ShutterBuggered: Women Shattered Under the Lens

Chapter Two-1

Chapter Two

That had been yesterday. So here she was, more scared than ever. And looking over the shoulder of the ‘Fat-Boy’ and watching a businessman ogle a naked secretary.

“Ann,” the ‘Fat-Boy’ sung out and her body stiffened. He waited a moment before turning a lumbering head and settling his hollow eyes on her quaking body. “Ann, you’re up. Get in the game, girl!” he called out again and somehow she got her legs to respond. She walked up to the back of his chair as he turned back to the screens. “Take your clothes off. Mr. Pendfold needs a hand.” He tapped one of the monitors with his pencil. “Office #6; second floor.”

She looked around helplessly. The clothes rack was along the side wall and taking a breath, she unbuttoned her blouse. Christ, she thought as she unzipped her skirt, why the hell did I wear pantyhose? She folded her skirt and placed it on a hanger. The ‘Fat-Boy’ didn’t seem to be watching so she peeled off her hose and underpants, then unhooked her bra, balled everything together and placed them on the top rack. The concrete floor was cold and she was glad to get back into her high heels.

Ann stepped back toward the ‘Fat-Boy’ and he half turned to her, eying her nakedness momentarily before resuming his careful surveillance of the monitors. He must have spotted her knees quaking because he seemed to soften. “It’s Mr. Pendfold,” he repeated in a quiet voice. “He’s ok; a gentleman. You’ll be ok.”

“Thank you,” Ann whispered back. And picking up her laptop, she stepped out the door and walked toward the stairs at the end of the corridor.

No one was there to see, but she had never felt more naked. Completely exposed. She was conscious of every movement; every jiggle of flesh; every slip and slide of skin. Her heart was pounding by the time she reached the second floor. She was horrified when she opened the fire door and saw two men at the far end of the hallway, but they seemed too consumed in a heated discussion to notice a naked new girl as she searched for office #6. Luckily it was only two doors along and taking a breath to steady her nerves, Ann tapped lightly and slipped through into the office.

It was a long, narrow room and Mr. Pendfold didn’t look up from his desk as she made her way forward on teetering heels.

“You requested some help?” she ventured as she got closer.

“Yes, my dear,” he answered kindly and she felt her spirits lift. “Just a couple of letters typed, if you could.”

“Certainly, sir,” Ann replied, eying the small secretarial desk. It was an odd little desk, custom built from cheap veneer, the seat was positioned very low with a gentle backward slope. Her skin squeaked embarrassingly on the varnished wood when she slipped into place and she held her laptop to her chest to cover her breasts. When she tried to settle-in, Ann found that the seat tilted her back onto her tail bone and lifted her thighs. She got the odd feeling that she was taking off; in an airplane. The desk top was small, just large enough to hold her laptop, and it was positioned higher than necessary giving an unhindered view underneath. When she swiveled her legs under and placed her feet on the built-in bar, Ann found that it too was slanted, sides like a little peaked rooftop. With a foot on each side of the ridge, it was difficult to keep her knees pressed together. The desk was positioned directly in front of Mr. Pendfold and she felt the heat rise in her neck when she realized that she was on display. When he looked up he would have a lusty view up between her legs.

He shuffled papers and marked corrections with a yellow pencil. “You’re new…” he said, keeping his eyes lowered.

“Yes, sir,” Ann offered without explanation. “First day on the job.”

“You are a most pleasingly attractive girl and you will pardon me if I say... you don’t seem to belong here.”

“Thank you,” Ann replied, studying his features. He had a kindly face, grandfatherly, and she placed his age at close to seventy. “And you also,” she hesitated at her own boldness. “You are not what I expected, Mr. Pendfold.”

His deep chuckle fortified her. “Dear-o-dear. I’m just a silly old man, though, aren’t I? But my heart still flutters at the sight of a lovely young girl; the curve of an ankle; slope of her breast. I apologize if I offend, dear.”

“No, of course not, sir.” Ann found herself warming to him.

“Oh please, please call me Joseph,” he smiled and finally looked up, catching her eyes with a twinkle. She returned his smile and swallowing hard, she lowered the laptop from her chest and placed it on the small desktop in front of her. “Yes, yes,” he continued. “You are most agreeable, quite lovely. But tell me child, how do you come to be here in this den of deviants?”

