[Unorthodox 01.0] Unorthodox Therapy

by Lilah E. Noir

  All those thoughts drained from my mind as I remembered my current pressing problem. Even Mistress Sheila in her kinky outfit didn't affect me like she usually would have. What? She may have been my friend and mentor but I was still a normal, red-blooded male.

  “I can wait in the storage room until you guys are... done.” I tried to get away from the awkward situation, but Mistress Sheila was amused by my discomfort and chirped with the sweetest voice she was capable of.

  “Oh, but that would be too rude of me.” Her scarlet painted lips quivered in a wicked grin. “Besides, don't worry about him. He's just my dog. Aren't you my dog, you bad boy?” She emphasized her words by smacking the end of her crop against his ass. He made a sound strongly reminiscent of a dog barking and wiggled his imaginary tail when Mistress Sheila rewarded him with another smack.

  “I thought discretion was crucial to you?” I stared with longing at the storage room. Once again it became clear I wasn't even half as kinky as she was. Just five minutes in her nuthouse of a playroom were enough to force me out of my element. “I wouldn't want to bother... your dog.”

  “Don't worry. He likes it when people see him as the dirty pet he really is.” She placed the rectangular end of her crop against the sub's chin and made him raise it. “You love it when fine people see you in disgrace, don't you?”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  You'd better think over what you wish for, pal, I thought with bitterness.

  “That's a good boy. Now, show how well trained you are and go kiss Master Thomas's feet.”

  “Erm, that really won't be necessary, Mistress.” I glared at her and took one step back. She was grinning from ear to ear and kept tapping the guy’s face. Her eyes were gleaming with lust while the man crawled at my feet. For fuck's sake, was he really going to do it?

  “No, no, Master Thomas.” Mistress Sheila kept on with her sweet sing-song voice and lowered the whip. “My pet should show appreciation for house guests, like any proper bitch. Come to think of it, dog, clean Master's shoes with your dirty tongue.”

  Allie, I'll kill you!

  And damn it, the guy did exactly as she told him to. He ran his tongue across my muddied, wet boots with enthusiasm as if his Mistress had told him to eat someone's pussy. I took a few more steps back but the man kept on crawling after me while Mistress Sheila was laughing her ass off.

  “Damn it, Al... Sheila, this isn't funny.”

  “Actually, it is, Tommy boy. If only you could see your face.” She smirked and then gave me her most stern expression. “That should teach you a lesson. Don’t interrupt my play sessions. Ever.” Sheila was definitely a Mistress when it came to mind games. I had no doubt her disciplinary methods always worked, but it annoyed me when she pulled those tricks on me, especially in my situation.

  “Fine, I get it. Now can you tell your dog to fucking back off!” Anger was threatening to get the better off me again so I squeezed my fists and released a breath. She must have sensed my agitation and ordered her client to retreat. My friend narrowed her eyes at me and nodded to the storage room. “Wait for me there. I’ve got some brand new stuff you can take a look at.” Her smile grew wider. “And if you're a good boy, I may lend some of them to you to try with your bratty pet.”

  “I doubt I’ll be using anything on her in the near future. Things got complicated.”

  Normally she'd have rolled her eyes at me and said something about always having to clear up my mess, but I must have reeked despair since Mistress Sheila nodded with sympathy and said in a quiet voice,

  “I'll try to be done with him as soon as possible.”

  Half an hour later, the satisfied client left Sheila's studio glowing. He tipped my friend generously and asked if she could arrange such a surprise for him again next time. She grinned at him and said I wasn't a pro-Dom but a surprise could always be arranged, for the right price. I watched their interaction on her supervision screen. It always amazed me that those men paid such generous amounts and weren't frustrated Allie didn't offer sex in her services. The thought didn't bother me too much in that moment, though.

  What was Lina doing right now? My heart writhed as I remembered her retreating figure. Luckily, Allie walked into the storage room after about ten minutes so I didn’t have too much time to think. She had taken off her wig, removed her contact lenses and erased her make up.

