Chapter 4
Chapter Four
My alarm went off at six-thirty the next morning. Mike, the President of Amperage, was hosting us for breakfast after the tour. I got up and got ready. As I was securing my necklace, there was a knock at the door to Caleb’s room.
“Theresa? Are you ready to go?”
“I just need to get my shoes on,” I said, walking out of the bathroom.
He stood in the doorway, dressed in his usual suit and tie. Even with my heels on, he was a good four inches taller than I was.
“Do you have everything you need?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, grabbing my purse and briefcase.
“Good, then let's go.”
The drive to the new facility was about twenty minutes. One of the many things I loved about being this far south was the warmer weather. Plus, the cost of living seemed cheaper down here than in the city.
On the downside, everything was farther apart.
At home, we could’ve walked or jumped onto the El, gone a few blocks, and been at our destination.
Here, we had to drive everywhere, which wasn’t the end of the world; seeing all the open land, trees, and greenery was nice.
If I wanted, I could lean back in my seat and take a nap.
“No dozing off on me today, Theresa. We should be there in five minutes.”
“Sorry.” I reached for the cold bottle of water I’d brought and took a swig.
“No apologies needed.”
A couple of minutes later, a large white building filled our view.
“Wow. He really went all out,” I commented as I admired the landscaping and decorative artwork around the building.
“Yes, he did,” Caleb said, parking the car.
We got out and headed toward the entrance. The inside was as impressive as the outside. We entered into a luxurious foyer with a modern chandelier and two grand staircases.
A young woman sat behind a desk in the center of the room. “Hello. Mr. McDuffie, I presume?”
“Good morning. Yes, that would be me,” Caleb said, walking up to her. He gestured toward me, “This is my assistant, Theresa.”
“Good morning,” I greeted as I followed after my boss.
“Mr. Amperage is expecting you. Let me phone him to let him know you have arrived.”
“Thank you.”
As the receptionist got on the phone, Caleb turned to me and asked, “Do you have the reports ready?”
It felt like a bowling ball had been dropped in my stomach. Oh shit. I completely forgot to print out the profit-and-loss reports.
“Umm,” I said, but before I could answer, an older gentleman dressed in a suit and tie came out and stood by the top of the stairs.
“Good morning! Welcome to my new facility,” he said as he walked down to us.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed and his lips pursed together as he stared at me. He was angry, and I was in major trouble. Caleb turned to Mike and smiled, almost as if he had put on a mask.
“Thank you. The place looks marvelous.”
“And to think, you’ve only seen about one percent of it. Let me give you the tour. Unless you would like some coffee first?” Mike asked as he reached us.
“No, thank you. I’d love to get started.”
“Excellent. Let's begin with the ground floor. The manufacturing plant is here, along with our cafeteria, fitness center for employees, and showers. Follow me, please,” he said.
If I hadn’t just made such a big fuck-up, I’d be impressed with what he was saying. Fitness center and showers for employees. He liked to take care of his workers.
The men started walking toward the open doorway, but I was frozen like a deer in front of headlights.
Caleb noticed and turned toward me. “Theresa? Come on.”
“I forgot something in the car,” I blurted out as I began to feel little drops of sweat form around the back of my neck. “I’ll go grab it and catch up.”
He stared at me a moment before responding. “Fine.”
The CEOs walked off. I stood frozen in place, feeling like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. What was I going to do?
Now, on top of forgetting the one thing my boss had specifically told me to have ready for today, I had lied right to his face.
And he knew all of it. I was in so much trouble. I was going to get a spanking.
The majority of me felt like I was going to throw up from nerves. But there was another part that was excited. Finally, I was going to experience how it felt to have my bottom reddened.
“Are you all right, Theresa?” the woman behind the desk asked.
Crap. I had forgotten she was here and witnessed all of this.
“I… umm,” I mumbled, trying to form some sort of coherent thought to get me out of the heap of trouble I was in.
“Did you forget something?”
