Tom, head of local branch

Alice leads you deeper into the room, but away from the clump of men near the snack table. She walks towards the lone man, who watches you approach with a stern expression. In contrast to his relaxed posture, his intense eyes betray a sharp intelligence. You feel goosebumps all over your skin as he weighs you. The man looks to be in his late forties, maybe fifties, and in good shape. Not unattractive, with a touch of gray in his dark hair and clean-shaven with a strong jaw. But due to the circumstances of your meeting and the silver pin on his shirt, your primed desire is set aflame under his gaze.

When he shifts his eyes to Alice, you let go of a breath you didn't realize you were even holding.

"Tom..." She begins.

"What is this? I told you Caleb would be handling all introductions tonight. Are you stupid?"

Alice pauses a moment before answering, clearly searching for the correct response. "N-no, I know you said—"

"So why are you bothering me?" He turns his attention back to you, a hard edge to his voice.

The man turns you on so much. Openly boorish, obnoxious, smugly superior. He's probably a real bastard. You make no attempt to hide your desire as his eyes meet yours. He holds your eyes and you can't look away, you feel pinned. Your heart beast faster and your breathing quickens.

Beside you, Alice takes a breath before speaking, her tone very soft. "Master. I believe she, Chelsea, may be what you've been looking for." She gestures to you at your name.

He snaps back to Alice with an angry glare, causing her to flinch despite no other movement from him. As he stares at her she actually inches away from him, looking a bit like a guilty puppy.

The woman slides into a nearby seat and sits with her hands folded in her lap, staring at the floor.

Finally, the man stands and returns all of his attention to you. He's a good six inches taller than you, but in your mind he's towering over you. Your eyes settle on his chest; you're so anxious and excited that you're not sure you can stand to look him in his piercing eyes just now. "So you think you're special, do you."

You shake your head. "No, not at all." Wanting to impress him but unwilling to lie to him, you struggle to find the best words. "I don't even think I'm really all that interesting. I'm just... well I know I'm nothing special."

"How many men have you been with?" He asks abruptly.

"Three. My high school boyfriend got me pregnant, so I wasn't really active for a while after that. Then I didn't really have time for myself so the other two were random one night stands, years apart."

"Do you have any idea what Adonis stands for, Chelsea?"

"I do, yes, and I'm not scared."

After a moment's pause, he places a hand on your shoulder at the base of your neck, thumb near the collarbone, with fingers cupping around the back. Your breath catches as he leans forward, filling your nostrils with the scent of his cologne, all spices and wood-scent.

"I've half a mind to take you home right now and show you how wrong you are about whatever you think you know. I've broken a lot of stupid bitches like you. You're all the same, looking for some exciting, restrained blend of pleasure and pain. You love to play at something you don't understand. But once reality sets in, you all start bawling and trying to back out. That Fifty Shades shit really ruined your whole generation. Waste of fucking time."

Summoning your courage, you shake your head and meet his eyes. "I'm not looking for anything except proper men. I'm turning myself in. Giving myself back to my proper owners. Do whatever the fuck you want with me; I have nothing to give you or me or anyone because I'm the thing being given." Your heart is racing but you're growing increasingly agitated with all the ridiculous attitude these people keep throwing in your face.

You take on a tone to indicate you're pretending to be two people having a conversation. "Here you go sir, one perfectly good female. Found it, thought you might be interested." You turn to the other side to be the other person in your little play, clearly meant to be a man. "Oh, no thanks, I'm too stuck up about what a pompous ass I am to even recognize the gift." You jump back to the first person. "Wow, sad! I'll probably find manlier men at the gay bar down the street." You switch back to the male character. "Probably! I'm just a limp-dick little pu—"

The full-arm slap catches you off guard. You stumble, crashing into a chair and falling to the floor beside it. Sparks float across your vision for a few seconds as you sit in a stunned state of shock at what just happened. Alice, still seated, stares at you in horror, both hands covering her mouth.

Tom snaps his fingers at you and points at the ground in front of him, his tone is hard-edged and ice cold. "Miserable bitch. You have exactly ten seconds to apologize for your unacceptable behavior before I get angry."

The other people in the room notice the outburst and turn to see what is going on.