Disciplining Ms. Reed

"You know I am just a consultant, right, and not even an official one," Frank said.

"Yes Frank, and I know you are just doing your little brother a big favor. But I would really like you to meet the new hires and let me know if they need help. They might talk to you if they think they cannot talk to me."

He took a chair in front of Thomas' desk and said, "ok, tell me what you've rounded up."

"We hired six. Jim has already taken Kurt Collins under his wing as his second in command as he focused on cloud development in school and already has a couple of years' experience. He has also added Kevin Lincoln and Jamal Simms to the DevOps side, both recent graduates. He has tasked Susan Durbin and Vincent Trent with backend development, and both have a few years of experience at it. We are weak on the front-end side as both new hires, Jose Grant and Samantha Reed, are recent graduates. I am extremely hopeful with Sam. She's very sharp and has a fair bit of artistic talent, so she could conceivably take on all aspects of the user experience. But Jim has his hands full with the rest of the team, so the UI is where we lack leadership. Both are going to need to work with more minimal oversight for a bit until either we find someone to lead that side, or one of them proves capable of doing it, so focus on those two if you can."

"Alright. I will be in the office all this week and meet with all of them. I will make it clear I am not an employee and offer myself as a mentor of sorts or something. I am not comfortable presenting myself as a manager when I am not filling that role."

"Fine, fine. Whatever you can do to gives us a fighting chance in the first year will be greatly appreciated Frank. Are you sure you are ok watching the office one day a week too?"

"As long as everyone understands I am just there to lock up at night and keep an eye out for emergencies, it will be fine. I don't have a wife haranguing me to be home at a reasonable hour on Fridays anymore. At least there weren't kids for her to fight over in the divorce. Yes, yes," Frank said and waved his hand in a placating gesture, "I am doing fine, and your concern is appreciated. Founding a company the day after the divorce and selling it off a year later for ten times what she took from me was more than adequate revenge," he said with a smile.

That was Franks introduction to Sam. A single sentence with two complements and a load of implied hope. Little did he know what was in store for both of them. He met the other new hires earlier in the week, but did not finally meet Sam until the end of Friday when they were the last two in the office.

"Samantha Reed," Frank asked as he leaned into the cubicle.

"Yes," she said questioningly removing a pair of glasses.

Samantha was a pretty, young woman in a nerdy sort of way, at least until the glasses came off. She was a mix of accidental highlights and purposeful downplays. Her blonde hair was plain and straight, lacking any styling or curl of any sort. She probably saved such efforts for nights out with the girls or the boyfriend, if there was one. It was probably often tied back in a ponytail at work, but not today. She was perhaps a little on the thin side, but she was wearing yoga pants, which drew attention to a very shapely rear end, or what I could see of it anyway. She was wearing a top that was tight enough to show the outlines of her b-cup bra quite plainly. Her breasts seemed to be a bit on the large side of her cup size and did not go well with her thin frame, giving her an awkward, clumsy look. Surprisingly, her stomach was completely flat, though I expected that might change after a few years of her sedentary office life. Unless she took to a gym as habitually as Frank did. In the right group, with her hair styled and well done make up, she might be the 'hot girl'. But I suspected she was more likely the middle of the road girl in her group, with a few of her friends being on the heavier side and few of them being far more traditionally attractive.

He stepped into the small space and offered his hand, "Frank Madison. I am Thomas' brother."

Samantha was completely spellbound by this man. He was more than a couple of inches past six feet she guessed as she mentally compared her own five-foot nine height to his. His hair was graying at the edges and there were patches of gray in many areas of his short beard, meaning he was probably in his late forties or early fifties. But it was his voice that caught her off balance. It reminded her of Sam Elliot except it was somehow deeper and seemed to reverberate through her entire body. She shook his hand awkwardly from her seated position.

"Oh," she said awkwardly, "I've seen you around the office this past week, but I wasn't aware you were working with your brother."

Frank noticed her eyes would not meet his for very long and she seemed a bit shy or perhaps nervous. Then she squirmed in her chair. It was slight, very slight. She probably didn't even realize she'd done it. He was used to seeing this effect in women thanks to his voice. He forced the inevitable thoughts from his head and smiled at her.

