Don't Label Me! (4 page)

“
Very good Mr Sutterfield, but I
wonder if you are easily distracted from your work. We should test
that I think.”

Not waiting for an answer she reached for a
small brown paper bag on the desk. Lewis had thought it a prop,
something she'd meant to look like a take away snack but it wasn't.
She pulled the innocuous looking device out of the bag and handed
it to him. A collar perhaps but it was too small for that. She
handed it to him.

“
Strap that around the top of your
balls if you'd be so kind Mr Sutterfield. This is a test of your
distractibility after all. Just remember you can stop this at any
time by telling me you aren’t interested in the position. Are you
interested in the position?”

“
Yes Ms Jones.” He admired the subtle
way she’d introduced the element of a safe word. He did as he was
told.

“
Tighter Mr Sutterfield. Too loose and
it wouldn't be a fair test would it?”

Shit, he didn’t want to displease Ms Jones.
Yet his cock felt even harder at the threat of punishment.

He was now acutely aware of the collar that
firmly banded his balls but he returned to his immaculate work on
Ms Jones. Please let me please you. He begged in his mind.

Her client couldn’t see her smile since he
was busy under her skirts but she sensed his shudder of pleasure
and that was very professionally satisfying. He seemed a nice man.
She understood his need for the power exchange better than he would
guess so she steeled herself to once again play her out of
character role, giving the client what he wanted. Feeling his
growing arousal she reprimanded him. “I expect a measure of
discipline from my employees Mr Sutterfield. You are not allowed an
orgasm while we test your distractibility.”

She couldn't help a wicked grin as she
pressed a button on a remote control that he hadn't seen.

Lewis gasped as a light electrical tingle
grabbed his balls. His eyes watered but his determination to please
her won out. So the collar on his balls could give him an
electrical charge could it?. She could choose to torture him all
she liked but he'd win the job by impressing her with his
endurance.

Sathi gauged the level of stimulation was
about the right mix or pleasure and pain for her client. Any more
would border on sadism and she had no intention of going there.
She'd made a study of her client's psychology the day before, over
lunch. Getting to know a client's kinks and foibles was key to the
success of what she did. That and a well written agreement which
detailed the clients likes, dislikes and no-go areas. It was the
preparation and effort she put into her work that gave her a degree
of freedom that few in her profession enjoyed. The more she was
valued by her clients the more she was valued by the organisation
she worked for. She trusted that she had chosen what would give Mr
Sutterfield a memorable edge to the experience he was paying a lot
of dollars for. “Well now, I am impressed with your control but
that gasp tells me that it seems you can be distracted. You will
have to be punished after all. Stay where you are Mr Sutterfield.”
She extracted herself from his mouth and retrieved a leather paddle
she’d strategically hidden under some manilla folders on the table.
Walking around behind him she took a moment to caress his bum with
it. Always good to give the sub at a false sense of security. She
knew this from her own likes and she grew wet as she herself got
distracted by the fantasy of being on the receiving end of what she
was giving her client. “If you keep silent I might stop at ten Mr
Sutterfield. I’ll see how I feel about your performance. Please me
and I may reward you.” The leather paddle fell with a hard crack on
his posterior. He jerked, then shuddered but he kept his
silence.

Sathi teased the paddle near his balls,
stroking them. They contracted. An edge of tension straightened the
client’s spine followed by a shiver. She chuckled. Maybe if she
served him another time she’d include a little more cock and ball
torture than she had today. The paddle came down on his other
cheek. Ten strokes later his bum had turned all rosy and warm.
“It’s time you were rewarded after that magnificent display of
stoicism.” Always good to heap a bit of praise on a client who’d
performed well. She knew herself it was what subs like Mr
Sutterfield needed. He might not operate that way his real world
but in the safe confines of a carefully constructed role play she
knew he could enjoy it. She switched off the remote. “Come and show
me your metal Mr Sutterfield.” She grabbed him firmly by the back
of the neck and encourage him to stand then she nudged him towards
the bedroom.