I nodded. “Mr. McDuffie wanted me to print out three copies of your company’s profit-and-loss statements for last year.
I had planned to do it at the hotel, but we ate a big dinner, and when we got back, I fell into a food coma.
It totally slipped my mind, and I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” I said, rambling like an idiot.
This poor woman probably thought I was crazy.
Think, Theresa, think, I told myself, pressing my hand against the top of my forehead as if that would make an idea come to me faster.
“I can help you with that,” the secretary said, typing on her keyboard.
My heart rate slowed as I watched her miraculously print the three reports I needed, put them in a manila folder, and hand them to me.
Relief flooded my body. I wanted to cry and give her a bear hug. “You have no idea how much you just saved my ass.”
She chuckled. “Us girls have to stay together. I get how easy it is to forget something, especially when you aren’t in your own office. You get out of your rhythm, and it’s so simple to slip up.”
“Very true.”
“You'd better hurry up, or Mr. Amperage will have to repeat his tour. He’s extremely proud of the growth of his company.”
“As he should be.” I started to walk away, but paused and turned around. “Seriously, thank you so much for printing these for me.”
“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile.
I hurried after the men, hoping to catch up with them before they questioned why I was gone so long. Thankfully, I ran into them as they were exiting the manufacturing plant. Both had hard hats on.
“I apologize about that, Mr. Amperage, Mr. McDuffie,” I said as I came up to them.
“No need. I was just showing your boss the new development system we implemented to produce our products even faster than before. Now that we have the space, why wouldn’t we?” He chuckled, as if he’d told a joke. “Were you able to find what you forgot in your car?”
“Yes,” I said, and handed Caleb the manila folder. “You had requested these for today.”
He looked at the folder and then at me. His eyebrows were furrowed, and I knew he was questioning how I’d gotten them. Hopefully, he’d buy the lie that I had left them in the car.
“Thank you, Theresa.” He pulled out the statements and tried to hand one to Mike.
“No, no, no. No numbers talk right now. Please let me show you the rest of this place, and then we can go up to my office. We’ll eat our breakfast, and then we can talk shop.”
“As you wish,” Caleb said, putting the reports back in the folder. I thought he’d hand it back to me, but he tucked it under his arm and continued to follow Mike as he walked away.
I followed after, feeling much more comfortable than I had a few minutes ago.
The meeting had gone better than I expected. Mr. Amperage asked for an additional ten million dollars in investments. Caleb had countered, and they had settled on a six-million-dollar loan with McDuffie Corporations earning thirty percent on sales and five percent interest on the principal.
When we walked out to the car, the sun was shining high in the sky. It had to be at least sixty-five degrees—hard to imagine that temperature at the end of February, even with the mild winter we’d had.
We got into the car, and I buckled my seat belt. The day had its rough moments, but turned out much better than I expected.
“How did you get those reports?” Caleb asked in a quiet voice.
“Excuse me?” I turned to face him, hoping I had misheard.
“How did you get those reports?” he asked again. “I saw your face. I know you forgot them.”
Damn. So much for him buying my earlier lie. I didn’t want to make the matter worse by lying further, so I told him the truth.
“Mike’s secretary printed them out for me.”
“I don’t like that, Theresa. I specifically asked you to have these ready once we got there.”
“I know, and I’m truly sorry for forgetting them. But does it matter? They were here at the end, and you worked out an amazing deal. No one got hurt.”
“This time, you’re right. But what about next time?”
“I promise there won’t be a next time,” I stated sincerely.
Putting aside my fear and excitement at the thought of being spanked, I felt an enormous amount of guilt.
I had let him down. He made it clear when I was hired that he expected top-quality work, and I hadn’t delivered it today.
Whether we were out of town or at home, there was no excuse. I had messed up.
“No, there will not be. When we get back to the hotel, you will receive your first punishment. It’s the only way I can guarantee that you will fully learn your lesson.” He started the car and began the drive back to the hotel.
The ride back was silent as I imagined what was about to happen. I really hoped I could survive it, and that I’d have a job once it was over.