Sitting on Ms. Verity’s desk, looking over a piece of paper, was an unfamiliar woman, the sleeves on her shirt rolled up and her jacket (presumably) left draped over the back of a chair. Cherry sat to her left, head resting on her shoulder as she clung to her arm. The woman was closer to Ms. Verity’s age than the others Delilah had met, perhaps in her early 40s too, and the frown lines etched onto her forehead made it seem as though she would usually come across as rather stern, but as Ms. Verity and Delilah entered the room without the others noticing, she had a broad grin across her face.

“And then he says,” the woman said, reading off the letter, hushing Cherry’s giggling so she could continue, “there was ‘clear bias against me throughout the process’. Must have hired a private investigator to figure that one out! Oh, oh! And here’s the best bit, right at the very end. He says, ‘P.S. I am submitting this complaint as a physical letter rather than by email due to fear of retaliation should she intercept my communications’!”

Cherry gasped, “Noooooo way! He went that far? But then like… How did you get it? A secret friend in HR?”

The woman tapped her nose. “You know me. I never reveal my methods.”

“It’s awfully quaint, isn’t it?” Ms. Verity spoke up as she approached the pair, immediately making them sit up straight in attention as they realised they were no longer alone. She reached over and took the letter with her free hand. “I’m surprised he didn’t go as far as write it by hand.”

“So, what do you want me to do about him?”

Ms. Verity skimmed over it. “You still have contacts in the other companies in the city?” The woman nodded. “Fire him. If he’s still going to put up a fight, let other potential employers know what a troublemaker he is. Hardly the most elegant solution, but given the circumstances…”

Delilah blinked in shock at how casually Ms. Verity issued the command, while the woman simply nodded. “Understood. I’ll see to it, then look over that list from Legal.” The woman scooped the jacket off the chair and headed towards the exit. As Delilah watched her walk past, the woman paused for a moment to let her cold, grey eyes run over her body with analytical precision. She said nothing, leaving without another word.

“Ms. Beauvoir has her hands quite full this morning, as she often does, so do excuse her lack of formal introduction. Sit, Miss Tilly,” the executive said, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk as she took her own. Delilah did so, while Cherry took her place a little behind their boss. After sipping her coffee and reclining, Ms. Verity asked, “Did Ms. Estevez at least get the chance to explain what your work will entail before Miss Zeiger derailed your little tour of the department?”

Delilah gave a nod. “It’s pretty similar to what I was doing before, so… I should be able to manage.”

“With better pay and benefits, of course. That should go without saying. But we both know that’s not what interested you about the position.”

“…No, it’s not, Ms. Verity. It was because of you.” Though she lowered her gaze, Delilah figured she was well beyond the point where she could reasonably act coy about her desires. In a way, it felt refreshing to be more open about them, and Ms. Verity’s wide grin made it evident she was pleased to hear it. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t blush about it, however. “Still, it might take some getting used to…”

Ms. Verity’s smile didn’t quite sink – It rarely seemed to leave her face, and Delilah still hadn’t figured out whether it was meant to make her more approachable, or more unsettling. Nevertheless, it faded ever so slightly as she sat up and placed her coffee on the desk. “In what sense?”

Delilah fiddled with her fingers a little too. Questioning her boss on the first day of her new job? Seemed like a bad idea. She did, however, recall that Ms. Verity had claimed she saw honesty as a virtue from her employees. That didn’t make it easier. “Well, your methods… I mean… For instance… That thing you were talking about, with the letter… I mean… Doesn’t it all seem a bit… much?

“I’m sure Mr. Neilsen is an intelligent man, but he was still foolish enough to repeatedly get on his superior’s bad side. And then, even more foolishly, he sought to challenge my judgement when I rather graciously reassigned him rather than firing him outright. With that kind of disregard for my authority, it’s essential to make an example, lest this place fall into utter chaos.” It still hardly sounded fair to Delilah.

“This isn’t the first time he’s shown up on our radar, you know. He’s had chances,” Cherry added, hands clinging to the back of Ms. Verity’s chair.