  “Do you want some coffee?” she asked casually while removing her leather corset. Perhaps some would have been weirded out by how casually Allie was undressing in front of me. We were way past such shyness.

  “Only if it's Irish coffee. After this morning, I could use getting drunk.”

  Allie didn't say anything and changed into a wide flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. I loved her transformation into Mistress Sheila but right then, I needed my smart, geeky friend. It was a relief not to be distracted by leather and latex.

  We moved to the small adjacent kitchen where she made two steaming cups of the most poisonous coffee in the history of humankind. It took me fifteen minutes to get to the root of the problem while I was trying not to die of a caffeine overdose. She listened to me carefully, sipping from her cup with narrowed eyes. Finally, Allie spoke without any comfort in her deep voice.

  “So, you screwed up royally... again.”

  Her honesty was one of the things I valued most about our friendship. She was loyal and always ready to help me but she would also never spare me the harsh truth or hesitate to bust my balls.

  “My only sin was that I was stupid and not careful enough.” It was easier to stare at the black abyss of the coffee cup than her accusing eyes.

  “Indeed.” Irritation crept into her voice. “How many times do I have to tell you not to keep sensitive information on your hard drive, you numskull? External drives exist for a reason. Also, I’ve been offering to improve your security for ages but did you listen to me?” She clenched her jaw and drummed her fingernails on the table.

  “Allie, I know I should have been more careful with those images and their security, especially given her position.” I squeezed my fists around the hot mug. “I was proud of those pictures and so was she. They weren't even pornographic or crude, and really focused on her experience. You know I suck at photography and still these were something special. Lina grew so much more comfortable with submission after seeing them. I...”

  I was unraveling again but the pain and fury were suffocating me. “I hate that those assholes would use them to ruin her.”

  Allie didn't blink at my long speech and stared at me for a long time with hard, unblinking eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice oozed indifference.

  “I know it's not easy, Thomas, but you can't afford to be emotional right now. It's killing your brain resources. Someone had a good reason to try and destroy your pet's reputation. This person clearly didn't lack qualms or the skills to hack your home computer. You must focus on figuring out who this person is. Do you suspect anyone?”

  “It may be an inside job. Whoever did it had intimate knowledge of our crucial clients and access to the company mailing list. Unless someone hacked the servers of ChaosTech Solutions but that seems unlikely.” I stared ahead of me with a frown. “It could be some of the board members who weren't pleased she was a CEO. Most of them can't tell a server from an elbow, though. I guess they could always team up with some of the IT specialists.”

  Allie took a sip of her coffee.

  “Is there anyone who wasn’t happy with Lina at work? Maybe someone she fired?”

  “There's this guy at work. I mentioned him to you at one point, Seth Anderson. He's been pissed off about my promotion and made a huge scene this summer.” I told Allie briefly about the scandal, Seth's extreme reaction and the accusations thrown at Lina. “I'm sure he has the skills, but I never thought he hated her enough to try to ruin her. His anger and resentment were entirely directed at me. Lina and Seth go way back.”

  “Perhaps that’s the root of the problem, Thomas.” Allie got up
from her chair and walked back and forth with her hands behind her back. I could see the excitement waking up in her eyes. “He may have had enough of waiting and being ignored. His initial target may have been you but once he went through your device and saw those pictures, he flipped his shit.”

  She kept talking, more to herself than me. Her words made perfect sense, but we needed a lot more than Allie's intuition before throwing shade at Seth.

  “After all, what is this bitch thinking, promoting the guy who is fucking her instead of him, the genius?” I knew what she was trying to do but that thread of thinking pissed me off majorly. However, it sounded just like my nemesis. “I know guys with a similar mentality. They think BDSM is some way to get back at the women who pussy whipped them. It's a good thing I supervise the pro sub girls or they'd be dead in the water.”

