'Darkpaw has exceeded our estimations. We'll be sending a representative shortly to discuss with you in person the future of your company.'
The words on the screen before her spelt a death sentence for her entire company, her entire livelihood, ticking down one week at a time. Her eyes narrowed sharply as she read them once more.
'We look forward to meeting you - Signed, Enigma Inc.'
Fucking sharks.
Zhali sighed and sat back in her chair, sinking into its soft, plush leather. She was a seven foot tall tigress, with the traditional orange and white colouration across her striped body. Her body, which was currently clad in a sleek black business suit, was in good shape for someone so busy, with a strong layer of muscle complimenting her soft curves. Her long, thick coal-black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, however her shorter, side-swept bangs were not to be so easily tamed, and were left free to frame her pretty face, and sharp sea-green eyes. Despite her 'business' look and stress-worn expression, the glistening nose studs and bright pink claws on her hands showed that the CEO still took the time to look after herself, and most importantly, be herself.
This day had been coming for quite some time, looming over the horizon like a bad omen. Darkpaw was growing in size and attracting attention from the greater powers at play. Enigma would get what they wanted, one way or another. They always did. Unless, Zhali could finish up her plan and snatch victory away from the ever closing jaws of the terra-corp. As large as Darkpaw was, a mega-corp was nothing compared to the heavy-weight bulls that were the terra-corps. Enigma were especially well-known for aggressively pursuing new talent to join their ever-growing hydra of a corp, and Darkpaw were now at the top of their list. The just shy of a million employees under Zhali would be swallowed into the hundreds of trillions within Enigma without so much as a second glance.
She tapped quickly on the holo-buttons on her desk, securing a line to her lead engineer.
"Voxer? It's me. Did you manage to fix the heat-pipe issues yesterday? Please tell me the cell is charged?"
"Certainly is, ma'am." Voxer replied in a strong, southern tone. "We're just finishing up the renovations on the main quarters now. Engine and reactor are fully operational!"
"Thank goodness." Zhali allowed herself a small sigh of relief, and relaxed her shoulders. "How soon will it be able to move?"
"Can already. You say the word, we'll begin packing up and moving aboard." Voxer confirmed confidently.
A small chuckle escaped the tigress' black lips. "You have… no idea how relieved I am to hear that. I promise, it'll all be worth it."
"Course it will, ma'am. You're the boss!"
"Thank you, Voxer. I'll make sure you're properly compensated for the overtime."
She cut the line and sat upright in her chair, glancing out of the thick tinted windows to her right. Carefully constructed scaffolding surrounded a shimmering outline of something, cloaked using Darkpaw's own technology, a cloaking field being projected onto the structure. From a distance, the work might have looked humble, but up-close it was anything but, carefully protected by several guard posts all around, all on constant watch. Each guard post was hooked up to Darkpaw's main reactor via a thick black cable, strung through space carefully, casting the cloaking field over the project to keep it hidden from prying eyes. It had been a massive drain on Darkpaw's finances over the last year, but it would save them all.
In theory.
Darkpaw's main headquarters had been built onto an asteroid initially, but the mega-corp outgrew its humble origins in a mere matter of years. Now a proud spire in the stars, humming with productivity and clad in glittering granite plates, the Spire was a testament to Zhali's leadership and business acumen. Hundreds of thousands of employees scuttled around its interior - keeping the corp running was no easy task - but she'd managed it so far. If Enigma were knocking on the door, it was an unfortunate sign that she was running it well.
Something caught Zhali's eye then, interrupting her thoughts. A pair of bright dots were quickly approaching the docking bay, two seperate ships rolling in together by happenstance. One was a ragged-looking nomad vessel, small and unassuming with a faint glimmer of yellow visible through its cockpit glass. The other was a GLYPH prison vessel, blocky and brass, its main body akin a metallic rib-cage. It docked onto the emergency port on the side of the Spire, where newly liberated prisoners were quickly ushered out by Darkpaw engineers, and into the safety of the Spire. Every prisoner wore a heavy brass-coloured armoured suit, fully sealed and protected, but awkward to move in on account of their significant defences.
