Four Confessions

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I blushed chagrined.

“Since I’ve been one of the senior partners of this firm, I’ve tried to maintain the spirit of the document—if not all that it requires. I won’t take the time to go into all that it states. You’ll do that yourself before you arrive for work tomorrow,” he said, leveling a grim stare directly at me. “But what’s important here, is that the contract outlines some means of discipline that can be used if employees fail to do their duties, or live up to the standards set for them. Because of those provisions, I find it imperative that all our employees have full knowledge of them before they begin working at Burke & Liggett. Since you’ve failed to take care of that responsibility, however, you’ll be getting a quick initiation today.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was soon to find out.

Peter turned to Hannah. “Perhaps, Miss Prescott, you could inform Kathleen of the provisions in Article 5.”

Instantly, Hannah’s face was beet red. As I looked at the poor young woman I was sure that she was going to break out into tears, but she managed to clear her throat as she stared at the floor and spoke. “Article 5 ...” she hesitated, “it states ....” she looked up at Peter. “Please sir, do I really have to?”

“Yes, Miss Prescott, you do,” Peter replied sternly. His unwavering eyes bore down on the woman so she looked more nervous than ever. She gazed at some spot on the carpet that seemed easier to look at than her boss’s threatening face.

“Article 5 states that,” she tried again, “employees who fail to follow the company rules, or who fail to do their work can be punished.”

“Explain “punished” please,” Peter instructed her.

Hannah gulped, the words almost too painful to speak. I couldn’t imagine her face any rosier from embarrassment than it was.

“Corporal punishment,” she finally managed to blurt out. “Paddled, or .... or caned.”

“What!” I was shocked.

“If you’d read the contract, you’d know, Ms. McGovern.” Peter hadn’t referred to me as Ms. McGovern since the second day of my employment. And with that change he seemed to be putting me in the same category as Miss Prescott.

“You mean to tell me that you .... you spank your employees?” I asked, astonished.

“Exactly. When it’s warranted.”

“When it’s warranted?” I repeated, trying to make sense of this. “Have you totally lost your mind?”

“It’s part of the employee contract, Ms. McGovern. Miss Prescott signed it and she knows its provisions. Might I remind you that you signed that document too.”

I was livid. “You just told me that contract was 100 years old. You can’t possibility expect people to agree to those terms.”

“It’s a binding contract. And yes I do expect Burke & Liggett employees to abide by it. Just to make it clear to you, Miss Prescott simply paraphrased the verbiage, I’ll read it for you.” Peter picked up a notebook that lay opened on his desk, leafed through the pages until he found the section he wanted. Then he began to read ...

“In as much as Burke & Liggett provides a generous living wage to their clerks, laborers, domestics and associates, such employees are expected to perform their duties in a manner consistent with the high standards of Burke & Liggett. They are expected to follow the rules of the company to the letter, to maintain proper decorum under all circumstances, to be prompt, civil mannered in their speech and fundamentally honest. In the event that these expectations are not met, if work is deemed shoddy, if rules are violated, if the company and its spirit are disregarded and dishonored in any way, and if such is the opinion of the employee’s supervisor in conference with the chief executive officer and duly appointed members of the executive committee, any employee so found at fault will be summarily dismissed.

“If, however, in the opinion of the supervisor, in conference with the chief executive officer and the executive committee, it is believed that the said employee’s work and habits can be improved so that they meet company standards, it is suggested that a period of correction be assessed. Depending on the severity of the offense, the employee will be subject to corporal punishment and then placed on probation for a time deemed suitable by the officers.

“Corporal punishment will be administered solely by the company officers, and will consist of not less than three, and not more than seven consecutive daily sessions. At each session, in full view of two witnesses, the subject’s buttocks will be bared and paddled with a wooden paddle for not less than ten and not more than twenty minutes without stopping. Following the session, at the discretion of the administrator, the subject will be required to expose their punished buttocks in full view of the other employees for a hour’s time—or—for female subjects as a reminder of their offense, they will be required to discreetly sit with their bared buttocks directly on their chair for the remainder of their working day. At the conclusion of any period of correction, no matter what the length, the subject will be caned on the buttocks, no less than six times, no more than twelve. This to take place at the end of the final paddling. The caning is to be a lasting reminder of their errors and the company’s determination to fairly address their failings.

If an employee refuses to submit to the punishment to be meted out, they will be, without argument, dismissed. If the employee fails in any way to follow the corporal disciplinary code proscribed, they will be dismissed. If any employee is discovered conversing or gossiping about such periods of correction - whether they are the subject of said period of correction or not, they will be dismissed.”

“There is more,” Peter said looking up at me as he closed the book in his hands. “But I think that’s enough,”

Something wild was racing through me. I couldn’t identify it. I would have thought that I would turn heel on the man and walk out the door, tendering my immediate resignation; but I was either too overwhelmed by the last five minutes, or too aroused by them to do so. In any event, I stood stock still, looking Peter Burke in the eye, wondering how I could have so misjudged the man. All the signs of his ruthlessness had been around me for the four months I’d spent in his employ. And yet the only thing I’d been thinking about was the unlikely prospect of some crazy romance between me and this beastly attorney. I’d seen him gruff, dressing down employees that failed to perform to his liking. I’d witnessed his cool detached manner acting as a deterrent to all kinds of small but explainable offenses—from tardiness, to personal phone calls during working hours, to a desk left messy with the remnants of someone’s lunch. I’d seen the more naive young women in the company tremble at the sight of him. I’d heard the gossips at the water cooler refer to him as the “tyrant from hell”, “every woman’s nightmare” and the “gentleman barbarian.” I’d watched his authoritative, dictatorial style scare the life out of some, while it was thrilling me to the core. In my silly s****l attraction I’d ignored the fact that Peter Burke was not the kind of man I wanted in my personal life and certainly not in my bed.

