The new concierge...

[SteelPoint]

... and his wife. No, not the false, modern meaning associated with hotels etc., but the true and original French term describing a person (couple, more usually) who supervise the life of a block of flats from their reduced/zero rent flat adjacent to the entrance. They act as caretakers/receivers of bulky post items/repair arrangers/neighbour dispute resolvers... you name it. Basically, minders on behalf of both residents and building owners.

Firstly, I have it in mind that a new concierge couple move in with some interesting ideas as to how to make extra money for themselves over and above the usual tips, all of which they hadn't mentioned to the management company at the interview, unsurprisingly.

Secondly, perhaps down the line a year or so, a lot of the flats have visitors coming and going of a daytime. Interesting sounds can be heard as you walk down any of the access corridors, accompanied possibly by the crying of unattended babies, confined to smaller bedrooms..? That sort of thing. Oh, and the concierge's own flat has one of the bedrooms converted... TV monitors cover one wall.

I'm having a little difficulty getting between the two scenarios and finding an actual storyline which gets it all across. Maybe you can do better..?

 

[Carnevil9]

In urban USA parlance, that person would more likely be called a "super" or superintendent.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I like this. In 2001 a handsome young unmarried couple are put in place at an apartment building that is near the Russian embassy in Paris, as the concierge. They have spied on everyone for decades. They have had a good life since, getting up to all sorts of sexy shenanigans. And passing on the odd intelligence. At the moment she is fucking a handsome young man who she believes is a diplomats attache, until she discovers that he's actually a US/Russian double agent. The man is romancing a diplomats wife and things are going great until the diplomats wife discovers one of the spy cameras.

 

[CuttingEdge]

The story idea reminds me of the novel Maggie by Steven Crane, or in some ways; McTeague by Frank Norris. In the latter one, the main characters swap a girl that is a girlfriend to one, who goes to the other, without her consent, because it just makes sense fiscally for her to be the wife of McTeague instead. They never ask her opinion, which in the book is just lamp-shaded, making the womanly swap seem as if it is nothing. I always got a laugh out of that part.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Perhaps the concierge becomes aware that a tenant is a prostitute and is bringing his/her work home so to speak. What might happen for the sake of remaining silent on the subject?

 

[jaF0]

The Management is also responsible for renting the units. They carefully select to find only the Beautiful People. The overly attractive, or those who have the potential to be with some advice and tutoring and maybe some .. alterations. Turns out the Management is a corporate recruiter and groomer/trainer in special talents. All are guided in how they live and present themselves and how they entertain others and use their wiles. They are able to graduate into successful corporate careers by using their newfound talents, but under contract they continue to pay residuals to the Management that got them started. And return to the block to to entertain others.

 

[CuttingEdge]

A writer could also come from this from the angle of, the building itself is located in an ideal spot.

I was just at a friend of the family's store which is located in a very posh, tourist-laden, up-scale part of town that even has free parking for a dozen cars. Because of all that, she pays $12,000 USD per month in rent. If she ever retired, it would be snapped up in a second and be in a bidding war for it.

Maybe a couple wants to live in an upscale, trendy part of town but need to get the approval of the buildings concierge to live there. They have the money, it's just so do so many other people who also want to live in that section of the city. Now it is not a matter of who can pay for the available, but much coveted loft apartment, but who is willing to lose their morals in order to secure it? Will hipster Seth look the other way as his girlfriend wears a rope dress and clips a leash to her collar in submission, all so her boyfriend can be in a trendy part of town where he can sell his paintings? Just what will she do to get live in that part of town? Will the story end with her realizing that living there was never worth what she had to do?

 

[000zing]

OP, I think you had the right idea about the concierge couple being out to subvert the entire building, or as much of it as they can. They can make a nice extra living by becoming pimps, in effect, seducing lonely and frustrated housewives into earning some extra cash. The whole place becomes an apartment-setting brothel with husbands away at work blissfully unaware of the situation back at the ranch.

For that matter, there may be a few house-husbands who are given similar work, entertaining unfulfilled ladies from the outside community while their careerist wives are at the office.

 

[Reenigam]

OP, I think you had the right idea about the concierge couple being out to subvert the entire building, or as much of it as they can. They can make a nice extra living by becoming pimps, in effect, seducing lonely and frustrated housewives into earning some extra cash. The whole place becomes an apartment-setting brothel with husbands away at work blissfully unaware of the situation back at the ranch.

For that matter, there may be a few house-husbands who are given similar work, entertaining unfulfilled ladies from the outside community while their careerist wives are at the office.

Ooh, I like the whole idea. I may have a go at this.