Chapter 11 – I'm Just That Good

Jack walked through the front doors of The Cougar Club office building like he owned the place. 

Any sense of doubt and anger from the night before was gone and single-minded focus was all that remained. 

Jack wore an Armani pale-pink, button-down shirt with the top 2 buttons undone and no tie, Ralph Lauren khaki pants, and shining brown Ted Baker London dress shoes. On his wrist was his only Rolex watch, a Rolex Cellini, and in his hand was a briefcase he had bought the night before, a Brunello Cucinelli Leather Portfolio.

The women he needed to seduce were all-powerful ladies. This didn't mean they were rich, but he assumed that most were. While Jack was already dressing to impress, he needed to step up his game in order to end this farce of one he was now forced to play. 

With a fresh haircut, clean shave, and million-dollar smile, Jack swaggered into the office foyer.

The first to experience this confident, nearly glowing, version of Jack was Erin Schneider, the office receptionist.

"Hello, Sir, we are not open yet, but I can give you our PR-" *Gasp* "J-Jack? Why...Why didn't you come in through the side entrance like usual?" Erin starts in a professional tone but then is stunned when she recognizes who it was she was talking to. 

'Erin Schneider:

• Caucasian, Estimated age: 28-30
• Timid little thing.
• Purple hair, purple eyes, stupidly big rack, and can't maintain eye contact with me for long.
• Ex-model that got a second chance here.
• Doesn't show any obvious signs of fetishes, but is clearly submissive.
• Has a kid -  Possible ex-husband.
• She is kind to me and definitely seems to have a crush, but gives off no feeling of power nor command.

Conclusion: She is either a great actress or she is one of the 4 not playing. I will need to investigate how she acts around others to be sure.'

"Hello, Erin. You are looking lovely as always. To be honest, I came this way so that I might have a couple more seconds to spend with you than normal. You can't blame a guy for wanting a beautiful woman to brighten up his day, now can you?" Jack responds with a crooked smile, passing over his keycard for her to scan and brushing his fingers across the back of her hand as he takes his back.

***

Oh yes, Jack has done some prep work before coming in today. 

Last night, after firming his resolve to ruin all of the cunts that did this to him, he sat down with his work laptop, finally read through his contracts, spent more time comparing Natasha's ancestry to that of a cow or dog, and started to plan. 

The first step of the plan he came up with was to catalog all he knew about each woman in the office. He created a spreadsheet with each of their names and pictures, ones that he had from their key cards, and worked all afternoon on filling in anything and everything he had learned about them since they met.

Next, he went out to make some new purchases. 

For the first time in his life, Jack spent his money recklessly and frivolously. He bought new clothes, new shoes and accessories, new cologne and body products, and even bought a second car. A 3-year-old, classic-red, Ferrari convertible. He didn't buy new because, even if he was being loose with his money, he was not going to be THAT reckless.

New cars lost nearly half of their value when you drove them off the lot! A 3-year-old one was new enough.

Once he had purchased the car, a cover for it, and was done grumbling and complaining about his purchases on the ride home, he went to his apartment's office and rented out one of the garages they had lined at the back of the complex. He never needed it before, even with his Audi, but having a second car meant he needed a safe place to store it when it was not in use. 

This would be his date car, and Jack knew he was about to be on a lot of dates.

The rest of the evening he studied his spreadsheet, added more information as it came to him, and started planning how he would tackle discovering the mask identities.

The key, he had decided, was in identifying their fetishes based on their body language, leading conversations he would have with them, and accidental or intimate touches he would do during those conversations.

No, he would not be "Falling" and landing on their boobs or accidentally slapping their assess, but he could do subtle touches, ones that were already present in most cases of natural flirting, to help in his identification. Things like touching a shoulder, caressing their back lightly, helping move a stray hair, picking a piece of lint off their clothes, or...

Brushing his fingertips against the back of their hand when passing them something.   

***

Erin took in a slight breath at the sudden contact of her hand with his, but Jack didn't seem to notice as he looked around the room, complementing the recent paintings that were added to the lobby.

With now slightly shaky hands, she scanned his card and unlocked the glass gates that kept the public from coming into the building proper.

Jack smiled at her once more, wished her a wonderful day, and then walked through the gate, fully aware of Erin biting her lip and staring at his ass as he passed. He could see her reflection in the glass pane.

