Mailgirls Down Under Pt. 09

"This is Australia," Shane smiled with his natural warmth. You haven't read the EA, he thought. This could be interesting.

"What does that mean?" Rosemary shot back, evidently parrying to hide the gap in her knowledge.

"You've seen the videos?" Shane replied evenly. Because everyone had seen the videos.

"Yes," snapped the reporter. Shane noticed the glance that Daryl the cameraman gave her. Because he was evidently thinking what Shane was too, that Rosemary Millwall, the reporter, was not too far from the look of the American mailgirls as seen in the videos that Shane had mentioned. Put that thought out of your mind, Shane decided as he led them through to Betty Cuthbert's desk.

Up on the sixth floor, both Daryl and Debra had glanced out the window that looked down on the mezzanine and had seen something down there. Shane looked quickly and saw that Jackson was standing with the tall athletic Jan Stephenson, having a conversation with Wendy. Two mailgirls with their clothed supervisor. Shane checked that Daryl was not filming.

While the four of them stood at Betty's desk waiting for her to give them attention, Kimiko Date, her straight black hair flapping against her bare back, dashed past and into Lindsay's office. After a few moments, she dashed out past them and away, too quickly for any meaningful reaction from the visitors. Once she was gone, the three from the TV station looked to Shane who affected not to notice that anything unusual had happened. I'm playing this well, he thought.

Betty Cuthbert looked up at the group as if she had only just realised that they had arrived. "Ms Davenport is free to see you now," she advised in the flattest tone possible.

Jan and Jackson were confirming details with Wendy down on the mezzanine. "Lindsay has decided to have her interview in the boardroom," Wendy was telling them.

"Are you and Annette okay with that?" Jackson asked. She looked over to Annette who was sitting a little away from them attending to her appearance. She looked over when she heard her name.

"Why?" she asked

Ah, she's good, Jackson realised. "Lindsay wants it down there so that they have to keep the shots tight. There's no way they can have Mr Harada's pictures in sight on network television." They all smiled at the thought of that.

Kimiko knocked and entered Mitch's office. He looked up and smiled at the approaching mailgirl who also smiled warmly at him. "How are you today, Mitch?" she asked, rubbing a thigh against his desk as she faced him.

"Always better for seeing you," he rejoined, wondering if he was being too effusive. Well, he found Kimiko interesting, to say the least. "You must be thrilled today with the TV crew coming in. Are they here yet?"

Kimiko sighed theatrically then resumed her inviting smile. "That's why I'm here. I have a message for you from Lindsay about that. She wants both of us out of the way while they are around. We must be troublemakers or something." They both laughed. "Oh, and they have arrived, they're with Lindsay at the moment. Or soon will be. Betty was messing them around regarding their access when I was down there."

Mitch thought for a moment. "Well, I can disappear out of the building for a while. I guess they'll be here for an hour or two." Kimiko nodded, that seemed likely to her. Mitch continued. "How about I head out and you can log in on my PC so you can hide away here? How does that sound?" Kimiko nodded since that would likely make everyone happy. And she was not in the mood for any antics, she realised. Tormenting the staff was one thing, but this would go outside. Better to let this one pass.

Lindsay was reciting the history of Harada Industries to Rosemary who for a while was happy to nod along as the company grew from its humble Japanese beginnings then expanded first to Malaysia then to Australia and finally to the US. The camera operator stood against a wall conspicuously not filming. Debra stared into space waiting to be required.

Rosemary took advantage of Lindsay's need for a pause to breathe while explaining Harada's products and services. She butted in. "Can we do the mailgirls?" she asked with a hint of urgency which roused her crew to get ready for action.

"Oh yes," Lindsay agreed. "I'll just call the mailgirls to get ready. I thought I'd have a couple present while we do the interview." Rosemary nodded at that, sensing an opportunity. She knew that the mailgirls were off bounds for interviews. But she was a hard-nosed reporter. She was ready to fire a question or two at these women who were apparently happy to spend their workdays naked and at the beck and call of their clothed colleagues. She could not imagine what that would be like and how women would accept such degradation in the twenty-first century. But today she hoped to find out. There was a flurry outside the office and a knock at the door. Rosemary straightened up ready to admit the two naked women to her presence.

