Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Struggle for Power (Sumi & Alan23)

There are, in life, certain events that happen with no conscious plan. That seem to grow naturally, organically out of what has gone before. The law of cause and effect takes over from free will, and the plans of humans vanish in a puff of sweet-scented smoke.

Jak had planned only to sooth Iris with his kisses, reassure her, take away her agitation. Telling her he loved her had not been part of the plan, and, truly, he hadn't expected her to reciprocate. The problem was that it wasn't just the closeness of her body, the feel of her breasts pushing against his shirt, that was causing him to become aroused. That alone he might have resisted.

The problem was that the more she obviously needed him, the... well, the needier she became. He remembered the post-hypnotic suggestion he'd given her, that the hornier she became, the more submissive she'd be to him. Now, paradoxically, he was regretting it. He'd have preferred this need to be natural, and not because he'd dialed it up as if she were a robot. He was forced to admit that he preferred iris as a lover - not a slave.

But it was too late now. Her blush, her breathy words, her trembling - sure, some of it could be natural. After all, she was hardly an experienced lover, the shyness of her kisses told him that. She was scared, scared of letting go, and desperate to hold him at the same time. The conflict within her was obvious.

But all these considerations were of intellectual import only. Jak's hands, as well as other parts of him, had their own agenda. Without planning he found them moving to her breasts, kneading them lovingly, yet in such a way that maintained his total dominance and control over her. He tweaked her nipples, feeling the small, already hard little bumps turning into ramrods under his ministrations. Soon, his hands were creeping to the zipper at the rear of her dress, undoing it, preparatory to letting it drop on the floor. Iris seemed in no mood to resist. In fact, her face seemed to have taken on the appearance of a trance, as she eagerly returned his kisses. He slid the zipper downwards the entire length, feeling her brief panties underneath - no Spanx today, he remembered - running his hands over her naked back, feeling her shiver and writhe under his touch. There was no going back now. Any second he would -

"Ms Augustine? The - oops!"

Not Alice - that would have been too much of a coincidence. It was Harry Krantz, one of the clerks. Through the corner of his eye as he and Iris hastily sprung apart, Jak saw a small printout clutched in Harry's hand in the brief second before he made his hasty exit. Some urgent message, no doubt. Jak didn't know whether to be angry or sorry for the interruption!

The door shut with an embarrassed click.
 
It was needless to say that Iris had lost her own will to the post-hypnotic suggestion somewhere in the middle of it, due to the unavoidable arousal caused by the closeness of their bodies and the warm and passionate kiss they shared. Though, what he didn't know was that she did keep her 'conscious' for a good while, mostly probably because she was too focused on the matter on whether to trust him or not. A mere distraction of thoughts that delayed the inevitable. Thus, whether he was aware of it or not, she did meant those words, her reply to his not so official confession. If she would still admit those words later on or not, it would only depend on the way the events went on.

At any rate, once the hypnosis kicked into her system, she was truly mindless. She didn't care if he was acting it or not, she just wanted his whole attention, to feel every inch of him, to be assured that he would not let go of her. Her very gray eyes held now some sort of warmth, though, not of the innocent kind. She craved him to the point where she'd beg for his undivided interest, and the dust colored orbs staring up at him silently pleaded for more.

It was only when his hands found her breasts that she let out a gasp, eyes averting down to see them carefully squeezing her mounds and paying them the attention they supposedly deserved. However, when his fingers reached her breasts' buds she could barely hold in the sighs of pleasure, eyes fluttering open and hands clutching his arms. The moment she noticed he was planning on taking off her dress, she didn't even murmur a single protest. Instead, she eagerly waited for him to pull down the zipper, trembling at the feel of his digits running down her bare back. Oh, she could barely refrain from acting by her own! But something inside her mind stopped her from doing anything that she wasn't told to do, as if she could only do as she pleased if only he gave her the permission.

And then just at the best part, she heard a voice and the next thing she knew, Jak moved away from her. Given that she was still under the hypnosis, she couldn't comprehend why would he do that, even if in reality, she would have realized that the Harry wouldn't show up in her office without a knock at the door at least, meaning it was a pretty much important matter. But, at the moment, she didn't care about anything else, but him.

As soon as the door was shut, Iris returned her attention to Jak. Not that she ever forgot about him for a moment. Stepping towards him to cut down the distance once again, she clutched his shirt, gray eyes looking up at him with a pleading subtle message that begged him to continue. Unless he did something about it, Iris wasn't going to let him neglect her.
 
It says something for Jak's confidence (and state of arousal) that despite the interruption, he was able to continue as if it hadn't happened. He looked into her gorgeous gray eyes, which were no longer shut - instead, they looked up at him, pleadingly, desperately, reminding him that he was in total control of the situation, that if he chose to walk away now she'd go down on her knees, pleading, crying, begging him to stay. And yet, breaking off now was the very last thing he wanted.

He continued to kiss her, his tongue flicking teasingly, so desperate to keep her face near his that he grabs her hair, showing his total control by pulling her dark tresses, as if taking her by force. It's out of love, not cruelty, and she seems to realize it, showing no distress. She is rubbing against him now, against the massive bulge distending the crotch of his suit, for he is so hard that the material between them might as well not exist.

"I am going to fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you so hard!" he whispers, into her ear, watching her eyes widen as he says it. "That beautiful, lovely wet hole of yours is going to be filled up, I'm going to shoot in you so hard... "

He notices that she hasn't zipped up the dress, and he pulls at the shoulders, letting it slide down her body. All thoughts of finesse abandoned, he rips at her bra, not wasting time with fastenings, and then puts his hand sunder her buttocks and bodily lifts her out of the pool of material that used to be her dress. She is wearing nothing but her brief panties, now, no Spanx this time, he notices with amusement, as he lifts her onto the desk, sweeping away the papers from it with a single movement of his arm.

He uses his feet to kick off his shoes and socks, and breaks off to remove his short, pulling it over his head, then undoes his pants and lets them fall. Now both of hem wear only their briefs, and he's the first one to become naked, his struggling out of his boxers punctuated by more frantic kisses. His hand strays down into the elastic waist of her panties, invading her sex (which is, indeed, wet), teasingly entering her with his finger.

And then, as he climbs onto the desk, Jak takes a gamble. Possible the riskiest gamble he's ever taken.

"When I snap my fingers," he says, "you will wake up. You will be free from any hypnotic control."

He snaps his fingers, and watches her face.
 
Iris had no complaints to let out of her mouth, especially when her mouth was busy with his, moaning into the kiss as he even grabbed her hair in a controlling way. And if she had to be honest, she didn't mind that at all. Not that she would even be able to dislike what he was doing to her in this state. However, it seemed so natural for her to be submissive. And whether it was the hypnosis or her inner desire that escaped out in the open, she loved it when he was a bit more forceful, as if having someone else take control of her for once, instead of her being the commanding one, made her shiver with delight.