“And… And… The ‘leverage’ in all the records, for instance. It all seems a little… Invasive… I mean…”

Ms. Verity could see Delilah’s conflicted feelings painted across her face and sighed. She stood up and walked around the desk, placing a hand on her cheek. She took a moment to gently hold her until Delilah stopped talking. “Miss Tilly, if I assured you that everything I do is well within the rather broad authority granted to me, would that help? Perhaps. Perhaps not,” Ms. Verity answered for Delilah before she had the chance. “But really, it would do you better to simply disabuse yourself of notions of what is ‘allowed’ or ‘disallowed’. It’s such a terribly restrictive way of thinking. After all, someone who took a strict interpretation of what was allowed might find issue with the little… ‘trysts’ we’ve had together, don’t you think?”

Delilah sat there silently. Ms. Verity had previously seemed to prefer her rhetorical questions answered, but in this case, she dared not speak.

“That person would be well within their rights to tell my boss, wouldn’t they? We could call her right now if you like. It’d be a far more effective approach than writing a silly little letter,” she said as she picked up the phone on her desk and moved her finger to begin dialling. She didn’t look at the keypad, her gaze fixed on Delilah. Cherry seemed to tense up a little as she watched.

“That… Won’t be necessary…” Ms. Verity’s finger lingered over the keypad for a few seconds more, before finally putting the phone down.

“I thought not.” Her assistant gave a little sigh of relief. “Evidently, you’re not quite as concerned with what’s allowed as you think you are. You see, I believe I understand your nature better than you understand it yourself. You don’t really want to follow some set of rules, unmoored from authority. What you crave is hierarchy. You want someone above you who knows best, to tell you exactly what to do. And believe me, I am more than happy to provide.”

Delilah felt a shiver through her body. Was that true? It made some level of sense. No, it made perfect sense. Why else would Delilah have been so eager to do exactly what Ms. Verity said? And it was certainly true that her employer had thus far noticed desires in her that she had never noticed herself. Delilah opened her mouth to try to respond but could think of little to say that Ms. Verity hadn’t already said for her.

“All that worrying about following the rules… None of it did you any good, did it? But now you work for me. So, I’ll simplify it all for you. All you need to do from now on is exactly what I tell you. All of that ‘invasiveness’? The ‘unfairness’? Simply absolve your conscience of it and let it be my responsibility. Can you do that, Miss Tilly? Give up all those silly little worries and be a wonderful, obedient little employee?”

There was a warmth to Ms. Verity’s gaze that Delilah hadn’t seen before – not quite the fiery spark that seemed to ignite in her with lust, and certainly not the icy glare she reserved for objects of her ire. She spoke so much more softly than her typical, declaratory manner. Delilah slowly nodded her head, and Ms. Verity’s hand slid up into her hair behind her ear, lingering just a moment. She leaned in and whispered, “Wonderful…”

Cherry cleared her throat, transparently trying to remind them of her presence. Ms. Verity stood back up, glancing back to see her mouthing something Delilah couldn’t make out. The executive returned to her chair, leaning in to whisper something to her assistant as she did so. She crossed her legs, took a sip of her coffee, and turned back to Delilah.

“Now that your concerns are settled, we can move on to a little concern of my own. Your jealousy issues.” She paused, locking her fingers together. Delilah’s eyes flicked over to Cherry, who watched her just as intently back. Her face didn’t betray what she was thinking.

“I wouldn’t say I have jealous-“

“Cherry, you wouldn’t believe how much Miss Tilly was talking about you last night. Why, I’m sure she would swoop right in and take your job if you let your guard down for a single second!” Her gaze remained fixed, not turning to her assistant even as she addressed her.

As Delilah was about to interject, Cherry gasped, “Oh, Delilah. Jealous, of me? I had no idea I made you feel that way!” Delilah was surprised she didn’t swoon for effect. Ms. Verity winced a little. A bit melodramatic for her liking, presumably. At least that seemed to confirm that whatever this was, the two had already planned it out.

Delilah’s cheeks burnt red all the same. “H-hold on, I didn’t… You asked me if I was jealous, and I-I…” Ms. Verity hadn’t exactly given her the opportunity to wriggle out of confessing, but Delilah’s feelings of jealousy were real. And she felt somewhat guilty about it – Cherry had been nothing but nice to her, save for some gentle, presumably good-natured teasing.

