"You've completely humiliated me." Lauren said quietly.
"So, what else is new?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"No, I mean it." she replied. "I came at least twenty times in front of the entire company, and you want me to do it every morning from here on out. I can't, Sir. I can't."
"You can and you will, or you're fired." I explained, rather bluntly.
"I can't."
"You can, and you will do it, or you will lose your car and your loft."
Lauren shook her head.
"No." she replied. "I don't know what I will do, but I can't do it this way any more."
"So you quit?" I asked.
"I have to!" Lauren sobbed. "I can't go on like this anymore!"
"Good luck finding anyone else who will put up with your shit!" I observed. "Who wants your pathetic little titties either?"
Lauren remained silent.
"Your tits are pathetic!" I snarled. "They're fucking comical."
"I can't help that they are some ridiculously tiny things that no one wants to touch or suck except you!" Lauren cried.
I gazed at Lauren for a few moments; saying nothing, and letting her own words sink in.
"You said it." I finally replied. "No one else wants your pathetic little tits except me. When are you going to realize that you offer no one else but me, anything?
"You can't cook. You're meaner than a black mamba, and your floppy little pancake tits have no place in our society."
Lauren stared at me for several minutes, but made no effort to challenge my accusation.
"I can't." she finally whispered, as she shook her head. "I can't. Oh Sir, you're the only one who's ever even groped me, let alone wanted to fuck me."
"Okay," I acknowledged, "I'll tell you what-"
"Please!" Lauren interrupted. "Please Sir, don't do this to me anymore! I can't take any more of this, I swear I can't!"
I gazed into Lauren's eyes for a few minutes before responding.
"On one condition." I finally answered.
"Whatever you want!" Lauren cried desperately. "Just tell me, please!"
"Okay," I replied, "I'll tell you what... I'll make you an offer you can't refuse."
"What?" Lauren inquired in desperation. "What is it that I need to do?"
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind of all previous hostilities, before I responded to her pleas.
"Miss Dangles," I began, "Several months ago, I would have nominated you for 'Cunt of the Year' and there would have been no objections. Do you disagree?"
"No Sir." Lauren replied. "I don't."
"Good girl." I congratulated her. "You understand that you were an absolute bitch; a fucking nasty cunt whose only job was to make everyone else's life miserable. You delighted in making everyone here feel like shit. Am I exaggerating?"
"No Sir." she replied.
I nodded in agreement.
"Miss Dangles," I said with a deep sigh, "It has been my job over the past few months, to humiliate you to the point of quitting. In fact, I was promised fifty thousand dollars, if I could get you to quit your job."
Lauren stared at me in utter disbelief.
"Is, is that why you've been so mean to me?" she inquired.
"Partly." I replied.
Lauren stared at me for almost three minutes, waiting for an additional explanation; an explanation that I was not about to offer until she took the next step.
"What is the rest?" Lauren finally asked. "Please Sir; just tell me so that I can get on with the rest of my life."
"You're such a cunt!" I exclaimed.
"I don't mean to be." Lauren replied. "Really Sir; I don't mean to be. I just..."
Her words trailed off, and I waited for her to continue.
I waited impatiently for almost a full minute, before responding.
"You just what?" I demanded.
Lauren dropped her head and stared at the floor. After a few minutes, I knew that this angle was not producing the results I desired. A sudden thought invaded my head, and I relayed its content in my next question.
"Were you molested?" I asked gently.
Lauren didn't answer, but instead, burst into tears. At this point, I began to understand the basis for her personality. I still hated her for what she had done to all of us, yet at the same time, I felt a deep sympathy for her.
"Were you?" I repeated.
For some reason I held my arms out, and Lauren responded by clutching my embrace. We hugged for several minutes, as Lauren sobbed profusely. I began to understand her situation, and I stroked her hair soothingly.
"It's okay." I whispered reassuringly.
"It's not!" Lauren burst out. "It's not enough that he did that to me, but you have to humiliate me like this on top of it. I was just trying to be strong. I was just trying to be a strong woman and you have taken that from me.
"You've made me feel like a piece of meat, Sir. I was only trying to regain some of my self esteem. I just wanted to be respected."
My heart fell, and I took a deep breath. All of this time, I was punishing her for being a bitch, when in reality, all she was doing was fighting back to regain her sense of sensibility in an otherwise insane world.
Suddenly, I felt horrible; like I had been kicked in the stomach. I took another deep breath and placed my hands on either side of her face. Lauren closed her eyes and smiled almost imperceptibly.
At that moment, it was proven to me that all she wanted was genuine affection. I kissed her tenderly on the lips, and as she opened her eyes, I continued.
"I've tried." I whispered in her ear. "I've tried so hard to put you in your place. I didn't know, Lauren. I had no idea that your then was our now."
"I know." Lauren replied. "It's not your fault. I was such a bitch, I know that now."
"But why?" I implored. "Why did you have to be such a cunt all the time?"
"I don't know!" Lauren burst out. "I just hated everyone! I hated you and I hated myself!"
"Do you still?" I asked gently.
Lauren shook her head.
"No Sir; no I don't. I can't. I was so mean and hateful to you, yet you still treat me like a person. No one has ever treated me like a person before."
"I treated you like a whore," I replied, "because you acted like one. Now that you have shown me respect and gratitude, I am willing to show you how to behave in a civilized society."
"I want to learn." Lauren said desperately. "I want to know what it will take, to be with someone."
"What about me?" I inquired.
"Oh Sir, I have already been with you!" Lauren cried. "My belly is so big."