Authors Notes:
I would like to thank Goof, my editor-in-chief, for editing this story. I couldn't have done it without your help!
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I woke to the sound of a beeping alarm.
I just need five more minutes
, I told myself, but my bladder realized I was awake and forced me out of bed.
After taking care of my overflowing bladder, I checked my phone. No new messages from Pop. It could be a good thing. I needed to get ready for work.
Ken had already left before my alarm went off. He has been so nice, making sure not to wake me up so I could get as much sleep as possible.
I felt guilty knowing all the things I had been doing behind his back and more than a little worried about what would happen if he found out. I had been struggling with this for the last couple of weeks. Nor did I want to stop or Ken or my family to find out.
"Life is so unfair," I grumbled.
I called Ken, and it went to voicemail, so I left him a message.
"Hey, Babe. I just wanted to talk for a few minutes before I left. I hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later. Love me."
At the end of last week, the company sent an email modifying the work-from-home schedules. It seemed that a few senior managers felt people were screwing off, so we had to return to the office indefinitely.
Looking around, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door.
The drive into the office was uneventful, so forty minutes later, I was sitting at my desk, wondering what I would do today.
The project I had been working on was technically complete, and I hadn't been assigned anything new since I was only a few weeks away from maternity leave. My boss thought I was a lucky duck, getting eight weeks to lay around at home, paid for by the company. I was terrified that we couldn't afford to live after my leave ran out.
Ken assured me that things would work out. He had some kind of side hustle he was working on that would cover my salary. I wasn't so sure, and he wouldn't let me in on the details, which didn't do much to alleviate my concerns.
I was looking over the project closing report when my phone dinged. It was a message from Pop.
"Hey, slut. Where are you?"
I quickly glanced around.
"I'm at work,"
I sent back.
"Send me a picture."
I took a selfie and sent it back to him. It showed me wearing a black and white V-neck top and stretchy slacks.
"
Pretty tame."
"I'm at my desk in the office. I could get fired doing anything risky,"
I shot back.
"
Come on, show me those tits."
I looked around, listening to see if anyone was moving in the hallway. My cube was off the beaten path a bit, and generally, no one returned there unless they needed to talk to one of us. Since the downsizing, there hadn't been much reason to return there.
I dug my fingernails into my palms, trying to work up the courage to do what he wanted.
Standing up and looking around the corner, I quickly unfastened my bra and slipped it off from under my top. Stuffing it into my purse, I took a deep breath, slid the straps of the top down my arms until the top half of my breasts were visible, and took another picture.
The picture taken, I pulled the straps back up and sent the picture.
"
You can do better, Lisa."
I stood and looked around, seeing no one. I sat down and pulled the straps down until my breasts popped out, taking another picture. In the background, you can clearly see that I am in my cube, including my name tag. Pulling my top back up, I edited the photo, blurring the tag out before sending the picture.
"Much better, Slut. Take another one without your top this time."
"I can't do that! I'm at work! Anyone could walk past my desk. If I got caught, I would be fired on the spot. You agreed that we wouldn't involve work in the game,"
I texted furiously back, anger and excitement mixed together.
"
How much longer are you really going to be working here? A month, maybe two? Then you are out for six to eight weeks with little prospect of returning to this company, right? Even if they catch you topless in your cube and fire you, they won't give you a bad reference. They would be worried you would sue them for firing you because of being pregnant."
"I guess,"
I sent back. I wasn't as sure as he was about the reference thing. It would be their word against mine, but with how easy it was to sue companies, they might just give me the reference to avoid the entire mess.
"Tell you what. I will cover your salary for the next two months, plus two months of maternity leave, and give you a job afterward, making at least what you make now. How does that sound?"
I sat there, mouth open, and reread the text several times. I had come to know Pop over the last couple of months and developed a weird trust, but this was taking things to a new level. Did I want to work for him? So far, I had thought of everything I had done as a game. If I went to work for him, would that make me a prostitute? How would I tell Ken?
"I don't know. That feels a lot like I would become a prostitute
," I replied.
"Not everything I do involves sex, and what I have in mind for you would not be prostitution."
"I've only met you once in person. How do I know what you are offering is real?"
I wanted to believe this was a legitimate offer. It would take so much worry off my mind.
"Look in your top desk drawer."
Curious, I opened my center drawer and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so I opened the right-side drawer and found an envelope that hadn't been there on Friday. It had my name on it and was stamped confidential.
I broke the seal and found five thousand dollars in one hundred dollar bills.
"Holly shit," I said out loud before clamping my hand over my mouth. I looked around again. Seeing no one, I quickly put the envelope inside my backpack and picked up my phone.
"How?" I texted, my hands shaking.