by Ashe Barker
He had succeeded. Thea’s throat was hoarse, her screams now reduced to feeble whimpers. She lacked any strength to clench her bottom, nor even to hold her own weight any more. As she sagged and would have slumped onto the seat Tony slipped his arm under her stomach and held her up to receive the remaining strokes. Thea offered no resistance. She lay across his supporting arm like a rag doll as he continued to spank her.
“We’re done.” Thea was aware, dimly, of the thud as the makeshift paddle landed beside her knees on the seat. Her eyes were closed, she had no inclination to open them. She started to sink as Tony removed his arm.
“No, remain there. Don’t move, and don’t rub. You will stay in place, thinking about what just happened and why.” His tone was implacable. Thea groaned, fearing that even now he might decide more punishment was required.
She dipped her head in silent acknowledgement of his command, and struggled to convince her muscles to cooperate. Her bottom and thighs were in agony, the pain excruciating but oddly cleansing too. Therapeutic. She had paid dearly for her error, but now the slate was clean.
Tony’s footsteps crossed the room, and she heard the door click shut. She was bereft, wishing he hadn’t left her on her own. She hated to be alone after a scene, even more so after a punishment. She needed to know he loved her, that they were all right. She wanted him to hold her, comfort her, make this go away.
Not the pain, she loved that, revelled in it, savoured the vicious burn as it caressed her heated skin, proof of her atonement. Physically she was fine, grounded. But her head was all over the place. Until her Master confirmed that she was still his, she was nothing. Nowhere.
“Tell me, Thea.” His voice was low, and came from close by.
Not gone then? He hadn’t left her alone. She should have known. Gentle hands were in her hair, untangling and untying the stocking which held her gag in place. It was gone, and the nylon in her mouth too. Her tongue was dry, but he held a bottle of water to her lips. She sucked, accepting his comfort, soaking it into her dry mouth as she absorbed his care into her needy, parched soul.
“What are you thinking? Right now, in this moment? Tell me.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, sweet sub of mine.”
“Yours. Yes. Please Sir, I need…”
“This?” He lifted her from the seat and slipped under her. He lowered her body on top of his, but turned her too so she was curled up in his lap.
“Yes Sir. This.” Thea snuggled up, gripping the front of his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her. Then something else. Her duvet. He must have brought that when he went to find the stockings. Always planning ahead, knowing what she would need. Always taking care of her. Suddenly she was sobbing again. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
“Sssh, I know. It’s over. Done with. Cry if you need to, but stay still now. When you’re ready to move I’ll take you to bed. We’ll talk more tomorrow, if you want to.”
Bed? “Sir, will you fuck me?” She might enjoy that, though her arse was so sore she seriously wondered.
“No, not tonight though you do make one delectable little package with your bottom so gloriously punished. But I’m not going to fuck you, for two reasons. First, this was a punishment and I have no wish to dilute it. Nor to confuse it with anything else. When I spank you, seriously spank you as I just did, that isn’t foreplay. And two, more than anything else right now, you need sleep. You’ve had a hell of a day.”
He was right. Of course, as always, Tony knew. Smiling through her sobs, clinging to him as though her life depended on it, and right in that moment Thea wasn’t at all sure it didn’t, she relaxed in his arms. And fell asleep.
“No answer.” Tony ended the call and slipped his phone back into his trouser pocket as he strolled back into Thea’s bedroom. He carried a cup of steaming Earl Grey tea which he placed on the bedside table.
Still sleepy, Thea smiled at him and rolled onto her back in the bed. She winced as her tender buttocks pressed against the mattress, but the discomfort could not dim her contentment. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt whole. Grounded. She was the complete Thea Richmond and ready to face the world. Starting with this mysterious phone number.
Jerome had called back the previous evening to say that the surreptitious photographer in the dungeon had been ridiculously easy to bribe. He’d been paid two hundred pounds to take the picture, and would be more than happy to accept four hundred to provide details of his client. But there was a problem, he didn't know her name.
Both Tony and Thea did a double take at that, they had assumed their enemy would be male, though there was no particular reason for them to think so. All Jerome could tell them was that this woman had contacted their informant and told him she wanted compromising pictures of a specific couple at The Wicked Club, He’d had just few hours’ notice. He was told to go to the club that same evening. He had their names, and a description, and his instructions were to wait for an opportunity to get a decent picture. Then he was to text the photo to a number he’d been given and the cash would be posted to him. His fee had arrived, ten crisp twenty pound notes in a brown envelope, so he assumed his client was satisfied with the bargain.
Jerome had extracted the contact number from him, the mobile phone that the picture had been texted to, and supplied that to Tony. He declared this the absolute best he could do and had virtually pleaded with Tony not to make a big fuss.
As she lay in bed, sipping her tea, Thea privately thought Jerome had got off lightly, The Wicked Club could have helped them to avoid all this if they’d been on the ball and confiscated that phone before the creep had a chance to send the picture to anyone. She had no confidence in the place any more and hoped Tony wouldn't insist on going back there. Ever.
