"I have to get a bit firm here. I cannot do this deal. These numbers simply don't add up." As she was trying hard to smile at the speaker talking to the potential customer. This was a deal that she had been working her ass off, in a literal sense. Working long hours, talking to suppliers, getting shipping discounts, warehouse stocking charges, restocking charges, freight insurance, returns, designer fees, marketing campaigns and the list went on. Every time as she thought she could celebrate, the customer, he was with her for a while and knew that she was worth her fees to the last Canadian dime, he would have to send another clause from his legal to have her spin her wheels all over again. Needless to say, the frustration was mounting at many levels. Tonight, she decided to take control, because she has had enough of his bull****.
"Let me run the numbers again and get back to you in an hour". It was getting late already, but she was used to that. She grabs her laptop, runs to "All you can eat" - Chinese buffet for dinner. It was quiet there. She wasn't a big fan of quiet restaurants: food could get either cold or reheated or worse. However, this restaurant was good, the food was less greasy and she was craving General Tso's chicken. Well, this was a buffet, she chit chats at the counter and sets herself at a table near the window so she can at least see some movement. She was still eying for the corner office so she can at least get a better view. She could have stepped out earlier, but sigh, as she begins eating while running some numbers on her spreadsheet (she always thought that it meant something else when they first told her that that's what she would be working on, that was when she wore pink colored glasses to go with her panties) to see if she could really give a couple of points' break to her customer. She pivoted her charts, she cross referenced her sources, she price compared with a billion pages (a bit of an exaggeration, but they did google not do that already) to see if she could get at least halfway. Natalie did not want to lose this deal, it would get her a nice vacation home in Belize and she could just relax for another quarter till the next deal comes along. She was a high powered sales and marketing consultant who was the top earner for five years in a row, except for the previous year when she got distracted a bit.
She was longing to get distracted again, but she had to focus. She pulls herself together, adjusts her voice and calls the client again,
"It is impossible for me to give you a break. The margins are thin as it is and I gotta eat." She loved the being melodramatic to an effect.
"OK. I appreciate that you tried to work with me at every step. I want to do this with you, but I have to make sure that the deal is thoroughly evaluated and reviewed. My legal, marketing and logistics team is happy with the proposal and the last price break that you gave us. I think we are ready to proceed". She stopped and felt that thrill that only a successful sales person can experience running all over her body. "Thank you Steve. Looking forward to it." As much a stoic she could muster because inside she was giggling and already in Belize.
"Well, I won't keep you long. We should sign the papers tomorrow and you can start working Monday." Her clients usually pay her 20 percent upfront and the rest in milestones.
She hung up the phone and was about to get a shower before heading to bed, her land line rings. It was 11:13 at night and she had no caller id as a reminder of the features of the plain old telephone line. "Natalie here." "Someone seems to have forgotten something" She hears a reasonably deep voice on the other side of the phone. He would always do that, she thought, almost punctual to the last second. He gave her a task tolerance, as he used to call it, of 13 minutes. She was late and she knew it.
"Yes sir. I have to share a news with you. I closed the deal."
"Congratulations. We need to celebrate!"
She knew that she had to do it and lately her tasks were helping get better at her job (or so she thought). But if she looked at her numbers she was still in the top five but not the top. The thing that did change for her was that she felt that she was living a fuller life. We will get to that.
She had met him at a restaurant during lunch near her work. They were both waiting to get seated and decided to skip the wait and sit at the bar. "It's busy here at this time."
"Yes. But I like it busy, so the food is fresh."
She bit her tongue for the extraneous piece of information. "I am Natalie".
"I am Jim, I work at the local grocery story. I might have seen you a few times."
"Would you something to drink?"
"I will have club soda. And Miller regular for the lady please." As the bartender is busy fixing their drink,
"How did you know?"
"Well, I have my sources and you don't look the type to skimp on fun," pointing to her slightly plumper figure.
"I know. I get that a lot!" As they both see a guy almost caught ogling her. They finish their drink and head out. As they step outside,
"Here is my card. Call me sometime". He gingerly takes her card, almost with the reverence that a Japanese business man show to a business card, though did not do the holding-the-card-in-both-his-hands thing and slips it in his back pocket. Natalie, wasn't really sure if he would even call.
She had to wrap up that deal. This was another one of the really tough deals that she had hoped would never happen and she was unstoppable, and Jim could see that in the way she moved. He chose to get out of her way, "Good night, Natalie".
The next Thursday, they bump into each other as he steps out of the loading dock wrapping up his work in jeans and a t-shirt wearing PerryEllis Portfolio brows shoes with matching pair of socks. Natalie, notices that and thinks to herself about a bit of class but not in your face and smiles at him. "Someone looks very happy", he smiled.
That was it, "This has been one of the really tough deals and it took months of preparation, planning, back room dealings to get this. I thought that I had almost lost the deal and would lose my position as the top performer for the year. I clinched it tonight and I feel as though I am on TOP of the world."
"Hmm. Nice. Though, I am not sure if that's what you really want?" He points to the pendant that has a pair of cuffs engraved on the inside, that twisted a bit to show something that he was looking for. He slips her card from his wallet to confirm if he had seen that pattern before. She blushes.
"Let me drive you home, Natalie". The once confident and bubbly woman, turned into a pet almost instantly. She quietly hands over the keys to her blue Ferrari that she still regrets having bought because the dealer could not arrange for a red one in time for her "Top performer of the year award, 2010". Well he did make up for it in price. So it wasn't all that bad, she chuckled. Jim drives her home, which was easy as he just had to navigate back to home as most homing pigeons do. She had a nice apartment with an open kitchen contemporary, minimalistic design. Jim did like it.
"NOW lets put those cuffs in action. You have to treat me as your master. You do not need to be on the TOP at any time. Your ass belongs to me". He has her bend over on the island, and cuffs her arms. Natalie is not protesting and she was longing for being treated as a submissive for quite some time.
That was about nine months ago and she saw her numbers drop from being the top to the top five and somehow that did not matter anymore. Well, Jim brought a welcome distraction that she really wanted to look forward to.
"So, did you get to your task yet. You are about 13 minutes late and if we count the time you took to relive how we met, its probably 16 and a half minutes past overdue. Is this how you please your Master?"
She shakes her head.
"Speak up, Nat, I can't see you shaking your head." He smiles as he could see her shaking her head nervously.
"No master. I mean you will not be pleased Jim". He didn't care much for the title and she liked that about him.