“No use denying it, Miss Tilly. I remember it quite clearly. It’s not particularly unusual. As I’m sure you can imagine, a position like Cherry’s is highly coveted and I’m not against a little healthy competition between employees, should that drive them to be their best… But I’m afraid I cannot allow this to fester. You two are to be co-workers, and anything that gets in the way of our work here is of no use to me.”

Delilah gave a resigned nod. It was clear there was no use speaking up – It was clear that Ms. Verity already knew precisely where she was steering the conversation, and Delilah doubted anything she raised would derail it. Better to keep quiet and avoid jeopardising her new position.

Ms. Verity continued. “Of course, I tried contacting my colleagues in HR last night, asking what the most effective approach to resolving this sort of conflict would be, but nothing they recommended seemed appropriate. No, I don’t think ‘trust falls’ and ‘two-truths-and-a-lie’ and other such nonsense will be quite enough…” she said. She almost grimaced at the thought. “So, I have an idea that I imagine will be much more effective.”

She lifted a finger, motioning for Delilah to stand, and beckoned for both employees to follow her. She crossed the room and opened the wooden cabinet in the corner. Delilah’s eyes widened with anticipation as she saw a familiar paddle hanging from a hook in the back, her heart skipping a beat as Ms. Verity reached in. Cherry seemed almost as excited, and could hardly stay still, squirming on the spot. Ms. Verity did not, however, take the paddle, to Delilah’s brief disappointment. Instead, she grabbed several lengths of rope coiled neatly on a shelf.

Ms. Verity wound the rope around her hands and pulled it taut in front of them. “Yes, I think the best way to make sure you get over your little jealousy issues is for the both of you to spend some time nice and close to each other, don’t you think?” Cherry was already nodding and after a moment, Delilah did too, much to Ms. Verity’s delight. She pointed to a spot on the ground in the centre of the office, directly under the light. “Good girls. Stand here. Hands around each other.”

Delilah awkwardly stepped forward and with some uncertainty, she wrapped her arms around Cherry in a hug. Cherry did the same, pulling Delilah much tighter and with far less reservation until their bodies were firmly pressed against each other. Glancing over at Ms. Verity, Delilah saw her quickly tying her hair into a bun before walking around behind Cherry. She felt her take hold of her hands, lowering them to the small of Cherry’s back and pulling them together.

Delilah felt the rope wind its way around her wrists several times, pressing against her skin, gently at first until it started to tighten. Looking down over Cherry’s shoulder, she watched as Ms. Verity tied them together. “Nice and secure,” she grinned at Delilah as she tugged against the rope with a finger. Delilah squirmed but found her hands helpless, stuck behind the assistant, leaving her unable to pull away.

Ms. Verity stepped around behind Delilah and started to do the same with Cherry’s hands. She whispered, “I think it’s kinda cute that you were asking about me last night. Are you really that jealous?” The whole time, she could hardly keep herself from squirming in Delilah’s arms as the rope wound its way around her wrists in turn. This was clearly a far more familiar situation to her, but that didn’t mean she was any less enthusiastic about it.

“No, I… I mean, yes, but… I’ve never… It’s just… Her…” Delilah leant in and spoke so quietly she was barely audible. “She was basically my first… anything, so…”

Cherry gasped and had to smother a giggle against Delilah’s shoulder, her hands being where they were. “What? No. Way. Did she know?” She was whispering still, but only just. Delilah shushed her a little, before shrugging. “No wonder you think she’s special to you. Look, you don’t have to be…” She cut herself off as Ms. Verity stood back up. Delilah appreciated her discretion.

Ms. Verity tugged against the knot around Cherry’s wrists and nodded, obviously satisfied. She leant in and whispered, “Trading secrets, are you?” Delilah could only hope she hadn’t been able to hear their muttering while she had been kneeling down to bind Cherry’s wrists. “Already finding something to bond over, perhaps? No pun intended.” While Cherry eagerly nodded, perhaps a better actress than she had given her credit for earlier, Delilah still found herself lowering her gaze just a little, her cheeks turning a familiar hue.

Ms. Verity spent a moment, looking down at the rope, measuring it out mentally. As she did so, Cherry nodded downwards. “How do they feel?”

“The ropes?” Delilah thought for a moment. “Secure, I suppose… Secure and… Constricting.”

