[interesting]

Justine walked into the building, coming in from the cold. The month of December was chilly in Seattle, and this season was no exception. There wasn't any snow yet, but it was only the 5th. She was greeted by a man in his late forties, presumably Augustus Rand, the man she had spoken to on the phone. He was completely bald, excess hair shaved off, sporting a brown goatee. He wore clean dark pants and a red tee with white stripes. He also sported nice glasses.

"You must be Justine..."
"Hello. You must be mister Rand."
"Call me August... everyone does."

He seemed friendly enough, albeit a little gruff in appearance. He wasn't fat, but neither was he very thin, his gut betraying his age somewhat. But Justine didn't care about that. He took her coat. She wore underneath a one-piece dark blue dress, her most beautiful one. She wanted to make a good impression.

From the outside, the place didn't look like much. Then again, it was built in depth, so only a small portion of the building was facing the street. It was some kind of tenement building, clearly renovated. Seven steps took one from the street to the door.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," August said, eyeing her out.

She smiled, noticing his gaze. She didn't mind. She had gotten used to it during her time dancing nude on stage.

"This way, please. Thank you for seeing me so late..."
"It's no problem," she said. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

They left the entrance hall and walked down a long corridor with many side doors to the right, but none to the left.

"This is my home," August said. "I live at the back. The renters live upstairs in the various housing arrangements."

They made their way to the end of the corridor and entered what was an office, a door at the back which probably lead to the man's residence.

"Please sit. Something to drink?"
"No thank you."

She sat down on the comfortable wooden chair. There was a calendar of ladies in bikinis on the wall. Miss December seemed comfortable lounging around a pool, her legs wading in the water as she posed seductively. There was a large clock in the shape of an owl on the other side, and its eyes seemed to gravitate towards a return stare if you looked at it too long. August sat across from the desk and smiled.

"Well, you're very lucky, Justine... I have many vacancies right now."
"Glad to hear it."
"And it was Jaylee who told you about me, right?"
"Yes."
"How is she?"
"Good. Better, she says."

August nodded, smiled.

"And what exactly did she tell you?"
"She said... you could house me and my daughter... for free."
"Not for free, but not for money. There is no such thing as a free ride."
"I understand."

He looked at her, quizzically.

"No, I don't think you do. Listen, Justine, you seem to be a smart woman, so I'll make this very simple for you. The people who stay here... they work for me."
"At doing what?"
"Anything I ask them to do. My renters are my employees, to some extent. They pay me in services."
"What kind of services?"

Justine had already figured out that half of the story. But she needed to hear more, to hear it out loud perhaps.

"How bad is your situation?" August asked in a commanding tone.
"Very bad... I'll get evicted next month and... I don't have prospects."
"You could go dancing at other clubs..."
"Yeah but... Jaylee says there's drugs and..."
"uh-huh."
"And I need to keep my daughter safe!" finally stated Justine, resolute. "I'll do... anything... as long as my daughter is kept safe."
"Anything? If I asked you to kill someone, would you?"

Justine paused, freaked. August smiled.

"I'll never ask you to kill someone, obviously, but you need to know your limits..."

August got up, walking around the desk, sitting in front of Justine, staring into her eyes.

"The standard arrangement for rent is simple... once a month, I collect. Meaning... we have sex."
"What?"
"You heard me... once a month, we get together... I'll throw in a dinner if you want, but we have sex... maybe you blow me, maybe we fuck... as long as you keep your end of the bargain, I will."

Justine had expected to hear something along those lines, yet she was still stunned. She froze. He continued his presentation.

"No questions asked on either part. You do what you want with the rest of your time. You keep your daughter here, safe, with the community. There are roughly twenty women here at any time. You can remain isolated or integrate the group."
"So... so... I don't have to sleep with anyone else?"
"Nope. Just me."

She looked at him with more focus. He wasn't ugly. He was clean-looking. He didn't smell bad. And he was, despite his words and the sexual suggestion he had just made, behaving like a gentleman, reasonable and calm.

"Can I... see the apartment?"
"Of course. We'll go upstairs. If it's to your liking, we seal the deal. If not, you walk away, and that's it..."
"That's it?"

He nodded. Justine could hardly believe she was considering it, and yet... and yet...