  “He was kicked out of MIT and practically every place he worked at,” I added while Allie kept pacing back and forth. The intellectual lust in her eyes was growing by the minute. “Classic case of a genius with a horrible personality. Lina was the only one who gave him a chance so I thought he was loyal to her, but he’s always been a wildcard.”

  I tried to remember details of that day, his mean words to her, his aggression.

  Allie drank the rest of the dark witch poison she called coffee and left the mug on the table.

  “We can play whodunnit all day but it won't get us any closer to the truth. I need to take a look at your computer before we plan our next move.” She placed her fists on her hips and smiled viciously. “How long until you get back to work?”

  “I took the next few days off. I figured I'd need all the–”

  “Perfect!” Allie hissed with a gleam in her eyes and headed straight for the door. She really became a monster when she was so high on caffeine. “Let's get that dirty rat.”

  While we made our way out into the pouring rain, a fragile stem of hope tried to make its way through my mind, but Allie was correct. This was not a time to get emotional. Lina needed all my focus in the right direction.

  The day of the boardroom meeting came faster than I thought, but the week had been dragging too slowly. I didn't waste any time feeling sorry for myself in the daylight. There was always something to do to prepare myself for the most important battle in the upcoming war. The nights were the worst. No matter how many cups of calming tea I drank, I couldn’t sleep more than a few hours at best. Tears could bring relief in such instances, but shedding even one of them would make me unravel. I feared if I allowed myself to cry I might not be able to stop. The insanity in my eyes was scary enough. It was there every time I splashed water on my tired face or applied make-up.

  Meanwhile, the nightmare at work continued. There was enough trouble with distressed clients and employees who felt awkward around me. The tension was obvious whenever I passed through the hallways. Conversations would stop, people would avoid looking me in the eyes or whisper among themselves. To my surprise, most of them tried their best to be respectful and I got no lewd comments, but there were some who resigned because they couldn't work for a person like me. One of the young women who had recently started her internship at ChaosTech Solutions went out of her way to express how much I disgusted her, how disappointed she was. She didn’t miss a chance to remind me of domestic abuse as a societal problem. Normally I’d have dealt with the little bitch but at that point, I was way too tired to fight everyone. I needed to choose my battles wisely.

  And then there were the nasty e-mails. They started coming on Monday night and didn't stop until I ordered my team to filter my messages. Katie did thorough research and found that the pictures had been uploaded to a porn site, in the video and picture section, with my e-mail address attached. We contacted the administrator of the website to remove them, but there were enough guys who had already seen it. The pictures of penises I received for that short amount of time were probably more than the stored sausages at a German delicatessen.

  Why did he have to go to such lengths to destroy me?

  We’d had our misunderstandings but I’d never doubted he cared for me. Well, save for his psychotic episode.

  I pushed the thoughts of Thomas out of my mind. It hurt too much and my mind needed to stay focused. All my weapons of mass destruction were in the simple manilla envelope in front of me, but they’d be worthless if I didn't keep my cool.

  It was the first time in days that a smile crept onto my face. This could turn out to be easier than I thought.

  Katie broke me out of my trance by knocking on the door. She'd been quite motherly to me and probably the only person who showed open support, but I wouldn't have been surprised if it was just an act, given how crazy the world was becoming.

  Was I meant to live the rest of my life in constant paranoia?

  Just then my eyes landed on the miniature bottles of vodka she held in her hand.

  “The meeting is in one hour. I thought you could use some Dutch courage?” My assistant closed the door and extended her hand to me. “I have some mints and mouth freshener for you. No one will notice. You look like you could use a drink, boss.”

  “Well, the ship is finally sinking so why not?” I grinned and took one of the miniatures from her hand. We clinked them together. “To my fall, may it be short and glorious.”

  Her smile faltered at those words. Mine stayed as I poured the alcohol down my throat. Warmth spread through my veins and suppressed the torturous dark thoughts, but the liquid courage was temporary. Fear would sink its claws into my throat as soon as I stepped into the boardroom.