As I stared him down, neither of us blinked.

After what seemed like an eternity, Peter finally broke the silence. “I don’t refer to this part in the company contract often, Ms. McGovern, but in light of Miss Prescott’s recent behavior, it’s been agreed that she will submit to a three day period of correction. I’ll need you as a witness for the paddling.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I gasped, only barely having found my voice.

“Oh?” he was exasperatingly haughty. “Would you like me to read the other provisions, Ms. McGovern, the other ones that you forgot to make yourself appraised of? The ones that specify that senior staff members will be required to witness the corrections as part of their official duties?”

“I’m required to watch this travesty!” I blared.

“Required, yes. Just as you are required right now to hold your tongue, and maintain a civil disposition, or you might find yourself in Miss Prescott’s shoes.”

I was livid still, but silenced. I needed space to think, but unfortunately I wasn’t afforded that pleasure. Realizing that my own job was on the line, I was too chicken just to walk out. I found myself in the curious position of seeing Peter Burke turn back the clock and enforce an antiquated company policy that was humiliating, archaic and barbaric.

Breaking the tension, John Kelty, Hannah Prescott’s supervisor, walked into the office. His appearance was like a breath of fresh air to me. I assumed that this rational and kind officer of the firm would certainly turn this situation around and put some sense back into the moment. But I was dismayed to find that he did not.

“Sorry, I’m late,” he said. “There was quite a glitch in the computer I thought I’d never unravel.”

“More of Miss Prescott’s doing?” Peter asked.

“I’m afraid so.” The normally congenial man was quite grim.

“I’ve just been explaining to my secretary what is about to transpire,” Peter informed him.

“Explain?” John didn’t understand.

“Apparently Ms. McGovern didn’t read her contract thoroughly.”

“Oh?” John raised his eyebrows while he looked at me. I had the distinct impression that both men found my offense as bad as Hannah’s. “That happens sometimes,” he remarked. “I hope you’re not too offended.”

“I’m grossly offended,” I said plainly.

“I see,” John said nodding his head. “I imagine for a woman as independent as you are, this seems a little odd. Believe me it’s not a procedure that we often implement; but Miss Prescott was quite adamant about retaining her job with Burke & Liggett. Under the circumstances we’re bound to follow the firm’s procedures.”

“Has anyone bothered to challenge the firm’s procedures?” I asked amazed.

“Frankly, Kathleen,” John spoke, (it was nice to hear my first name and not all this formality), “when we’ve employed this method of discipline, we’ve found that it’s nearly 100% effective. The employees submitting have, without exception, improved their work standards, increased their worthiness to the company—and their paychecks, I might add. Rarely have they found themselves in such circumstances a second time. I may have had my reservations when I first heard of this, but you can’t quarrel with results.”

For a moment, I thought that I was on a different planet, taken over by some insidious and demented aliens. The whole thing seemed so absurd. But all I could do was maintain my silence and watch as the event unraveled before my eyes.

Following his speech, John turned to Hannah Prescott and motioned her toward Peter’s desk.

“First, please sign the waiver,” he said. He pointed to a paper and pen on the desk. I assumed it was another of Burke & Liggett’s legal jargoned diatribes in print, and I could only shake my head as I watched Hannah sign her dignity away. That done, John took the paper from her. “Very good,” he said. “Now, did you follow the instructions I spoke about yesterday?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied.

John Kelty nodded. He was almost smiling, but not quite. “I wish I could say this isn’t going to hurt, but then, that’s the point. I do suggest that you keep from making a scene. I’m sure you don’t want the whole building aware of your sentence.”

“Yes, sir,” the young woman said.

Up to that point, I’d thought of Hannah Prescott as little weak-kneed slip of a thing, though at the moment I found her extraordinarily courageous. I wondered what kind of offense could warrant such a measure. If the alternative was losing her job, it must have been something serious.

“Now,” John cleared his throat. “Please raise your skirt and bend over the desk,” he ordered.

I was again amazed, realizing that John, not Peter would be the one administering the paddling. And Peter, having taken a back seat to his associate, retreated to a chair behind the woman, and motioned me to one beside him. While waiting for the young woman to comply with his instructions, John moved to a cabinet at the side of the room and removed a vicious looking two foot long spanking paddle the likes of which I’d only seen in old movies.

Hannah was a fright, there were tears about to descend from her eyes. While I watched her in awe, bizarre thoughts raced through my head—like how her make-up would run down her face and make a mess on her dainty white blouse. The poor girl bit her lip so hard, I thought it might bleed.

Gazing nervously about, Hannah finally stepped toward Peter’s nearly empty desk. Then, just as John returned to her side, the quivering young woman bent over the smooth surface, and drew her long skirt up a bit at a time, until at last she revealed two gleaming ass cheeks, looking white, unblemished and with just a trace of pink on their pristine surface. It wasn’t until I’d fully appreciated the sight of her posterior so boldly displayed that I realized she’d worn no panties. I concluded that that must have been a part of the official procedure. In fact, not only were her panties missing, but so were her panty hose. Instead of the more common undergarments, Hannah was wearing a plain white garter belt and stockings, having fully prepared herself for the ordeal about to take place.