Confessions of a Mailgirl Ch. 13

TAKEN FOR A RIDE

I was kneeling on a Mailgirls mat on the fourth floor of the tower in between deliveries when I saw Barbara approaching. "Go put away your MMU, take a shower and meet me in the executive parking lot in thirty minutes," she said, then turned and walked away before I could respond.

For Barbara to seek me out like this rather than summoning me to her office was very unusual and a sudden unease came over me. Had Barbara found out? Already?

Yesterday, two weeks after my first phone call with Mariko in the Hiromoto safe room, I'd been summoned back there. "Tell me everything you have seen and heard as a mailgirl relating to company business," Mariko had told me over the phone. "Do not concern yourself about whether it is important or not. I will decide what is worthy of passing on to Mr. Hiromoto and what is not." So I'd spent nearly thirty minutes telling Mariko everything I'd learned about DDE's projects and plans, both rumored and real. I knew some of it was dated information that had already been made public but I also told her things I knew were privy to only a few people at the highest level. Many executives and managers loved to make us lowly naked mailgirls wait while they were on the phone or discussing business with colleagues in their office and they thought so little of us that they had no concern about what we might see or hear.

I thought that I'd feel some sense of shame or guilt about passing on DDE secrets to a foreign company but afterwards I was surprised to find that I didn't. Although I'd been a mostly willing participant since becoming a mailgirl I hadn't forgotten the lies and deceit that had been used to lure me into this life in the first place. DDE had cynically turned a bright, well-educated young woman with a promising future into a naked delivery girl and I no longer felt any loyalty to the company whatsoever.

What did concern me though was Barbara finding out about this and what she might do to me if she did. Mariko had said that my visits to that office would never be recorded on my log but Barbara always seemed to know everything. I told myself that she wasn't omniscient and couldn't keep track everything going on in the sprawling DDE complex, but now she had suddenly broken from routine in ordering me to meet her and that had me worried.

Back in the Mailgirls locker room I quickly showered and re-applied my makeup, then made my way toward the executive parking lot beneath the tower wearing only the metal collar that was now a permanent fixture around my neck. Barbara was already waiting for me as I entered through the door that led into the parking area. "Follow me," she ordered.

It was mid-afternoon and no one else was in the lot as she led me to her car, a black Lexus sedan. The side windows of the car were tinted and I saw a mirrored image of myself in them as I approached. It still struck me as odd whenever I caught a glimpse of my nude body in public places and saw what others were seeing.

Barbara unlocked the doors with her key fob. "Get in the back," she ordered. I opened the car door and saw a towel on the seat, placed there presumedly to protect the leather from my lady juices. Next to it was what looked like a folded black scarf. I crawled into the back seat and shut the door as Barbara got in up front behind the wheel and turned to look back at me. "Buckle up and tie on the blindfold," she ordered. My world went black as I tied the black scarf around my eyes.

I heard the engine fire up and felt the car begin to move. My uneasiness continued to build as the muted sounds of city streets and traffic reached my ears. Once again Barbara was ripping me out of my comfort zone and taking me on a journey into the unknown.

I call it a comfort zone but those words probably don't really accurately describe any aspect of my life since meeting Barbara. Destroying my equilibrium might be a better description of what she was doing. Barbara always allowed me time to find a tenuous sense of balance before giving me another shove past my boundaries. This blindfolded car ride with no explanation about where we were going was something new and different and I was beginning to tremble with fear and anticipation of what might lie ahead. Would she order me out of the car somewhere in the middle of town to humiliate me in front of a bunch of strangers? Would she abandon me to find may way back home, naked and alone? Was I going to be whipped as punishment for spilling company secrets to Hiromoto? My mind swirled with possible scenarios as the car snaked its way through traffic.

We'd been driving for maybe twenty minutes when the car eased to a halt. Barbara turned off the engine and, without saying a word, exited the car and shut the door. I was left alone as I heard the electronic click of the door locks. My anxiety continued to escalate with each passing minute as I fought off the urge to lift the blindfold to try to see where I was. For all I knew Barbara was standing right outside of the car watching me to see if I would do that.

