Landlady Takes Control

"Thank you for that, Natalie," Charlotte crooned, stretching her toes lazily as she rested them in the girl's lap. Thankfully, she withdrew them got up to go relax in the living room.

Natalie hurried away to the bathroom and scoured her hands with soap and hot water, but couldn't get the thought of Charlotte's feet out of her mind. Was this seriously what Charlotte expected her to do to earn her keep?? Even this one foot rub was disturbing in the extreme to Natalie -- she couldn't stomach the thought of rubbing Charlotte Lamberton's feet as a normal part of her schedule.

And yet, that seemed to be exactly what the woman desired.

***

Natalie's new boss already seemed like he had it out for her. It probably had something to do with her reaction when she saw her work uniform.

Natalie's 'strecher' uniform consisted of a vanishingly small pair of short shorts -- they barely covered her toned butt. Her top was a tight neon yellow tube top that ended well above her midriff, and a black athletic bra beneath it. The outfit really seemed to call attention to her body, and gave her the appearance of a bubbly sporty girl. Her hair was in a sensible ponytail, with a neon yellow scrunchie holding it up.

She followed her new boss, a young man with swelling muscles and an obnoxious attitude.

"So we all have specialties here: some stretchers focus on the upper body, some on the lower body, some on the back."

Natalie nodded, looking around to see pretty young women helping clients perform lovely stretches all across the gym's floor. Its decor was somewhere between an athletic studio and a massage parlor. The floor consisted of soft rubber, and there was soothing music coming over the loudspeakers.

"Your specialty is..." the guy began, looking down at his phone, "legs and feet."

Natalie suppressed a moan.

"The feet are an interesting specialty," the guy added, oblivious to Natalie's discontent.

"I think you are our first person to focus on them. But it makes sense: there are a lot of bones and connective tissue there. We've actually had many of women coming in here asking for foot reflexology sessions after wearing high heels. Do you think you could learn to do that?"

Natalie couldn't muster a response, but the guy obviously wanted to hear a, 'yes, sir.'

"Yeah," she said, weakly.

He seemed unimpressed.

"Well, please try to show some more enthusiasm when you're dealing with the customers. A big part of what we do is creating a positive experience -- that's why people come here instead of somewhere else."

The guy pointed to a smiling girl in her early 20s, gently rotating an older man's right arm in small circles. She had a polite grin on her face, as though she was happy to be serving a guy old enough to be her father. Or maybe she was?

"Okay, I will!" Natalie answered, smiling as best she could. The guy seemed satisfied, and they continued their tour of the studio.

The older guy was suspiciously brazen with the way he touched the girl's bare legs, although she didn't object out loud she was clearly blushing.

"Great! Your first client is here, she's waiting up front."

Natalie followed the guy's gesture to see a young woman in the reception area -- Natalie's first thought was that she seemed to be a trophy wife. She had luscious blonde hair, but dark eyebrows and she barely looked old enough to be done with college. Something about her high cheekbones and her fierce eyebrows made her look mean, but she smiled at Natalie.

"Hey! Are you my stretcher? I really need it," the woman said, shaking Natalie's hand with a surprisingly strong grip.

"I'm going to this new moms class and they told me this helps with the stress."

She introduced herself as Gabrielle, and the three of them went to one of the padded tables. Gabrielle had on yoga pants and a pink vest, and Natalie was impressed that she retained such a tight figure, for being a new mom.

Most of the goodwill Natalie had for Gabrielle evaporated over the stretching session, but that wasn't the blonde woman's fault.

It was the stretching routine! Natalie couldn't believe she was so unlucky to have pulled this specific job. For at least 15 minutes, Natalie had to kneel on the bed and help Gabrielle extend her upturned leg down towards her torso. Except, Natalie's own position made it so that her face was just an inch away from the woman's bare feet. Gabrielle giggled, and Natalie's boss told her that she wasn't supposed to breathe through her mouth during this stretch, to avoid tickling the client's feet.

Beside herself with indignation, Natalie had no choice but to breathe through her nose for the entire time she held this stretch, inhaling the aroma of Gabrielle's feet. The woman had clearly skipped her shower, and Natalie noticed an earthy aroma she couldn't seem to ignore. The blonde woman was smiling wide, and although she was vocal with her enjoyment of the service, she seemed totally oblivious to Natalie's discomfort.

