The Work Trip Predicament Pt. 02

Finding her head nestled into Mike's chest, a pleasant calm greeted Alina as she awoke softly to the obnoxious trill of an unfamiliar phone alarm. She blinked focus into her vision and lifted her head wearily to see the source of the sound, a heap of their clothes and bags returned to the room. They had been placed opposite the bathroom, as if someone had slyly snuck in the front door and pushed the items inside before slinking off. The memories of the night before soaked into her mind and the shame of it twisted her stomach. It was a unique blend of embarrassment, disgust and anger. Running over it made her ill, and she had to be away from Mike. She pushed off him, but his arm was wrapped around her and it was too heavy to push off when her muscles still hadn't awoken yet. Her small fingers pressed lightly into his shoulder.

"Mike, wake up..." she spoke softly.

He stirred and met her gaze, surprised to see her so close to him, and realising he was holding her there with one of his arms. He flinched and released her in one motion, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. She knew he was contemplating what she had moments before, the events that had gotten them here. She too shuffled away from him, last night she had reasoned that she was too exhausted, and without clothes for either of them and no room key she had no choice but to sleep here with Mike. Waking up with him now, she knew she had done something wrong in going to bed with him. It somehow felt like a more intimate sin than the one they had committed in the shower..

Mike quickly moved out of bed to turn off the alarm, "It's 8:30," he noted. "They must have fucked with our alarm."

Alina nodded in acknowledgment, seeing him stood naked with his erection at full attention. She couldn't help from following it with her eyes. She could hardly believe she had taken it all inside her. She was that girl that slept with men on their team, another sickening thought. She didn't feel like herself.

"All our clothes are here!" He pointed out, flicking through the messages he had missed. He looked up at her and was taken aback by her staring at him. She averted her eyes from his groin, bringing herself back to reality and stretching in her lying position, pushing the covers off her with an outstretched leg. It pulled her slim body taut, drawing attention to her thin waist, round breasts and long legs. She looked so sexy amid the white sheets, begging to be taken again. He drew a slow breath, admiring her form with hungry eyes.

A sudden knock at the door shocked him back to normal, "Housekeeping!" Came a voice.

"Not right now!" Mike shot back, hearing the maid roll their cart elsewhere.The pause made Mike feel wrong for contemplating having Alina again, now that they weren't being forced to. This was a coworker, he made a rule about doing this sort of thing. Too complicated. Besides the fact she wasn't single.

"What kind of hotel is this!?" Alina asked, trying to think of anything other than sex.

"I dunno, it had great reviews... It's four stars!" Mike replied, suddenly he felt awkward. Alina padded over to him, and for a moment he thought she was approaching for a kiss, but instead she retrieved her clothes from a neat pile by their bags.

"Uh, I'll get dressed in here." She said, going into the bathroom and closing the door. It seemed peculiar given they had already seen each other fully naked, and woke up in the same bed, but Mike understood what this meant. It meant that despite a bizarre predicament, things hadn't changed between them, and once she came out of that bathroom fully dressed, they were colleagues, so he dressed quickly as well. He had taken a moment to inspect her underwear atop the clothes pile before Alina had taken it. The bra and panties were a matching set, dark green. It also went with her nail polish colour. The fabric was lacy and looked expensive, he was surprised that she would wear something so alluring, but he sensed that Alina had expensive taste. The idea of her in that underwear was somehow even sexier than she was naked.

"We should talk about last night." Said Alina, as she came out of the bathroom wearing form-fitting black work trousers and a white blouse.

"Yeah." Mike agreed, "Okay." He had no idea where to begin. They stood awkwardly as she put on her earrings, an uncomfortable silence forming.

"We shouldn't have..." Alina started, but she didn't mean it, and couldn't finish it. Before either of them could add any more, the room phone rang. Mike groaned and picked up the receiver.

