Chapter 2
Chapter Two
I left the office late in the evening. Mr. McDuffie hadn’t been kidding when he said we had a lot to go over. My bag was filled with copies of all the paperwork we had gone through, information on my new condo, my work contract, and the list of actions that would get my bottom reddened.
I hopped on the El and headed home. Downtown Chicago was great, other than the wind chill of twenty below in the winters, the hot, humid summers, and the constant construction.
As much as I complained about the weather, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I couldn’t imagine living somewhere where it was sixty degrees on Christmas.
Besides, the lake helped in the summer, and lots of layers helped in the winter.
Despite the weather, the architecture, history, and friendly people made living here worth it. I had grown up in Charlottesville, North Carolina. When it was time to go to college, I went on several tours, but as soon as I visited DePaul University campus, I knew it was meant for me.
Four years later, I graduated with a major in business and decided to start my career out here.
Recently, I found myself craving a new challenge.
Luckily, I had mentioned my desire for a change to one of the partners at the law firm where I worked, and they told me about the opening at McDuffie Corporations.
I got off the train and walked the few blocks to my modest apartment.
“I am officially crazy,” I murmured aloud as I dropped my bag on my kitchen table and headed to the bathroom. Some time under a stream of hot water sounded lovely.
I undressed, tossing my clothes into my hamper, and pulled the hairtie off my bun. My brunette locks fell to my shoulders as I bent down to turn the water on. One thing that I’d miss about this place is how quickly the water heated up. Within twenty seconds, steam started filling the room.
I stepped into the tub and pulled the curtain shut. The warm water fell onto my skin, and I stood under the spray for a solid five minutes, letting my muscles relax.
This job was almost perfect. It was a salary bump, and the condo and insurance were a huge plus. But the thought of being punished by Caleb McDuffie had my stomach doing flips, even if he was easy on the eyes. Why did he insist on spanking? If he hadn’t, the job truly would’ve been perfect.
I leaned my head against the tiled wall. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that some of my stomach flips were from excitement. This was my chance to finally be able to experience a fetish of mine without judgment. I’d never thought the moment would come.
It wasn’t that I was afraid of being spanked, but part of me had always felt rather embarrassed asking for it. Not to mention the worry about what my partner would think. I knew that spanking wasn’t too intense compared to other kinks, but it felt intense to me.
Caleb had told me that if he ever started to punish me and I truly couldn’t handle it, I should say my safeword. Everything would stop. It was comforting knowing I had that option. Granted, I’d lose my job, and that would suck, but at least I knew I had the choice to stop the spanking.
On the other hand, if I enjoyed it, I wasn’t sure what I’d do then. Make mistakes at work on purpose? I prided myself on my hard work ethic. The thought of intentionally screwing up didn’t sit right with me. Plus, what would stop Mr. McDuffie from firing me with just cause? What would I do then?
One problem at a time, I reminded myself as I took a deep breath. I got the job, that’s what mattered. Now I needed to focus on packing up and moving into my new place.
Caleb had been generous and agreed that my start date could be three weeks from Monday. That gave me plenty of time to give notice to my current employer and landlord, move into my new place, get settled, and then start my new role with my best foot forward.
I couldn’t lose sight of that. This position was one in a million, and I didn’t want to blow it fretting about hypothetical situations.
I’d start work in three weeks and do so well that I’d never have to be punished.
When things settled down, I’d figure out a different way to explore this fetish of mine.
I felt better having a plan. As long as I stuck to it, everything would be just fine.
Three weeks had flown by faster than I thought possible. The morning after my interview, I walked into my old job and handed in my resignation. I was touched that two of the partners offered me a raise if I agreed to stay on.
Once I explained to everyone why I was leaving, they understood and wished me well. As happy as I was about my new adventure, I was sad to be leaving. This was a good group of coworkers, and I hoped to stay in touch with them.
My old bosses asked me to stay on for one week, but agreed to pay me for the full two weeks. I appreciated that. The extra time off gave me plenty of time to move into my new place. It had been easier to do than I initially thought.
