John, a 42-year old middle manager who thought the world of himself had been eying the new intern Jenny, barely 21, for a couple of weeks now. She was rather petite and very cute. He was looking for an opening to move in on her. His opportunity came when there was a rush to get a project to the client. When John found out Jenny was involved in research for the early stages of the project he approached her about helping him tie together loose ends for their portion of the larger contract. Being a new intern and eager to please and show her commitment she readily agreed. It was decided the two of them would stay late later in the week to complete the tasks.
That evening while other staff lingered around John and Jenny worked diligently to do what they needed to do. John was impressed by Jenny's ability and contributions. They worked so well together that the tasks they needed to complete were mostly done by the time the last other staff person left for the evening.
At one point John went over to where Jenny was studying pie charts on a screen and put his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't do anything.
John started talking some trash trying to impress her but it was doing nothing more than breaking her concentration. He again got in her space lightly brushing her hair.
Jenny's expression tightened, and she looked up at him and in a polite and forgiving manner said. "John, I'm trying to figure out this stuff you asked me to do but you keep interrupting me."
John's hand reached out and after grabbing her wrist said, "No, you're going to listen to me. There's time for that later"
Jenny snapped back with annoyance in her voice, "John, please take your hand off my wrist."
John held tight and put his other arm around her shoulders.
In that moment the dynamics of the situation changed. Jenny's eyes narrowed, and she went into self defense mode moving with a swiftness that took John totally by surprise. With a twist and a pull, she had him off balance, his wrist in a painful lock. She had moved from calm to a state of readiness in the blink of an eye.
John yelped, trying to jerk away. "What the hell, Jenny? "Let go of me," he yelped with a trace of fear in his voice.
He tried to tug his arm free, but her grip was like iron. "You're hurting me. Is this some sort of game," he stammered."
Her grip tightened, and she leaned in, her voice a serious whisper. "Please stick to business and don't touch me again."
The office chair scraped against the floor as John stumbled backward, trying to get away. He hadn't noticed before, but Jenny was strong--much stronger than one would expect looking at her.
But John, if anything, was persistent and he made the fatal mistake of trying to grab her again to regain control of the situation.
What John didn't know but was about to find out is that Jenny was an expert in self defense. Her father was a trainer for elite military personnel and had taught her well.
Having given him his chance to back off that he didn't heed, with a sudden, fluid movement, Jenny's leg shot out like a coiled spring, striking John's knee and sending him to the floor. He landed hard, the wind knocked out of him. Before he could react, she was on top of him, her legs pinning his arms to the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his wrist as she bent it to an unnatural angle.
Panic began to replace his anger. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, the room suddenly too hot. "What are you doing?" he managed to choke out.
Jenny's gaze was cold. "You're the one who started this, John."
Terror filled John's eyes as he was helplessly pinned to the floor by the smaller female. He couldn't do anything about his predicament. She was way too strong and agile.
"Jenny, let me up! You're hurting me! It's not funny!" he yelled, his voice echoing through the otherwise quiet office. She didn't flinch, her stare unwavering.
As she increased pressure on his back John yelled, "Jenny, stop it, that hurts," his face contorted in pain. He bucked wildly, trying to throw her off but to no avail. "You're crazy, he screamed!"
Her grip never loosened. "I'm not playing, John."
John's fear turned to fury. He thrashed beneath her, trying to free himself from her hold. "You bitch! Get off me," he screamed.
Jenny's eyes remained focused, her breathing steady. "I will when I'm good and ready and not a second before," she said firmly.
John's adrenaline surged, and he managed to wrench one arm free. He swung it at her with all his strength, his fist connecting with her cheek. She grunted but didn't move. Instead, she grabbed his arm again and bent it back, applying more pressure until he yelped.
John was now terror-stricken. He was in over his head. "Jenny, stop! You're going to break my arm!" His voice was desperate now, all his earlier bravado gone.
But Jenny's expression remained unchanged. "I think I need to teach you a lesson you'll remember," she said in a composed yet threatening voice. "You don't put your hands on me, or anyone else, unless they allow you to or you're willing to accept the consequences."
John's eyes flashed with anger and as he struggled unsuccessfully to get out from under her grip with new found confidence replied. "Oh, stop being a prude. And just because you know some self-defense moves doesn't mean you're anything special," he jeered, trying to push her off. "You think you're so tough?"
Jenny in a serious tone shot back, "I'm just not getting through to you, am I. Well there's other ways to make my point," she shouted. She made sure his arms were completely immobilized in a way that allowed one of her arms to be free. She made quick work of unbuckling his belt and pulling down his pants zipper.
This made the older and bigger man turn a dark shade of crimson and wiggle around even more aggressively in a determined effort to get away but to no avail. As he did this he said in an increasingly panicking voice and short of breath, "What are you doing? Stop that."
Jenny simply replied, "You'll see soon enough."
With his pants undone she next with surprising ease flipped him onto his stomach. He gasped as the air was pushed out of his lungs and his face slammed into the cold, hard floor. The world spun for a moment before everything went still. He felt her knee press into the small of his back, keeping him pinned and giving her leverage for her next action. His arms were wrenched behind him, and she secured them with a move so swift they were rendered useless even before he realized what she was doing.