A Step Away from the Ordinary Ch. 03

She took a sip of her coffee, and said, "Stand." Without pausing, Eddie stood, moving his arms to the back of his waist.

"Oh my, such a good boy." Judith said with glee, continuing "and if I said any of the other commands you learned, you would not hesitate ... not even a little?" A glint shown from Judith's eyes and an evil grin spread on her lips as she looked up to him.

"Yes Miss Judith," Eddie said, fearing his fate in her hands.

"Well, I think I'm finished. Let's go." She said, as she stood and began walking out of the restaurant, saying, "Follow" as she walked past Eddie. Eddie dutifully followed her back to the office. Once in the lobby, they walked to the back of another group waiting for the elevator. The doors opened, and all filed in taking their places in the typical waltz of moving to the back or standing near the doors depending on perceived status. As the elevator doors closed, Eddie felt a little twinge from the Good Boy, and looking up, caught Judith's grin. Finally they arrived at their floor. Judith paused in the hallway saying, "Come to my office when I buzz, Eddie." She then excused herself, heading to the ladies as he entered the suite and headed back to his cubicle.

Eddie spent several minutes at his desk trying to process what had happened over the day, then turned to his screen and returned to his task list. What a day, he thought to himself.

The afternoon passed quickly by, as Eddie first outlined his corrective action plan, and then took a break to close out a couple of email tasks and to check on Cynthia's printer. Cynthia was always curt and dismissive with him and he tried to avoid her, which most likely resulted in her perception of poor service. He refilled the printer paper supply, and decided to just change out the toner daily, as he could just use the partially depleted toner cartridges on his own printer. He returned to his desk and checked on a few other tasks, before refocusing on the corrective action plan, adding details and completing the dreaded list of action steps. As he was finishing the plan, he felt the GoodBoy come to life, reacquainting him with the ache in his balls. "Just in time," he thought, as he pressed print, grabbed his jacket, and picked up the plan from the printer as he headed to Judith's office.

As he walked up to her assistant, she motioned him into the office, smiling a bit more than usual. Judith was reading something on her computer, so Eddie just stood at the front of her desk and patiently waited. He noticed the GoodBoy remote laying on her desk. After a few minutes, she looked up, saying, "Oh, there you are. I was just finishing registering!" She was smiling as if she had just done something remarkable.

A few seconds later he felt five quick pulses, as he concluded what had just happened. Now Judith was a registered user for DonnasBoy11! "Now as soon as I download the app, I won't need to keep up with this remote!" she said, proudly.

Eddie was speechless. The web was widening and his anticipated end of Miss Degrasse's playtime amusement was looking less hopeful. "So, Eddie, is that my plan in your hand?" Judith said.

"Yes, Miss Judith," he said, as he handed the pages to her, "I think you will find it complete."

"I hope so," she responded, as she picked up her purple editing pen, and began to read it. She would read a few sentences, then stop, make corrections, read back through the sentences, and then continue. By the time she finished, there was hardly a line without some purple mark. Eddie expected this, as it was her habit. Nothing was ever perfect. And he was certain that if he fixed every edit, and returned it to her, she would have more edits!

Judith said firmly, "Now get this fixed and email it back to me before you leave tonight. Drop off a printed copy too, and post the action list at the entrance to your cube—you know I want you to mark off each action as you finish it."

"Yes Miss Judith," Eddie responded, starting to turn to leave.

"And drop a printed copy to my admin as well." She paused, and then continued as she picked up the remote, "Drop this off with Gabby as well. I won't need it now that I'm getting the app." Gabby was the newly hired college intern that served as Judith's admin. Gabby looked much younger that her age of 21.

Eddie reached out, took the remote, and left Judith's office. He paused at Gabby's desk. Miss Judith asked me to drop this by," Eddie said, the embarrassment burning in his cheeks.

"Know all about it, Eddie," she said in a saucy tone. "Buzz you if I need you," she said giggling as he walked away.

About half way down the hall he felt a long painful buzz. He turned, looking back at Gabby, as she motioned him back towards her with a curled finger. He walked back up to her desk, looking down. She said, "Eddie it isn't polite to just walk off like that. At least you could have acknowledged that I had said something to you."

