The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Rhedyn on 29-09-2010, 17:59:17</h2>
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				Title: <strong>The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>29-09-2010, 17:59:17</strong>
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				Emma sat in her office cubicle, her fingers on her temples, anxiously staring at the computer screen in front of her. “Hey Emma… Em?” came a familiar voice, encroaching on her dread filled reverie. “Hello...? Earth to Em?”<br><br>“Huh!? …Sorry. What did you say?” she ventured, tearing her eyes from the email and to the exasperated expression of her co-worker and good friend Kris. <br><br>“I said, do you wanna come grab some lunch in a bit?” <br><br>“I can’t… sorry” she replied, gesturing to the summons on the screen. Kris bent down close, scanning the missive with a growing look of concern. “Ah” she offered, “Do you think…?”<br><br>“I don’t know… I just don’t know.” With a firm squeeze to her shoulder Kris set back down to work. Emma was glad of it. The last thing she needed was to talk about it, or feel like she was getting sympathy. Hell, it may not even be what she thought it was going to be, but truthfully, she was scared. The company had been laying people off sporadically… waiting for their workers to make one mistake and taking action from there. She had made a mistake this morning, an insignificant one, but one that her supervisor had noticed and now she was being called to his office for a meeting. <br><br>She needed this job, she really did and she was good at it. She held a slim warped hope that maybe, just maybe she would get a promotion, though the possibility of redundancy was far more likely. Glancing at the office clock she closed the email and stood, straightening out her white blouse and grey pencil skirt nervously. Kris covered the mouth piece of the phone she was talking on and mouthed good luck to her as she made her way to the office on the far side of the large, semi-segmented room.<br><br>The blinds were drawn, she couldn’t see inside, not even through the glass panel on the door. Instead she was greeted with the sight of her anxious rounded face, framed with a few stray tendrils of her dark brown hair. The rest was tightly curled out of the way in a tight knot behind her head. Her large grey eyes churned with a storm of emotion as she lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door, opening it and stepping inside when she heard his voice asking her to enter.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>03-10-2010, 16:12:04</strong>
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				Mark had been with the company for six months, and had inherited a staff he had no control over, and didn’t trust him. He had taken a chance on his career, accepting a high paying position in a struggling company. He was hired to bring change the section. Better performance, higher productivity, stronger morale, all was placed before him as goals when he was offered the position. The salary was 25% higher than he had made at the bank, and could be driven even higher by bonuses for meeting goals. <br><br>As a result of all this, when he came in, he set hard and fast ground rules. He whipped the staff into a new state of production through demands and pressure. Those who improved would be rewarded with promotion, those who didn’t would be let go. The strategy was to reduce the payroll while keeping the best talent, and when he placed his proposals to the Board of Directors he estimated a 20% staffing cost reduction. Twenty employees would be reduced to twelve, in two teams. The entire department would be reorganized, and functions redefined. He was eager to please upper management, and thus didn’t say no to them. As a result, his staff was working harder than ever. With a headcount reduction the workload was going to get thicker. Efficiencies needed to be found. He decided to meet with the staff individually, almost like interviews he would use to cull ideas and assess loyalty and performance. Loyalty was a hard skill to develop. He could teach anyone how to do the job functions within the department, but loyalty was much more difficult, much more fickle. <br><br>When the knock wrapped through the door, Mark knew it was Emma. “Come in, please,” he called through the closed door. When it opened, he waved her in. “Come in, sit down,” he said, out of sequence with, “shut the door.”<br><br>He loved the pencil skirt, especially the way it hugged her form. He took a long look as she turned away from him to shut the door. In America, it was recommended meetings with mixed gender staff be held with the door open whenever possible. Across the pond they weren’t so particular.<br><br>Mark fit the stereotype of an American: broad shouldered, loud, fast, rude on occasion. He had been working in the UK for six years, but he never shook the swagger and arrogance of Columbia Business School. The fact that he had a Master’s from the London School of Economics only made him more of a prick. About the only thing he didn’t have was a gun on his hip, though the staff often joked that he did.<br>Today he was in a black Gieves &amp; Hawkes bespoke number with white pinstripes over a white silk shirt with a curved spread collar. A silk tie of solid red tied in a full Windsor knot ran straightly down his torso.<br><br>His desk was real wood in dark brown. His choice would have been a desk of ebony, but really only a family of royals had the money for that. This one was Scandinavian pine masquerading as English oak. Two sparsely filled bookcases, and four office chairs, all in the same style were situated on her side of the desk. On the wall was hung a photograph of the cityscape of New York City. Fittingly, an Escher hung on the opposite wall. <br><br>Normally in professional conversation Mark liked to cut through the corporate bullshit and get right to the point, but he liked Emma. She was one of the twelve he wanted to keep, though she wasn’t at to the top of the list, either. He called her in to reassess her position under him. The look in her eyes confirmed his suspicions, to him at least.<br><br>“Are you all right, Emma?” he began abruptly. Bloody American. “I’ve been watching you around the office the past few days,” by which he meant weeks, “and you seem like something is bothering you. Is everything ok? Something at home? Something at the office?” <br><br>The line of questioning seemed genuine enough, and liking her, it in part was. But really he was engaging in a search to determine how much she wanted this job; how much she wanted to please him. He was subtly testing her loyalty. Some people, you squeeze them, they focus; others fold. Of course he couldn’t actually tell her what he thought of her or her work…it just wasn’t the corporate way. <br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>11-10-2010, 19:18:26</strong>
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				Emma swallowed hard as she closed the office door, trying rather unsuccessfully, to make as little noise as possible. A few heads turned to see who was being called in this time before returning their curious gazes back to their own, more pressing concerns. Her heart beat heavily in her chest, her pulse thrumming loudly through her ears as she made her way to his desk, taking one of the empty chairs and carefully crossing her legs.<br><br>In the time Mark had been here she really hadn’t spoken to him much. This was the first time they had been alone. Of course she had been aware of his presence around, things had changed so dramatically since his arrival it would be impossible not to be. Not to mention that he was the only American on the team and a rather loud and seemingly obnoxious one at that.<br><br>Carefully managing her features she forced herself to look at him, blushing lightly as she realized that he did in fact hold a certain American charm. His accent had been diluted somewhat in his time here but it was still heavy enough to make her and most of her co-workers swoon, though his abruptness and line of questioning did nothing to ease her nerves.<br><br>She had been trying very hard not to allow her split with her boyfriend to affect work and, up until today, she had thought she had managed it quite well. Still, she didn’t really want to talk about it, at least not with her boss, who, she was certain, couldn’t care less and would only use it as a further reason to fire her.<br><br>“No…no. I’m fine” she lied, forcing out a reassuring smile and hoping he didn’t look much deeper. Her palms were sweaty as she clenched them in her lap and she groaned inwardly as she suddenly realised she couldn’t remember his surname. He’s made a point of asking everyone to address him as Mark but in this setting it didn’t seem right to her British sensibilities to use the informality of his first name.<br><br>“I mean…Mark…there have been a few things going on in my personal life” she conceded, a certain earnest sincerity creeping into her tone as she continued, “but I swear, I won’t let it affect my time here at work” she lied again, realizing that it had been on her mind that very morning when she had dealt rather poorly with a phone call. It was only because the jerk had called her last night, begging for a second chance. She didn’t want him but the lack of male interest in her life was beginning to take its toll and sway her judgement, now she just didn’t know what to do. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, no good for her, but she was getting lonely and a part of her did still want him.<br><br>Tears threatened, though not because of her romantic predicament, it was the threat of losing her job that really rattled her. This, right here, was what mattered, and she was determined to do whatever she could to hold onto it. As her mind whirred with such thoughts and worries she focused on his imposing figure, bolstering herself for whatever he was going to throw at her verbally. <br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>17-10-2010, 14:19:49</strong>