"Shit," He said, "The cab is here." They realised suddenly that if they didn't leave soon, they would be late for their meeting. Together they scrambled to get their bags and belongings together, Alina hurriedly brushed her hair whilst Mike rummaged through his stuff to find cufflinks and his watch. As he joined Alina in the bathroom, they exchanged glances in the mirror. He realised how long it had been since he had woken up with someone, and how nice it felt. He had been single a while now, the occasional midnight fling to satisfy his cravings, but rarely liked any of them enough to stay the night. He'd had a dry spell of late, as he fell out of fondness with the casual cycle of meeting new girls.

They darted out the hotel room door, still rummaging through bags as they hopped in the car. After last night, Mike felt he should be talking to someone in the hotel. A manager or something, but their work priorities hadn't changed. This client meeting was extremely important, and he could come back to the hotel later. They dashed out the door into the taxi, and were whisked off to the client site. In the back of the car, Alina was fighting with the movement of the car to add the little makeup she usually adorned for work, some lipstick and a little mascara to emphasise her eyelashes. As if her wide glimmering blue eyes needed any help to draw more attention.

They arrived only a minute or so late, and with all the rushing they had hardly said a word to one another until the morning workshop was over. As Mike explained the context of what they were there to do, and the purpose of the session, everyone in the room looked to him, but Alina felt like she was staring. In his crisp blue shirt the only feature of his muscular body that was really visible was the broadness of his shoulders. Her eyes traced down the edges of his sleeves and noted how well his arms filled the fabric, it felt naughty to know what he looked like underneath. She shifted in her seat and forced her mind back to the task, trying to listen to what he was saying. She found herself just watching his mouth move, the shoe hanging off the toes of her foot as she gently swung it back and forth. She couldn't get the thought of him taking her out of her head, and she could feel herself getting wet. The way he had held her, pushed her against the glass and taken her roughly until she squealed with pleasure. Her skin felt hot. She never had thoughts like this, what had come over her? She jolted a little as her phone buzzed, a text from her boyfriend. She quickly flipped the phone over, as she noticed the people next to her glancing at the source of the sound. She felt a pang of guilt and shame roll through her. He would know something was off, she hadn't messaged him for nearly twelve hours.

"...after our sessions today, we then have some follow-up calls with IT tomorrow. Hope that all makes sense, Alina do you want to take us through the deck?" Mike finished, and though Alina had only tuned in at the mention of her name, despite not listening she was prepared enough to know what she needed to say next.

The rest of the workshop went smoothly, Mike marvelled at watching Alina work. She was relentlessly impressive, he hadn't met anyone who matched her ability to ingest information quickly. He could keep the client happy, paint the big-picture that got people invested to ensure collaboration from all the right parties, but Alina was all across the details. She had memorised the names and roles of everyone in the room, she referenced detailed notes of their requirements and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of all their current projects and timelines. She was efficient and precise, and when juxtaposed with the floundering unprepared members of the client in the room, it was all the more striking. Despite their best efforts, the meeting overran, though it was largely successful. Alina and Mike found themselves rushing to get to their next workshop in another room across the office. They still found it complicated to navigate this place, only exacerbated by all the files, cables and bags they had to bring with them.

By the time it had gotten to 6pm, they had hardly spoken a word to each other directly outside of presentations. As the attendees filed out of the room, thanking them for a smoothly run session, Alina looked over to Mike and they shared a look of exhaustion, followed by sighs of relief.

"We did it." Alina chuckled.

Mike noticed her whole demeanor change, she was more personable and relaxed, though still in professional-mode. Her eyes shifted away from his quickly, as she started to collate files. As she bent down to collect some of the cables they needed, her trousers were pulled tight, revealing her peachy behind. Mike had to force himself to look away. Before last night he'd let his eyes linger, considering what she might look like naked. Now he knew, but his eyes still lingered. He almost felt like he'd forgotten it, and longed to see it again. He hadn't committed it to memory the way he should have. He replayed the image of her stretching on the bed over soft sheets, only able to recall some of the details he had appreciated.

She had noticed him staring.

"You were great," He commented, "I'm glad you were up to speed with the project plan because I hadn't reviewed it yet."

