Cassie awoke the next morning to a loud knock on her door. She blearily stumbled to the door, pulling on the bathrobe as she walked.
She opened the door to find Val standing there with coffees and a bag of pastries. She looked stunning as always with perfect hair and makeup.
Val stepped in, smiling. "Well, you survived the first Challenge...and an optional one. How are you doing?"
Cassie went red with embarrassment, wondering how much Val knew...or watched.
"I'm ok. What time is it?"
"Almost noon. I decided to make sure you were still alive up here when I hadn't heard from you."
They sat opposite each other at the small table and chatted as they drank their coffees. Cassie was ravenous and devoured the two muffins Val had brought her.
"So, what happens next?"
"Can you stay here for a few more days or do you need to get back?"
"Sure. I don't have to do anything back home...I just need to pack up my stuff and I guess find an apartment here?"
"If you want, there's a place in my building."
"That must cost a fortune...your place is amazing."
"It's a bit smaller than mine. But, it would be covered by Bradshaw for the year."
"That's incredible. That's easy then...I just need to fly home and move here."
Val smiled, looking very self satisfied.
"How about this. Stay here in the hotel for the rest of the week. We can pick out some stuff for your new place and I can send your key to Boston and have a moving crew just send everything here."
"Wow. But, I need to clean up my apartment, cancel the lease...all that stuff."
"We have a PA there who can take care of everything for you. We may just need you to sign some things or talk to your landlord on the phone. But they can do most of it. You'll just need to update your address on everything."
"And...that's all paid for?"
"Yeah. Except for whatever rent and utilities you owe. That's on you. But, I think your new salary should cover that."
Cassie laughed. This was amazing. Her life had totally changed in the space of a few days.
"So...when's the next mission?"
"Tomorrow. He's giving you today off. Wanna shop?"
"Sure!"
They spent the rest of the day updating Cassie's wardrobe and buying some things for her new place.
Val gave her a quick tour of the apartment which was being completely updated. Since it was Sunday, no one was working on it. The floors were all stripped down to the bare concrete. It was in the process of getting a new kitchen and bathroom and the walls were only partially painted. Cassie thought it would take more than a week to finish.
"You're actually here at a perfect time. We'll stop by the office tomorrow so you can pick out carpets and paint. Otherwise, they tend to do everything kinda beige."
They had a totally normal dinner and ended up back at Val's place for a nightcap.
The two women sat on Val's couch chatting and sipping wine.
Cassie was wearing some of her new clothes. She'd splashed out on some jeans that seemed tailored for her body and a shirt that was somehow casual but looked expensive at the same time. She'd tied her hair into a ponytail.
When they arrived, Val had slipped off to change into some silk pyjamas and a matching kimono-style silk robe.
They were curled up at opposite ends of the couch, the TV playing some random reality show neither of them had ever heard of on very low volume. They occasionally watched it as they talked.
"Bradshaw is really generous with all of this. I can't get over the apartment and the movers and everything."
"He's clever. On the books, it'll look like the company is paying you a reasonable wage and you'll have a job title, so this is all just moving expenses. At the end of the year, you'll have several amazing letters of recommendation and stuff to put on your resume that the company will verify if you decide to work again."
"He's really thought of everything..."
"I told you we have a team. One person will even give you a few things to put on LinkedIn and they'll take photos of you at a few events. Just to keep up appearances."
"Why'd you buy an apartment in this building?"
"He bought the building and thought it'd be handy to have me near people doing the challenges...so he sold it way under market price. Plus it's close to the office." She shrugged.
Cassie stared out the window, soaking in the view. The two women sat in silence, drinking their wine list in their own thoughts.
"I was surprised you did that extra challenge...but, it went ok?"
Cassie was suddenly embarrassed. Val knew what she was doing...but doing the "extra" thing made her feel like a real slut and not just someone renting themselves out for huge amounts of money.
"Yeah...I uh...it took four days off the contract...and uh..."
Val laughed softly. "Was my little Cass a bit horny?"
Cassie looked downward, mortified.
"I wouldn't have thought...I didn't think I'd...," her voice trailed off.
"You enjoyed the night and needed to get off?"
"Yeah." She took a large sip of wine, downing half her glass.
Val laughed and topped up her glass.
"Come here." She stretched out her arms and bade Cassie to move over to her.
Cassie snuggled next to her, Val's arms gently hugging her from behind. She kissed Cassie softly on the back of her head.
She spoke softly into her ear, "this challenge does weird things to you. It pushes you. It forces you to try things you've never dreamed of doing. It opens doors you didn't know existed. It'll leave you craving things you never would have imagined you'd like. When you're done, you'll *really* know yourself. Just keep your eyes open and don't beat yourself up when you react in ways you didn't expect."
Cassie snuggled back into Val's chest. She felt safe and relaxed in Val's embrace. Her hands were folded gently on Cassie's tummy.
They sat quietly like that for a long time, with the TV flickering in the corner and the silent lights of the city outside.
Cassie spent the night at Val's. They slept together in Val's bed. Cassie was exhausted. But, their goodnight kiss became passionate and their chaste spooning turned into gentle lovemaking before falling asleep in each other's arms.
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