by Frank Limadere
Kimberley Kennedy slipped inside the door of the Spank Shop and let it close behind her. She shivered, it was a cool morning and she needed to warm up. She immediately set to laying a fire in the reception area's fireplace, and had soon kindled a cheery little blaze. Coffee was her next thought; she needed a nice hot cup of coffee before she checked the morning schedule and settled into her working day.
The blonde eighteen-year-old was just about to go through to the shop's kitchen, when she thought about her employer, Andrea Mahony. Ordinarily the chestnut-haired beauty would have poked her head out of her parlour, asked Kimberley how she was, and for a copy of the morning schedule so she knew what to expect for the next few hours. However, this chilly morning there had been neither hide nor hair of the Spank Shop's elegant proprietress. Kimberley decided to check the parlour, and see if Miss Andrea wanted coffee.
"Enter," a tired voice came from behind the door at Kimberley's gentle knock.
Andrea was slumped in her armchair by the fire, she was still in her nightgown, and looked decidedly worse for wear. She was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her normally vibrant wavy hair was limp and unwashed. Kimberley was, to be frank, shocked. It was unlike her sophisticated employer to be unwashed and undressed, even at this time of the morning, on a working day.
"Are you all right ma'am?" the teenager asked, the concern in her voice mirrored in her cornflower blue eyes.
Andrea nodded weakly. "Yes, dear. I just had a rather heavy night."
Kimberley frowned, and then she remembered that her employer had had a night out with friends planned for the previous evening. "Too much to eat?" she inquired impishly.
Andrea sighed, and her green eyes flashed quickly. "Drink, darling."
"You're hungover?" Kimberley asked.
Andrea nodded gently.
"Maybe Mum and I should handle things today," the girl suggested.
"Do you mind?"
Kimberley shrugged. "Mum will probably make a comment or two, and I'll have to do some creative booking, but I think we can manage, Miss."
"You're an angel, Kim," Andrea said gratefully, then asked. "Is my car in the driveway?"
"Yes," Kimberley replied with another frown.
"Oh thank goodness!" Andrea exclaimed. "I thought I may have left it at the restaurant."
"You drove home?" Kimberley asked, her eyebrows climbing into her hair.
Andrea nodded again, and closed her eyes briefly.
"And you were drunk?"
"I had enjoyed a few drinks with friends, young lady," Andrea replied in a tone that held more than a hint of reprimand.
Kimberley's lips compressed into a tight line, but she held her initial response back, instead suggesting, "Why don't you go upstairs and get into bed. I'll bring you up some tea and toast."
"Oh Kimberley!" Andrea exclaimed, rising slowly. "Heaven must be missing an angel, darling. I don't know what I did to deserve you, sweetness."
"Neither do I," the girl muttered darkly, as she left the room, and headed for the kitchen to prepare a light breakfast for Andrea's upset stomach.
After Andrea had drunk the tea and nibbled on the toast, she lay down and fell into quite a sound sleep. The noises of bottoms being smacked and the recipients reactions from downstairs did occasionally disturb her rest, but other than that Andrea was unaware of anything beyond her bed.
The late afternoon sun was streaming in through the window when Andrea did awaken fully. She blinked at the light, but had to admit she felt much better than she had that morning. Her stomach no longer felt as if it was going to leap up through her throat, and the pounding headache she had been suffering from in the morning was also gone.
Andrea threw a dressing gown on over the negligee she had gone to bed in, donned a pair of warm, fluffy slippers and padded downstairs.
Kimberley Kennedy sat in Andrea's armchair by the fire. The girl was reading, and a steaming cup of tea was on the table next to the chair.
The blonde teenager looked up as Andrea entered, and placed her book cover up down on the table next to the chair. Andrea narrowed her eyes to look at it, and was a little disappointed to note it was that Fifty Shades thing that everyone seemed to be speaking about.
"Good afternoon, Miss Andrea," said Kimberley brightly.
"Kimberley," Andrea returned the greeting. "What time is it, dear?"
The girl's eyes flicked to the clock on the mantel, and she replied, "It's just gone five."
"Busy day?" Andrea asked.
Kimberley sipped her tea and inclined her head. "Not too bad. Mum and I had to take turns in reception; she groused about that," the girl laughed lightly. "We got through it okay, though. The Hirst girl had a really tough backside. She didn't start crying until I put the tawse to her. We had the Harper triplets too, the mischief those three get up to." Kimberley smiled at the memory.
"I'm terribly sorry to have put you to all that trouble, darling," Andrea apologized.
"It wasn't really trouble," Kimberley beamed. "I kind of enjoyed it."
"Is that tea still hot?" Andrea asked. "I'd love a cup."
"Oh yes, I just made it fresh."
Andrea settled onto the couch with her tea, and inhaled the steam blissfully before sipping.
Kimberley regarded her employer, and said firmly, "I did want to discuss last night with you, ma'am."
"Oh?" Andrea asked, setting her tea aside, and raising an eyebrow.
"You said this morning that you drove to and from the restaurant last night," Kimberley said.
"I did," Andrea confirmed, wondering what Kimberley was getting at.
"You had too much to drink, right? That's why you were hungover this morning."
"That's generally why one gets a hangover, Kimmy."