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				“Emma,” Mark started, “just relax for a minute. You’re not getting fired.” He could see the tension in her demeanor torquing her body so much he felt he had to say <em>something</em> to ease her mind. “I can tell something’s on your mind. We all have personal issues going on outside the office. I understand that, we’re only human after all.” <br><br>A wry smile crossed his face, and he leaned forward onto his desk, interlacing his hands. “Now that we have the corporate bullshit speech out of the way,” yes, he brought swearing into the office, “we can talk about what’s really going on.”<br><br>He stood up and began walking around the office. He was tall, just over six feet, and his hair was bleached light from his daily laps at the swimming pool. His facial features were very masculine, with large, deep set blue eyes on either side of a rather large nose. A straight, angled jaw line set and dimpled chin finished off his face. His shoulders were broad and round from swimming and lacrosse, and while he didn’t play lacrosse anymore, he still kept up his nimbleness with football on Saturday’s. The company stiffs were surprised how well he played the beautiful game for an American. He was widely considered the best-looking man on the floor, which wasn’t particularly surprising. The best looking people have a much better chance of getting the best-paying jobs. Admittedly, in Mark’s case, he was also trying to bring some skill to the table as well. He had decided he had enough of all staff peaking over the walls of their cube watching her and Emma’s conversation. So he leaned over and shut the blinds over the windows, his groin coming surprisingly close to Emma’s face. The blinds snapped shut, and then he was on his way back to his side of the desk.<br><br>“Look,” he continued, before making it back to his chair, “I was brought in to shake some things up around here. Some people are going to do really well, and others are going to be left behind. I like your work, Emma, but I need you to be focused while you’re here. What goes on outside this office in your life is none of my business, but when you’re here, I need you to perform for me.” <br><br>He sat back down, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his left leg over his right. “Let’s throw our positions out the window. Our salaries, our titles, it’s just you and me, Mark and Emma. Just talk to me. What do you want out of this job?” 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>17-10-2010, 19:38:28</strong>
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				She let out a long deep breath, physically relaxing in her seat when he said those four wonderful words…<em> you’re not getting fired</em>. That said she was still wary about what was going on. Why she had been called here. She stayed silent, shifting her body slightly to comfortably keep her gaze on him as he walked around the office, becoming increasingly aware of his physique and good looks now that she wasn’t worrying about whether or not her job was safe.<br><br>As he leaned over to shut the blind Emma’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she realised how close his groin was to her face and she could smell him…his masculine scent momentarily flooding her senses. It was quite a relief to know that the curious looks from the rest of the office wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. She was fair certain that gossip was rife enough about why she had been called in to see Mark without them witnessing every look and expression and inventing some kind of wild tale about what they thought it meant.<br><br>She nodded in agreement, perhaps a little over enthusiastically but at least he could see that she was eager to please. His pacing was making her nervous and she was glad when he returned to his seat. Leaning back into the support of the chair she clasped her hands together over her bare knee, exposed due to the position she was sitting in.<br><br>She thought for a moment, frowning slightly as she did so “Well first and foremost I want this job and I think I’m good at it.” She thought back over the last few years here, how there had been few openings in managerial positions and what had appeared were always, much to the annoyance of the current employees, filled by newly hired workers. It had been the same with Mark’s job and it was disheartening to her and her colleagues to be passed over constantly for promotion when they had the skills and ability to do the job well. “I’d like the opportunity to progress in the company, and quite frankly Mark,” she explained “I don’t feel like it’s a possibility at the moment.”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>19-10-2010, 23:05:03</strong>
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				“I know what you’re going through,” he lied. “It can be a tough climb on the corporate ladder, but the longer you hang on, the higher you can climb.” Mark fed her line after line of corporate bullshit. He had never been passed over for promotion. He was a trouble shooter, a problem solver, and never stayed longer at any company for a few years. This company was his fifth yet in a young career.<br>&nbsp;<br>“Let’s face it. The firm isn’t doing as well as it was.” He dashed in some honesty. It was his American way. Americans like to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. They can only hide behind corporate tag lines from human resources for so long. “So it brings in new management from the outside to shake things up, and that’s what you have here. You have a company that doesn’t trust its own people to get the job done. I knew that the moment I walked in the door here, and presented my plan to the Directors.”<br>&nbsp;<br>He saw her shift impatiently, unhappy with his answer as it probably proved everything she already thought about him and the firm. “Half the department is going to be let go, Emma. Some of your colleagues, some of your friends, they aren’t going to make it. In the meantime, I’d like to give you a real opportunity.”<br>&nbsp;<br>“I’d like to bring someone in a little closer to me. I’m not going to be here forever, and I want someone, when my tenure here is over, to be able to fill my shoes. From this inside this time,” he smiled, addressing her initial concern. “It’s not going to be easy, and in fact it might create a bit of resentment against the rest of the staff. The hours are also longer than you currently serve. On the plus side, you’ll be exposed to things you’d never otherwise see, and gain experiences that will set you apart from the others on the floor. The pay is the same to start, but the position offers the opportunity to earn quarterly bonuses. And I should warn you, it’s much more personal than any position you’ve probably had before.”<br>&nbsp;<br>He let his words sink in a little bit. It is very easy to bombard people into hesitation with opportunity. “You don’t have to say yes or no now, but I need to know by the end of the day. If you have any questions you can ask them now or as they come to you.”<br>&nbsp;<br>Naturally, he was just late for a meeting now, and couldn’t answer any of her questions. For all intents and purposes, the meeting was over, and he kicked her from his office. Several men were outside waiting to meet with him. He met her dumbfounded eyes once more, smiling as he closed the door to his meeting.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>23-10-2010, 13:31:24</strong>
