Bound and Broken by Desire

NOTE FOR READER: If you’ve enjoyed Natalie’s character and would like to see more of her story, I welcome your ideas. Feel free to message me with prompts or directions you’d like to explore — I’m always happy to write something a bit more focused or tailored. I share these stories purely as a creative hobby, so there’s no cost or expectation — just reach out if something sparks your interest.

While the later chapters become more intense and sexual, the opening chapters are for character and plot development. If you’re here primarily for the steamier moments, you may prefer to begin a chapter or two ahead.

Chapter 1: The Interview

Natalie couldn’t believe it. This is who we are offering?

The candidate looked unkempt, hair slightly greasy, tie crooked, sleeves wrinkled, and there was a faint, off-putting smell she couldn’t quite place. She understood her firm recruited based on merit, but this had to be a violation of company culture—or, at the very least, basic hygiene. Let alone presentation…

She pressed her lips together, forcing a polite smile as he shifted nervously in the chair across from her. The beige fitted square-neck tee she wore clung just enough to draw attention to her chest without breaking any office rules, and the gray pencil skirt hugged her hips tightly, slit at the side revealing just a hint of leg as she crossed her legs in perfect, controlled motion. Her strappy naked colored heels clicked softly as she adjusted her posture, signaling attentiveness.

“Hi Liam, welcome to PT Bank. I’m Natalie. I’ll be covering the HR portion of your interview today,” Natalie said, voice smooth and professional.

“Uh… hi… Natalie. Nice to meet you,” Liam stammered, eyes darting nervously, hands twisting the pen in his lap.

Liam: Wait… HR portion? I… I’m not even sure why she is even asking these questions. I smoked the technical interview already.

Natalie: God, he’s already looking at my chest. Could you try to look at my face for more than a second?

Liam: Okay, okay, I can’t stare too obviously. Just… don’t drool. Don’t let her see. But… wow. God, she’s fucking sexy. Those boobs… the skirt... everything.

Natalie smiled politely, leaning slightly forward. “Let’s start with something simple. How would you describe yourself in a team environment?”

He cleared his throat. “I… I guess I try to be… collaborative? Supportive… I mean, I like to help where I can, but also I… I like to challenge ideas, if it’s constructive. Bringing a new idea to the table is fun. I....umm... I enjoy conversing with people about the structure of projects.”

Natalie: Challenge ideas? Sweetheart, you look like you struggle to pick a pen up. And you’re staring at my chest again…

Liam: Focus…C'mon Liam...a large paycheck is riding on this. Don't be an idiot...But I wonder what cup size she has, how much she weighs... her thighs look just as thick and sexy as her boobs.

Natalie tilted her head. “And what about conflict? How do you handle disagreements with colleagues?”

He swallowed, shifting in his chair. “Uh… I try to listen, understand their perspective… I’m not great with confrontation, but I… I try to stay calm.”

Natalie: Not great with confrontation? Don't you mean you have zero social skills? And seriously, stop glancing at my legs. You’re embarrassing yourself.

Liam: Okay she definitely saw me look at her legs. I wonder if she works out...She has to...Unless she has the most perfect fat distribution ever. I would love to see her do 10 jumping jacks.

Natalie nodded slowly. “Good. And ethics are important to us here. Can you tell me about a time you faced an ethical dilemma, and how you resolved it?”

He swallowed hard. “Well… in my research project, we… we had some conflicting data… and some of the grad students wanted to adjust the numbers to make it look better… I… I refused. I told my advisor, and we… we corrected it officially.”

Natalie: Finally, some backbone… albeit in a tiny, lab-rat-sized way. And yes, still glancing. Eyes on my face, please.

Liam: That was better... just breathe. This will be over soon. I have to be the best candidate here.

Natalie’s lips pressed together, tapping a finger lightly against her notes. “That’s good to hear. Honesty and integrity are critical. And tell me… what motivates you?”

He hesitated, biting his lip. “I… I guess learning, solving problems… making a difference… and… uh… contributing to something bigger than myself?”