Finally I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The car doors unlocked and my door was pulled open. "God dammit, Barbara, are you completely insane bringing her here like this?" an unfamiliar female voice said. Barbara simply laughed in response. "Get her out of there and bring her in through the back door," the woman ordered.

"Get out, Nine," Barbara commanded and I turned and slid out the door as Barbara shut it behind me. I felt Barbara's hands on my shoulders as she began guiding me forward.

"Why the hell do you have her blindfolded anyway?" the woman asked.

"For fun," Barbara replied.

Barbara continued to guide me over pavement, then grass, then up the stairs of a wooden deck before entering through a door. She walked me through several rooms before halting me and untying the blindfold. I blinked several times to adjust to the light and found myself in a large, well-appointed kitchen. Barbara opened a door revealing a wine rack, then pulled out several bottles and examined each of them before finding one she liked. She placed the bottle on a large kitchen island along with a corkscrew and several wine glasses. "Just help yourself to whatever I've got here, Barbara," the woman said sarcastically. Barbara ignored her.

"Pour each of us a glass of wine and bring it to us in the next room, Nine," Barbara said to me.

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you really call her Nine?" the woman asked incredulously.

Barbara laughed. "We have a lot to talk about, Joyce. Let's do it in the living room." Joyce followed her out of the kitchen and I marveled at the fact that Barbara remained in charge even in what was presumedly this woman's house.

I uncorked the bottle and began pouring the wine. Of all the possible scenarios that had played in my head as I rode here naked and blindfolded this hadn't been one of them. I felt a little better since this didn't seem to have anything to do with me revealing secrets to Hiromoto. I knew Barbara well enough though to know that she hadn't brought me here to just serve wine. She wanted this woman, whoever she was, to see me and the control she had over me.

I carried the two glasses of wine into the living room where the women were seated. Joyce thanked me as I handed her the first glass, her eyes roaming over my body. The woman was fortyish, slightly plump but still attractive with well-coiffed dark hair and manicured nails. She had the look of a professional woman and I guessed that she might be some type of business associate of Barbara's. They obviously knew each other well.

I got no thanks from Barbara when I handed her the glass of wine. "You can kneel on the floor, Nine," was all she said. I took my place on the carpeted floor facing the women.

Joyce laughed and shook her head. "You've got her well trained, I'll say that for you."

"She's had her moments of rebellion and insubordination, but she's learning."

The two women began chatting and I soon discovered that Joyce was a member of the city council and was running for mayor of Wildwood, the suburb where DDE was located. She was apparently locked in a tight race with the incumbent mayor. "I see you're still down three points in the latest poll," Barbara said to her.

Joyce shrugged. "It's within the margin of error and I've been gaining."

"Yes, you have been," Barbara replied. "That's why I'm here."

"Ah," Joyce replied with a bemused smirk. "And I thought you were here in the spirit of friendship." She took a sip of wine, then leaned back in her chair before continuing. "Let me guess, Barbara, you're going to tell me how you can help get me over the top in the election in exchange for a couple of favors down the road, am I right? A little tit for tat. Or in this case, tits for tat," she said glancing at my bare breasts.

"That's exactly right, Joyce. I can help get you over the hump in the election."

"You're a little late to the party, Barbara. I could've used your help months ago, not three weeks before the election.

"I had to know you had a legit shot of winning before I got onboard, Joyce. It wouldn't have been in my interest to back a losing horse."

"You're so flattering," Joyce laughed. "But if you think you can get this horse across the finish line, I'm listening."

Barbara took a sip of wine before responding. "I can deliver at least seventy-five percent of the DDE votes for you. Maybe more."

"Really?" Joyce replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Seventy-five percent? Wow. That would be, what...one hundred votes? Two hundred? You've got a lot of millennials working there and we both know damn well that they don't vote, especially not in local elections."

'"Don't worry, I'll get out the DDE vote," Barbara promised. "We've been running a registration drive for months to get our employees registered and we're offering them two hours off with pay on election day if they use that time to go to the polls. The wing with the highest percentage of people exercising their civic duty will be rewarded with a party served by twenty-four nude mailgirls. Those two things will motivate the hell out of the north wing in particular where you'll get at least ninety percent of the votes."