Removing a GLYPH suit was no easy task. The damn things were loaded with various traps and 'safety' systems, threatening to outright kill the wearer should they tamper too much with it and the fucking things were built solid too. Offering excellent physical and environmental protection, able to survive atmospheric re-entry, and they were impervious to traditional, small calibur weapons too. No nomad worker was going to be able to cut them open without either breaking their tools, or setting off one of the 'safety' devices.
Thus was GLYPH's business plan. They would saturate areas of nomad space with detection probes and send out ships loaded with these trap suits towards S.O.S signals, and those in need. Those desperate enough would seek the safety of a GLYPH suit, and immediately become an indentured slave to the corp, working to repay the debt of the suit for the rest of their lives. Failing to complete tasks assigned by GLYPH would result in a chemical 'purge,' melting the wearer in moments.
Thus, was the mega-corp triad. Darkpaw to the south. GLYPH to the north west, and Koto, a smaller venture but by no means a non-threat, to the east. All three were tangled in war, horns locked, each one of them straining to gain more ground. Darkpaw had the moral high-ground, for sure, but GLYPH had terror and desperation. Even the suits themselves were nightmarish, creaking loudly with each thudding step they took. Designed to be modular, GLYPH could directly bolt new modules onto an 'employee' to change the functionality of their suit. From engineers to enforcers to tech-specialists, all without requiring the 'user' to change out of their gear. Worse still, the suits directly interfaced with the people inside to take care of bodily needs, with GLYPH employees being 'fed' a diet of blood enriching nutrient paste, fed straight into their arteries. It was extraordinarily cheap and remarkably effective, if absolutely horrifying. And those captured, would do nigh-on anything if it meant the chance of freedom.
Recently, GLYPH had become more aggressive, responding to Darkpaw successfully dismantling their suits without killing the wearer, by abducting Darkpaw employees and forcing them into their suits. The thought of her employees being pressed into GLYPH's forsaken business plan made Zhali sick to her stomach, and the fact they'd seen any success at all positively mystified her.
Zhali shook her head sadly as the group of around fifty people emerged from the ship, stumbling towards the Spire, unaccustomed to the weight of their personal prisons. The fight with GLYPH had been bloody so far, but Darkpaw was winning, inch by blood-stained brass inch. Many had been working for the mega-corp for years, their sanity lost, hope gone. They would die for the corp, one way or another. But she knew that treating people right was the correct way to gain the upper hand. People weren't expendable. Not to her.
She sighed softly, pressing her hand against her chin and ruffling her fur, an uncomfortable warmth tingling through her body.
Jeez, this has been a long week… I need a good fuck.
She glanced back then at the other, nomad vessel as its gangplank extended and a figure stepped out. Her view of it from the office was obscured slightly, as the ship had docked at the Spire's main entrance, but she swore she saw a flicker of something dark and…
Wiggly…?
She was only granted a brief moment with her thoughts however, when a security notice popped up on her desk holo-screens. She quickly scooched over in her chair to look.
No way… I thought we'd never see her!
She pressed on the alert and a video feed appeared on her screen, from one of the helms of the guards in the lobby.
The Spire's lobby was always a busy affair. The massive glass entrance quickly opened up in a terminal-like lobby, with several huge security checkpoints lining its midsection, granting access to the various areas within once checked.
The guard's heart-rate was elevated, his camera view panning over the cause.
A massive chocolate-brown czarite towered over him, her bright yellow eyes staring down at the guard in annoyance. She was dressed in a white shirt that was absolutely too small for her gigantic bust, and a miniskirt that barely clung onto her thick hips, with a big bulge pressing up against the front of it. A series of thick tentacles protruded from her back, currently curled up against her back and a throne of dark carapace sat on her shoulders and head. A queen in all but title.
Those look wiggly enough…
"I-If you can just hold on, miss. We just need to do some checks on your ID number, it'll just be a few minutes? You're welcome to wait at the gate or we have some seating to your left?" The guard was practically begging the stranger, his vitals flooding with an array of different signals.
The tigress's face flushed a cherry red as she stared at the czarite through the camera's lens. The girl's insane figure and piercing eyes, and that smattering of golden freckles lining her cheeks were utterly hypnotising, drawing her in like a fish on a hook. The czarite rolled her eyes at the guard's words and turned to take a seat, her tentacles pulsing on her back.
