The Big Deal

It was well after closing hours on Friday afternoon and the office was all but empty, except for my 50-something-year-old boss Carol, our 20-year-old college intern Tina, and myself. Tina and I sat huddled around my desk nervously watching my computer for any emails from our biggest client, while Carol stalked around in the background.

I had worked for Carol for the last five years. Overall, I wouldn't say that she was a bad boss to work for, but after having her bite off my head more than once over the years, I knew better to give her plenty of space when she was nervous, like now.

Also, I wouldn't say that Carol was a very touchy-feely boss. In the whole time I had worked for her, I don't think she has once asked me about my personal, or ever willingly talked about hers. I know that she is married, but they hit some sort of rough patch last year. She still wears her wedding ring, so I don't think they are getting a divorce, but she would never tell me anyways. I know that she has two sons in university, but this is only because of the photo on her desk in her office. And I know that she has celebrated her 48th birthday at least twice, and then gave up on the ritual a few years back.

Carol stalked up behind Tina and me, and barked, "anything yet?" She smelled of smoke from her third cigarette in the last hour, which wasn't a good sign because I was certain she had given up a few years back.

"No," I croaked out while the three of us waited in silence for the follow-on services contract with one of the firm's largest clients, Mr. Matsuda, to magically appear in our inbox. The contract was worth an eye watering $11 million and was Carol's ticket to a major promotion to director.

Carol stomped off and kicked a garbage can before she stomped back to us.

The three of us watched nervously as the clock on the wall inched closer and closer to 5:30 PM.

"What time was Mr. Matsuda's flight back to Japan?" I asked just to break the tension.

"5:30," Carol hissed through gritted teeth. "In all the years that he's been my client, I've never once known him to be late."

"It's okay," chimed in Tina with the sincerity of someone who truly failed to see the gravity of the situation, "I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Okay?" Carol said, as she slowly cocked her head to get a good look at Tina. For a second, I braced to throw myself between the two women in case Carol physically lunged at Tina. Instead, the temperature dropped around us, and Carol simply hissed, "The Matsuda contract was worth over $11 million to this firm. Do you know how much $11 million is Tina? Can you even fucking comprehend how much $11 million is? Can you even fucking comprehend what this contract means to this firm or to me?"

In a way it might have been better if Carol would have just strangled Tina. Unable to respond, Tina just stood there blinking with her mouth open. I was worried that she might start crying, but to her credit she didn't.

The three of us just sat there in silence until it was well passed time for Mr. Matsuda's flight back to Japan.

"Fuck this!" Carol eventually shouted to an empty office. "Fuck this!" she screamed as she tore a monitor from a nearby desk and threw it across the office. It smashed on the floor with a cathartic 'Clunk.'

"I don't need this shit. I'm...I'm..." Carol screamed as she stomped around in a circle for several seconds as her eyes darted around the office trying to decide what to destroy next. Then her eyes went wide as she hit on an idea. "That's what I fucking need right now! I'm... I'm going to the gym."

Carol went back to her office, grabbed her bag and jacket, kicked over another garbage can, and then stormed out of the office without as much as a nod to Tina and me.

Tina and I sat there in silence for several moments until we heard the doors to the stairs slam shut.

"Do you think she is mad?" Tina turned to me and asked.

Slowly I turned towards Tina and from the innocent and dumb expression on her beautiful young face I could see she meant it. "Maybe a little," I responded with a smile. "Here, help me pick up the garbage and then let's shut everything down." Tina picked up the garbage can, while I retrieved the broken monitor and left a note on it. On my way to clean up the mess Carol left in her office I remembered that she usually kept a bottle under her desk for just such occasions. I opened her bottom drawer and pulled out the bottle of good whisky and then grabbed two semi clean glasses. "Would you like a drink?" I offered Tina.

"I'm not old enough to drink," whispered Tina as if it was some sort of secret.

"Of course," I responded, "but would you like one anyways?"

"Sure, I guess."

Tina and I finished cleaning up the mess and then lounged around for a bit in Carol's office. While I nursed my drink, Tina told me what it was like to be a teenage girl. "...before starting college I always wanted to be a mother and have three kids. I was going to name them Zachary, Luke, and Mason...but after interning here, and seeing how stressed Carol has been lately, I only want to have two kids. Maybe just Zachary and Mason."