But it was the PA Betty waiting outside. She entered after Lindsay had called out "yes."

"The boardroom is ready for you," Betty Cuthbert announced from the doorway.

Lindsay looked to the reporter. "It's just around the corner," she advised as she got up from her desk. "I thought it would be a better place to do our interview." Rosemary nodded her agreement. Whatever it took to get her talking about mailgirls. And to get at least some of them in shot.

Lindsay looked back at her screen and frowned. "Sorry, I just have to do this one thing. Then we can go." She typed into her app and sat back to wait.

A moment later, Lauryn strode imperiously into Lindsay's office. No knocking. Lauryn marched up towards Lindsay as if uninterested in the effect of her presence, the exposure of her long legs and tight body. She rested a hand on the desk, leant down and looked Lindsay in the eye. "What do you want?" she asked the manager without a hint of deference.

Lindsay scratched out a note, folded it and gave to Lauryn who was still affecting not to acknowledge the TV crew. "Deliver this to Belinda, please," Lindsay asked her.

Lauryn took the note and stood up straight, appearing alert and ready to go. Then she scratched behind an ear. "Yeah," she drawled, "I'll get onto it." And she left.

Lindsay turned managerially towards the current affairs crew. "Follow me now," she told them as she left her office for the short walk to the boardroom. Once inside she acted as if there was nothing odd about the situation. The walls of course were lined with the bondage prints that had been provided by Mr Harada. The nude mailgirls Jan and Annette sat, breasts visible, at the far end of the board table, watching the group that had come in, waiting to see what would be required of them.

Lindsay fussed about with the crew, with them all trying to work out the best arrangement -- where they should sit, what angles and finally what should be done with the mailgirls. They eventually agreed on Lindsay and Rosemary sitting in the open, facing each other while the mailgirls knelt on either side of Lindsay, their backs to the camera. Just in shot would be the lower parts of two of the bondage prints, hinting at what the whole pictures might be. Lindsay informed the mailgirls who had remained sitting at the table, wryly watching the discussion.

Annette looked to Jan who nodded back. "Yeah, that suits us," Annette drawled.

"I'm glad you agree," Lindsay snarked.

The mailgirls stayed in their places watching the others to try to see what they thought about the situation. The TV folk were going about their preparation work, presumably bought into the concept that mailgirls had no say and no rights in work situations like that. Jan looked to Annette. "Do we take the plunge and do an interview to tell them?"

Annette thought about that for a moment. She shook her head. "I don't know if they would get it. And if it doesn't fit their narrative, they probably won't use it." Jan looked at her. Annette gave her a playful slap. "I watch these things and know how they work. It's titillation, not education."

"Okay sorry," Jan retreated. "It's just I see you everyday as a nude bimbo who flaunts their assets around the office so you can get off on it with the dildos and stuff. I didn't realise you had brains too." They both laughed, their tension broken.

The others looked over from their discussion to see what the laughter was about, but clearly none of them had overheard anything of the discussion.

"See what I have to put up with," Annette pouted at Jan while playfully lifting her small breasts to point her nipples at Jan who chortled at the provocation. "Anything I say is ignored by everyone." The TV crew looked over and saw a pair of naked airheads fiddling with their breasts and playing teasing games with each other.

Eventually they were ready to start Lindsay's interview. The mailgirls had been positioned next to each other on the far side of Lindsay from Rosemary, kneeling with their backs to the camera, not quite touching thighs or shoulders. This meant that they could actually look to each other and share reactions without being noticed by the others. Lindsay answered the opening question with a statement that established her aim. "We are a normal company trying to make money. It is just that we have chosen this particular incentive for our staff."

Rosemary butted in. "So it makes the workers work harder? It's not a distraction?" she asked.

Lindsay was glad that she had listened to Fanny. "We believe it improves productivity, but we are funding research to measure that."

"What will you do with the research?" Rosemary asked.

"Use it to promote our process to other companies." She read the look on Rosemary's face and quickly countered the reporter's concern with her next line. "It won't suit all companies but I'm sure that some can benefit from a mailgirls program." The mailgirls both grinned at that. Rosemary was momentarily speechless. Lindsay stepped back in. "That's why I agreed to do this interview. So others can see the benefits of having mailgirls in the office." Both mailgirls knew instinctively that the camera had slid from Lindsay to a moment's focus on their bare backs.

