I stopped them as they started down the hall.
"I have to do administrative shit," I said.
"Just remember, you lost the bet," she said.
I just grinned and then said to Tiffany, "you be a good girl now, y'hear."
When she didn't answer I saw Mrs. O'Neil's hand twitch and Tiffany screamed.
She was bent almost double, her scream reduced to an almost soundless whistle.
When Mrs. O'Neil moved her finger again, well, her thumb actually, the screaming stopped and Tiffany was gasping for air when Mrs. O'Neil grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up so their eyes met.
"You respond when a man addresses you," she said and slapped her hard across the face.
"The proper response is, 'yes sir,'" she went on, "Do you understand?"
"Yes," Tiffany managed and Mrs. O'Neil slapped her again, this time a backhand on the other cheek.
"No, you ignorant cunt," she snapped, "the proper response to ME is 'yes, ma'am.'"
"Yes, ma'am," Tiffany said, trying to cringe away but held by the fingers twisted in her hair.
"Good girl," Mrs. O'Neil said and pushed the button that had Tiffany crying out again, but this time gasping her pleasure.
I just chuckled and headed for the office.
I was doing the administrative shit that I absolutely hate when Mrs. Ferguson, my secretary/assistant/office manager/Queen of All She Surveys walked in and said, "don't forget, you have a mid-term exam scheduled for noon.
"Thank you, ma'am," I said, finishing the report I was working on, yes, I have a Board of Directors I answer to, and headed down to the Examination House.
Well, first I checked the file. With 36 in residence, I have some trouble with names.
Our campus is pretty big. Greg and I had financed the failed dude ranch through a prospectus that was accurate except for, well, our unique methods. But we had letters of commitment from potential clients that would keep the place full for the first year and that made our investors happy.
The place had been pretty run down and we had invested six months and one hell of a lot of that sweat equity you read about getting it ready. But now it included eight buildings, all fully functional. The place I was headed to now was, to anyone seeing a picture of it, a simple tract house straight out of any Realtor's multi-list system.
As my foot hit the step onto the tiny front porch the door opened.
The girl with the delightfully biblical name Ruth stood in the door, fresh from the set of the
Donna Reed Show
. Her hair, red although I was sure it was at least assisted by chemicals, was a perfect halo, framing her face. Her face, in turn, was perfectly made up. She wasn't a particularly pretty woman, but she was damn sure making the most of what she had. From her perfectly arched eyebrows to her tasteful diamond stud earrings to her scarlet lipsticked cupid-bow mouth, she looked like a perfect, well-trained wife.
Her smile was perfect, full of love and desire, and her voice was properly modulated as she handed me the drink in her hand, a screwdriver if you care.
"You look so tired," she said, both hands lightly on my free arm, "come, sit, let me massage your shoulders."
"That would be nice, dear," I said, using one of the trigger phrases we planted in each of our girls.