Once she felt the bulge in his pants, the brunette couldn't help but move closer to his body, purposely stimulating and taunting his crotch with the friction of their bodies moving against each other. She could only wonder what was behind the pants' material, and when he whispered those lewd suggestions into her ear, she was only surprised. But in a good sort of way. In fact, it only added to her arousal, making her imagine everything and barely waiting now for him to keep his promise. If he wanted to fuck her so much, who was she to reject him? She was probably going to be upset if she didn't get more of him.

As needy as she was at the moment, she didn't care about the embarrassment of having her clothes taken away. Iris was completely ridden of any drop of pride, morals and reasoning altogether, her deepest cravings being amplified by the hypnosis.

A loud gasp escaped her lips when his hand found its way inside her panties and his finger inside her wet neglected hole. Her breath quickened and her hands rested on his arms for support. If he kept this going on, she was sure he would drive her crazy.

And then, with a single snap, everything in her mind returned to normal, frowning at the light momentary headache and then remembering everything that happened in the past couple of minutes, eyes widening slowly as she finally noticed the fact that she was almost naked, and Jak was in the nude completely.

"T-this... I... Sorry!" she mumbled incoherently, unable to look up at him as she pushed his hands away, then quickly covered her breasts in an attempt to hide as much as she could. It was inevitable. Iris did love Jak, but this was too much. Initiating the kiss was one thing, but then something got out of control and the rest of it was something that happened while she was in an euphoric state of mind. She couldn't comprehend how she easily lost her own morals and shamelessly sought more from him, but she felt bad for it now. No, it was actually the guilt that she was rejecting him right now. It felt horrible. She felt horrible. She could only hope that he wouldn't be upset over this, but she figured it was just wishful thinking.

Maybe, somewhere inside of her, she craved him indeed, but this wasn't the way she wanted to have her first time with him. Not when she actually lost her reasoning back there. And surely not in her office, with the risk of being seen by others. This was supposed to be something just between them. But either way, any of these thoughts were probably in vain, because she couldn't say her reasons aloud. She couldn't just say 'I'll let you fuck me when we get home'. It was plainly awkward. And how would she explain that she almost lost her mind a couple of seconds ago?

"I'm sorry... It's just... I-"

The phone rang. Iris looked back at Jak as if waiting for something and hesitating about explaining everything.
 
The change was instant and amazing. One second, Iris was a desperate, horny sex machine, the next...

...still, in many senses, the same desperate, horny sex machine. But no longer a succubus dedicated to her desire and need, to the extent that every other sensation, every other consideration was abandoned. The animal desire, the inability to focus upon anything but her immediate gratification, had vanished. Suddenly, she had become a modest, ashamed, exposed girl, totally vulnerable, still needing him as much as ever, yet with guilt, with propriety, with a regard to her standing, her appearance, her reputation, all factored in.

She was like a woman having an erotic dream, woken from her writhing and moaning, to the cold light of a lonely day. A sophisticated woman, with the frightened eyes of a lost child, gazing into desperate nothingness.

And one, Jak saw immediately, that needed his love as much as ever.

She stood there, her hands attempting to cover her breasts, which a few seconds ago she'd displayed proudly. Her face was one bright blush, her glance modestly downcast, the crotch of her panties wet with desire yet her expression one of shock and amazement. The whore had become, instantly, a virgin.

"I'm sorry... It's just... I-"

Sorry? Jak saw immediately her mistake. It was he that should be sorry. Sorry for controlling her, for manipulating her, making her do things she did not choose to do. And, too late, he saw that had he allowed her charge of her own feelings, he might have had her, as his, his love, free from guilt and shame. In his efforts to subjugate her, he had only hurt himself. He might have cherished her. Instead, he had used her, like an object. And now, their mutual love, so newly discovered, was already tainted.

"Sorry? There's no need to be - " he begun, as the shrill interruption of the phone froze them both in place. Jak recovered first, moving swiftly to the handset, picking it up, maintaining composure as he answered.

"Ms Augustine's office. No, she's, urm, she's... she's otherwise engaged. Can I help you, Harry? Yes? Tomorrow, ten thirty, Ringer and Bradley, 57 19th Street, sixth floor. Got it. Yes, go on - "

He watched as Iris struggled into her bra, and fumbled with the clip. Holding the phone tucked under his chin, he fixed it for her, then watched as she wrestled herself back into her dress, and, in response to her pleading look, zipped it up for her.

" - confirmation email already sent, Yes, I'll tell her. Yeah, I'll make sure she confirms."

He turned to Iris, who seemed unable to look at him. Paradoxically, seeing her shyness, seeing her fully clothed (albeit with her dress somewhat rumpled and creased) he wanted her as much as ever. More than ever.

"It's OK, sweet, lovely Iris," he said, soothingly. "Really, love, it's OK."
 
Iris was suddenly thankful that Jak did answer the call in her place, because if she had to be honest, she wasn't sure she would be able to answer it without stuttering or acting weird. She had yet to recover from the little shock that overcame her for a couple of moments there.

Thus, she swiftly moved to put her clothes back on, only to flinch at the mention of the clerk's name. Now that she thought about it, they really were disrupted some moments ago by Harry. And it seemed like an important matter given how he barged in like that. And then, she heard the details. A meeting? Was it another company looking for a deal? Perhaps the one her father was talking about the other day?

Nevertheless, she had to dress up first. And with some little help from Jak's part she did manage to cover her nude body, though she couldn't say the same for him. Besides, her dress was now sort of crumpled. It was probably a good idea if she avoided getting out of the office for the rest of the day, to avoid the stares from the employees. Surely the rumors about her and Jak being intimate in her office would spread around pretty quickly. Something which wasn't very appealing, because she knew it would be a big mistake to suddenly come off as a meek woman who would fall so easily for a man she met just a day ago. Of course, she knew him from high school, but they didn't know that.

Once he ended the call and returned his attention to her, she once again became self-conscious, avoiding eye contact. At the way he talked to her, however, she was a bit surprised. She wasn't used to hearing Jak being so nice to her. In fact, it almost seemed awkward and unusual to hear such words from his mouth.

Either way, she had to correct herself and make sure she would not let the employees see this kind of scene again. Just as she turned around to face him, she then remembered he was still naked. Looking obviously anywhere but at him, the blush creeping to her cheeks, she cleared her throat. "I'm alright. Just put your clothes on." she mumbled, before moving to get her mobile and make some calls beforehand. Iris was once again back in her business mode, more or less, trying her best to focus on her job instead of her high school crush who was momentarily in her office, naked. Now this was one change of events indeed. "I will be working until later today, so in the meanwhile, tell Alice to pick up the new pack of clothes I ordered. I'll need them for tomorrow. After that, ask around for Richard to give you something to work." she said and then finally looked him in the eyes, the expression now, a serious one. "If Alice offers to help you, tell her you have strict orders to do the work by yourself." she added, the cold shade of gray in her eyes showing that there was something behind that order. And that was pretty clearly to understand. She didn't want Alice around for a while. She had to keep her away from him. Because of various reasons.
 
