Chapter 05: Lessons

“Chief, why did you accept the priority on this small project? We have many big projects here and are pressed hard to finish them before the inauguration,” asked the head architect Davidson as the carriage began to roll.

“We should take care of our big client, Davidson,” Valentina replied without turning from the window. “House of Silver is a big client, but he is just a bastard of the house, who had been plotted against and thrown here to the outskirt of the empire,” said the old man.

“I am not talking about the house of silver,” she said as she finally turned, her words clearly surprising the two old man sitting in front of her.

“You can’t be meaning him? I don’t want to badmouth him, but I don’t see any big client potential in him,” said the old man.

Valentina did not say anything; she just smiled and looked back at the window while remembering the first time she had seen him.

…

Click!

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Carla walked in after dropping them off at the door. “What do you think about the changes?” I asked as she sat across me.

“They are good,” she replied.

“Your real thoughts,” I said and gave her a look, “They are risky,” she said. “You have removed all the business rooms from the first floor and expanded and merged a few rooms on the second and third floor; now we only have only twenty-six rooms for business,”

“The conventions said we should have at least as much as rooms as women we have in the house, which means we are short on eleven rooms,” she said, and there was a hint of anger on her beautiful face. It is clear she was angry; I should have consulted with her before finalizing the changes.

“We will not be selling just sex, Carla; the rooms we have is sufficient,” I said. “Master Remus, we will be running a brothel. It means selling sex; it does not mix well with the other things,”

“You have also postponed the day of opening to the inauguration, which is a month away; it will make us lose us, wealthy, powerful clients, who have already started to trickle in for the inauguration,” she said, and her voice was a little pointed, but I did not mind it.

“What do you think about my plans on the first floor?” I asked, ignoring what she had said. “Unwise, you shouldn’t have taken out all the business rooms on the first floor,” she said, and there was a hint of admonishment in her melodious voice.

“About that, miss Carla you are very wrong,” I said and looked directly into her beautiful green eyes. “Sex is the greatest of desires, and it can mix with everything,” I said.

Ask any advertiser on earth, and they will bet their soul on it.

It is common knowledge on earth that sex sells, and advertisers use it to sell everything. I am running a brothel, so selling sex is natural, but it will be only part of what I will sell through my establishment.

What I am trying to sell is obvious desires.

The whole day passed, and by the evening, more people from the Nielson guild came. They emptied the whole room of furniture and already started breaking rooms on the first floor; I could hear the sound of it from here.

The removal of the rooms will be finished by tomorrow morning, not just on the first floor, but on the second and third floors, where I expanded a few rooms by combining them. The overall rooms may have lessened, but it will aid the business, not constrain it as Carla is thinking.

Though more rooms are always a good thing, we do not have the space to create them.

The night came, and I slept a little late, so when I woke up the next day, it was already eight, and it took me another hour to shower and have breakfast before I stepped into my office.

Carla was already sitting there, and in front of us were piles of paper, beside them a letter with a familiar seal.

The seal of the house of Hardt, a powerful mercantile house, like the house of Silver.

“That came for you an hour ago,” she said, motioning toward the letter. I nodded and tore the envelope, and brought out the letter.

It is an invitation to the party from the acting head of the merchant guild, Damon Hardt. It is tomorrow, and I will be attending; these things are great for making connections.

I read the invitation before putting it into the drawer and turning to the piles of paper that are in front of me.

“I hope the ladies have answered all the questions?” I asked, “Yes, it took some of them a whole day, but they did finish answering every one of your questions,” she said and forwarded the first pile toward me.

“I understand some of the questions you have asked, but some of them are really strange,” she added and looked at me for the answers, but all she got from me was a smile.

Data is very important; back on earth, it is a precious commodity, and organizations pay millions for it.

“You will understand later,” I said, “Now, let’s begin,” I said as I took out a huge piece of paper, which had neat lines drawn on it.

‘The computer would have made things a lot easier and faster,’ I said as I looked at the paper in my hand.

