Chapter 46: Consolidation

4 December 2025

“This is a nice surprise, Bob,” Rebecca said with a smile. “Jenny didn’t mention you would be paying us a visit today.”

The blonde solicitor looked elegant in a winter white trouser suit over a holly berry red blouse. She was exiting the lift on the ground floor, carrying a leather soft-sided briefcase. In her matching white heels, she was as tall as Bob, which he enjoyed to no end. There was something exciting about commanding the mindless obedience of a woman as tall as him.

He didn’t react to being called by his name. There were people in reception who would not understand why the owners’ legal representative would be addressing a man as “Master.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you as well, Rebecca. I only made the decision to come to visit within the hour. I learned of some news and needed to come and discuss it with Jenny.”

“Well, I hope that you’ll be able to make plans for me sometime soon,” Rebecca said as she took his hand and leant close enough to whisper into his ear. “I’ve missed consulting with you, Master.”

Bob flushed and cleared his throat as Rebecca blew him a kiss and continued out to the street.

He pressed the call button and waited for the lift. The older building had only one operational lift at present, as the other door had a white-and-red “Do Not Use - Out of Order” sign posted. While he waited, a young woman came up next to him and pressed the down button.

He looked at her as politely as he could. She was a mousy girl. Her hair lacked any distinctive colour and was long, stringy and unruly despite being pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing a worn jumper zipped all the way up to her throat. And from the side, he couldn’t see much of her face because of the thick-framed glasses she had.

“Frightful traffic, right?” she commented sheepishly.

“Oh, yes, right. Getting thicker all the time as the festive season approaches,” he replied.

She giggled in a high, squeaky pitch. “Thicker. That’s funny.”

Bob was much relieved when the lift door opened.

“Have a good day,” he said as pleasantly as he could manage, stepping into the lift to head up.

“Right… thank you. Cheers,” she said as the doors began to close.

Bob finally got a look at her for a moment.

Her eyes were a bright emerald green.

***

Bob seemed agitated as he paced back and forth in Jenny’s adjunct office. He had declined her offer of a drink, and he showed no interest in an afternoon leg-over either. He had insisted that she summon Anastasia for the meeting, and waited impatiently until she could complete a series of chemical reactions which absolutely could not wait.

The door opened and shut quickly as Stasi arrived. She was still wearing her white lab coat and had her long blonde mane pulled back in a tight braided topknot.

“Forgive me, Master. Chemicals could not be left unattended. I did not want toxic cloud, or an explosion.”

He waved her in and reflexively offered her a seat. “I understand, Stasi. I don’t want those things to happen either.”

Bob ran his hand through his hair as he collected his thoughts. Jenny wasn’t used to seeing him this unsettled.

“Ladies, how confident are we in the efficacy of those chemicals? I just came from a meeting with the bank officers. They were remarkably compliant and enthusiastic. But how do we know that this is going to stick? What will happen in a few days or a few weeks?”

Stasi looked to Jenny and arched her eyebrow. Jenny took that as her cue to speak first.

“Master, we don’t know for certain. We can only rely on the science we have. Have you seen any deterioration with Mary or Gretchen in the days since they were tested on the drugs?”

He shook his head.

“No, not in the slightest. If anything, Mary is even more lovingly devoted to me.”

“And Gretchen?” Jenny prompted.

“She is as efficient and deferential as ever. Since we kept the title ‘Sir’ for her, rather than ‘Master,’ so she wouldn’t have to differentiate between who was in the circle and who wasn’t, she has adapted to the enslavement without a hitch.”

“That’s the best we can hope for, Master,” Jenny said. “As long as you keep reinforcing the psychological training, the physiology should take care of the rest.”

“And if you need update, Master, I will gladly send you another batch,” Stasi added.

Bob nodded and slowed down his pacing. Hopefully, this was sufficient to calm him down.

“Is that all you are worried about, Master?” Jenny asked. “Your board meeting is tomorrow, and it sounds like everything is going perfectly.”

“No, actually there is something else. Ginny sent me a text message at lunchtime. She thinks she spotted an infected woman at a restaurant.”

Jenny snapped to attention.

“Oh? Someone she recognised?”

He shook his head. “No, she had no idea who it was. She heard the name ‘Chloe.’ And that wasn’t all. She was certain this woman was claimed.”

“Why did she think that?”

“For one thing, she said the man snapped his fingers in public, and this Chloe woman hurried to him.”

Jenny waited for a beat, but since he didn’t continue, she prompted him. “And…?”

“And she said the woman had glowing green eyes. Ginny felt an affinity to her as well. Does that mean anything to you?”

Jenny swallowed as a chill rolled through her.

“Yes, Master. All of that fits the pattern quite remarkably. Obviously you’ve seen the eye colours, and green is the most common for infected women. If this Chloe has imprinted on someone, it’s not surprising that she would respond to that sort of dominant signalling.”

“What about the affinity thing? Do you women actually feel when there is another infected woman near you?”

“Tak, Master. I feel it constantly when I am in the building.” Stasi pulled up the sleeve of her lab coat and moved towards Jenny.

It was obvious that the closer Stasi got to Jenny, the more her skin developed goose pimples and her face blushed.

Jenny was feeling it also. And thinking about it triggered other responses.

Jenny squirmed and pressed her thighs together. She had to consciously return her focus to the task at hand. It helped that Master was asking the questions. That made answering them its own form of obedience.

“The two of us are feeling it, Master,” she said. “Rebecca feels it. Sarah feels it. I haven’t taken a poll, but I am confident that we all do. In the same way that the virus responds to the proximity of a potential master, it also responds to the proximity of an infected woman.”

“That reminds me of something else,” Bob answered. “When I was waiting for the lift, I saw a woman I haven’t met before. She had green eyes like Rebecca’s.”

“Can you describe her, Master?”

“Nondescript little thing. Thick glasses. Somewhat fidgety.”

Jenny knew instantly. “And she was waiting to go down while you were waiting to come up?”

“Yes, that’s right. Who is she?”

“That’s Marjorie. She’s the girl from IT for the building.”

“Why haven’t I been introduced to her before? Are there other women who have been infected in the building but not brought to me yet?”

Jenny pulled up a directory on her tablet. While she searched, she answered Bob’s first question.

“Master, Marjorie is… different. She doesn’t socialise at all. Her workstation is buried in the sub-basement, past the plant room, tucked behind the server racks. No one goes down there.”

“Why was she even infected at all then?”

“Master, you instructed me to see to it that every woman in the building was prepared for you. You left no room for exceptions in that instruction.” Jenny remembered the day-and-a-half she spent hunting down every last female in the facility. “To be frank, I’m guessing that she has been avoiding being within twenty metres of me after I cornered her in the canteen to kiss her.”

“You do have a direct way about you, dear,” Bob said with as much diplomacy as Jenny imagined he could muster.

She smiled to take advantage of his charming discomfort with bluntness.

“It’s okay, Master. I know that I’m a proper bitch at times. Just ask Rebecca. Or your daughter for that matter.”

She saw him shudder just a smidge. She knew that he recognised that side of her too.

“Right. I can’t argue with you there.” He cleared his throat. “That said, I don’t think it’s wise for us to have any unclaimed women walking in daylight. It’s probably a wonder that we haven’t had any breaches as it is.”

“What do you suggest, Master?” Jenny asked.

“Next week, we hold an orientation meeting for the Richmond Project. I shall come to personally brief all of the potential participants. You will see to it that everyone is made available to me, but without attracting undue attention.”

Jenny nodded and made a digital note in her diary.