As he shrugged his jacket back on, Jak fancied he saw a tinge of regret in Iris grey eyes, a sadness that they had been interrupted, that his naked body was again hidden from her sight. He knew how she felt. It was all he could do not to eat her up with his eyes. Just thinking about how she'd looked naked was bulging out his pants so much he could have hung a hat on it!

He hadn't missed the unambiguous command with respect to Alice, either. If that wasn't an obvious expression of jealousy, he didn't know what was! Not that it would help, of course. He knew that when he told Alice he wasn't allowed to assist her, she'd blame Iris, be even madder at her. Though her little ploy of making iris look ridiculous by waving the underwear around hadn't done the job, she wouldn't, he was sure, give up the fight!

He left the office, and began to carry out her instructions, telling Alice what was required, and deliberately avoiding her efforts to reach out and brush his hand. She hinted she'd like to see him alone for a debriefing of what had gone on in the office - it was obvious from the blondie's manner that she was convinced Iris had forced him into any intimacy that had taken place - but he deliberately pretended t misunderstand, and luckily an urgent incoming call allowed him to make his escape before she could insist.

After that, he sought out Richard, and found himself roped into to doing some filing and shredding, which he managed to spin out for an hour or so. After nearly mutilating his own hand because he was thinking of Iris naked, instead of concentrating, he made a deliberate attempt to put her out of his mind and focus on the work, but he was grateful when Richard called him out to deliver a parcel to an office a few blocks along the street.

He did his best to keep out of Alice's way, knowing that would please Iris - but an hour after he got back, she came into the mail room just as he was using the mechanical franking machine before taking the snail-mail letters to the post. He looked up and there she was - and with no-one else around.

He gave her a nervous smile and waited, knowing that she was desperate to talk to him.
 
The moment Jak was out of her office, Iris let out a sigh of relief. And disappointment at the same time. She wasn't sure whether to be mad at herself for doing something so bold like jumping into his arms all of a sudden, or be upset at the fact that she just pushed away the chance of making him her man. No, actually that was probably wrong, it would be her ending up as his woman. But she like the sound of it either way.

Shaking her head with another sigh, she returned to her work, trying to push away the dirty thoughts filling her mind. Obviously, it would probably take her a while to be able to face Jak like before.

On the other hand, Alice was more than happy to find a chance to face Jak. And most likely, to talk with him and find out just how did that witch manage to fool him into that passionate kiss. After a couple of ideas, she concluded that maybe she was blackmailing him or just abusing her power as a director to make him do whatever she wanted. It could be possible. Anything could be possible with the bitchy Iris around.

And then, when she found the man she was looking for, a smile spread on her face. Well, well. No one was around. This was the perfect chance to find out what was going on and also, to maybe, just maybe, charm him with her beauty. After all, if that ugly woman could do it, why couldn't she?

Elegantly walking over to him, she kept the eye contact, seemingly blind to the forced smile he put up.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Always giving you the boring hard work. Makes me wonder how you can cope with her." the blondie suggested, her arm 'mistakenly' touching his as she flashed that perfect smile at him.

"So... I heard from Harry... You know, Jak... if Iris is giving you a hard time, you can tell me and I'll help you. I actually heard that Harry caught the two of you at an awkward moment. I don't want to be intrusive, but I doubt you actually stand that woman especially because of how she treats people, so I have a feeling that the thing he saw wasn't really what it looked like." Alice said, one of her hands slipping up to his arm as if to 'give him her support'.

"If she's forcing you in any way to do things, you can speak to me. In fact, I actually have a spare room in case you don't want to stay at her place anymore. All you need to do is give me the word!" she added.
 
It was a difficult moment. It's never easy saying to a woman "Look, I know we sort of hit it off and all but - there's someone else I'd rather be with." At that moment, Jak would sooner have been back on the streets, risking his life facing the charge of a rival gang, than have to tell Alice the truth. Yet that truth had to be told.

"Alice, one problem I don't have is standing up to Iris," he said, matter of factly (and, as it happened, perfectly truthfully)... "I mean, think about it. No matter how much power she's got, there's no way she could have forced me to strip her dress off and kiss her, is there?"

He saw Alice's face fall.

"Look, I really appreciate you offering to help me, and stuff," he continued. "I know how much you had to force yourself, since you're a bit scared of her - but really, there's no need."

By now, the blondie's mouth had fallen open in amazement. Right after the lunch, she'd managed to convince herself that she and Jak were an item. Even when she'd caught them kissing, she'd been able to fool herself that Iris had some hold over Jak, that, given his choice, it was her and not Iris that he wanted to be with. Good heavens. this was one of the rudest, most spoiled bitches ever to walk the world... and one who wore antique underwear, to boot!

To have her man stolen by another woman was bad enough. To have him stolen - for there was no other explanation she could accept - by Iris Augustine of all people was simply too much to accept. She felt herself actually shrinking from humiliation, as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"B-But what about... about US?" she stammered, still clinging to the hope that losing Jak before she'd even gained him was just an illusion.

"Alice, there is no 'us', " he replied. "Sorry. I really like you, but... "

And his sentence trailed off.

Without another word, Alice turned and strode from the room, desperate to find somewhere private before the dam broke and she could no longer hold back the tears that were about to burst out of her.

But by the time she had reached (for the second time that day) the privacy of the washroom cubicle to have a good weep, she;d already turned the situation around in her mind. Well, of course Jak couldn't tell her Iris had a hold on him, could he? She'd probably made it plain that he was not to admit it. No, she and Jak were star-crossed lovers, prevented from being together by the Wicked Queen, and it was up to her to free her Prince, and win him by her own efforts.

And as she sat, a way occurred to her to do it.
 
Iris had no idea about what was really going on between Jak and Alice at the moment, and surprisingly, she was focused on her task at hand. Something which seemed so hard to do in the last couple of days, due to the presence of a particular someone who always got into her head some way or another. That said, instead of daydreaming this time, she concentrated on giving some calls, checking and sending some emails and noting down whatever she would talk about in the meeting planned for the next day, because after all, this was her real purpose in the company, to lead and be successful and at the same time to share this success with her employees as well.

Before she knew it, the day went by so quickly, the night just as well, and there she was in her office, dressed up neatly for the meeting and looking over some papers as if she was learning a speech right at that moment. If she had to be honest, as confident as she seemed, Iris had always been a coward inside and the fact that she was going to attend something much more important than everything before, made her nervous. In fact, for the first time, she was so nervous it was actually visible from the way she almost chewed on her lip and sat in her chair, silent, with a slight frown on her face.

