We hear some of Igor's thoughts about securing the family's future, and his reflections on both his daughters careers, meanwhile Marta has a new scheme.

As Igor drove away from the station heading for the first work site he needed to visit that day, he began to flesh out the seed of a idea that he had been considering. Most of the properties nearer the centre of town were only ever rented, as was the house they lived in, and ownership rarely changed hands, but in some of the nearby streets there were houses or bungalows for sale; he decided to look into the market, and get an idea of the prices.

With his practical knowledge of building and maintenance, plus his contact with many staff at his company who would always be willing for some extra earnings, it could be possible to buy a run down dwelling at a good price. After some refurbishment he could sell or rent it out, to ensure the girls nest egg grew in real terms, or was secured in bricks and mortar.

Svetlana meanwhile had been getting settled in to her new city life, working for two days in one school, with Wednesdays off, then two days at the other, and most Sundays free.

Many afternoons after school, some evenings, and all of Saturday were taken up with girls from the studio desperate to gain the necessary linguistic skills to advance their careers by staring in videos with an English dialogue. It had also escaped into the rumour mill, a story about another 'secret project' where only the girls with a conversational grasp of spoken English, and the ability to write in the language could take part.

Despite the fact her city accommodation was free and the studio paid handsomely for her time both for the lessons that were gratis to the schools, and for her to teach any of the models at other times, the girls parents were also coming up with backhanders to ensure their daughters could get the most convenient time slots to suit their needs. As if this wasn't enough she also got a free lunch on four days a week at the schools, so the rent she paid for her own flat, plus a payment to her neighbour to look after it and forward her mail were now only a minor expense.

Many studio staff were now returning from late summer holidays, which was common in the down time following their models return to school, but slowly work picked up as all the tasks to repair, replace, and restock happened. The skeleton staff gradually came back to full strength, and then at weekends and the odd evening, girls would arrive for shoots to ensure there was a stock of unreleased sets in reserve ready for their patrons.

Anna, often with Marta's assistance, continued running tests on the beta forum, and as her speed and skills increased, the various dummy member persona's upped the pace and become more challenging until Anna resorted trying out first the temporary ban facility, and then the total ban option so they could determine that those features worked as planned.

Another change was happening to all the family, they were getting real social lives, this was especially true for the sisters, who apart from their eight studio friends at the same school, also had others they mixed with, Marta with her boyfriend, along with her chess and folk dancing class, and Anna with her drama group. Anna had also toyed with the idea of learning to play keyboard or to try out a guitar, but as the only slot for piano tuition clashed with drama club meetings, she opted to take lessons for acoustic guitar.

About a month before there had been an effusive letter from the studio accompanying one of their regular payment cheques, and Anna had quipped how the boys, Marta and herself should each have a bicycle, as well a car for their dad. Her father's job had provided him with an MPV, and he had kept in mind her remark, knowing of Anna's hope that the money from her modelling should benefit the whole family, and that Marta held the same views.

Having spoken first with Ella he got home early on Thursday, taking the whole family out to a cycle shop he had seen and enquired about. The shop advised removable training wheels for the boys but Anna and Marta thought they would die of embarrassment if they had to go out like that. The owner suggested they try out a couple of old second hand bikes in the yard at the back of the store for a while, to see if they had the balance instead of risking their practise on brand new cycles.

The wily businessman had a lady staff member assist each of the girls in turn, and soon both sisters were able to cycle around the yard unaided, if a little wobbly. A very happy man cashed up the till that evening having rounded off the day with four bike sales, plus the family had bought safety helmets and a whole bunch of accessories.

Marta was especially pleased with this turn of events as Karl was a keen cyclist, but this was not her only thought, her mind was a maelstrom churning over all the data and feedback she had been receiving from Alina. At times it felt like there was a glimpse of clarity among all the competing bits of information, as if she realised there was some concept or idea lurking just out of reach.

That evening she was feeling the discomfort of her period, and took one of the pain pills before retiring to her room early, sitting up in bed listening to some soothing classical music, with a blank notebook and pen hoping some mental exercise would help.

She started making lists, data, facts, about the models and the studio, she had sorted through this stuff so often she knew most of the important figures, but the studio business laptop sat ready on the bedside table to provide any information she couldn't recall.

