Part 16 Loyalty Test
The next day I received word that Susan returned and for me to bring Isabella in for her training. I wanted to meet with Susan before she began because I knew what was coming, the loyalty test. That afternoon I drove to the tech college and walked into her office.
"How are you today, Susan?" I asked, "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
She looked up, but sat there for a few moments without speaking. When she finally did, she said, "Rich, it's taken me this long to trust myself in the same room with you. I haven't sat down with you since Penny was recovering from Miguel. You did not do your job and protect my daughter, and when I found out the extent of what he did, I wanted to kill you. Roger had to calm me down, and to be honest, I'm still upset. I know you're young, but I don't feel you're taking your responsibilities seriously."
What could I say? She was correct. I was stumbling through and putting everyone around me in danger. Since the incident, I started making our house more secure. I was attempting to turn our house into a fortress. I could protect everyone at home, but what I couldn't fully control were our lives outside the house. I could only monitor the women and try to anticipate any problems before they arose. I would not to let what happened to Penny happen again.
Susan continued, "Rich, I've known you for a long time and consider you part of our family. We will get past this, and I'm sure you'll improve. I'll continue my self-defense lessons with the women, and Julie is progressing in her training. Use her when you need, she's becoming quite proficient. She's not ready for a mission, but she could act as a bodyguard. We've trained her well; you can trust her."
Susan stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts, then said, "As for you, please, get your head out of your ass. I understand why you spared Miguel, but I still wouldn't have done it. People respect us because of our lethality. When people hurt us and we let them live, it sends the wrong message. I just returned from retiring a few people who thought they could take our assets, so the next person will think twice before doing that. The club and the Mayans have a beneficial alliance because you spared Miguel, but do not think that justifies letting him live. The next time, don't make the same mistake."
I didn't know she was back with the Black Widows, but with her kids grown, there was nothing standing in her way.
I was sure she was correct about letting Miguel live. I had not reached the point in my life where that lesson hit home, and I still thought there were alternatives to just retiring someone. I could not argue with her reasons; they were solid. What I didn't want was to argue morals with Susan and just let the topic fall.
Susan asked, "What brings you here today Rich?"
"Isabella's loyalty test," I responded. "Is that necessary? She has shown no signs of disloyalty since our marriage, and I wanted to know if there was another way to test her."
Susan looked down and shook her head, then answered, "Rich, this is exactly what I was getting at before. You are a nice guy, maybe too nice. I don't know if you have it in you to make the hard decisions this life demands. This test, while not perfect, is the best we have to weed out any potential risks before we bring these women into the club and give them access."
"And yes, it's necessary." Susan remarked, "She is the daughter of the Mayan's leader, and if I wanted to infiltrate another organization, I would set up a scenario like your marriage; it's perfect. Isabella is now a member of the club, trusted with our secrets, and she lives with Beth, the woman who oversees our entire organization's financials. Do not think that fact escaped John and the rest of us, and we're watching her closely. That mistake she made as a translator raised eyebrows as well. It may have been an honest mistake, but given the circumstances, we're even more suspicious. John only approved the marriage because of the alliance, and Thomas wouldn't agree unless the marriage was in place."
"No one told me the club suspected Isabella of being a spy," I answered.
Susan explained, "Not so much suspect, but we're not convinced of her loyalty; that's why this test is necessary. I need to get her written evaluation completed and see her under duress to know where her loyalties lie. We didn't tell you about our questions regarding Isabella because we didn't want you to tip her off. I'm taking a chance telling you now."
I thought about it for a minute. I knew Susan was right, but I still didn't like it. I would have to sit through her test, watching her take abuse for hours. I saw nothing that would convince me Isabella was anything but genuine. However, I had to admit that I was inexperienced and wouldn't know a spy if she were standing in front of me. I had no choice but to trust Susan and let everything continue.
Susan told me to bring Bella by tomorrow morning to begin her training, and the next day she would schedule her loyalty test. I said my goodbyes and left. Susan didn't hug me like she normally did and still appeared cold. It would take time for Susan to forgive me for failing to protect Penny, but that was fine. It would take time for me to forgive myself.
After the family conversation a few days ago, I began spending more time with the women. Nicole didn't want me to micromanage her life, so anything that was unnecessary for me to supervise, she decided. She started wearing clothes to work that were more appropriate for someone working in a lab, mostly pants and conservative shirts. I knocked myself for being so stupid and making her dress like I had. I took her advice and initiated sex more often. It wasn't every day, but I was aiming for a few times a week at least; that made her happy. I was trying to figure out how to fulfill her request for a night with multiple men.
I paid much more attention to Beth after our talk. Either the night before or in the morning, I would help her choose her clothes for the day. Mostly she told me what she wanted to wear, and I went along with it. It was symbolic and meant more that I was interested enough in her to take the time. A few days a week I would spend at Santana. She would tell me what she was working on, what her plans were, and let me know of any issues she noticed. Again, this was mostly to spend time with her, as I wasn't about to overrule any of her business decisions.
Beth would let me know her schedule and where she planned to go. I ended up approving everything she scheduled, and like her clothes and her work, it was more to do with the attention she received from me. She was soaking up the one-on-on attention and seemed much happier when I was around.
I made it a point to have her in my office in the evenings to give me a report of her day. Beth told me every mistake she made, wanting me to punish her. I thought back to her reaction, getting chewed out by her supervisor at Santana and her reaction to it. She was aiming for humiliation. I always played it up, telling her I was disappointed, and that she needed to improve to make me proud of her. I followed it up with a punishment, sometimes a spanking, other times just corner time. She always looked contrite during the punishment, but was happy for the rest of the night.
It also excited her when the men at work rubbed against her or touched her legs or ass. She got off on the harassment, often telling me during sex what someone had done during that day. It would excite her all day thinking about coming home and telling me. I became an integral part of her humiliation, but as the person she shared it with, not the one humiliating her. I wondered how long it would take until she came home and told me someone had sex with her. I knew it was inevitable.
I had a long conversation with Penny and Julie about their desire for me to control them more. They called it pet play, but it was more about the control than anything else. Julie told me they were happy with what we were doing, but just wanted more of it. They would greet Isabella and I when we arrived at home and wouldn't leave our side for the rest of evening. They were content sitting on the floor next to us and really enjoyed it when we would use them, either sexually or sent them on errands for us. I discovered it wasn't only about sex; they wanted to serve us.
Julie wanted me to be more dominant. She told me to tie her up, spank and whip her when I wanted, and be rough when I had sex with her. The less control she felt she had, the more she enjoyed it. Penny told me bondage was fine, but she didn't like it as much as Julie. Both agreed the attention they received is what drove them the most. They told me it didn't have to be with me, and they asked if I could find others that they could play with, men or women. Groups were fine with them, like Nicole, but they always wanted to be together.
The next day I drove Isabella to the technical college for her personality and other written tests. At dinner that night she told me all about it, and everyone compared notes. The conversation worked around to Isabella's parents. She told me that her mother wanted to come by to meet everyone. That sounded good, but I wondered just how much Isabella's mother knew.
I asked her, "Does your mother know that you live with four other women, or that we're all intimately involved?"
"Yes, she does." Isabella answered, "I tell her everything, and she knows we all have sex and that you consider all the women as your wives.