Natalie: Sweet, naïve, and but and endearing answer. Typical new grad. Honestly if he took a shower and I had a few margs, I might let him kiss my feet.

Liam: Bigger than myself… contribution… okay… why is she so perfect? Her chest… her lips… stop staring… breathe…

Natalie leaned back, crossing her legs, letting the heels click softly. “Excellent. Thank you for your honesty, Liam. That concludes the HR portion of the interview.”

Natalie: Finally. End of this farce. He’s oblivious, inexperienced, and… yes, vaguely amusing. I can see the type. Now I have to get the offer letter.

Liam: Done? That's it? I… made it? I didn’t screw up too badly? God, she’s intimidating… and amazing… why is she smiling at me like that?

Natalie stood, smoothing her skirt. “Wait right here. I'm going to converse with some colleagues and be back in a couple of minutes.”

Natalie’s heels clicked sharply against the hallway floor as she made her way to the executive conference room, smoothing her skirt for the third time at her hips. The pencil skirt rode just above mid-thigh, clinging to her curves in a way that made adjustments unavoidable. Alright, time to debrief and get this over with. Hopefully they’ll see reason… though I doubt it.

She opened the glass door and stepped inside. Behind the desk, Carl Henderson, the chubby, slightly nerdy Director of Financial Systems Engineering, was leaning back in his chair, a faint crease in his shirt from long hours at the computer. Beside him stood Morgan Blake, the head of Talent Acquisition — tall, muscular, radiating confidence, arms crossed as she scrutinized Natalie.

“Ah, Natalie,” Morgan said, her voice carrying a sharp edge. “How did it go?”

Natalie sat, crossing her legs, keeping her professional smile in place. “Overall, he’s bright, technically skilled… but I do have concerns about culture fit. He… could use some polish and—”

Carl chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Culture fit? Oh, Natalie… let’s be honest. This isn’t a popularity contest. Not a sorority rush. Remember that?”

Natalie: Oh my god, fuck you. Not only are you laughing at me, you’re framing it like I’m some sorority girl playing judge…

Morgan let out a low laugh, shaking her head. “Yeah, Natalie. You’re adorable with your little critique there, but honestly, we don’t care if he’s polished like one of your sisters. He’s exactly what we need. End of story.”

Natalie: Stop looking at me like that. I’m supposed to be a professional here, not some object for your amusement. She looks at me like she wants to use like a cum sock every time we talk...

Natalie straightened, lips pressed together. “I understand, but—”

Carl waved a hand dismissively. “No buts. He’s got the research background, the skills, the brainpower. The rest… meh. You’re overthinking it.”

Morgan leaned forward slightly, a smirk on her face. “Seriously, Natalie. You’re 28, clearly experienced… but don’t let your "instincts" make you judge someone for being a little awkward. It’s fine. We’ll handle the social stuff later.”

Victor slid a small envelope across the desk. “Here’s the sealed offer letter. Natalie, you’ll walk him through it and handle the compensation negotiation conversation. This is just the offer of without the salary and bonuses applied. Follow the ranges and try to get him under the red dotted line for the offer.”

Natalie took the envelope, trying to mask her irritation. “Understood.”

Natalie gripped the envelope, feeling her knuckles whiten. Great. So now I get to present the prize to the lucky little grad, while Carl and Morgan sit back and… evaluate me? This is humiliating and infuriating all at once. I have to stay calm, but god, do I fucking hate them.

“Understood,” she said, forcing her voice calm, professional, and neutral, though internally she was a storm of anger, irritation, and a strange, unsettling mix of intimidation. She turned around promptly and walked back to the interview room.

Natalie stepped into the interview room, her heels clicking softly. She offered a polished smile. “Hi Liam. How are you feeling? Do you want some water before we negotiate your offer?”

Liam shook his head, still flushed. “Uh… no, I’m… okay. Thanks.” His hands twisted nervously in his lap, eyes flicking to hers and quickly away.

