 |
|||
|
|
13.
J regained consciousness in stages as her various hurts reasserted their complaints. The throbbing of her abused clit was joined by the aching in the soles of her feet. Each in their turn, the thin welts covering the back of her body joined the overall misery. A symphony of dull pain. She curled into a ball on her side and opened her eyes as she became aware of a softly hummed tune.
At the mirror, Mistress Melinda was dressed and freshening her make up. The eyes in the glass became aware of her.
“You faint easily. A pity. My own girl at home has a much higher tolerance.”
The observation was made offhandedly. Clearly there was no remorse or concern over the agony she had inflicted on J.
“Even though you are not very entertaining, I would spend more time with you, but I have a late date, so you may take your sorry ass downstairs now. I promise you though that if I draw you again, bitch, you will learn that tonight was a walk in the park.”
She dabbed at her lipstick and then walked to the bed and pushed the blotted tissue past J's lips.
“A farewell kiss for you…Swallow it.”
The woman watched and waited until she saw J's throat constrict and then turned on her heel with a little laugh. When the door closed behind her, J pulled the soggy wad from between cheek and gum and threw it weakly after the woman. She groaned as she rolled from the bed onto her tender feet and made her way to the bathroom. Carefully, she stepped into the tub and turned on the shower. She leaned forward against the tiles and let its cool cascade ease her backside.
There was no relief from the thoughts in her head though. She knew that, unless she became as willing as T was to crawl for Emily on demand, her future would be ever more painful. The sadistic bitch that had just left would have twenty-two more chances to make good on her cruel promise. And there might be others among the Mistresses that were as bad or worse.
The ride home on the steel bench of the jostling van had been miserable. Though all had been silent, some of the women looked as though they had been used harder than others. T had showed no signs of wear. J suspected there might be many side arrangements such as the one between T and Emily.
Judith limped through the entire weekend recovering. It angered her to realize that, in effect, her bargain was going to cost her three days of misery a month.
Monday came and she threw herself into the complexities of financial analysis in an effort to blot out the memory of Mistress Melinda's soft humming and fiery cane. The temptation of Emily's inferred offer of protection intruded often though.
As the firm's list of new clients continued to grow, the partner's came to treat Judith as if she were the goose that had laid the golden egg.
She'd been invited to join their country club. They'd ordered that fresh flowers be delivered to her office daily and had leased a new Mercedes for her and a light remark about the color of the upholstery had caused it to be replaced immediately with one more to her taste. Geller had even gone so far as to mention an elegant new home near is own, assuring her that she would easily be able to afford it when the yearly bonuses were awarded.
Their increasing attentions made it clear that it had dawned on them that, at some future point, she might strike out on her own, taking her clientele along with her.
Well, she thought, before the money had rolled in they'd not had two thoughts about her. She did nothing to ease their anxiety. After all, it was she that was paying their way. Paying a debt that was beyond their ken.
Several files arrived from T's office. They contained all of the details of Emily's business transactions since shortly after the death of her husband.
Odd, Judith thought, that while she was insisting on retaining her identity and hated the idea of being J, she continued to think of Traci as T. What did this say about her? Perhaps she was the self-deluded hypocrite T had accused her of being…No... It had not been her that had crawled voluntarily between Emily's legs outside the confines of the club. It had not been her that had offered her face as a toy and her hair as a cunt rag.
The intercom interrupted her musings.
“Miss Jackson, The CEO of Data Engineering is on the line. He wants to know when it would be convenient for you to meet with him. He indicates that he could fly here if you are too busy.”
Judith hesitated for a bare instant.
“Ask him how soon he can get here. Set it up and then come in…I need to dictate a few letters.”
They would be coming to her. This was a huge development. She was being recognized as a power. The only possible snag was Emily. Judith knew that, at a whim, the unpredictable woman might snatch it all out from under her. She had been trying to gather the courage to face the pain ahead without surrendering her last vestige of pride.
But what if Emily grew irritated and bored by her attitude?
All of her suffering could easily turn out to have been for naught.
“Damn it all to hell.” She muttered aloud.
A quotation she remembered from her Latin studies summed up her situation perfectly: A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi…A precipice ahead and the wolves behind.
|
|
|