Francis Wilson, Corporate Accountant, Tablet Spiral Program

“Mrs. Mitchell –”

Francis’s attention snapped to the young woman, the door to the office closing behind her, her blank gaze on the tablet held in his hands. Shit, the middle-aged man winced. He exhaled slowly. Didn’t mean to gather her into my net. His eyes flickered to the two other women in the small conference room seated around the table, their faces already blank from the black-and-white spirals presented by the tablet. Okay, I need to wrap this up. One interruption is enough.

Focusing on the young woman, Francis said, “Tell me your name.”

“Cassandra Wright,” she replied in a monotone.

“Okay, Cassandra,” the middle-aged man said, “You will gladly perform any task I require of you even if outside of normal working hours. Should you have any free time today between your normal duties, seek me out. If you don’t, find me at the end of the work day.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “You will return to this hypnotic state when I say the phrase ‘Flower functions.’ Now, you will step outside the conference room, patiently wait for Mrs. Mitchell to exit, and prevent anyone else from entering when I tell you to go. You will remember being told off for bursting in and interrupting the meeting in progress nor will you think anything of the people involved in the meeting. And as you step through the door, you will leave the hypnotic state. Now, go.”

Blinking, the young woman turned away. Rolling his eyes, Francis returned his attention to the two women seated across from him.

“Mrs. Mitchell,” he addressed the older woman, “For this duration of time you have spent in the hypnotic state, you will remember me presenting evidence rebutting Miss Thompson’s claims of sexual harassment and, after the I have ended the hypnotic state, you will agree with me, tell Miss Thompson that she must apologize to me, and proceed to destroy all records of the supposed harassment prior to the end of the work day. Also, from now on, should anyone else bring further claims to you or anyone else in Human Resources, you will direct them to me to resolve the issue. Further,” the middle-aged man continued, feeling vindictive, “From this meeting on, you will feel a growing sexual attraction to me, becoming greater than you feel towards anyone else and becoming an itch that can only be fulfilled if I consent. Do not attempt to **** or **** me into sex. Should I ask you to do something, you will do everything in your power to do so even if I string you along. Nod if you understand.”

The older, blonde-haired woman nodded.

“Good,” Francis nodded grimly. “And don’t forget to tell off Miss Wright for barging in when you leave, even if you had given her a reason to do so earlier. Also, in the future, you will return to this hypnotic state when I say the phrase ‘Personal collateral.’”

He turned to the other woman, her orange-red hair styled up into a Dutch braid with a bun.

“Rhiannon,” he focused on the redhead, “You will feel contrite when Mrs. Mitchell tells you off and agree with her that you need to apologize for bringing this matter this far. You will understand that you should have brought this to me privately and worked with me to resolve it. However, though you will hear me accept your apology, you will know that you have not been forgiven. You will feel unsettled at this. You will approach me later, telling me that you need my forgiveness and will offer to do whatever is necessary for as long as it takes despite how you feel about them. Nod if you understand.”

The younger woman nodded.

“Excellent. You will return to this hypnotic state when I say the phrase ‘Deluded character.’ Now,” the middle-aged man said, tapping the tablet’s screen and turning off the spiraling image, “When I snap my fingers, you will exit the hypnotic state.”

Francis snapped his fingers and set the tablet face down on the table, watching the two women eyes blink momentarily and return to their senses.

“Thank you, Mr. Wilson,” Mrs. Mitchell said slowly, collecting herself faster than the redhead next to her. “You are – correct. This has been overblown and should not have come to my attention. The two of you should have been able to resolve this between yourselves.” She turned her head to face Rhiannon. “Miss Thompson, you have seriously overestimated the seriousness of your – encounters – with Mr. Wilson. I shall be kind and not enter these into your records on the condition that you apologize to Mr. Wilson here in front of me.”

“Y-yes, Mrs. Mitchell,” the younger woman stammered, turning her light brown eyes to her male coworker. Swallowing nervously, she said, “I – I am sorry, Mr. Wilson. I – I should have talked to you first. Going straight to the director of Human Resources was – was wrong.”

“Thank you, Miss Thompson,” Francis nodded, his voice cool. “Apology accepted. Now, is there anything else? I know I have fallen behind in my efforts today due to this meeting and will need to work late.” The two women shook their heads. He rose to his feet. “Thank you, ladies. I hope we do not have to meet like this again.”