"Yeah well, that Deepesh guy loves you so, with the head of IT onside I think you could have gotten away with blagging the details."

"We did good." Mike summarised, collating some printouts from the table to be out in confidential waste.

Alina checked her phone, her boyfriend had left so many messages and she tried to avoid letting her panic show. A silence floated in the air for a few moments, "So... we're done here, right?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so." Mike looked around, the room was tidy enough, with their used coffee cups from the day placed on a tray to one side, along with the dregs of food platters from lunch.. "I uh, I think we should go back to the hotel." He suggested, Alina giving a look of shock, bringing her hand lightly to her stomach. "No not for s... not for that. I mean to talk to the manager or something."

Alina's expression shifted to a different type of surprise. She dashed over to pull the door fully closed, "What? Why!?"

"What happened last night, they orchestrated that. You don't want to say something about it?" He asked

"What are you even going to say? 'Hey what's the deal with the shower sex-prison in room 411?' and ask for a refund?" She said in a whispered shout. She walked over to him to avoid having to talk too loudly.

"What, so you just want to leave it?"

"I don't know. This is insane... maybe we should report it to the police?" She said, a tone of irritation in her voice, she couldn't stand the idea of going back to the hotel.

"Oh," He was surprised, he hadn't even considered that. "What's the crime? I mean, is it... kidnapping?"

"I don't know, it's something. They locked us up against our will." She said, her tone softening, "I just don't know if anyone would believe us. I hardly believe it myself."

"We don't have any evidence." Mike added.

They paused for a moment, caught in indecision. Alina felt tired just thinking about it, she just wanted to go home at this point. Her phone buzzed, and she peered down with the expectant dread of another message from her boyfriend, she genuinely hadn't had a moment to call him all day, but she should have messaged. Looking at the screen, she was surprised to see it was actually an email notification. She opened it, and even more dread began to seep into her. "Shit, Mike have you seen this email?"

He was already reading it from his laptop, it was from a senior at the client, "They want us to do the meetings tomorrow in-person instead of calls." Mike said aloud, "He's worried that the IT guys won't engage otherwise. It's a good point, but a bit last minute..."

"Mike, I'm not staying here another night!" Alina told him, in another shouted whisper.

He hadn't even considered that it would mean another hotel stay, his eyes widened as he processed what this meant. He couldn't ignore the request from a senior stakeholder at the client, but he didn't like the idea of it anymore than she did. "Oh. Uh, right yeah."

"Sorry, I'm not trying to..."

"No no, I should have thought of that." Said Mike, they were talking over each other awkwardly. "Well, we both need to be there. I mean, we'd get a different hotel. We could stay in separate places."

"Wait, just slow down." Alina said, she felt like she couldn't breathe, her mind was running through too much too fast. "I mean, okay so the meetings need to be on-site tomorrow, I get that, but I need time to process what... happened yesterday. I need to go home."

"Yeah I-I get that." Mike said, "Maybe I can run the workshops without you tomorrow?"

"Or, I could dial in?" Alina offered, she knew there was no way he would be able to run the session without her knowledge, but she also knew it would be hard to run over the phone.

"I don't think we can have anyone dial in if the client has specifically asked for it to be in person." Mike replied apologetically, "I'd probably have to say you were off sick."

It was a sensible suggestion, but she didn't like the idea of lying to the client. Alina knew he was right, she didn't want to piss off someone senior, the politics of their work could be sensitive. She was so prepared for the sessions tomorrow that it upset her that she would miss something so important, this work was important for her career and she wanted to take a leading role. She also knew that Mike would have to scramble to do it without her, it might not go very well. Putting her own disappointment aside, it was sweet that he was willing to do this for her. Looking from him to the barrage of texts on her phone it felt like she was in a lose-lose situation, and she had been ignoring her boyfriend for too long. "I want to be there, I just... I can't."

"It's okay," Mike muttered calmly, "I need to speak to Deepesh's secretary and see if we can get a room sorted for tomorrow. Can you call us a cab? I'll drop you at the station and then head to see if I can find a last-minute hotel."