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				Tough? She thought. Tough? What did he know about tough? She had been at this company for six years, was perfectly good and capable at doing more and yet someone like him, who had probably never stayed loyal to a company for more than&nbsp; a year or two is brought in to ‘shake things up’? Climbing the corporate ladder was nigh on impossible when people like him were constantly removing the rungs.<br><br>Of course she didn’t voice her opinion, no, she was too polite an employee for that. Obedient to the last regardless of what she actually thought of her superiors. Whether her ire showed in her eyes or not she could not say but she worked hard to keep her face professional and attentive to his explanations despite her belief that he was indeed talking bullshit.<br><br>It had been obvious for a long time that mass layoffs were on the cards but hearing it from the horse’s mouth was still a shock and a strange move. He was, she supposed, trusting her in some way with this information as she would be willing to bet it was something he wouldn’t want made public among the already disgruntled and gossip ridden work force.<br><br>She frowned slightly as he told her his plans unsure about what he was initially suggesting. Having entered this meeting firm in the belief that she was going to lose her job being offered such a chance for promotion, the chance she had been working for since starting here, was a total shock. She nodded letting the information sink in, dismantling her old worries and letting new ones sink in. With mumbled thanks she left his office, suddenly aware of his need to get rid of her. Slipping past the men outside of his door she returned to her cubicle, sinking anxiously into her chair under the watchful gaze of her peers.<br><br>No-one bothered to ask what had happened, they all assumed the worst from the short length of the meeting and the look on her face. She returned to work, wrestling with the knowledge that she had about the people that worked here, her friends and how that would change if she accepted his proposal. <br><br>Before long the office emptied for lunch, dwindling free of employees and leaving her in peace. She sat in her chair staring at the door to Mark’s office, waiting for the men to leave. When it finally opened she stood and walked over, waiting for him to shake hands with each one and complete the corporate pleasantries. When they were out of earshot she smiled, having come to her decision. He looked at her expectantly, waiting to hear what she had to say “I’ve decided” she began, clearing her throat as when she realised her voice was a little hoarse and in need of a drink “that I would like to accept your offer.”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>25-10-2010, 22:58:06</strong>
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				Mark nodded at her words, and invited her into her office, offering her the same seat she took before. The door closed.<br>&nbsp;<br>“Are you sure? No questions? I didn’t think you had it in you, to be honest.” He sat down in his office chair, the wide dark desk separating them. He smiled, “And now I <em>know</em> you’re in over your head.” <br>&nbsp;<br>He looked into her eyes, and his smiled morphed into a more serious smirk, but one that implied knowledge and insight instead of corporate bullshit. “That crap we learned at business school can only take us so far. Only our performance matters now. Businesses, corporations, they want results. They want people who get those results. They want people like me,” he spoke with a tinge of arrogance. “And under my tutelage, they will soon want someone like you.”<br>&nbsp;<br>A smile crossed his face as he knew the next step would blow her mind in a lot of different ways. “The first thing we’re going to do is a trust exercise,” he began, but it was the next statement that was really crossing the line. “You’re going to come over and sit on my lap, and access my computer. This may seem extreme, and I will fully grant you it’s entirely inappropriate, but if you can trust me, then I can trust you.”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>27-10-2010, 21:52:20</strong>
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				“I’m sure” she confirmed as she settled into the offered chair, a little confused by his next statement. His cocky smirk and attitude did nothing but grate on her, but she attempted to ignore her opinions knowing that he had the power to give her what she wanted.<br><br>Nodding, but staying silent, she listened to what he had to say. How he thought he could make her better at her job was anyone’s guess, but she was willing to give his tutelage a go for the sake of promotion and opening more options to her otherwise stunted career.<br><br>Her delicate shaped eyebrows raised in surprise at his suggestion. Weren’t trust exercises things like letting yourself fall backwards and trusting the other person to catch you? Then again he is an American…perhaps this is some kind of strange thing they do over there, she mused. She didn’t really understand what possible benefit sitting in his lap would have...that’s not to say she wouldn’t do it but she was a little unsure that she had comprehended him right and didn’t want to make a fool of herself.<br><br>“I’m sorry…I thought you said you wanted me to come and sit in your lap…” she queried, afraid that this was some kind of joke at her expense “are you serious or are you just trying to mock me because you don’t think I’m really suitable for this job?”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>31-10-2010, 15:52:00</strong>
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				“On the contrary,” Mark brought himself back squarely to his desk, clasping his hands together atop its surface. “I’ve had my eye on you for months. I know what you’re capable of.” He leaned forward slightly, meeting the insubordinate challenge of her arched eyebrow. “But if you have hearing problems, perhaps you <em>aren’t</em> the right person for the job. Maybe I need someone else out there. Maybe I need a man.” <br><br>Mark leaned back in his high back chair, staring coldly at her across his desk. “I don’t have hearing problems,” he insulted her. “This morning you came in here saying you wanted the opportunity to progress in this company. I offer you that opportunity, and I get insubordination in return. Do you really think you’re leadership material, Emma? My doubts of your suitability are only immediately present.”<br><br>He took a moment to ease the tension from the exchange. “I’m taking a risk on you, Emma,” he explained. “A risk that just got chancier. Now if this is going to work, we need to trust each other. I’m not going to direct you a third time on this point. Either you’re in, or you’re out.”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>06-11-2010, 17:05:07</strong>
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				The tension he brought about in her was evident in the line of her jaw as she practically ground her teeth in frustration. She knew his words were intentionally designed to grate on her, test her and she worked hard not to argue with him as he insulted her. She wanted this chance.<br><br>Emma couldn’t trust her voice at this point, she knew if she attempted to respond she wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue. She would end up saying something that would cost her dearly. Her lips were pursed and an ambitious fire burned in her eyes as she abruptly stood and walked around to his side of the desk. Her eyes glanced with concern over to the windows of the room and she relaxed a little seeing the blinds closed. Lunch would be over soon, the other workers would be returning to their desks and the last thing she needed was for them to see what was going on in here, innocent or not.<br><br>He wheeled his chair back a little, enough so that she could stand close in front of him but still be tightly wedged between him and the desk. With her shapely ass, clad in her tight pencil skirt, hovering near his face she lowered herself onto his lap with as much dignity as she could muster given the circumstances. His body was warm against her back even through the thin layers of her clothes and she found her breaths coming a little deeper, though not out of nervousness. Shifting slightly so that she was comfortable she turned to the computer and accessed his desktop, efficiently typing the password he supplied. <br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>12-11-2010, 14:06:44</strong>
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				As she sat in his lap, he felt her body mold to his. It was a rather thrilling moment, but one that stayed surprisingly dignified. His hands found her hips, and he held her there, and his voice lowered to voiced whispers as he gave her the password to his computer. He then began to dictate his commands to her, always soft and breathy, but commands none the less. Commands he expected her to obey. <br><br>“Open the permissions files.” <br><br>“Open your account.”<br><br>“Give yourself level 60,000 access.”<br><br>“The code is A1…” slow, breathy, confident, viscerally powerful, “B1…C1.” Her body burned against his fingers.<br><br>“Confirm.”<br><br>“Logoff, and logon as yourself,” there was a longer pause as system executed her commands. He closed his eyes and scented her. He was taking a huge risk in this, with her. He was sure he would take flak for it, he could only hope his own refinement of her would justify her selection.<br><br>“Access the personnel files.”<br><br>“Email them to yourself both here and your home address.”<br><br>“I want you to study these files. You have their performance reviews, their personal files, their disciplinary records, their salaries. Study them; learn them. On Monday, you will recite them from memory.”<br><br>He had just given her access to files she had no business having, and had placed company information in her hands that would get her terminated immediately if anyone else found out she had them. What did she get in return? A solid, irrefutable sexual harassment lawsuit against him for making her sit on his lap to work, and forcing her to illegally access private personnel files. They were now bound in forced honor, either one able to get the other fired.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>16-11-2010, 21:16:31</strong>
