This is part one of my latest work in progress, a short story I am doing for Camp NaNoWriMo. It’ll be a sci-fi erotic story that touches on sadism and submission, so if that’s not your thing, that’s fine! =)
“Out with it, Simon! Just tell me what’s wrong. I’m sure it’s not nearly as bad as you think!”
But my cousin only collapsed his head onto his vintage wooden office desk sobbing so hard that his shoulders shook.
I blew out a noisy breath and rolled my eyes, well acquainted with my cousin’s histrionics any time something didn’t go his way, or he was faced with even the most minor of stress—which was a regular occurrence.
“Si-Si,” I said affecting a gentle, soothing tone, “Tell cousin Mae what’s wrong. Tell me how I can help,” I pleaded.
“You can’t,” Simon whined lifting his head to reveal his tear-stained cheeks and watery brown eyes.
I growled low in my throat and stormed around to glance at the screen of the laptop on my cousin’s desk, the source, I was sure, of his childish hysteria.
“…Lawsuit?” I squeaked while scanning the contents of the email displayed. “Simon! Is what this guy is saying for real? You failed to produce a robot for him in an agreed upon time and now, after three warnings that he’d take action, he’s taking you to court?”
“It’s not my fault!” My cousin pouted. “He wants a special robot, Mae! A-“ My cousin looked around his office as if expecting someone to appear out of thin air, his voice dropping to a hissed and frantic whisper, “a girly robot who…who will perform certain tasks for him!”
I shrugged not understanding what the problem was. A companion kind of robot was nothing new! My cousin owned an electronics company that specialized in creating robots that helped with every day tasks. Depending on what he was asked to create for the client, it could be a robot that would serve as a vacuum cleaner, a robot that would bring drinks and lightweight meals, or even a more complex and human-like robot that would provide companionship. Although Simon didn’t do many of the last type, as that just wasn’t a big thing in rural Nebraska.
No, in this area, Simon spent most of his time and made the most money by creating robots that would be fun toys for young children. He was good at it and had built a promising reputation for his self, though he was far from rich.
I did the books, answered the phone and scheduled appointments with both current and prospective clients, so I knew very well just how great or poor of a month my cousin had.
But I didn’t recall setting up a meeting with someone who wanted a human-like robot recently.
Unless that had been the man with the deep, gruff voice who had told me that he wanted to meet with my cousin at a location and time of his choosing and that the purpose of the meeting wasn’t my business?
I remembered that guy very well. I also remembered that Simon had returned from that meeting looking very troubled yet excited and refusing to say much about what he’d been asked to do other than that it was something that he had never done before.
“Are you at all close to finishing this robot for the person who sent the email?”
“I-I have the body done, yes,” he said vaguely.
“But not the brain?” I was guessing. The brain, a computer of sorts really, was the most important part, I knew. It was what turned a rubber or metal or plastic contraption into a robot.
My cousin shook his head miserably. “What he wants involves a very complex set up that I have never done before!”
Never done before? Huh? But Simon has made several realistic robots over the years!
I noticed that the email was the latest in a chain of emails, so using the trackpad I scrolled up until I could see the original email.
My eyes widened as I scanned the few short and clearly angry sentences.
“A sex robot? Simon! You actually promised this guy that you would build him a sex robot?” I couldn’t help but laugh at the images those two words brought to mind. What kind of weirdo wanted a robot that would have sex with him? Was he a shy, awkward introvert with anxiety or perhaps social phobias? Was he disfigured in some way?
“It’s not funny, Mae!” My cousin muttered angrily. “I’m going to lose the business! This guy is, like, a self-made millionaire who is taking me to court for breach of contract!”
I had an interest in court shows so I knew that in reality my cousin wouldn’t lose that much. He was currently in the green instead of in the black, as far as finances went. But a court case would hurt his credibility, which would be the most damaging.
“Okay. So, how far are you from finishing this se—um, this special robot for this Mr. Black?”
My cousin shrugged.
“Any chance you could apologize for the wait and finish it up in, say, a few days?”
My cousin shrugged again.
“Simon!” I said feeling frustrated. “Unless you want to go to court then you have to face this mistake and figure out a way to make things right.”
“I can’t.” Simon looked up at me. “I-I don’t know how to carry out Mr. Black’s wishes.”
“There has to be—” I held up a finger leaning over the desk to pick up the phone that had started to ring.
“Red Plum Electronics, this is Mae, how may I help you?”
“Hello Annamae Stevens,” a deep, gruff voice said smoothly.
It’s him! The guy who called for the secret meeting with Simon! Which means…it’s the guy who wants to sue my cousin! This is my chance to try to make things right
“Hello, Mr. Black. I-I understand that my cousin has failed to create the device you contracted him to make for you in the agreed upon time and I was wondering what—”
“I know that your cousin has read my emails and I know he is likely next to you sniveling away about how mean I am being to him but I have every right to be angry.”
“Of course!” I agreed. “And my cousin feels awful about letting you down. I—”
“Spare me the lies, Miss Stevens. I have thought it over and while I have the time and the money to sue your cousin for breach of contract as well as damages, it would be in both of our best interests to handle this ourselves.” He cleared his throat. “As I am in a fairly decent mood right now and I have been informed by a colleague that my request may have been fairly difficult for your cousin to quickly handle, I have decided that I will give your cousin until the end of the week to produce the agreed upon robot. He has until five o’clock this Friday to deliver it to my house for my inspection. Should he fail again then I will happily let a judge decide the next best course of action.”
“Thank you…for nothing.” I muttered the last two words to the tone of a disconnected call.
Expelling a loud and long gust of breath I stared down my cousin forcing a smile that I didn’t feel. “You have until five this Friday to—”
“I can’t do it, Mae,” Simon broke in sadly.
“Why not?”
“He, well, Mr. Black wants a robot that is capable of certain sexual acts! H-how do I do that? How on God’s green earth am I supposed to know how to do that?”
I could (sort of) understand my cousin’s predicament but I did have a question. “Why did you ever agree to this if you knew you couldn’t do it?” And I knew my cousin well enough to figure that no way had he known how to create a sex robot. As charming and sweet as my cousin could be, he just wasn’t capable of such things. I personally wondered if my cousin had ever had any sexual experience. I had never really seen him spend much time with any women—or even other men!
And Simon was a very black-and-white kind of guy. Very bright but not too creative. Something told me that building a robot capable of more than just basic human interaction would take some creativity, as well as a basic understanding and being comfortable with the human body. A woman’s body, to be exact.
“He promised a lot of money, Mae! More money than I have ever made on any robot I’ve ever made before! I-I figured that I could just look up other examples of-of sex robots and go from there!”
“And what happened?” I asked curiously.
Simon’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide. “They’re gross!” he hissed.
I wanted to laugh, and nearly did! But I knew that would just set my cousin off with a new round of histrionics so I contained myself. Barely.
“Why didn’t you hire someone for help?” My cousin had done that before, on larger projects or when what he’d been asked to build was something outside of his realm of experience.
“No way, Mae!” My cousin looked horrified by the very idea, but then his face crumpled. “I guess I should get a lawyer,” he mumbled holding his head in his hands with his elbows on his desk.
“No need for that, Simon. Just…let me do a little research on, um, sex robots, and maybe I can come up with a solution!” It was Monday morning, so I felt that I could use my free time to do a little internet searching for examples of a sex robot and put together an idea that would make this Mr. Black as well as my cousin happy and keep the both of them out of court!
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