Partial nudity should be accepted here, right?

The very idea you would agree to leave your clothes there and go back to work bottomless only to return the same way is ridiculous. No, surely you will not even consider it. Except... They offer it for a reason, and a sound one. Your supervisor was bent on punctuality even in the normal universe (which was one of the reasons he rather liked you, you could always get yourself organised). In this one, he probably takes the skin off anyone being late and even if you run now, you might not make it. Surely, your trail of thought continues, if Mia suggested it so casually it cannot be that uncommon. If you plan to keep these rules, you will end up more exposed than you are now, so why delay it? Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?

"I'll come back after work" You hear yourself say before you know you are going to say it. Well done, girl, you've just sentenced yourself to three hours of showing off what you've got.

"Of course, Jenna" Mia nods politely, as if she did not just strap you so hard that it is a miracle tears did not start to fall. You both assure one another you look forward to meeting again once you are out of the office and you put your bag with the Rulebook back over your shoulder and you start walking towards the exit, very sharply aware of how exposed you are. You try discreetly to shift your blouse to the side to have one of the edges generally in front of your privates but as you walk the light fabric sways out of the way and you doubt covering with your hands will be a good idea in this situation. Moreover, you really have to hurry now so you put your best calm "everything is fine" face on (however little it suits the storm in your head) and walk out onto the street.

You determinedly and quickly walk back to your office, trying to give passers-by more room than you would normally, when you are not sore and half-naked. You certainly attract your share of looks and you overhear parts of phrases that can only be commenting on your well-deserved ordeal, but nobody tries to give you more trouble. Nonetheless your heart threatens to jump out of your chest and when a policeman standing by his parked car asks you to stop, you feel it is doing just that. However, he merely asks you what was the cause for your punishment and once you explain he grunts and nods for you to move on, which you happily do. A few steps later you finally see someone who is having a worse day than you: a woman who cannot be very far from the maximum punishable age steps out of a taxi not only fully nude but with her bottom and legs raw with what looks like cane marks.

You finally reach your office building and scan your ID card on the reader by the door. Another change immediately becomes obvious: in addition to a green and a red indicators there is now also an amber one. This is the one that flashes as text appears on the small screen spelling your name, your company name and a message that reads “LATE, <5 MIN, NO ACTION REQUIRED”.

Satisfied that you did not change the world enough to have such small offences penalised you step into the blissfully empty lift. This is where your relief shatters as a mix of text and illustrations on the poster on the wall explains the true meaning of the message. Serious errors lead to being summoned to HR to be dealt with severely with heavy implements; those who committed less grievous deeds will instead be visited at their desk by an HR staff member who will issue a milder punishment on the spot using office supplies such as rulers or even merely their bare hand. You suppose you can imagine the terror of having to report for a proper whipping or a caning... But waiting for someone to come and spank you at your desk in front of everyone is hardly a good deal either!!

Yet this is exactly what you now must do. You make your way through the office to your desk trying to act as if your bottom is not bare and sore; eyes stay on you longer than you would normally expect them to, but the situation is clearly not that unusual. A few women wince sympathetically. Once at your desk, you gingerly sit down, blessing the softness of the office chair and open the product summary chart you were working on. You wonder who will show up for you from HR; your academic background gives you good insight into their practices so while you made some great friends there who were happy to finally meet an outsider capable of appreciating their work, with others you have earned a reputation of a know-it-all-from-marketing-who-thinks-she-can-do-their-job-better. Having one of the latter group come to deal with you could well mean more very bad news for your behind. You wonder if you should just take the Rulebook out and erase the changes but you doubt that will magically bring your clothes back too. Maybe it is better to persevere, at least for now. It should only be a light spanking after all.

Despite the tension, you manage to lose yourself in work so when the tap on the shoulder comes it startles you.

“Ms Cho?” A voice says behind you.