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				She followed every one of his orders without question, though the expression on her face showed her confusion as to what he was doing. His voice was so authoritative, so commanding, even in its low, secretive tone. In conjunction with his hands on her hips and her ass pressed so firmly into his lap her body heated and flushed with both embarrassment and, she was surprised to admit to herself, arousal.<br><br>Emma couldn’t quite believe what he was asking her to do, what he had given her access to. She could lose her job for this as surely as he could for his unorthodox actions towards her. He had given her a certain amount of power professionally between them, a power that she was forced to assume, was part of an unspoken pact. She found she respected and trusted him slightly more for it.<br><br>With his orders executed she momentarily remained in the comfort of his lap, realising, much to her chagrin, that she quite enjoyed being there. The sound of people gradually returning from lunch outside made her shuffle restlessly as she sat there, still poised at the computer and, she realised, physically trapped between him and the desk.<br><br>“Is there anything else?” she queried a little breathily as her heart hammered in her chest, sending fresh hot blood throbbing through her body with her excitement.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>21-11-2010, 15:36:41</strong>
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				“Not for now,” he spoke, putting his arms snuggly to either side of her as his hands clutched the edge of the desk, and pushed them away from it in his rolling chair, effectively freeing her. “You are free to return to your regular duties. I am sure you’re completely aware of how secret you must keep the files you have stolen,” he smiled wryly.<br><br>“Remember your task, Emma. I want you to know those files in and out, through and through. I want you in an hour early on Monday. I will be testing your absorption of the files. I will warn you now: you might not like everything you see. That is all. Dismissed.” <br><br>He came back to his desk, turning his attentions to his computer and all but ignoring her. He couldn’t completely forget, however, how snuggly her round ass fit to his loins. It would take a while for that sensation to fade.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>26-11-2010, 15:42:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As soon as she was able she moved away from him. Relieved to be out of the intensity of the contact they had shared and yet a little disappointed to do so. She stood for a moment regarding him with a slight frown as he returned to his computer, until it became evident that that was her lot. Shaking her head she sauntered out of the room without a glance behind, her mind awash with what had just happened, what he expected her to do and perhaps most importantly the fact that she had not only just not lost her job, but been offered an opportunity for promotion.<br><br>She returned to her desk just as the last of her co-workers began returning from lunch, noticing that a few, including her friend Kris, were late. It’s something she wouldn’t have really looked for or noted before today, but she seemed to be viewing the office and the people around her differently, something that was sure to get worse once she had read the files she had been ordered to memorise. In part she wasn’t certain she wanted to read them, to invade the privacy of her friends like that, and yet it thrilled her to know she had been told to do so, to have been entrusted with such information, almost as much as it had thrilled her to sit in Mark’s lap and feel his hot breath tickling her neck as he had instructed her with his heavy, sensual accent.<br><br>“So how’d it go?” ventured Kris as she settled at her desk “Did you….?”<br><br>“No. It went ok…I think. I’m still here aren’t I?”<br><br>“Oh good. Wanna go out for a celebratory drink tonight?”<br><br>“I can’t, sorry.&nbsp; I already have plans."<br><br>“Ooooh…a date?”&nbsp; Kris grinned mischievously.<br><br><em>Yeah, with a bunch of personnel files</em>, she thought, “Something like that.” Kris shrugged, turning back to her computer, curious but willing to let the topic rest for now,&nbsp; “Let me know how it goes!”<br><br>“Mhmm” Emma responded noncommittally, as she picked up her work and tried to ignore the burning temptation to open the files and begin on her task for Mark straight away. She was surprised to find herself blushing at the thought of meeting with him again on Monday, of pleasing him by accomplishing what he had asked of her. It confused her that she wanted to do that for a man she had begun the day with little liking or genuine respect for and yet it excited her that he had managed to have such an effect on her in so many ways.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>05-12-2010, 14:42:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The personnel files were far more extensive than most employees at the company would ever know. Performance Reviews were taken semi-annually, managers quarterly, not annually as all the employees thought, as they only met with management once per year. The reviews themselves were conducted by lower management, transmitted to upper management, who were able to make their own comments on the employee and then ratified by the Board of Directors. This structure allowed management to blame the non-managers for the recent downturn of the company, which it could be seen had occurred. Even with the high turnover of non-managers, their performances were routinely measured as mediocre or worse, trending downward, as the success of the company waned. <br><br>Emma was in this group. She had never been rated higher than mediocre, and her latest mark was below average. The only level lower than below average, was probationary. Half of her department was in this category. Employees on probationary status could be fired without a review, and were automatically fired if they were at the status for more than a year. Thus, the review process could also be used to justify massive layoffs or company restructuring, and this is just what Mark had disclosed he proposed to do. He had in fact been hired to do so, and he unknowingly fit the company’s existing policy towards personnel without foreknowledge. It was easy to see why he had been brought in to the company as a result.<br><br>The managers, by contrast, were consistently rated higher. The lowest rated one was rated acceptable, the first level above mediocre. The vast majority were rated above average, and a smaller number were rated excellent and suburb. Managers in the highest two categories were awarded annual merit increases to their salaries. Mark had been rated superb in his single review since his hiring, despite the fact that he had yet to implement neither any structural change, nor bring any meaningful improvement to the section’s performance. Their evaluations had remained high through the company’s financial struggles, and with a bit more thorough analysis, it could be seen that the managers, through their own evaluation of their employees, had systematically shifted the blame for the company’s current state to its non-managerial employees.<br><br>Mark was going to test whether Emma could see these trends, this potential conspiracy, in her own weekend analysis of the files. He wondered if she could get past the details of her professional friends’ reviews and look at the department as a whole. Under its current culture, in order to move up in the company she would either have to betray her coworkers and join the conspiracy, or change the culture of the company itself. Is this why he had shown her the personnel files? He wondered if she would even find the trends; after all, her previous supervisor had rated her below average.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>06-12-2010, 20:37:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The rest of the day passed on by without incident and soon Emma was home, instantly firing up her computer and accessing the files she had been told to send to herself. She was thoroughly engrossed by them, a little shocked at what they revealed about, not only her co-workers, but the company itself and the tactics it utilised.