Just Like The One Before

This story is based on J.P. Delaney's "The Girl Before". It is both a book and four-part TV series. It may be found in your region, and I found it a good read and excellent watch.

It's a thriller so there is no smoking or such like in that story. However, I felt that the theory behind it would work well for me to try and create a mind control smoking fetish themed story.

I have taken many of scenes from the book and reimagined them for the smoking fetish reader. There will be obvious recognisable similarities and of course differences between the book and my work.

Just Like the One Before

Chapter 1

Jane Holdstock took step back, wobbling before stopping herself falling off the end of the pavement, she took a deep breath of trepidation as she again looked up and studied the view, then pivoted on her now secure and grounded heels as her brown eyes followed right across the long weathered wooden cladding of a façade of her potential new house.

The house was located at the end of a small quiet cul-de-sac, just off the main road into town. She had already been waiting five minutes enjoying the early spring warmth of the midday sun on her face. Jane had taken an extended lunch break from work. Knowing she would have to work a little later to claim it back. But with the sun shining it was not much of a hassle to wait. The estate agent Clarissa Donnington, who she was now rather acquainted with had texted to warn her that she was running late. Clarissa and Jane were now getting to know each other, as they had been seeing each other rather a lot. As over the last few days, they had seen what felt like a dozen different flats and the occasional house. Unfortunately for Jane of all the options Clarissa had so far shown her, none of them were perfect.

Also, for Jane there was a quickly building stress filled quandary, that there was nothing else available, and this was her last option. She stood in front of the large house; it was evident the online photos she had studied last night matched reality. It was modern style with the now weathered stained wood matched with dark and very much imposing black cladding which did not really fit in with its surrounding as it was juxtaposition with the end of the traditional brick terrace street. It certainly did not quietly nestle in with the rest of the street. For its large imposing size, it was supposedly still only a one-bedroom building.

According to the online information, as well as the space the size provided, it came several another bonuses, firstly it was fully furnished, secondly all the bills included, there was another rather important factor, and the with the exception of it being the last choice, the main reason Jane was standing outside the large imposing building, was that the rent offered on Rightmove was incredibly cheap. At least fifty percent under current market rate for any single bedroom apartments they had so far looked at.

Jane with Clarissa's help had over the last five days, with a break on Sunday, had now looked at several different houses and flats, desperately trying to find the right one. Whilst it was an urgent situation, that was getting increasingly pressing, she still wanted to find the almost perfect flat to live in. For some unknown reason Clarissa had held this one back.

As she waited, she looked up from her mobile screen as a magpie few across down from a nearby tree, picked up a stick and flew up and over the other houses, it was starting to build its nest somewhere in the neighbourhood. She smiled and nodded in appreciation as out of the corner of her eye, she saw her bright red Mini drive down the street, it was the colour and car that "screamed estate agent" and as she pulled up and parked in the reserved space right outside the front door. Grabbing the paperwork on the passenger seat, out hopped the leggy blonde agent in her grey dress suit.

"Sorry I am late. Jane!" she grinned, "My last viewing over ran with an indecisive couple." She frowned as she apologised.

"Its fine, I thought I was the only dithering one!"

"Don't worry, you are certainly not!"

"I was taking in this rather impressive building. It's almost better than your photos!" Jane attempted to praise the agent.

"It is, those photos are now a couple of years old, you will find it even more impressive inside. Come on in." She smiled, as she hunted inside a blue foolscap folder and brought out a silver bracelet.

"That's stunning!" Jane's eyes widened taking it in as she looked at it as it was glinting in the sunshine.

"Yes, and highly functional, it lets you into the building, it's effectively the front door key. Whilst wearing it, you can work the oven, shower, and the heating."

"Crikey, you don't want to lose that on a night out."

"No, you really don't, I have no idea how much it costs!" The agent replied as she held the silver bracelet up to a black polished panel beside what Jane assumed was the wooden door. 'Welcome Agent' appeared on green 80's computer font on the polished black surface. There was a whirring sound and then a loud but highly therapeutic clunk as the door unlocked and opened the first couple of inches by itself. "Come on in." As she pulled open the door the spotlights high on the ceiling came on all by themselves.