Later as they lay together enjoying the
afterglow she stroked his the hair on his head affectionately.

“
Did I please you Ms Jones?” He asked
hopefully.

“
Definitely.” She’d need a good
night’s sleep when she got back to her flat. He’d taken her quite
passionately. She smiled. Her clients rarely cared for her needs,
nor did she expect them to. It was nice when they did. “And I think
you can call me Sathi now Lewis. The scene’s over. Can I call us
some room service to get us some refreshments?”

“
No I’ll do that.” He went to the
other room to retrieve his phone from his discarded clothes. When
he returned he sat back down next to her and cuddled as subs were
want to do afterwards. She enjoyed the cuddle too.

When the wine and tapas came they vacated
the bedroom and instead went to enjoy the evening harbour view from
the penthouse.

“
You’re spectacularly good at what you
do. What made you choose this as a profession?”

It was just pleasant idle conversation but
nonetheless she winced. “It wasn’t by choice.”

Lewis raised an eyebrow, curious. “What
happened?”

Sathi was conscious of not wanting to waste
the client’s time. “It’s a bit of a tale I’m afraid. You must have
better things to do.”

“
No, not really. I’m on a break and
enjoying it. I’m paying for your time. Tell me.”

Ah, Mr Sutterfield was back to himself then,
back controlling the reins of power. Fair enough. So she told
him.

“
So this kind of sex guru. He turned
up out of the blue and pretty much saved you from a worse fate by
giving you the skills to make the most of the lot that had been
thrown to you. You never saw him again?”

“
No.” Part of her was sad but part was
grateful about that. It would have been increasingly difficult to
honor his request for her not to get attached to him. Yet he’d said
at the end that he would always be her friend and send her help if
she ever needed. How he planned to do that once they lost contact
she didn’t know but there had been something almost supernatural
about him so she’d never questioned it.. “He was there after I
returned from impressing the captain on our last night on the ship
but he was gone when I woke the next morning, just before the ship
docked in port.” He’d also said that one day he’d send her a mate
but Mr Sutterfield didn’t need to know that. No need to frighten
the client with her desire to one day find a man to call her own
even if Mr Sutterfield was the type she liked; considerate,
intelligent and more than slightly kinked. But he was the client
and she would never mix her own desires with her work.

“
So when does this indenture run
out?”

“
Oh it already has. I just can’t pay
the outstanding fees I owe them. Somewhat foolishly I guess I'd
always hoped I might have another life afterwards. I took on some
part-time study to make that happen but now I'm having to pay back
the government for the tuition costs. I've only made my financial
situation worse I fear. The company who owns me always seems to
have some extra ancillary cost or other that gets added to the
tally. That and there’s the issue of my Australian passport.” Dare
she tell this lawyer? She took a moment to assess him. Yes she
thought she might. After all her profession had honed her skills to
judge character. “None of my papers bare too much scrutiny I’m
afraid. I don’t wish to go back to my homeland. There’s nothing
there for me. My past got literally washed away in the tsunami of
2004”

This woman never ceased to impress him. She
had a good grasp of her situation yet didn’t bitch and moan about
it. Almost despite of it she’d gone and studied to improve her lot.
That took not only discipline but courage and faith that her
situation would improve. “Would you trust me with your papers
Sathi? And give me the details of this company that owns you. I’d
enjoy a little challenge while I’m between cases.”

She eyed him uncertainly. “I have nothing I
can offer you Lewis, monetary or relationship wise, only
friendship. Why would you do this for me?”

“
Because I enjoy using my skills to
help people...and I’ll take you up on that offer of friendship. I
have no other expectations, no ulterior motives.” He knew she’d
need the clarity that reassurance gave.