Normally, she would have refrained from such obviousness, but knowing Jak, and the fact that yesterday turned out to be somewhat of a win on her part, given that they were on the verge on having sex so bluntly in her office, she figured that she didn't even care whether he thought she was a sore loser for being so stressed and doing something so embarrassing like looking over some notes over and over again, when she was supposed to be totally relaxed and confident. Thus, she left Jak to his work on the other side of the desk on some other papers and simply focused on what was in front of her eyes, taking some sips of coffee, now and then.

She had to leave in about a quarter of hour, but she felt like drawing back any minute. And for some weird reason, she felt like even her clothes were uncomfortable now of all times. While her sparkly white shirt was somewhat comfortable, the skirt felt a light note tighter than the usual. It almost made her wonder if she got fatter in the meantime, though, she doubted it. Or maybe it was just her posterior getting wider? She shook her head at her own stupid thoughts. "Any problems with Alice?" she suddenly questioned, only to somehow find a subject to talk about. If she wanted to calm down, she first needed to avert her attention to something else. And what better subject but Alice?
 
"Problems? No, not a bit of it," he replied, glad she had spoken at last. He could tell that her thoughts were buzzing after what had happened previously, and that there was even a slight tingle of jealousy, in that she saw Alice as a possible rival. But he was learning diplomacy fast - there was no way he was even going to hint that he'd noticed her jealousy. It was so weird - twenty-four hours previously, he would have delighted in any weakness shown by Iris. Now, he was desperate to lessen it.

"She just misunderstood something, is all," he continued, smiling slightly. "I explained everything, and the confusion's cleared up now." It probably wasn't grammatically perfect to say it that way, he realized, but for a street-kid he didn't think he'd done too badly. "But speaking of Alice - did you wish me to call her in. It's time for your meeting according to your diary, and I understand you usually have her accompany you."

He left unspoken his other question - "Did you want me to come with you instead?"
 
Iris seemed to be somehow satisfied with the first answer, and rather calm knowing that Alice didn't try something again. Especially if she found out about what happened the previous day in her office just after the blondie left. And thus, even if the meeting was making her nervous as hell, she felt a little bit at ease to know she could probably take a break from Alice's attempts to ruin her reputation, at least until this important event was over.

However, as he continued to explain, she looked over at him again, a slight frown forming on her face at the thought that Alice was up to something again. "Misunderstood? What exactly did she misunderstand?" she questioned, obviously worried that the rumors were already going around the company, about her relationship with Jak. That, if she could actually call it a relationship, because even she herself didn't have any idea what kind of relationship did they have.

The last thing she wanted was to see Alice's face during the meeting. And as much as she started to hate Jak's mockery at some point, seeing how there was a slight change in his attitude towards her lately, Iris figured it would be safe to have him come with her, in Alice's place. In fact, even she too, found it strange how he wasn't trying to get back at her, let out some mean remarks, some cruel words again. Not that she missed those. On the contrary, she was happy to see him and talk with him like this, instead of arguing like they hated each other.

"Alice is busy with something else today. You will assist me to this meeting and take notes. With this chance, maybe you'll learn some new things." she concluded, before she glanced over at her watch. It was about time they would leave.

-------

The meeting seemed to have started quite well, a reason for Iris to be a little more confident and go on with her speech, her persuading and every little thing needed in order to sign that contract with this other company which would help them out quite a whole lot. The only thing which bothered her, however, was her skirt. Out of all the times, today her favorite skirt decided to play a nasty prank on her, riding up on her thighs every time she moved around, causing the brunette to subtly try to pull it down enough to cover her legs properly, every single time the black material lifted itself without her consent.

Again, Iris could only wonder why was this happening to her all of a sudden. She could've sworn she didn't get fatter, but the skirt's tightness seemed to prove her wrong. Wrong day to have left her spanx at home, given that the tighter the skirt was, the more chances to have her panties' line show at the back. She never thought she'd miss her spanx after Jak's laughing at that time in the car. Yet, now she felt so embarrassed, that she found out her thoughts were messed up.

"As you can see in the last years' reports, our company reached quite a high number of loans and even more than twenty percent of our country's population bought a house with the help of the money we provide through our services. However, given our constant rise in..." she explained, before she once again tried to pull at her skirt, somewhat thankful that most of them were looking over the papers she handed them instead of looking at very every movement. Though, she just hoped they weren't just masking they glares or stares like that. Forcing a cough to clear her throat, she tried to recall what she was saying. "Given our constant rise in the number of clients, our bank would need more funds to be able to survive for the next ten years and expand at the same time outside the country." she added, before turning around to walk over to a white board to sketch a quick diagram and explain what would be the other profits and advantages of having more funds.

Thankfully, the skirt wouldn't move if she stayed put for a while more, while she would go on with her speech, the slight mistakes and stutters in her speech from time to time making up instead for the lack of annoyance coming from her naughty skirt. She could feel that she was slowly losing control, mostly because she was too focused on how she had to avoid having that piece of clothing revealing more of her legs than necessary, feeling some stares from the table where three men, one of them older and the other two probably as old as her, she felt once again nervous. If anything, more nervous than before the meeting. A big mistake, because her nervousness was the one thing which would easily ruin everything.

Iris was almost urged to look at Jak right now, as if that would actually help her out. However, she couldn't. She was too ashamed with how stupid she looked in front of everyone in the room. Her only motivation was the hope that maybe she could end this in a good way.
 
"What did she misunderstand? Oh, it was kind of... " Jak stopped, thinking desperately. Just how should he put this. "Well, to be frank, Iris - I think she was feeling a bit neglected. See, she's always been your go-to girl, who helps you with everything, and I guess she... maybe, like, your status rubbed off on her, know what I'm saying? Now I'm here, she seemed to have gotten an idea that she was a spare wheel, and she'd just become a kind of clerk. So I told her what's actually happening - that you hired me as part of a scheme, a kind of charity, and I don't have the qualifications do do what she does... like, if anything, I'm the third wheel, right? I think she accepted that."

He heaved an internal sigh of relief that iris didn't push the point. When she told him that he'd be accompanying her to the meeting, he gave a noncommittal "Thanks. Yes, I think I will learn a lot, actually being present at a meeting like this."

And, when she pushed back her chair and stood up, he went to stand beside her. He wondered if she might have thought he was going to resume their earlier, extra-curricular activities... Yet what he actually did was to push in the tail of her blouse, that had come untucked while she'd been sitting, pushing the bunched material back into the waistband of her skirt. "There you are," he said, softly. "Well, I am supposed to be looking after you, right?"

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Jak realized that what he'd said purely out of politeness was, in fact, correct. He was learning a hell of a lot.