This pattern continued: apparently Natalie's boss expected her face to remain within a few inches of Gabrielle's feet for many of the stretches. She assumed this position as she rotated the woman's ankles, pulled on her slender toes, and used targeted reflexology against her high arches. By the end of the session, Natalie felt shaken from smelling this woman's feet for so long. Sure, she was gorgeous, and hygienic, but Natalie abhorred anything to do with feet.

Now this was her job.

Gabrielle looked radiant as she thanked them at the end of the session -- it looked like she had re-captured that motherly glow that women adore so much. She tipped Natalie $20, which was a pleasant surprise. The fact that a rich woman could be so polite kind of confused Natalie's resentment, but she figured that Natalie was probably an everyday person who came into wealth by marrying some rich asshole.

Their next client was a raven-haired woman somewhere in her 40s, dressed as though she were a business executive. She had on a black jacket, black skirt, a pink blouse and black nylons. Her stilettos were obviously a designer brand, and she had no wedding ring on. Although she had pretty facial features, she seemed to be frowning all the time and it added an intimidating gravity to her person.

"Hello Ivan," the woman said to Natalie's boss. She had a no-nonsense tone of voice; like she could order a thousand people to lose their jobs and think nothing of it.

"I know Alondra quit, but I really need a Cleopatra massage. I have closing arguments today and it always helps me think. Do you have someone who could help?"

Ivan nodded. By how polite he was being to the woman, Natalie sensed that she was an important client. He told her to take her usual private room, then pulled Natalie aside to give her a quick lecture in whispered tones.

"Miss Medic is one of our most regular clients. She spends a lot of money here and we really want to keep her business. Please, please just keep a good attitude during this session. She's really demanding, but just do what she says. And don't mind the way her feet smell -- she HATES it when anyone calls her out on it."

Natalie wanted to quit right there, but she felt Ivan's strong arm guiding her to the private room. It felt like she was walking to the gallows as they went into the hallway that contained all the private rooms. Ivan knocked gently on the door, and Miss Medic invited them in.

Natalie was shocked to see that the woman had stripped down to her bra and panties, but had left her thigh-high stay-up stockings on. Her body was pale and soft, like she didn't place any importance on exercise. She was lying on her back expectantly.

The room itself was cozy, maybe eighty square feet and dimly lit. It had a sink and a place where Miss Medic had folded all her clothes. Even upon entering, Natalie noticed the telltale aroma of feet -- it made her blood curdle.

It got worse as she got ready to do a service. There was a sharp aroma, mixed with leather that she found impossible to ignore. Even if Natalie didn't loathe feet, this would have been objectionable. Given her aversion, though, it became a horrific ordeal. Ivan was there too, giving her the occasional look to make sure she wasn't breathing through her mouth. She winced as she touched the woman's nyloned feet, as a tidal wave of embarrassment and distaste washed over her entire body. It felt like she was putting her hands in some noxious poison that seeped all the way down to her bones.

"Just do my feet," Miss Medic ordered when Natalie tried to move up towards the woman's ankles and calves.

From Miss Medic's perspective, this was heaven. She had a handsome, buff guy massaging her shoulders and her arms while a pretty brunette girl massaged her feet. Soft music played, and she had nothing to do but focus on receiving pleasure

Natalie, on the other hand, was in hell. The more she massaged Miss Medic's feet, the more their offensive aroma seemed to permeate the room and seep into her hands. Natalie knew she was probably just imagining this, but the thought wouldn't leave her mind. And even worse, Natalie wasn't even trained in how to give foot massages! Wasn't there some kind of law that you needed a license to do this?

She felt like she was just groping the woman's soles with her thumbs, arbitrarily deciding where to stroke. It was an hour long appointment too, and it really strained Natalie's imagination to think of so many different ways to rub a woman's foot. The constant hunched position she had to take caused her lower back and shoulder to ache, and even her wrists were hurting.

"My feet are not too offensive are they?" Miss Medic asked at one point. Ivan gave Natalie a pointed look.

"Not at all! They're fine by me," Natalie lied.

"Wow, you're a brave girl! I can smell them from here, and I don't envy you. But if you don't mind them, great! You can be my new regular foot girl -- I'm in here all the time."