Eddie replied, "I'm sorry, Gabby. I didn't mean to be rude. I am just in a rush to get this corrective action plan updated and make my bus. I am sorry."

She replied, "Okay, I accept it. But ... Eddie ... if you are calling all the other women here Miss, it wouldn't be too much to ask to show me a little respect too and call me Miss Gabby, would it?"

He watched carefully as she was talking and holding the remote in her hand, her fingertips hovering around the buttons. He replied, "No, Miss Gabby. I wasn't being thoughtful." He started to leave, but then paused.

After a moment, she looked back up and said, "Okay then, you be a good boy and get that report done for Judith. Buzz you if I need you!"

"Yes Miss Gabby," he said, trying to keep any frustration out of his voice.

Eddie sped back to his cubicle, made the corrections, printed and reviewed the revised copy, and then sent the email to Judith. He printed two additional copies, thumb-tacking the action list pages to his cubicle wall, grabbing his jacket, and headed back to Gabby's desk. Gabby had already departed, so he stapled the copies, put a post-it on one saying "Miss Gabby" and on the other saying "Miss Judith." He looked down at his watch. If he rushed, he would make the bus. As he turned to leave Gabby's desk, he heard Judith say, "hey Eddie, glad a caught you, got a minute?"

Eddie took a deep breath, knowing that the time was slipping away. He stuck his head in the door, hoping to avoid a long conversation, saying "Yes Miss Judith."

She smiled, holding up her cell phone, and said, "Just got the app downloaded and set up. I wanted to test it, it that's okay?"

Knowing he had no choice, he stepped on in the office. Judith pushed a button on her phone, and Eddie felt the pulse, saying, "Looks like it works!" hoping to end the experiment.

Judith said, "Now remind me what puppy mode does?"

Eddie said, "It makes sure that I stay down on all fours."

"Oh I see," she said. "Leash." Eddie dropped down to all fours, painfully aware that Judith's door was open, and that anyone might walk by. Judith continued, "Now, be a good boy," Judith said, as she pressed the puppy mode.

Eddie felt a sight buzz in the wrist bands, evidently signaling that it was working. "Now, sit!" she said. The pulses came to life, growing stronger as he straightened his back.

"It does work ... oh my gosh. This is something!" She then pressed again to relieve the pulsing. She reached over with a treat in her hand, saying "Eat."

Eddie gratefully took the treat with the tip of his tongue, savoring the taste and knowing that the aches in his balls would soon be eased.

"I really think this will be fun," Judith said, "In fact Eddie, I would like you to come over Saturday morning so I can learn a bit more about how this works. Okay?"

"Yes Miss Judith," Eddie replied.

"Ok," she said, "I am going to set this to protect, like you had it today. That will give you some mobility, but will keep your training going. Better run, you'll miss your bus!"

"Thank you, Miss Judith," Eddie said as he stood, and rushed from the door, almost knocking one of the programmers off her feet. He apologized, and then headed to the stairway, taking the steps quickly, and then dashing through the lobby and to the bus stop just as the bus pulled up. As he settled in his seat, he began to really worry about what he had gotten himself into.

-o-

As Eddie got off the bus at his stop he realized that he had not remembered that he had to get to the apartment office before 5. Now it would be another day before he could get that resolved! At least the day lobby attendant would be on duty until 7:30, he thought, as he entered the lobby. He certainly did not want to have to deal with Sally.

He walked up to the lobby desk, and waited for Hank, the elderly lobby attendant that usually covered the desk in the afternoons and early evening, to look up from his computer monitor, which sat in front of him, along with a small array of security camera monitors. When Hank looked up, he said, "Well, Ed, haven't seen you around much lately. How is it going?"

Hank was always pleasant and he had a talent for remembering all of the tenants' names. Eddie said, "I've misplaced by key ... I realized that it was gone last night, and Sally let me in. I hoped that I would find it in my office, but no luck!"

"I noticed in the security log you needed some help last night," Hank said chuckling. "I would have thought that Sally would have gone over the procedure. You report it to the office, they arrange for a locksmith to change the lock, and if you are real sweet to them, they'll have it out here with me when you return. It's $100, I think. Or $125 if you wait until the rent is paid."

"Can I just leave you a check, Hank?" Eddie said.

