Faunus Fantasies Ch. 05

"Yeah," I said. "And more, thanks to you. Wouldn't change a thing. Claire? Mel?"

They both nodded, absorbed in their food.

"Good to hear," he said. "I am curious about something, though, and don't answer if you don't want to."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Now that you're leaving Faunus, what's next for you and Claire?"

"We're looking at options," I said. "Really haven't settled on anything specific yet. I don't know about Claire but I really don't want to do anything sex-related. I'm kind of done with that for now."

Claire crunched a piece of bacon and held up one finger. After swallowing, she said, "I'd be willing to work for a sex business but not if the job involved sex work myself."

"Really?" Steph said. "Because we really need someone we trust to help us with The Hare's Underground. We're making a healthy profit but we know we're not nearly as careful with our money as we could be. Do you think you could have a look at our books? I mean, we'd pay you, of course. We've heard you're really good at management and finance. You were COO of Faunus, right?"

"Yeah, I was. I'd be okay with a look at your operating expenses and that sort of thing, sure."

Mel said, "Actually, I was going to ask you the same favor. As long as you worked for Faunus, I knew that was too much work for you. But I'm not happy with the guy who does my books."

Claire frowned and took Mel's hand.

"Oh, babe, I would have helped you," she said. "You should have asked."

"Nope. You had too much on your plate already and I wasn't going to add to it."

"I appreciate that. I really do. But I can keep a lot of plates spinning, you know? Never hesitate to ask. If I can't, I can't, and I'll let you know. Please ask from now on."

"Okay, I will. And thanks."

"That leaves you, Mike," Josh said. "I just don't see you as the kind of guy who could retire so young and spend the rest of your life watching TV, fishing, and going golfing every once in a while."

I had to laugh.

"You got me," I said. "You're right. I don't intend to stay idle for long but boy do I deserve a vacation."

"I hear you," he said. "Look, there are some pretty well-connected people who have memberships to our club. When you're ready, would you be okay with having me put the word out that you're looking?"

"That's a generous offer, Josh. Thank you. Let me get a resume together so you'll have something to give to people. It may take a while."

"Fair enough," he said. "Just let me know, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

***

Mel slept most of the way back to our house, still overloaded from her experiences the previous night. Claire and I talked non-stop about how to proceed now that we were leaving Faunus for good.

"You know my big fear," she said, watching the rain sliding down the window. "I'll get a legit job, do great at it -- or at least okay -- and then someone will dig up all the old Clarisse Finch stuff and try to blackmail me. Lather, rinse, repeat. No such problem with Josh and Stephanie."

"If you're okay working for them, I'm good with that," I said. "They're decent. You could pick worse people to deal with."

"You're right. I'll send them an email and start negotiations. But really, Mike, what are you going to do?"

I shrugged.

"Look for the right thing, the right fit for my skills. I can take my time. I saved enough money working for Faunus, I could pay my part of the mortgage and household upkeep for a long time just from interest and dividends."

"Oh, look," Claire said. "We're home."

The limo stopped in front of our house. I lifted a sleeping Mel and carried her inside as our driver held an umbrella over us. I deposited her on the bed, slipped off her shoes, and covered her still fully dressed form with the sheet and blanket. Claire and I, with the help of the driver, got our luggage inside. Claire tipped him a hundred.

"This is too much," he said, shaking his head and trying to hand it back to her.

"Nope," she said, taking his hand in both of hers and closing it around the money. "You earned it. Thanks for everything and be well."

***

FIVE YEARS LATER

After about six months of puttering around the house, Mike took a job with a local investment firm, quickly rising to upper management.

Claire set up her own business in an extra room of their house, handling finances for a number of small companies including Josh and Steph's club and Mel's bookstore.

Mel's store continued to succeed. She was even able to open two additional locations. Over time, she brought Josh and Steph into their threesome's sexual orbit, enjoying the occasional playtime with just them or all five together.

Eddie went missing after the Feds cracked down on Faunus for some shady financial dealings he got into after Claire and Mike left. He later turned up in Russia, outside the reach of American law enforcement.