Cheyenne and Jason (Last Chance Program Book 1)

by Malone, Misty

  “I plan to make you proud of me this morning,” she informed him. “Then I plan to let you take me out for lunch as a reward.”

  “Oh, you do, do you?”

  “Yep,” she said with not a bit of guilt.

  He shook his head as he chuckled. “Now that we’re dating, am I going to start seeing more of that ornery side of you I’ve always suspected was there?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said with an impish grin.

  “Come on, brat, let’s go talk to Dan.” She giggled as she walked out the door in front of him. He chuckled when she jumped and squealed when he gave her a mostly playful swat as she passed him.

  ***

  “Good morning, Jason, Cheyenne. You said there’s a new development. The last I heard she was making remarkable progress. What happened?”

  “She is doing amazing in the program, Dan. We’re finishing up week four, and I honestly think she’ll be done in six or seven weeks.”

  “Wonderful. So why are we here?”

  “To tell you I’m going to have to break the contract. You don’t owe me any more money. If the condo’s still available, though, I would be interested in renting it the next two to three weeks while she finishes the program.”

  “Okay, I’m totally confused. What’s going on?”

  “Dan, this little lady has stolen my heart. I tried to be professional and put my personal feelings for her aside until we finished the program. I planned on asking her out for dinner afterward and seeing if she might be interested in pursuing a relationship, but it just didn’t work out that way.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because my feelings became too strong, and I found out she has similar feelings for me. We’re going to pursue that relationship and see if there’s something there, while we finish the program.”

  Dan took a minute to absorb the information. “Will you be able to finish the program, or will your feelings get in the way?”

  “I feel confident we’ll be able to finish, for a couple reasons. First, she’s almost done now. She meets with the new client on Monday, and I’ll know more for sure then, but in my heart I feel she’s ready.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “Her only problem now is her temper, and that’s not a problem easily solved in a short amount of time. I can definitely get tempers tamed down, but most people that have a temper like hers fight with it most, if not all, of their life. It's much improved, but it's still a challenge. In Cheyenne’s case, if our relationship works out like I think it will, we may be discussing her temper occasionally when she’s eighty.”

  “Hey,” she said with an indignant look, but also a grin.

  “I think you’ll be surprised in the change in her already, though, Dan,” Jason added.

  “I already am. After your last visit here, Cheyenne, you had people talking, wondering what got into you.”

  Cheyenne beamed, mostly because of the proud look she saw on Jason’s face. “I had a good teacher,” she said quietly.

  “Yes, you did,” Dan agreed. “He’s a good man and he does good work.” He sat back and thought a few minutes. “First off,” he finally said, “I want to wish both of you the best of luck. Jason, I know you haven’t dated a whole lot because you said you’d know the right lady when she came along. If you have feelings for her, that tells me a lot. As I think about it, I can see you two being a good fit. I hope it works out for you.”

  “Thank you, Dan,” Jason said.

  “Thank you,” Cheyenne echoed.

  “But Jason, I don’t understand, why shouldn’t I be paying you to finish this program?”

  “Now that we’re dating, I’m going to be with her as much for pleasure as for work. I will not take your money or anyone else’s to be with her.”

  Dan nodded his head. “Now I see what you’re saying. It’s your strong morals, sense of honor. You’re not a gigolo?”

  “Yep,” Jason confirmed. “I won’t take any money to be with the lady I want to be with.”

  “But you’re still going to be working with her, aren’t you? You deserve to be paid for that.”

  “Then you may be paying me the rest of our lives, because hopefully that’s how long I’ll be guiding her through tough times.”

  “Point well taken,” Dan said with a chuckle. He turned to Cheyenne. “And you’re okay with his life-long guidance?”

  “Dan, I can honestly say I’m happier than I’ve ever been. You guys were right when you told me that at the beginning of the program. I had serious doubts about it, but you were right. I’m happier than I knew anyone could be.”

  “Good. You don’t know how glad I am to hear that, Cheyenne,” Dan said.

  “Thank you,” she told him sincerely.

  “Jason, you’re welcome to the condo until you leave. I don’t have any plans for it, but I don’t want any rent for it. I have to insist on that, or my sense of honor will be damaged. You’re going to be working with her, and that’s what I hired you to do. At least let me furnish a condo that would otherwise be standing empty.”

  Jason smiled, but agreed. “Okay, we can do that.”

  “I’m glad that’s settled,” Dan said. “There is one other matter that concerns me a bit, and I feel I need to talk about it.”

  “What’s that?” Jason asked.

  “Are you going to finish this program, only to whisk her away from my company, and back to Denver with you?”

  Jason looked over at Cheyenne and could tell she hadn’t thought of that yet. “We haven’t talked about it yet, Dan, but it wasn’t my intention to help her through this difficult program in order to save her job, only to take her away afterward.”

  “Are you thinking about a long-distance relationship?” Dan asked, obviously a bit skeptical.