'Yup. I am fairly sure she is not participating. She seems far too innocent, but, maybe she is a freak in hiding. You can never really tell.' He thinks with a chuckle  

The first order of business in his quest to discover the Animal Masks was to determine who was the most likely to be playing this game. If he had a list of likely candidates, he could narrow down his search and focus on a small few at a time. 

As Jack was thinking this, the side door opened and a tall black woman with long raven hair and piercing blue eyes walked through. 

Jack was heading for the stairs as he did most days, but, after thinking quickly, he moves to the elevator instead and smiles as the beautiful dark-skinned woman's gaze locked on to his.

She waved and shared Erin's greeting, but her focus was purely on Jack as he held the elevator doors open for her.

"Thank you, Jack...You're looking nice today." The woman says as she eyes Jack up and down, stopping shortly at his watch before moving on. 

"And you are looking gorgeous as always, Noel," Jack replies, stepping inside the elevator after her. "3rd floor as usual?" He asks, moving to the buttons and standing a bit nearer to her than was strictly necessary. 

Noel had a model's body, which was great considering she was the director of their modeling department. Her chest was large, her hips were curvy, and she had the biggest ass in the building - A compliment if there ever was one from Jack. Today she wore a long dark-green dress with matching earrings and golden bracelts that matched her golden sandles.

Noel raises an eyebrow. "You think I am gorgeous, huh? You should be careful about what you say to the women here, Jack. Some might get the wrong idea, Last I checked, you were dating Natasha." She says, giving him a playful wink. 

"We are not together any longer." Jack says simply, but feels a bitter sting of hatred and regret in his chest. 

"Reeeeeally?" Noel says with a smile tugging on the corner of her plush lips. "Well, that is news. Still, you should be careful. Some of us bite." She finishes with a playful push on Jack's shoulder as she turns to face the doors. 

"I don't mind a bit of biting." Jack challenges back with a smirk, stepping even closer to her for a moment, only to hit the 3rd and 4th floor buttons before stepping back. 

Missed by the two was the shocked look on Erin's face as she watched them flirt in the elevator before the doors shut.

The floor jostles slightly and the whur of electricity lets them know their short ride has begun.

Noel's eyes sparkle as she looks at Jack out of the corner of her eye. "I am sorry for your break up." 

"It is what it is. She was not who I thought she was."

"Oh? And finding out women aren't exactly what you imagined them to be is a turn off to you, is it?" She asks, turning to face him once more.

"On the contrary, that is part of the challenge," Jack says as he leans in closer to her once more, moving to whisper into her ear. They were nearly the same height, so it wasn't hard for him to do. "I just didn't like what I saw under her specific mask."

Noel shivers slighly as Jack's words tickle her ear. She hums softly at his words, but, before either of them could say more, the elevator door dinged and they found themselves on the 3rd floor. 

"I best be going...But feel free to stop by my office if you want to chat a bit more, alright Jack?" Noel says as she trails a fingernail across his chest and leaves the elevator. 

"I will keep that in mind," Jack growls out a promise as the doors close once more. 

'Noel Kingston:

• African American, Estimated age: 32-36
• Sensual in all actions and flirty whenever we speak.
• Tall, black hair, blue eyes, and an ass that I struggle to believe is real.
• Likes my assertive playfulness and loved when I whispered in her ear.
• Possible Kinks: Too many to narrow down at this point.
• Noticed my watch - Probably be rich or at least aware of such valuable items at a glance.

Conclusion: She is 100% playing the game. She could be the Fox, but I need more interactions with her to find out.'

Jack hadn't spoken to Noel too many times, so it was difficult to pin down much about her. Now that he had an open inviation to visit her, however, he could fix that whenever he wanted.

'I need to not come off too aggressive. I will take things slow and ramp up my actions as I become more certain about the girls and what they might be into. Slow and steady wins the race.'

People with BDSM kinks are not easy to spot. They are generally normal in most settings: Dressing normally, acting normally, partying normally, and anything else you could expect from someone else not into it. 

The only real way to tell, without directly asking, was by using leading questions, simulated scenarios, and close observation.

'Does she sigh when I whisper in her ear? Does she bite her lips when I move in close? Does she not get agitated or uncomfortable when cornered? Does she defer to what I have to say or my opinions on most matters? Does she like it when I grab the back of her neck or wrists? Does she listen to my directions? Is she willing to do things for me that others might find annoying or uncomfortable?'

