The rest of the working day

The abundance of glances and the lack of any direct acknowledgment of the change continues in your own office after you part ways with the somewhat reassured Bella. The two of you have another revelation before you part ways (or rather she does - you just catch up thanks to the Rulebook, not having seen the object in question in your reality). Some building works were taking place near the bathrooms, now clearly finished but the areas still remained covered by large canvass sheets. Your rival deduces (correctly, you are sure) that these will be the open-for-viewing facilities you will be restricted to using. It feels a bit silly to continue to think of her in the terms of rivalry after finding that out, really.

You know most people in your team of eight (nine including yourself) well enough to gauge their reactions and there seems to be some variation from the pure vindictiveness you are quite certain some of your peers will get. Which is not to say, of course, that your new situation will be generate massive enjoyment. You are quite sure you can catch Laura smirking and Diana, whose preferences for women are well-known, appears almost dreamy each time she looks at or talks to you. You quite sure she has not felt in any particularly special way about you before... But maybe expecting have someone naked around oneself changes that. Dave, your intern, clearly thinks he does a better job of hiding his excitement than he actually does. The expression of Peter is interestingly thoughtful. It is no secret he expected to be promoted into the team leader place before you were brought in with your brand-new Masters degree, so you would have thought he will be the first in line to celebrate the unexpected outcome of your career climb.

About an hour before the end of the working day your office gets a visit from two maintenance department workers, who come bearing gifts. One of the items is a clothes hanger with an obvious enough purpose. The other needs a bit of an assembly (which takes place right by your desk) and turns out to be a hard bench with a storage unit and a hanging rack attached to the side. While they are working, you get an email; your tomorrow's morning spanking will be three strokes with a light strap from each member of your team. About ten minutes after they leave another pair enters; their job is to fill in the rack and the storage. Soon there is a small but varied collection of paddles, straps, canes and whips hanging from the rack. The storage houses an enema and some items you cannot recognise in their packaging, but you remember reading about ginger suppositories and disinfectant. It is your duty to ensure all items are replaced or replenished as necessary.

The room remains somewhat subdued in their wake when Peter suddenly speaks up.

"Since nobody will address the elephant in the room, I guess it's up to me", he says. Everyone looks at him, all other conversation ceasing. "I think we can all agree Jenna has her traits, but she really is not the primary reason this policy is taking place, and that's coming from me, who thought Jenna's place will be mine. Yeah, I know everyone knows. Jenna, I'm sorry, we will have to do this properly and to the letter, which will not be pleasant to you, but we will stay an effective unit".

The room erupts in a still somewhat subdued but clearly supportive noise.