She could see her thoughts were going round in circles without any progress so she just closed her eyes for a while to meditate and focus on the music to restore calm.

When Marta had first enquired why even the most popular models didn't release more than seven or eight photo sets per year, she was told that if they exceeded a certain limit for any one model, they got to a point of diminishing returns due to over exposure.

Sure individual members brought far more than that number of sets per year, but they liked variety, and each would have their preferences for the girls whose sets they collected.

The studio output covered that stage in a girls life from the innocence of late girlhood through the early budding at the onset of puberty, and followed that path to highlight her emerging adolescent radiance through her formative teenage years.

This blossoming of a girl into a young woman was a fleeting process that was captured and recorded for those who most admired this wonder of nature, as it could never be recaptured, for despite the best copywriters efforts to sell cosmetics, true beauty did not come out of a jar.

That window of opportunity to explore those few brief years of transformation was finite, and the development of each girl would follow it's own course. The outcome was that some girls held the appeal of the site members longer than others, and Marta was trying to find a way by which her sister could gain the greatest benefit; that some of the other girls might also profit from the plan that was evolving in her mind was to her, just a side issue.

Now the plan had clicked into place, she quickly made some notes, shut-down the laptop and was overcome by a feeling of contentment at having resolved a problem that had at the outset seemed irreconcilable. Regardless of how the other models faired at the studio she was confident her plan would ensure her sister's successful future, after-all, concern for her family always came first.

The next morning the boys were firmly told they could not cycle to school, they could use their bikes in the back garden, and when it was felt they were skilful enough one or other of their sisters would accompany them to the park - if they were good.

All day Marta was in two minds whether to tell her sister about the scheme she had been working on the previous night, but rushing through breakfast, then meeting up with Eve on the way to the station meant there was no time when they were alone in private to discuss the outcome of her cogitations. Eventually Marta concluded she needed to check with Dmitri and Ivan if her idea held any merit, as there could be reasons why the studio might think of her idea as unworkable.

Later that day as they waved Eve off at the corner Marta asked if Anna would be OK doing the model forum practice by herself that afternoon, as she wanted to run an idea past a few people at the studio. She explained to her sister she was uncertain if she was just being silly or if it was a thing that would work, but she would tell Anna about it later when she knew the reaction from the studio.

After a quick greeting, and a snack, Marta loaded her backpack and headed off to the studio, where first she found Karl to tell him about her bicycle, then arranged to speak later with a view to planning a bike ride on Sunday.

Next she went to see Dmitri.

When Marta explained her idea to him, he called it 'time dilation' whereby instead of photographing say seven sets in one chronological year, and posting them in roughly the same time frame, they could take twelve to sixteen sets over one year & release them over a period of two years. Thus it could cause a model's career to last twice as long, but it would mean as time progressed although they would amass a large backlog of stock sets, there would be no way to react to any feedback from the forum as the "future" material had already been recorded.

He could see some virtue in the basic idea as it capitalised on capturing that essence that their audience desired, but he said they should go and talk with Ivan to hash out any pitfalls that could arise from taking this course of action.

The discussion lasted for some time, the idea had points both for and against, until Marta came up with a variant on the plan suggesting that half of the material could be held back for a few years, so the girl could 'grow-up' in real time, thus being able to react to member feedback, then at a stage when a model's career began to wane, the back catalogue of unreleased stock of her younger images could then restart her career for a second time around with new material, and a new revenue stream.

This would have the effect of the same girl 'growing up' twice so an eight year old starting out could have a career lasting until she was fourteen, then after a short break the reserve image sets that had been held back would provide an income for another six years as she progressed through high school and university, and by then the audience would be swelled by new members.

The strategy that a model could be recycled, but in a fresh format after five or six years, was something that appealed to Ivan, like a gallery showing a retrospective, but it represented a long term investment, and he wanted to begin slowly with just a few of the most popular girls to start with, then build the scheme up bit by bit over several years.

He reasoned that it was only an extension of what they did now, in saving summer stock to release when the majority of his models who lived further away were less available to work when school had resumed after the holidays. The initial investment involved in studio time and resources would increase, but he didn't feel the models or their parents would object to doubling the number of shoots during their visits to the studio, as they would "banking stock" for their children's future, a sort of pension available in five years time.