Cherry nodded. “That’s the point! It feels nice, doesn’t it? It’s like… Your hands aren’t something you need to worry about anymore. Like you can just ignore them and focus on other stuff. Usually stuff being done to you, given the circumstances.”

As she felt Ms. Verity’s hands take hold of her waist, Delilah gave a little gasp and looked down. Ms. Verity began wrapping the rope around the two employees, forcing their bodies closer together still until they were pressing directly against each other. She could feel Cherry’s chest rise and fall against her own as she took excited breaths, evidently enjoying the sensation of movement becoming increasingly restricted. With each time the rope coiled around their bodies, the two found themselves more and more inseparable, as much as they wriggled and squirmed from Ms. Verity’s touch.

With the speed at which Ms. Verity worked, Delilah quickly began to lose track of what was being bound, and even where she ended, and Cherry began. At one point, the two found themselves hoisted onto tiptoes, as Ms. Verity reached up and wrapped the rope around a set of hooks in the ceiling that surrounded the light, disguised well enough that she hadn’t noticed them until then. The executive tugged against the ropes to check they were secure, before gently prodding the pair to watch them keep balance on their toes. She grinned.

Ms. Verity placed a hand on Delilah’s leg, gently sliding it under her thigh and lifting it up. Delilah once more looked down and found her thigh underneath Cherry’s dress, pressing firmly between her legs. Before she realised it, she found herself bound in place and felt a growing wetness between Cherry’s thighs. Delilah tried to look away, in some feeble attempt at preserving modesty – whether her own or Cherry’s, it was unclear – but by this point, she could do little beyond turn her head. She was utterly helpless as Cherry’s squirming became more akin to grinding.

Finally, Ms. Verity bound Cherry’s leg in the same position, pressing against Delilah. Even though the two were still fully clothed, Delilah felt utterly exposed, only heightening the sensation of every little movement Cherry made with their bodies pressed together.

“Look at you both. I just knew this was the best way to bring you two closer,” Ms. Verity said and clasped her hands together as she admired her work. She circled the two as she let her hair back down. “But I think you can be closer still… Miss Tilly, why don’t you give Cherry a little kiss? To show just how sorry you are for being jealous of her.”

Delilah’s eyes glanced from Ms. Verity to Cherry and back again. Despite everything else, this somehow felt even more embarrassing. After a moment of Ms. Verity watching expectantly, Delilah turned and gave Cherry a small kiss on the cheek. Cherry, in turn, let out a giggle. “I don’t think that’s what she meant, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Go on, Miss Tilly. Kiss her. An actual kiss.” Ms. Verity folded her arms and leaned back against the desk, waiting. Delilah stood there, glancing at Ms. Verity out of the corner of her eye with some uncertainty. Ms. Verity sighed and shook her head, standing back up and approaching the pair. “This might help…” She took Cherry’s chin in her hand and turned her to face her. She leaned in and pushed her lips against Cherry’s own. Cherry closed her eyes and murmured into her boss’s mouth, all the while needily grinding against Delilah’s thigh.

Delilah, meanwhile, had turned redder than she had ever been in her life. She watched the deep, passionate kiss, feeling Cherry growing wetter and wetter against her. With her face so close and nowhere to hide, she had little choice but to watch in excruciating detail. As Ms. Verity pulled away with a smirk across her face, she leaned over Delilah’s shoulder and whispered, “There. Now, you can think of her lips as one kiss away from my own. Since I’m so… How did Cherry put it? Special to you…”

Delilah let out an involuntary whimper. As Ms. Verity leaned against the desk and resumed watching, Delilah clenched her fists in their binds, too flustered to think clearly. Cherry looked into her eyes and waited. After a few seconds, Delilah leaned in and gradually began kissing her co-worker. With her inexperience obvious, Cherry pushed forward and took the lead, slipping her tongue into Delilah’s mouth. Delilah moaned into her mouth, caught off-guard. Before she realised what she was doing, she found herself grinding ever so slightly against Cherry herself. She had forgotten just how pent-up she had been before coming into work that morning, and lust began to overwhelm her. After what felt like an eternity, Cherry pulled away.

