Lunch

I found myself following Lin once again, this time to the company's cafeteria in the south wing. After finishing up after several hours in the organic movement studio Lin had told me she was starved and suggested that we get some lunch.

"I'm not sure I'm allowed in the cafeteria, ma'am," I told her.

"I've been put in charge of you today and you're supposed to obey me as a mailgirl, right?" Lin asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Then let's go to the cafeteria. You're just doing as you're told so what can they say?"

I couldn't argue with that and as we entered the cafeteria I heard laughter and whistles from the crowd of employees dining there. At one of the tables I spotted a few of my old pals from marketing and I prayed they would leave me alone. They just stared at me silently, though, as I walked past their table. I'm sure they knew by now what had happened to Stephanie so maybe they figured it would be best to keep their distance.

I lowered my eyes and followed behind Lin toward the buffet tables. "Get whatever you want," she said. "I'll pay for it since you obviously aren't carrying any money on you."

I made myself a salad from the salad bar and added a bowl of soup and some tea, then fell in behind Lin as she walked with her tray toward the cashier. "She's not supposed to be in here," the cashier said to her as we approached.

"She's doing work for Gangsta today and if you don't like her being here then you can take it up with the production manager who put me in charge of her," Lin responded defiantly.

The cashier glared at the two of us then rung up our food. The Gangsta production department carried a lot of weight at DDE so it wasn't surprising to see her back off. We made our way to an empty table that was uncomfortably close to the marketing table and as Lin sat down a thought suddenly occurred to me.

"Um, ma'am, I'm not allowed to sit on any company furniture."

"What if I ordered you to do it?"

"You could but I really think it would get both of us in trouble, ma'am."

"So what are you going to do?" Lin asked. "We can't take the trays, plates, and silverware out of here."

There was only one thing I could do. I knelt down beside the table and placed the tray on the floor in front of me. As I did this the sound of laughter from all around me rang in my ears. This may not be a downtown restaurant but another aspect of Barbara's future for me was coming to life as I was forced to kneel submissively on the floor as others dined at tables around me.

"Wow," Lin said. "Okay then."

"Will Stephanie be joining you for lunch, Nine?" I heard Bill from marketing say as the rest of the table broke into laughter. "Or should I call her Three? She paid us a visit this morning in her new work uniform."

A wave of guilt came over me about the role I'd played in forcing Stephanie to become a mailgirl. I knew exactly what she'd gone through this morning as she'd faced her former co-workers and friends as a nude and submissive inferior because I'd been through it myself yesterday.

I tried to ignore what was going on around me as I picked at my meal, but kneeling naked like this on the floor made me feel like a dog eating beside her master. Whatever appetite I'd had before had vanished as humiliation coursed through my body along with the arousal that inevitably accompanied it. My emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride over the past two days and the ride didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. That moment in the shower this morning when I'd made peace with my circumstances and had allowed myself to be who I am had only been fleeting. Even just a little while ago I'd been enjoying the freedom of my life as I danced nude in the organic movement studio, but this latest insult suddenly had me questioning my sanity in surrendering myself to forces that controlled nearly every aspect of my life.

Lin sensed my discomfort and quickly finished her meal. She grabbed my tray and put it on the table beside hers. "C'mon, let's go."

I stood up and followed her toward the exit. As I left the room I heard Bill shouting, "Bye bye, Nine! We'll be looking forward to more of your visits!"

I followed behind Lin as she led me out of an exit door into the courtyard in the middle of the DDE complex. It was a beautiful sunny day so there were quite a few employees eating bag lunches out here, but Lin led me to a remote spot away from everyone and plopped down on a patch of grass.

I kneeled down beside her.

"Let's talk for a few minutes," she said to me. "I have some things I need to decide."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And cut the 'ma'am' bullshit. Talk to me like a real person."

"I'm not allowed, ma'am," I said. I thought about poor Thomas from Montserrat who'd gotten too friendly with me and had been fired by Barbara as a result.

"There's no one near us that can hear what we're saying. Please."

I looked around to confirm what she was saying. "Okay, Lin. What do you want to talk about?"

"What's your real name?"

"I'm Danica."

"You used to work here as a regular employee, didn't you? I remember seeing you a few times when you wore clothes. You're so beautiful you're hard to miss."

"Yes," I replied. "I was in DDE's fast track management program assigned to their marketing department."

"Wow! And you gave that up to become a mailgirl?"

"It's a very long and complicated story, Lin."

"Okay, you don't have to tell me about it if you don't want. I want to ask your advice, though. Do you think I should become a mailgirl if I can get them to promise me a programming job after my contract is up?"

"No I don't think you should do that, Lin. If DDE won't give you a job that you're qualified for then you should leave and find a company that will."

"I had job offers after I graduated but they were mostly for companies making business applications or apps for cellphones and tablets, shit like that. I don't want to do that. I'm a serious gamer and DDE makes great games that are on the cutting edge. This is where I want to be, Danica. I was hoping you could help me."

"How can I help you?"

"You know Barbara Anderson. She's got the juice to make things happen in this company and I was thinking maybe you could take me to her and talk her into making a deal. Two years as a mailgirl in exchange for a job as a programmer afterwards."

"Trust me, Lin, I don't talk Barbara into anything. And after seeing what I had to go through today do you really think you want any part of that?"

"I could do it, Danica, I know I could. I don't think Stimpy has any intention of ever giving me a job as a programmer so I have to find another way. And I don't just want to write code, someday I want to design games and I can't do that until I get my foot in the door. I look great naked and that's really the only bargaining chip I have. Please, Danica, you have to help me."

The desperation in her voice was getting to me. Against my better judgment I wanted to help her, but I also wanted to make damn sure she understood what she was getting into. "Lin, all that bitching you did today on the Gangsta floor about your boss, your co-workers and the company, you can't do that as a mailgirl. Barbara isn't anything like Stimpy. If you do that as a mailgirl she'll crush you. I mean it."

"Okay," Lin replied. "I can keep my mouth shut."

"Can you?" I asked. "Once you sign that contract there's no going back. You'll be handing Barbara the power to destroy you financially if you try to quit or refuse to conform to her demands. You'll be considered an inferior to every other employee in the company and will be required to be submissive to them every second that you are on the job. Not only will you be surrendering your clothes, you'll be surrendering your name and your independence. You think what you've been doing the past two years is similar to what you'll be doing as a mailgirl? Lin, you have no idea."

Lin was silent for several minutes as she thought about everything I'd told her. Finally she nodded her head and spoke. "Okay Danica, I can do that. I can roleplay a submissive slave girl. I'm a great roleplayer. I know I can do it."

"Lin, if I take you to Barbara I can't promise you anything. She's very unpredictable."

"I understand," she said.

I took a deep breath. "Alright then, let's go see her."