I had to say, I didn't expect a written invitation to a long term job offer, but when you were as between jobs as I was, you didn't read the fine print too hard, just enough to make sure that I wasn't going to screw myself over just by accepting.

The job offer was to be a theme magician for a private resort, one located on a very well placed island. Details would be discussed on site, naturally. Which meant that while I had some idea of what they wanted, there was also a bunch left unsaid.

I was flown via plane then rode a boat to the island, where I was greeted by a concierge who simply introduced themselves as "George". George gave me the public rundown of the Resort, which was something that I had already gleaned from, you know, doing basic research. But I listened anyways just in case something was different.

As George talked, they led me 'backstage' so to speak, to the areas where the staff worked and the actual business was done. In this case, I was led to a small office building that was unobtrusive and pretty functional. But I knew that looks were deceiving.

I was escorted to the second-from-the-top floor, and from there to a corner office. There was a secretary outside, a cute woman with curled buns for hair. She looked at me with total professionalism, and I returned the gaze with the same.

"This is the person with whom you have your interview," George said the obvious. "Please treat him with all due respect."

"Of course," I replied. I wasn't stupid. This was still a job interview.

I was allowed into the room and three things struck me first. The least important thing was the view. Huge bay windows showed off an absolutely gorgeous vista that showed off a large portion of the entertainment section of the island from what I recalled of the public maps of this place.

Second was the man sitting at the deck that was backed to the window. I recognized him immediately as his face was quite clearly the first person on the list of important people for this resort. The Founder, owner and CEO of the Resort.

Well, fuck me because I was just expecting someone from HR, not the head honcho himself. This threw a few of my plans into disarray, and not just because of the third thing that drew my eyes.

The third thing was the woman on the shelf.

That wasn't the best was to describe it. There was one of those zig-zag shelving units against one wall, with a base, then an upright on one side, then the second shelf, then an upright on the other side, then back and forth for three layers plus a top. On the bottom layer were a pair of legs that fit perfectly into the space provided, from shins to thighs. Beside them was a flower pot with some nice roses.

Above the pot was the woman's upper legs, her bare hips all the way up to her belly button. Across from that, above her legs, was a profile picture of the woman in a sexy sling-bikini, top hat and coat-tails. She was holding a baton in her hands. Above that was her bare chest, from the stomach to her collar, her arms relaxed and at her sides even as they cut off at the same length as her body. Beside it, above her hips was the head of the woman in the picture with elegant curls to her black hair, her mouth open but eyes dead and unmoving. All this rested on a small pedestal. The top of the shelf, above her head, were her lower legs and feet, still in high heels. The only clothing on her. Above her body were her lower arms and hands, pointing upright.

"Hello," the Boss said as I turned my glance back at him. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"It's a pleasure, sir," I said politely.

"Please, sit." he gestured amicably at the chair across from him. "Drink?"

It wasn't a request. "Water," I said, having not seen a pot for coffee or tea anywhere.

"You sure?" He checked, "I can have Lydia" - the secretary, I presumed through context - "bring some."

I waved my hand. "No, thank you. Water will suffice." I wasn't being dismissive, I was showing control over myself. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting an interview with you personally," I said to help break the ice as he called for the secretary to bring in water for me and for him as well. Good first impression.

"Well, I do take a personal control over some non-vital parts of my resort," he said with a small smile. "I'm not foolish enough to think I can control everything directly, but I do like to keep my hands on certain things."

I could imagine. "Like entertainment?" I prodded.

"Like entertainment," he confirmed. He leaned over the table. "And as such, I would like to hire you as a theme and fetish magician for the resort. Long term."

Business it was. "How long? And what sort of shows are we talking about?"

"Five years, with options to renew," he said as he took a small pile of papers from his desk and slid them over to me. The secretary put drinks down between us and I started to read over the contract. "Some of our clientèle," he said as I read, "enjoy a degree of helplessness and the like that they don't get from their everyday lives. Which is partly where you come in."

Four shows a week. Doable. Private and public events in lieu of or in addition to, with limits imposed to keep me from burning out. Even better. "What happened to the person in this position before me?" I asked as I read. Wow, that was some pay. But given that I would be living at the resort for ten months of the year, I would be making mad bank for the other two, vacation time for the off season.

