We awoke with the sun shining brightly through her large picture window overlooking the perfectly manicured lawn. Once she was fully awake, she lifted her head up, looking at me. "Did any of that really happen last night? I felt like one of my many fantasies had been fulfilled."
"Absolutely, how do you feel?'
"On one hand, I feel like a limp dishrag that has been thoroughly used and discarded. On the other hand, I feel more alive than I have in years. I don't think I should be doing this anymore." She just sat there looking at me.
"Sharon, we have already been through this. In this room, I am the boss. You will do what you are told. Outside of this room, nothing will change. This is your world, and I am a masseuse. No one will ever know what we do here. Understand?" You could see the battle between her rational brain and her emotions. She wanted this so badly, but she couldn't bring herself to give everything over to me. I had to help her by trying to separate the other areas from this room. I had to convince her I wasn't interested in running her life outside this room. "I couldn't run your business if I tried. If you started behaving differently outside this room, your entire world would know something was wrong. Alarm bells would go off and we all would have a problem. I want to help you relax, that is it." She shifted on the bed and looked down. She is fighting one of the last battles with herself.
"Ok, I will agree to your terms in this room." And that was that. I just needed to reinforce this until it was set in stone.
"Good, you won't regret it. I'll get out of your hair. Oh, one last thing. Could you have Rhonda, your nurse and the accountant see me for a minute?" I could see the alarm in her eyes. No,no, nothing to do with your business. It's just that I want to tell them to help you in the days ahead. You know and I know that until we get this routine down, we all need to pull together. Feel free to ask them what we talked about if it makes you feel any better." And I was off.
I went back to my room and waited for everyone to come by. I wanted to see how long it took for her to get them to see me. I didn't have to wait long. Rhonda came by shortly after she had gone in to see Sharon. "How did it go?"
"I thought it went well. How did she look?"
"A little unsteady, but not on edge. In fact, she looked more relaxed than I have seen her in a while."
"That is why I wanted to talk to you about her. This is her new normal, but we can't have her give the game away until she is surer on her feet. Please help her with the staff and her employees to make sure everything is the same with them. We can modify her behavior with them later. That is why I asked for Mary to see me also. She can help at the office. Once she is on this path for good, I am going to bring us all together so we can stop slinking around and enjoy each other in the open."
"I'm sure what you are talking about, but I will help her anyway I can." Rhonda left. I was going to have to talk to Sally about her. We had not made the same arrangement with her that Sally, Mary, and I had made. We were going to have to work something out with her. When Sally came in, I reviewed the same things with her.
"I'm sure I can handle Rhonda." Sally wasn't worried. "It may not be the official agreement we made, but she will do what I ask her to do. We can just call it something else."
"Good, I will leave her to your soft hands." I kissed her hand, and she went back to work.
Now I needed to see Mary. She didn't come around for a couple of days, but I didn't expect anything different. She walked into my room in the nicest executive suit I had ever seen. "Look at you, the big executive. Will you still have time for your old flame?"
"Don't make fun of me. I could never forget you." She seemed a little put off.
"Mary, I am kidding. But look at yourself. Look at where you are. You did this yourself. I didn't do anything. I am so proud of you. You will do very well in this job and Sharon is very lucky to have you." Mary smiled and blushed.
"Thanks, Thomas. We have come so far in a few months. I would be happy if it stayed just this way forever."
"I promise you; I will not mess this up, ok? I just want you to look out for Sharon at the office. Until she is sure on her feet in both her worlds, we don't want her to give it away."
Mary saluted me, "No worries, chief. I'm on it." She turned and left.
My phone rang, and it was Rhonda telling me Sharon wanted to see me. I went through the prep room and walked right into her office.
She looked startled, "Why didn't you wait for me to call you?"
"Because I knew you were alone, and on this side of the house, we are more relaxed now. Does this make you uncomfortable?"
"It will take some getting used to."
"Tell you what. I will wait for you to clear me into this room if it will make you more comfortable. Is that okay?"