On further reflection he saw another advantage in that almost all of their most popular and dedicated girls ended up moving to be near the studio, and would be readily available to shoot additional "set aside" material during the time when the studio had both the time, and the capacity to take advantage of this scheme.

All the staff got paid every week, regardless of how busy or slack the workload, this would maximise the careers of his best models, and utilise the studio space that had previously sat idle on many days during the school terms.

The final deciding factor for Ivan was Marta's "Midas touch" so far, nearly every suggestion she made was a winner, the girls success rate was phenomenal, which was why his own personal reputation was at an all time high with the directors. It was due to several of her recent initiatives that the company turnover was increasing by sufficient margins for him to go ahead with this latest brainwave.

Thus the idea which they decided to call "future stock banking" came into being.

Due to the length of their discourse he called up a cab to ensure Marta wasn't late home for supper by relying the trains which would be busy at this time of day.

Sitting around the table that evening Ella had for once an interesting story to tell, earlier in the week a lady from the catering company had phoned asking if she could call in and visit Ella, and she had been around that morning.

It seemed that several people who had attended their garden party had been unaware of Ella's contribution to the baked food, and had called the company about future occasions when they would require a professional catering company, and asked if they could include the same 'rustic range' of cakes and pies they had enjoyed at that event.

The upshot was the woman didn't want a constant supply of baked goods, but wanted to be able to offer the service as a special addition to their normal range for select clients.

Ella loved to cook, especially baking, and she was very good at it, but she felt unable to make any commitments until she had spoken to Igor and her children.

Igor said how proud he was to have such a talented wife, and pleased that others had seen fit to recognise one of her many skills, a look passed between them and Ella actually blushed.

The overwhelming response was that if it was something she would enjoy, she should go ahead and do it, but on her own terms. With such support Ella knew it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up, and she felt it was only right that her splendid and well appointed new kitchen, the heart of the home should more often be filled with the smell of baking.

Greg usually unconcerned with things grown-ups were talking about had been all ears, and made plain his worry that other people would eat all his mum's cakes, when the laughter had died down Ella told him whenever she was baking, her growing boys would always be the first on her list, and they could check each batch of cakes.

At the end of the meal Marta suggested the boys go and watch one of their favourite cartoons, everyone else at the table guessed this meant there was studio business to be discussed.

Marta introduced the topic by relating that how in the beginning Anna had been concerned that she only had a possible span of four years as a child model, then she spoke about how there was a limit to the number of sets members would buy of a single model in any one year. She illustrated this by the fact that having done three photo shoots and two videos over the course of two months, it was felt that 'Natasha' should take a break to allow demand to build up again, before planning any new releases.

It was only novelty value and the level of current forum interest that caused the studio to release such a volume of one girl in only two months.

She then went on to talk about the plan of "future stock banking" and how this could provide a significant extension to Anna's earnings when she reappeared after the time they had expected her work at the studio to end.

Anna was keen to squeeze out every last detail of the talk that had taken place earlier, and was fairly buzzing with excitement. "So if there are enough picture sets I can be famous for a second time round, so why cant we do lots and lots so 'Natasha' can go round more times?"

Thinking about it Marta could see no reason, other than the studio's willingness to provide the time and facilities over and above what had already been tentatively agreed upon.

With no more to add the family meeting ended and Marta went to her room to phone Karl about cycling on Sunday. They spoke for long enough that she needed to put her phone on charge afterwards, but the plan was he would come round, then they would make a route linking some of the local city parks, not travelling too far as cycling was new to Marta.

The evening progressed with the girls reviewing Anna's forum session, then they both cleared their homework assignments for the weekend so they were free to pursue their own agendas, Marta wanted to return to the notes she made the night before, this time focusing on the hobbies and skills of some of the local girls, Alina said most of the models had replied now, so they needed review, and next was to work on the members wish list.

Anna wanted to put a few last touches to her 'New models FAQ' that she had been working on, for although she was a relatively new hand herself, her inquisitive nature and the researches she had been involved in when helping her sister meant she knew a lot about many aspects of a web based model agency.

She intended to ask Valya to look at it, and maybe pass it to others on the staff who helped new girls to see if they had any additional tips or advise, then they could give out copies to new girls when they started modelling.

