It did not take long before my efforts to install Winifred Rogers as the Director of Eastfield Girls' Academy started paying dividends. After the two girls who had written on Diana's body with permanent marker failed to scrub their artwork off of her (which was an impossible task), Winifred agreed with me that the only solution to the problem would be for the two girls to be processed as slaves. A short time later, three of their friends arrived at the shop to try and find out what had happened to their classmates. At first, they tried to be discrete, quietly looking from cage to cage on the sales floor to see if they could find their friends. Of course, they did not find them, because they were still in the back being processed.
Eventually, they approached the slave I had working at the counter to ask her what had become of their friends. The slave buzzed me, and I went out to talk to the girls.
"Your friends," I told them, "broke Academy rules, as well as those of this shop, and are being processed as slaves. If you ever see them again -- and you probably won't -- they will be nude, and they will have barcodes on their bums."
"That is so unfair!" exclaimed one of the girls. Her mates muttered agreement.
"Perhaps, but that is where matters stand," I replied.
"By the way," I said, sounding as if this was an afterthought, "aren't you missing your lessons?"
One of the girls said, "yeah, what of it? Finding our friends is more important." The other girls expressed their approval of this.
"We shall have to see what your Director says about this. While we wait," I activated the intercom on the counter, "Betty and Maxine, to the front counter."
Betty and Maxine arrived quickly, and stood behind the girls.
"Take these girls' clothes, and put them in Observation Cell #5."
It was amazing to watch them work. Betty performed a flawless leg sweep and tripped and knocked down two of the girls suddenly and without warning, while Maxine made easy work of the third. All three girls had their wrists and ankles secured using zip ties, and Betty and Maxine went to work with disrobing knives, tearing their clothes at the seams. Only after the girls were safely in the observation cell were the restraints removed.
After school, Winifred stopped by the shop in person to sign the enslavement papers for the girls. She didn't need to do that in person, but I think she enjoyed the thrill of personally sentencing her girls to a lifetime of servitude.
"Congratulations on winning Diana in the auction," I said, making small talk after she signed.
"It was nothing," said Winifred, "the Governors were happy to allocate the funds after I explained what a boost it would be for the students. Now, the girls get to see their former Director every day, naked, and cleaning gum from underneath desks or scrubbing toilets."
"Has Tiffany given you any trouble?" I asked. Tiffany had been the Deputy Direcor, and after Diana became a slave Tiffany had been the leading candidate to replace her. The job was ultimately given to Winifred.
"She is giving me no trouble at all," said Winifred. "I thought she might be a problem, as she has tenure, which entitles her to a lifetime employment contract, but I examined the terms of her contract and found it does not specify what her position will be. So I removed her from her teaching position and made her my personal assistant. Now she brings me coffee, runs errands, paints my toe-nails -- whatever I require."
"Most important,"she continued, "her contract has a standard enslavement clause, so if she does not fulfill her duties to my expectations, I will simply send her to you. I do not think that will be necessary though, as she is not keen to end up in one of your cages."
"It sounds like you have things well in hand," I said, standing up to shake her hand. "Next week?"
"We have an assembly this Thursday afternoon, and there are always a few girls who use those occasions as a way to cut school, so I will most likely see you before then," replied Winifred.
"As you know," I said, "you are welcome any time. I will walk you out."
As Winifred and I were walking through the sales floor toward the front door of the shop, one of my slaves came running up to us.
"Mistress, mistress...." she repeated frantically.
"Slow down," I said. "What is it?"
She took a moment to catch her breath, and then remembered to curtsey.
"Mistress," she said again, "you have a phone call. It's John Chambers."
"I will take it in my office," I said, whereupon I made my way to my desk.
Legally, women were not allowed to own their own businesses, which made John Chambers an essential part of the continued existence of my shop. He was a "straw man" -- a silent partner who, on paper, was the managing partner, but who in reality had no interest whatsoever in participating in the business. He did this for me, and probably dozens of other women who ran their own businesses, in exchange for 15% of my profits.
John Chambers lived in a manor house in the Scottish highlands with an army of slave girls who catered to his every need and desire, while he sat back and collected the fruits of my labor, and that of other female business owners. He did not bother actually involving himself in any of them, which made him the perfect straw partner for my purposes. It also made it surprising that he should call.
"Tracey Smith speaking," I said formally on the phone.
"Hey Tracey, John Chambers here. Listen, we have a problem."
"I am sorry to hear that sir," I said. "How can I be of service to you?"
"I got a call from Ben Howlett today, and he was right shirty at me about some runaway slavegirl of his he says I have stashed away at your shop. Now, he's the kind of trouble I don't need, and it's you who's supposed to take care of business. You aren't trading in stolen slavegirls are you?"
Ben Howlett was the Minister for Female Affairs, and the last thing I wanted was any attention from him.
"Yes sir," I replied, "I will take care of it. Did Mr. Howlett give you this slave's name?"
"Something like Jenny or Genna, something like that. I don't remember. Just get him off my back before I have to find some other bitch to run the place."