"Wish I could, Eddie. Office doesn't allow me handle money," he said complainingly, "Only worked here 10 years. Guess they don't know if they can trust me!"

"Well, I will deal with it in morning," Eddie said, not wanting to get involved in the office politics. "Can you come and open my door for me?"

Hank continued, still in the complaining mode, "Boy I'm striking out on all the pitches tonight, Eddie. No can do. You see, during the day, the maintenance guy is around and he can do that. Only keys they trust me with are the ones for the mop closets! You will have to call Sally—she's usually back around this time. Buzzer is right above the elevator buttons."

Eddie walked away frustrated, tired, and growing hungry. The lunch salad was not satisfying, more like a small side salad than a meal, though it was priced like a main course. He found the squawk box, and pressed the buzzer. After a couple of minutes, he tried again, and when there was no answer back he decided to just return to the main lobby and wait. He watched the door, thinking she might get back sooner if he just stared hard enough at the door! But after about 20 minutes he nodded off. A little later he woke, checked his watch and realized an hour had passed. The lobby was now vacant and he felt a bit of a chill. He headed back over to the elevator, and pressed the squawk box button. He waited about 5 minutes, and started back to the lounge chair, when he heard Sally's voice on the speaker. He dashed back, and started to explain his situation, then realized that she had already turned the speaker off. He buzzed again, and soon heard her say, "Yes?"

"This is Eddie. I didn't make it back in time to get my key made today. Could you let me in?" He worked to keep his annoyance in check, hoping to minimize the pain of talking with Sally again.

"Sure, Sweetie. Be right up," she said. He stood watching the elevator lights. One was at the lobby level and another was stopped on the 5th floor. Soon, he saw that the 5th floor elevator had started descending, and then waited at the basement. After another couple of minutes, he heard a ding as its doors opened and Sally stood with her arm holding the door.

As Eddie entered, she said, "Not dressed for the lobby. I was just getting out of the shower when you buzzed."

"Thank you for coming so quickly," he said, as the door closed behind him. He noticed her wet hair, and the rather short dressing gown she had on.

"So making this a habit, are we?" Sally said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Another tough day at the office. Didn't get here until just after 7," he said, working to avert his gaze. As the door opened, he held it for Sally, and then followed her down the hall, admiring her hips. As she turned to unlock and open his door, he couldn't help but notice her profile and the jut of her obviously unconstrained nipples through the gown. She followed him into his apartment, and, acting like an invited guest, sat down in the recliner.

"So, Eddie, are you going to tell me more about what's going on with you? I know something is—you are acting weird and obviously in a pink about fashion lately!" she said, with an interest in her voice.

Eddie paused, started to sit down in the only other chair, an old loner left over from his Mom's kitchen table set. Then said, "Sally, if you'd excuse me for second."

"Sure, Eddie," she said, as disappeared into the hall bath. "Changing into something more comfortable, Eddie?" she called out, with a tease in her voice. A few minutes later he returned, having relieved himself and slipped off his jacket.

"Let it out, Eddie. I won't tell anyone!" Sally said sweetly.

Eddie paused, and then surprisingly felt six quick pulses in his GoodBoy. He avoided Sally's perplexed look as he looked down, then surmised that she must think he was staring at her legs—it was certainly a thought that had come to his mind! He looked back up, saying "it's been a rough coupled of days, Sally. A lot going on at the office."

"Hmm," Sally said, "tell me about it, Eddie."

"Well," Eddie said in a quiet voice, "yesterday morning started off bad and just got worse. I missed my bus stop at the office, had to run 4 blocks to get back to my building, ran up 3 flights of steps to our suite, and was late for the morning meeting." As he continued with the explanation, he became more animated as Sally seemed really interested. Much like the previous evening, he went through all of the humiliations in the meeting and afterwards with Judith and closed mentioning how he had missed his bus and ended up at a tavern for dinner.

"So, you got to tell me, how did you end up in a woman's jogging apparel?" Sally said. "You clearly didn't get home from work until I let you in after midnight!"

Eddie struggled with how much to tell Sally. He was both excited and embarrassed about the ordeal, but it was certainly not the typical story a neighbor had interest in. He glanced as Sally tucked one leg under her. While he wasn't certain, his quick glance left him with the impression she wasn't wearing much else under the gown. He didn't want her to leave, but began feeling that she would soon be out the door if he didn't keep the conversation going.