  “You shouldn't lose hope, Lina. It will be fine. They would be crazy to let someone like you go because of some dirty pictures. Sex scandals aren't a new thing in tech. Also, see what happened with the stocks of VMWare when they fired Diane Green? They'd be nowhere without you.”

  “Most of those involved in sex scandals are men, Katie. And should I remind you VMWare is still on the market and growing?”

  Even if I had some pretty solid aces to play, I couldn't feel too secure yet.

  “You can always go rogue and buy their asses at a discount rate. Whatever happens today it's not the end of the world.” She took a sip of her own vodka and stared out of the window. “How are you doing otherwise? It must be difficult.” Katie paused. We hadn't discussed the images and she never shared her thoughts on my behavior. “I never expected Thomas would be such a low life. Honestly, I'd shoot him if I were you.”

  My hand froze as I squeezed the bottle and stared at her in shock.

  “Don't worry, I'm the only one who knows. Well, I suspected, but your reaction just now proved it.”

  “But how?” I suddenly wanted another one of those miniature bottles.

  “Well, I do have a brain, boss.” Katie rolled her eyes at me. “I'd often see him walk out of your office. You were glowing. Somehow, I didn't think it was because you discussed the updates on the latest app his team was developing.” She reached out to squeeze my hand. “I'm sorry. Are you in love with him?”

  I leaned back against the backrest and closed my eyes without saying a word. It was one thing to think about it, but if I admitted it out loud, the wave of hurt and anguish might not stop. There would be time to grieve later.

  “This is strange,” Katie mused as she took a few slow sips. How she could not be done with the damned thing in one gulp was beyond me. “Because I swear he looked genuinely in love.”

  “Most sociopaths are pretty good actors, honey.” I raised my eyes to meet hers and finally spat it out. “Look, if everything turns out fine today and I keep my position, I'd understand if you wanted to transfer or work for someone else. It's probably hard to respect someone after–”

  “What?” She raised an eyebrow and shook her finger at me. “Lina, no more of this nonsense. You're the best boss I've ever had.” Katie's eyes flashed with anger. “Well, you may have your quirks and issues but you always treated me with respect and as a human being. Let me tell you something.”


  She leaned forward to me and spoke with a threatening voice I never expected to hear from her.

  “If those pathetic pencil pushers kick you out, I'm following you into the new company you found. I have no doubt you won't leave it at that. No matter what you prefer in the bedroom, you're too much of a fighter.”

  “I appreciate your loyalty but let's hope I won't have to start from scratch.” My fingers ran over the manilla envelope. “Still, it means a lot to me that you're not judging me.”

  Katie patted my shoulder and whispered.

  “Sometimes my fiancé and I do a bit of role-playing, though the cuffs we use are pink and fluffy.” She giggled like a schoolgirl and finished her vodka in one gulp.

  It was amazing what some girl talk and miniature alcohol could do to improve a woman's mood. All I had to do was keep my job and company and kick some ass. How difficult could it be?

  ***

  If I survive this meeting, I should clear my board of directors and pick people who actually make themselves useful.

  I entered the boardroom and took a good look at all the faces gathered around the table. Back in the days when I was laying the foundation of my company, investors were a necessity. Right now, the company was slowly turning into a force to be reckoned with and I needed visionaries with fresh ideas rather than this old boy’s club. How did I ever come up with this bunch of merry idiots?

  Perhaps they'd expect me to walk away with my head bowed in shame, crying and begging for forgiveness, but if they thought they'd get to use the tar and feathers for my public humiliation they didn't know Lina Riley. I wondered whether any of those low lives had pleasured themselves to the pictures of my submission? No, scratch that, I was convinced they had. I was sure they’d even had some nasty power fantasies in which they would strip and spank me across their laps before taking turns punishing me.

  Sorry, old geezers, you're not my type.

  If they planned to kill me, I'd sure as hell go down in style. I wouldn't be remembered as a pathetic, apologetic creature at their mercy. Furthermore, this wouldn't be our last battle. Pain and betrayal were pushed to the back of my mind. It was time for war.