Igor's week had been busy since dropping off their friends at the station on Monday, he now also had a mobile phone supplied by his company, and he had been doing research of his own on the local property market. The economy of Kiev may have appeared vibrant in comparison to the rest of the country, but he had discovered that even with the limited housing market of properties for sale, the information he had managed to glean indicated more people currently wanted to sell than buy.

This situation was ideal from his point of view as prices were depressed.

He had systematically visited numerous property agents during his rounds during the week giving them each details of the types of housing that would interest him, and leaving his new cell phone number.

Taking his daughters previous advise to heart about looking and feeling the part helped, as the people he dealt with, saw the suit, cell phone, and the new MPV, and assumed as he wanted them to, that he was one of the new breed of well healed property developers. He wasn't in that league yet, but given the right start; he was willing to roll up his sleeves with a good work crew to make it happen.

Though naturally risk averse, his studies had led him to the conclusion that the one area of the market that had been least hit, were those people wealthy enough to afford the largest family homes, but they wanted to be able to move straight in, not suffer the delays of any refurbishment work needed for a house in need of repairs.

The points in his favour were his knowledge of building work, access to a pool of skilled labour who would be keen for some additional income, and the trade deals he could make for materials from contacts made in his new job. The downside was the initial cost at this level in the market, and getting organised to reduce any delays in the work needed, then the final hurdle would be a quick sale at the right price.

If he could get all these things right, the girls money would be safe and he could increase their funds to repeat the exercise, but a problem with any stage of the deal, and they would be in limbo, at best holding on to break even. He would wait to see what turned up, not rush things with the first likely prospect, and he would involve the girls, they had earned the money sitting in that account, and he felt it only right they should be consulted.

He remembered back to that fateful day they had gone to the auditions, his shock and outrage when Ivan had told him about the nature of the pictures, he could laugh now, but at the time he had been so close to punching him.

Ivan had handled the situation well, restoring calm, explaining how often the girls really had fun as it pandered to their youthful sense of rebellion and exhibitionism, but in a safe way, as they always had their mother or some other member of the family to watch over them the whole time.

The albums had been a revelation, despite the talk of nudity he hadn't known what to expect, fearing that perhaps it would be sleazy or sordid, some kind of pornography with young girls. He felt blessed married to Ella, they shared a closeness and the physical side of their relationship had always been active, but it somehow felt odd as they sat together at the table viewing these revealing photos together.

Ivan had used some flowery words, but the pictures spoke for themselves, once you looked past the fantasy backgrounds and dazzling costumes, it came down to the girls; other fathers daughters. Looking at the girls eyes he didn't see fear or despair, they seemed to twinkle with fun and mischief, on the other hand as each set progressed the girls held nothing back, all was on display, but not in a crude or graphic way, it was as if they were saying look at me because I'm proud of my developing body.

When Ivan stepped out, they spoke briefly before Anna ran across the hallway, between them they tried to let her down gently, but Anna knew her own mind and was determined to audition, to become a model, not put off by the second album, but seeing it as a guide, and announcing she would become more popular than the most successful current model.

His eyes became moist as he thought back to how Anna had been so sensitive to his feelings of discomfort, saying how she was not bothered about being naked, and how people went to nude beaches all the time. He recalled her enthusiasm as she went off down the hall for her test pictures, and now four months on she was achieving her goal.

He had been so proud that she had remained firmly grounded throughout, and had sort ways to include her elder sister, and it was pleasing that they were all doing well in school, now all his children were learning English, even he and Ella were picking up odd words.

Thinking back to when Ella had badly sprained her ankle, his last concern at the time had been for Anna's second impending trip to the studio, but Marta had shown courage and determination in the way she stepped in to guarantee nothing would cause her little sister's career to be harmed as a consequence of the accident.

Ever since that time he realised she was not just Anna's 'honorary manager' but that she had real skills in solving problems, and now his eldest daughter was actually being paid big money in her role as a consultant, and more recently for writing scripts.

Their lives during this time had been like some fantasy story, and no one knew what uncertainties lay in the future, but as head of the family it was his responsibility to ensure like in any good fairytale that his family lived happily ever after.

To be continued in chapter 22

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For those of you who are still with me - a comment or two might be helpful, also does anyone want any hints/spoilers of what lies further along the trail? When reading the start of the next chapter you need to imagine the menacing 'Jaws' theme music playing over the first few sentences.