All characters are fictional and over 18 years old.
Juliet drummed her fingers against the edge of her desk. It was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday. and frustratingly, no one had left the office yet. She craned her neck over the cubicle to see if anyone was looking like they were going to head out, but everyone was stuck into mindless tasks. Did no one have anything better to do?
She reached into her purse and felt for the small piece of cardstock she was checking for all day. Juliet felt her thumb catch on the edge of the business card and pulled it out of her purse. She felt something within her ignite just looking at it. It was cream-colored with thick black lettering that read: "Nightbound Professional Development - Mst. Lillian Kingsley - 259 Main St."
Juliet brought it up to her nose and inhaled. It was perfumed with an earthy, intoxicating scent of oak, coffee, and... something else. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was almost pheromonal. Juliet felt silly for how obsessed she was with a woman she met for only a few minutes, but she was the closest thing to a perfect woman. She was tall and seductive with thick, luscious...
"Hey there, Juliet. Got a new client there?" Her coworker Franklin appeared at her desk and looked at the business card. Juliet felt her stomach drop.
"Oh, this? No. I mean she could be, I suppose," Juliet stuttered, her words like scattered leaves.
"Gotcha. Cool," Franklin said. She saw him watch her tuck the card away with a confused look on his face. "Doing anything fun this weekend?" Franklin tried once more at small talk. Juliet felt her mind melt a little more thinking about all the work she had put into the upcoming session. The STD tests she had to submit. The multi-step background check. The cold survey of her fantasies, kinks, and fetishes.
"Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Juliet said dishonestly.
"Well, me and some of the other reps were gonna go to Quicksilver tonight. I mean, no pressure, it would just be cool to see you..."
"Wow, that sounds awesome," Juliet said. She looked at the clock. Fifteen more minutes. "You know what? I just remembered that I have a date, I'm sorry," she tried to look apologetic.
"Oh yeah? Well, have fun," Franklin did his best to hide his crushing disappointment and shuffled back to his desk. Juliet looked over at the clock again. She felt a nervous energy throb in her veins. This evening was all she could think about, all she could feel. Normally she would feel bad when rejecting someone, but she had no time for such silly thoughts. Juliet eyed the card again. It was taunting her. She could hear Lillian's silky voice speak to her through it, saying, "Don't be late. Or do. How I love starting a session with some discipline..."
Juliet looked at the clock. 4:58 p.m. Close enough. She grabbed the card and her purse and walked quickly for the exit, praying that nobody stopped her. Luckily, for once, she had a clean path to her car. She got into the driver's seat and immediately started driving, not bothering to put music on or adjust the heat on what was a very cold day. Juliet drove fast, her head clouded with fermented nerves and excitement. Rationally, she knew that it was stupid to work herself up like this, but she just couldn't help it. Every minute she waited was torture, and not the good kind.
Finally, she saw a sign so small she almost missed it: "Nightbound Professional Development." She whipped her car into an empty spot and walked up to the door clutching the business card. This was it. If she wanted to turn back, now was the time to do it. Juliet thought back to when she met Lillian at the conference. She was like a planet with her own gravitational force. She spoke with such clarity and held herself with a distinguished poise that towered her above everyone around her. But when she came up to Lillian and opened her lips to speak, she felt like an old friend, a warm and kind soul that legitimately cared. Maybe it was all an act. Maybe what Juliet felt was a distortion of reality, but she had to at least see it though.
She opened the sleek glass door and walked into a modest-looking, but empty lobby with a bubbly, red-haired secretary sitting behind a desk. She had a small metal name tag engraved with "Mst. Sadie Luxon."
"Hi! Can I help you?" Sadie turned away from her computer and looked up with a smile. Juliet walked up to her and slid Lillian's card across the desk. Strangely, the secretary brought the card to her nose and inhaled deeply. Sadie had a far-away look on her face for a moment before returning to reality and smiling at Juliet.
"You must be Juliet," she said, sliding the card back. "I have you down for a 5:30 with Mistress Lillian... and it says here that you don't plan on any anal play today?"
"No, thank you," Juliet said. She looked around the lobby with humiliation spreading across her cheeks. Hearing her preferences out loud was deeply embarrassing, but she told herself that here, it was normal.
"Great! Have there been any changes to your health since you sent in your preference forms?" Sadie typed a quick note about Juliet's response to the anal question.
"Um, I don't think so?" Juliet said. It felt like she was at a doctor's office with how cold and clinical she was being questioned.
"Great! And are you interested in an extended aftercare session following your appointment? There's 30 minutes built into your time slot for restraint removal and relaxation, but we can extend it to an hour if you anticipate needing some extra time to wind down," Sadie explained.
"What do most people do?" Juliet asked. She was beginning to feel like she was in over her head.