It was, he thought, a whole new world. A million universes away from the streets, hos, pushers, gangs... civilized people, well-dressed, greeting each other politely, in an air-conditioned room with pot plants, comfortable furniture. Yet, when he thought about it, things were not so very different. People might have shaken hands, spoken politely, observed all the niceties - yet it was just like a meeting between two gangs. Both sides seemed wary of each other, paying respect yet carefully checking that the same amount was shown to them in return. Both flexing muscles, all eyeing each other circumspectly, all conscio0us of how much status they held. Sure, the status here was determined by how much money you had, how well-dressed you were, how much prestige you had on the stock exchange, instead of how big your muscles were, how good you were with a weapon, or how much manpower or territory your gang held, but it wasn't so different really.

And, just like a fairly tough but young gang member might look tough among other juniors, but be very much a small fish when speaking to the high-up members of the gang, so the change in Iris was obvious. In her own office, surrounded by her own underlings, she was very much Queen Bee. But here, when it was her that needed to be accepted, when she was chasing someone else's goodwill, she was totally different. Hesitant, nervous, halting, desperate to be liked. She was obviously having some trouble with her skirt, and kept having to pull and smooth it down in front of everyone, which didn't seem to be helping her poise overmuch.

He sat quietly in his seat, observing. Various members of the team to whom she was making the pitch were scribbling notes to each other and passing them - again, just like in school - and, with the natural instincts of a street-kid, he strained his eyes, relying on the fact that he was so low down in the pecking order to preserve his secrecy. His guess was right - few of the high-ranking executives seemed to notice him.

One well-dressed ball-breaker, with carefully coiffured platinum-blond hair, dressed in an electric green pantsuit, passed a scribbled note to her neighbor, a similarly dressed and tressed woman who looked even sterner. By carefully aligning his head, he was able to read it with his peripheral vision, while looking as if he was simply checking his notes.

"Looks like she's poured herself into that skirt" it said, accompanied by a smiley-face doodle.

"Yeah, you'd think it was her little sister's" the other scribbled in reply. "Have you seen how much leg she's showing when she sits down."

At that moment, Iris handed out a series of papers, then walked to the front of the room.

"Not just when she's sitting," the first woman scribbled. "It's turning itself into a mini skirt when she walks."

Looking around Jak noticed that the men had noticed Iris' skirt issues too. True, they seemed more appreciative than the women, but even a tyro at professional behavior such as he knew that the skirt was making her look ridiculous - definitely not the impression she wanted to create, he was sure!

Hastily, faking casualness, he scribbled a quick note on a post-it note, and stuck it to a pie-chart of the figures that iris was presenting.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said, as she passed and gave the printed hand-out to his neighbor. "The latest figures just in... in case you need an update."

It was the only way he could discreetly pass on the information that he was sure she needed to know.

"Iris," the post-it read, in tiny script so that only Iris could possibly have been able to read it. "You're showing far too much leg with that skirt - and they're noticing. You might want to fix it."

It was, he thought with an internal shrug, the best he could do to help.
 
Normally, Iris would have been indeed a little bit of a scaredy cat when it came to these kind of meetings, but this one meeting was different. The conversation she had with her father the previous night about how necessary it would be for them to sign this contract and have another company to help them out at these times when they needed more money the most, had the brunette at the breaking point. She was stressed enough, but she would have had chances of recovering and being the same confident woman she was inside her company... if only it wasn't for that damned skirt riding up on her thigh as if wanting to make her life a hell.

Unaware of the silent conversations between the women, Iris could only hope that she would survive this meeting and have that contract signed at the end of it. That is, until she noticed some movement from Jak and then had to figure out what he was talking about as he placed a post-it note on the pie-chart. Nevertheless, she couldn't really show she was clueless about what her own company partner was talking about, so she just pretended to know what's going.

"Why, thank you, Jak." she said in return before she subtly glanced at the small text. She had to struggle a little to understand what it was saying, but when she did understand, she felt like running out of the room and calling it quits. She knew she was ridiculous with that skirt, but it wasn't like she purposely choose a tiny skirt. She was completely sure this one skirt was the most comfortable one in her wardrobe, and definitely a nice and proper one. The only problem was the size of it, as if it was washed incorrectly and ended up one or two sized smaller.

And what was she supposed to do now, anyway? She couldn't dash out like nothing happened and return half an hour later with a different skirt. At this point, Iris was already on the verge of making mistakes. It would have probably been better if he didn't point it out even more, because now as she had the certainty that everyone was giving her the weird looks, she was starting to lose control over her interior mess.

In the end, she had to manage as she was, continuing with her speech, until the last minutes of the meeting, given that she couldn't keep them busy with her all the day long.

"Then, I shall hand out some more information about the past reports and our previous clients, some of them quite known even in the media. After this, I'll be waiting for any kind of question regarding the working system of our company." she concluded, and once again walked towards the table at which all of the other participants sat. And then, it happened.

It took just one moment of nervousness and carelessness to drop all of the papers on the floor. Another big mistake, another round of shameful blushing and worry about the outcome. But that would have been a happy ending had it not been for the next shameful happening. The sound of material being teared apart seemed to echo into the room, or at least in her ears.

Iris froze in her attempt to pick up the papers, horror-struck. Her skirt split. Thankfully, not in front, but the right side of her skirt. Nevertheless, the embarrassment was still taking over mercilessly, because it was obvious that only sound could have come from her tiny skirt. She ruined everything and just like her father expected, she failed, showing her once more that she was not ready to take over the company. But what was the worst, it had to be the humiliation. The painful feeling of being humiliated by her own clothes. She now expected the next sounds. The sound of chairs being moved on the floor and steps towards the door while they gave a simple mocking response.

The oldest one cleared his throat and stood up, fixing his tie. "Thank you for the work, miss Iris. We will think this over and we will give you a reply in a couple of days. My assistant will send you an email."

It was over. And obvious enough that she didn't get anything out of this aside from being humiliated. The older man's answer was the typical answer given to someone who didn't show any ounce of being worthy. Iris could only nod and mumble something in reply as they made their towards the door, just as she expected, while she still struggled to pick up all the papers, most likely to hide her face as she did so, and avoid having her skirt show far more than the side of her leg. Her hands trembled. How was she supposed to show up in place of her father now, when she had failed so miserably?
 
Jak moved quickly.

The sound of Iris' ripping skirt echoed through the room, and with the reflexes and speed that had made him feared on the streets, he was at her side. There was no way anyone could have missed what had happened, and seeing Iris, frozen in the middle of the floor, her face a contorted mask of shock, removed any doubt.

Within a second, he was at her side, the side where the skirt was ripped, kneeling to pick up the papers, deliberately positioning his body between her and the rest of the room. He could see the two perfectly-dressed women had broken out in spontaneous giggles, which they were hiding behind their immaculately manicured hands. The men were looking piteously at Iris, which, somehow seemed even worse.