"Sure," She said with a small smile, she felt a bit guilty. She felt guilty in every direction.

Mike left her in the room as she scrolled to the contact in her phone for the local taxi, she wasn't to know that the number had been changed. Meanwhile, Mike found the secretary he was looking for and asked if she could help sort a room for the meeting tomorrow. He knew it was unlikely given that they had been required to book the rooms they had used today nearly a month ago.

"The office is all full, but I can find a local venue nearby?" She offered kindly, "I actually got contacted recently about some availability."

"Amazing, thanks so much." Mike said.

"I have access to the calendar invites, so I'll just update it directly when I find somewhere."

As Mike thanked her, he saw Alina waiting by the exit and went over to join her. The cab was pulled up outside, and they bundled into it, Alina asking the driver to take them to the station and then a nearby hotel chain they had used once in the past.

"When I get to the hotel I'll call the client and explain you're off sick," Mike said, Alina nodding in response. She made a similar note to call her boyfriend before she got on the train home. Though she had no idea what she would say. The throat felt dry in anticipation of the uncomfortable conversation. Would she lie to him?

"I'll send you some notes tonight to help you prep to run my sections of the meeting." She managed, trying to break their awkward silence. They were both too caught up with the worries plaguing their minds to notice the subtle scent in the air. Alina was the first to feel the exhaustion set in, her body drooping to one side as a sudden tiredness took over her. Mike followed a few seconds later.

* * *

A painful fog bellowed over Alina as she awoke to the sound of moaning. She was shocked to realise quickly it was her own. She was naked somewhere familiar, the soft white sheets and velvet buttoned headboard telling her she was back in the hotel. The hotel she swore to purge from her mind, certainly never to go back to willingly, and yet here she was lying alone in an identical room as the night before. She was overcome with confusion and panic, trying desperately to recall her last memory, but she could hardly think between the thumping head pain slowly subsiding, and the persistent vibration between her legs. Stifling another uncontrollable moan, she pulled the plush sheets off of her body and looked down at herself. She was naked from head-to-toe except for some sort of harness around her hips. It was a matte metallic black over a thin layer of soft dark leather, and fitted over her like a pair of panties, between her legs and around her waist. It was locked in place tightly, and a few weak tugs told her it was designed to be immovable; she examined the way it pressed firmly into her supple skin.

She screamed, pulling at the metal at the front and back, and twisting her body to desperately try and get a better look at it from all sides. She found no discernable latch or lock, she was trapped. Whilst it may have seemed like a sort of modern chastity belt, there were two features which suggested an alternate function, the first was an intense vibration centred on her clit, with some sort of soft spherical phallus pressed inside her against her g-spot. The sensation was incredible, set to a delicious pace that exacted a soft-pressure on her sensitive spots, and was just fast enough to pull her steadily up and over the wave of an orgasm, gently dragging her toward another. The second discerning feature was a round metal dial in the front face-plate of the device. It was the same sleek black metal, a circle just larger than the face of a wristwatch with a small indentation for a finger. She pressed her index finger shakily into the depression and turned the dial counter-clockwise, the edges of the circle glowed slightly red and seemed to have no effect. She turned it the other way too, but beyond the red light nothing happened. She fell back in resignation, soon finding herself gripping tightly at the sheets as she fought to resist an orgasm steadily rising in her. It burst through her, leaving her legs trembling for a moment as it washed over her, and another began to slowly approach.

She clambered out of the bed, scanning around the room. Her bag was by the door in the same spot as she had found it the day before, though with unfamiliar clothes piled on top of it. Seeing her phone, she snapped it up breathlessly, her hands warm and clammy. Hundreds of notifications of missed calls and texts from friends crowded the screen. They were labelled with names of her flatmates and her boyfriend, but nothing from Mike. It was eight in the morning, she felt like a huge block of time had escaped her. She had to fight to remember anything from the day before. As the pleasure building in her seemed to push the cloudy pain from her mind, she could remember last sitting with Mike in a cab to go home, but nothing else. Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone rang, Mike's name flashing up on the screen.