Chapter Five
WILSON
My mind’s strong, but my body is weak.
Everything Hope’s doing is driving me closer to the brink of insanity.
I have to commend her on this stunt. Maybe it’s working with the dregs of society that’s given her an ironclad will. Her resilience is stronger than I care to admit, and with every passing second, I’m falling deeper into her clutches.
Luckily, before things can escalate further, the first batch of students starts pouring in for tonight’s lesson, shortly after my stint with Tom Marshall. I suppose he’s as lucky as I am.
I’ve kicked heads in for less than a few filthy remarks.
I stand in front of the classroom with all eyes on me. Many of them clutch their pencils, ready to scribble whatever shred of wisdom I’m about to bestow.
I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of Hope since our interaction. I can still feel her lips against mine and smell her sweet perfume. My final demand on her torturing me went unheeded. She’s been giving me fuck me eyes throughout the lesson, and if Tom hadn’t stepped in earlier, I would’ve.
There’s no point in denying my want. I showed my hand tonight, and she’ll pounce on my weakness like a succubus.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited.
“What do we know about the grand ineffable plan?” I ask.
Another thought experiment that Hope bestowed on me with her wisdom of there being no right and wrong.
Only shades of grey. “There’s good and there’s evil, angels and demons, and somewhere in the chaos of life, there’s a big plan for the end times.
The question I pose is where does it start and where does it end? ”
“What’s this got to do with business?” Dick Haverford asks. Always eager to question, never willing to listen.
“Nothing, I suppose.” I shrug. “But maybe everything. Destiny is an interesting concept we have to consider when discussing business, no? Are some of us destined to succeed while others are forced to fail?”
Like you, Dick. The failed fucking vacuum salesman.
“We’re set on a path and then left to our own devices.
It’s the same in life as it is in the corporate environment.
A dog-eat-dog world,” I pause a moment, before delivering the kill or be killed line.
Dog-eat-dog is more palatable. “I can stand here and preach the best business practices and what you should do to get ahead, but insincerity isn’t a trait I carry well. ”
I pace the length of my desk, considering my next words carefully. If Alex Bates is serious about smoothing things over with Manny Ramirez, I might be leaving Decatur sooner than I expected. Why not leave these poor souls with a message that can actually help them in the future?
“What we do with the limited time we’re given can be summarized as a fight for survival.
You can’t make an omelet without cracking eggs, and you can’t get ahead without stepping over a few heads.
You grin and bear it through the hard times, with a smile on your face, because the future is yours to conquer.
When it comes to the bottom line, there’s only one person you have to care about.
That’s yourself. Life, death, and everything in between?
It’s all about protecting your own interests. ”
I’m met by glazed-over expressions and slack-jawed confusion.
Hope, on the other hand, listens intently to what I’ve got to say. Perhaps I’m mistaking her eagerness to learn, with another attempt at sultry seductiveness, but I’ll take the small win.
Let’s bring this session to a close.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t be afraid to make a few enemies. Better still, don’t be afraid to crush ‘em.” A few hands write the cliff notes of my message. It’ll have to do.
“It’s eight o’clock. You’re dismissed.”
The same nightly cacophony erupts around me. I take a seat behind my desk, watching as everyone rushes out. I’d usually follow the herd, but not tonight. I want to give Hope time to leave.
I can’t handle another interaction. My spirits are shattered and I’d undoubtedly indulge her antics. She’s become an all-consuming thing. Late nights are filled with thoughts of Hope, while my days are spent eagerly awaiting our next meeting.
Tonight is no different. No matter the walls I put up to stop her, my desire, mind and body alike, shatters them without remorse.
Hope Ward is my nightmare. My goddess. And if I don’t find some new salvation, I’m pretty much up shit’s creek without a paddle.
It could be worse, I suppose. I could be a corpse on the Rockies at the request of Manny Ramirez. Maybe Alex Bates was right…
Maybe I should have a little fun while I’m here.
When I’m certain the coast is clear, I collect my things and start moving. When I get to the door, I scan the hallway before venturing further. She could be hiding in any of the dark nooks and crannies, and most of me wants her to be.
But, she isn’t anywhere to be seen. Not inside, anyway, but as I breach through the double doors leading to the parking lot, I see her there.
