The Repair Shop - Part 3
The Small Business Chronicles: The Repair Shop - Part 2
Chapter One: An unusual request
“Jack, you have a client!” Rachel’s voice sounded from the speaker down in his lab, jolting Jack from the light nap he’d fallen into.
It was a slow week, and even after bringing some of his girls down for routine maintenance, Jack was still bored. He’d just finished tidying up his lab before collapsing into his chair and nodding off.
“Excellent, I’ll be right up!” he buzzed back, quickly fixing himself up and making himself moderately presentable. Before he left, he got his equipment warmed up, just in case the client was ready today.
When Jack stepped out of the lift, he saw the potential client, or clients, waiting at Rachel’s desk; a young man and woman.
The young man appeared to be in his late teens, or early twenties. His youthful face, and long hair, made it difficult to properly estimate his age, though his height indicated he was closer to his 20s. The only thing Jack could tell for certain was that he was most likely European. He wore a simple red t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
The woman appeared more mature, and was most likely in her late 20s to early 30s. Standing at about 5’7, she was a few inches shorter than the young man, but her face, and the way she had her hair tied back, showed that she was older. She was also wearing simple clothes: jeans, a blouse, and sneakers.
It wasn’t immediately clear to Jack which one of them, if it was either of them, was the android. He tried not to assume with walk-ins like these, since he’d guessed incorrectly before and offended a rather high-strung young woman trying to get her sexbot fixed up. It was rare, but occasionally Jack did have clients bring in their male androids to be fixed up; Jack really didn’t mind either way.
Ultimately, Jack realized over the years, the client ended up being the one who would speak up first, and, upon approaching them, the young woman noticed him and smiled. “Hi, you must be Jack Brown…the famous android repair man I’ve heard so much about in these parts.” She got up from the chair and offered her hand, “My name’s Vanda.”
“Interesting name, Vanda,” Jack smiled, politely taking her hand and shaking it; it was nice and soft. “Well, you’ve guessed correctly, my name is Jack Brown, and, while I try to be modest, I am actually worthy of all the praise you’ve likely heard about me.”
Vanda let out a warm laugh, her brown eyes staring deeply into his. “I certainly hope so.”
Jack felt goosebumps form on his skin at her longing gaze. He released her hand and then sat down in the chair next to Rachel, quickly perusing the form that Vanda had started filling out. “So, what would you like me to do for…” She hadn’t provided his name.
“Andy,” she supplied.
“What would you like me to do for Andy?” Jack finished awkwardly.
“Well, I purchased him only recently,” she started, absently playing with a strand of Andy’s long hair, “I bought him cheap, but recently came into some money, so I’d like to bump up his specs a bit.”
“I understand,” Jack nodded knowingly, “So, looks like he’s a custom Spaztec Gabriel-line sexbot, equivalent to a Mark II Perfect Friend,” Jack said, reading off the form that Vanda had filled out, “and he’s only been online for a few weeks, so I should be able to offset the cost of any parts by selling the relatively unused parts…if that’s alright with you.”
“Oh yes, anything to get a discount,” she smiled.
“Great! Then all you have to do is finish filling out this form, and then sign and date the bottom,” he told her, handing her the clipboard with the form attached. Although most things were handled digitally nowadays, Jack preferred to use good ole’fashioned paper for walk in clients.
Vanda quickly took the form and quickly signed the remaining sections, mostly waiving liability on Jack’s part, before signing and dating the bottom and handing the form back to Rachel.
“Excellent! When would you like me to get started on Andy here?”
“Right away, if you’re not busy,” she told him excitedly.
“Luckily for you, it’s been a slow week,” Jack smiled, “If you’d like to come back tomorrow, Andy should be ready for you,” he told her, getting up and preparing to take Andy with him down into the lab.
“Actually, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to go down with you and watch,” she said hopefully, biting her lower lip nervously.
Jack was slightly taken aback, but he recovered quickly. “Sure, it’s an unusual request, but I don’t mind…I could use the company while my assistants are busy elsewhere.” JB and Ellie were assisting Gabby with setting up the new greenhouse expansion project, since Jack had the staff on layaway until the expansion was closer to completion.
“Thanks!”
“Don’t mention it,” he shrugged, “follow me.”
Vanda whispered into Andy’s ear and they both got up and followed Jack to the lift. Once they were all in, Jack began descending the lift.
“Thanks again for letting me come down, Jack,” Vanda said in a seductive voice, “absently letting her hand brush against Jack’s arm, “I’m looking forward to watching you work.”
“Vanda, just so you know, I’m married…happily,” he warned her, fighting off her advances; in the enclosed space of the lift, he could smell her floral perfume.
Vanda looked slightly embarrassed and backed up, composing herself. “Oh, I’m sorry…I knew you were married, but…well, I have some impulse control issues I’ve been trying to resolve,” she said apologetically, with an evasive undertone, “actually, that’s part of the reason I got Andy to begin with.”
Jack sighed with relief, “Oh, that makes sense,” he smiled awkwardly.
Once the lift reached the lab level, Jack allowed Vanda and Andy to step out first. “Vanda, have Andy undress and lay down on the table closest to my work area,” he instructed her, “I need to call my wife and let her know I have a client, so she doesn’t come down looking for me.”
“Alright,” Vanda giggled, then she whispered to Andy. Just as he started undressing, Jack reached the residence of the lab and picked up the phone in the kitchen.
“Brown residence, this is Gabby,” Gabby’s voice sounded; even though she knew it was likely him, he still had her say that little speech just in case, so no one would suspect she was sentient.
“Hey sweetie. I’m just letting you know I have a walk in, so I won’t be up for lunch,” he told her, “I’ll just eat one of the leftovers I already have down here.”
“Oh, okay…thanks for letting me know, I was just about to get lunch ready. Have fun dear!”
“Thanks!” Jack told her, making a kissing sound before hanging up. Jack looked out into the lab from the window, watching as Andy, now nude, laid down on the table. Vanda was merely looking around with a curious expression, seeming to analyze everything in the lab.
Jack merely shrugged and then took a quick bite of a pastry that he had in the fridge, before walking out and rejoining them.
Chapter Two: Andy
In progress...
Season One Closed for Christmas - The Shop | The Repair Shop - Part 1 | Off-season - The Motel | The Repair Shop - Part 2 | Slow day - The Cafe | The Small Business - End-of-Year Review
Season Two Homefront - The House | The Repair Shop - Part 3 |