"Why are you so sure they'd vote for me?"

"Because the geeks there love the mailgirls and we'll let it be known that your opponent is hostile to them and may try to pass laws preventing us from using mailgirls."

"Robert? He's got nothing against mailgirls. Hell, he'd use them in city hall if he thought he could get away with it. He told the chief of police to not hassle your girl here on her naked walks to work."

Barbara shrugged. "The geeks don't need to know that."

"Listen Barbara, if you think I'm going to come out publicly as the Mailgirls' candidate you're fucking nuts. I'm not going anywhere near that hot potato."

"You don't have to, Joyce. We'll just quietly float the rumor around the DDE complex. That'll be enough."

Joyce swirled the wine around in her glass as she thought about what Barbara was saying. "Alright, let's say you can net me a couple of thousand DDE votes. That'll help, but it's no guarantee of putting me over the top."

"No, but I've also dug up a little dirt on Robert that if released just prior to the election definitely would."

"What is it?" Joyce asked.

Barbara laughed and shook her head. "If I told you then you could have your people release it and you wouldn't need me."

Joyce let out a sigh. "Why do I feel like I'm about to crawl into bed with the devil. I need some more fucking wine."

Barbara nodded at me and I rose to my feet and re-filled both of their glasses, then returned to my spot on the floor. I admit that I was fascinated by the conversation and this glimpse into the seamy underbelly of politics. I wondered how many quiet conversations like this took place in backrooms around the country that would ultimately influence elections and decide our political leaders and policies. The fact that Joyce was willing to speak so openly about all of this in front of me just confirmed my low status in her eyes. I was just a naked mailgirl, a non-person. I was no threat to her. The idea that I might be intelligent and highly educated probably never occurred to her. Barbara knew it, of course, but she had her own ulterior motives for wanting me here to observe this meeting. What they were I had no clue.

"Alright Barbara," Joyce continued, "let's say that you do help get me elected. What are you going to want in return?"

"I want my mailgirls to be able to go off property to make pickups and deliveries around town."

"Naked? No fucking way!"

"Why not?"

"Because there are families with kids here."

"I won't be sending them to elementary schools," Barbara replied. "Besides there's nothing inherently obscene about the nude female body and its nothing that kids these days can't see within a couple of mouse clicks anyway. And how many people really object to seeing a beautiful naked woman? A lot less than you think, Joyce."

"Even if that's true if we make public nudity legal what's to prevent not-so-beautiful fat guys from walking around town naked?" Joyce responded.

"You wouldn't be making public nudity legal except for licensed mailgirls. That way nudity would be limited to young, attractive women. The law could be sold as promoting job creation in the Mailgirls industry."

"The Mailgirls industry?" Joyce laughed. "You've hired, what, twenty-four women? That's not an industry, it's a boutique created to serve your own fetishes."

Barbara took a sip of wine and smiled. "That's only the beginning, Joyce. We're in negotiations with half a dozen companies interested in their own Mailgirls program. They're simply waiting to see how this lawsuit by United American Women plays out first."

"And how will it play out?"

"It's going to go away soon and will do so in a way that damages UAW and discourages future lawsuits. When that happens we'll show everyone just how much our profits and productivity have increased since we started the Mailgirls program at DDE. Without the lawsuit hanging over our heads our stock will rise and those companies are going to be much more willing to take the plunge."

I wasn't surprised to hear about the lawsuit going away since it was the same thing Mariko had told me over the phone. Hiromoto's people had somehow gotten to the former DDE mailgirl bringing the suit. The fix was in.

"Alright, let's say all of that happens," Joyce said. "I still don't see any mass job creation taking place in Wildwood as a result of this so-called Mailgirls industry."

"For starters we'd hire and train all future mailgirls here before they go to whatever company they eventually end up working for."

"A Mailgirls Academy?" Joyce laughed, shaking her head. "Jesus."

"Future Mailgirls contracts won't be tied to any single company," Barbara continued. "All Mailgirls contracts will originate with us and will then be sold on the open market to the highest bidder."

'That sounds a hell of a lot like a slave market to me," Joyce said.