"Luke will be disappointed," I offered.

"Who?" questioned Tina.

"Luke, your imaginary middle child you won't have because of Carol."

'BEEP, BEEP, BEEP,' Sounded my work phone from across the office still on my desk.

I jumped up and looked a Tina. "Who can that be?"

"Quick, answer it!" Tina squealed.

I took off at a full sprint and caught my phone on the seventh ring. I picked it up and my heart nearly stopped. It was Mr. Matsuda on a video call. I quickly ran my hand through my hair and swiped yes to answer the call.

On the screen Mr. Matsuda with his wild silver hair, serious dark rimmed glasses, and quick eyes wasted no time as usual. "Where is your boss? Where is Carol?" He demanded. Above his right eye I notice a two-inch slice of medical tape place diagonally across his forehead.

"Mr. Matsuda-san," I did my best to give a little bow, but I wasn't sure how well it came across on a video call. "We thought you had already returned to Japan."

"No, not yet. There was an incident," he waved his free hand to his forehead. "I now must take the 7:30 flight. Where is Carol? We need to talk about the terms of the new contract. I have tried calling her several times and have got no answer. This is unacceptable."

"I whole heartedly agree Mr. Matsuda-san. She just left the office a few minutes ago. I am fully verse on the terms of the contract, and I am happy to discuss them with you now if you wish."

Mr. Matsuda frowned, "No. This contract is too important for both parties involved to negotiate with junior functionaries. No disrespect, but I must talk to Carol at once otherwise we cannot proceed with the follow-on contract. My plane leaves at 7:30." Suddenly the call ended.

Tina and I stood there for a second looking at each other.

"Shit," I screamed as I dialed Carol's work phone. "Fuck, it went straight to voice mail."

"Try her home number," Tina squealed.

"Fuck, the same. Straight to voice mail. Oh, she said that she's going to the gym. Quick look up the gym's phone number."

Tina jumped down in front of my computer and got me the number.

I quickly dialed the number and someone from their reception picked up, "Hi, sorry, I'm looking for one of your members. It's a work emergency. Her name is Carol Fuller. No...she hasn't checked in? Really? Crap...thanks anyways." I hung up the phone. "She hasn't checked in."

"Does she go to another gym?" Tina asked.

"Who the hell has the time to go to two different gyms?" I complained.

"Do you have her husband's number?"

"No." We both sat their stumped for a minute.

"Do you remember when I first started working here?" Tina asked.

"It was only a month ago, of course I do."

"And do you remember when I lost my work phone?"

"Yes, Carol wanted me to have you returned to the place where they keep interns," I laughed.

"The IT guys showed me the internal website they use to track all of our work phones. Let me see if I can find it," Tina began to poke through her emails until she found the email she needed with the link attached. "Here it is." She clicked on the link and it brought up a map of the city and a search box. "Let me enter in her work phone number here."

A few seconds later the map careened wildly until it came to a stop at a series of unmarked building on an industrial estate a few miles from work.

"Where the hell is that?" I asked.

"I don't know. None of the buildings or businesses around there are tagged."

"Fuck," I screamed before I grabbed my car keys and jacket. "You stay here in case she comes back, or we need you to do anything on the contract. I will go to wherever that is and find Carol!"

I jumped in my car, put Tina on speaker phone, and raced out of the parking lot. Tina directed me out of town to some part that I've never been before. Eventually she had me turn into a large industrial estate that consisted of several large warehouse, and dozens of old brick buildings--some of which looked like they had been recently converted.

"Any idea which building number it is?" I asked Tina as I stopped in the middle of the road and craned my neck around as I tried to figure out where the hell I needed to go.

"34 maybe," Tina spoke down the line.

"Maybe?"

"The building that she is in isn't listed anywhere. All I can see is that two warehouses down from it is listed as 30 and two up is listed as 38."

"Ok, let me look." I drove around for a minute until I found the street on which 34 should be, but none of the buildings seemed to be numbered. I drove slowly down the street and looked at all of the buildings and warehouses. All of them appeared rundown and closed except for the one in the middle. It was an old, large sprawling, brick building sandwiched between two massive warehouses. It must have been some sort of old admin building or maybe even a cafeteria for the surrounding workshops. More importantly it appeared to have been converted into something else, for outside stood a large, conspicuous, black bouncer in a dark suit.