"She broke her contract," the man said with a degree of seriousness that caused me to stop reading and look him directly. He gestured with his chin at the disassembled woman on the shelves that I had chosen to not talk about. "I am a polite person, but I also take my word seriously. She broke her contract with me, and a friend of mine did me the favour of making her as you see now."

I turned and looked at the magician currently on display. "Oh, what did she do?" I asked, if only I knew what to avoid at all costs.

"Irrelevant," he dodged the question. My friend cut her up even as she objected and put inside her special pins, which he assures me do several things. First is that they prevent her from aging," - to a magician, age was relative, so I dismissed that - "and they also give out constant pain."

What.

He shook his head. "She's going to spend the next five years in constant agony, on display in my office as a reminder of what happens when you don't uphold your end of the deal in good faith," he explained as I read the contract more closely. Shit. he was right. It was there, buried, but it was there.

"But the contract stipulated a ten year punishment period," I stated.

"Well," he leaned back in his chair. "I think that after five years, if you decide to renew your contract, I think I will make as a resigning bonus, her."

"That's an interesting offer," I said without commitment. "Supplies?"

"You will start with everything she had," he handed me a lot without question. "And of course, if you chose to work for me, as is stipulated in the contract on page 74, we will pay to bring over your existing portfolio as well as provide a small budget for upgrades, replacements and new purchases."

I looked at the budget, keeping a finger on where I was. That was a lot. That really was. Though a closer reading also meant that I had to pay for transportation of stuff. Which, still...

I went back and read more, on the lookout for loopholes and legal tricks and traps. "I would need to review this in more detail," I said carefully. "But I do like the idea of working here in principle."

"I do apologize for the short time frame of the request," the Boss said. "But I do have certain commitments myself, and this," he indicated the woman behind me, "has put me out of sort. There aren't many who can commit to this degree of work and are willing to do this sort of thing, so I am hoping you will accept."

"As I said, I do want to read this over."

"Of course. Perhaps seeing what equipment is available would be of a benefit?"

I was temped. "Sure," I agreed. "It would help in knowing where I'm starting from."

"Excellent!" He stood up, and I joined him, contract still in hand. "Come with me and I'll show you."

I followed, and he told his secretary what he was doing. I read the contract with one eye, the other making sure I followed him. It took about twenty minutes to get to our destination, me reading all the while.

"Here," he said, opening up a room in a warehouse.

I looked up, getting a kink in my neck in the process. I gave a low whistle. "That's a lot alright," I muttered as I checked out the options. There were classic props, like sawing in half. A few of those actually, with various twists. Like a clear box, or a short prop. And stuff that took me a minute or two to figure out.

"You like?" the Boss asked.

I was tempted. I really was. "I have to say, you're asking a lot," I pointed out. "Aside from the length of the contract, this seems like a honey pot of a deal."

"It is," he agreed without hiding anything. "As I said, I need a new person in this position post haste, and the previous applicant turned me down."

Not even his number one choice. That hurt. "And the thirty day grace period to back out, no strings attached?" Page 12.

"They took it after six," he said. "Again, not for everyone."

Fuck it. I had time. And a small payday was better than none at all. "I agree to work for you," I said as I held up the contract. "I will certainly spend the rest of the probationary period studying this and seeing if this is a fit for me."

He nodded along in understanding. "Excellent. Lydia?"

From the entryway, his Secretary approached. "Yes sir?"

"This young man has provisionally accepted employment. But I suspect that he still wants to test out one of the props to assure himself." I did what? Well, yeah, but...

"Of course, sir." Lydia said, turning to me.

I looked at the Boss, the question written in my eyes. It was a test. One that I had the perfect retort to. "Sir," I said carefully, "but the information I have," I indicated the contract, "stipulates that employees are off limits. Even personally."

"That is true," he agreed. "But I have latitude that you do not. I am ordering Lydia to partake in no more than three tricks tonight. Here and now. This would not violate your contract as it is within hers."

I looked back at the secretary. This was a test now. "Alright then," I put my mind into overdrive. "Wait here," I said as I turned and looked for something to prove to the Boss that I had what it took. There! That one would do. So would that one. And for a third... yes. That.