Natalie forced a smile through all her despair. She didn't want to touch this woman's feet for another minute, let alone for several more sessions!

"Sometimes I think Alondra quit because she had an issue with me. Do you think that's why, Ivan?" Miss Medic asked.

"No, definitely not," Ivan said, "I think she had to move. She enjoyed seeing you."

Natalie saw the harsh woman smile a little -- she clearly liked it when people flattered her ego. Being this close to Miss Medic's feet, Natalie could definitely understand why a girl would quit instead of being subjected to them on a regular basis. But for her, quitting wasn't an option.

About halfway through the massage, Miss Medic's happy sighs became a little disconcerting. At first, it seemed like the woman was just relaxed, but soon her moans became more suggestive. Ivan looked like he was totally comfortable with this... foreplay, and spent a little too long massaging her boobs. Natalie saw the lust in his eyes, and wondered what he would do if she weren't here.

Or was she part of this little scene? Miss Medic and Ivan seemed careful to maintain deniability -- this all could still be a misunderstanding on Natalie's part so she just kept quiet.

"Ah! That was sooo good," Miss Medic said at the end of the session.

Ivan had helped her sit up, and she was lazily flexing her feet and giving Natalie an inscrutable expression. Natalie kept a polite smile on her face, which seemed to please the older woman even more. Miss Medic's gaze became more like a leer, which made Natalie blush and head for the door. Ivan followed suit, and they walked towards the break room together.

"That was awesome!" Ivan said, clapping her on the shoulder.

"She's really hard to please, but she seemed happy with your service."

Natalie nodded, wishing for any opportunity to wash her hands. She could feel bits of foot grime on them, and the smell of Miss Medic's feet was still sharp in her mind. Just as she was about to use the sink, there was a knock on the door.

It was Miss Medic.

"Ivan, that was the best. I will be back here tomorrow for more of the same. And I want this girl to do my feet again," she said, pointing at Natalie.

"OH! Before I forget, here, come sample this essential oil I picked up."

Miss Medic beckoned Natalie over, and ordered the girl to hold out her hands with her palms upturned. Then the older woman squeezed a few droplets of rose oil onto her hands, which had a subtle earthy aroma. She ordered Natalie to rub her hands together vigorously, coating their entirety with the colorless oil.

"Now lift your hands to your face and inhale deeply five times through your noise," Miss Medic told Natalie.

The brunette girl tried not to groan as she lifted her hands to her pretty face to inhale the aroma. The oil didn't even cover the smell of Miss Medic's feet: far from it! In fact, it seemed to compliment their sharp odor with more dull scent, and cause it to penetrate her senses more deeply. With her eyes closed, she inhaled six times. It felt like she could taste the woman's feet on her tongue, which made her queasy.

"I know this job is hard on your hands," the mature woman explained, "so I'll bring this oil for you tomorrow too. Ciao!"

With that, Miss Medic was gone, and Ivan brought Natalie to their next client before she could clean her hands. Natalie's job continued this way, touching womens' legs and feet in highly intimate ways, helping them stretch and ease the stress of life. It was a demanding job, requiring Natalie to take all sorts of awkward positions and hold them for uncomfortable amounts of time.

At the end of the day, Ivan had some feedback for her.

"You did alright,' he said, counting out her tip money. "The only thing you need to work on is smiling more. Our clients want to see happy employees."

Natalie just nodded politely. She had been smiling all day and that wasn't enough? Was she supposed to be ludicrously happy to have her feet inches away from womens' toes all day??

"Oh, and please put more care into your appearance," Ivan added.

"In fact, go next door before your shift tomorrow and have them do your hair and makeup. We have an agreement with the girls there -- they'll give you a discount."

A while back, it would have been totally illegal for an employer to dictate how his employees looked. But, as Natalie looked around at the other girl 'stretchers' she noticed that each one of them had full makeup on, and elaborate hairstyles. Employment laws had been so weakened that these girls probably had to jump through whatever hoops their bosses wanted in order to keep their jobs.

It was one of the things Natalie had protested and lobbied against.

"Yes, sir," Natalie said, feeling fatigued and defeated.

She rode the bus home, in an effort to save gas. When she arrived, Charlotte's Mercedes was parked in the driveway, and she slipped in hoping the woman wouldn't notice. But as soon as she put on those ridiculous pink slippers, her footsteps announced her arrival.

