by Rick Marlowe
How've you been, Janey? Me? I just love my new job. Everyone's so laid back. No one seems to mind if you come in a bit late, and if you just have to leave a bit early, it's okay. The work isn't that hard, and you just get it done when you get it done.
My boss? That's old Mr. Whiffle. 'Whiffs,' everyone calls him. He's a sweetie. Kind of quiet. He just stays in his office or heads over to the factory. Cece says he's more comfortable around the machinery than with people. So we kind of get to do our own thing.
Cece? Oh, she's the girl in the next cubicle. She kind of shows me the ropes. Whenever she's off the phone, that is. She's always talking to her boyfriend, or her mom, or somebody. Nah, no one ever hassles you about stuff like that - phone calls, or being on the 'net.' They must understand that morale is important.
Speaking of morale, there are a couple of cute guys from sales who are always hanging around the water cooler. Cece says one of them, named Josh, kind of likes me. She may be right, because he always seems to find excuses to drop by our end of the office.
Listen, I gotta go. They're having some sort of party down in the lunchroom. Cece says someone reached a six-month anniversary or something. Bye, Janey. I'll catch you some other time.
Oh, hi, Janey! Sorry I haven't called. I've been kind of busy lately. No, its okay, I can talk. Not much happening here today. Oh - there is one thing. The buzz around the office is that ol' Whiffs is hiring an office manager. Apparently he has someone all picked out, too. This was after he had a hissy-fit yesterday about productivity in the office. I was a bit worried, but Cece tells me not to be. Supposedly this happens two or three times a year. He actually did hire an office manager once - someone who was supposed to enforce rules and stuff - but she only lasted a few months.
I'll probably have to be careful for a while until this all blows over, so I shouldn't talk long. I'll call you soon so you can fill me in on things, and I can tell you about me and Josh. Got to go now. Bye.
Sorry to call so late, but I can't talk at work anymore, and Josh and I went out afterwards. He wanted to comfort me because I didn't have such a great day. Why? Well, our new office manager started today. Let me just say that I hope she doesn't last half as long as that last one they had. She called the whole office staff together for a meeting. Said things were going to change around here... or else. To tell you the truth, she's a little scary. Her voice is scary. Even her name is scary - Dominique Thorne. Or Ms. Dominique Thorne, that is. We have to call her Ms. Thorne. No first name stuff with her.
She read out this whole list of rules, which she also posted on the board. Not making personal calls is just one of them. I was whispering to Cece that I didn't see what the big deal was, when she - Ms. Thorne, that is - pounded her fist on the desk and pointed to me.
"You! Up front. Now!"
Well, what was I supposed to do? I went up to the front of the room, feeling that everyone in the whole place was watching me. I know, you're thinking 'what can she do to me?' But still...
"What's your name?"
I told her. She seemed to be making a mental note. Not good.
"When I'm speaking, young lady, I expect your full attention. Understood?"
I nodded.
"I can't hear you..."
I blushed. "Yes, Ms. Thorne."
"That's better. Now, if you can't follow my rules, or pay attention when I speak, I will crush you like a bug." Here she ground the toe of her boot into the floor. "I will not tolerate insubordination."
Yeah, that's exactly what she said: "... crush me like a bug." Janey, I don't want to be crushed like a bug! I didn't even do anything! And yes, she was wearing boots. High-heeled, black leather boots. In fact, she was dressed totally in black. What a weird lady. And did I mention scary?
I was a case of nerves the whole rest of the day. Anyway, that's why Josh took me out after work. I really needed a drink.
So that was my day. Tell me about yours.
Hey, Janey, can you talk? Oh, good. I never know when you might be busy. Nah, I'm fine. Work? Let's see - this morning, Cece was late for the second day in a row, this time a good half an hour. As soon as she got in, she got summoned to Mr. Wiffle's office. Only it's not the Whiff's office any more, it's Ms. Thorne's. He must now have a desk out in the factory or somewhere, because he only shows his face in the office every day or two to meet with Ms. Thorne.
Well, Cece went off to the manager's office. She must have been gone for like an hour. When she came back, it looked like she'd been crying. I can imagine why - getting one of Ms. T's lectures. I asked if she was okay, and she said sure, why wouldn't she be? Well, she spent the rest of the day standing up in her cubicle. Standing. I asked her about it at break. She sort of snapped at me.
"Why shouldn't I stand? It's not against the law. I sit all the time. I get tired of sitting."