Frank held up his hands defensively. "No, no. I am a consultant of sorts. Just helping my little brother keep his venture afloat long enough to take off so you can all get rich. I also watch the office on Friday afternoon for him so he can make his weekly poker night with his buddies."

Sam glanced quickly back at her computer screen. "Ah, I'm sorry, you are waiting on me to lock up? I didn't realize it was so late, I am very sorry."

Damn this man's voice, Samantha thought to herself. He was beginning to draw a very inappropriate reaction from her, and she was trying desperately to fight any such thing from happening.

"Do not apologize young lady, you are welcome to stay as long as you feel you are being productive," Frank said sternly.

The change in his voice when he spoke firmly caused her stomach to do flip flops. She was feeling an even stronger compulsion to apologize again and comply immediately.

"However," he continued in a conspiratorial tone, "if you ever need to sneak out early some weekend, I promise not to tell my brother."

Sam laughed, smiled, and said "ok then."

"My brother says you have impressed him a great deal. If you are here working this late every week, I can see why. Hopefully his expectations do not cause too much pressure though. All work and no play makes Sam a dull girl," he chided.

At that moment, Sam's phone vibrated, and the sound echoed loudly through the desktop in the quiet office. She looked at it in mild annoyance and picked it up. She read quickly and then rapidly typed out a short response and put the phone back down.

"Sorry, your timing is apparently perfect. The boyfriend is wondering when I will be home," she said in embarrassment. "I need about fifteen minutes to finish what I am in the middle of. Is that ok?"

Why was she being so deferential to this man. No one had ever made her feel this way. She shook her head to clear it.

"That will be fine Ms. Reed. Please flip the lights off and back on when you leave so I will know when you depart."

"Yes sir," she replied immediately.

'Sir? What the hell Sam? What are you doing? Sure, he's older, but he isn't your boss.' She blushed slightly at her own thoughts and turned back to her computer.

Frank saw her blush. But he left quickly so she would think he had not. He would find his thoughts returning to Samantha Reed occasionally all weekend long.

Frank continued to interact with Thomas' six new employees each Friday over the next several weeks and the company seemed to be doing well. Everyone treated him as an informal mentor, but one they could trust not to get them in any work trouble. But then one Friday morning Thomas met with him and voiced a troubling concern.

"Something is wrong with Sam," he said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"Her performance has dropped, and her hours have become erratic. It hasn't had any detrimental effect yet, but I am worried, and I don't know how to broach the topic since it seems to be something outside work. I probably should have hired an HR person for things like this."

"They're all part owners though, right? They're supposed to police themselves to some degree, or so you told me. You want me to talk to her," Frank asked.

"If you think it would do any good, yes. I don't like the change I am seeing Frank."

He poked his head into Sam's cube later that afternoon after Thomas had left. "Samantha, could you come by my office before you leave today?"

She looked at him with a hint of fear in her eyes. "Uh, yes sir," she said quickly and quietly.

'Oh god', Sam thought to herself. She had been expecting and dreading this, but she had thought Thomas would be the one to talk to her, not Frank.

It was over an hour later when she arrived in the spare office Frank used once a week. There was no one else left at the office. He gestured to the chair in front of his desk and waited for her to sit. She looked around as if she was trapped and then quickly plopped down in the chair. He noticed her breasts bounce pleasantly under her loose-fitting blouse. He was feeling a tad snarky, so he decided he'd like to see that bounce again.

"Could you close the door Ms. Reed," I asked pleasantly.

Sam heaved herself up out of the chair quickly and stepped petulantly to the door and closed it. 'There's no one else in the office. Why does he want me to close the dang door? There are no windows in this box and now it feels like a prison cell.' She returned to her chair and plopped down in it even harder the second time.

Frank had to keep a smile from showing on his face after seeing physics work on her breasts a second time.

"Ms. Reed is everything ok? Are you having any troubles here at work," he asked.

"No sir," she said and offered no further details.

"Thomas tells me your job performance has suffered lately."

"Yes sir," she said while studying the floor at her feet.