"Nat! Come to the living room," Charlotte called out.

Natalie shrugged her shoulders and marched to the living room, where Charlotte was sitting with a young brunette. She was a slender woman, with long arms and legs. Natalie winced as she saw that the brunette was barefoot -- didn't Charlotte have some kind of foot phobia?

"Nat, this is Karolina," Charlotte said, motioning to the coltish woman. She was wearing yoga pants and a black athletic sweater.

"Namaste!" the woman said, offering a little bow.

"Karolina, this is Natalie. She used to troll people online, now she's my live-in foot rubber and maid."

Natalie flashed Charlotte a glare.

"Just kidding!" Charlotte said, "but seriously, do you think you could give me a foot massage right now? My feet feel lonely,"

Natalie despised Charlotte's cutesy way of asking for things. Also, having to massage the woman's feet in front of company was even worse! Even if Karolina seemed a little air-headed, it was still humiliating to do something so degrading in front of a stranger.

"Yes, Miss Lamberton," Natalie answered, approaching to rub the woman's feet yet again.

Natalie had to sit on the hard coffee table facing Charlotte, so she could massage the woman's feet without her needing to turn away from her friend. She frowned as she started little effleurage motions on the woman's soles, which had flecks of dirt on them as usual. It felt like Karolina was watching her, although the women neglected to include her in their conversation. They were talking about metaphysical stuff that didn't really interest her anyway: horoscopes and things like that.

As she had been trained, Natalie didn't look up from her task. Here she was acting like a stupid servant, bowing her head, with Charlotte's feet taking up the entirety of her attention. It irked her that Karolina was obviously new-agey but she didn't find it strange that Charlotte had another woman doing something so demeaning.

After a while, the conversation turned to Natalie.

"I notice that Natalie doesn't have a very good attitude towards her work," Charlotte said, pointing to the girl using her foot.

"Is there anything you can recommend to give her a better spirit about stuff?"

"Oh, of course!" Karolina answered, her eyes lighting up. "I went to see Doctor Sahi for when I was feeling low-libido, and she's a miracle worker. I can get her a session if you'd like -- although she is pretty expensive."

"Hmm."

Charlotte gave Natalie a critical look, and Natalie was just angry that the women were talking about her as though she weren't there. But what could she say? Meanwhile, Charlotte was thrilled to see this level of compliance from the once-proud girl -- like she had already accepted that she was some kind of foot masseur!

"I suppose it would be good. Maybe it's like an investment -- I can use it as a tax write off!"

At this, both women laughed and Natalie slumped her shoulders.

"Oh, I don't mean to be a bad hostess. Would you like a foot rub, Karolina? Natalie would be happy to help."

"Oh, I don't know -- I just got done with hot yoga," Karolina demurred.

"Nonsense! Natalie is happy to help. It helps reduce her rent, too, so it's a win-win."

Karolina didn't take much more convincing, and soon Natalie had the woman's size 11 feet in her lap. She had very high arches and long, slender toes. Her feet widened from the heel out towards the ball, and they were firm and muscular to the touch. Unfortunately, they had a faint aroma of Birkenstocks and perspiration, along with some kind of witch hazel that Natalie guessed the yoga studio used as a spray.

The women continued to ignore Natalie, who rubbed Karolina's athletic feet for another half hour. By the end of the day, Charlotte made Natalie an appointment to meet with the doctor sometime the following week. As Natalie was preparing a fruit smoothie for Charlotte later, the woman let slip that the introductory session alone cost $1500! It didn't surprise Natalie, but she had an ominous feeling about what kind of results would come for that price...

***

Natalie sat on a tiny chair in front of the doctor's desk, feeling quite intimidated in spite of herself.

Dr. Prisha Sahi was a middle-aged Pakistani woman with a large body and pendulous breasts. She dressed in such a way to emphasize her curves, unashamed of her thick thighs and meaty arms. She was at least a head taller than Natalie, and physically imposing in spite of her round face and full lips. Natalie had the feeling she was a schoolgirl in the principal's office, and the doctor's tone only made the situation worse.

"So, it seems to me that you have a... neurosis when it comes to feet," the doctor said in thickly accented English.

"I suppose so, but isn't that normal?" Natalie asked -- even having to talk about feet was unpleasant.