There were thousands of small indications that could be used to determine if someone was into this or not. And, the hard part was, just because they checked 3 or 4 boxes, doesn't mean they were actually into it!

But, this was all Jack had to build his suspicions on.

Well, that, and the knowledge that most of the women here WERE into it and were just hiding behind masks.

He had to find something that stuck out and use that to push them even further until they had no choice but to display who they really were. 

The most difficult part was that almost none of what he needed to do to learn their kinks was work-appropriate. Meaning, that he was going to have to meet these women outside of work and, most likely, start intimate, sexual relationships with them before he could be certain about his guesses. 

'I can't imagine a slave or a pain slut being alright with normal, non-kinky sex for more than a couple of times. Most people don't have the willpower to refuse what they really want in those situations, especially if that is what they are used to getting. It will be obvious by how satisfied or not they are by the end.'

Jack had no time to continue his thoughts, however, as the elevator dinged once more and he found himself on the 4th floor. 

He walked out of the elevator and nearly collided with Stacy, his assistant, as she was heading into the elevator herself.

Stacy Hensley was a woman Jack would best describe as cute. She was only about 5' 4," easily the shortest person in the office, and had orange-red hair that went down to her shoulders and curled at the tips. She usually wore it up in a ponytail and was doing so now. Her eyes were a light brown and she wore a pair of rectangular semi-rimless glasses. Despite her shorter stature, she was well built, with a large bust and wide hips. She was also very thin and, from what he could see, she probably didn't weigh much of anything. 

Stacy let out a cute, "Eep!" and started to backpedal, but tripped over her own foot and began falling backward.

Jack quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arm around her waist, to prevent her from falling. He was shocked for a second, doing all of that on impulse, but decided to use this moment and try a different approach for his ditsy assistant to what he did with Noel. 

'And I just was thinking about not using falls...But, when an opportunity presents itself...' He thinks with an internal sigh.

While still pressing her firmly to him, Jack raises an eyebrow and looks down at her. 

"Well?" He asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"I-I...Um...W-What?" Stacy stammers as she looks up at him with a doe-in-the-headlights look. 

"Shouldn't you be apologizing for nearly knocking us both over, Stacy?" Jack asks, his face turning into a frown.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Jack! I didn't see you there! I was in a hurry because Gwen needed me to check on-" She tries to explain herself, but Jack decides to push his advantage. 

He leans in so that his face is close to hers and watches her intently as he says, "You need to be more careful from now on, Stacy. You don't want me to have to discipline you, do you?"

Stacy's face goes blank. Her entire body shivers and a deep flush covers her from head to chest. "N-no..." She barely whispers, but it is clearly a lie. 

Jack feels this is enough for now. She has already given him more than enough to figure several things out. 

"Good girl," Jack says and pats her cheek lightly before letting go. 

Apparently, that had been the wrong guess, as her face scrunches up in agitation at the comment and whatever spell he had over her breaks. 

"T-That's sexual harassment, Jack!" She says with a cute pout, looking up at him in indignation. 

Jack stares at her blankly and then points down at his body. He had already let go of her, but she had not let go of him. 

"And this isn't?" He offers back.

She looks at where she clings to him, lets go slowly, and steps back away from him carefully, making sure she doesn't trip once more.

"A-Ah...Well, I guess we are even then?" She asks looking back up at him sheepish smile. 

Jack rolls his eyes and commands, "Get back to work, Stacy. I want a report on the projects you are working on later today." 

She salutes him with a, "Yes, sir!" and then heads into the elevator once more.  

He pretends not to notice the several glances she shoots him as she tries not to look at him directly, but he definitely hears her say, "He smells so good..." under her breath. 

Jack gives her a slight smile and a wave as the elevator doors close, before frowning. 

'Damn. Not The Ocelot then.

Stacy Hensley:

• Asian American, Estimated age: 30-35
• Small, cute, and peppy. She is a bundle of energy most of the time.
• Short, red hair, brown eyes, and great body proportions.
• Possible Kinks: Slave, Servant, Princess, or Trainee¹I don't think I talked about this one, but this is another Master/servant or Dom/slave relationship, only the sub's kink is being trained like an animal - They are usually treated like a Dog, Cat, Pony, etc.. 
• Doubtful she is into bondage or pain, but I could be wrong.
• Sideways monitor heretic.