"So you got in your car and drove it home even though you were drunk?" Kimberley pressed.
Andrea sighed. "Kim, the restaurant isn't far. I could drive it blindfolded, and I was hardly going to walk home. It was a chilly night."
"None of that is the point, ma'am," Kimberley said, keeping her tone and words respectful, although she was clearly annoyed. "You could have taken a cab."
"And what was I supposed to do with the car?" Andrea shot back, becoming irritated at the girl's persistent questioning and scolding.
Kimberley shrugged. "Leave it there, and pick it up in the morning. I know Evan's done that if he's been drinking. You could have had an accident, or been picked up by the police, after all driving when over the limit is illegal, ma'am."
Andrea loved Kimberley, but she was not about to be lectured to by a girl who was young enough to be her daughter, regarding right and wrong. "Kimberley Susan," she said firmly, using the girl's two first names to cow her a little. "I am aware of the road rules, young lady. I did not have an accident, nor was I stopped by the police."
"I know that Miss Andrea," Kimberley replied, sipping her tea, and refusing to let the use of her full name, or her employer's tone distract her from her point. "If you had been picked up then it would have been very embarrassing for you and the shop, imagine if it had been Constable Wheeler who did it; what sort of a situation that would have put her in?" Andrea opened her mouth to speak but Kimberley was on a roll and she was not about to be interrupted. "An accident would have been even worse. You would have been at fault, you know. Damage would be very bad, but what if you had hurt yourself or someone else?"
"Kimberley," Andrea said steadily. "As none of that happened I think you're engaging in some unnecessary histrionics here, miss. The way I felt today has taught me a lesson about drinking too much, and I promise not to drive and drink again, okay?"
"Actually no it's not, ma'am," Kimberley said stubbornly, her sky blue eyes blazing.
"Oh for God's sake, Kimberley!" Andrea exploded, setting her teacup down with a click, and matching the receptionist's glare with one of her own.
Kimberley frowned and decided to try a different tack, an angry Andrea always made her bottom tingle with remembrance of her most recent trip over her stern employer's lap, but Andrea was in the wrong this time and the girl refused to simply let it ride. "Aunty," she started. "What if it was me who did this? Wouldn't you punish me for it?"
"Well, Kimberley if your mother hadn't tanned your hide for it I certainly would," Andrea admitted.
"So what's different when it's you?" Kimberley asked.
Andrea blushed and squirmed. "Sweetheart, you're eighteen years old and I am a responsible member of the community with many more years behind me than you."
"So, just because you're older than me you can break laws?" Kimberley continued.
"Of course not!" Andrea retorted.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm having problems understanding this. You and Mum have always taught me that there's no such thing as a double standard, or at least there shouldn't be. If you do the wrong thing you get punished. I know we've spanked people for doing just what you did last night. You do know Mum went under the strap for consistently speeding?"
Andrea nodded. "Yes, I did hear about what you and Tania did to Gabrielle, and I heartily agree with it. If the two of you hadn't, I would have been sorely tempted to do the same thing to your mother. I certainly hope you're not suggesting that I be spanked for last night's little indiscretion."
"Why not?" Kimberley shrugged, sipping her tea.
Andrea put her cup down and fixed her young receptionist with clear green eyes. "Kimberley Susan Kennedy," she began, knowing that the use of the girl's full name often put her in her place. "I am your employer, I am your elder, and I do not like the direction this conversation is taking, young lady."
"I understand that, ma'am." Kimberley amended her tone to sound more reasonable. "If I can be spanked for doing it and Mum can be, why can't you?"
Andrea was at a loss for words. "Because... I... uhhhh..." she floundered.
Kimberley watched the normally composed and elegant woman struggle to come up with a valid reason to avoid a painful and unpleasant experience, and couldn't stop a small smile from playing across her pink lips.
Andrea's shoulders slumped; she knew Kimberley was right, and she knew that if positions were reversed, Kimberley would be in the corner right now, sobbing and displaying a very hot red posterior. "You win," she sighed. "Who's going to do it? Is Gabrielle waiting outside the door, hairbrush in hand?"
"Mum's gone home, Miss Andrea. It's just you and me," Kimberley said, running a hand through her meticulously cared for honey blonde locks.
"That means you're going to do the honours I assume," Andrea said, her eyes narrowing.
Kimberley didn't say anything, but the satisfied expression on her pretty face spoke volumes.
"Can't we do something else?" Andrea begged. "It's so embarrassing."
"It would have been worse if you'd had an accident," Kimberley reminded her employer. "You don't want Mum spanking you, seriously, and do you want anyone else knowing about this?"
"Of course I don't, Kimberley," Andrea replied, fussing with her hair. "We could call someone," she suggested.
"Who?" Kimberley asked.
"Joelle." Andrea named her friend, who had spanked her in the past.
"She's overseas, ma'am."
"Priya." Andrea had had a relationship with the beautiful Anglo-Indian schoolteacher.
Kimberley wrinkled her nose. "I don't see how Priya is much better than me, and I don't think she can spank properly; she'd be about as useful as Tiffany."
Despite the situation, Andrea had to laugh at the reference to the young nurse Tiffany, who would have to be the least effective spanker Andrea had ever encountered.
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