“Hello, this is ,” you say automatically as you pick up the phone, trying not to yawn in the receiver.
“, this is Gina, Deborah’s receptionist. Deborah needs you to meet her downstairs in Conference Room 10.”
You quickly and quietly bite your lip, trying not to think of your misadventures with Gina and Deborah the night before. “Um…did Deborah say what she wanted?”
“No, just that it was work related and she needed to brief you herself.” With that, Gina disconnects the call.
You take just a few minutes to adjust your tie and brush off your shirt while mentally prepping yourself. As you check your tie in a small mirror hidden in your office, you tell your reflection, “This is only a business meeting. I’ll show them how professional I can be. I can rise above the petty games they want to play and I will be professional and graceful.” With that, you take a deep breath, leave your office, and walk down the flight of steps to the Conference floor.
While Conference Room 10 is one of the smaller conference rooms, it does have a state-of-the-art audio-visual center. Plus, since it is on the corner of the building, two of the four walls are comprised almost completely of windows. A brief smile flashes across your face as you think of the hours you’ve spent watching the park across the street and into the windows of the other office buildings instead of paying attention to the dull presentations given in here. You break your reverie and notice Deborah sitting at the head of the table going over some files with Melissa, who is sitting at Deborah’s right. is sitting at a chair in the middle of the table with her back to the windows; apparently she is comparing notes from her Blackberry with some scribbles and reminders off of a legal pad. At the other end of the table you see Natalie from the Telecom Department; you remember her quip once that Telecom was a fancy way of saying she took pictures for the ID badges and made sure none of the televisions, projectors, or camera broke down. She nods once at you courteously before returning to the work on her laptop.
Deborah looks up at you, her face betraying nothing of the night before, as she nods an acknowledgement to you. “Have a seat, . I apologize, but this will only take a minute, then we’ll get started.”
You nod…then realize you left your PDA and legal pad upstairs. A quietly frantic search reveals you don’t even have a pen with you. You tell yourself to be cool as you try to come up with an excuse so you can dash up to your office while everyone else is still working. Before you can move, however, Melissa stands up and exits the conference room as Deborah turns to the rest of you. “I apologize for keeping you all waiting. Has everyone else cleared their schedules for the day?”
Natalie and both state their schedules are clear. Thinking you can take advantage of the opportunity to get your stuff, you give Deborah a shy and repentant look. “Deborah, I do have a meeting scheduled this afternoon. If I could have just a moment, I can reschedule and return so we can get down to work.”
To your horror, Deborah smiles sweetly as her eyes meet yours. “Your meeting after lunch with Thomas Delgato has been rescheduled for you. His office will call you Monday morning to set up another meeting. Mr. Delgato was quite…happy…to work with us on scheduling, especially since we told him you were unable to meet him because you lost a bet.” As the color tries to drain from your face, you reach under the table and clench your hands to keep your composure. Deborah looks away from you to the other ladies in the room. “Now, are we ready to get started?”
Natalie nods as she turns her laptop towards you. At that moment you notice there is a small webcam incorporated into the laptop’s case. “State your name and department, please,” she requests in a friendly voice. A small cough and glance from reminds you of your position.
With that, you sigh and look towards the camera. “My name is and I work in New Accounts.”
Natalie’s voice continues as you see the screen behind Deborah light up, showing your face and the end of your speech. slides you a card with the words, “They see everything in this room with only a three second delay.” You look up in horror, only to see your horrified look on the screen as Natalie speaks, “Mr. made a bet with a co-worker last weekend and has so far proven up to the tasks set before him. To give you an idea of what he has endured thus far, here are some of his greatest hits…”
With that, the image on the screen is replaced with a film montage of your dance, molestation, and shower from the following evening, along with clips of you being forced to wear the harness and perform oral sex on Deborah yesterday during work. When the montage ends, Natalie’s voice resumes as your image appears on the screen again. “However, we seem to have run out of ideas for things for him to do this week. So, if you have any suggestions, please e-mail them to Natalie Shannon with the subject of “ is my slave.” Natalie’s work e-mail pops up under your picture, along with the requested subject line. With that, the screen goes dark. You look at , and she simply smiles at you. “Don’t worry. We only sent it to the female staff. I know you don’t do guys.”
At this point Deborah speaks to you softly, pulling your attention to her. “For the rest of the week, you will sit in this room with Natalie. As she receives new suggestions, she will film and distribute them accordingly. The windows will also stay open so anyone else who wants to watch may do so. Do you understand?”
You nod meekly, feeling completely beaten. Natalie’s giggle refuses to reflect your angst, however. “Ohhhh…this is a good one!” |