Tackling the Debt Ch. 02

My hostility was shown in the form of a frown.

"NO! I have to work and make a lot of money. I cannot stay here. And why would I do that anyway? I don't even know you."

"You would get to know me. How much do you have to give the agency this month?"

"Over 7000$. And I have like 140$ in my backpack right now. Do you see the gap?"

"I'll give you the 7000$ if you agree to stay with me this month."

"..."

That was... unexpected. Kate kind of shook me up with this offer. Would she really pay off one month's worth of payment so that I would keep her company? Who was this woman?

Capitalizing on my paralyzed throat, she continued describing her offer.

"You'll have a roof, your bedroom, and I will help you find a way to clear off your debt. Give me one month, and we will figure it out."

"Kate... this sounds insane. Why would you do that? I'm just a clone. If it's true that you designed me, that's one thing, you did an amazing job. But I'm a real girl inside this synthetic brain, and you don't even know me. You are aware of that, right?"

She just stared at me and sighed. As if she was trying to collect her thoughts, she was playing with her fingers.

"Chloe, you are right. You are a smart girl, so I'm sorry for being so strange and manipulative. Here is the thing. As I said, I designed you. You were my pride and joy. You were my favorite model by far, and I put all my heart and soul into my work. Seeing you, sitting on that bench, reminded me of how much I had loved you... I mean... working on you."

"Well... Aren't you working on clones anymore?"

"No... The company went south and took everything away from me. They sold the technology to other companies to repay as much debt as possible, which worked very well... This big house of mine is partly the result. But I lost you. I'll never get the resources to recreate a clone like this again."

That sad story made me feel bad for her. I could only imagine spending years working on a project just to see other people sell it to pay back debts. Her story sucked big time.

"So... This is why you want me to stay? You miss my clone?"

"I do... It's silly..."

"No... No, it's not. Look... if you are paying for my month, and on top of that you will help me figure out how to tackle my debt, I would be a fool to say no. You are probably ten times smarter than I am."

"Really? You would stay with me?"

"Yes, sure... Why not. But I need the money upfront... I don't want any surprises. Otherwise, they will kill my clone, and I will go to jail. I don't want that."

"No! Of course not. I don't want that either."

The announcement of my stay put into light a different side of her. She went from a cold authoritarian lady to a happy girl, as if she was getting back her favorite childhood toy. I was conscious of the risk level of my decision, though. I knew nothing about her, and she knew everything about me, at least about my design.

Knowing she already had one potent trick up her sleeve, there could be more. But, I was generally good at telling when people were lying, and in her case, I didn't think she was, even if I knew she didn't give me the full story. I would have to dig a bit deeper to find out more about her motivations.

***

Kate transferred the 7250$ directly to my digital account. I now had a certain peace of mind that I would not end up in jail this month. My finance app didn't lie. The money was there, she couldn't take it back, and Matt's agency would withdraw it automatically at the end of the month. I just hoped Kate told me the truth about giving me some pointers that would help me get out of this mess.

When she came back to the living room, two drinks in hands, she extended one of her arms toward me.

"Drink this... Cardinal loved it."

"What is it? It looks like lemonade."

"Because it is. Follow me. I will show your bedroom."

"You give me a lemonade? I'm an adult, you know."

"You'll see why once you taste it... Come on."

I got off the couch and followed her through her big house. I took a sip of my drink, and she was right. For some obscure reason, it was tasting way better than anything else I ever drank before. If it were true that she designed me inside and out, then it was plausible she knew my tastes as well. But... Why lemonade?

"Why does it taste so good?"

"No idea. It is something we discovered when we experimented with Cardinal. She strongly reacted to it."

"For good reason... It's amazing. I hope you have more."

"Here, this can be your bedroom for the month, if you like it."

I walked through the door and looked around. It was about ten feet by ten feet, disappointedly small, making the queen bed look giant as it filled most of the space. For a big house like hers, what was the deal with this? I didn't want to be rude, but didn't she have something more reasonable than a tiny room with no window?

The amount of money she just gave me was a deterrent to ungratefulness. I just couldn't get myself to say anything negative... But the positive wouldn't come out either.

"..."