"Ah, I think I found something, let me pull over and ask." I parked my car across the street and slowly walked up to the large, unmarked entrance being guarded by the bouncer, who was at least three times bigger than me.

As I stepped closer the bouncer cocked his head and I could see the muscles ripple under his suit jacket. "What?" he croaked.

"Ah, sorry sir, um, I don't want to bother you, but I am looking for my boss," I held up my phone and showed him the map of the building we were standing in front of."

"Members only, and I know that you ain't a member here." The guy held up a hand that was twice the size of my head.

"Please, I must find my boss," I whined.

"I said no."

"Please sir, I must find her. Its imperative that I find her, otherwise she is going to kill me."

"Get the fuck out of here now, otherwise I'm going to kill you," the big bouncer bristled.

"Sir," I gulped. "As scary as you are, I'm more afraid of her."

"Seriously?" The bouncer asked a little taken a back.

I nodded in agreement.

"Dang," he said under his breath before he whispered into the cuff of his jacket.

A few seconds later the big metal doors to the place were thrown open and a tall, angry looking woman dressed all in black leather and massive boots stepped out. She was carrying a riding crop, which she shoved under her arm and lit up a cigarette. She looked at me and took a deep drag, before she barked out, "What do you want?"

"Please ma'am, I'm looking for my boss...." Before my brain had time to register anything, she snatched the riding crop from under her arm and she slapped me across my outer thigh. "AAAHHHHH!" I screamed.

"Its mistress to you," she snarled at me with a Russian accent.

I held up my hand, hoping she wouldn't hit me again. "Sorry, sorry! Mistress! I didn't mean to offend you mistress. You see I am looking for my boss. If I don't find her in the next few minutes, she will miss out on a huge contract and she will honestly kill me."

"Why should I care if your boss kills you?" asked the leather-bound mistress in a deep and sexy Russian accent before she smacked me across my thigh with her riding crop for a second time.

"Ouch!" I tried choking back. "No seriously she will kill me if I don't find her. The contracts worth $11 million!"

The Mistress and the Bouncer quickly turned and looked at each other and then back at me.

"How much?" asked the mistress in a new and distinctly less foreign and exotic voice before she caught herself and asked again in her Russian accent. "How much?"

"$11 million, but she needs to talk to our client before he gets on the plane home to Japan in...," I quickly looked at my phone, "in less than 40 minutes."

"Maybe you don't deserve to die, but that's not for me to decide," she took a final drag off of her cigarette before she threw it down at my feet. Then she gave the Bouncer a nod and he quickly threw open the big metal doors. "Follow me."

"Thanks. Her name is Carol Fuller, do you know her?"

"You have to understand," the Bouncer paused for a second, "this isn't the type of place people come to and use their real names."

"Oh," I murmured. How the hell can I find her?

Mistress must have saw the look of panic on my face for she reached out and grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me in through the doorway into the mysterious building.

Instantly the whole mood, feel and decorum of the place changed. From the still bright and breezy early evening outside, I quickly descended into a series of dark corridors that smelled of cherry lube and sex. I followed Mistress deeper and deeper into her establishment until we came to a door marked "Forbidden!" She quickly waved her studded leather bracelet over the door's access panel, and the locking mechanism inside popped open.

"Come," she motioned for me to follow.

I followed the Mistress into her darken office. Aside from all the windows being blacked out, the large life-sized photo of her hung on the wall wearing a rather menacing, large black strap-on, and literally a barrel of cherry flavored lube sitting in the corner near the door, the place didn't look too much different from my own office.

Mistress sat down in front of her computer and picked up a pair of reading glasses from her desk and put them on. Then she opened her computer and began clicking around. "What's your boss's name?"

"Carol, Carol Fuller."

She clicked around for a second. "No sorry, no one by that name."

"Maybe she used her maiden name. I think its Baldwin. Carol Baldwin?"

Mistress clicked away again, "Ah. Is this her?" She turned her monitor partially around where I could see it.

"My god, she used the same work photo I airbrushed for her three years ago." I quickly pulled open my phone and showed the Mistress the same photo.

She nodded, and turned her monitor back around, "The system says she checked in about 45 minutes ago and she is still in the building."