I mean, I don't care if she stands. It just seemed odd. Come to think of it, though, I've seen several other people standing at work lately. Often after meeting with Ms. Thorne. Maybe it's something the woman encourages. I guess that's it. I told you the lady's weird.
What? You think she what? No way. That's ridiculous.
Hey, where've you been, stranger? It's been days. No, that's okay. I understand.
Anything new here? Well, not really. I told Josh what you said about Ms. Thorne. He laughed. And anyway, I've only seen one other person working while standing at his desk, and that was just for a little while, at the end of the day yesterday.
Ms. Thorne? She's okay, I guess. I must be getting used to her. She's always patrolling the office with that riding crop of hers. Yeah, a riding crop - she must have a horse. And so long as I remember to stand and curtsy when she comes by, everything is fine. If not? Well, if I forget - that, or any of her other rules - she'll crack her crop down on my desk. When I snap to attention, she'll look me over, then hiss in my ear, "Remember, worm, I'm watching you."
Yeah, it's kind of creepy, but I sure was focused after that. I have to say that things are running a lot smoother around here. Like when you're supposed to get something from someone else, you actually get it - on time, or a little early, rather than having to wait for it.
Want to hear something funny? Yesterday I was taking some reports to Ms. Thorne's office when I passed Mr. Whiffle in the corridor. They must have been having one of their daily meetings. I could swear I heard him say, "Yes, Mistress Dominique," on his way out the door. Isn't that odd? We all just call her Ms. Thorne.
Then, as he walked away, he was sort of rubbing his butt. What am I saying? I'm not saying anything, silly. I'm just telling you what I saw. Okay, laugh if you want. See if I care!
Nothing else, really. I'm looking forward to seeing you this weekend, though. Bye!
Hiya, Janey! I really enjoyed my visit. Thanks for going shopping with me. Yes! I wore the skirt today, and guess what? Ms. Thorne gave me a compliment on my outfit! I told you. It's just like what I read - you're always supposed to dress like your boss rather than your other co-workers. Latex is a bit out there for me, but I really like the leather. So did Ms. Thorne, apparently. So next time, I'll wear the boots with it. And I'm going to order that dress, the vest, and that other skirt.
Got to run now. My lunch break's about over.
Hiya, Janey. You know what? You were right. Oh, just be patient - I'm going to tell you. The day before yesterday, I really screwed up at work. I was sending out two contracts at the same time, and sort of got them mixed up. So now TriCo knows that Betton Industries is getting better prices on the exact same stuff we sell them. Right - not good at all, especially once our current contract with TriCo is up. I hadn't even realized I'd messed up when I heard Ms. Thorne call my name today over the intercom, telling me to report to her office immediately. That's something you do not want to hear.
Cece caught me as I walk by. "Don't worry," she said, squeezing my hand, "it's not all that bad." Like that made me feel any better.
Ms. Thorne was standing at the door to her office. When I entered, she slammed the door shut behind us. I could tell something was wrong. She started asking questions about the two contracts. I had no idea what she was talking about. Finally she told me about the mix-up. I was aghast... and worried. I could get sacked for this - TriCo is one of our biggest customers. So I started blubbering apologies, saying it'll never happen again, and begging to keep my job.
She told me to just shut up - I hadn't been given permission to speak - and to bend over her desk. Of course I did it; I'd do anything to keep my job. Once I was in position, she came up behind me to tug my skirt up around my waist. Oh, Janey, but that wasn't the worst of it - next she pulled my panties down to mid-thigh. While she was busy, my eyes couldn't help but notice what was lying on her desk. It was this strap-like thing, only with one end split in two, like tails. Once she had me all bare-assed, she picked up the strappy thing.
Did she hit me with it? Well, not yet. She started lecturing me, telling me how stupid I had been, and asking how I could possibly do this to the company. And of course, she was right. She went on and on. Pretty soon I was crying, because I knew I had let her and Mr. Whiffle down.
"Oh, stop your whimpering you little worm. It makes me sick. I haven't even given you anything to cry about yet."
And she hadn't, but that didn't last for long. The next thing I knew, I heard this loud crack and felt a searing pain across my butt. That thing hurts! She was only getting started, though. She must have whupped my ass twenty times by the time she was done. I was crying and yelling, my feet dancing in place, as I begged her to stop. She didn't, at least not until she was good and ready to. I've never felt anything smart that bad in my life.
She let me lie there, bawling like a baby, for a good five minutes more, before saying, "Enough of that, now. I have work to do. Up you go." She helped me to my feet.
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