Lewis was appalled at this brilliant,
beautiful and vibrant woman’s story. It was tantamount to slavery.
It pissed him off within some deep fundamental core of his being.
He had some ideas about how to fix it but he’d need help. He was
sure a few of his contacts at his club could oil some wheels, even
raise a few funds to help free her. With the dirt he’d find on the
company, and he knew there’d be lots of dirt, they’d be more than
willing to listen to the deal he was about to put to them. She’d
need a future though. They couldn’t just free her and leave her to
fend for herself on the streets. “What did you plan to do with your
life before all this happened? What was it you’ve been
studying?”

It was a miracle that phones even worked
between their parallel world and the normal one but the miracle
that their scientists had engineered didn’t improve her humor any.
Tyra slammed the phone down in disgust and returned to the
breakfast table. Her mates were telepathic but she felt the need to
vent anyway. “That was Peter Stein. He says the council doesn’t
consider Boswell to be in the municipality anymore so they are
cutting off our services and sacking me from the council. The
sneaky bastards held a secret meeting I wasn’t invited to. At least
Peter got wind of it. He couldn’t dissuade them but as deputy mayor
he got voted in in my place.

Simon looked thoughtful a moment then rose
from his seat. He slowly paced towards the back verandah windows,
sliding doors that overlooked the garden. The anxious eyes of his
three mates followed him, watching his every move. Tyra nodded to
George, in answer to his unspoken question. Yes, it would be a good
idea to be ready to catch him if he had a vision. But Simon seemed
to only need a deep breath and a sigh as he relaxed muscles in his
shoulders. Muscles that no-one until now had realised had been
tense. He must have been waiting for something and this answered
it. Simon paced back to the table. George hovered behind him but
sensing the danger was passed ambled back to his favorite chair in
the morning sun, back to reading his car mag.

Thex leaned back in his chair, waiting.
“And?”

Simon relaxed into his chair and took a
thoughtful sip of his herbal coffee before replacing the mug onto
the table. “And this was one probability among many. Some things I
only see as potentials. A lot of things are fated but some things
are shifted by even relatively simple choices and actions.”

“
The beating of a butterfly’s wings
leads to hurricane in the midwest of America theory.” Arion
commented.

Simon didn’t look convinced. “Theoretically
possible but unlikely. In this case, when Tyra healed Peter of his
delusion, universal dynamics took over and found the most efficient
path. It’s not so much that a decision was made but that Peter,
cleared of the mess in his head, was good enough to be what was
needed on the council and having him there freed Tyra up.”

“
To do what? I was kind of enjoying
kicking the dust out of the council.” Tyra felt like a kid who’d
had her favorite toy taken away. Perhaps more than that, she felt
disempowered. She’d been making a difference and had enjoyed
serving the people of the town and the wider community.

“
Pete will carry on what you started
and build on it. I hate to say this but in the world as it is it is
still easier to have a man leading a political movement like the
one you started. Here, however, gender issues don’t rate. The
fairies we share this dimension with hardly even recognise gender
exists. And the citizens of Boswell, well its not exactly high on
their radar either. I don’t know enough yet about the culture of
the part of the Yungus we’ve adopted but, if the dimension of faery
let them in, I’d suspect they’re more egalitarian than we might
give them credit for. Yaguar looks after them well but here we need
someone with leadership skills to help organise us and be our
ambassador to the mainstream world in much the same way as Melissa
is our ambassador with the faeries.”

“
A leader, me ... I’m an
ex-librarian.”

“
And until a few moments ago a very
capable mayor who had already been through her baptism of fire as a
politician. We need someone who can deal with the day to day
running of this town. Someone who can deal with a breadth of issues
such as the ongoing education of our children, organising market
days, dealing with civic issues such as rubbish, leaky mains pipes,
park maintenance, roads...You’re an organiser.”

Tyra paled. “That’s a huge ask Simon. I may
have been the mayor of the shire of Valeton but I had a whole
council and its workforce to make things happen. I’ll sink if I try
to do this as a one-woman show.”