Chapter 16
Dinner for the second and final night was a lavish affair, much more so than the dinner on the first night.
The firm had booked the hotel’s ballroom and Helena immediately understood it for what it was: a reminder to the partners that the firm had history, that it had style, that it treated them well, and for the non-partners like Helena a tantalising taste of what was to come if you kept your head down and worked hard.
Helena found herself sat at the global Managing Partner’s table for dinner and so she forced herself to push Caitlin out of her mind, or at least she tried.
It didn’t help that when Caitlin arrived for dinner she was wearing a navy-blue dress that looked incredible, not to mention familiar.
It took Helena a second but then she placed it, the same dress Caitlin had worn to their proper date on their last night in Houston.
When Helena briefly caught her eye during the appetisers across the room, Caitlin’s smile told her that that dress was definitely no accident.
After dinner, the Miami office had arranged a party in a nearby bar and, despite her desperation to get Caitlin behind a locked door and do unspeakable things to her, Helena knew that neither of them could miss it…
the half-shouted conversation next to a dark dance floor with a colleague was worth more for building a relationship than talking to them over a video conference for a hundred times as long.
And, of course, they were there to work after all.
She and Caitlin didn’t avoid each other, not deliberately, but they didn’t seek each other out either. But… that didn’t mean they weren’t in contact.
You’re looking so good tonight, Gatinha. So good. Hold your drink in both hands if you want to be good for your Dona x
Helena sent the message and watched, amused, as Caitlin glanced at her wrist then stiffened, forcing herself to smile at the partner she was talking to.
Then, slowly and deliberately, she moved her drink so that it was held in two hands rather than one.
Not even a glance Helena’s way, but she was playing, that was for certain.
She typed out another message:
You want to kneel for me, don’t you? Naked, helpless, tame. Tug your left earlobe if you do Gatinha x
This time she got a little glance, a slight purse of the lips, then Caitlin’s hand went to her earlobe before she turned to talk to someone else. A cool customer, Helena thought, and she’s mine. Not just that… she wants to be mine.
Helena forced herself to be patient, enjoy the drinks, and build the anticipation for what was to follow.
***
Once the numbers started dwindling Helena seized her chance.
Twenty minutes, Gatinha, my room. I will leave a key with reception. Don’t be late x
She looked over to see Caitlin typing on her phone.
I’ll be there Minha Dona x
Their eyes met and Helena nodded across the room, then turned to leave the bar.
The hotel was only a couple of minutes away and Helena was soon upstairs, making the space ready.
She dimmed the lights, leaving only the lamps on, and laid out whatever she could make use of from the room: two belts from the bathrobes, a silk scarf that she’d brought with her and not had the chance to wear, and an eye mask from the amenity kit she’d taken with her from the flight.
Meagre compared to what she normally had to hand back home in her apartment, but it would certainly do.
Helena checked her watch. Five minutes to go, and one last thing to prepare… a surprise for her Gatinha, because one of Helena’s beliefs was that you should always keep the domination and the submission changing, never let it settle.
Then, she sat down and awaited the arrival of her Gatinha.
***
The door clicked at exactly the right time, and Helena stayed exactly where she was, sat in the armchair near the window, the curtains open on the view of the Miami skyline, the lights off.
Caitlin was silhouetted in the light from the hall, and as she stepped into the room and let the door shut behind her she said, “Where are you?”
“Near the window, Gatinha. Stay where you are near the door, hands behind your back, and let your eyes adjust.” She paused for effect. “And then I want you to tell me what you see.”
She watched as Caitlin stilled herself, obediently putting her hands behind her back. She looked magnificent in her blue dress and heels, even more so in the shadows of the darkened room than she had earlier. The necklace was just visible around her neck.
After a little time, Caitlin spoke. “I can see now, Minha Dona. I see you sat in the chair.”
“Can you see any more than that?”
Caitlin paused. “I… can I come closer?”
“Ajoelhe-se.”
Without hesitation Caitlin complied, falling to her knees.
“Good, my wonderful, obedient Gatinha. Very good. You may crawl closer.”
Helena felt her pulse race just a little at the sight of this incredible force of nature on her hands and knees, crawling across her bedroom floor. So obedient, so perfect.
“Stop. What do you see now?”
Caitlin raised her head and looked, and Helena saw the moment that she saw clearly… a sharp intake of breath, her eyes wide.
“You’re naked, Minha Dona. And…” Caitlin hesitated. “… waiting for me.”
Helena smiled. This was a game she played sometimes with a submissive, reversing the asymmetry between clothed and naked.
Normally the power dynamic was clear: the clothed person had the power, the naked person did not.
Normally… but not always. Sometimes reversing it served an even more powerful purpose, by emphasising to the submissive how fully surrendered they were.
Here was Caitlin, the partner, the coming force in their firm, one of the centres of attention all evening, and she was wearing the dress she’d worn to dinner, the heels, all of her professional armour, and yet it meant nothing.
She was still kneeling, crawling across the floor, to her Dona.
Her Dona who was wearing nothing, reclining in her chair, legs parted, ready and waiting.
“You got my attention at lunchtime, Gatinha. You’ve learned so much. But…” Helena paused. “…unfortunately for you, you’ve got too good. So… you are going to crawl over to me, fully clothed, and you’re going to show me again how good you are. Will you do that for me, Gatinha?”
“Anything you tell me to, Minha Dona. I am yours.”
“So perfect… come here then, Gatinha, and show me what you can do for your Dona.” She grinned. “And if you’re very, very good, then maybe you might get your turn after.”