all the ways the dress showed me off.

“Stunning! They’d be fools not to hire someone as hot as you.” Myra’s grinning face filled me with confidence.

“Ok. I’m gonna go out, grab something to eat, and then go to the interview. Wish me luck!” I clicked the red button at the bottom of the screen, waving goodbye to Myra giving me a thumbs-up as I did so.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and counting in my head before I stood and grabbed my bag before bolting out of my apartment.

You’re not going to throw up. You’re not going to throw up. This is not going to go badly. You can get a job. Easy. You will not throw up.

I took a deep breath. I pushed the door open.

“Hi! I’m here for an interview, my name is Eloise Baker.” I smiled, trying to ignore the cold sweat covering my palms.

“Ok, Ms Baker. You’re ten minutes early, so you’ll have to wait for a little bit. Take one of the seats here, and someone will be out to get you shortly.” The twenty something year old girl behind the desk didn’t look up from the computer in front of her until the end of her sentence. When she finally did break eye contact with the blue screen, she gave me a warm smile.

“Ok, thank you.” I turned around, heels clicking on the marble floor, and took a seat in the waiting area.

You are not sweating onto the seat. You’ve never done that, why would it ever happen now. Don’t start crying. Do not start crying.

I waited for what felt like somewhere between thirty seconds and twenty years before a young woman walked into the room, winked at the woman behind the counter, and called my name.

“Eloise?” She fixed me with her sharp blue eyes, making my heart stop beating for a second.Damn. If I were to pick a chick.

“Yes, that’s me.” I stood, and held out my hand to shake hers. She took my hand, and gave me a warm smile, contrasting with her icy eyes.

“Follow me.” She turned swiftly on her heal, her long legs making it almost impossible for me to catch up to her.

We walked for a few minutes in silence, going up stairs and through hallways, passing few people, before we reached a beautiful set of doors.

The woman turned, offered me an encouraging smile, and opened the doors.

“Mr Blake? Eloise Baker, for an interview.” I followed the woman in, seeing a lovely office, with floor to ceiling windows taking up one wall, a bookshelf covering another, and a stunning dark wood desk in the middle of the room.

“Yes, thank you Evelyn. Close the doors behind you.” A deep voice filled the room, before the woman - Evelyn - left the room, leaving me alone.

“Eloise, yes? Sit.” I looked up from my feet, and made myself walk towards the desk, which had two seats opposite the man I assumed was Mr Blake, and took a seat.

“Ok. You’re applying for a toy tester and a waitress initially, and you’re thinking you might work your way up to a tester in one of out clubs, yes?”

“Yes, that was the plan.” I kept my hands on the arms of the chair, refusing to appear unprofessional by fidgeting with my hands.

“Ok. Do you want to be a single tester, or be a part of a duo?” Mr Blake leaned forward in his chair and took a pen out of a mug on his desk and poised it over a piece of paper.

“I wasn’t aware there was an option, what does the duo... entail?” Butterflies crazed through my stomach, as nervous about the answer as I was.

“You’d have someone else test toys on you, or vice versa. There’s extra pay in it for doing it in front of other people, just like it’s solo counterpart, of course.”

I bit my tongue, trying to make an informed decision on very little information. “Would it be possible for me to work my way up to that too?” My breath caught in my chest.

“Yes. So, start out as a single tester. Would you like to reconvene in three months, 6 months, or a year?” Mr Blake finally looked up from the form in front of him, making eye contact with me for he first time.

God those are beautiful eyes.“Three months.” I tried to keep a confident façade.

“Ok. Now fill out what you would and wouldn’t be comfortable with on this sheet outside, you can take a seat in front of Evelyn’s desk, then give it to her on your way out.”

“Alright. Thank you. What is he timeframe I’m looking at, regarding you getting back to me?” I stood and took the sheet from Mr Baker, smiling sweetly before tilting my head.Is this what the TikToks said? Look innocent and they’ll hire me?

“Within 3-5 business days is our policy. Expect a call or email in that time frame.” Mr Baker turned back to his desk, and I took that as my cue to leave.

I pulled the double doors open, my arms straining to heaven and back as I did so.Shit. That Evelyn girl must be buff as shit. She’s starting to look really, really good in my eyes

“Take a seat over there sweetheart. Take as much time as you need.”