Waking up the day after

James

It was obvious in retrospect, wasn't it? Pamwas the trial Ngrimah was talking about. She was the one that had me face my fears. It was her that made me question what actions are necessary, what actions I need to take to save the relationship I have with my women. Well, what can I do about it now? Pam has been neutralized for now and mom keeps her under supervision, while she's still in the kitchen cooking. We journalists were eating breakfast and I decided to scroll through my phone.

At first, I let my thoughts wander. I'm still processing what had happened last night. Especially my decision in the middle of the night to make use of the app's power to erase Pam's memories, now possible thanks to getting her to 0SP. Erasing the act of submitting from her memories did not reset the SP count, however. Curious... I felt shame for enjoying everything I did last night. A lot. Part of me would love to do this often. Take a woman by ****, make her mine. But I shouldn't, of course. This should remain in the realm of fantasy. Or else I might become the monster that I fear. But... part of me is already a monster. It's manageable, and mostly the good part of being that monster, but still. And Pam threatened me, did she not?

I had always wanted to avoid this, but I need to construct some kind of defense around me. For this, I don't need a wall or a VPN, I need people. Whether I like it or not, Jane and Natalie should be my priority targets. There's simply no way around it. Jane needs to come first. She's my last line of defense. Hindering any investigations into me, shielding me from all legal consequences. Natalie and to a lesser extent Megan are my second line of defense. Journalists with different colleagues and audiences, they can inform me of anything that could threaten me and keep up my public image. After I dealt with them, Beth would be next. She might seem like an afterthought, but ultimately, what I need is security. Job security is economic security. Even with all of these in place, I have no idea what to do if a brawn like Quinn ever got mad...

I scroll through the app. I am reminded of two traits I received yesterday.

Both of them have an orgasm lock now, I turned it on for Natalie. Just for fun. Pam also received a Mouth Lock, which I kept off given that she and mom need to have a talk today. Beyond that, I got two traits.

New trait unlocked! (Natalie)
Cumslut

Subject feels intense arousal upon the consumption of the user’s cum. The user’s cum is registered by the body like a ****, meaning that vaginal and anal consumption are highly effective.
NOTE: This is a Strong Trait. This trait can be turned off or on at will by the user through the app.

Another strong trait, huh I have the feeling it's strong only because it will turn into a **** after upgrades. And the other trait was one that Natalie predicted as much...

New trait unlocked! (Pam)
Painslut

Subject will feel pain from user as sexual pleasure, within reason, and only in sexualized setting. NOTE: This is a Strong Trait. This trait can be turned off or on at will by the user through the app.

Natalie seems to have an eye for this, it was a good call. I have the suspicion that she learned about her cumslut trait yesterday too. I had fantasized too long about my options with these, Christine and Donna were begging me to get a move on to go to work.

Outside we met Amber, whom I had asked to join us, as a favor for Beth. She wanted to push through Dan's article with as much support as possible, so I tagged them all along. On the now shortened train ride (praise be to schedule changes!) I texted Amber my new plans and thoughts. She gave me a thumbs up and suggested inviting Jane to a date as soon as possible, and so I did, texting her. She said she'd have time later today and I was already excited. I was thinking about all the sex we could have and the restaurants to go to...

Well, it was time to exit the subway, I made my way to the office building alongside my entourage. When we entered, Floria was already busy setting up a laptop. Helen joined us and we sat around the computer, as Floria managed to set up the video call with Beth. She was in some kind of hotel, that much was clear.

"Hello everyone. Sorry to call you all here, while you are meant to be on holiday." Us employees nervously looked at each other. Beth continued: "Today we once again look at articles. This time, I need to come clean with something. Dan's accident, that brought us James, was not an accident. Dan had been researching one of the biggest clothing conglomerates, Medmam. As it turns out, Dan realized that despite their public promises twenty years ago, they still use child labor. Dan was discovered however. That's how the 'accident' happened. We will release the article on Monday. The entire office will be under police supervision. There will be guards in front of my office."

Our mood shifted from nervous and annoyed at being called in to confusion and fear. "W-Wait", interjected Floria, "shouldn't we vote first?"

Beth turned serious once again. "I understand your hesitancy, but you have no reason to worry. Besides, Dan is in the hospital. On the path to recovery, yes, but it's clear that James will stay here until the end of February at the minimum to cover Dan's workload. Dan has asked me to publish this article. You are rightly worried. But all that Dan is worried about is getting the article released before they can do anything again."

I had my own worries. Would the article really be enough to bring such a conglomerate titan down? I wouldn't be able to help in the slightest. But Megan has asked me to support this measure for a reason. I have to trust her for now. I decide to speak up: "I think it's important that we release this article, for Dan. If things had turned out worse, it might have been his last article. It might be his last article in a while."

Floria remained silent for a while. Distraught, and pondering. Eventually she nodded. The other women also agreed, as I had asked them to earlier. While it was a simple, pretty short conversation, it weighed heavy on us. None of the other articles submitted for feedback today, mine included, got much feedback aside from Beth. After she left the conference call, we still only stared at each other, not knowing what to say or how to react. Floria approached the laptop and took it away, slowly we returned to work. None of us attempted to disturb each other, whether for a quick talk or a quick fuck.

Mom sent me updates on Pam, that she arrived safely at home and still has no memory of last night. One less thing to worry about. After the day was over, I went home with most of my colleagues, now part of my harem. We got to take half the day off and things were rowdy back home.

I wanted to talk to Amber and Donna first, but I got intercepted by a call from Beth

"Hi James"

"Hi"

"I... wanted to thank you for today. And also... for your advice a while ago. I asked you about my career and what to do with it after your virality. You see, I have realized that my capabilities stem from the success of the magazine. What makes me so sought after as a boss is the fact that I am perceived as being able to plan long-term with a turbulent internet market. It's the discussion around Dan's article that made me realize that I've still got it. I wanted his article printed not just for his sake, but because I knew we had to deliver to turn short-term vitality into many new long-term subscribers and readers. I still know what to do to make us successful!"

"That's great to hear! Forgive me for asking, but what does that mean for your career, though? You said you wanted to stay if you felt inadequate to fill higher positions, so does that mean...?"

"For the moment, no. You know, there's something I realized when talking to all these bigwigs trying to coax me... When they get a new job, they don't just have a good resume, they have a good successor and only leave things half done if the next person knows how to handle the situation. My girls are great journalists, but I don't think they can lead a magazine quite yet. It'll be a few years still."

"That's good to hear, make sure you prepare Donna or whoever else you're going to pick well in the meantime." Donna and Amber entered the room, Donna parking up at the mention of her name. I decided to turn on the video camera to show Beth that the two were here.

"Oh hi you two, how are you? Everything fine on your own, Donna?"

Donna nodded. "So how's life in these fancy hotels, boss?" she asked. Beth turned on her video camera as well and panned the luxurious room. Large stylish polished stones on the wall gave the room a cozy yet rustic vibe, only intercepted by the 10 foot wide flatscreen TV on the wall. The fireplace beneath it, even though it wasn't on, more than made up for it. She then showed us her large double bed. Yet what caught the eyes of Amber was the silk robe Beth wore. "Show us the robe", Amber demanded. Beth stuttered what I can only assume was meant to be my name, but Donna decided to join in on the action, asking "Is it comfy? I never really had silk that close on my skin."

Under the onslaught of the innocent curiosity of two fashion journalists, Beth crumbled and switched the camera to show herself. It was risque at best, but she still seemed to hesitate. Beth +1SP (+24SP) She made excuses to hang up and left us alone. What an awkward ending.

After the call ended, I turned to Amber.