<br><br>She worked solidly over the weekend, entrenched in the system that was so unfair to those in non-managerial positions. It had been very difficult and disheartening to read her own file and indeed those of her friends, to see how they were rated so lowly when they had done everything in their power to be the best, when they had given so much to the company. It almost made her want to quit right then and there, but one thing made her stop. Mark.<br><br>She couldn’t explain why or what it was about him that made her want to succeed. Perhaps it was so that she could kick him on his ass on his way out with a smug smile of success when he left, perhaps it was to prove to him that she could do it, that she would do it, or just perhaps it was something else. The files filled her with ire but she had completed her task to the best of her ability.<br><br>Monday morning came and she headed to work an hour early as she had been instructed. Seeing the familiar office so silent should have been strange, but in truth she always came in earlier than the others to prepare for her day, not by long but enough to start with a glimpse of this every morning. She headed to Mark’s office in an example of her usual work attire, a well fitted grey tweed skirt with a generous slit up the back, and a smart white blouse, buttoned down low enough to display the blemish free skin of her collar bone and the top of her chest but not low enough to be inappropriate. Thin black stockings covered her legs leading to her smart, sensible, low heeled work shoes.<br><br>Glancing down at her attire and happy with it following a few slight adjustments she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. In truth she couldn't be sure that he was even in there, the blinds were closed and there was no immediately obvious sound coming from within so she waited patiently for him to permit her entry.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>05-02-2011, 04:09:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“Come,” Mark’s masculine voice was muffled behind the opaque door.<br><br>“Don’t you look the part,” he smirked, inviting her in. “Good morning, Emma. Please, have a seat. How was your weekend?” Mark was wearing a blue golf sweater over a light blue shirt and striped tie, all covered in a khaki tweed suit. Despite the fact that he was sitting, the suit was unwrinkled. The jacket was unbuttoned. Even though he leaned back in his chair to hear her response his posture was still straight and tall. He had just shaven less than an hour ago; she could smell that. After a few minutes of chit-chat, Mark turned more pointed. He began to ask questions about the files she had stolen from his computer at his behest, ostensibly to ascertain whether she had studied them as he had asked. He asked her opinion on the rating system, and also if she would use it to her advantage given the opportunity. The answers she gave would give him a snapshot of her personality and drive, her<br>passion to succeed, her ethical stance. As she answered his questions he opened a new file on his computer, one he would keep specifically for her.<br><br>“And now,” he continued, “I’d like you to tell me exactly what you think of John…Abbey…Peter…Brian…and Kris. Were they evaluated fairly? What grade would you have given them?” He folded his arms across his chest. It made his biceps fill the sleeves of his suit, and made the pectorals under the shirt and sweater arch in compression. His stare was intense and anticipatory, searching and inspecting.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>10-02-2011, 17:35:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				For some reason she was feeling a little edgy and his smirk did nothing to stifle that, she didn’t like it and his comment made her glance down over herself, her clothes were nothing more <em>the part</em> than what she normally wore, though she supposed he hadn’t had reason to notice what she was wearing before now. “Enlightening” she replied with a knowing smile as she took the offered seat and crossed her legs, the hem of her skirt riding slightly up her thigh as she did so.<br><br>And so it began. Emma answered all that he put to her with sincere honesty. There was no point in beating around the bush and she felt fairly certain that he was the kind of man who liked straight answers that got straight to the point. She told him exactly what she thought. That the rating system was unfair and well established to make it easy for those in privileged positions to stay where they were and blame the hard working majority for any and all failures in the business. It was in fact cunning though, as one of the hard working majority she could not accept or like it at all. In many ways it had dispelled much of her respect for her superiors but then she felt sure that, if she were in their positions, she would likely use it to her advantage also. The fact was however, that she didn’t want to. She wanted to work in a fair environment where people weren’t being used and their effort disregarded. She knew that her colleagues at least would be more productive and happier with incentive and praise for all their hard work.<br><br>She didn’t flinch from his gaze, she wouldn’t be intimidated as he sat there filling his posh suit and scrutinising her even if she did feel rather small in comparison. “Honestly? I don’t think they were evaluated fairly at all. The work and effort they put in and the results they get should stand for more than the low grades they were given. Certainly they all have faults and their own areas for improvement, we all do, but the only way they will improve is if the company puts the resources into encouraging them. As it stands at the moment I think the entire system is a sham.” <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 15:02:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Mark listened to her protests, something that wasn’t generally company policy. Her honesty was naïve, but to be expected. People wanted companies to run like governments, with equality and justice for all. However, the private business world was a lot more like a medieval hierarchical society than a modern nation state. There were haves, and have-nots. At times, people were advanced based on aspects other than the professional proficiency. In fact, the hierarchy was rife with deals and loyalties, favors given and favors owed. Even in this modern age the top of the hierarchy was dominated by white, heterosexual men, the Lords of the Court. The rich get richer. <br><br>Upon her concluding, he came around to the front of his desk, leaning against it as he folded his arm across his chest once more. Did he want to get more personal with her? Less formal? Or did he just want a better angle to look down her blouse?<br><br>“Do you hear what you are saying, Emma?” he asked. “You want to change this company? Hell, do you want to change the way the whole business world works? You have a typical woman’s point-of-view.” He paused, “Let me rephrase that. You have an <em>oppressed</em> point-of-view. Just to be clear, your argument, your desires for equality, they make a lot of sense. I would even admit that I agree with you. <br><br>“But answer me this, Emma,” he met her eyes carefully, “who am I to change these things?”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 16:54:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Emma smirked as he spoke, standing in front of her, leaning on his desk. He riled her so much. No, her view wasn't a typical woman’s view at all…it was a typical view from someone who was subjected to the inequality prevalent in this company and she expected that, if he was in the position she was and privy to the information she now had he would feel the same way. She also hardly thought her point of view was oppressed but she was intelligent enough to see that arguing her point was going to get her nowhere with someone like <em>him</em>.<br><br>She shifted in her chair to face him more full on now that he had moved, crossing her legs over the other way so that the line of her top thigh, slightly exposed by her skirt pointed directly at him. Her eyes were defiant when they looked at him. “I never said <em>you</em> should change the whole company...nor that I want to change how the whole business world works. I am merely offering my observation and thoughts. The lower workers in a company will never be equal to those higher up, if they were the whole idea of structure and hierarchy in a company would be useless and the business would crumble completely, I do however believe that your workers should be given incentive and praise where it’s due and encouragement for their efforts if you want to maximise their productivity along with discipline when it is needed. At the moment the latter is freely given, unfairly in many cases, while the prior is all but forgotten.” <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 17:26:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Inside, Mark smiled. He was proud he had come to his eventual choice. His pride, of course, he was more willing to show. “Change is difficult. People resist. The effort is futile,” he retorted her plans. He went back to his side of his desk, but didn’t sit down. Undoubtedly, the office was beginning to fill. Even with the company’s high absenteeism, particularly on Mondays, the number of staff in the Division could hardly be called sparse. <br><br>He leaned over the desk, holding himself erect on closed fists. “Does everyone deserve your second chance, Emma? You carrot dangling exercise? Or are there people in this Division that can just be cut away like fat from a juicy fillet?” He stood up straighter. “Join me on this side of the desk,” he commanded her, though not harshly. It was intonated more like a suggestion that shouldn’t be refused. “I want you to see something; to experience something…from my point-of-view.