Dear Maggie,
Join me at the Stamford Plaza hotel on Friday 13th. I’ll leave a key for you at reception. Wear the corset, and come prepared to spend the night. You won’t get much sleep.
Connor
Black Friday. Hell, he hoped that wasn’t a bad omen. Things were difficult enough without bad ju-ju coming into play. Connor stared at the message again and decided it communicated what he wanted to say. After rewriting the message on the card, he tucked it into the box containing the corset. He taped it shut and picked up the phone to call a courier. If this didn’t work, he was out of ideas.
Her job was working her last nerve. Maggie felt as if she were in the middle of a bad disaster movie with two out of control trains heading for a collision. She drove one train and could see the other coming. Her workmates drove the other train and were clueless. They couldn’t see a thing, but that didn’t stop them speculating.
“Why would someone want a man to spank them?” one secretary asked. “I don’t get it. We’ve spent years trying to gain equality, and this woman…” She trailed off, gesturing with her hands as if words failed her.
Another woman added her thoughts. “It’s like this woman wants to set us all back to a time when women didn’t have the vote and men ruled supreme.”
“Yeah, we’re a progressive country. We’ve had two female prime ministers. New Zealand women were the first in the world to earn the right to vote. Shouldn’t that mean something?”
Maggie gritted her teeth and tried not to listen. She was not deviant. She cared about freedom and the right to vote as much as the next person. It didn’t mean she was taking a step backward. What about freedom of choice?
“Don’t listen to them,” Julia said in a low voice. “Want to miss lunch tomorrow and do a spot of shopping instead? I feel like a splurge. It will cheer us both up.”
“Thanks. I’m having to bite my tongue. It’s hard not being able to defend myself. Shopping sounds great. Where are the others?”
“I don’t know about Connor, but the girls both have special assignments. We won’t see them for the rest of the day.”
Maggie nodded, depression weighting down on her shoulders. Spending tonight alone sent shudders of horror through her. “Do you fancy having drinks and dinner at my place tonight?”
“Sure. Do you want me to ask the others if I see them?” Julia asked.
“Let’s make it a girl’s only evening then I can whine about my blog,” Maggie said. “Just a little bit, I promise. I won’t go on for longer than an hour.”
Julia laughed. “Make that half an hour of complaining and we have a deal.”
“Done.” Maggie’s tone was smug. “You should have negotiated harder. I would have settled for ten minutes.”
“Well,” Julia said, wrinkling her nose.
“Ah-ah. No renegotiation,” Maggie said, and with a laugh, she left the lunch room feeling better than she had for days. Good friends were worth gold.
After work, she rushed home, going via the supermarket to grab half a dozen bottles of wine, some brie, cheddar and blue cheese, along with two loaves of bread and some hummus. She figured they could order take-out from their favorite Thai restaurant later if the girls decided they needed something more filling.
Maggie changed into jeans and a top that skimmed her upper body, showcasing her curves instead of losing them under acres of baggy material.
The doorbell went when she’d organized the snacks.
“Hey,” she said with a grin when her three girlfriends walked in together. “I didn’t think you’d be so early.”
“We can go away again,” Susan said.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Maggie said, gripping Susan’s forearm and propelling her inside. “Julia promised I could have half an hour of non-stop whining about people at work dissing my spanking blog. I intend to utilize every second of my half hour, and you have to listen.”
Christina shook her head. “You’re a bad negotiator, woman. You should have let me do it.”
“I shouldn’t tell you Maggie said she would have settled for ten minutes.” Julia grinned. “I’m sorry. I blew it, but I brought a bottle of champagne in penance.” She produced a bottle of Moet.
“Oh, the good French stuff,” Susan said. “I love me some Moet.”
“What’s the occasion?” Christina asked.
The doorbell went, and Maggie frowned. “Don’t tell me that’s Connor. That would spoil everything. I can’t whine with him here.”
