1: News
“I’ve put together a team of experts and professionals to help us get this project of on the right foot,” Oliver says.
He is sitting in a black leather chair in what looks to be an office. His suit is dark navy blue and his almost black hair is styled back. Opposite him sits a female journalist. Her blond bob is also styled to perfection, the shape and color makes her green eyes pop. Her grey blazer and tight, short skirt shows of her thin figure, a bit of cleavage tactfully showing over a white top. She has an Ipad in her hand, long fingers with ruby red nails gribbing it firmly.
“And what field of expertise does these people work with?” The journalist fiddles with the collar of her blazer while she stars at her screen.
“I have a legal team, a team of psychologists, health gurus who knows everything about sustenance and exercise, and so on. My team is carefully put together to cover every aspect of the human life,” Jonas says with that infuriatingly smug smile of his.
“It will be an employer/employee-relationship and they will be living on the premises; like a maid or a cook. Our legal team is working on all the finer details, and at the moment we are taking the final steps towards starting the project,” he explains. His smile is polite, but there is a glint of something dark in his eyes. I can’t quite determine if it is excitement? Or… Euphoria, even? I have seen it before and I don’t like it. It makes my blood run cold and I’m hardly conscious of my arms wrapping around myself.
“I’d let Oliver Snow be my Daddy any day!”
My head snaps to Lilly. She is sitting lounged back in my recliner, her eyes glued to the same screen as mine, although she is obviously not seeing the same horror I have been watching for the last half an hour.
“He looks like the kind of guy who could make this lil’ pussy purr!” She makes a lewd gesture to her jeans covered lap. I… Don’t know what to say, so I look at Mercedes, who is sitting besides me on my couch. Her eyes meet mine with a look of pity and concern on her pretty features. Then she says to Lilly:
“Lil, have we ever mentioned that we grew up with Oliver?”
Lilly’s face lifts up.
“No, you haven’t! Has he always been this hot and and… Intens?!”
“Well… Yes, but…” Mercedes starts, but I cut her off.
“He is a psychopath, Lilly! And from the looks of it, a sociopath as well. Seriously, there is something terribly wrong with him. Not only in his head, but his heart is rotten too. Mark my words, he is toxic, dangerous even”. Mercedes scoffs.
“I don’t know about that… You two always seemed to have incredible chemistry. How long were you guys together?” She gives me “that” look, the one that tells me she sees right through me. I’ve known Mercedes my whole life, and more often than not, she knows me better than I know myself. But not this time, obviously!
“What?!” I can’t believe her right now! She knows how messed up I was after I left Oliver. “That was hate, Mer! Unfiltered, un-watered down hatred!” Mercedes doesn’t get to reply before the journalist’s voice draws me back to the screen.
“And how will the state save money on unemployment through this initiative?” She looks down at her Ipad with a frown.
“The… Employer, so to speak, pays for every cost connected to… Well, living. Housing, food, medical bills, clothing, you name it”. Oliver sits back, left ankle on right knee, arms resting on the armrests.
“And in return the pet gets…?” Her tone is neutral, professional even, but she looks like she can’t believe what she is hearing.
“The employee won’t have to work in a traditional sense, and since they will be living on the premises, there will be no transportation time or -costs. They will simply be a part of the household and everyday life. It will be an easy, stress free life for them. Everything regarding the employee will be taken care off”.
“But they’ll have to do what the… “owner” decides then? Regarding their whole life?”
“Well, yes. The employer is the person in charge; he pays the bills, the wages, everything, after all.”
“So it is some form of slave trade??” A sliver of the journalist’s disbelief reveals itself in her flushed cheeks and cold tone of voice. Oliver smiles at her.
“No. It is a job opportunity for people unable to keep a regular job.”
“And who are these people?”
“It is a ‘3 strikes and you are in’-system. If it is your third period of unemployment in a short period of time, you could be eligible to be a part of the program. The unemployment offices will help us establish the contact. And handle some of the legal documents, for that matter. It will be ordinary, healthy people without bodily health issues. People who just… Needs a little bit of extra help getting by in this dog-eats-dog world we live in”.
“Penny, tell me more about Oli….”
“Ssssssh!” I hish and Lilly stops. Yes, I see how this makes me sound like a bitch, and even towards one of my closest friends, but I feel it in my bones, mind and soul: it is crucial that I hear this. All of it.
“And who are these men, who are supposedly capable of being in charge of others well being like that?”
“It can be women as well. There will be a screening and then a mandatory course before they are allowed to participate in the project. It is not cheap having an extra mouth to feed and will require the financial room to do so, so it will of course have to be people who can afford it”.
I almost yelp when Mercedes’ hand touch my thigh.
“Honey, don’t worry, you have a job now. They will do this trial period-thing, find out it is an in-fucking-sane, downright ludicrous idea and drop it all together. It is inhumane to say the least, they’ve just… Completely lost their marbles!”
Mercedes smiles, but it does nothing to sooth the knot in my stomach. The journalist’s smooth voice sounds again:
“And will these subjects simply be dropped into their new lives involuntarily and unprepared, and be expected to just… Cooperate?”
“I have experts on my team who specializes in adapting to new realities and submitting to authorities”. Oliver seems to have an answer to everything, but the journalist isn’t letting him of the hook.
“I am sorry, Mr. Snow, but who on earth is considered an expert in something like this? A professor in brainwash theory? A behavioral psychologist with a personal interest in pet bondage?!”
Oliver chuckles, and even though I understand how the sound could be pleasing to some, it makes me tremble from the cold it sends down my spine.
“Ms. Jones, variations of this happens alle the time; people going to jail or kids being forced into new families because their parents gets remarried. It is new and, for some, uncomfortable for a period of time, and then you adapt. I hope to lessen that time and also the trouble connected with this sort of change by getting immediate help to the people joining the project”.
“And how long is this initial trial period going to be?”
“A year, maybe 18 month if the data is proven insufficient. Only time will tell. We have the legal rights and funding to go past the first year”.
“You seem to have put a lot of time and thought into this, Mr. Snow. Do you plan on taking on a pet yourself?” His lips form a condescending smile at her persistency towards calling the subjects pets, but he doesn’t comment on it.
“Yes, of course. The bill has now been introduced and I am in the committee. As a part of the research, we will test the system and make changes along the way. After the initial trial period, the bill will be voted on, and we’ll take it from there. I am a man of actions and have a hands on approach to everything I do. So of course I myself will be a part of the program. As a matter of fact, I expect my employee to arrive in a few days”.
Then he looks straight into the camera and smiles, and I don’t know why, but when my eyes meet his grey, cold ones through the screen, it makes my stomach drop and skin crawl. Because it feels like he is staring right into my very soul.