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 17:30:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her suggestions hadn’t, at least in her view been about a second chance for anyone, just encouragement and incentive where it was due. Not everyone working here should be right now. She could name a handful of slackers who did nothing but wing it off the hard work of the others in the department, and because of the general lack of interest by their superiors and the poor rating system at the moment they kept their jobs while genuine good workers were fired for little to no reason and she didn’t hesitate in telling him this.<br><br>Her head tilted slightly, her face betraying her curiosity though without hesitation she walked around to his side of the desk to stand next to him. She stood quite close, not enough to be touching him but close enough to smell his cleanliness and the masculine aroma of his aftershave. It suited him she decided as she felt that familiar twinge in the pit of her stomach. <br><br>“Yes Mark?” she smiled holding his gaze “What do you want to show me?”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>20-02-2011, 17:50:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The blinds to the office were still closed. They were cheap commercial venetian blinds, and let quite a bit of light seem in around them. Behind them, the office was filling. <br><br>“Imagine them out there,” he began. His voice was quiet, barely intoned behind her ear. He touched her; moving a curl of hair behind her ear to better expose it to his voice. “You’re no longer one of them, are you? How can you be? You’re in here,” he continued. “Them, out there; your success begins and ends with them,” he told her firmly. “Now, knowing that, wouldn’t you want to control everything that anyone ever saw or heard of any of them? Only you can hide their weaknesses.” <br><br>His hip touched the outside round of her hip as he spoke to her. Now he really began to test her. “Are you really trying to tell me your ideas are worth listening to? Do you really think your naïve ideas will have any effect on these people? Think about what you’re saying, and realize it doesn’t even matter. These people are all replaceable. They’re cogs in a wheel. They take up cubes. Some work, some don’t. Some fuck on the side after hours. Anyone can fill those seats out there, and sadly, no matter how anonymous and replaceable they are, you have to rely on them.”<br><br>He could feel the warmth, the heat of her body, from his way-too-close-for-professional proximity. There was still just a hint of doubt in his choice of her to be his office minion. This episode would help him draw a much-needed conclusion about her professional maturity, and more importantly, her trust in and loyalty to him, and potentially the company. <em>Come on, Emma. Stay firm and defiant. I will break you when you need to be broken.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>26-02-2011, 15:27:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He was close, so close she could feel his warm breath as he spoke tickling her ear and the slightest pressure against her hip as he stood closer than she would have ever deemed appropriate, but then he had ordered her to sit on his lap the other day, so in truth she shouldn’t have been that surprised. Still her body couldn’t help but respond to what was happening regardless of her general dislike for the man.<br><br>“My success begins and ends with <em>me</em>” she stated firmly “and a work force is only as good as it’s superiors. Those replaceable cogs out there are people like you and me, with things to pay and families to look after. They deserve better than what they have here at the moment and would be more reliable being given such.” <em>What an ass</em>, she thought, regardless of what he was saying, even if it did make a certain amount of sense he seemed to have no softness or compassion to him. Why was she even bothering being here? Working for such a pompous man? The answer was simple, she needed this job, she wanted this promotion and she didn’t want to be one of the grinding cogs in the wheel any more.<br><br>She turned then to face him, his closeness forcing her pelvis to brush against his hip as she swivelled, her eyes defiant as they looked right at him “Sure, anyone could fill those seats and these jobs. Office workers are a dime a dozen, but it doesn’t mean that they’re right for this company. You are all so caught up with how amenable your workers are you miss the good ones and waste their potential. Surely it’s better to have a steady permanent work force who you can rely on than ones that don’t give a shit about the job at hand or the company itself?” <br><br>She was beginning to get annoyed now, covering her same points over and over again and for what, his amusement no doubt. Her face heated with a blush at the thought that this was the case, that he was mocking her views in some way, views that he had asked her to give. The point of all of this she couldn’t see, she just wished he would hurry up and make it.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>05-03-2011, 13:28:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“My success begins and ends with me,” she announced.<br><br>Naïve.<br><br>“And a workforce is only as good as its superiors. Those replaceable cogs out there are people like you and me.”<br><br>No. They aren’t as successful. <br><br>“with things to pay and families to look after. They deserve better than what they have here at the moment and would be more reliable being given such.”<br><br>Drivel.<br><br>“Office workers are a dime a dozen.”<br><br>If only.<br><br>He was listening to every word she said most intently, and then her rounded hip swiped across his loins as she turned her posture to make her point even more correctly. It made his whole groin tingle. He looked down at the desk behind her, and there was nothing but clear space. He decided he would hammer her more viscerally to break her. Though at the forefront of his mind was the hope that she wouldn’t break. Going forward now was a terrible risk, one that would now no longer have termination as its highest consequence. He widened his stance to get more leverage against her, and then his hands were on her. <br><br>He quickly turned her back around, and with a strong, open hand, he bent her in half over the desk. Her gasp of surprise coupled with reactive resistance didn’t slow him. Then her skirt was hiked up, exposing her round ass, still shielded in sheer black nylon. For a split second he captured the delicious line of curves from her ass, down her locked leg, to her very shoes. Then his hand hit her sharply; a firm spanking on her ass. The pressure of his loins pinned her against the edge of the desk, and his hand struck her ass again. As she resisted, his position became more dominant and stronger physically, literally holding her in place with his strength over her. <br><br>“You’re more than they are,” Mark insisted over her prone, exposed body, spanking her a third time. “You need to lead. You need to be the boss.” He spanked her again, not holding back, but not beating her, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth time. “Fight,” he commanded her. “If you think you’re right, tell me,” he growled over her, administering another spanking on her perfect, reddening ass. He didn’t even realize how much the bulge of his aroused member was digging into her hip. He was entirely focused on the task at hand. “Feel like speaking your mind now, Emma?” Thwap…Thwap…”You are beaten; it is useless to resist.” <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>10-03-2011, 17:28:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“What the - ?” Emma exclaimed as his hands were on her, forcing her around and over the table. She had little chance to react and by the time she started physically fighting to get up she was already bent over his desk. Perhaps most shockingly then was his hand hoisting her tweed skirt up over her hips exposing her legs, her stockings and her pale ass, putting it all on display in some kind of lewd and almost unbelievable situation.