  “Oh, heavens, no,” Jason said. “But I have two partners in Denver for the clinical portion of what I do. I can sell them the clinical business and move here. As I was telling you the day we started this several weeks ago, I've had to add several employees to go out in the field, doing these cases. This business is growing and I've been seeing more and more need for me to run it and be available 24/7 for my men working in the field when they have situations or concerns they want to discuss with me. I can do that from here just as well as from Denver.”

  Cheyenne was watching him, obviously interested. “We'll talk more about that when we get back to your apartment,” he said, turning to her, “but I mean it when I say I can easily move here so you can enjoy this job you've worked so hard to keep. I don't have family or anything keeping me there.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Dan nodded. “So since she doesn’t have family here, either, I guess whether you stay here or go there depends in part on how happy she is working here. That doesn’t put any pressure on me, does it?” He was smiling as he said it, though, so Jason and Cheyenne both knew he wasn’t upset with the news they’d given him.

  They talked a little longer, mostly about her upcoming meeting on Monday with the new client, and then left. Jason was pleased to see that the people she met and spoke with in her office treated her differently now. He knew it was because she’d been treating them differently, but he was glad to see them reciprocating and giving her a second chance. It was also good to see her talking and visiting with them so easily. It was clear to him that all his feisty little lady had needed was someone to treat her right, make sure she knew what was expected of her, and help her realize the guilt she’d carried with her all these years was not hers to carry.

  Once they were back in his car, he made a suggestion. “Cheyenne, you in fact did earn a reward, but it’s awfully early for lunch. It’s so nice out today, could I interest you in a walk in the park before we eat?”

  “I’d love that,” she said enthusiastically.

  During their walk, they learned more about each other’s likes and dislikes. They found they both liked to ride bikes, and they were both surprised to find the ot
her enjoyed fishing. “There’s a dam about twenty minutes from here that’s good for fishing. It’s better with a boat, but since I don’t have one, I just fish off the bank, and that works fine,” Cheyenne said.

  “Maybe we can go there fishing in the next couple weeks,” he said. “And I do have a boat, so we’ll see if the fishing’s better from a boat once I bring it here.”

  She stopped walking and turned toward him. “Were you serious when you said you’d be willing to move here?”

  He frowned. “Cheyenne, have I ever mentioned to you before that I won’t lie to you?”

  “I know, I know,” she insisted, “you’ve told me that a lot, and you never have lied to me. But this is different. This is really big.”

  “And I still won’t lie to you, honey. The only thing that ties me to Denver is my practice. We all went into practice together with the agreement that if anyone wanted out, the others would buy him out. It comes down to a practice there, and you here. You’ll win out every time. I can start a practice here. I'm much more excited about this aspect of my work, anyway, and that is all mine. My clinical partners have nothing to do with that. I can run it here just as easily as I can there. It's been becoming more and more difficult to do both, anyway.”

  “So this part of your work is growing?”

  “It is. I've been having to turn people down when they call because I couldn't handle them all, so I hired some men and trained them. I have six men trained and working presently, and recently hired three more. I planned on training them after this assignment is over, and that training can take place here as easily as in Denver. It's become a real problem trying to run this business while I'm on an assignment, so this is a real good time for me to stop going out in the field and concentrate on running the business. I'll be available for my employees in the field this way, as well. When I get a new client, I sit down with the man who's going to handle it and we come up with some ideas and a tentative plan together. Once they're out in the field, they occasionally have a situation crop up that they'd like to run by me for a second opinion. I want to be available for them to be able to do that.”

  “So you may just do this full time?”

  “I may. It could easily be full time. But I also started doing some work with a couple school districts in Denver and I enjoyed that. I may look into that here, as well, but it would have to be just as time permits. I certainly don't want to move here to have time to spend with you, only to be so busy with work we don't have much time for each other.”

  Cheyenne looked over at him. “You would move here and change the focus of your work, just for me?”

  “No, not just for you,” Jason assured her. “It would be for us. If you want to move to Denver, we can certainly do that, but I would probably still sell my clinical practice. But I would never ask you to move after putting in all your hard work and earning the right to keep your job here. Besides, to be honest, I enjoy this kind of work, and working with kids at the schools who need some help more than my clinical practice. I no longer have a desire to go out in the field and work with a lady one on one, but I'm still very excited about this business. I'll be anxious to be in charge of it and be there to help my employees when a problem arises.”

  “You don't want to work one on one with ladies any more?”

  “Not any more, no.”

  “Why? Was I that bad?”

  “I guess in a way, yes.” He laughed at her expression. “After falling in love with you, I don't want to be around another woman like that.”

  He was sure the smile she gave him made him fall just a little more in love with her.

  She became quiet, and he knew she needed to talk. “Out with it, Cheyenne. Let’s talk about it.”

  She looked over at him and a smile gradually broke out. “You do know me, don’t you?”

  “I’m beginning to,” he agreed. “So what are you thinking?”

  “A bunch of things. No one’s ever done anything like that for me.”

  “That’s because you’ve never dated anyone that cared this much about you.” He looked around to be sure they were alone, and pulled her into his arms for a quick kiss. “Cheyenne, I care a great deal about you and I want you happy. I’m anxious to see how you do at this job now. I think your career’s about to take off, and I’m hoping to be here to watch it.”