"Great!" I beamed. "Any idea where?"

"No."

"Can you help me look for her?"

"No. I need to stay up front, in case any weirdos show up and cause problems," she responded with a smile.

"How am I going to find her in here?"

Mistress opened the bottom drawer on her desk and pulled out a yellow, high visibility vest clearly marked staff, and a large flashlight. "This should help."

"But, but I've never been here before," I stammered.

"I know, but it should be good for you," she smiled. "Ground floor is the bar, changing rooms, lounge, and the sauna. Anything dealing with fetishes--BDSM, glory holes, group sex, etc., etc. -- can be found in the dungeon below. Good luck."

Armed with my phone, the flashlight, and the yellow high visibility vest I set out to find Carol.

The Mistress's office was just off the main lounge area and bar. The place consisted of a long bar, some tables, an empty dance floor, and a whole wall of high-backed, fake black leather booths designed to give their occupants maximum privacy. Unfortunately for me the whole place looked empty, maybe because it was still pretty early. I looked behind the bar for any staff, but there wasn't anyone around. Then from one of the booths I heard a woman's giggle.

I snapped my head around and squinted into the booth trying to see who was in there. I could just about make out two pasty white shapes seated behind a small table with some drinks on it. I stepped closer not sure how to go about this.

"Oh, that's the spot," moaned a woman.

"Excuse me," I croaked out as I stepped as near as I dare to the booth. As my eyes adjusted, I could see a rather large, white woman with glasses who was naked from at least the top up. Close next to her sat a man whose hand was groping her right breast. He was also naked. "Sorry to bother you, but have you seen this woman?" I turned my phone around and showed them the photo.

"Oh I like her," the woman exclaimed.

The man was a little more helpful, "No, but the three of us just came from the sauna, and I can tell you she wasn't in there."

"Three of you?" I looked at the two of them wondering if I had misheard them, but then I heard an odd slurping noise coming from under the table. I looked down to see a pair of feet sticking out from under the tablecloth. "Oh shit, sorry, to bother you." I could feel my face flush red.

"I like him, he's polite," the woman giggled.

"My wife likes you," said the man in a casual friendly way. "Forget about your friend and have a drink with us."

"Oh, ah, thanks," I stammered out. "Sorry I can't, but any idea where I should look for my friend?"

"Your loss," he laughed. "I'd check downstairs in the dungeon. Lots of people love it down there."

"Check the darkroom," added his wife before they returned to their threesome.

I left the bar area and took the staircase down until I came to a set of open double doors above which hung a black sign with red letters which read 'The Dungeon.' Behind the doors there was a long dark corridor that was only slightly illuminated with the occasional red lamp. The place reeked of cherry lube, body sweat and industrial disinfectant -- which I was thankful for. As I stood there waiting for my eyes to adjust to the red lights, in the distance I could make out several people casually leaning up against the walls, while others passed back and forth between several of the rooms.

I began slowly walking down the hallway, when I suddenly became aware that I was the only person who was fully clothed. Most of the people who passed me were men, and nearly all of them were completely naked, whereas I was still dressed for work and wearing a yellow safety vest.

The first room I came to was labeled 'The Theater.' I ducked my head inside to see a mini replica of a movie theater. Inside there were at least a dozen men, some paired up and others alone, watching a projection on the wall of a white girl working several black dicks. I shook my head and tried to focus on the task. I quickly scanned the room, but Carol wasn't in there.

I walked further down the hall until I came to a room labeled 'The Darkroom.'

"That doesn't make any sense," I complained to myself. "This whole damn place is dark."

I carefully opened the door and was instantly hit by a wall of smells and sounds of God knows how many people encased in total darkness having sex. My knees buckled a little and I jumped back. The door slid quietly back into place.

"Fuck, Fuck," I cursed out loud, before I caught myself. Saying something like that around here might be seen as an invitation. I pulled my phone from my pocket. "17 minutes, shit."

I shoved my phone back into my pocket, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. The whole room was totally dark, except for a tiny green LED light from a fire alarm mounted on the ceiling in the middle of the room. Otherwise, the darkness was alive and sticky with the sounds and smells of anonymous sex. As futile as it was, I tried to listen out for Carol among the countless bodies.