"Look at me Ms. Reed," Frank said sternly. Her head snapped up immediately at his tone and there was sadness in her eyes. "Do you have any explanation for this state of affairs?"

Samantha trembled before the tone of Mr. Madison's voice. She was too ashamed to tell him what was going on. She assumed he was simply going to fire her.

"I... no sir, not... it is nothing to do with work."

"I would not presume to invade your private affairs Ms. Reed," he said sympathetically. "At least not yet." He noticed her eyes drift back to the floor and gently said, "Ms. Reed?" She looked up. "You are quite clearly a smart and capable young woman. Whatever you are dealing with, I am sure it will be quickly and easily handled, yes?"

Samantha blushed at the complement. She did not feel either smart or capable lately. His softer tone was making her feel completely inadequate for anything, but she still tried to answer him.

"Y-yes sir," she said haltingly.

Frank made a mental choice here. He could no longer resist what he was seeing in front of him, even if she was now weak or vulnerable somehow. It was time to plant a seed that he hoped would blossom into something exciting.

"Very well," he said again adopting a stern tone of voice. "Because if it is not, I will be forced to take... disciplinary action."

Samantha's mouth dropped open slightly. Just enough to part her lips in small look of surprise. That stern voice had grabbed ahold of her insides and was holding them tightly. She felt like his grip was twisting things inside her and she was not sure if she liked it or not. She felt like she could not breathe. She imagined his statement was full of implications both appropriate and inappropriate. Something responded to that thought and she squirmed in her chair. She hoped Mr. Madison wouldn't notice. And then a small, quiet voice from inside of her said, 'no, you want him to notice.'

"Is that clear Ms. Reed," he said loudly when she did not respond.

"Yes sir. I am sorry sir."

"Thank you, Samantha. I hope you enjoy your weekend," Frank said as he finally softened his voice.

Samantha simply nodded quickly and fled the room. A few minutes later she toggled the light switches off and then on when she ran out the door. She sat trembling in her car for several minutes. She was jolted back aware when she saw the office lights go out and she quickly started her car and left the parking lot. A single question plagued her all the way home. Why was she wet?

If anything, her performance degraded further over the next two weeks. At one point, one of her co-workers said she was heard crying in the bathroom. So once again, Frank was forced to meet with Sam yet again. And once again, she managed to wait until Friday night when the rest of the office was empty as if she was dreading the confrontation. She came into his office and took a chair without a word of greeting. She made sure to close the door as well, which he took as a good sign.

"I am forced to be a little more direct this time Samantha," he said a little loudly. "What is going on?"

Her shoulders slumped. She realized there was a thin, plastic, oversized ruler sitting prominently on Mr. Madison's desk directly in front of her. It was an odd thing for this type of office and looked like something from an architectural firm. But her mind drifted quickly to her answer, and she sighed heavily.

"It's... I thought my boyfriend was cheating on me... so I bought one of those nanny cams... those things that look like a stuffed animal... for my room. Last week... we don't live together... but... he has a key... in my own bed," she finished loudly with a small sob.

Frank took a deep breath. This was the moment of choice. He hoped his guess was correct, otherwise things would probably go from bad to horrible. But during his divorce, his ex-wife had done a good job of surgically removing wide swaths of his empathy and reserved nature.

"So, you are a failure at work as well as at home Samantha," he said forcefully.

For the second time this man shocked her. She blushed deeply in shame and embarrassment. 'You should leave Sam', she thought to herself. This was entirely inappropriate. He had no right to speak to her like that. But she was still trembling from his use of her full name. She had told him repeatedly to call her 'Sam', and yet he still made use of her full name at key moments like this. And his voice again had a hold on her that she could not break... and she was increasingly worried that she did not want to break it.

"Yes sir," she whispered at last.

"Louder Ms. Reed," he answered immediately.

Sam shivered. Even the way he said 'Ms Reed' affected her.

"Yes sir," she said loudly and looked down at the floor.

"Good," Frank said as he stood up. "Look at me Samantha." She did so slowly, and she squirmed slightly in her chair as she did it. "The first step in dealing with a problem is recognizing that one exists. I would remind you once again, that I have no authority over you as an employee of my brother's company. I am here merely as a mentor to help you. You are free to leave at any time. Do you understand?"