Each big spreadsheet will have data of ten people leaving Carla; the establishment has thirty-eight girls whose data will be filled on four big papers.

“Who is first?” I asked, “Margaux Swan,” Carla replied as she opened the first file from the stack. “Age,” I asked. “Forty-five,” she replied.

“Common age of clients she receives?” I asked, “Sixteen to thirty-five,” she replied. “The time they last, with the usage of her skills?” I asked, “Ten minutes to an hour, depending upon the level and the age of the client,” Carla replied, and I noted it on the spreadsheet.

“How many skills does she use on the clients?”

I asked one question after another and noted down their answers; there are fifty-six questions there, and it asks everything from the positions their clients use during sex to their interests or hobbies, or talents she has; there are even questions like their classes, but those are optional.

These questions are carefully crafted out to give me a complete idea about each person.

Time passed by as I continued to fill the info into my spreadsheet. It was a tiring job, and when I finished at eight in the evening, I just closed my eyes and slept, but I could not. I still had to do some things before I could sleep.

“Finally,” Carla said and yawned seductively in her chair; she is tired, and so am I, but I am also happy.

I now only have to analyze the data, which should be finished by midnight, and tomorrow, I could start working on the girls, as currently, they are not capable of working on the business model I have in my mind.

“I have to say, some of the data on ladies is quite startling,” I said, looking at the long pages in front of me. “Yes, I truly did not expect some of them would write about their fantasies, and some of their fantasies have caught me even off guard,” she said with a slight laugh.

I have not only asked about their fantasies but also about the fantasies of their clients. Whether its here or on earth, people have fantasies, and I would make huge money by selling those fantasies to them.

“The things you have read here are personal to the girls; they should not get out of this room,” I said seriously.

“I have signed a contract; my lips are sealed,” Carla replied, and I smiled before focusing back on the work.

An hour later, I ate dinner and made the round of the establishment as I had done in the afternoon and was again got surprised by the progress these people had made. It would have been quite hard to make such progress back on earth, even with all the advanced tools and machines.

When I returned, I resumed my work and only stopped when I finished at late midnight, before sleeping.

The next morning, I walked into my office, and aside from the newspapers, there was nothing else on my desk.

“Good morning, Master Remus,” she said, “Good morning, Carla,” I replied as I sat down before taking out a page from the drawer and sliding it toward her.

“I need people in these fields who are specialized in teaching,” I said

She took the paper, but soon a shock couldn’t help but appear on her face. “A..are these for girls?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” I replied.

The new business model I have in my mind does not only require changes in the building but also in the women.

I am going to bring in the teachers who will teach them the required skills, it will be expensive, but I am willing to pay the price.

The level 20 and above teachers should be able to impart to them with basics of skills they need to work under my new business model.

“Do you have any suggestions or want to add anything?” I asked Carla, who was still staring at the paper. “No, you seemed to have thought of everything,” she said as she placed down the paper.

“With your requirement of them being level 20 and above, these teachers are going to cost us a lot; many of them wouldn’t be available in the city,” she added.

“I have already mentioned the budget there; it should be enough for a month,” I replied. I have already written what I am willing to pay for each teacher, and I am not holding back on it.

I did not get anything other than the establishment as inheritance, but I did get half a million crowns from the head of the house of Silver; every direct descendent gets this amount after getting their class.

Every direct member of the house of Silver gets this amount after getting their class.

I have got another three hundred thousand crowns from selling everything I have owned.

There are also a hundred thousand crowns my father had left to the establishment name as operating expenses. So, in total, I have nine hundred thousand crowns.

I have already spent half a million crowns on renovation, and teachers would also cost me around fifty thousand crowns.

With this, I have three hundred and fifty thousand crowns on me; I hope it will be enough for the things I want to do.

“The girls would be grateful for this opportunity; many of them had the desire to learn but never did get a chance in their lives,” she said.

“I hope they learn with a complete heart,” I said, and I really hoped they would learn the skills they needed because their, mine, and the establishment’s future depends on it.

“They will,” she replied with confidence.

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