“Wonderful,” Ms. Verity said with a satisfied smile across her face. “That wasn’t too bad, was it? Continue.” She ordered, still watching. Delilah leaned in and started making out with Cherry again. The situation couldn’t be more different from her only previous experience with kissing – A brief, clumsy moment, hidden away in a corner at her high-school prom, with a girl she had been crushing on for years. Here, her most intimate of moments was occurring with a coworker who was practically a stranger to her, all the while being supervised by her boss. Still, she couldn’t help herself. As the arousal built, her grinding against Cherry’s thigh became more obvious, more shameless, much to Ms. Verity’s amusement. Before long, Cherry was doing the same.

The two were soon writhing against each other, panting needily between kisses. Delilah’s hands became sweaty as she closed her eyes, rocking back and forth, as she felt her body ache with the unresolved lust of the previous evening. Leaning on Cherry for balance, she opened her eyes, glancing over at Ms. Verity as if begging for permission. She stepped over and leaned in to whisper, “Go on. Ask.”

“P-please, Ms. Verity… Can I… Can I cum?” Delilah whimpered. She could tell how delighted Ms. Verity was to see her, needy and begging for permission. Caressing her cheek gently, she chuckled.

“What a good girl, remembering that her pleasure is mine. What do you think, Cherry? Do you think letting her cum her brains out humping your leg like a needy bitch in heat would help you two bond?” Delilah whimpered at the description but was hardly in a position to dispute it. Cherry, meanwhile, was in an equally pent-up and needy state by this point. She vigorously nodded her head. “And what about you, Miss Tilly? Do you think my assistant deserves to squirt herself stupid against you?” Delilah nodded her head, hardly even processing the question.

“Well, I suppose in the interest of strengthening employee relationships, I’ll allow it,” Ms. Verity said in a faux-reluctant tone. Both employees whimpered something that sounded vaguely like a thank-you as they furiously humped each other’s thighs, leaning against each other for support. Cherry started moaning out first, resting her head against Delilah’s shoulder. The sound of her climax immediately pushed Delilah over the edge too. Both of them stood there, waves of pleasure overwhelming them, grateful for the ropes preventing them from keeling over, until they were panting gently.

“Perfect,” Ms. Verity beamed, pulling the pair’s attention away from their bliss. “I trust there won’t be any more jealousy or animosity between you two from now on?”

Delilah was about to shake her head, but then she paused. She felt Cherry squirming against her still, ever so slightly, and bit her lip. “Actually,” she said, after mustering up a little courage, “I think… I think I’m still too jealous of her… We’ve still got a lot to work through.”

Cherry blinked at her, her face looking a little upset, almost offended that Delilah would still feel that way about her given their current situation before the realisation dawned on her. She blurted out, “Yes! We still tooooootally hate each other, don’t we, Delilah? We need wayyyyy more time to get to know each other!”

Ms. Verity chuckled as she sat down at her desk. “Oh dear. That will never do… Well, I suppose I can spare my assistant for a little longer if it’s in the name of strengthening employee relationships.” She looked down at her wristwatch, then back up at the pair. “How about we say you two keep going until lunch break, hm? Only a few hours. I’m sure you can manage.”

Delilah squirmed at the prospect. She wasn’t sure she had the stamina for that… But as Cherry pressed her thigh firmly against her sensitive pussy, making her body quiver once more, she turned to her co-worker and began needily making out with her once more. Ms. Verity leaned back in her chair and watched for a moment, before turning to her monitor and starting to work.

_____

Delilah soon lost track of time, instead finding herself in an increasingly familiar haze of lust that made it unclear whether she had been bound to Cherry for minutes or hours. For most of the time, Ms. Verity kept busy, acting as if the situation were perfectly ordinary. Between typing and shuffling through folders, her work seemed rather mundane compared to what Delilah had imagined… She supposed that even someone of her status still had to deal with countless emails and stacks of paperwork. Occasionally, Ms. Verity would walk around and lean against her desk, arms crossed, as she admired the display her employees put on. And once, she gently shushed the pair’s moaning as they glanced over and realised she had to make some phone calls.

By the time Ms. Verity had declared that it was time for a lunch break, both Delilah and Cherry’s faces were smeared with smudged lipstick and more than a little drool from increasingly sloppy kissing. “Just look at the two of you…” Ms. Verity teased as she took out a handkerchief and wiped their mouths clean for them. “What a mess you’ve made… But such wonderful enthusiasm!”