That gave Rosemary a moment to reassemble her thoughts. "The mailgirls in the US are far more visible, the public can see them in the mornings. And the videos. Is the same thing going to happen here?" she asked.

Lindsay shook her head as if to say 'if only.' Instead she looked Rosemary in the eyes. "The labour laws are quite different here to the States. And, from what I understand, community attitudes too. So we tend to take a different approach."

Jan pulled a face for Annette. So Lindsay was learning the way things really were, amazing.

All the mailgirls except for Fanny and Kimiko were in the mezzanine change room when Jan and Annette returned. Fanny had passed the two of them on her way up at Shane's call. She got smiles from both of them assuring her that they had no problems with their now completed duties as she eased past them.

"So how did it go?" Jackson asked with some relaxation seeing that Jan and Annette were laughing together as they rejoined the group in the open area of the change rooms.

Jan looked to Annette given her newfound admiration for the former's PA's considered view on the situation. "Lindsay is using the platform to promote mailgirls to the business world," Annette reported.

There was a moment's silence. Until Wendy piped up. "She can't do that, can she?" Wendy was looking of course to Jackson.

Jackson smiled over to Wendy. "No reason why she cannot try. But it hasn't been much of a success in the States."

Pam perked up at that. "Why?" she asked.

Jackson looked over to Lauryn. "You've got the figures," she told her friend.

Lauryn stood up to effect her Analyst presentation approach. "It's actually very expensive to introduce mailgirls into an organisation. You need an owner with Mr Harada's determination and his deep pockets."

"Really?" asked Pam, "how much?"

"We're costing the company over a million dollars a year," Lauryn replied offhand. "And then there's Japan and the States. Who knows how much they are costing, although I would estimate that each of theirs is more expensive than us. Mailgirls are essentially a vanity project for Mr Harada."

"And he doesn't have any shareholders to get upset at him of course," Jan added.

"Which is why he indulges Fanny," Jackson continued. "He's hoping he can use her data to show the business benefits to other companies..."

At which point Fanny came back in. "Who's indulging me?" she asked with a smile.

"You know who," Jackson replied. "So what's going on?"

Fanny looked to Jan and Annette then accepted that she had the floor. "The reporter is setting up for a one on one interview with Shane..."

"...the bloke's view," laughed Annette. "Who knows what he'll say..."

"Or if any of it will be useable," Jan smirked.

"Or if he can keep it in his pants," Annette shrieked, feigning horror at that thought.

"I'm sure he will be very professional," Lauryn added and they all laughed. Jackson was pleased to note that with her outburst Lauryn had lightened up too. She hoped it would last.

"How long do you think they will take with Shane?" Pam asked when they had all settled down.

"Until he runs out of meaningful things to say," Lauryn offered dryly. Because they knew what would then follow.

Jackson chose to spell it out. "And then the crew are allowed to do a walk around the floors," she added, "during which time we'll get calls to do our stuff."

"Look your best girls!" Annette rang out.

"It will be showtime," Lauryn grumbled.

The crew stayed close together. This was the agreement with Lindsay. It was also practical. If Rosemary Millwall got lucky with an interview, she wanted the camera and sound right there. She knew that she would only get one chance. As promised the mailgirls had been sent on various calls and they had some footage of them in longshot, never having been quite close enough to their paths.

Until Rosemary almost ran into Pam Burridge as they both approached a blind corner on the ninth floor as Pam took a message from Lindsay to Belinda Clarke. "Sorry," they both gasped as they recoiled. Pam smiled first.

Then Rosemary looked at her with some recognition. "You were on that cover, weren't you?" she asked.

"I was on a cover," the naked mailgirl conceded.

"Why?" Rosemary asked.

Pam shrugged. "It pays better." She looked at Rosemary as if to ask 'any more questions.' But she straightened up. "Sorry, I actually have a message to deliver." And she sped past the TV crew.

Rosemary turned to her cameraman. She was about to ask but realised that she did not need to. She knew that he had caught none of the encounter. And it was their first close encounter. She hoped that they would be ready for the next one.