Conclusion: Absolutely playing - Is a super sub. She wants me to praise her, but she is not a Good Girl. I have her pretty well nailed down, however, so she shouldn't be a priority until I get a new animal that matches her disposition.'

Jack shakes his head and continues down the hall towards his office, only to be stopped once again as a voice calls out to him. 

"Mr. Richards," The serious voice Liz says from behind him.

Jack smiles to himself but puts on a serious expression before turning around.

"Yes, Ms. Ellis? What can I help you with?" 

Liz frowns at his formal use of her name. 

"Please, Mr. Richards, you are in a higher position than me. I am just a secretary, please call me Liz." She demands sternly, adjusting the glasses on her face.

"No," Jack says simply, crossing his arms. 

Liz blanches. "Excuse me? Mr. Richards, I really must insist-"

"No. I will not call you Liz again until you call me Jack." He says with steel in his voice. 

"M-Mr. Richards, you are being unnecessarily difficult-"

"Call. Me. Jack. Now." He interrupts her and orders. 

Liz's entire face flushes red in, what Jack is sure she hopes to be seen as, anger. 

"W-Who do you think you are to talk to me that way?" She snaps at him. 

"You said it yourself, I am your superior. I am ordering you to call me Jack. Are you going to refuse my order?" Jack questions with a raised eyebrow.

"And what if I do!?!" Liz snarls back, her face flushing even darker. 

"Then I am going to spank you." Jack threatens with his signature scowl.

Dead silence seems to fill every inch of the hallway. 

"Y-You...W-What?" Liz asks, her breathing a bit ragged. 

Jack then laughs.

He doubles over and holds his stomach as he laughs and laughs. 

Liz just stares at him, nearly petrified by shock. 

"S-Sorry, Liz, I took my teasing a bit too far this time. I was just joking, of course!" Jack says, walking up to her and patting the side of her arm. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

"O-Oh...oh...hahaha...Good one...Mr. Richards..." Liz says, her expression unreadable. She then clears her throat and says in a slightly dejected tone, "Ms. Sutherland wishes to see you."

She then turns to leave, but Jack grabs her arm a bit forcefully, and leans in to say, "Great! We should go together."

There is smug satisfaction on his face, and Liz stares at him in confusion. 

"Um, Mr. Richards, I have other duties I must attend-"

"Nonsense!" Jack says jovially, pulling her along by her arm towards the elevator. 

"Mr...Mr. Richards, this is highly unnecessary." Liz huffs as she tries to free her arm. 

Jack's smile vanishes and he leans in close to her once again. 

"Follow me and shut up, Liz. Don't speak another word or there will be consequences. That is an order." 

Liz is stunned by Jack's words and does as he says while looking down to the ground. Her face was completely red once more.

When they reach the 5th floor, Jack pulls Liz along once again. She tries to shake off his arm, but one scowl in her direction is enough for her to stop. 

They get to Natasha's door and Jack looks to Liz expectantly. 

"Why...Why do I need to call out to her? Surely you could do it." She says weakly, wilting more and more under his scowl. 

"No, Liz. You are going to call out to her. Do it. Now." Jack commands and he feels a shiver run down her body. 

She nods slowly and then knocks on the door with her free hand. "N-Natasha...Jack and I are here..." In her flustered state, she forgets to use the honorifics that she is so insistent on.

"Liz...? I just need Jack, you can-" The voice of Natasha comes from the other side of the door and Jack's jaw locks in fury for a second. 

He takes a deep breath, forces a pleasant smile onto his face, then walks into the room with Liz in tow. "Now, Now, I think there is something we all have to discuss!" 

Natasha gawks at Jack as he enters while holding Liz's arm in a firm hand, pulling her behind him.

"J-Jack!?! What is the meaning of this!?!" Natasha shouts, true anger at the way he is treating his coworker slipping into her voice. 

But Jack is no fool. 

He sees the panic in her eyes.

He sees the matching panicked look in Liz's eyes. 

"Oh? I thought you would be thrilled? After all, I found our little lost Rabbit." Jack says with a shit-eating grin.

Both Natasha and Liz's faces go pale.

"Don't look so surprised!" He announces with a chuckle, finally letting Liz go and pointing for her to sit in a chair nearby. 

Liz doesn't even fight it as she simply moves and sits down on shaky legs.

"I'm just that good."