Ms. Verity slowly untied the pair, holding each of them for support in turn as they became used to supporting their own weight again rather than leaning on each other and being held up by rope. “There we go…” She whispered as she slid her hands over Delilah’s body, guiding her to stretch out the parts of her that ached. She led them both over to her desk and lowered them to the floor, sitting in her chair but allowing their heads to rest against her lap. “You two will be good co-workers and get along from now on, won’t you?” They both lazily nodded their heads and she grinned, gently running her fingers through their hair. “Marvelous. Did you bring something for lunch, Delilah?”

Delilah nodded. “It’s in my bag. Let me go…”

Ms. Verity shook her head. “You just relax, dear. I’ll go get it.” She stood up once more, leaving her employees alone.

After a few moments of silence, Delilah rested her head against the arm of Ms. Verity’s chair while staring across at her colleague. “Hey, can I ask a silly question? About Ms. Verity, that is.”

“We spent allllll that time smooching and you wanna ask about her instead of me? Sooooo rude!” Cherry feigned offence, before reaching over and taking one of Delilah’s fingers in her hand. “I’m kidding. Of course, you can, silly.”

Delilah chuckled. She remembered how Ms. Verity had said something similar about Cherry the previous night. “I mean, maybe it’s a dumb question, but I guess I was just wondering… Why does she always,” Delilah reached up and lifted her hair, scrunching it up into a bun before letting it go again, “do that? You know, when she’s…” She trailed off.

“That depends. Do you want the answer she gave me, or,” Cherry leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “the answer I heard from a friend, who worked with her before I arrived?”

“What’s the answer she gave you?”

“She says it’s a mindset thing. Sort of like flicking a switch. Not for like, going Domme-mode, because… I mean… She’s always kinda like that, but it’s like…” Cherry searched for a way to phrase it. “Like work versus pleasure, y’know?”

The corner of Delilah’s mouth curled into a smile. “You’re saying she puts her hair up to… let her hair down?”

Cherry nodded vigorously. “Yeah, kinda! I mean, it’s a different kind of dommy, when she’s in like, a meeting compared to when she’s… Well...” She giggled.

“And what’s the answer you heard?”

“Okay, but promise me you won’t tell her I said anything. She would totally punish me if she found out. Like, punish-punish, not fun-punish.” Delilah nodded. Once more, Cherry leant in, glancing to the door and pausing for a moment to listen out for footsteps before whispering. “Okay, so, apparently, years ago, this one time, she was tying up this girl, and somehow… she got her hair all, like… Mixed up in one of the knots. And to this day, she still puts her hair up in a bun when she’s domming so nothing like that happens again.”

The mental image of the ever-composed Ms. Verity, hunched over a bound girl, desperately trying to disentangle her hair made Delilah burst out laughing. Cherry giggled gently along with her but tried to hush her, making sure she didn't become too loud. “I mean, that’s just what I heard! I have no idea how that even happens! She must have had like, wayyyy longer hair back then or something. I dunno if I even believe it because I don’t think I’ve seen her make any mistakes with anything, maybe ever? But…”

The door creaked open and Ms. Verity entered the room. The two of them immediately made their best attempt to stifle their laughter. Sitting down on her chair between them, she gave a slightly bemused smile at the pair. “Getting along, are you two?” They both nodded, doing their best to put on straight faces. "Well, whatever mischief you're up to, I won't pry. Just don't forget who you'll be dealing with if it gets you in trouble." She guided both their heads back to her lap, caressing each of their cheeks in turn.

Unwrapping a snack bar, she broke off a chunk and placed it in Delilah’s mouth. “Delilah, dear. This hardly passes for lunch. Still, if that’s all you have, it’ll have to do for now…” Once more, she held Delilah’s head gently as she ate, while at the same time feeding Cherry something else Delilah couldn’t quite see from the opposite side of the chair.

Delilah looked up at Ms. Verity. She just couldn’t picture her ever making a mistake, of any sort. She decided the rumour that Cherry had told her was just that – A rumour. Soon, she would have to start her new job, but as her boss fed her another piece of her snack bar, she closed her eyes, happy to just be in her presence once more.