"I know what you think, Chloe. But you will feel better here than in a larger room unless there are other people with you."

"Are there other people here too?"

"No, I was just telling you a fact. You like to be confined in small spaces unless there are people around, that's all. Didn't you notice it yet?"

"Not really. I got created yesterday and wasn't alone much except when I was walking."

"Did you sleep with someone last night then?"

"... I... did..."

"Then go take a shower immediately. Let's start fresh. It irks me to know a stranger desecrated my Cardinal. You'll find fresh clothes in this closet. Everything will fit you perfectly."

"So, Kate... It means you kept a clone here before?"

"... Go take your shower, Chloe."

There was some sadness in her tone when she brushed off my question. What was going on here? She guided me to the bathroom and gave me a towel without adding another word. I kind of felt bad for asking something that had troubled her. Did she like working on her clone that much?

Nevertheless, her shower proposition was perfect. I hadn't had a shower since my encounter with John last night. I would undoubtedly feel better if I were squeaky clean.

I stripped naked and climbed into a real rain shower. It was the first time I got to try one of those; Kate was making good use of her money. That soap she gave me smelled terrific too. Objects designed to make me happy were all around the place. I was still a bit suspicious about this whole deal, but more and more, I realized there would be some nice perks.

While I dried my hair with a soft towel, I slid the shower door open and stepped on the luxurious shower mat. But something was missing.

"Hey... Where did my dress go?"

I opened the bathroom door and poked my head out, looking left and right.

"Kate? What did you do with my clothes?"

"Don't worry about it, just go get something from your closet."

Really? I wrapped the towel around my sexy torso and tiptoed to my mini-room. The closet was not that big either, but stacks and rows of clothes were waiting for me to choose from. Why did she have that many clothes?

I pulled a yellow dress out of there. It was not ugly per se, but it was probably something I would have worn like five years ago. Ah, well, it would do for now. Now I just had to pick something from a small shelf full of sexy panties, bras, and hosiery.

"I hope she will explain this..."

I put on the dress and underwear I selected and made my way back to the living room. Kate was sitting in front of the fireplace on the fluffy carpet. While gazing at the dancing flames, she was pushing something in with the poker.

"Kate? Is it not a bit warm outside to start a fire?"

Curious about her odd behavior, I got closer, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw what she was burning.

"KATE! HEY! THAT'S MY BACKPACK!"

"Yes... I put your old clothes in it too."

"ARE YOU NUTS? MY PHONE IS IN IT!"

"No, it's not. I'm not stupid. Your phone is on the countertop, charging, along with your few dollars."

"Why .. Why are you doing this? I just bought that dress. I liked it."

"... and you also bought a sexy maid uniform? Spending your money on your kinks is not how you are going to get out of debt. Your priorities are... questionable. The uniform smelled like sex too. Burning it was the only way."

She was not entirely wrong about the maid uniform. I knelt next to her, watching the hungry flames eating up my only possessions. Once more, I thought about all the money she gave me a moment ago, and I couldn't get myself to get angry at her.

"Cardinal liked leather better anyway," she said.

"Leather?"

Kate turned to me and grabbed my hands gently. Her face? Why was she so sad? She even had a tear running down her cheek. What was going on?

"Kate? Why... Why are you crying?"

"Chloe... I want to tell you the whole truth... I don't know who you are really, but... I hope you'll understand."

I tried to place a hand on her face... but she gasped and turned her face away.

"Sorry... What's wrong?" I asked.

"Cardinal was my... lover."

"Your lover? You were dating a clone?"

"... No... Well... Yes. She was my science project for years. About ten years ago, we created her at the company. We transferred the consciousness of a volunteer to Cardinal's experimental body. I worked closely with her all the time. After a while, I decided to take her home with me because she was getting lonely at the lab. It was a good opportunity to keep studying her even after work."

"It makes sense, I think. Were you allowed to do this?"

"Yes. But... I didn't know... I didn't know we were going to develop feelings beyond friendship. Things quickly escalated between the two of us, and we became a couple in secret. For years we made our life together under cover of an experiment. The volunteer prolonged her contract over and over, convincing the board that she loved her job. This masquerade lasted for almost six years."

"So, where is she now?"