Natalie set the envelope on the table, sliding it toward him but keeping a hand lightly on top. “Before we start, tell me… what were you expecting for compensation? Just so I have your thoughts.”

Liam hesitated, chewing on his lip. “Uh… well… I was thinking… maybe around $130,000? I… I didn’t want to be greedy, especially as a new grad…”

Natalie arched a brow but let a faint, knowing smile curve her lips.

Natalie: Not greedy? That's already more than me....God I want this day to be over.

“Perfect! That gives us a starting point.”

She peeled open the envelope herself, scanning the compensation and looking for the red line.

Natalie: $135,000 base… 25% annual bonus… 5,000 shares of stock at vesting… as the red line!?!? Her lips pressed together. I’m 28, making $90k with maybe a 10% bonus if I hit my metrics. My stock is nothing. God, he’s making more than I ever have at 21…

"So looking this, $130,000 is in the range!" Natalie said with a fake smile. She could feel herself getting hotter by the second from the amount he was making relative to her.

“Wow,” Liam breathed, eyes widening as he glimpsed the numbers. “I… I didn’t expect… uh… that much.”

Natalie crossed one leg over the other, letting the slit of her pencil skirt show just enough leg to underscore her presence. Her tone was calm, professional, but laced with subtle authority. “We can make that work,” she said smoothly. “$130,000 base as you suggested, and then there’s the bonus structure — 25% annually, plus your stock options. You’ll have 5,000 shares vesting every year, with a portion available immediately. It’s still an incredibly competitive package, and exactly what we agreed on.”

Liam blinked, still trying to process the numbers. “Oh… uh… okay. I… I really appreciate it. I won’t let you down.”

Natalie: Good. He’s thrilled. He doesn't notice a thing.

“Excellent,” she said, standing and gathering the paperwork. “Congratulations, Liam. Welcome to PT Bank. We’re thrilled to have you. I will go square away your compensation with payroll and your boss, Carl, will be in here shortly to discuss your start date and desk location.”

Natalie walked briskly to payroll. She kept her professional smile in place, though her mind raced with satisfaction. “Liam has accepted the offer with the agreed package,” she said, sliding the envelope across the desk with deliberate calm.

Kristy, the payroll specialist — an older woman with years of meticulous experience — peered at the papers, glasses perched on her nose. “All set. $135,000 base, 25% bonus, 5,000 shares vesting over four years,” she said, tapping the keyboard.

Natalie leaned forward slightly, letting the curve of her chest catch just enough light without being obvious. “Perfect. Before we finalize everything, Kristy, could you step out for just a quick break? Bathroom, stretch… something like that. I just need to sign off on a few minor details,” she said smoothly, voice light and casual.

Kristy arched an eyebrow but didn’t question her. “Sure, Natalie. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She stood, gathered her things, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Alone now, Natalie let herself smirk, tapping the top line of the authorization form. “Actually… let’s adjust the base just slightly,” she murmured under her breath. $5,000… make it mine. She carefully altered the numbers so that the adjustment would redirect $5,000 into her own account. “Just a minor correction — looks like the system misallocated a line item earlier,” she then proceeded to delete the entry of any edit to her compensation package and left Liam's updated payroll record.

Natalie signed off with flawless authority on the DocuSign. Perfect. Five thousand dollars, redirected, zero fuss, and Liam still thinks he’s walking away with the full package. Meanwhile… me. Now a $95k base. Satisfying… sweet, quiet justice.

She straightened, smoothing the front of her pencil skirt and crossing her legs with deliberate control. "Congratulations, Natalie. You handled Carl and Morgan upstairs, navigated their little condescension, and just reminded yourself that you’re smarter, craftier, and more resourceful than anyone else in this office." She thought to herself.

The door opened, and Kristy returned, her expression neutral. “All done?”

Natalie tilted her head slightly, offering a perfectly practiced smile. “Absolutely, thank you, Kristy,” she said. Her eyes briefly flicked to the paperwork, savoring the little victory.