I was moving from a small studio apartment in Wicker Park to a condo in the South Loop. I had dreaded moving all my boxes, but Mr. McDuffie had hired movers. So, in record time, I was in my new place and settled in.
My new condo had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a family room, a living room, and in-unit laundry. No more lugging my dirty clothes to the basement, paying to use the machines, folding everything downstairs, and carrying the items back up.
As awesome as the washing machine was, it wasn’t the best thing about this place.
My favorite feature was the location, for two reasons.
One was the view I had from my kitchen window.
Being on the sixteenth floor gave me an absolutely lovely view of the museum campus and, of course, the lake.
It wasn’t as good as the view from Mr. McDuffie’s office, but it wasn’t too shabby.
Being this close, I could easily walk to the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium on the weekends. So many places that were rich with history—I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in them. Not to mention Soldier Field was close as well. I couldn’t wait to cheer on the Bears.
My family was going to freak out when they got a tour of my new digs. My brothers were big football fans and would get a kick out of me living so close to a stadium. My dad would love the architecture, and my mom would love that I didn’t have to travel far to get to work.
Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I walked out of my closet ready for my first day. Mr. McDuffie had said he’d like me to show up by eight-thirty. A quick glance at my clock told me it was only seven forty-five.
If I left in half an hour, I’d probably get there a couple of minutes early. But I wanted to make a good first impression, and decided to leave immediately.
I put on my sweater and coat; it was always smart to dress in layers in the spring.
I grabbed my crossbody purse, work bag, and lunch box.
I felt a little silly bringing a packed lunch instead of going out like most people, but eating out five days a week started to add up, and I wanted to save some money.
I wasn’t sure what for yet, but an exotic vacation sounded tempting.
I walked out of my place, locking the door behind me, and headed downstairs.
As I left the building, the crisp air hit my face.
It was chilly outside, but the sun was out.
That’s all that mattered to me. I walked the few blocks to work.
The bustle of people around me, most dressed in business attire, put a pep in my step. I felt like I belonged here.
I walked underneath a bridge as the El went by. The noise was accompanied by drivers honking at pedestrians and the hiss of buses opening and closing their doors. The smell of exhaust filled the air.
I never thought I’d be able to get used to the fast-paced living of this city, but I had. Now, anytime I went back to South Carolina, I felt like my hometown was too quiet.
I turned right and was at McDuffie Corporation’s headquarters. Glancing down at my watch, I saw it had only taken seven minutes to get here. Not too bad.
Heading inside, the lobby was full of folks ready to start their day. I waited my turn for an elevator, got on, and pressed the number for the top floor. I got this, I reminded myself as the elevator rose and finally dinged at my stop.
I stepped off into the room I’d been in three weeks ago for my last interview.
No one was at the receptionist desk yet.
I didn’t want to awkwardly wait in the lobby, so I marched into Mr. McDuffie’s office, where he said I’d be working.
The smaller desk on the right side of the room now had a computer, phone, and light on it.
“I can work with this,” I muttered to myself as I placed my purse and bag down on the chair and shrugged off my winter coat.
I didn’t have time to wonder what to do next, as I heard the elevator ping and Mr. McDuffie’s voice approaching the office.
“I’m just walking in now, I’ll call you back in an hour or so,” he said as he came in. He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned toward me. He froze when he saw me. “Theresa… good morning. I wasn’t expecting you here so early.”
A sudden ping of nervousness flushed through me. Was it bad that I had arrived ahead of my start time? I thought it would’ve made a good first impression.
“I’m sorry. I can go and come back,” I said, reaching for my coat.
“No,” he said, and took a step toward me. “I admire those who arrive to work ahead of schedule. I was hoping to finish setting up your work area before you arrived, that’s all. I have another table for you in case you need more space. Your computer has to be connected to the printer in here, too.”
I stood up a bit straighter. “Mr. McDuffie, with all due respect, those sound like responsibilities for an executive assistant, not the CEO of a company. Why don’t you let me handle them?”
He smiled. “Getting right down to business, I like that too.”