I came back and looked at Lydia, who was completely nonchalant at this turn of events. I had pushed over to her and the Boss the first thing, to see how far she was willing to go. "Lydia, I'm afraid you're quite overdressed. Please take off your top." I could still be polite even when the request wasn't.

Lydia didn't hesitate as she unbuttoned her professional jacket then pulled her shirt off over her head then removed her bra, exposing her self to me and the Boss with no regards for propriety. The Boss had a small smirk which I couldn't decipher.

My first prop was a stockade, but except where you would expect a hole for the head, and perhaps a pair for the hands, this one had just two, at chest height. I took it over to her and opened it up. Without asking, I grabbed her tits and put them into the holes, then closed it over her, putting her on display even as she just stood there. "I don't have a pithy comment, I'll have to work on that," I said as I took a hold of the small handle that folded out of the stock. I slammed the handle across the stock, right to left, and Lydia finally broke her mask, crying out in pain.

She should have, as I had just cut off her breasts with the blade hidden in the stocks. I thought about the woman in the Boss' office, and if she had used this on herself before dismissing the thought. Lydia's breasts were on the ground and I picked them up, showing off the bloody stumps as I kicked the stock away from her. "Think of it like this," I finally came up with a funny comment, "I'm saving you from back pain when you get older."

She scowled and the Boss hid a smile. She reached out for her breasts, ignoring the harm to her chest as best she could, but I held them out of reach. "Ah ah," I said. "Three props at most. That's one. Now, come on." I led the way, Lydia following then the Boss. I juggled her tits just for the hell of it, enjoying the bouncy sensations as I did so. I quickly reached the second prop.

This one was a barrel, and I tossed her tits into it. "Lydia, if you want them back, you'll have to reach in."

We all knew this was a no-win choice for her, so she carefully leaned over the barrel and reached in. I did nothing but smile as she gasped in even more pain as she yanked her arms out of the barrel. Arms that were now frozen up past her elbows. Of her breasts, well, they were still in the barrel. "Too bad," I said as I took one of the frozen appendages and I stuck out my tongue at her annoyed face. Then I snapped it off, removing one arm then the next. These, I tossed into the barrel. "Care to try again?"

"No," she said, unhappy as she looked at the frozen stubs of her arms.

I had read the contract well, and the last prop was something I had never considered before now. "Well, that's a shame," I said with a false pout. "Because if you had jumped all in, I wouldn't have to use you to test out this last one."

I was inspired simply by proximity, nothing more. The third prop was a turbine-style blending fan, except that instead of being something someone stood in or was dropped down into, it was at waist height, being something that someone crawled into. "As I've never done this one before," I said truthfully, "I have no idea how it will work on you. Or even if you'll survive it." She almost balked at that, but her composure even in the face of what I had already done to her held.

I turned on the blender. "Lydia, for your last task," I indicated the spinning blades inside the tube, "get into this."

To her credit, she didn't really hesitate, bending down with her knees to leverage herself into the feeder. "I might need some help," she said as she started to wiggle in.

I helped her, giving the Boss a knowing wink. He gave me the go-ahead. I got behind Lydia and gave her a slight push. "How close are you?" I asked with my hands on her ass.

"Pretty close," she informed me. "You sure you've never done this before?"

"Quite sure," I assured her as I flipped up her skirt, then pulled aside her panties.

"HEY!" she objected as I pushed her further in. Her voice was cut off as the sound of the blender changed pitch, devouring her head and causing her body to shudder as I proceeded to advance her body into the device.

But most importantly, I stopped as her waist was about to go into the tube. There was nothing out the other end as I pulled her bottom out of the device. "Three props," I said to the Boss, "Lydia was most helpful," I added as I tugged on her skirt, pulling it up off her waist. "Would you like this, sir?" I asked, indicating the slowly aroused part-woman. My hands between her legs to help support her didn't hurt any either.

The Boss smirked. "I like your style, kid." He said as he clasped me on the shoulder. "But nah, I'll allow you this. Consider her your signing bonus for the night. Just remember to have her back at her desk and ready to work at 9AM tomorrow." He started to walk away. "And remember, your first show is tomorrow evening. Good luck."

I waited for him to leave before I looked down at the helpless legs and sex before me. "Well, first night out," I said to no one in particular. Then I looked around. "Where the hell am I going to bed?"

The answer was in my hands. But first, I had to restore her. Somehow.

Shit.