*

Mitch returned to his office and found the nude mailgirl concentrating on the screen, perched on his chair looking like she commanded the office. He smiled, being Mitch. "You look the part," Mitch told Kimiko. "I'm sorry to have to take the office back from you."

Kimiko smiled back. "If ever you need me to cover for you," she joked as she logged out of his computer and stood up so that she could vacate and Mitch could return to his place. She remained behind the desk near the chair, so Mitch needed squeeze up close to her as he retook his place. Kimiko smiled down at Mitch warmly as she again thanked him for the sanctuary.

Mitch too was in a good mood. "I might just take you up on that one day."

Mitch watched her depart, her square shoulders, firm bottom, what was he thinking? But he almost regretted that she left his office as soon as he sat back down. Mitch found that he liked having her around. Was he lonely? Or was it her unpredictability. Or what?

*

"It's been a while since we've done this," Cara smiled as she slowly walked around her sister, who knelt naked in the games room. Once around. And then again. Cara had dressed in a severe black jacket with square shoulders over a full length black dress. She dressed for effect, rhythmically slapping a riding crop against her palm as she circled Emily. Stopping her review facing Emily, she corrected the space between her sister's knees with the riding crop. "This is a nice one," Cara smiled as she gently swished it against Emily's flank. "Tell me, what did they say in the shop when you bought it?"

"I told her I like riding horses," Emily offered.

"Did they believe you?"

Emily smiled sheepishly.

"What did the woman say?" Cara demanded. She cracked the crop dangerously close to the same spot on Emily's flank.

Emily flinched. "I think she said 'remember you want to control the animal, not hurt it'. And then she demonstrated it for me, flicked the crop, made that cracking sound."

"This cracking sound?" Cara asked as she demonstrated with a flick of her wrist. Although this time she cracked the whip in the air, away from her sister.

"Thank you, master," Emily responded like it was expected of her.

"Accepted, Mailgirl 1." Cara sat back down on the sofa and sighed. "The show was a success," Cara added.

"No one published any reviews. Maybe we scared them off," Emily wondered. "But we made some money for theatre, so they are happy for me to put on another production," she reported. "Almost encouraged me."

Cara shook her head. "But Mailgirl 1, we can't put on another mailgirls production without having our guest on stage with us again."

Emily looked over to her sister. "I have been trying to track her down."

Cara looked interested. "What do we know?"

Emily rocked a tiny amount on her toes. "I found out her name is Pam Burridge. Actually I found out on the night when we googled that cover. Spoke to her agency. She has disappeared."

Cara looked concerned. "No, she hasn't. We had her on stage."

Emily smiled a little although she was starting to strain to hold her pose, her breasts thrust forward, trying to keep her head held high. "We could run a 'Desperately Seeking Pam' campaign. Search Party. Or something," she offered.

Cara nodded as she stood back up. She absently tapped her crop against her sister's bottom, knowing that would make her strain more as her haunches tightened. "That has possibilities," Cara mused. "If we find her, tell her that we want to do a revival."

Emily put one hand on the floor, unable to hold her pose any longer. "What do you think Mum or Dad would say if they came home and saw us like this?" She looked cautiously at her sister wondering what she would suffer for failing.

Cara though did not seem to mind the frailty. She was thinking. "We could always blame it on the example that the parents set us. After all, Dad was the one who introduced mailgirls here."

If only she knew how often their father Mitchell Johnson had knelt in that same spot in the games room as his wife, dressed not unlike Cara, had corrected him with her own riding crop. If only it came out what sort of family they really were.

Emily suspected that she could completely relax. She completely collapsed her pose and reclined back on her elbows. "What do you think about the demotion. Do you think it has changed dad?" she asked.

Cara wondered about that. "Good question, hard to tell. I guess one way to find out is to threaten to be a mailgirl again."

Emily smiled brightly. "Yeah, I haven't done that for a while."

*

Jackson sat on the massage table swinging her legs demurely. She was dressed, in a loose top and comfortable linen trousers. Destinee her masseuse faced her although she reclined back on the bed opposite and was pretty much totally exposed to her client wearing only a diaphanous gown.

"In case you've forgotten how this works," Destinee smiled over at the woman who appeared to be relaxing despite the strange arrangement between them, "you are the client and I am the professional. So you are supposed to take your clothes off and then I give you pleasure."