Barbara shook her head. "It's perfectly legal. Employers will be buying contracts, not girls. And the women will have full knowledge of this when they sign the contracts. Only companies licensed by Hiromoto and DDE will be allowed to buy or sell the contracts and they will be held to strict standards in how mailgirls are treated."

''Yes but the girl will be forced to follow the contract to whoever buys it. The optics of it still look terrible."

"We'll be doing it discreetly. It's not like we'll be auctioning the girls off in the public square."

This was the first time I'd heard any of this and I was shocked by it. It did sound an awful lot like a slave market to me. Mailgirls would have little or no say where they worked or who they worked for. I was very glad my own contract was limited specifically to working for DDE and this made me even more determined not to sign another contract after this one expired. I had no desire to be sold to the highest bidder.

Joyce shook her head. "I still don't see how this will create an economic boom for the city. How much of a market will there ever be for mailgirls? Most companies won't go near them."

"Most older established companies won't, that's true," Barbara said. "They're too hidebound and conservative to take risks. The companies interested in Mailgirls are young, hungry high tech startups that aren't bound by convention. They look at DumpsterDawg Enterprises as a successful model of what they someday want to become. They're also the type of companies that could be lured to establish their base in Wildwood."

"You think they'll be lured here by a nascent Mailgirls industry?" Joyce asked incredulously.

"Not just by that. The reason that DDE made the decision to make Wildwood its home is because the city has a young, well-educated population, good schools, and plenty of relatively cheap land."

"And we gave you a hell of a tax break to build here," Joyce added.

"Yes, and that. Those conditions still exist as long as you offer a similar tax break. If you also make this a Mailgirls-friendly city I know we could help lure some of these companies to move here.''

"You couldn't do that without mailgirls being involved?" Joyce asked.

"The only reason these companies are talking to us right now is because of their interest in our Mailgirls program. This gives us the opportunity to also sell them on Wildwood."

Joyce let out a curt laugh. "You know, I bet you probably could sell them on Wildwood if you wanted to, Barbara. Hell, you could probably sell a fire pit to the Devil himself if you were motivated enough. So it's going to be my job as mayor to keep you motivated by allowing you to turn my fair city into a Mailgirls version of Silicon Valley, am I right?"

"You always were a quick study, Joyce." Barbara leaned back in her chair and took another sip of wine. "This really is a wonderful vintage. I'll have to pick up a couple of bottles."

Joyce remained silent for a few moments as she contemplated what Barbara was telling her. "You do know that even if I'm able to make it so your naked girls can wander the streets I can't force private businesses to allow them in their doors. 'No shoes, no shirts, no pants, no service' and all that happy horseshit."

"I know," Barbara replied, "but some will allow them in. We already have an agreement with Martin's Market and more will follow."

I thought about my first trip into Martin's Market with Anna the other day wearing nothing but this collar around my neck. I'd thought that my months of nudity at DDE would have prepared me for it, but it hadn't. The shame and humiliation I'd felt as I followed Anna around the store as other shoppers gawked at us had been incredible. Breaking yet another taboo had created such an intense arousal that I'd had to fight off an orgasm right there in the frozen foods section. After getting back to the condo I found out that Anna had also been turned on by it and she practically dragged me into the bedroom. Only after multiple orgasms did she finally get around to ordering me to put the groceries away.

I looked up and caught Joyce staring at me. "She certainly is beautiful," she said. "Can you leave her here for the night?"

"No," Barbara said. "She's mine."

"Not even in exchange for an agreement to everything you asked for?"

"Nope. I'm not a pimp and she's not for sale. Either the deal stands on its own merits or it doesn't. You decide." My way or the highway. Classic Barbara. She was fearless even in dealing with the potential future mayor of the city. In this case I was grateful for that, relieved that I hadn't been offered up as a sweetener to the deal.

Joyce sighed and rose to her feet as Barbara followed suit. "The deal stands on its own," she said. "If you can get me elected and bring business into the city like you say you can I'll do what I can to help you turn Wildwood into the capital of your Mailgirl fiefdom." Barbara reached out her hand and the two of them shook on it.