"Unh ... why ... why don't we order some take out, if you haven't eaten," Eddie said with a nervous stutter.

"Sure, Eddie," Sally said, "Know just the place." She dug her phone out the pocket in the dressing gown, dialed a number, and placed the order. "They'll be here in 15 minutes. They're just around the corner. That will give me time to run down to the apartment and put on some panties, and give you a moment to slip into yours," she said with a giggle as she stood up and headed out the door.

Eddie sat and thought for a few minutes about the conversation. Other than some brief conversations down in the laundry, he had barely shared more that the customary greetings with Sally. He supposed that she must have noticed panties in his laundry, which he hadn't given a thought to at the time.

After a few minutes, he got up, and headed back to the bedroom. He slipped off his tie, took off and hung up his pants, and slipped on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. He stepped into the bath room, looked in the mirror, and then stepped back to look at the pants. The Asylum's form was too obvious, so he went back to the bedroom, slipped out of the jeans and put on an old pair of comfortable sweat pants and a matching sweat shirt. He heard the door, and when he opened it, he saw the take out delivery guy. Eddie went back to the bedroom to grab his billfold, and then paid and tipped the delivery guy. As the delivery guy was walking away, Sally reappeared in the hallway, wearing a long football jersey and a pair of gray yoga pants. She smiled as she stepped by the delivery guy, saying, "I hope he tipped you well!"

"Yes Miss Sally. Thank you," he responded with a familiarity.

"He's a regular at my door," she said as she entered the apartment, taking the sacks from Eddie, and leading him to his own kitchen. She opened various cabinet doors, locating a couple of plates, and then retrieving some silverware from the drainer on the counter. "Pretty bare cabinets, buddy," she said, as she sat the old kitchen table, and took the various containers of Chinese food from the sacks. "Hope you like Chinese," she said.

Eddie returned to the living area, retrieved the kitchen table chair, and held it for Sally. "Thank you," she said with a lift in her voice. Worked all afternoon on this meal!" she said playfully.

Eddie retrieved his office chair from the computer desk in the living room, and sat down. He was becoming quite accomplished with keeping his wrists separated. It turned out that Sally was a quick eater, just like Judith, and, just like Judith, she began talking as soon as she was finished. "So Eddie, tell me about it. How did you end up in a pink jogging suit last night?" There was both a smile and a look of genuine interest on Sally's face.

Eddie's mind had been racing ever sense Sally had left. First, there was the issue of the sixth signal pulse. "Who in the world was that," he thought. His first thought was Gabby. But then he thought that Miss Donna, or Angie, or even Lilly could have shared the registration information. He was very uncomfortable not knowing who had control of the GoodBoy, particularly when he thought about how much it could incapacitate him. And he was wondering about how it was going to get recharged? He didn't want to experience the increasingly severe pulses that Donna had described that would occur when the battery was weak. And did Donna or Miss Degrasse have any idea that each of these registrations would cause more battery use? And he thought about how the device knew not to deliver jolts when he was out of range of the remote or a registered router, unless that feature had been turned off. Then he began to wonder why the device had not pulsed when he had left the apartment and rode the bus and went to the restaurant. His frustration grew, until the delivery guy had arrived.

Sally's question brought him back to the present. He had decided to volunteer a few details, gauge Sally's interest, and proceed cautiously. "Well, it began at the tavern ... or really, I should start at the beginning, on the bus ride to work." Eddie then went through the experience of following Miss Donna from the bus and then running into her at the tavern, including how she had eaten his dinner, and how he was feeling dizzy when he paid the tab, and followed her to the ladies room.

"Oh my," Sally said. Did she drag you into the ladies room and take your clothes?" she said with a tone that was both giggly and concerned.

"No," Eddie said. He explained how he had waited in the hallway and how he followed her to the building down the alley and was left in dark room. Sally listened intently as he described how at ease he felt when she had him undress and sit on the edge of the stage.

"I just can't imagine it, Eddie," she exclaimed. "Just sitting there bare-assed naked alone with a stranger in a poorly lit room. I would be terrified!"