The door opens...

... by which time you have, almost to your own surprise, managed to get yourself into a functional state. You still have more butterflies in your tummy than you did before your first date and your face, you are quite certain, is too close in colour to a tomato, but you have managed to sufficiently detach your mind to be able to think clearly about work and make observations about, rather than be consumed by, your nudity. With a (perhaps just a bit **** smile) you watch Rebecca and Harry get shown in. Their own smiles give way to nearly identical "I knew this was going to happen but I still cannot believe it" expressions once they see you in your fully naked glory, but being professional they make all the usual remarks of this time of it being nice to meet face-to-face after all the earlier video conferences. The line rings slightly differently now that being face-to-face reveals quite a bit more than well, the face, but you do not think that was the intended meaning.

You are about to invite your visitors to take their seats and offer them refreshments when the door opens again. You come about as close to getting blindsided as you can afford to be at this meeting, because Ms Stevens is the person that enters... Unexpected, radiant, and fully and impeccably clothed. You have not seen her much since the night spent together, only having met for one lunch purposefully (you don't count bumping into each other in the hallways a couple of times accidentally), but you do not begrudge her the lack of attention even if you had any claim to it to start with. She was looking and sounding visibly under pressure, although to your relief that seemed to have nothing to do with the new policy you both were now working under. If anything, she was coping better with the pressure thanks to it. In any case, now she does not look tired or pressed at all as she introduces herself and explains why she thinks her presence would be conductive for successful negotiations. You are quite certain that Harry wants to ask why is she not naked given her position, but he is a professional (even if a somewhat distracted right now one) and in any case, he has enough information pieces by now to figure out that exceptions can be made for events such as this. From your end, you wonder how red is her bottom under the pencil skirt. Maybe you'll find out later.

Long before the meeting is over you already know that you will remember it for a very, very long time - and not just because you were the only person naked in it. No, it is the absolute mastery with which Ms Stevens conducted the whole affair that burnt into your mind forever. For every point that was up for contention she hung back to allow you to make the opening and more obvious argument first... And almost without fail, mesmerised by the situation and state in which you made the said argument, whoever is replying would do so in the most predicable and least challenging way, at which point Ms Stevens would steamroll their argument and leave them looking almost comical while you are already making the next point.

When, after a number of major points has already been settled, Rebecca and Harry seem to finally begin to get their bearings, Ms Stevens suggests a short break. In retrospect you supposed you should have seen it coming - she would need to increase the show's intensity to stay a step ahead, and of course it would come at your expense. She pours your visitors the drinks while you do the same for her and yourself. In a brief moment when everyone is getting up to stretch their legs and she is blocking their view of you, with an almost imperceptible strangely cat-like motion she knocks the bottle out of your hand. It does not break as it hits the rug, but water spills and the thud makes Rebecca gasp, caught surprised.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about Jenna's clumsiness", Ms Stevens says. "In most cases the policy of corporal punishment is meant to deal with work-related issues, but as you can see sometimes there are more mundane and general problems we can use it to tackle". You know full well that she knows you have to play along now. "I'm so sorry, everyone", you say. "Please give me a moment to clean this up and I'll get an implement of your choice".