They stood in what could only be called an atrium of the large, industrial style building. There were no soft edges. There was a brutality to the angular design. The walls were grey, almost the colour of concrete, but the room was still extremely bright, on closer inspection the walls were large floor to ceiling length tiles. The floor was similar grey colour but extremely well-polished tiles. The kitchen was ultra-modern a large black central island, the cupboard doors were a polished black with a sliver of silver-grey handle to open them.

The agent pointed to a screen embedded in the wall near the front door. "That is the automated computer for the house, it is called 'Housekeeper' think of Amazon's Alexa, but it controls the whole house, not just gives you the weather. You connect your phone, lab top and any tablets to it too. It gives you the free Wi-Fi. Apparently, it knows where you are in the house, what mood you are in, and makes the house reflect it." Clarissa practically boasted.

"Wow!" Jane stated taking in the view. She looked to the side, there was a lit water effect glistening against the far wall. Behind the large leather sofas. "Is that a pool?" She pointed; her eyes distracted the conversation as they widened.

Clarissa nodded, "Yes, its heated to perfection apparently, its five metres by 2 metre pool, I don't think you can get more than one person in, or swim far, but it's there. I know, this is definitely, yes, it's actually, yes, I can safely say it is our best-looking house on the market. But we must leave it till last. As its potentially not as great as you think. You wait, have a look as you go upstairs."

Jane looked around; her jaw slack almost wide open as she walked around the downstairs, her fingers running over the tactile walls and furnishings. "Why is there not a queue of people queuing to take this on?"

The agent nervously laughed "There is, until we point out that they must read the small print."

"Oh yes, you said, the thing is I am now really getting desperate to live somewhere, as you know the boyfriend, sorry my now ex-boyfriend, has thrown me out his place, you mentioned the rules on the phone on Friday?"

Clarissa again nervously laughed "You go and take in upstairs, it's equally special up there, and I will layout the rules for you."

"I am guessing no pets!" Jane chuckled calling out as she stood at the bottom of the large imposing staircase. As with this house, nothing was normal, there were eight polished granite blocks cantilevered out of the solid looking wall, creating the stairs. The down lights created an enthralling shadow on the floor.

"And the rest, you also need to fill in a rather personal questionnaire!" The agent called back as Jane then carefully climbed the stairs, making sure she was putting one foot in front of the other, as there was no banister or anything between the steps, it was initially nerve wracking.

Jane looked around taking in the large double bedroom. The two wardrobes which doors were of the same polished black material of the kitchen cupboards, there was a large king size bed, no separate lamps, the lights were on the fitted into the wardrobe units. There was a large window that looked out down on the lounge and the pool and through to the small, enclosed courtyard, with no obvious privacy curtains. She found a small window that looked out on to the road with a blind. The main source of natural light came through the glass façade that led out into small courtyard and the large sky lights high above the atrium.

Off to the side was a walk-in shower room, there was a polished chrome shower fitting coming out from the grey tiled wall, but no obvious controls. There was an equally grey toilet, and the sink was embedded in the wall, clearly designed as to not stand proud. That was about it. There was no obvious storage space, other than the two wardrobes either side of the bed.

Jane came back down the stairs to see that the agent had spread out several reams of white paper across the coffee table.

"How many people have lived here since it was built?" Jane asked as she settled down on the firm leather sofa.

"Only two. The owner and one previous renter." The agent replied.

"How recently, it really doesn't look lived in?" Jane asked looking around the spotlessly clean room.

The agent took a deep breath almost having been prepared for the question, "There is a cleaning company that you must keep on, they come in once a week on a Thursday, or was it Friday morning and provide a detailed clean. Also unfortunately been empty now, for nearly two years." The agent replied.

"What?"

"How many viewings are you getting, as it's so cheap?"

"You are number 25."

"Of the year?"

"This month, we try and show other houses first!" she chuckled "However, you are not under pressure to say yes, you see the rules, this is where many almost run away, they honestly seem to be a little too much of a burden for many. Here is page one, of almost forty." The agent handed over the sheet.