<br><br>“Get your hands off me Mark! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hissed, mindful of the growing activity in the building and just outside of his office. She should have shouted, drawn someone else’s attention but the situation had her rattled. Her cheeks flamed with sudden humiliation until they burned with the first sharp smack he gave her, there was no way she wanted anyone else to see what was happening to her. <br><br>Instead she fought harder, but it was futile, he had her pinned precariously with his weight, he was too strong against her to get away and a strangely excited part of her wondered what it was she could feel pressing into her hip, was it his growing excitement at having her bent over and under his control or just her imagination?<br><br>He was settling into a rhythm if that was at all possible. Tears at her embarrassment and the stinging sensitivity of her skin as he spanked her over and over blossomed in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, the tears and the strange arousal she was feeling only made her angrier with him. “It is not!” <em>smack</em>, her voice was low and curt, attempting to hide her upset “How dare you! You don’t own me!” <em>smack</em> “I’m right and you know it!” <em>smack</em> “Them out there…they deserve better…” <em>smack</em> “…and the company deserves better.” She was grimacing now, tears flowing freely down her face, the only saving grace was that he couldn’t see them. Her ass cheek throbbed in time with her aching core, slickening beneath the thin fabric of her thong.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 23:14:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Suddenly the ordeal was over. His hands and weight were off her body. Her skin was flush with redness. Mark had to dry swallow at what had just occurred. “It is done, for now,” he said. “You have done well.”<br><br>It was all a lie, as everything in the corporate world is. It had only just begun. Emma was free to do whatever she wanted now. She could walk out the door and go home never to return, she could go to Personnel and have him not only fired but also criminally prosecuted, or she could even go back to her desk and sit on her stinging ass, braving the pain for the boss who had just ruthlessly humiliated her.<br><br>“Dry your tears,” he said unempathically, sliding a box of tissues across the surface of the desk as if they could erase everything that had just happened. “I’m putting in charge of the Penske project. Select two of my staff who you think will work the best for you. You can have any of the lot that you want. As of tomorrow, they report to me through you.” Mark steepled his fingers together as he put his elbows to the desk, and continued flatly, though his eyes were full of depth and searched hers. Her face was awash with embarrassment and humiliation, though he acted as if he didn’t see that at all. “As you know the Penske project is a merit project, so you will be scored on your performance, and you and your staff will be eligible for bonuses. Show me what you can do.”<br><br>His dismissed her, and unlocked a drawer in his desk, and pulled out a ledger book that looked liked it belonged in the 1950s. He set it open to the first pages, and prepared to write in it. Before she crossed the threshold of the open door he had one last statement for her, “I want to know who you’ve chosen for the project by the end of the day. That is all. Close the door, please.”<br><br>His cock was still tingling in his trousers when the door softly nestled into the jamb. He began to write across the pages of the old ledger by hand: <em>One. Taking the Pain. Even the best of ideas will be questioned, and resisted. The better they are, the more they will be attacked by their doubters. The professional must take the pain of her profession, and follow her chosen path no matter what the barriers. She must believe in what she is doing, and have confidence in her abilities to obtain those results. When one learns to cope with doubt and oppression of her ideas, yet still surge forward…</em> He continued to write ten paragraphs of business philosophy into the ledger, closed it, and locked it back into the bottom drawer of his desk.<br><br>He then turned the computer and began to write a memo to the executives. <em>Emma has been assigned to the Penske project along with two staff of her choosing. In order to lead this project she will be assigned room 6086. Please commence the reallocation of this room from conference to office immediately…</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>16-03-2011, 15:39:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Done well? She was too exasperated and shocked to reply as he pulled away from her. As soon has he was gone she hooked her fingers around her skirt and yanked it back over her ass, covering the proof of what had just occurred, hiding it as well as she did her tears. She straightened up and could have spat at the tissues he slid at her but refrained. Within seconds again the whole dynamic had changed, he had forced physical control over her and now suddenly it was over and he was giving a certain amount of power back to her.<br><br>She looked at him with disdain, carefully wiping at the dampened patches on her face with a tissue she kept in her blouse. His words were skimming over her and while she heard what he was saying it wasn’t until she had walked out of his office that the meaning behind them really hit her. <br><br>While the thought of reporting what had just happened was at the forefront of her mind she did not do it. Perhaps she was still just too humiliated to admit what had just happened, to draw attention to herself and her stinging reddened ass in any way just seemed like a step she couldn’t face. Her pussy was still tingling and damp from the excitement she had felt, it shamed her almost as much as the spanking itself.<br><br>Carefully she sank into her office chair, grimacing as the cushioned surface felt like stone on her sore cheeks. It did not pass unnoticed by Kris and her other nearby colleagues, though she was able to pass it off easily enough as bad lower back pain from an awkward night twisting and turning in bed. <br><br>For the rest of the day she debated her staff options for the Penske project, looking over each of her colleagues, recalling the work she had witnessed from them as well as the shoddy reports they had received. While it was tempting to pick two of her friends for the task she knew doing so could jeopardise both her position and the project itself. She wanted to choose staff who she knew could perform well, not just to complete the project she had been given but also to reiterate and prove her earlier point about the good quality workers that were being let go without a second thought.<br>&nbsp;<br>By the end of the day she had made her selection. Had Mark not humiliated her completely earlier she would have emailed him her choices but as it stood she felt that, before she left for the day, she ought to see him face to face to let him know. She needed to show him that she had not been phased by what he had done, even if in all reality she had. So, as the rest of the office was clearing out and people were heading home she took a deep breath and knocked on his office door, entering for the second time that day full of purpose and intent.<br><br>“I have decided I want Nick and Alexa for the Penske project” she stated coolly. Her eyes were fixed on him, searching for something, reading his expression in the hope that she would see something that may warn her of any other strange ideas he could be having…at least that is what she told herself. Looking at him sitting calmly at his desk made her flush slightly at the memory of that morning, the sound and feel of his palm on her flesh, the arousal she had felt being placed so firmly under his control. Pushing the thought away she merely stood by the closed office door awaiting his response. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>20-03-2011, 16:09:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Mark looked up from his computer as she filled the doorway to his office. She spoke without asking whether she could come in; just telling him the conclusion of the task he had set her two hours earlier. It betrayed a confidence he didn’t realize she had, and it made him pause. He took off the corrective lenses framed in Eddie Bauer that he always wore computer work, and laid his large hand flatly on the surface of his desk, his fingers fanning out in a relaxed way. He found her confidence wildly attractive, especially with how she had responded to being humiliated only that morning. He thought he could sense her knees shaking slightly as his pause became pregnant, and she became self-conscious as his eyes probed her, but he dismissed it just as quickly. He couldn’t sense such a movement from any distance beyond a touch. “Nick and Alexa?” he confirmed her choices unnecessarily. “As of tomorrow morning they report directly to you. You will also be changing offices. I’ve assigned you the room next door, room 6086. I’ll meet more formally with you and your staff tomorrow regarding the Penske project, and for now I want to meet with you weekly, and you and your staff monthly. We’ll cover the details then. Have a good night, Emma.” He kept gentle eye contact with her until she nodded an acknowledgment. They exchanged a few departing pleasantries, and the workday was over. <br><br>Before leaving for home himself, Mark pulled the old red leather-bound ledger with the browning pages from the locked drawer in the polished desk. He reached the end of the handwritten words, made a space on the page, and began a new topic of record. <br><br><em>Nick. He is the type that talks a big game, but is less than highly skilled in business. He is excellent within the office political dynamic, and expresses himself so well that hides his other, rather extensive weaknesses. He uses this form of manipulation to achieve promotion, after which his weaknesses inevitably become more pronounced. Creative, expressive, slow, irresponsible.