L + S

Chapter 3

        The portal to hell stood before me. Its plain metal frame and thick wooden door disguised the horrors that truly waited for me inside. I was terrified, but there was no choice. No choice but to enter.

        I knocked softly on the door to Sarah's office. I heard movement inside, but there was no answer. I knocked again, firmly. Still. No response. I wasn't sure if I should leave or knock again, but before I could decide, the decision was taken out of my hands.

        "Liz."

        The voice was icy. And it was right behind me.

        "Sarah?" I asked, turning.

        Sure enough, behind me stood Sarah, the woman I fantasized about and the woman that was about to end my career. 

        "The door is unlocked. Go in and have a seat. I'll return momentarily."

        I nodded in consent and made my way into the office while Sarah walked off down the hall. As I sat down in the unremarkable chair she had for visitors in front of her desk, I took in the rest of the office. 

        The first thing I noticed about the room was that it seemed obsessively tidy and organized. Every binder and book on Sarah's shelves was neatly placed, no binding sticking out further than any of the others, and all their labels alphabetized. Her desk was as unremarkable as the chair I was sitting in, and unsurprisingly just as organized as the shelves were. In fact, the only aspect of the office that didn't make it feel like it was just a stock picture of an office was the computer chair and peripherals. The chair was a cushiony brown leather, and it had a relaxed feel to it that clashed with the otherwise apathetic atmosphere of the office. The clash was added to by the fancy looking mouse and keyboard on the desk that had pink back lights to them. Then there was the mouse pad. Instead of the thin, ratty feeling black ones that we had in the storage room, Sarah's was thick and decorated in a white and pink flower print. 

        I'm not sure how long I waited in the office. It was definitely past four, of that I was sure, and I wondered if that was why Sarah had walked off. It didn't surprise me that I wasn't part of the meeting: it was for people with the potential for management, and if I wasn't even being given the chance to go to it, I was definitely not going to be one of the candidates. 

        I considered pulling out my phone to check the time, but the thought of being caught doing anything remotely wrong at this point terrified me. It seemed weird that with such a stock office setting there wasn't a wall clock, but then again, in this day and age, computers made wall clocks pretty pointless. 

        My contemplation on the idea didn't last long, though, because a few minutes later the door knob turned and Sarah entered in her fancy heels, black pencil skirt, and baggy white dress shirt. Her movements were precise, and while I found them enamoring, the thought of the conversation that was about to begin made it a passing thought.

        Sarah's eyes locked onto me as she sat in her brown leather chair and wheeled it forward. I had expected to see her glaring at me, or giving me a scornful look, but instead her demeanor was placid. Maybe this whole conversation wasn't about me being caught having my own personal f**k session in the bathroom.

        "Liz, stand up."

        The command confused me, but I felt compelled to follow it since it hadn't been a request. As I rose I could feel Sarah's eyes analyzing me, scanning my every movement. I stood there for several uncomfortable moments until, finally, Sarah stood up herself.

        It happened before I could blink. Sarah closed the gap between us in moments, and pushed me against the office wall, pinning my wrist next to my head as she did. My body tensed, as my mind raced to think if I should try and run or struggle to fight back. Sarah's grasp on my wrist was firm, and I wondered if I'd be able to get away even if I tried. 

        Her lips pressed against mine. I jumped back somehow further into the wall as they did, as a kiss had been the exact opposite of what I thought was about to happen. I was certain that she was going to hit me, but instead, she moved her tongue into my mouth, massaging mine with her's.

        I gave in immediately and moved to kiss her back, but to my surprise she pulled back, and I was met with a piercing glare.

        "This is what you were imagining, isn't it."

        Words hung in the air. There was no mistaking it. She had been in the bathroom the whole time and had heard me. I wanted to scream at myself for being so stupid. Instead I just stared dumbly back at Sarah.

        A hand pressed up between my legs, and I could feel the slender fingers I had fantasized about pressing on me through my pants. My heart raced as I tried to understand what was happening, and I struggled to remember how to breathe. 

        Then it was over.

        Sarah stepped back from me, releasing my wrist as she did. I slumped backwards, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. Was she interested in me? Did she want me like I wanted her?

        "Don't misunderstand, Liz. I have no real s****l or romantic interest in you at this time. I just wanted to see how a disgusting degenerate would react when they thought their deepest fantasies were about to come true."

        Disgusting degenerate. The words cut into me, and my chest began to tighten in pain. She wasn't wrong; I had crossed a line. But then, hadn't she just crossed one, too? 

        "Why did you do that?" I demanded softly.

        "I just told you. But that's that, and I would ask you to refrain from any other acts of self pleasure while in the office."

        I stared at her, my brow furrowed in confusion.

        "There was another matter to discuss, however. Sit back down."

        I complied.

        "As you know, we just had a meeting about the mentor program that the higher ups have told us to instate. While the memo does say that we're going to mentor employees we see potential in, the reality is we can't discriminate like that. In actuality every employee will be mentored by one of the office managers. Which leads me to the fact that I have decided to be your mentor for the next few weeks."

        "Why are you choosing me?"

        "It's simple. In my opinion, you're one of the least suited people for this position, and I wanted an interesting project."