She’s sitting on the hood of Tom Marshall’s car, with a finger pressed into his chest. Her legs are crossed, though the skirt she’s wearing doesn’t do much in the way of covering her upper thighs. Tom’s gawking at them shamelessly, salivating at the thought of hitting that.
He speaks, she giggles, and I see red.
I take quick, firm steps towards his car, stopping behind him. He hasn’t noticed me yet, lost in his daydream of bedding Hope. She sees me behind him, and a naughty grin tugs at the corner of her lips. She’s doing this to tease me, to taunt me, and I’m ashamed to admit it’s working.
“Go to my classroom,” I say.
Tom’s body recoils in terror and he turns to me with a grimace expressing great pain.
“Your classroom?” Hope says, bouncing off Tom’s beat-up Cavalier.
“Now,” I demand.
She starts trudging along at a snail’s pace, staring over her shoulder at us.
“Jesus, Will. You scared the piss out of me,” Tom says with a snicker.
“You lay a finger on her?” I wait for Hope to disappear before I speak.
“What? No. We just got out here,” he says. His quivering lower lip shows his fear.
He should be scared.
I grab Tom by the collar of his beige shirt and drive him back into the door of his car. He yelps, twisting his head to the side to defend whatever strike I’m about to throw. I don’t. My threats will be heard or he’ll suffer the consequences.
“I better not see your stupid eyes drifting over that poor girl again. Are we clear?”
He nods feverishly, and soft whimpers accompany it.
My grip tightens on his shirt. My fury has no end. I want to smash his fat skull into the roof of his poor car. But that would put eyes on me if he speaks to anyone.
A low profile, remember that Wilson. Any sign of trouble could put me on Manny Ramirez’s radar.
“I won’t touch her, man,” Tom says. His breathing is unsteady. So big, so weak…
“Get the fuck out of here,” I release him.
Tom fumbles with the door handle and, as soon as it’s open, he dives inside and speeds off. A simple message, but one he won’t forget soon.
Hope Ward is mine and I’m not sharing.
***
I get back to the classroom and Hope’s at my desk, with devilish glee shining in her eyes. I haven’t put much thought into a punishment for her actions, but that’s what has to happen tonight. She knows what she’s doing. She’s playing a dangerous game with an equally dangerous man.
“What was that?” I question, closing the door behind me.
“Some fun,” she says. “You won’t give it to me, but I know he will.”
“You could’ve gotten yourself hurt,” I say. Tom Marshall is a marshmallow of a person, and I can’t assume his intentions were purely evil. But what if it were someone menacing? Someone who had no regard for her safety, or attempts to back out when the joke went too far?
“He was barely a threat. Let’s be honest.”
I start working my belt loose from my midsection. Hope’s eyes instantly meet my hands. She licks her lips seductively.
“You’ve been a naughty girl, Hope. Do you know what happens to naughty girls?” I ask, approaching the desk, while I slide my belt through one ring at a time.
“They get punished?” she purrs.
“They get punished,” I drive the point home. “Stand up.”
She does.
I loop the belt over itself, grabbing both ends in one hand. I snap it back with a thunderous crack that echoes through the empty room. Hope jumps at the sound.
“Bend over on the desk.”
“What?” She stares at me in disbelief.
“Bend over the fucking desk. Head down, ass up,” I say.
“You’re not going to—”
“Yes, I am. You’ve been a bad girl, and I’m going to discipline you.”
“You can’t be serious. I’m not going to let you spank me,” she laughs.
“I’m not giving you a choice,” I say.
I grab Hope by the back of her neck and press her forward. She topples onto the desk, her ass hovering high in the air. She laughs again. “Do it, then.”
I do. I hoist up her skirt, exposing her blue panties and pale skin. She wriggles her ass side to side, and my knees turn to jelly. I hold strong, delivering three blows with my belt. Each one cracks against her skin, and by the time it’s over, white’s turned to red.
Hope moans with every strike. She groans and writhes, hands clutching her tender flesh. I pull her back to face me, and she complies without hesitation. Tears well in her eyes and her face is twisted in fury.
“You want to be mine? Then you’re mine.” I drop the belt, wrapping my arm around Hope’s neck. I pull her into me, pressing my lips against hers and she kisses me with furious passion. “I’m not going to share you with anyone.”
“Only yours, huh?” Hope asks. She’s staring up at me, nibbling on her lower lip.
“Don’t you ever forget it.”