Meanwhile, Across Town...

"How're you feeling?" Lorelei asked Alex as he finished reviewing the package one more time.

"Nervous," he admitted. "This is a new market for us. If this launch goes wrong, we could be shut out of a major industry for a while. I wish we had time for more market testing."

"That's their job," Lorelei said, "Or will be if you like the direction they're proposing, which I think you will".

"And I trust your judgement, but I know you're not infallible. Hence the nerves." Alex folded down his sunshade, made a minute adjustment to his tie - it had been a while since he's worn one, but he liked the look. This was how he'd imagined himself dressing all the time by now, instead of the labcoat he usually wore on weekdays. "You've been there - what was your impression? Not for the rubric we made, but qualitatively. What stood out?"

"Well... they've got that fancy new Autospanker" she said with a cheeky grin.

"Soulless, clunky things" Alex said with exaggerated disdain.

"No more soulless than Mr red-eye," Lorelei said, smiling at mention of the office cane that had been her first corporate expense. "there's always a human at the controls. The Autospanker just adds more options,”

"They add artificial distance to a process in which rebuilding intimacy is a key function,” Alex said irritably, "Humans should be spanked by humans!"

"I wish a certain human spanked some other humans more often" she responded innocently.

"Seriously?" Alex said with a raised eyebrow.

"Even Alice agrees in private".

Alex breathed out sharply, not at all happy at this revelation. "Lorelei, this is why we have staff meetings! I've picked it up a lot since our initial discussion of this issue and I'm - I'm more than happy to increase the frequency of punishments around the office further - but you've got to manage up the chain of command! We’re up to several a week now and I was worried I was being a tyrant!"

“That’s barely in the second quartile for our industry, and most of the companies with lower rates have much fewer women per capita.” Lorelei said respectfully.

Alex’s eyes widened. He had always coached his team to tell him numbers when they could, but this… well, it raised interesting possibilities, but he also felt an acute embarrassment at how woefully he’d underestimated his staff’s needs.

“I know I had it put in the minutes to bring potential discipline problems to me when reasonable. Have you not been doing that? How can we still not be on the same page?”

"Well... part of the issue is that we don't like interrupting you. You spend so much time in the lab, and even though the original team has the option of spanking each other, it's not the same as with an authority figure."

"That's why we have the open-space lunches," Alex countered, "This sort of thing should be brought up then."

"That’s typically hours after the fact!” Lorelei burst out, “and we know how you hate artificial distances!”

Lorelei bit her lip and looked pained as Alex inhaled for an angry retort, reflected, and reconsidered. "You're right. I thought I'd be on manager time at this stage of the company, interrupting everyone else's work instead of being the one getting interrupted - or not, in the case of my long-suffering staff. Once we're back at the office, set up a meeting with yourself, Alice, and Noor. We'll figure out what it takes to get this right and then we'll do it".

Lorelei glanced at him, looking if anything more pained. "I did say Alice agreed in private, didn't I?"

Alex checked his watch. Plenty of time.

"Sir?" Lorelei asked, recognising the look.

"Not another word." he said, opening the sample case and taking out a thin, flexible leather paddle. "Are you wearing one of the samples?"

Lorelei nodded.

"Pull over. No, at the meter" Alex ordered. He got out as soon as she came to a stop, putting in a quarter as she parked and approached him.

"Hood". He ordered. Lorelei obeyed fluidly, spreading her long legs wide before bending over the hood of the car and arching her generous bottom up. She rested on cheek on her hands and relaxed two more as Alex got into position at her left.

"I'm damn lucky you were my first hire", Alex said as he lifted her loose red skirt, revealing a stretchy pair of electric-blue boyshorts straining to contain the bottom of a woman who took care to make it always presentable. He ran the implement over her upturned bottom as he continued, "You've been a hell of a knife fighter, and there's no way I'm losing you to some soulless corporation with a fancy spanking machine that doesn't know your name. But sometimes-"

He brought the leather down with a resounding CRACK! across her right cheek. "... you really earn this position." He brought it down again on the left, the impact reverberating as the tall woman ghasped. "You've been late- CRACK! telling me about- CRACK! a flaw in my management- CRACK! style - which I recall asking for reliable and regular feedback on-" Alex warmed to his task, his hand rising and falling as Lorelei ghasped and squealed with each impact to her sensitive skin. It was hard to judge by redness with the sample covering most of the target area, but Alex found her vocalizations a helpful substitute, noting a marked increase in whimpers and moans compared to Lorelei’s usual reactions when receiving punishment.

Alex paused and rubbed the smooth paddle over Lorelei's heated bottom, paying particular attention to the damp spot the bright blue panties highlighted. "And in addition to not telling me something I'd asked you to share immediately, you've also shared information that I gather was relayed in confidence. I'm unimpressed with your communication today. Have you anything to say for yourself?"

Lorelei's only response was to look back with a sad puppy expression and push her bruising bottom skyward.

"Good answer" Alex said, eliciting a scream as he began raining blows on her creamy upper thighs. He took his time, putting his care, and irritation, into every blow he landed on the formidable redhead.