F-Fuck, she looks like that?! Zhali shook her head, clearing the horny thoughts away. No. This is my chance to fix this. The girl needs a chance, not a stressed, sexed up tiger. C'mon Zhali, focus.
Zhali tapped a few buttons, and opened a comms relay to the guard directly. "Send her up with an escort. Get her a drink of something sweet and treat her nice, same as the others."
"Yes, ma'am."
The guard called back out to Ink and waved her over as Zhali cut the feed, pressing another button to speak to one of her assistant.
"Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day, we've just had the last victim of Tyler Bankley come in, and I'm finally going to put his mess right."
*
Zhali swallowed quietly, clasping her hands together in front of her and resting them on the polished wooden table before her as she waited for a response. Now dressed in a smart but ever-so-slightly revealing suit with a bright pink tie resting on her sizable bust, she looked across the table at the massive czarite, with a warm, welcoming smile. They were both sat at opposite ends of the table within one of the Spire's more luxurious meeting rooms. So far however, the czarite had not treated Zhali in kind, and had rather been suspicious and cold, only giving the tigress her name: Ink.
"Apologies for the interruption, ma'am!" One of Zhali's assistants quickly scampered in through the dark, wooden door, and laid a handful of forms at Zhali's side. Rather than turning to leave then though, she tapped gently on the tigress' shoulder to get her attention. Zhali excused herself, then they both briefly turned away from Ink, as to talk in private.
"Excuse me, Zhali?" The goblins whispered, staring at her data-pad with a raised eyebrow. "How do we know this girl is the one in Mr Bankley's records? She doesn't match the photos on file for the girl at all."
"Well, Tyler provided fake profiles, made fake employee numbers for his victims, only he and they knew them. He withheld nearly all personal details from these accounts, no names, date of birth, they only contained a brief physical description, their employee number and their payment details. For this girl to turn up and know the exact number that Tyler made up for her, I don't think that's luck. He made them long and obscure on purpose." Zhali responded confidently.
"True. But Mr Bankley's other victims were… well…" The goblin struggled to finish her sentence, her face creasing up as she tried to find the right words. "Well, they weren't ten feet tall and built like… that." She gestured quickly towards the Controller at the other end of the table, and flinched as the czarite's bright, piercing eyes fell on her. "Mr B-Bankley went for people he could control. This gal… she doesn't fit the bill."
The goblin quickly pulled a couple of printed photos from her pocket, shielding them from Ink's view. She showed to Zhali a blurry but obvious photo of Lamp, her bright yellow eyes and cane still visible through the film grain.
Hmm… Despite the physical difference here, those eyes do look very similar…
"Noted. Do me a favour, cross-check anything she says and let me know if it seems in line with any intel we've got. I'll continue as I was for now."
The goblin nodded and departed as quickly as she arrived. With her assistant gone, Zhali turned back to Controller, clearing her throat and clasping her hands together once again.
"I'm so sorry about that! Now, where were we…?"
"So… I never actually worked for you?" Ink asked, the disappointment palpable in her tone.
"No. I'm afraid you were conned by someone who did." Zhali sighed, sinking in her chair slightly. "His name's Tyler Bankley, and we currently have him in our custody. He was… outsourcing his work to others and paying them a pittance for it. It wasn't just you he did it to, there were fifteen others too."
Ink's eyes drifted around the room. Zhali couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking.
"Oh? What happened, then?"
"About five months ago, I became aware of Bankley's activities, and asked him to come in for a 'promotional interview and a payrise.' He leapt at the chance, and we arrested him the moment he stepped foot in the building. Since then, we've been trying to get in touch with everyone he scammed." She took a sip of water before continuing. "We'd managed to track them all down, apart from you."
"Why did you want to find them?" Ink asked, suddenly focusing her golden eyes on the tigress across the table.
"To offer them an actual job." Zhali replied sincerely. "Darkpaw is founded on a principle of 'People First.' People are an asset. They deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Bankley violated that. We… We weren't sure what happened to you… The last piece of work you submitted to him appeared incomplete, but we didn't know why." Zhali cleared her throat quietly. "I was worried something might have happened to you."
The czarite recoiled slightly in the chair, the corners of her mouth twitching briefly into just the slightest hint of a smile, but quickly it dropped off her face.
"I want to see him." Ink replied flatly.