The number was not one they recognised. Tony had dialled it immediately on the off chance that someone would answer and might give themselves away. So far they’d had no luck but Tony was right, they should keep trying. Later, back in her office, she would do what she could to trace it. If the phone was on a contract she might get somewhere. And in the meantime, they would have to hold their heads up and dare anyone to have a go. As Tony pointed out, there were some perks to being self-employed, and one of those was that no one could sack you.
He perched himself beside her on the bed. He looked to have been up for hours. “How are you this morning?”
“Good. I’m good. Really. And I’m sorry again about how I reacted yesterday.”
“It’s done. Finished. And you’re better than good, baby. Did you sleep well?”
Thea smiled. He already knew the answer to that. He’d slept beside her.
“Yes, really well. Thank you for staying with me.”
“My pleasure, sweetheart. But I’ll need to be getting away soon. I need to pick up my stuff from home then go to the office. There’s a lot to deal with today.”
“I know that.” She snuggled in closer as he draped an arm across her shoulders.
“I know you were meaning to be at Kershaw’s today, but in the circumstances…”
“You’re right. I’ll come with you. We’ll face them together. Do I have time for a shower?”
“Of course. I’ll make more tea.”
*****
Tony called a staff meeting, in the canteen. Thea reflected that this seemed to be becoming a habit of his. She stood at one end of the room as their employees filed in and seated themselves. Denise positioned herself on one side of her and Chris on the other. Both had been solid in their support when they had been summoned into Tony and Thea’s office first thing, though in fairness they had had all night to discuss the bizarre picture each had found on their car as they left the previous evening. Eric too was on their side, and Thea knew he had been from the start. He had rushed to tell them as soon as he discovered the picture and had done what he could, belatedly, to contain the damage.
Isabel Barnard was still sulking. S
he had remained stony-faced during the meeting and offered no comment at all beyond acknowledging that she had been aware of the flyers distributed around the car park. If Tony had a view on her failure to alert him to it he did not allude to that.
He invited each manager to ask questions if they had any, or to make such comments as they found necessary. The only question came from Denise, who asked if Thea and Tony were in a relationship. Tony responded that they were, that they had known each other for some time, and that their relationship was a serious one. Permanent, he hoped. Their colleagues expressed delight at that, and Eric went so far as to wonder if he should advise Mrs Henderson to buy a hat.
The shock factor was gone, everyone knew about the pictures, and beyond that their senior managers were of the opinion that the matter would soon be yesterday’s news. The normally reserved Denise observed that the malicious bitch who had outed them might even have done them a favour, and the worst was already over. It was generally agreed that Tony was a popular figure at Dart, and Thea was becoming so. Most of their staff knew the part she’d played in getting Jeremy Malone reinstated. Dart employees were loyal, and pragmatic enough to appreciate a decent boss. How the company managers chose to spend their leisure time was of no concern to anyone else. Well, not much.
People were interested, some would be amused. Others might be jealous. But it would all blow over. Things always did.
Brazen it out. Chin up, and let Tony do most of the talking. That’s what they’d agreed. And now came the moment of truth.
Tony had been seated at a table a few feet from her. The room fell silent when he got to his feet. Thea moved over to stand beside him. Tony smiled at her, then gazed across the hundred or so curious faces, all turned toward him.
He pulled a copy of the now infamous picture from his jacket pocket and held it up. “Has anyone not seen this?”
Silence.
“Does anyone here have any doubt that the two individuals in this picture are myself, and Mrs Richmond?”
More silence.
“Excellent. So we have that straight then. Just in case anyone is wondering, this picture was taken just under a week ago, at a club in the city. I hardly need to say, it was taken without our knowledge or permission. The club is a private venue, and we had every reason to suppose that anything taking place there was confidential. That confidence has been broken, and this is not a situation we can reverse.”
He paused, but it was clear he had not finished. No one spoke.
Tony swept his gaze across his attentive audience. “Before saying anything more I should explain something to you all, and this concerns consent. Those of us who choose to participate in the activities depicted in this image have consented to do so. It is our choice, and one we are free to make. Those who watch, those who observe, have also consented. You have not consented, you didn't choose to look at this picture. It was dumped on you whether you wanted it or not. To anyone here who finds themselves offended by what they have seen I can only apologise. You should not have been involved. But the fact is, each of you is involved, and you are now in possession of very private information, very personal information, about myself and Mrs Richmond. I hope you will treat this appropriately. I’m not about to insist you respect our confidentiality, you are under no such obligation. But I am entitled to require everyone who is employed at Dart Logistics to behave towards everyone else connected with this company with respect and courtesy. These rules apply equally, and encompass everyone. So, is there any person here who envisages any difficulty in complying with this?”
Still the room remained silent.
“Excellent. I appreciate though that for many it is difficult to speak out in a large group, especially about a sensitive issue such as this one. If anyone wishes to raise any concerns with me in private I am happy to hear them. Or you may prefer to talk to your head of department. So, that’s all I need to say to you, but before we all get back to work, are there any further questions that I can deal with now?”