<br><br>Alexa. She is a worker bee. She is excellent at completing tasks as assigned. She is inherently loyal, but pressure makes her fold instead of surge. Her leadership qualities are nil, and she will never do anything beyond what is asked of her. She is a mother of two and the primary breadwinner in her family, and thus needs this job more than just about any other member of the staff, though her personality makes this a hard trait of which to take advantage. Dedicated, organized, stable, unmotivated, dispassionate.</em> <br><br>The Penske project, as covered by Mark the next day, was one of the firm’s largest. Its projected timeline was 27 months, covered hundreds of vendors and contractors, and over a dozen individual clients. It was far larger than three people could ever hope to manage. Mark told this to Emma up front, with her new staff present. On her own, Mark told her that, with progress, more people would be added to her staff, rolled off other projects onto hers. Unlike her first two, the rest of her staff would be his choice. This was a shielded way of saying that the staff assigned to the project would stay, those who weren’t would be let go. She had already saved Nick and Alexa. She was not to tell anyone else in the office this information. <br><br>Nothing like what had happened on Monday ever had the hint of occurring again that week, or the next, or the next, but at the end of the four weeks of astute, effective professionalism Mark asked her into his office nonchalantly, and with all the airs of regular business. The meeting, it turned out, was of a personal nature. “The weather’s turning a little warmer,” he began after the usual pleasantries, “and my lacrosse club is having its first match on Saturday. I know lacrosse is more of an American thing, but we have enough teams for a good competitive season. Can you come out and watch?”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhedyn</strong> on <strong>23-03-2011, 12:06:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				That hadn’t gone as badly as she had expected, in fact it helped to bolster her confidence. The memory of that morning was still on the periphery of her mind but it seemed to have passed from his, or he was doing a good job of hiding it. With several nods, a little idle chit chat and one small but genuine smile she left and made her way home for the evening.<br><br>What he thought of her choices was anyone’s guess, she really didn’t care. He had given her the option and she had made her choices, she was confident that she knew them and their work habits far better than he did.<br><br>It soon became apparent at Mark’s orientation for the project that there was more at stake here for the workers than she had first thought. It made her even happier with her choice. She felt a little guilty too, knowing that she had had the opportunity to save two of her friends though she also knew in the end she had made the right decision. She had done what the company didn’t usually dare do but there was a lot riding on both her back and that of the people assigned to work with her. She delighted in both the pressure and the challenge.<br><br>A month passed and Emma felt well settled into her new role. The tensions she felt around Mark had all but dissipated, though she still didn’t completely like the man and hated to admit to herself that she found him in the least attractive. Aside from what had happened that Monday morning she had no cause to think he liked her in any way, her certainly didn’t appear to at work and while it stung a little it was also a relief, leaving her able to forget and get on with the job at hand.<br><br>When he struck her with an invitation for the weekend then she just couldn’t believe it. The surprise on her face must have been evident, though she reined it in quickly and deliberated her options. She couldn’t quite disregard the part of her that wanted to get to know him a little better and at least this way it would be in public. “Ummm” she looked thoughtful for a moment, scanning over her plans for the weekend until she realised, as per usual she had little on “yes…all right. I’d like that” she hesitated a little on admitting the last but when she thought about it harder she realised that she really would like that, besides, she knew little about lacrosse to say the least, it would be a good learning experience. “Where and what time?” Though the question was brief and to the point it wasn’t curt, but casual and friendly in nature and accompanied by a genuine smile.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Summons (Rhedyn and LM)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Lord Mayerling</strong> on <strong>23-03-2011, 23:47:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Mark wondered how Emma would react to being in a leadership position. So far, she hadn’t asked for anything. The progress meetings had been short and essentially uneventful. Mark was getting restless for tangible progress. Nick and Alexa hadn’t complained at all about how Emma was supervising them, but Mark wanted something to show the Board that was genuinely hers before he became more involved with addition of more staff to the project. Mark was happy with her performance, but he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more. He wanted to challenge her. When he first assigned her to the project she was determined to prove him wrong, she was defiant and stubborn in her beliefs. He felt like her edge had dulled, if only slightly. She was well-settled, and there was no tension. He hoped that by inviting her out to something non-work related she would let her guard down and he could find out what she really thought of the project, and what she wanted to do with her life outside of work. Her methods weren’t wrong, not exactly, but he was worried that she wasn’t asking him anything at all, and he wanted to keep her burning.<br><br>She wasn’t there when he arrived, which wasn’t surprising. He thought she was probably having second thoughts about seeing her boss outside of work, and on a weekend, and doing what many would construe as being a date. The game was played on a football pitch with nets on either end that were smaller than a football goal. When she did arrive she found a pitch full of twenty men that were all as physically robust as Mark. Like so many sporting games, it involved a ball and men with sticks. There was a little net at the end of each stick to carry the ball in, as the players weren’t allowed to touch it with their hands or feet. Mark’s side wore kits of royal blue shorts, and jerseys of white and royal blue vertical stripes. They were playing a team who wore navy blue kit with crimson around the shoulders and helmet. Mark was a midfielder, and played aggressively. He wasn’t afraid of contact, nor was he imprecise with his stickwork, and he had managed to score a goal in the first quarter on a bounce shot that fooled the goalie.<br><br>The game was swift and precise, and it could easily be seen why the men who played it were in such good shape. The game involved a lot of running around, but also jockeying for position and tackling, especially near the goal. The sticks could fling the ball with great speed and distance, but the nets were also quite small, so it took a lot of skill for the catcher to catch the ball as well. Points were scored when the team with the ball flung it into the goal past the goalie. It was a game of movement and obvious strategy. Like all silly American games it was played in quarters, with a longer break in play between the second and third. It was during these breaks that Mark had the opportunity to look if Emma had arrived. There were less than a hundred spectators, mostly the family of girlfriends of the men playing, and they were all on a single set of stands on one side of the pitch. The people who were watching were cheering, and certainly enjoyed the game.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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