Jane took a deep breath and picked it up and started to read the words, printed in double line space in bold print.

'Welcome to N° 1 Tollgate Street.

MAA wish you a pleasant stay.

On signing the contract below, to remain living at N° 1 Tollgate Street you MUST unconditionally accept the following rules.

1) No mess

2) No children

3) No pets

4) No rugs

5) No ornaments

6) No books

7) No magazines

8) No clutter or clothing shall be left on top of the MADE bed each morning,

9) No clutter of any type should be left on any floor surface

10) There should not be any new plants in the garden

11) No Parties- without express prior permission of MAA.

12)....'

"What?" Jane paused from reading and looked up from the sheet and across at the agent with confusion reining across her face.

The agent nodded "I am truly sorry but there are actually two-hundred or more of such rules."

Jane flicked through the sheet 'Number 47 all condiments in said clean cupboards shall be in alphabetical order. What who does that. How can you live here, look number 48 all condiments in alphabetical order shall be primarily colour coordinated too?"

The agent shrugged her shoulders. "That is why it's been empty. I guess no one can?" She muttered under her breath.

"But you must practically live here, showing it around to everyone?" Jane asked as she picked up the sheets.

"You could say that I have visited at almost once a day for the last couple of years!" She grinned.

Jane's eyes widened as she picked up the other sheets and scan read them, flicking to the end. "You can see why, what a strange list, 198, You shall eat extremely well, 199, you shall drink well. 200...what who wrote this? You shall smoke?"

"I know those three are sort of contradictory to the others, that you are not allowed to party, but you can eat well. You might want to check with MAA if it's a typo." The agent turned her lips upside down and continued to shrug her shoulders.

"So, MAA, that keeps getting mentioned and repeated?"

Clarissa smiled, "Yes, Michael Abbey Associates. The architect and the company who are rather famous, Google them, they designed and built it. This is house is their personal baby."

"Oh, If I do agree to all these rules, do I then get the house?" Jane asked hopefully.

The agent sucked in her cheek and squeaked slightly and swallowed as she shook her head. "Ah, no, it's not that easy, and it's still not guaranteed, they will need you to do the questionnaire and if your information matrix is suitable, their words, not mine. Then they will select you to have an interview."

"What, this seems incredibly complicated and stressful, what is all this about, who is the interview with you or your boss?"

A wry smile crossed her face as she shook her head. "No, the interview is with the owner and architect, Michael Abbey, but only after you have filled in the questionnaire, he wants to determine that you are the right person for this house. However, I do think you will like him."

"Where, here?"

"No, it will be in his office, in Central London."

Chapter 2

"Come on, what's the goss, how is the house hunting going?" Jenny Croxall smiled, then rubbed her lips together, then exhaled her cloud of held smoke out the side of her mouth as they sat outside a coffee shop just down the road from her flat. There were two half-drunk lattes in tall glasses in front of them and the crumbs from the now finished two slices of chocolate cake. Jenny was identical age to Jane, as they had known each other since school, yet side by side, you would have said she was a few years older, the smile wrinkles greater on her slim face, the skin slightly less toned, her voice a little deeper.

"It's tough, but I keep trying, I have seen so many now, they are starting to merge into one!" Jane replied picking up her glass and sipping it. "I really do appreciate you letting me crash on your sofa bed." she grinned.

"Didn't you see somewhere this afternoon?" Jenny asked manicuring her cigarette in the tin ashtray wedged into the parasol hole on the table in front of her before bringing the filter back to her lips.

Jane licked her lips of the frothy milk. "Yeah, at lunchtime, it's a really weird place, and Jen, if to be honest it's a little freaky, but it's totally done out, modern and the like which is great. I can see myself in it, but since John threw me out, I don't have much stuff, I am sure I can do tidy?"

"Go on what, do you mean why tidy?"

Jane gulped her coffee "There are house rules!"

"What? Like when we were at school?"

Jane chuckled, "Yes, I have known you that long, but no worse than that!"

"Go on?" Jenny tilted her head back slightly as she pulled on her cigarette again.

"I think they want you to spend every minute out bed tidying before falling asleep!"

