TWENTY-TWO: It Is My Purple Corset

By the time Nora wakes up the next day, David has already left. He barely got any sleep, tossing and turning over everything that happened in the last fourty-eight hours.

Kissing his secretary, kissing his submissive. The two things that he should never have done, and he did them both in the same fucking day.

Nora, he understands why he’s did it. But at The Red Room… he can’t place the reason. He can’t quite put it into words yet. Something in his body acted before his brain could stop it.

So he’s headed to the office early, with the intention that he will try and get something done by the time she gets there, and so he can try and work out what he is supposed to say to her.

~

He called The Red Room and cancelled his session for that night. Sel told me straight after he spoke to her.

I can’t say that I’m surprised to be honest.

Sel doesn’t mention the kiss. I’m expecting her to, seeing as she would have been on the cameras, but she never says a word. Her voice sounds different though. Softer. Concerned. She obviously knows that ‘Nora’ has kissed David just before ‘Mistress/Doll’ kissed David, so maybe she is letting me process it all in my own time.

It is proving very difficult to work out what I’m supposed to do about it all. By the time I arrive at the office, I genuinely have no idea how to handle it. Marcus asked me a couple of questions on the way, trying to make conversation, but all I can do is give him one word answers.

I go into my office chewing my lip, put down my bag, and just try to focus on my tasks for the day.

At 11am, my phone rings.

“Reid Global.” I answer robotically.

“Nora, come over for a minute.” Comes David’s voice on the other end. My heart immediately gets faster. “Nora?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll be right there.” I stutter back, placing the phone back on the receiver, and just staring at it for a second.

Well, I think, here we go.

I walk slowly out of my office, and to his. I knock, and walk in without waiting for his response.

“You don’t need to start knocking.” He says bluntly as he throws down the piece of paper he is holding onto the desk behind him. He’s standing in front of his desk, leaning against it, and he folds his arms over his chest as he looks at me.

“Sorry.” I reply, walking towards him. “How can I help, Mr. Reid?”

He raises one eyebrow at my question. Stares at me. Scrutinises me.

“You can stop calling me Mr. Reid, for a start.” He finally answers. I nod, looking at the floor. “I want to say sorry.”

I whip my head back up to him.

“I… what?”

“I’m sorry. For the other night. For what happened here in the office.” He pauses to take a breath. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

I just blink at him, not understanding why he is apologising one bit, but thinking it has something to do with last night.

“There’s been a lot going on.” He continues, walking round his desk to his chair, and sitting down in it. “With you almost being taken. Moving in with me. It blurred the lines, and I overstepped.”

“I… don’t understand.” I frown. “Did you… are you saying you shouldn’t have kissed me?”

“Yes.” He says, but there is a bite in his voice.

“But you wanted to?”

He leans his elbow on the arm on the chair, and runs his finger over his bottom lip as he stares at me.

“That doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have done it either way. I’m your boss. You work for me.” He explains. “I can’t let you move back to your place until I’ve caught Trent’s boss, but I can promise that I won’t put you in that position again. So we shouldn’t let it affect our jobs.”

He is being pragmatic. Detached. But not really going into why it happened.

Well, if he’s being that way, then I will be too.

“Whatever you say, sir.” I reply.

He blinks a couple of times, then nods.

“Good. That’ll be all.” He says, gesturing to the door, which I gracefully walk over to, and leave.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A week goes past without either of us bringing up the kiss again. A week also goes by where David doesn’t attend The Red Room. Before all of this, I would have been relieved. I would have caught up with the other clients that I’ve fobbed off, but Sel has found them all replacements by now, except for a couple, so I don’t exactly get to fill up my schedule for my return as Mistress. Seeing as they are the ones being dominated, I don’t have to set aside a whole night for them, like I do with David, because it isn’t as exhausting.

That means that I now only have one night of evening work a week, and I am just getting bored senseless the other six.

At the office, I become the epitome of a diligent, hard working secretary. My relationship with David is different, completely different than before, much more superficial and professional.

I have, however, gotten quite close to Marcus, who is now accompanying me to and from work each day, as David always leaves without me early in the morning, and always comes home way too late in the evening. Marcus has asked about ‘my friend, Sel’ a couple of times, simply saying that she doesn’t come round as often anymore, and that it is a shame, and when I tell Sel about this, she just blushes and changes the subject.

Definitely something going on there, I think.

One evening, I throw myself on my bed at 3am, exhausted from being in charge for hours at the club. My body feels like mush, and so does my brain. Like I’ve used up my mental energy, but my body is missing my usual fatigue that I feel with him.

Glancing at the door to make sure it’s shut, I keep my body on the bed while trying to wrangle my coat off, chucking it to the floor. Then I roll onto my back, and start unclipping the front of my corset, breathing deeply once it finally releases my ribs. I push it off the bed, using my feet to kick it vaguely under the bed. The rest of my evening outfits have stayed in my suitcase, which I keep under the bed.

I’ll put it away tomorrow.

I decide to just crawl into bed in my current state, naked apart from underwear, and wrap the duvet around me, falling to sleep in seconds.

The next day at the office is unremarkable. David and I are now acting normal-ish, considering we spend 24/7 together. I’m missing the banter we used to have, and am very much missing the flirty side I’ve become accustomed to lately, but at least we are now speaking to each other.

The day is busy, meetings, sign offs, calls coming through to my phone, too fast for me to deal with.

At one point, David pops into my office to say he needs to run home to oversee the security company installing some new cameras, and instructs me to take messages for him until he’s back. I point out that I never transfer a call directly to him anyway, and he smiles to himself as he closes my door.

~

As he lets the security company into the apartment, after Marcus and Theo have thoroughly checked their IDs and run their details through the system, David starts directing them to where the current cameras are, and the areas that are currently not covered.

He heads to Nora’s room, opening the door and flicking the light on. He had cleared it with her earlier this week, and she agreed to one camera, with none in the bathroom, after much negotiation. She also got him to agree that she can have a control to turn it off at will, because she still needs some privacy.

About to step in, and about to tell the guy where the camera will have the best view, he freezes when he sees something sticking out from under the bed.

“Just…give me a second.” David says to the guy, who nods and heads off to help one of the others. David steps into the room, closing the door behind him. Then he walks over to the bed, bending down, and reaching to pick up the item that caught his eye.

It is a purple corset.

He feels his veins flood with heat as he realises where he knows this corset from. He has spent 15 hours a week staring at it.

Then his brain clicks it all into place.

Licking his bottom lip, then clenching his teeth together, he carefully puts it back exactly where he found it. He stands as he starts feeling angry, and he leaves her room, telling the security guys that a camera isn’t needed in there.

~

He doesn’t return to the office that afternoon, which wouldn’t be too abnormal, except for the fact that he doesn’t let me know. I have to call him and ask where he is, and he replies in a very gruff manner that he is staying home and hangs up on me.

Rolling my eyes, and not having the energy to deal with a stubborn CEO, I finish the day by myself. I chat a little with Marcus as I head home, and when I get in the door, I dump my bag and shoes by the coat rack. I roll my neck as I walk through the hallway, looking into the kitchen as I pass it, but seeing it empty.

As I reach the lounge, I spot David sitting on the sofa, staring ahead, drinking a glass of whiskey.

“Umm… hi?” I say cautiously as I look between him and the TV that he is staring at. The TV that isn’t even turned on.

He doesn’t turn to look at me. He just takes another sip.

“Everything okay?” I ask as I take a step towards him.

He reaches beside him, and then throws something in my direction. It slides along the floor and lands at my feet.

My heart skips when I see it is my purple corset.