"That… That maybe isn't such a good idea." Zhali's eyes flickered over Ink's frame. The girl was built like an absolute monster, excluding the tentacles. Darkpaw's Spire had been built to be strider friendly through-out, but this lass was within the 'loomer' size category, reserved for the very few who towered above nine feet tall. "Instead, I-If you'd be so inclined, I have a proposition for you."
Ink turned sharply in her chair, away from Zhali.
"I'm not sure I would be inclined." She hissed. "How do I know you're not just lying to cover your own backs, to protect your colleague?"
"Because I'm willing to make up for everything he's done. Right now." The tigress felt her heart thump in the chest; she could feel that something was wrong with this girl. But, oftentimes, victims would refuse help for the most heartbreaking of reasons. She didn't want that to happen, not again. She slid forward one of the pieces of paper on the table gently. "That is three years worth of wages, for the three years you worked for Bankley and received basically nothing for it. No strings attached and a little extra as an apology from me, personally. You can take this and leave and never come back, if you like. But I'd prefer if you looked at this one too, before you go."
She slid a second form across the table, leaning forward a little more. She felt her heart skip a beat as Ink turned back towards her and stared at the paper.
"That is an offer of employment at Darkpaw. The real Darkpaw. You should find the wage and benefits to be more in excess of what most local nomad work can provide. I want you to work for me. What Tyler did was awful, but we can put it right, today. If you agree, we can start you straight into initiation, get your work stats down and you could start… well, today, tomorrow? Whenever you like!"
Ink's face softened slightly as her eyes scanned over the contract.
"You don't need to give me an answer right now." Zhali continued. "You can have time to think, but the money's yours regardless. You did the work, the least I can do is pay you what you're actually owed…" Zhali hesitated slightly then, but continued on. "But if I may, I do have a question for you."
Ink's eyes locked onto the tigress sharply, and she nodded once.
"How can we verify who you are, with our records? Bankley's data shows a substantially different czarite in his files." As she spoke, she felt a twitch in the air and although Ink remained still, Zhali could swear she could hear the giant's heart beat from all the way over. "As I said, the last piece of work we had from you was incomplete, did something happen?"
"I… It did." The giant's voice cracked as she spoke, her eyes darting around the room, avoiding Zhali's gaze. "Something happened… I don't even know how to start explaining it."
"What do you mean?" Zhali asked quietly, shuffling her chair closer to the table.
"Six months ago, I was… exposed to… something. I don't know what, but it changed me. Look at me!" Ink held her arms out in front of her, her tentacles stretching out and touching the edges of the room behind her. "I have fucking tentacles! My breasts are giant! This stupid skirt barely covers my… my penis! Czarites don't get this big! No species does!"
Zhali felt a pang of nerves through her, opting to ignore the czarite's comments on her body. Ink's tentacles retracted once again and curled up against her back.
"A-Are you contagious? The checkpoint didn't register anything."
"No. Not to you. My condition only affects other czarites. So you have nothing to worry about. So glad you're thinking of yourself." Ink scowled. One of her tentacles pressed onto the employment contract and picked it up off the table.
Zhali sank in her seat, sighing sadly.
"Y-You're right. I'm sorry. I panicked. I would like to hear what happened to you, if you're comfortable sharing? I really do want to put things right."
Ink swallowed, turned her head sharply away from the tigress.
"I was… infected… On a job purposely given to me by Tyler. After that I was… I was captured by the DA."
"The DA?!" Zhali exclaimed, feeling her anxiety rise once again.
"They captured me and experimented on me. I have spent the last six months being tortured by them as they learned about my… problem. But I was released straight back onto the other side of the border after they concluded that I was no threat to anyone other than czarites. I have been a lab rat for the last half a year and no-one came to help me!"
"Oh my god…" Zhali cupped her hands around her mouth, feeling tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
"I-I didn't know what else to do, so I came here. Where I believed I worked before being infected and abducted. Only to find out that I never actually had a job here the whole time and I was being used." Ink grit her teeth, closing her eyes tightly. "Now I'm different! I'm huge! I'm perpetually aroused -"
"You - You're what?"