"Christ, what's the rent like?" Jenny asked with her exhale.

"Just over £500 quid a month!"

Jenny's eyes widened and her draw dropped in shock, her mouth making a wide O "Wow, what, how, that's amazing, it's like a quarter what Jake and I pay, can we move in too?" She half joked as she smiled, and her finger then flicked her excess ash off her cigarette.

"That would be amazing, but it's just a one bed place! But it's great, plenty of space, there are rules, it seems you have got to live like a nun!"

"What?" Jenny brought her cigarette back to her lips her cheeks collapsed as she pulled excitedly on it. Before waving her exhale away from Jane.

"You can't have fun, it's very much an eat, drink and sleep place. It seems..."

"Surely that's all you want it for, you are round ours or at work most of the time?"

Jane snorted and blushed with the embarrassment, "I know, but apparently you must make the bed every day and put everything back in its place. All clothes must be folded, and colour coded in the drawers. It must be worse than the military?"

Jenny laughed gently turned her head as she brought her hand to her mouth as she attempted to quietly cough. Then shook her head for doing so. "Oh god, you are so going to be awful at that. Does the house expect you to wear matching underwear the whole time, with regular checking of the gusset and cups?" she laughed again, grinned then pulled again on her cigarette.

It was Jane's turn to giggle "Not as far as I am aware, I must admit..." she bit her bottom lip "...I didn't read all two hundred plus rules, if so, if I find rule 98 demands it, I will definitely need to go knicker shopping!" she then giggled.

They both looked at each other and the burst out laughing, "You really don't need to stress; it's really fine, you've now been camping in our lounge for what ten days?" Jenny grinned bringing the filter back to her lips.

"I know...sorry about the mess, I will tidy up I promise. But I don't think I can really do clean and tidy...I will have to learn." She mused, picked up her glass and sipped the hot coffee.

"Are you going to accept the rules?"

Jane twisted her mouth, "I don't think I can afford not to accept it. Whilst your sofa bed is really comfortable, surprisingly so, but it's been like two weeks now and my back now knows every spring on that slim mattress, and more importantly I really need to give you your space back. Especially as Jake wants to play his Xbox late at night!" Jane winced as the thoughts tumbled around in her head. "And I really need to move on from John and get my own place!" She confidently finished.

"So, what is next?"

"I am regretting it already...as I've said yes to trying to have it."

"Wow, that is so amazing!" Jenny beamed.

Jane shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, I really need to move on from your sofa bed, and as it's so cheap, so I have told the agent yes, there is still two more rounds apparently. If I am successful with the questionnaire, then it's an interview with the owner!" she pulled a face of nervousness, as Jenny stared on wide eyed before her filter hit her lips again and she pulled hard on her cigarette.

Chapter 3

One week after having spent a long tedious evening filling in online the extremely intensive and highly personal questionnaire. The questions jumped from how often you changed your job, to shoe size, height, weight, days of her cycle, how much you drink, and if you used to smoke as a teenager, and how many a day. It then went on to which toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and feminine products brand she preferred, if you took preventative contraception and finally asked what, if any, hair die she used.

Then with what submitted and getting the triumphant large green tick in the middle of the screen, it felt what like ages waiting for ages a response. For Jane just after ten on a Monday morning she was relieved when a one-line email pop up on her phone, with just the date and time for the interview with Michael Abbey along with the address of his office.

Jane sat in her black work trousers and white blouse as she perched herself in an equally monochrome waiting room of Michael Abbey Associates. A hidden air diffuser was pumping out the sweet almost sickly smell of fresh flowers into the flowerless waiting area. The receptionist had told her that Michael would only be a few minutes more, as his international Zoom call was due to finish soon. She offered her cup of coffee, which Jane accepted, then she sat there almost hugging the hot grey printed MAA cardboard cup.

She could tell his style even from the reception area, the brunette receptionist had a screen and a phone, but there was no sign of papers, a pen, a hint of mess. The wastepaper basket was empty. Nothing was out of place. The receptionist's hair was pinned up, hard against her head in a perfect bun, not a single thread of air was loose, her subtle makeup was done within millimetres of perfection.