An offer

You hear him give a soft chuckle, and you feel your face crimson with embarrassment. Biting your lip, you fight another outburst of tears.

"Not very responsible, Lisa," he says, his voice full of humour. He walks around you and takes his wallet out of his jacket hanging on a coat rack. You nod in agreement, your face still burning.

He comes back and leans against his desk in front of you, opening his wallet, looking down at you. "Would two hundred buy you some time?"

At first you can't believe what you're hearing, then you look up at him, smiling with hope. "Yes. I mean I think so. If I give him some cash tonight, then between my room-mates and I we'd have a chance to get the rest of it together."

"Alright. Here's two hundred," he says pulling a couple of bills out of his wallet and holding them out to you.

"Really?" you squeak with happy relief, holding out your hand to take the bills. "Thank you so much Mr. Chandler, I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Let's talk about that, Lisa," he grins. "But let's also talk about being responsible. You were a very bad girl to spend the money your parents sent on clothes and partying, weren't you?" You blush in shame and bite your lip at his words.

"I was wrong," you say quietly. "It was a bad thing to do."

"And you haven't told them, so now you've added lying by omission to your sins, haven't you?"

"Yes sir," you say with embarrassment.

"If they found out, they'd be very angry with you, wouldn't they?"

"Yes sir," you say, then look up at him with alarm. "Please sir, don't tell them!"

He grins at you, his eyes holding yours. "I'm not going to tell them, Lisa. But I think you should be punished for your behaviour nonetheless. Since your parents aren't here, I suppose I'll have to stand in for them. You do deserve punishment, don't you Lisa?"

You look at him with trepidation, searching his face for meaning, a flutter of something beginning low in your belly.