'Last chance,' he thought. 'Do you want to be here?' He silently and fervently hoped that she did.

The man towered over her as she sat there, and she felt herself react to him. Her mind screamed at her to leave now. But something she had never felt before kept her rooted to the spot and unable to move. 'What am I doing,' she thought to herself. 'Whatever he asks you to,' the voice inside her answered.

"Stand up Samantha," he said quickly and strongly.

It took a moment for her knees to comply, but she eventually did as she was told, and her eyes drifted back to that ruler. 'He wouldn't,' she thought to herself. 'He couldn't, surely,' her mind rambled.

"Bend over and put your hands on the desk."

Again, her mind was screaming at her to run from the room, but she was unable to force her legs to move.

"Wh-What," she said suddenly.

"Now, Samantha," he commanded her.

She did as she was told immediately without even realizing she had until her hands touched the top of the desk. Mr. Madison moved behind her and drug the chair away from her. He returned and stood behind her and she could sense his nearness. It made her nervous with confusing excitement. Then he very slowly and deliberately reached around her to the desk and picked up the large ruler. She felt his breath on her neck briefly and she shivered from it.

"I feel some measure of encouragement is needed for the advice I am about to give, as well as a need for some degree of discipline for your failures," he said threateningly.

"Yes sir," she said automatically.

Frank was suddenly glad that Sam had chosen to wear yoga pants today. It would certainly enhance her punishment, almost as much as it enhanced his pleasure. He pulled the ruler back and delivered a blow to her ass with it. The loud smacking sound filled the office. Sam yelped in shock and surprise and stood up and moved a hand behind her to ward off another blow. Just as any child might do.

"Put your hands back on my desk Ms. Reed," he said quickly and sternly. She moved to do so immediately.

"Sorry sir, it was a reflex," she said meekly.

"Do not remove your hands again unless I tell you to, is that clear?"

Sam shuddered and nodded her head. Her hair fell forward and covered her face. She hoped it hid her blush, but she sensed that it had not. Mr. Madison delivered another sudden blow on the other side of her ass. The ruler was not thick so there was no feeling of impact. But it was flexible, which made it sting like a whip. She grunted and pulled away from the blow slightly, but quickly put herself back in position. He repeated the process six more times, with three blows on various points of each side of her ass. She felt as if her entire butt was stinging with fire when he was done.

"You may stand up now Ms. Reed," Frank said. "Turn around please," he said when she had obeyed. She turned to face him, and he saw her face was flushed and her eyes were downcast. "I won't demean you further by repeating your job duties. I am sure you know quite well what is required to improve your job performance, yes?"

"Yes sir," she said while still looking down.

"Good. Then I shall focus on your second problem. Look at me Samantha." She lifted her eyes instantly, but she seemed to have trouble looking him in the eye, but he ignored that. "Do you love your boyfriend Ms. Reed?"

"I... um... yes, I guess that's why it's affected me so badly."

"Indeed, and you have watched the video of your boyfriend's infidelity thoroughly," he asked. She blushed in response but answered quickly.

"I'm not sure... what do you... I... yes, I watched it," she stuttered.

"Do you do all the same things for your boyfriend," he asked suggestively. She blushed even deeper and was quiet for several seconds.

"No," she whispered at last.

"Very well Ms. Reed, I believe I see the problem. Your boyfriend is only seeking out what you have failed to provide him. This weekend I want you to give your boyfriend an evening he will never forget. Prove to him that he need not seek out other women to satisfy whatever need it is he has. In short, I want you to fuck his brains out. Can you do that Ms. Reed?" She was still blushing, and she seemed to squirm before him.

Sam was completely at a loss. No one had ever spoken to her like this. She wasn't sure what she expected when she came into the office, but this was not it. He had spanked her and was now ordering her have sex with her cheating boyfriend. She was totally off balance, and she couldn't begin to form an answer.

"You've never been aggressive with a boyfriend before," Frank questioned.

"No sir," came her halting answer.