Once he'd recovered the spilled papers, rather than take them towards the table where her briefcase sat, he left her holding them, to cover her immodesty, while he scooped up the rest of her things. Iris seemed too frozen with shock to move, and he gently but firmly took her shoulder and shepherded her from the room, steering her towards the elevator. Iris did not speak.

When he stabbed the key to summon it, the elevator only took a few seconds to arrive, and, fortunately, no-one else was using it. A few seconds more, and they were behind the security of closed doors, and Jak was on his mobile, speaking to Iris' chauffeur, telling him to have the car at the main entrance with the motor running.

"OK, pretty one," he whispered to her, as the doors opened. "Everything's going to be OK. Keep holding those papers - that's right. See - here's the car."

He walked beside her, so that she could hold her briefcase normally, rather than in some weird position against the rip in her skirt, scuttled to open the door for her, and once she was in, slid in beside her.

"Now, iris, tell me a shop where you have a standing account," he asked. "We'll get you into a matching skirt, and no-one's going to be any the wiser. Normal black business wear - shouldn't be too difficult."

He draped an arm protectively around her. "Shh, pretty lady. I'm here. I'll always be here for you."
 
As shocked and ruined as she was, Iris was much too distracted to even notice Jak coming to her side. Instead, she kept trembling and thinking the events and consequences over and over again in her head, just like a broken record. This was bad. So very bad. She just kicked away the best contract possible. And all because of how nervous and stupid she was, and because of her freaking skirt.

Of course she couldn't speak. Not when she had so many things on her mind, pestering her and pressing her so much that she could feel the start of a severe headache. Yet, not even that headache could make her forget the way she ended up the laughing stock of suck a well-known company. She felt like digging a hole and hiding in it until the end of her life.

The amazing part was that in spite of her shock and the miserable state she was in, Jak's words woke her up to reality. Though, not in the good way, obviously. She seemed to keep her mouth shut as he tried to encourage her to walk towards the car. But the second attempt to talk sweetly to her made her snap, just like the usual Iris.

"For God's sake! I'm not a kid! I don't need being talked so sweetly. I'll get cavities from your attempts to make me feel better like I'm some crybaby." she blurted out, yet she didn't try to move his arm away from her. Instead, she just averted her eyes and looked straight ahead. She attempted to cross her arms too, but that wouldn't work given that her skirt was still split. A slight blush crossed her cheeks at the realization of what was going on. Never did she expect the time she would be consoled by Jak out of all people.

She frowned and rubbed her forehead, though, seeing how she was still in deep trouble. She doubted she would be able to face any of the company's employees right now. But the most, she feared to see her father. And given how he would probably be the first to find out she failed, she was quite frightened.

"I'm old enough to keep some tears in. I mean-... Not that I feel like crying." she corrected herself, trying to swallow the knot formed into her throat at the urge of getting rid of the tension she felt building up.

"There's a shop down the street called Chic. That should be alright." she mumbled in the end as a response to his earlier demand of a shop where she could buy a new skirt.
 
"Brock. 'Chic' boutique. On the corner of 34th, OK?" said Jak to the chauffeur. He snapped the conencting panel shut, and turned to Iris.

"Yeah, of course. Not that you feel like crying," laughed Jak. Yet, somehow, his tone was that of one friend play-teasing another, rather than the malicious mockery he might have used. "Sure, any other girl who had just suffered a disaster like that through no fault of her own would cry, but not the great Iris Augustine. No, Iris is above all that... she's too perfect and in control. No, she's fine with her skirt splitting open and showing her panties to a collection of some of the most powerful executives in the industry."

He draped an arm around her.

"Trouble is, Iris, I've got too good a nose for bullshit to fall for that. And it's my job to help you. So why not let me do that eh?" He gently pushed some stray locks of hair away from her face. "You might start with at least looking at me, instead of staring straight ahead. Don't worry if you cry... it won't stop me respecting you. And don't worry about that pretty blush you've been wearing ever since we left the boardroom... it makes you look even hotter. OK, now, plans. First, we need to get you a new skirt, ideally one that looks just like the old one - erm, except it fits properly. And when we go back, we make no mention of this. I have a feeling a certain someone is going to be quite shocked to see you in a properly fitting skirt, and she - erm, that same person, is going to be eaten up with amazement, but won't dare ask why it's suddenly started to fit you properly.

"And next, we'll make some plans to deal with what happened today. You have other contacts... this isn't the end of the world. Oh, and there was something else you were fretting about, what was it. Oh yes. Cavities."

He forced her head towards him, and despite her attempts to resist him, began to kiss her, forcing his tongue into her mouth. "Nope," he said at last, when he came up for air. "No cavities there." he allowed his gaze to sweep up and down her, with her tight skirt rucked up showing so much leg that even if it hadn't been ripped her panties would have been on show, and her blouse half untucked from her squirming around while they'd been kissing. "Your teeth are just as beautiful and perfect as the rest of you."
 
"Yeah, well, you don't need to point out every damned detail again." she mumbled, blushing even harder at the thought that such well-known and important people just had the chance to see her panties, or simply put, to see her in the most embarrassing state. Aside from that, she had to be laughed at by those snobby women. Well, she was the same type of woman to some point, but she figured she wasn't really that snobby since high school.

And then, to make things harder for the already blushing Iris, he just had to point out how she kept avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment. The redness of her face only seemed intensify once he even complimented her blush, obviously being even more embarrassed to look at him now. Thankfully, for her, he quickly changed the subject to what was really a priority. At the mention of a certain someone, Iris pushed aside her shame to look at him, questioningly, for a moment clueless, about who was he talking about. When she did figure out what he was saying, her expression changed, as if everything was clear now. "You mean Alice? Then..." she murmured, before realizing this could have been Alice's plan all along. To embarrass her. And given that the blondie was in charge of tasks regarding her clothing, then it was all the more obvious who planned the 'skirt' trap.

A slight frown on her face showed that Iris was angry about something. Oh, she would so make that blondie regret it!

Well, either way, Jak was right about something. She still had other contacts who could help her out. Yeah, that was actually quite right. She could in fact make up for the loss if she put her mind to it. She only just had to give a couple of calls and set up some other meetings with some old influential friends.

Already losing track of what he was saying, Iris was taken by surprise when he suddenly forced her head towards his, eyes widening a little and cheeks getting redder once again as he french kissed her, catching her unprepared and thus, once he pulled away, she had to take some quicker breaths to make up for the loss of air. Face flushed, she then noticed his eyes traveling up and down, as if to properly stare at her whole body. "D-don't look at me like that!" she quickly corrected him in a stutter, attempting to fix her clothes as much as she could as she turned her back on him. "But... thank you for trying to cheer me up. You... you're not as bad as I thought in the end." she murmured, her voice noticeably lower, as if she couldn't say that any louder out of embarrassment.
 
