Diana was ready to be spat in the face, stripped clean and whipped in the street.
She prided herself on being punctual, especially for things that really mattered. But for the first time in her 38 years of life, she was late, and terribly so--by a whole three weeks.
Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.
She stood a foot away from the front desk, her two leather valises sinking in both hands, which she had lifted off ground, ready to set out as the receptionist put together all the papers she had just signed in a stack. He was an imposing man: black, clean-shaved, and looked not half bad.
So far he hadn't blamed her for the late arrival. In fact, he hadn't spoken any more word than necessary. A soft-spoken giant.
She watched him clip her papers together. That was a lot of NDAs. She waived this right, agreed to that rule, and promised to shut her mouth about such and such, none of which she bothered reading too closely.
Sign here, here, and here:
Diana Elizabeth Wilson.
Diana Elizabeth Wilson..
Diana Elizabeth Wilson...
By the end of the spree, she had nearly forgot how to write her name properly.
Diana recalled her time at the boarding school, where the supervisor ordered her to write her name 500 times as a punishment for wetting her bed, a mishap labeled as 'egregious' due to her being already 13 at the time. The fact that she was bullied as the new girl mattered little.
She still saw the meaty cheeks of that grumpy old woman, how her slow-parting lips revealing two rows of deformed yellow teeth, pointing to all the wrong places.
How dare you, girl! How dare you!
Her bedwetting was eventually cured, though not without crippling her self assurance. Since then Diana had acquired bit of a hunch. Her husband was half-correct in diagnosing it as an unconscious body language caused by her subsequent development of large tits.
Diana laid down her valise to scratch her left arm, and immediately picked it up again. She glimpsed over her shoulder: not many guests in the lobby. Behind the piano a paid performer in bow tie was playing blues.
Better try apologizing again, Diana thought, to clear any bad air. For some reason she had made up her mind to please this man. His double-breasted suit was made of velvet and paired with a broad scarlet tie. A big gold watch on his thick dark wrist. She wished for those pairs of hands to be on her, fiddling her strings until they are in the right tune.
But when her thoughts got ahead of her Diana started to stutter, another childhood habit she never fully overcame, unlike the bedwetting:
"So-so-sorry again, for being s-s-so late."
She immediately regretted it. The receptionist looked at her and raised his hand as if to make a vow, or to stop an adolescent from cracking another crass joke.
"Stop blaming yourself, Mrs. Wilson. I understand."
So he understood! A glow came to Diana's eyes. She thrived on the smallest bit of approval from strangers, like pigeons on the sandwich crumb. And they were having a real conversation! She must follow up. Her lips started moving. Before she knew a train of passionate nonsense was coming out of her mouth, creaking and puffing steams:
"...life is such an endless chore - of course you know. You understand! Nothing pleases me. Everything has to be right! Getting the children right, the right flowers in the garden, the right detergent for the laundry, the right type of m-m-meals..."
She began to hyperventilating. He checked her with another look into her meek blue eyes.
"Soon it won't be. Soon, you won't need to face any hard choices."
A faint smile and he went back to his business.
No need to face hard choices. Her throat moved slightly as she swallowed. That doesn't sound half bad.
Diana watched him open a leather file folder. In went her driver's license, passport, insurance card, everything else that no longer mattered for the next few years. He bound the string around the seal several times and hid the folder below his desk.
"Follow me this way, Mrs. Wilson."
Diana caught up to him in small brisk steps. She was a little shocked that he didn't offer to carry her bags. They went to an elevator in the back of the lobby, a behemoth freight elevator reserved for hotel employees only. He inserted a small bronze key and the mouth of the beast slowly pulled open.
Years later she still recalled the moment when a realization struck her, watching the receptionist pressing the button, that her life had gone off track forever, a free fall into eternal bliss. The car started to ascend. There was no going back.
"How did you get here, if you don't mind me ask?" The walls were mirror-like; he was examining her in the reflection.
"Cab." She lied. She left her car on a random street, doors unlocked with the key thrown on the seat. She also left her ring on top of the dashboard.
"Wise choice. Some let their family drive them here, and they make a scene and disturb the other guests."
Oh, her family would surely make a scene, she mused. They'd rise hell, if they knew what she got herself into. Her husband's brother would drown her in the nearest toilet than letting a black man touch her.
Bing! The elevator announced in a joyful young woman's voice that they had arrived at the floor. But the door did not open. He didn't push the door button.
Is something wrong? She threw him a quickest glance.
"You can put down your things now, Mrs. Wilson. They look heavy."
Diana laid them down and wondered what this meant. She almost said thank you.
"Now, you will do well to start taking your clothes off."
"E-excuse me?"
"You know why you are here, Mrs. Wilson. Stop acting like a child."
A flush came upon her face. 'Excuse me.' Such a knee-jerk reaction, a nasty habit, to question and second-guess things. Yes, she knew perfectly why she's here. It's just that no one had spoken to her like that for a long time. Plus she wouldn't have guessed her training to start so early.
Diana attempted to clear her throat, then began to undress.
Though she had fantasized about this forever, undressing in front of a stranger was hard. Every other inch of her exposed skin made her more frantic, like a kitten trapped in a bag of dirty laundry.
"Keep going please. We don't have all day." He raised his wrist to check his watch while she worked at her bras.
She was stopped when only the white garter belt was left on her, keeping the stockings up her thighs. Then he asked her to take those dull short boots off her feet. In the mirror Diana was mortified to find her slight hunch much more obvious with her clothes off.
"Put your hands away. Don't try to hide yourself." He moved closer, his breathing ruffling her cowlick on the forehead.
He was right. Her hands were shielding her genitals with herself realizing. Diana hurried to put them behind her back. Now her shoulders tensed, and her chest held out. Between her thighs her strawberry blonde hair had grown out too long, as if she's clutching a ball of straw down there. She lowered her head.
"You will need to start shaving regularly," the receptionist remarked. "Now pull your knees apart."
Diana parted her thighs. All her life's struggle trying to be proper and lady-like blew to dusts in that brazen instant. She felt like a fridge left wide open on a hot day and all the contents inside spoiling away.
How dare you, girl. How dare you.
Then she felt his hand like a giant spider behind her hips, pushing her forward. She almost lost balance and fell back, but was caught right in his chest.
"Look at yourself." His hand gently cupped around Diana's soft tit. "You look marvelous, Mrs. Wilson. One of the best looking students we have this fall."
Did he say this to every woman who came here? For she looked despicable, all her pale flesh put on display like a piece of cheap white loaf. If there's a noose she'd hang herself right now. This shame was just too much.
Diana started to cry.
He bent down to kiss her neck; it tickled, and in the great confusion resulted she almost giggled in her tears. He bit her burning hot earlobe.
"You need to get used to seeing yourself."
She nodded, still sobbing.
"Good. Are you ready?"
"Yes." For what? Everything, she thought. Everything.
"From now on you need to address me as sir every time. That is the rule, and no one is above it."
"Yes sir." She felt like a girl scout on her first expedition. He gave her a smile of approval and pushed the door button. They stepped outside. The place had red walls and long hallways.
"This way. After you, Mrs. Wilson."
"But my things..." She looked back at the forlorn figures on the elevator floor that were her two suitcases and a pile of clothes.
"You will get new things to wear. All will be provided to you during your entire stay."
"But..."
The receptionist's brows furrowed. For the first time Diana saw the man displeased, and it was terrifying.
"You need to start learning how to let go, girl. It's pivotal to your success in the program."