Abby turned irritably over as her phone buzzed, cheerfully letting her know that she had a message, and simultaneously reminding her she’d been lying awake for the best part of 3 hours. She scowled at the ceiling, then rolled over and felt for her phone on the nightstand. If that was Chrissie texting her after midnight again, she was upgrading her Belle Jar so she could lock her up in it, but then, people didn’t usually message her after midnight and it might be something important…

She opened the phone and blinked in surprise, then scrubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand just to make sure she’d read it right. It was an email from Belle Industries – the makers of the Belle Jar she had downstairs. The message was entitled ‘Our Covid-19 Strategy’. Abby huffed in irritation. For some reason, every company that she’d ever given her email address to in her entire lifetime had decided to bombard her with their Covid Strategy. She honestly could not care less.

As she went to throw the phone back onto the table in disgust, her hand slipped on the screen, and the email opened. Tired or not, her eyes caught the first couple of lines of the email. She sat up suddenly and turned the light on next to her, focusing on the email.

‘Dear Valued Customer,

We have been pondering in the last few weeks our response to the Covid-19 threat. Given the near-national advice to adhere to self-isolation, we have a duty to protect both our staff and our clients in these challenging times, but we also have a duty to continue to provide a good service to our clients and to support our staff in these challenging times. As many of our staff members count as either self-employed or as sex-workers, there are no furlough arrangements available for the government to protect their earnings.

In light of this, we would like to offer you an unlimited extension to your current arrangements – subject to agreement from your current participant.’

She stared at the words, then looked up at the wall opposite. Did that mean what she thought it meant? After Michael being a big hit at her party with the girls, she’d extended him for a couple more days because she liked having some-one around the house, and when she’d been asked to work from home ‘as a precaution’ she’d extended him again. Considering she was a dyed in the wool introvert who hated human contact, she’d found working from home and the isolation that came with it, harder than she’d thought, and having Michael around was the best of both worlds in her book. She grinned, then carefully continued to read the message.

‘Due to isolation guidelines – we would have to withdraw all option to remove the occupant from the jar to adhere to social distancing, which would limit play options, and would also limit your experience to the current occupant, without the ability to switch to another participant. However, due to this, we would be prepared to reduce your monthly upkeep payment and will swap you onto an unlimited automatic refill policy free of charge, with our suppliers providing you with everything you require to keep the Belle Jar working to your satisfaction.’

‘Your current participant will be contacted this evening to alert them to their new situation and to give them the option of whether they would like to remain or return home. If they do wish to return, the company will do it’s best to find a suitable replacement for the duration of the isolation period.’

‘Please reply by email if you would be satisfied with these conditions.’

It took precisely no thinking about. She replied and hit send, then pricked up her ears, listening. She expected to hear the click of the Belle Jar and the front-door open and shut as Michael left, but, there was silence throughout the house… then… very distantly, a voice. Abby frowned. She had not left the radio on…

Getting up, she pulled on her fluffy blue dressing gown, then headed downstairs, listening intently the whole time. The precise female voice, with a calm and collected tone Abby had to admire, was coming from her study. It had used to be her dining room, but as she had little chance of hosting a party any time soon, she had set up her laptop and other ephemora up so that she wouldn’t have to keep putting it away. It was also where she left her Belle Jar. Chatting to Michael and getting a few grunts in return was as good as working at the office, only better in the respect that none of her colleagues were as fit as Michael, or wore skintight latex. She also liked to play with the remote while she was mulling over problems or sat in a particularly boring online conference call.

She pushed the door open, and sure enough, the voice was coming from the speakers at the base of the Belle Jar. It looked like a normal bell jar that had no doubt inspired the name – a dome of transparent material sat atop a metal base with 4 stubby articulated legs that allowed the dome to move around the house. Sat inside it was a human form, and in the dim light from the streetlamps outside, Abby could make out the latex-clad hooded form of Michael, straddling a saddle-shape built into the floor of the jar. The Jar normally spoke in an automated voice like Siri – telling her that she needed to replace the waste pod, or add another aphrodisiac canister, but now it was broadcasting, and from the tense posture of Michael within, he was clearly listening closely. She had left him with a gentle teasing programme looping until midnight, but that had clearly been stopped, and as she picked up the remote, all the lights were dead on it, stopping her from messing with the broadcast.

“Message repeat;” The woman’s voice announced clearly. “Dear Valued Member of the Belle Jar Team. As you may, or may not be aware due to your length of stay with your current client, the world is in the grip of a virus pandemic. The Government have instructed every-one to socially distance themselves. While many companies have benefited from assurances of back pay, this has not been extended to our company due to the nature of our services. We therefore would like to extend to you two options.”

Interested despite herself, Abby snuggled up in her leather office chair, leaning on the arm of the chair and listening closely.

“Option 1, you will be released from your current contract and be able to return home to socially isolate. Those of you with an administrative background will be able to work from home, however, minimal work is available at the present time, which could mean a substantial drop in your pay, especially if many people chose this option.”

Michael had mentioned he used to be admin, Abby mused. Maybe he would head home? But could he afford the drop in pay?

“Option 2, however, is that you choose to remain in isolation in your client’s home. All removal options from the Belle Jars and other products will be suspended from the client. As always, you will retain the ability to remove yourself from the situation, however, if you do so at any point, this will count as you choosing option 1, and you will not be able to return to the Jar afterwards. As you are aware, our suits and Jars are ergonomically designed to prevent any damage that long-term stillness might cause, and a regime of electro-shocks will be implemented to ensure that no muscle wastage will occur during the pandemic. Additional air filters will be supplied to all those who chose this option. Your pay will continue at the current rate and will be enhanced to include additional hours worked.”

Abby wondered how much the Belle Jar Occupants did get paid. Either way, the jump in pay to 24/7 must be quite something…

“At this time, the end date for social isolation is unknown, but you will receive a daily update briefing from headquarters to keep you abreast of the situation as it unfolds. We at Belle Industries would like you all to know how highly you are esteemed, and while we will do everything we can to protect pay and jobs, we cannot guarantee your pay at the risk to the company as a whole. If you would like to chose option 1 and exit your current contract, please nod now. If you do not nod before the chime, it is assumed that you would like to remain within your current situation. This option will be offered to you daily at 01:00 hours. Thank you for listening to our briefing, and also for your co-operation and support.”

The message ended, and there was total silence for a long moment, maybe 5 minutes or so. She stared at Michael. What would he do? She was going stir-crazy herself after 2 weeks at home, and she could move around and change the scenery. Would he be able to handle more of this? She watched him, closely, playing with the belt of her dressing gown. Well. Hopefully he would. She liked having him around… and while Belle Industries might be able to find her another occupant, it might be that they all decided to go home. They might, after all. It would be the sensible thing to do.

She grinned. But then, taking a job as a sex-ornament in some-one else’s house was hardly the act of a ‘sensible’ person…