"She... no longer exist. About four years ago, the company went south, and the board started to sell our assets and shut down projects. Cardinal and I tried to resist as much as we could, to no avail. So one night, we were sleeping together, and we agreed that the next day we would transfer her back in her original flesh. That night we made love over and over one last time and vowed to continue our relationship with her real body."

"Ah, that is nice. That's true love."

"Yeah... But when I woke up the next morning... she was dead in my arms."

"WHAT? KATE! That's horrible!... What happened?"

"They... killed her. They remotely terminated Cardinal overnight and woke up the volunteer without transferring any of her memories. I rushed to work, but they wouldn't let me in. The company was closed for good. The employees were getting out of there one by one. I waited for the volunteer to get out... she eventually did... but she walked past me without even knowing who I was. She remembered nothing of all those years at my side. They made her waste five years of her life."

"That's so wrong... Did you try talking to her?"

"Yes... She was so pissed at the company that she hated me as well from the bottom of her heart, thinking I was as responsible as everybody else for this chaos. I made sure she got some compensation for her troubles, but I knew there was no way to rebuild our relationship. She remembered nothing of me."

That was the saddest story in the whole universe. I could only begin to imagine how I would feel if this were to happen to me. I had kissed Matt before the transfer, at least, so I knew I was going to remember a tiny something if they failed to recover my memory when I returned the clone.

But Kate's story was beyond tragic. I couldn't think of anything more terrible than having a loved one die in one's arms without having an opportunity to say goodbye. That was bound to leave a deep scar.

"Kate... Come here."

I grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She didn't return the gesture; she was just limp in my arms.

"Chloe... I know you are not her. I'm just... I need her. Sorry... When I saw you in front of the hair salon... It was the first time in five years that I bumped into a copy of this clone. I lost it."

"Hey... I get it. I understand now, so, don't worry. I mean, you rented me for a whole month... I could try to be like her if you would like. I'm a pretty open-minded person, you know."

"Would... Would you do that for me?"

"Yeah, Kate. Why not? I mean, you know I'm not her. But if it makes you feel better, you can tell me more about Cardinal, and I'll try to give you back a piece of what feels good for you. I know I'll be stuck in this clone for a long time, so I'm willing to spend some of it making people happy."

"Chloe... You are so nice... I'll do all I can to help you fix your situation."

"I know you will... and hey... Thanks for telling me the truth. I thought you were a psychopath when I saw you burning my clothes."

"Hehe... Sorry about that. But the PVC maid outfit was too gross. It was the only way."

"Yeah... I can't blame you for that."

My spontaneous abduction was a good turn of events, after all; Unexpected, but good nonetheless. Kate went from an icy-cold lady to a person I could probably love if I wanted to. Her arms finally dared to wrap around me; she returned my hug. I smiled, wondering what we were going to do next.

"So, Kate? Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"... I... I have no idea..."

"Well, why don't we try to reconnect you with Cardinal a little bit? Do you want to call me by her name?"

"Chloe... No, you are not her, so I prefer not to. Chloe is cute too."

"Then why don't we try this, is there one day you had with her that you would like to repeat? Would you like that?"

"Oh! Her birthday. That was the best, but... Hehe. No. We can't do that."

Kate kept surprising me. Now, her blushing made her look cute. She thought about something she did and was embarrassed by it.

"Do what? I tell you, Kate, I'm super open-minded. And kinky... and adorable... and lovable... So, don't be shy. I want to have fun too."

"Hmmm... Well, okay then. We will do part of her birthday. But..."

"Enough with the buts... Just tell me."

"Would you be okay if I used the same voice command over you... The one that forced you to follow? Just as needed. That was one of our favorite things..."

"Mmm... I'm not thrilled about that. Are you sure the effects are temporary?"

"Yes... It only works for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on your mental state."

"Okay, that's fine then. I will trust you. If you say it is not harmful, I'm game."

It seemed like we were going to have some fun tonight. Money was one thing, but pleasing people made me feel great about myself as it aligned with what I wanted deep down. Being a positive force was the opposite of what I had done to my family and friends; my redemption didn't depend solely on the money.