"- I have nowhere to go and I don't know who to trust! No one likes me, no one wants me around and no one believes me! Just look at me!" The giant alien stretched her arms out, pressing her massive bust together in a confusing display, somehow flaunting her absurd assets whilst wallowing in her own self pity at the same time.
A fresh wave of guilty arousal flushed through the tigress's body. It was almost like Ink was demanding she look at her tits! Zhali didn't know how to feel, she barely knew where to start. But she knew she still wanted to make it right.
"Y-You can trust me! I promise!" Zhali almost begged, fighting back her every instinct to go and wrap her arms around the czarite. "I'm… I'm so sorry for what you've been through… please. We can put this right. If you come to work for me, I can put you straight on medical leave, we can get you counselling, support and help for everything you've been through. I have resources here. I can help."
"Really?" Ink asked shyly, her gaze pinging between each of Zhali's eyes.
"I promise. Hand on my heart. I will earn your trust, if you give me the chance."
One of Ink's tentacles unfurled from her back and reached towards a cup full of pens in the centre of the table, gently dragging it closer towards her.
"W-What's the initiation process like?"
"Nothing scary, I promise."
"Will you be there? I want you there." Ink stared longingly, almost desperately into Zhali's gaze, slowly pulling a pen from the cup and reviewing the contract.
"I-I can be there. I won't leave your side the whole time." Zhali reassured her, offering a gentle, understanding smile.
"Promise?" Ink asked, glancing up at the tigress nervously, her big eyes glassing over.
"Promise. Once you've completed it, we can go back to my office and discuss your next steps." Zhali smiled, feeling herself blush under the gaze of the girl.
"Thank you. You know, I'm actually feeling… better. Maybe I just needed someone to listen to me. I-I think I can do the initiation now." Ink nodded, a small smile gracing her pretty face.
"Really? T-That's excellent!"
Ink paused again, teasing Zhali again by edging the pen onto the paper. A wave of relief washed over the tigress. This interview had been a rollercoaster to say the least.
"H-How is this going to work with me being so…" Ink paused and took a second to think about her words. "The arousal is hard. I don't know how that's going to work with a normal job."
"Oh, don't be silly." Zhali smiled. "Darkpaw is a workplace for adults. We don't employ anyone underage here."
Ink raised an eyebrow as she flicked through the contract, clearly confused.
"What I mean is if a company is comprised of adults, why shouldn't they be allowed to do adult activities? We have an open-sex policy with privacy rooms available through-out the Spire and on our other facilities. It's been my favourite policy since day one, employee's work much better when they're able to blow off some steam and not worry about bottling that stuff in."
"R-Really?" Ink asked genuinely, tilting her head.
"Yeah. Really. I wouldn't say we encourage employees to uh… copulate. But we're very open and honest about it. If they want to have sex, they can."
"Interesting policy…" The alien's eyes suddenly narrowed and fixed on her, her wet, black tongue briefly flickered between her lips. "Does that include you?"
Zhali's cheeks suddenly burnt. This felt so unbelievably wrong, but so irresistibly right at the same time.
"I… It does. But I don't know if I should be -" She flapped her arms out in front of her, completely flustered. "I will not take advantage of someone vulnerable. You need help and support first! I -"
Her words were cut off by the sound of Ink loudly scribbling her name down on the contract, quite deliberately.
"Zhali, you don't need to feel guilty. We're both adults here. I can see you like me. I… I like you too. Let's just… let's see if I pass your initiation before anything else. I need to see if I'm still all there." She tapped on the side of her carapace crown. "For me. I want to know if the DA have fucked me up or not." Ink nodded, standing from her chair. "If I'm not, I'll accept your offer of help and support and… well. Sex wouldn't be the best idea."
"Yes. I agree." Zhali cleared her throat, following Ink's lead, her cheeks still rosy red. "I-If you're fit for work -"
"- Then I'm fit for a fuck." Ink grinned, placing her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out. Two of the stretching buttons on her shirt popped and flew across the table, tapping against the floor.
"You're going to fit in at Darkpaw just fine." Zhali smiled back, her eyes fixed on Ink's face, desperate to ignore the wardrobe malfunction and the sneaky peek of ebony cleavage visible through it. She pressed on her ear piece, opening a line up to her HR division. "Get the girls down here, I need an express initiation for a loomer sized candidate. And, uh… Get her some clothes too."
*
Now dressed in baggy grey hoodie and matching sweatpants, Ink was standing in front of a line of varied goblin girls. Each of them dressed slightly differently, to their own personal liking. Ink frowned at the line of girls, unsure of what to think as they scribbled on their notepads and casted the occasional glance towards her.
They had made their way through the Spire to one of the middle floors, dedicated entirely to training new starters, but first, Ink had to be tested to see what her strengths and weaknesses were. They stood in the middle of a wide corridor, decorated with shiny grey tiles and purple highlights, with an array of interview rooms lining each wall. Each room had a one-way window running from its door to the door of the next room, allowing observations but keeping the interview room focused from outside disturbances. Behind them, the sounds of distant grunting and metal clanking quietly echoed down the corridor, emanating from the gym equipment further down. The spire itself was kept pleasantly cool but well kept, with hardly a blemish visible of its glossy surfaces.
With her schedule clear, Zhali was able to attend the initiation as promised, and made her way to the girl's side upon seeing the furrowed brow on her face.
This is absurd. I hate this. I'll give you lot something to write about. Ink thought to herself.
"I know what you're thinking." Zhali whispered to her as the goblins continued to chat amongst themselves. "I don't only hire critters for the office roles. I'm strider height myself, Darkpaw is an inclusive workplace of all size classes, loomer included. They just happened to be the best for the roles." Zhali nodded. "Goblins get a bad rap in the terra-corps, but they've got sharp minds when they've not got the breeding brain on them. The open sex policy does wonders for their kind. Just do your best, I'll be with you the whole time. There's no way you can fail, we just want to know where best to place you."
Ink exhaled loudly and nodded, waiting for further instructions, her sharp, bright eyes quickly skimming the goblins.
"Oh-kay then!" One of the goblins spoke up in an enthusiastic tone. "We're going to do some mental acuity tests first! Then some physical endurance and strength performance tests! After then, some personality alignment questions and we'll finish off by discussing your living situation and if you need a place to stay, sound good?"
"Mhmm." Ink replied flatly. "Let's do this."
"You'll rock it, lovely. See you in a few." Zhali patted the huge alien on the back, accidentally brushing one of her tentacles. To her surprise, it felt rather silky. She shook her head again, dismissing the lude thoughts and watched as Ink disappeared into one of the interview rooms, the door automatically sliding shut behind her. "Poor thing. She's been through hell."
"Zhali, we finished looking up her claims from the interview." One of the goblins piped up, staring at her data-pad with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh? Please, I'm intrigued. Here's hoping she's actually who she claims to be."
"We uh… we think she might be telling the truth. The nomad barrier between us and the DA has been through hell over the last few months, although we can't tell exactly what happened. Details are super sketchy and we have limited data available." the goblin cleared her throat and flicked the pad a couple times. "But… the DA were absolutely recorded outside their borders over six months ago, and they were spotted very close to the location her last report was sent from. Again, the data is rough, but we can verify that it's entirely possible they crossed paths. We also know the freighter she was working on failed to make it to its next stop. Between those two events -"
"- So she wasn't lying? Holy shit…" Zhali rubbed her face anxiously, but before her thoughts could linger, the goblin pressed on.
"It does seem that way! But she uhm… She left behind the payment slip. For the three years? I've saved it for her but… I can't help but feel she has some sort of motive here, ma'am."
Zhali casted a glance up at the interview room, seeing Ink's powerful, curvaceous frame through the glass. She swore for just a second, that the czarite caught her eye. Just for a brief moment. The tigress felt a wave of primitive lust course through her veins, there was something about Ink that was just… impossible to resist. Her body wanted to submit to her, to be taken by her.
I'm sure that's one-way glass though… It must have just been chance.
"I don't think she knew what she was doing prior to coming here. Not after what she's been through. I can imagine she now wants to kick Tyler's ass. I don't think he'd survive the brawl with her though. Not now, anyway."
The goblin nodded again but still seemed unsure. "I just… Something doesn't feel right, ma'am. I can't say what it is. She's making me feel weird."
"Yeah. Me too." Zhali smiled at the goblin. "Feels amazing doesn't it?"
"Hmm. Not exactly what I was referring to, ma'am. But for the record, her tits are literally bigger than me. I'm not sure I'd survive the attempt."
Zhali snorted and stifled a giggle as the goblin turned around to rejoin her crew.
"Well, honesty is important!"
Within the interview room, Ink forced a friendly grin on her face as the goblin opposite her flicked through the pages on her document.
The room was similar to the first one Ink had in moments ago. A solid metal table fixed in the centre of a dark but nicely lit room, lined with a mixture of black and purple highlights, but with hanging light fixtures above them to offer more dedicated spotlights for written work.
Although she couldn't see them, she could feel the eyes of Zhali and the other goblins through the one-way glass, their eyes fixed on either her face or her breasts. Some of them were scared, some of them were excited. Some were both. She could hear Zhali's heart pounding in her chest. The tigress would be hers by the end of the day.
Her ex-boss didn't matter right now. He would come after. Right now, she needed to bring that tigress under her control.
Suddenly, the squeaky, high-pitched voice of the goblin began reading out her questions, cutting into Ink's thoughts like a hot knife.
"So, I'm going to read you some example situations and I would like you to just give me a brief idea of how you would respond, okay?"
Ink nodded, her tongue briefly flicking out between her lips.
The goblin opposite her was deeply aroused, she could taste it in the air, but the critter was hiding it well under her professional persona.
"You're manning a front of house station and a disgruntled customer comes in and demands a refund for something he bought earlier this week. He is very upset and calls you some mean names. How do you respond?" The goblin looked up from her notes, smiling at Ink and adjusting her glasses.
I WOULD BITE HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF.
"I would ask to see proof of purchase and reassure them that if he bought it from us, we'll put it right."
"Good answer! You never know if a person is trying to push their luck or not!" The goblin smiled warmly again, and scribbled on her notepad, kicking one of her legs over on her chair and shifting her weight. "Just because someone is angry, doesn't mean they're justified!"
YES IT DOES.
"Okay, next situation. You're helping out on the manufacturing floor when you notice a colleague using the wrong type of ladder to access the top of the machinery. He's at risk of hurting himself, what do you do?"
FALL AND HURT YOURSELF, IDIOT.
"I would whisk him away with my tentacles!" Ink's tentacles unfurled briefly and waved at the goblin, sending a visible shiver through her as her jaw dropped for just a brief moment. "I joke! I would ask him to climb down and make sure he's safe though. Then go find the correct ladder for him."
"And what would you do if he refused to come down?" The goblin replied, regaining her composure.
HE WOULDN'T DARE.
"I would inform his manager, he's at risk and he's putting others in harm's way too.
"Excellent. No need to seek confrontation! Okay, next situation. A new starter joins your team and you get off on the wrong foot, there is tension everytime you work together, what do you do?"
I'm fucking perfect, if you don't like me you can eat shit and choke on MY FUCKING TENTACLES! DROWN IN ME, SHITBAG.
"I would own up to it and ask for a fresh start. I know I'm not always easy to get along with, and I want to have a good work environment."
"Ohh good answer. I like that." The goblin nodded enthusiastically, tapping her pen on the side of her chin. "Hmm. How good are you at maths?"
WHO GIVES A SHIT.
"Not sure, why don't you try me?" Ink cocked her head, her focus still locked on the goblin.
"150 + 99?"
"249."
"Correct!" The goblin nodded happily, shifting her weight back onto her other thigh. "78 divided by 3?"
"26."
STOP.
"Hmm, That was quick but it was also quite simple." A mischievous grin crept over the girl's face. "What about 44.6 multiplied by 8.2?"
"365.72" Ink replied instantly, her hands gripping onto the table tightly.
The goblin's eyes widened in amazement.
"That's… that's good. Erm… 8491 multiplied by 54321?"
OH MY GOD, STOP.
"461,239,611. I think."
The goblin briefly pulled out a data pad and double checked the work before quietly laying the pad down on the table, the exact number visible on the screen.
"That is exactly correct. Wow." The goblin paused, blindsided and wide-eyed. "Erm… are you any good with formulas?"
FUCK THAT.
"No." Ink laughed dryly, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Okay! That's fine, maybe we can get some training for you later!"
As the goblin laughed the comment off, quite genuinely, A realisation ran through Ink's mind.
This was going to be easy. Providing she didn't tear any of their heads off first.