Iris was immaculate when, Jak at her side, she re-entered the office. Her head was held high, her stride was firm and confident, her skirt fitted perfectly. Just before entering, Jak had taken her aside into a small alleyway near the entrance of the building and given her a quick once-over, tucking in the blouse firmly at the back, wiping a small trace of lipstick from her teeth (left from where he'd kissed her), fixed her hair, fanning his hands over her face to correct her slight blush that had again arisen at his attentions, then holding her hand until they exited the elevator.

As they walked to her office, Alice looked up from her desk. She had a slight smirk on her face that she was barely managing to conceal, but when she saw Iris' skirt totally undamaged, and indeed not even riding up as it had done before when she walked, her mouth dropped open, and she had to hastily force a fake smile back on her face.

They entered Iris' office, and Jak was tempted to take her in his arms again, but resisted the opportunity. He knew that right at the moment, her ego was fragile indeed. To presume on their relationship by again kissing her would only embarrass her - it had to be her that made the first move, allowing her to exert control. Having to rely on him for help was, he knew instinctively, already making her feel self-conscious.

But before he could do or say anything, the telephone rang. Jak answered,

"Good afternoon. Ms Augustine's office."

giving the correct greeting he'd been taught.

"Yes, Mr Augustine, this is Jak, Ms Augustine's Personal Assistant. Yes, she's right here, did you wish to talk to - ? Yes. Yes, Mr Augustine, I'll tell her. Is there any other way I can hel- ?"

He replaced the phone, looking slightly worried.

"Iris, that was your father. He said he wanted to see you, alone in his study, as soon as you can get there."
 
While on the outside Iris seemed to have returned just as confident and prideful as she left the office before the meeting, the truth was that it was only something apparent. On the inside, maybe she wasn't just as nervous as earlier, thanks to Jak's attempts to cheer her up and the fact that he was kind enough to even want to help her out with something she was supposed to solve by herself. However, there was still a tint of worry that tugged at her soul. She wasn't sure if it was just her mind playing tricks with her, but she had a bad feeling, something like a premonition about a bad upcoming event. And as worried as she was, Iris couldn't even care less about Alice at the moment, unaware that she would soon do care about the blondie. Though, not in the kindest way.

Surprisingly, as soon as she was back into her office, she felt somewhat better, as if the sight of her desk and the whole familiar setting of her 'room' assured her that nothing changed, and nothing would change as long as she kept giving her best.

And then, it came. The one call she didn't want to hear. The mere sound of the telephone ringing was enough to send her heart on a marathon.

"Who's-" she quickly mumbled in a lower tone towards him before she heard the name of the one who was at the other end of the phone. The one and only senior Augustine. Her father. She didn't need an explanation to know she was in deep shit.

"I understand." she nodded sheepishly, trying at the same time to avoid showing any sign of being scared. Besides, how bad could it be? She didn't need to worry him for nothing. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I won't take long. Meanwhile, continue with those papers I gave you this morning." she instructed, giving him a last glance before leaving the comfort and safety of her office to make her way towards the other side of the building, or more exactly, to her father's office located somewhere secluded from the rest of the company. Usually, he wasn't in his office lately, so it was even more surprising to know he was here today.


The couple of door knocks were followed by the appearance of the brunette, seemingly shocked. Why was Iris so shocked in the first place? Simple.

"I thought you wanted to see me. Alone." Iris pointed out as her gray eyes averted from the suspiciously cheerful blondie to the tall old man who had his silver-like hair neatly combed and had an impeccable look with his dark suit. He wasn't smiling like Alice, though. In fact, he seemed to be her opposite. He was apparently calm, but she knew him better. Inside, he was fuming with anger. This kind of behavior was something typical for the Augustine's. After all, Iris herself was the same, always keeping in all that anger behind a calm facade only to snap sometime later. Hopefully, he would not snap yet, because it was one thing to see Iris mad, and another thing to see Augustine senior getting mad.

"I don't think it's your place to tell me what I should do and what I should not." the male pointed out as well, before urging her to close the door behind her. "Particularly, not when you can't even handle an important meeting without making a fool out of yourself and out of this company." he added, at which Iris immediately frowned and opened her mouth to protest, obviously because the culprit behind her failing was next to her.

"Well, if it wasn't for-" she started, before she was cut by a hand raised in sign that she didn't need to speak anymore.

"Alice will take your place. Today you'll finish the last reports and tomorrow she'll move her things in your former office." the older man announced, quite uninterested at the face his daughter was making. Iris was stunned. At least, until she came back to reality and forced a little smile, figuring he was just trying to scare her.

"I see... How long it will take until-"

"Until I think she's ready to take over the company. When the times comes, I'll hand it over to her."

Iris started to pale. Was this man serious? No, rather, was he in his right minds? He was this mad on her that he was about to give the company to a stranger instead of his daughter? "...What about me?" she questioned, quite uneasy at the idea that she might end up back in her parents' house or even worse.

"You'll be taking Alice's place, of course. You'll be the perfect assistant given you already know how things work. And you'll also be in charge in teaching her what she's supposed to do. Else, you're fired."

A smile spread on Alice's face. It was about time Iris had learned her lesson. She somewhat felt sorry for her because a part of this was her fault for changing her skirt on purpose. But, she figured she still deserved this. Besides, she had too many things to be happy about to actually cry for Iris's sake. Now she had the company in her hands, her boss turned out to be her personal assistant (meaning she could now easily torture her with pranks without being punished) and most of all, she could get closer to Jak. This had actually turned out better than she imagined.

When she saw Iris's face, however, she was surprised. Surprised that somewhere inside her, she now felt a little bit guilty at the sight before her. Iris was shocked and clearly terrified. In fact, she looked like she was on the verge of crying. The blondie averted her eyes, worried that she might spill out her mistake right there and then out of the guilt.

"I... I understand." Iris finally managed to speak, before turning around and leaving the office in a hurry. She kept blinking repeatedly in an attempt to keep in the tears that would ruin her makeup once again that day. The silence of the corridors were all of a sudden constricting her heart, the clicks of her heels being much too loud for her ears. She didn't want to hear anything else. She didn't want to be heard or seen right now. Iris felt the worst. Worse than in her high school years. How could she show her face from now on? How would she be able to act as Alice's little marionette all of a sudden? It was obvious everybody would be laughing at her, everybody would be happy to have gotten rid of the scary boss and instead be replaced by the cheerful and kind Alice. Her own father decided that someone else was better than his own daughter. It was disturbing enough for Iris to feel like breaking down.

