LSF Publications: spanking fiction ebooks

1: Joe's New Job
Joe glanced round his one-bedroom apartment; it was a tip. The state of the place didn't bother him, but when he opened the refrigerator and found he was out of beer, that sure as hell made an impact. Shrugging on his leather jacket he stepped towards the door, trampling on the pile of final demands for utilities and overdue rent that had accumulated in a heap on the door mat.

He headed out, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as the early March afternoon was chilly and damp after a recent downpour. Disconsolately he made his way to the store on the corner of the street where he picked up a four-pack of beer and a loaf of bread. As he retraced his steps towards home, some instinct made him look at the assortment of cards and notices in a shop window. Having nothing better to do, he scanned them. Most were ads written on scrappy bits of paper from people offering an assortment of goods for sale, but one was different: it stood out from all the rest, being typewritten on a pristine white index card. It read: Short term cleaner required. Excellent hourly rate. Contact Arlene for further information. A telephone number was provided.

Joe read it again. "Come on mate, you're not seriously considering cleaning?" he muttered to himself. But he was, apparently. Fired from his last job for persistent lateness, fired from the one before that for being rude to customers, and fired from the one before that for turning up hungover ... he was desperate for some cash. Maybe he could earn enough to pay the outstanding rent, and after that he'd try and get himself a proper job to clear the other bills and reinstate his gym membership. Well, it was a plan of some sort. He made a note of the name and number, went home and called Arlene.

His call was answered on the third ring. "Hi."

"Hi. Is that Arlene?"

"It is. What can I do for you?"

"The name's Joe Carter. I'm ringing about the ad."

There was a slight pause. "You're a guy?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Arlene clasped her hand over the phone, but Joe still heard her voice as she spoke to the person with her. "It's someone calling about the ad - and he's a guy!" The sound of girlish giggles could clearly be heard. Joe sighed. It looked like he was wasting his time. "Well, that's OK I guess," said Arlene a moment later. "But we need someone round here pretty quick. When can you start?"

"Where are you?" he asked casually, trying not to reveal how surprised he was by her positive response.

"We're at 25 Meadowbank Lane. You know it?"

"Yeah, I think so. You're on the opposite side of town to me, but ..." He glanced at his watch.