  “I hope you are, too,” she said, moving a little closer to him.

  ***

  When Jason got to Cheyenne's apartment Monday morning to accompany her to her meeting with the new client, she was extremely nervous. He tried to help her calm down. “Honey, relax. You’ll be fine.”

  “But what if I mess up? What if the old Cheyenne comes back and I’m a real bitch again?”

  Jason knew he was early and they had plenty of time before they had to leave for her meeting. Without a second thought, he took her arm firmly and headed for the couch, where he sat down. She was over his lap, with her dress up and undies down before she could find her voice to object. He spanked her firmly and quickly. “You know better than to use language like that. You know exactly what to expect anytime you do, and I won’t let you down.”

  “Jason, ow, it hurts! My dress!”

  “Your dress will be fine because this won’t take long,” he said, adding a little more oomph to his swats. “And it better hurt, or it won’t be effective. If you need a reminder before we go, I’ll be happy to give it to you, but there’s something you need to know.” He stopped the spanking, but kept his hand on her bare bottom.

  “What’s that?” she whispered through her tears.

  “There’s an easier way to get my help.” He gave her half a dozen more sharp smacks.

  “What do you mean?”

  He gave her about ten more solid swats to her sit spots before answering. “You can ask.” He helped her up and onto his lap.

  She reached back to rub her bottom, which he knew was sore right now. He pulled her hands away before explaining. “Honey, if you start feeling nervous at times, or overwhelmed, that’s understandable. A lot of this is new to you. But come to me and tell me. We’ll talk about it. If talking doesn’t calm you down, I know a spanking does. I’ll do whatever I need to do to help you. Don’t wait until you’re so overwhelmed that you resort to using ugly language or snap at people.”

  She looked up at him, with tears streaming down her face. “Did you just say if I come to you for help, you might spank me?”

  “Yes, if that’s what you need at the moment, like right now.”

  She studied him, and he could tell she was confused. “Honey, I know you pretty well now. I knew that right now you needed a good spanking to calm you down and get you back in control and ready for this meeting.”

  “But I’ve been doing so well, and you haven’t had to do that.”

  “Honey, this spanking today wasn’t so much a punishment as just something you needed.”

  “What?”

  “Spankings calm you down. They help you get control of your feelings and emotions. They make you feel better.” She still looked confused. “Do you feel better now than when I got here this morning?”

  She reached back to rub her bottom, which he again put a stop to. “Other than your bottom?” he added.

  She thought a few moments before slowly nodding her head. “Yes, I do. I’m more relaxed with your arms around me.”

  “I’m glad, but it’s not just because my arms are around you. You had so many emotions and fears swirling around inside you, you were losing control. A good spanking, and the good cry that accompanies it, releases all those fears and doubts and other emotions. Then when I put my arms around you, it gives you a safe place to recover and regain that control. Now you’re ready to face your day, and I’m sure you’ll do great. He loves your work, honey.”

  She took a minute to absorb everything he’d just said. She squared her shoulders and looked up at him with a smile on her face. “He does love my work, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes, he does
.”

  “I can do this,” she said with conviction.

  “I know you can,” he agreed with a smile. “You might want to go touch up your makeup first, though.”

  She laughed and agreed. “I’m sure I’d make a better impression. Before I go, though, I have to ask you a question, Jason.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Are you saying sometimes it’s okay for you to spank me, and that you won’t be upset with me?”

  “Yes. When people get themselves too worked up over something they need a release. With a lot of people, and you used to be one of them, it’s a temper tantrum, which only makes things worse, or they hold it inside and make themselves sick. The smart people, or lucky people have found an outlet. Everyone has a different outlet. Some people use yoga or meditation. Certain music works for some. Other people, like myself, go to the gym for a rigorous workout. When you get yourself too worked up, you need a spanking. It calms you right down, and works much better than the temper tantrums ever did.”

  “So you’re saying I’ve exchanged one for the other?”

  “To an extent, yes. And I’m proud of you for it. Like I said, only the smart ones or the lucky ones find an escape that works for them. I’ve noticed you’re looking at an argument now as a challenge to make them see your way of thinking, and that’s excellent. It seems to be working well for you. If you’ve noticed, your clever ways have gotten people to see your side of the argument and they’ve sided with you more often than not. The times they didn’t, I was proud of you for accepting their opinion.”

  She blushed before making an admission. “Sometimes once I got them to listen to me, I listened to them, as well, and had to admit they had a point, too.”

  He smiled. “Good work. I’m proud of the way you’re handling arguments now, and that’s led to fewer tantrums. Now you just have to learn to let me help you when you become overwhelmed or your nerves get too bad.”

  “I have to think about this later, when I have more time. It seems odd to me. I always thought if you got spanked for something it was because you were being punished.”

  “Not necessarily. In your case it can be a very effective, very quick way to calm you down. You’re a very smart, strong lady, and I hope you can see that and accept it.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Now go fix your makeup so we can be going.”