The instructions were received and understood. There was no choice but accept the next challenge. Each had been allusive as to meaning, and this was no exception, though more dangerous. Mister Smith had reminded her to use all that she had learnt so far about herself and others. Good advice if she could just work out what that was.
Walking into the exclusive hotel wasn't such an ordeal it was the exacting challenge that was daunting. Deirdre's gait was less strident showing how less self-assured she was. She let the hem of the skirt ride up as she sat down. She looked around as though expecting someone, at the same time looking over the customers in the bar.
So, who would take the bait? The bar was nearly empty and the men were drinking coffee as it was just before lunch. The waiter came over but she told him she was waiting for someone. Again she balanced the brief case on her lap, using it to pretend she was unaware of showing off too much leg.
"Is this seat taken?"
She looked up to see an older man. He was older than Mister Smith by about ten years making him close to fifty. This was a relief for surely he would behave like gentleman. "I'm waiting for someone," she said, looking at her watch. "He's late though," she added, as an afterthought.
"Perhaps I'll sit until he arrives," the man said.
He spoke with a cultured accent and she relaxed a little. She shrugged compliance as though indifferent. The show of earlier, in the coffee shop, was harder to perform this time. She didn't have a coffee cup to lean over and so it was difficult to part her legs without it being obvious.
She had felt more confident there too. She had put on a show for those young businessmen and enjoyed it, feeling empowered. This task was a whole lot more involved than just flashing her panties. How to get there and who with was going to be difficult to judge.
She slipped forward to reach into the briefcase, sliding the hem up a little. Sitting back without pulling the skirt into place was difficult but she managed it. Hiding behind the papers she tried to concentrate on the figures. She couldn't decide if she hoped he was interested in her or not.
He was mature and looked conservative enough to behave like a gentlemen. Could she trust him not take advantage of her in a vulnerable situation. She had been tasked with putting herself in one with the objective of escaping without being humiliated.
"Would you like a coffee?" he asked.
She looked up feigning an interrupted concentration. She looked over to the bar and back to him. She smiled warmly. "Thank you. That would be nice," she said. Her voice didn't sound so confident as earlier. She wondered if it was the effect of this stranger or the challenge she was about to involve him in.
She watched him raise a hand and was surprised to find a waiter jump to his side. Without much preamble two coffees were ordered and delivered. No inquisition as to what or how large, they had simply been fetched and placed before them.
"Do you take milk, sugar?" he asked.
He dropped milk into the cup and stirred a lump of sugar into it. Without her saying anything, but nodding, he had taken charge leaving her to simply drink it.
He leant forward close to her stocking clad knees handing the cup and saucer over. What little confidence had remained was drained on seeing how much thigh she was displaying. He was close and she imagined his breath tickling her thighs.
He was a large built imposing man. The bulk was firm muscle with a sense of power confined in a dark blue suit. The clothes were as business like as her own and even more expensive. His closeness made her feel hot and bothered. She was already moist from the earlier flirting, not to mention yesterday's naughty adventures.
Her hand shook imperceptibly but it was the miss judged angle that let the cup slide from the saucer into her lap. He snatched the cup away and pushed a napkin onto the skirt. He handed her another. She pushed it between her legs trying to dry up the mess.
"Oh! Hell!" she murmured while looking around embarrassed, trying to see if anyone had noticed her foolishness. "What am I to do now? I can't go back to the office like this. I don't even want to stand up."
"You had better clean it up otherwise the silk will be ruined," he sympathised. "I have a room here. You can use it to clean the skirt." Seeing the hesitation, he told her. "Just keep the briefcase in front of you."
His large hand gripped her elbow hauling her out of the seat. He marched her out of the bar straight to the elevator without a discussion not giving her a moment to think of an excuse or think of another approach to the problem.
Even the elevator reacted promptly at his command; opening its doors at their approach. "You can either send the skirt down to the laundry or try the drier but you must rinse out that coffee or it will stain," he told her.
His deep commanding voice broke through an attempted protest. It reached into a low level of consciousness leaving her thinking she had a choice. Instead she was being swept away under his compelling suggestion.
The room door slid open on his first thrust of the magnetic card. Unlike her last business trip where she had fumed in frustration, trying it every which way at least twice, before seeing the green light announcing a pitiable little success.
It wasn't a room but a sizable suite. He opened the bathroom door and with the same hand guiding her she found herself looking round at the gleaming tiles, slightly stunned from light bouncing off sparkling chrome.
She unzipped the skirt and rinsed it under a cold tap wondering if it should have been hot water. The range of freebie bottles of soaps and lotions wouldn't include fabric soap so she just strained the stream of water through the skirt. All she managed was to soak it into a sodden mess.
The force of water spurted upward over the blouse but she was more concerned with the mess she was making. Water was running down the tiles, soaking the baskets of lotions and potions to pool on the floor around her feet.
"Damn!" she exclaimed. The sound seemed loud bouncing back at her from the hard bathroom surfaces.
"Are you alright in there?" he asked.