The silence was palpable. And uncomfortable. Thea cringed inwardly. Talk about an elephant in the room.
Tony shook his head. “You people are a disappointment to me. You’ve been shown a picture of your boss at a BDSM club, and no one has anything to say? Hell, if I was sitting where you are I’d have barrage of questions to ask.”
There were a few nervous titters, a shuffling of feet, then a voice piped up from somewhere in the middle of the room. “Mr diMarco, what would you ask then? If you were us?”
Thea scanned the sea of faces in front of her but couldn't pick out who had spoken. Tony seemed to have no such difficulty.
“Well, Archie, I’d start by wanting to know where that club was and how much it would cost me to join. But that’s just me and we all know now that I’m a kinky bastard.”
There was collective gasp before the room erupted in laughter. And Thea knew it was going to be okay.
*****
“That went well.” Thea perched her glasses on her nose as she opened up a spreadsheet on her PC. Her heart wasn’t really in grappling with the complexities of their end of quarter projections, but her instincts were screaming at her to get back to normal. She shot a glance across the office to Tony, seated at the other desk.
The door to Isabel’s outer office stood open, but they knew she wasn’t there. Isabel was taking her lunch down in the canteen. Thea was pondering how to broach the matter of the PA’s continued service with Dart if her petulant mood continued. Tony had made it clear he was not about to put up with a negative attitude from anyone on his team, but even so Isabel had worked for him for several years. She was good at her job, or she had been. It was difficult to see how that would continue if the secretary refused to speak to either of them.
“Yeah. A little gallows humour goes a long way, I always think.”
“It could have backfired. Referring to yourself as a kinky bastard…”
“I was banking on knowing my staff. They like a giggle, and you have to admit, this whole bloody mess has its comic side. BDSM always does.” He cast a sardonic grin Thea’s way. “Will you believe me if I tell you we’ll look back on this in years to come, and laugh?”
“I’d have taken some convincing yesterday.”
“And today?”
“Maybe. I confess the funny side of all this is a lot less obvious to me than it apparently is to you. Or to Archie Fellows.”
Tony chuckled. “Ah yes, old Archie. He certainly opened the floodgates. I think you were right though, not to agree to incorporate flogging and nipple clamps in the revised disciplinary procedure.”
Thea snorted. “I can’t believe he actually said that. I didn’t know where to look.”
“You did fine. Really.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the desk, his expression serious suddenly. “It was always going to be an ordeal, more so for you than me. We both knew that. Still, it’s over now and you were brilliant. However uncomfortable, I’d rather they exhausted their curiosity all at once, and with us present. Far better that than to have everyone whispering in corners. It’s out in the open now and I think our reputations will survive. Our staff may view both of us in a new light, but I feel we still have their respect. Don’t you?”
“Mmm, time will tell. But yes, no one was overtly hostile. I’d have preferred to avoid all of this, but in the circumstances this is the best outcome we could have hoped for. And you’re right. We had no choice. One thing still worries me though. What if whoever did this isn’t done yet? What else might they be planning? And what was it all about anyway?”
“Who knows?” As he responded Tony picked up his phone and hit redial. He’d tried the mystery number several more times, always with no answer. Thea turned back to her screen.
They both heard it at the same time, a faint but distinct ringing. From somewhere close by. Thea’s gaze snapped back to Tony. Their eyes met.
He ended the call and the ringing stopped. Coincidenc
e?
“Try again,” Thea whispered.
The ringing started up seconds after Tony finished dialling, and again it ceased when he hung up. The sound was coming from the outer office.
“Fucking hell.” Tony got to his feet and strode out there. Thea was hard on his heels.
He dialled again, and they both stood transfixed as the trilling of a phone echoed around the otherwise silent space.
“The desk.” Thea moved forward, examining Isabel’s workspace for the telltale phone. “Nothing. But it’s here somewhere.”
“Keep looking. Underneath? In a drawer?”
Tony joined her and together they opened each drawer in turn. Thea crouched to peer under the desk, and spotted Isabel’s bag tucked away there, out of sight. She dragged it out, and unzipped the top. The old fashioned Nokia lay on the top, its screen illuminated and ‘unknown number’ emblazoned across the display. Tony ended the call, the screen went dark and the trilling stopped.
Thea stared at Tony, his expression of disbelief mirroring her own.
“Isabel? Isabel did this? But why?” Thea was incredulous.
“I intend to find out. First though, pass me that phone if you would.”
Thea obeyed, then straightened to stand beside Tony as he turned the phone on. He quickly located the pictures stored on it. There weren't many. A couple of shots of a house somewhere, several snaps taken at a wedding, and just one of her and Tony. That picture.
“I’ll check her machine.” Thea sat at Isabel’s desk and fired up the PC there.
“What? Why?”
“She printed that off. She must have copied the file onto a computer, then sent it to the printer. My guess is she didn't do that at home.”
“Right. She might have deleted it though.”