In spite of that, she was stubborn enough to stop in front of the door of her own office, fingers on the doorknob, hesitant about opening the door yet. Jak was still in the office. She couldn't cry like a little girl in front of someone else. As much as she felt like crying rivers and going on a rampage, she didn't have the courage to do something so embarrassing. Thus, even if it was obvious enough that someone was in front of the door because the sound of heels suddenly stopped right there, she turned around and waved her hand in front of her face to dry her eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks, smearing her makeup.
 
Hearing Iris outside, Jak (who had learned diplomacy in the short time he'd been Iris' assistant) made no move to stop what he was doing. When she finally entered, her make-up was smeared, and her expression told him all he wanted to know.

"That bad, huh?" he asked, sympathetically.

And then she told him.

The force of what had happened to her hit Jak like a blow. For a minute or so, he was reduced to rambling incoherence. But having survived for so long on the streets, he'd long ago learned the trick of fast recovery. There was, he knew, always a way back.

"It's like this," he said, taking a tissue and fixing her make up. "A lot of people would quit right now. If anyone treated me the way your father did you, it's what I'd do. I'm pretty sure it's what Alice expects. But there's another way."

He grinned.

"Alice thinks running this company is easy. Right now, she probably thinks she's succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. But I've seen what you do, and there's no way she can do it a tenth as well as you can. And unless your father's a total idiot, he'll soon see that. Stick around, and let her hang herself. And... "

And he gave a wicked grin.

"And if she doesn't hang herself quick enough - I'm sure we can think of a way to speed things up!"
 
Nobody was aware of the real intentions of Mr. Augustine, that was for sure, and not even his daughter would ever be able to comprehend what was in his head when he decided that Alice could take her place. Thus, Iris could only guess that her failing in meeting her father's expectation was the cause for this horrible situation.

And once again, the confident and bossy Iris found herself to be a crybaby, leaving Jak to help her out and make her look properly, by fixing her make up and trying to cheer her up. An unusual thing, given how a couple of days ago they were almost going at each other's throat.

"But... he told me to help her out and teach her whatever she needs to know." she pointed out, between the soft hiccups. "If something bad happens, the fault will still be mine for being teaching her the wrong things or for not looking over her." she added, fiddling with the buttons on her sleeve.

If she had to be honest, she didn't want to be like this. To be this weak and humiliated because of Alice. It was strange enough that she had to switch the roles with Alice and turn from her boss to something like her little servant. And even if she couldn't directly attack Alice because screwing up the business of the company would be bad, Jak was right. There had to be another way.

Shaking her head, she decided. She had to go back to her old self. The old Iris who had everything under control. Even if she wasn't the boss anymore.

"Alright then. I... I think I'll manage." she murmured, before glancing up at him. A slight blush covered her cheeks as she realized something, though. "Well, at least, you're still going to stay at my place." she mumbled, obviously in a low voice due to how embarrassing it could sound. And to make sure he would not come up with a teasing comment, she shortly kissed him and turned around to go back to her desk, figuring that it would be better to make herself busy now and avoid the awkward atmosphere floating in the room.
 
This time, for the rest of the day, and in the limo on the way home, Jak was silent, too. Partly this was to give Iris time to collect her thoughts, but mainly it was because he was thinking.

Had he been on the streets now, surrounded by vastly superior numbers of a rival gang, he would have known exactly what to do. His street-smarts would have found a way out. But this was a different arena. Sure, many of the skills were transferable, and it was just as cruel. But there were different rules, different standards. He would need to hammer his brains, to find a way to get Iris back on top.

He knew that he was, in a way, partly to blame for the situation. He had used his unreliable hypnotic skills, and they'd worked. Before he'd hypnotized the two girls, they had got along fine. Alice had not had the passion for him that had resulted in her sabotaging Iris' plans (and clothing), and Iris would have had a clear mind to concentrate on running the company. And she'd have attended the meeting in a properly fitting, un-sabotaged skirt, and probably turned up trumps.

The trouble was, he doubted the hypnotism would work again - it was always a hit and miss proceeding.

After dinner, he flopped onto his bed, still working on his plans, which were beginning to take shape. He decided that he would not let Iris in on exactly what he planned. She might have been a superb businesswoman, but she was no actress. She'd give the game away - it would be far more natural if she did not know exactly what was in his mind.

He waited to see if she would come to him, or summon him, that night.
 
Even if Iris seemed to be helpless at the moment, she did have some ideas in mind of how to get back in her place. Aside from the fact that Alice had no idea how stressful can be to take over a company all of a sudden, Iris could pull just a couple of strings to show her father that she was more than capable of doing something right. All she needed was to replace the contract she lost with something else just as good. And with a little bit of a struggling, she could probably find another big company to do the deal.

Once home and inside her little office, Iris was back to her job. Perhaps she wasn't the boss anymore and maybe her pride took a lot of damage, but she still had her skills of persuading and her mind was just as bright as always.

A little sigh escaped her lips as she stretched her arms and leaned back in her chair, before rubbing the bridge of her nose. Working with a computer was probably something she didn't do in a good while. It was usually Alice who worked with her emails and such. Quite a bad thing now that she thought about it. That blondie could have sabotaged her long before. Furrowing her eyebrows, she finally realized something. "Could he be the main reason she's acting like this?" she murmured to herself. It was true that before, Alice and her didn't have a rivalry going on. It was somehow shocking to think that Alice could go to this extent just because of a man.

A slight blush covered her cheeks. Wasn't she the same in some way? She shook her head. No, no. She wasn't that nuts as to take revenge on someone for stealing her man's attention. "Who am I trying to fool?" she mumbled to herself again, deciding that she needed a break. Besides, talking by herself was crazy enough.

Making her way towards her room, she stopped for a moment in front of Jak's door. She was silent, thinking it over for a minute. Aside from the little voice in the back of her mind that screamed for attention from his part, she did need to talk to him about something important from her point of view.

"Are you asleep?" she whispered as soon as she carefully opened the door and peaked in.
 
Jak had, as usual, set the room's air-con to a comfortable temperature, and flopped naked onto his bed. He found the business attire he had to wear by day constricting in the extreme, and his nakedness was his way of relaxing. He had taken a shower to help him think, so now he was lying with his hair still wet, and a slight sheen on his body that only comes to the just-scrubbed.

He had half been expecting Iris, so her knock and subsequent entry caused him little surprise. To be brutally honest, he'd been thinking about her, about what had happened in her office (before they'd been interrupted), and even more about how she'd looked when she'd split her skirt. Somehow, seeing her helpless and flustered took him right back to their schooldays, and, despite himself, he found the thought somewhat... endearing.

So "endearing" in fact that his manhood was pointing straight up, in the manner of a fleshy tent-pole. Well, short of giving it a hard smack, there was nothing he could so about that right now. So he waved her in, settling himself back on his pillow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom