Page 01
The Business Plan
They became best friends during college.
After graduation, they remained roommates, moving into a cozy little apartment in the downtown area together. They both worked entry level jobs for a while before making it to their dream careers.
Fiona came home first. She usually came home early on Friday's because she didn't teach a class that afternoon. Thanks to a small family inheritance, she had enough money to open her own business where she trained female gymnastics.
It had always been a passion and something she had done all her life.
The only problem was, you can't run a financially successful gym without enough students.
While still dressed in her athletic sports clothes, she crashed on the couch, face down in a pillow. She then contemplated a simple question: Don't girls like gymnastics anymore? Afterwards, she mentally cursed all the different fitness studios in the city which had good business.
Fiona finally attempted to regain composure when the door opened and Catherine arrived, wearing a sassy little office suit and holding a small purse.
"Well you look like you're having a great day," Catherine said sarcastically, shutting the door and removing her heels.
"My day sucked."
"So did mine."
"At least you look like a respectable woman," Fiona noted.
Catherine laughed and sat on the couch next to her best friend who was still laying there.
"Trust me, I don't think I'm doing any better than you. There's so much competition in this city."
Catherine was right. She was a marriage counselor in a city which was filled with marriage counselors. Since Catherine was young and had little experience, she didn't get as many customers as other counselors did. Although, to her credit, Catherine was great at her job, and she genuinely cared about helping people.
Catherine rubbed Fiona's back through her clothes. Then she massaged her friends shoulder.
"That feels nice," Fiona groaned.
"You feel tense."
Catherine kept on rubbing and massaging.
"That's what gymnastics will do to you."
"No offense, but who'd want to train gymnastics with all the stress that it puts on the human body?"
Fiona rolled her eyes while her face was in the pillow. "Plenty of people. It's a highly disciplined sport. I would argue it's the most beautiful sport too."
"Look on the brightside, you're doing what you love."
"Thanks girl, but it's hard. Not enough people are signing up."
Catherine massaged harder. "Maybe it's because your advertising sucks. You have a decent location, you're a great teacher, but that's irrelevant if no one knows your gym exist."
"I'm trying."
"Have you tried handing out flyers? Going online?"
"Not enough, I guess."
Catherine stopped massaging when her hands became exhausted. Then she rested her head on Fiona's back, as if Fiona was a comfy pillow.
"Then we've got work to do," Catherine said. "We'll need to work on our advertisement for our businesses."
"I'll do anything at this point."
"Same here."
The next morning. When Fiona went to the living room of their small apartment, she saw Catherine sitting on the floor, barefoot and bare legs, wearing only a large t-shirt. Catherine's face was makeup free and her hair was tied in a ponytail. There were papers scattered across the floor along with a cup of coffee.
The typically professionally dressed Catherine was gone, and for a moment, it felt like college again. They used to dress super casually, no make-up, doing their studying on the floor together.
"I've got tons of ideas," Catherine said.
"I'd love to hear it."
Fiona sat down on the floor and they looked at the papers together.
"I've written down some potential advertisements for us," Catherine said. "Here, take a look."
Catherine handed Fiona a small stack of handwritten advertisements. They were short and to-the-point.
"Cathy, this is fantastic," Fiona said, eyes still on the papers. "If you weren't a therapist, you could have a great career in marketing. I mean, seriously."
"Thanks."
"I mean it, this looks great."
Each paper contained variations of the same thing. They explained the nature of the work being done, the characteristics of the owner, and what made their businesses so unique.
"Pick the ones you want," Catherine said. "Then I'll go to the library down the street, type this up, and print a bunch of copies to post around the city. I'll also put this online, which I'm sure will be really useful."
"I like them all."
Catherine smiled, "Then I'll type all of them and post them around for you."
"You're the best. Seriously."
"Trust me, I know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the library."
"Need me to come with you?" Fiona asked.
"No thanks. You enjoy your breakfast. It's on the stove. I work faster alone. Besides, you really need to rest. You look kind of burnt out."
"Thanks."
Catherine uncrossed her legs and grabbed all of her papers, and when she stood up, Fiona caught a brief glimpse inside her best friend's pantiless area. Fiona had accidentally seen Catherine's neatly trimmed pubic hairs, causing Fiona to close her eyes and put her hands on her face.
What Fiona didn't know was that this was only the tip of the iceberg for what was to come.
They had kept in touch via texting. Fiona went out and bought Chinese food for lunch. A short time later, Catherine came home with a stack of books.
"What's that?" Fiona asked with a smile on her face, after preparing the plates for lunch.
Catherine shut the door with the back of her heel, kicked her shoes off, then struggled to bring the books to living room. There were beads of sweat coming down her forehead.
" These might be the answer to our problems," Catherine replied, relieved that her hands were finally freed from the heavy books.
Fiona went to the living room and sat down on the floor to look at the books. She was shocked. They were old library books about relationship therapy, sexual healing, and tantric sex.
They definitely weren't the printed promotional papers that Fiona had expected Catherine to print.
"So, I take it you didn't print all the promotional stuff."
"Not yet. We need to rework our advertisement."
"Why?" Fiona asked. "It was good stuff."
"But we can do better."
"How? With these sex books?" Fiona asked, holding up one of the books.
"I had an epiphany when I saw that in the library," Catherine explained.
"Like what?"
"I think we should team up," Catherine said. "I have a marriage counseling business. You own a small gym. Maybe we can use your gym to hold couples therapy sessions."
Fiona held the book up again. "Based on this sex book?"
"Yes."
"Excuse me?'
"Look, there's something I've never told you before," Catherine said. "Something about my past. Nothing illegal, of course. But it's something I've always been embarrassed by, until now."
There was a sincerity in Catherine's voice, and Fiona put the book down and scooted over on the floor, sitting next to her roommate.
"You can tell me anything."
Catherine took a deep breath. "Well, you know that I've always wanted to be a marriage counselor. That's because my mother had that career, which I've already told you."
"Uh huh," Fiona nodded.
"Well, what I haven't told you is that my mother ran a very specific type of marriage counseling business. You see, she was a sex therapist. Not the porn kind. She was more like a hippie. In fact, she was a hippie. She still is. And all of her married clients were hippies too. Long story, but she guided married couples in their sexual practices."
"Really? And how did this business work?"
"Our family lived in Southern California at the time, in a remote hippie area. Couples would come and they would go out to the desert together. Then they would do their practices. Tantric sex stuff, to put it bluntly. It was to boost their sexual well-being and strengthen their sacred bonds. Stuff like that."
"I think I saw something like that on Real Sex, on HBO I think," Fiona noted.
"Probably. Some of the stuff they did was documented, but I never really cared. In fact, I wasn't even supposed to know until I...well, nevermind. That's another story. Since then my mother has been fully open about this with me. And I think she makes a lot of sense. It's a great business. It really is. It helps a lot of people too, which is the most important thing."
Fiona stared at her friend. "So....you want...to do that?"
Catherine nodded. "It'll make a great business. Think about it. This city is packed with people who need marriage therapy. And there is already an abundance of marriage counselors who are far more experienced than me. So, if we combine our resources, we can make something new."
"Sorry Cathy, but you're not turning my gym into a sex club."
"It's not a sex club."
"Whatever it is, it's just weird."
"What's so weird about strengthening people's marriages?" Catherine asked with a strong firmness. "Do you think I'm weird too? Because this is what I do for a living. This is how I pay the bills, and it's my career."
Fiona lightened her tone. "All I'm saying is, we should think about this a little more carefully before we decide to make any decisions."
"Fair enough. But I think that once you see my point, you're going to think this is a great idea."
"Maybe, but I seriously doubt it."
"We'll see," Catherine smiled ominously. "Here, read these books overnight. Or at least glance through them. Then think about it."
"Does that mean we can eat lunch now?"
"That's probably a great idea. I'm starving."
Erotica or Porn?
Fiona had a dream that night.
She dreamt that she was a sexually enlightened young woman, out in the desert of Southern California, alongside Catherine's hippie mother. It was incredibly vivid, and it felt like Fiona was actually there. She felt the hot sun and nice breeze on her skin. There was a feeling of happiness.
Together, they spread their tantric sexual ways for a small group of hippie married couples. All of them dressed like hippies, in long white gowns, and the women had flowers in their hair.
When the sun reached the right position, and the eagles made their piping sounds, it was time, and they all casually removed their gowns. Then all of them were naked and free, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Fiona led the charge and instructed the couples on what to do, which consisted of lots of kissing, touching, hugging & holding, and plenty of sexual intercourse which resulted in powerful orgasms.
That was the moment Fiona awoke at approximately 7:32 am.
She felt icky for fantasizing about Catherine's mother, who happens to be a very nice woman. They had met on several occasions, but it wasn't like anyone was ever going to know about it. It was a wet dream, and like most of Fiona's wet dreams, it resulted in wet panties. There was only one way to resolve the situation.
Fiona reached below and played with herself until she came.
Maybe it was the result of reading all those sex books which Catherine had made her read? Or maybe it was a premonition of things to come?
When Fiona went to the living room, she saw Catherine working on the floor again, in the same large tshirt and bare from the waist down. Once again, there were papers scattered all over the carpet, but this time there was also a laptop which was being used.
"Have you read the books" Catherine asked.
"I sure did."
"And?"
"They were interesting."
Catherine patted the carpet. "Let's talk. Sit next to me. I want to show you something."
Fiona came over and sat on the floor. When she saw her roommate's computer, she noticed that there was a paused video, which looked like an image of naked people gathered around.
"Are you watching porn?" Fiona asked, surprised.
"No. It's not."
"Then what is it?"
"It has to do with those books I showed you," Catherine said. "You know, tantric sex, sexual healing, that sort of thing."
"So this video you're watching is the real life practice of that?"
"Exactly. It's the same thing my mother does for her job. But don't worry, this isn't my mother in the video. It's a different teacher. I'm not some sort of incestuous pervert or anything."
In that moment, Fiona felt a twinge of guilt for fantasizing about Catherine's mom earlier, but oh well, it was a secret anyway. Besides, the whole thing was Catherine's fault, Fiona thought.
"I'm assuming this is what you want to do in my gym."
"Exactly," Catherine replied. "But only if you agree, of course. What I'm about to show you is a sample. It features a woman being sexually worshiped by the group. Touched all over, then penetrated by the men."
"Like a gangbang?"
"No. It's nothing like a gangbang."
"Catherine, you just described a gangbang."
"The term 'gangbang' is such a nasty phrase. It's like, if a famous artist paints a nude portrait of a woman, is that considered porn?"
Fiona thought for a moment. "No."
"Then what is it?"
"Art?"
"Precisely," Catherine pointed out. "A nude portrait is considered art, or a form of erotic art because it's intellectual. Porn is for quick sexual arousal."
"No offense, but what's your point?"
Catherine gestured to the laptop. "My point is, this isn't porn. It's something beautiful between loving partners."
"Alright. Whatever you want to call it."
"Ready to have a look?"
Fiona nodded. "I'm actually kind of curious."
"Then welcome to the wonderful world of tantra."
Catherine played the clip which was loaded on her laptop.
It was a video of a group of people outdoors, taking their time, enjoying the mood. The people mostly looked middle aged and they all touched & rubbed each other. It went to another level when they began using their mouths and touching their sexual parts. Finally, the people in the video began having intercourse.
The most extreme part came towards the end, when most of the people focused on a single woman, taking turns touching her, rubbing her, sucking her nipples, then penetrating her. That was the moment when Catherine paused the video.
"What do you think?" Catherine asked with a genuine curiosity.
Fiona gave an 'are you serious' expression. "That looks like a gangbang video to me. A bunch of guys descending on a woman? Seriously? That's a textbook porn gangbang."
"Fine, I guess we aren't going to agree on what it's called. The point is, my mother was very successful in using these techniques to boost the intimacy between married couples. With your help, I'd like to do something similar. I know it'll be a big hit in the city. No one else is doing it around here."
"To be absolutely clear, you want to host a gangbang in my gym?"
"We'll host it together," Catherine clarified.
Fiona took a moment to gather her thoughts. "First, just no. Second, this is way too weird for me. Third, gangbangs aren't my thing. I mean, I can't believe we're even having this conversation."
"At least I tried," Catherine shrugged. "But don't tell me this hasn't gotten you interested."
"Sure it has. But this isn't for me."
"How do you know?"
"I just do," Fiona replied.
"Fine. The idea was worth asking though. We really could have used the boost in income. Especially since our businesses are lagging."
"True," Fiona replied with a hint of guilt.
"It would have been nice to give to charity."
Fiona's eyebrows raised. "Charity?"
"Yeah, my mother was a big believer in giving to charity. It was all part of the spiritual thing, you know. Whatever profits she made from tantra, she made sure to give back to charity. That was part of the spiritual way."
Immediately, Fiona's mind began thinking of all the charities she had always wanted to support. She came from a family of givers. Her parents always donated. They always tried to do good things for people. Fiona was the same way, and there were certain causes which she always wanted to support.
But living in a big city with a struggling business was hard enough on her budget. These days, she barely had enough money for new clothes or good food. Her finances were super tight, so giving to charity was out of the question. Until now...maybe...
"What kinds of charities?" Fiona cautiously asked. "I mean, if we did this."
"Whatever we want. It'll be our money. So it'll be our decision."
"How much money do you think we could raise?"
"Honestly, if we're smart, we can raise a lot of money," Catherine replied, sensing an opportunity. "My mother never charged specific rates. She let people pay whatever they wanted. Sometimes, there would be rich couples who were generous, because they knew that my mother donated a lot of money."
"Do you think you could find rich couples for this?"
Catherine nodded surely. "Oh yeah, definitely. In a city like this, it's packed with rich people. And rich people love great sex, just like everyone else. Just think, we can call this a tantric fundraiser. We might make some good money, much of which will go to charity. Plus it'll be a great promotion for my therapy business and your gym. Everyone wins."
For a long moment, Fiona stared blankly at the computer screen, which was still paused on an image of a naked woman being penetrated. It was like Fiona had an epiphany of sexual enlightenment.
"Are you still listening?" Catherine asked.
Fiona snapped out of the trance. "No promises, but I'll think about it."
"What can I do to help change your mind?" Catherine smiled.
"I don't know. Come up with a smart business plan or something. This sounds like something worth considering, especially in our dire financial situation. Plus I like the idea of giving to charity. I think that'll be great."
Catherine put her hand on Fiona's shoulder. "As it just so happens, I've already made a business plan, and the plan looks solid."
The roommates looked each other in the eyes and they felt an excitement they hadn't felt in a long time.
After breakfast, Fiona sat on the living room couch while Catherine went into business mode. For added effect, Catherine dressed in her office skirt and buttoned up blouse, while her feet were still bare.
"Here's what I'd like our joint-venture to be," Catherine said professionally. "I'll contact all of the clients that I've ever had, along with the people who've contacted me for an inquiry. Admittedly, this is not a lot of people, but that's fine. Then I'll explain the offer to them. With me so far?"
Fiona nodded. "Makes perfect business sense."
"Good. So, most of these people are struggling with their marriages. I'll also look for people who want to spice up their love life. Anyway, I'll explain that this is a special therapy session, which we'll be hosting together in the privacy of your gym. I'll explain the pricing, which is that they pay whatever they want. But, there will be a clear understanding that a large amount of the proceeds will go to charity, and I'll explain what the charities are."
Fiona nodded again. "Nice."
"Then I'll explain to them what tantra is all about. I'll explain how it can help their relationships strengthen, and of course, the sexual and spiritual aspects of it."
"Are you a tantric expert?"
"Well, no, not exactly," Catherine admitted. "But that's what the books are for. We'll need to study and memorize them."
Fiona tightened her lips. "Do you really need me to help host this?"
"Yeah, I can't do it alone."
"Cath, I don't know anything about marriage, or therapy, and definitely not tantric sex. I run a gym and I teach gymnastics. That's it."
"Which is why you're perfect to co-host this event," Catherine proclaimed.
"How so?"
"Do me a favor. Stand up."
Fiona sighed then stood up.
"Okay."
"Now show me what an athlete you are," Catherine said. "Keep one foot on the ground, and lift your other foot over your head."
"I don't see what this has to do with the event."
"Just do it."
It was an easy pose for someone who's done gymnastics all her life. Fiona lifted her left leg and kicked her foot in the air, and she used her hand to hold her ankle, so that her left foot was above her head.
"Happy?" Fiona asked, holding her left foot in the air while she stood.
Catherine smiled, "Perfect. I'll need you to be the model."
"A clothed model I hope."
"Nope. We'll all have to be naked. Haven't you be paying attention to anything I've been saying?"
Fiona put her foot down (literally & figuratively). "Look, if we can make good money, I don't mind being around a bunch of naked people, even if they're having hot tantric sex. Heck, I won't even mind seeing you naked, especially since you've got a great body."
"Thanks," Catherine briefly blushed.
"But I draw the line at being naked myself. Especially if I'm being used as a prop to display tantric sex moves."
"You won't even think about it?"
Fiona shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"What about our bills?"
"We can keep working on our promotional stuff to boost our business. I have faith that it'll work if we keep trying."
"And our charities?" Catherine asked softly. "What about all those charities we've been discussing. I saw the look in your eyes. Who knows, some of these clients are rich, maybe they'll donate a lot of money if they like the charitable causes. My mother used to donate tens of thousands of dollars a year after explaining the charities to her rich clients."
There was a sinking feeling inside Fiona's heart. In that moment, she thought of all the people in need. All of the people she longed to help. Both the liberal and conservative side of Fiona wanted to do good. And damn it, Catherine made a compelling point.
"You bitch," Fiona sighed.
Catherine smiled, "I knew you'd understand. I'll get to work making the promotional materials and contacting a few potential clients. Then we can begin with rehearsals. This will solve all our problems, I promise."
Rehearsals? Oh god. The gears were in motion and the thought of being a naked prop nearly made Fiona's pussy twitch.
Monday. Fiona taught classes in the morning & afternoon with the help of a few paid assistants. Around 3 pm, when everyone had left, Fiona stood alone in the gym. She made a mental picture of how the gym could be rearranged for the group marriage therapy session (or "gangbang").
The gym was small but nice. Not much was needed to be done. All Fiona would have to do is push the big equipment to the sides of the walls. She would also need to cover the windows, because god forbid anyone saw them. She would also need floor mats for the guests to sit, which they already had plenty of.
Satisfied with the easy plan, Fiona went home.
Back in the apartment, Fiona sat on the couch and watched tv with her feet resting on the living room table. Nice and relaxed. That was, until Catherine returned with a hand full of papers.
As usual, Catherine was sharply dressed in office attire, makeup, and hair well done. She closed the door, removed her heels, and put her purse on the table. Then she brought the papers to where Fiona sat.
Fiona turned the tv off. "Any news?"
Catherine sat down on the couch, next to Fiona.
"You know, sometimes there's a benefit for having no clients on Mondays," Catherine said with a brightened tone.
Fiona looked puzzled. "Why would there be any benefits to that? That sounds pretty horrible."
"Usually it is. But I got to spend the whole day on the phone and email. I corresponded with a bunch of people and got some surprising results in the process."
Now Fiona was interested. "Oh?"
"It looks like we're in business."
"Wow. Already?"
"Marriage counseling and relationship therapy is big business," Catherine said with a seemingly inappropriate grin. "And you know what's bigger business? Sex. Sex always boosts revenue."
"We're becoming sleazy, you know that?"
"There's nothing sleazy about helping relationships blossom and providing much needed support to charity, okay?"
Fiona shrugged. "I can't argue with that."
"Have a look at this promotional thing I made. I emailed this around all morning. It's certainly eye catching."
Catherine handed Fiona a print out. Fiona read the paper and the eye grabbing headline. It was entitled The Tantric Gangbang Fundraiser.
Below was a description of how the fundraiser worked, and who the fundraiser was for. It was aimed towards struggling marriages or loving couples who wanted extra spice in their lives.
There were also details on the sexual & spiritual benefits of tantra. Along with all of the erotic things they would be doing in the session.
"What do you think?" Catherine asked, impatient for a response.
"My god. A tantric gangbang fundraiser? What kind of name is that?"
"Catchy, isn't it?"
"Also a bit crude. Aren't you the person who said this wasn't porn?"
Catherine nodded. "True. But this name is far more marketable. Besides, it's not like I'm posting this on craigslist or around the web. I'm directly marketing this towards specific people."
"What were the responses?"
Catherine smiled. "Don't freak out, okay?"
"Promise."
"I have pledges of at least $30,000 so far."
Fiona's eyes widened. "Thirty thousand?!"
"You promised not to freak out, remember?" Catherine teased.
"My goodness. Thirty thousand? Are you joking?"
"Nope. I spoke on the phone with a few potential clients and I've explained the charity thing. Once I've told them that a large part of the proceeds will go to charity, they were all for it. I mean, it's a great deal for them. They get to have amazing sex, it helps their relationships, plus they get to give back to society which makes them feel good."
Fiona seemed mesmerized. "You are an angel."
"I know, but we can't celebrate just yet," Catherine remarked. "We need to perform. If we don't perform, we don't get paid, and the charities get nothing."
Reality came crashing down and Fiona sobered up from the emotional high. This was actually going to happen, and she was going to be a part of it.
"Fine. Okay. I'm in. It's for charity right? And our bills? Count me in."