We chatted a bit more about the evening she wanted to reproduce, but Kate didn't want to tell me too much since a large part of what she liked to do was to surprise Cardinal with new things. It didn't take a genius to understand that those two lovebirds had a Mistress/slave relationship of some sort in which Kate was the top.

That was fine by me, as I much preferred to be a bottom. It was less work and had higher rewards. I begged for more lemonade and asked permission to make a phone call before starting anything.

I trotted back to my tiny bedroom with my phone and closed the door. I called Matt to tell him some good news.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Matt. It's Chloe. How are you?"

"Good. Better. I kind of calmed down a bit. Sorry for this morning."

"No worries. So, guess what?"

"You found a job?"

"No... well, not quite. But I have all the money for this month!"

"What? No way... How did you pull that off?"

Because of the hatred Kate had toward Matt, I decided not to mention what was happening here. The six degrees of separation were real, and the last thing I wanted to bring into the mix was a new conflict.

"I prefer not to tell you. It is kind of weird. But I just wanted to tell you the good news."

"Well... That's good. As long as you are safe, it's not my business to ask anyway. Hey, Chloe. I think I have good news too."

"Ah yeah? What is it?"

"I kissed you."

"Awwww... Nice! How was it? Did you like it?"

"Of course, I did! It was harder to stop than to start. You were responding a little bit too. It didn't have this cold body feel. It felt very much like you were quietly enjoying yourself."

"I know myself. I probably was. So, did you do more to my body?"

"No... Maybe tonight... I don't know. I don't want to rush things."

Mister nice guy again. He had the adorable me, all available to him, and he couldn't even get himself to abuse the situation a little bit. He would need another little push if I didn't want my sleeping body to get sexually frustrated.

"Matt, you are so funny. Let's see. Since I'll be your sex doll for a while, I want you to keep me cute. So if you want to sleep with my body, get me a nice lingerie set, something that would turn you on. Send me a picture, and I'll let you know what I think of it."

"Haha. That sounds fun. Okay. Deal... I'll see what I can do."

"So, be patient if I don't reply right away. I'm in a situation where I don't know how often I'll be able to call. Okay?"

"Sure... That's fine. Oh... and Chloe... you are so odd."

"I know! But that is what makes me so darn attractive."

"I suppose that is part of your charm, yes. Alright. I will talk to you later. Be careful! Whatever you are doing."

"I will!"

***

"Alright, Kate... I'm ready... So, you said your evening started with dinner?"

"Yes... I guess it will be weird for the two of us at first, but hopefully, we can have some fun. So you understand that if you argue about something I ask, I'll use the words to change your mind, right?"

"Hehe. Yes... Honestly, the more I think about that, the more turned on I get... Being controlled by someone else is a nice little fantasy."

"Cardinal said the same thing. She loved it so much. Okay then, why don't we start by dressing you up?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Ah, no! She always called me Kate. Just Kate... I'm not into the mistress title thing. It always turned me off."

"Yes, Kate."

While I followed her to the bedroom, or wherever she led me to, I was thinking about my extra arousal feature. She didn't know about it, and I didn't have a good window to explain it to her yet. Depending on what we were going to do tonight, I suppose she would find out.

My current problem was that my excitation level was already too high for my own good. This small chat with Matt and knowing he kissed my body was doing it for me. I would gladly skip the dinner and go directly to the evening's sexual portion with Kate; I wanted to be her meal. But this night was hers, so I wouldn't want to spoil her plans.

"Alright... Let me put this on you," she said.

"What is this?"

"A very nice leather body harness. Cardinal loved it. Come on. Strip naked."

I wasn't going to argue on that one; this was hot. I dropped my dress to the floor and let Kate do all the work for me. I would have no idea where to start with this thing anyway. She opened the harness and asked me to step in two of the loops. She slid it up on me and guided my arms through this net of soft leather.

"You are so cute, Chloe. That harness will make you look amazing."

"I feel sexier already."

I purred to let her know my approbation and because I couldn't prevent myself from doing so. The more she was tightening the straps around me, the better it felt. This contraption fitted my clone body like a glove, proving its original purpose. The way the leather was surrounding my breasts and body curves made me feel so sexy. She gave me a little tug, making me lose balance a bit.