“Simple, I guess. My husband and I need the money. We took an easy loan and bought our first house. Well you know how it went; things slipped south awfully quickly. Dave lost his job and the bank is foreclosing. We’ve got no income, nothing to sell except... well, this…” she faltered, glancing down at her bare chest and fighting the flood of tears.

“Now, now,” he soothed, holding up a gnarled hand. “No tears. I need you clear and focused; work is at hand!”

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “Please forgive me. What is it you would like me to help you with?”

“Just some typing if you could; a couple of letters.”

“Certainly.” And steadying herself, Ann lifted the lid of her laptop and opened a new word document. She didn’t look up when he slid his chair back to stand. She was holding her breath as he moved in closer and was surprised and relieved when he didn’t touch her. He placed his letters down in front of her, clarified a few points and then returned to his desk. Ann started to type. She knew he was studying her body as she worked, checking the slight sway of her breasts as her hands moved about the keyboard; the slight quiver of thigh as she shifted her knees. But somehow it didn’t seem to matter. She was mature enough to know that she was here to provide pleasure and, somehow, she felt grateful to be in a position to do it. Ann actually felt a shiver of excitement, knowing she was pleasing him and her body began to respond.

She finished his letters and unabashedly stood from behind her desk and placed her laptop in front of him so he could check her work. He asked for a few changes and she leaned over him to make the additions. He smiled happily as she finished up. “Print me off two copies of each and leave them with Reena at the front desk before you leave for home,” he instructed. And that was it! Ann was finished!

She closed her laptop and turning, headed for the door. It didn’t bother her in the least to know that as she walked away, his eyes were focused on her behind.

Back in the basement, she quickly dressed. The ‘Fat-Boy’ directed her to the room across the hall where she found a printer and a photocopier. She also found a young, red-headed girl. Despite her tender years, she was much more comfortable in these surroundings than Ann. The girl was clad in stiletto heels and sheer pantyhose, nothing else. She was a pretty little thing; thin, with tiny muffin breasts which were peaked with cute raspberry-red n*****s. She was standing by the photocopier, a boney hip, like a bent wire, propped against the machine and sullenly watching pages fill the tray. Looking up as Ann came through the door; she smirked and resumed her scrutiny of the pages as they unfolded into the tray. So much for professional courtesy, Ann thought as she plugged her laptop into the printer. It’s every woman for herself!

Ann ran off her letters, adjusted the printer and printed the two envelopes that she picked from a box under the counter. Her job completed, she packed up and headed back into the hallway. She was alone here and except for the hum of the photocopier behind her, it seemed almost peaceful after the events earlier. Despite having been in the building for only a couple of hours, she felt mentally drained and leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes.

It had been quite the experience and she still had not come to grips with what she’d done and how it was affecting her. When she left Mr. Pendfold’s office her body felt like it was shimmering with excitement. She had never in all her life experienced a feeling like that. Having that sweet elderly gentleman, fully clothed, watch as she moved about his office naked, had the effect of turning her insides to water. It felt so sinful but she couldn’t deny the surprising way in which her body had responded to it. To him! What would Dave say if he knew? She shuddered to think and instead, pushed off the wall. She knew she should go back into the Bullpen but what she really felt like doing was dropping face-forward into a pool of ice water. No matter, she was too wired to sit still long enough for the ‘Fat-Boy’ to assign her to another office. I’m done, she decided, feeling that she’d already completed a full day’s work. Clutching her letters in one hand and her laptop in the other, she mounted the stairs at the end of the corridor and made her way up to the ground floor and into the reception area. Reena was sitting behind a large round desk and turned when she heard Ann’s heels clicking on the tile floor. Reena’s heavy bare breasts swung around like the turret guns on a battle ship. It made Ann smile.

“Leaving so soon?” Reena asked, knowingly.

“Yes. Sorry, but it’s all I can handle for one day.”

“Sure. I know what the first time is like. Doesn’t matter if you’re hooking, a porn star or just posing for a friend in front of a camera; you always remember your first gig. You had Mr. Pendfold?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Ah, he’s such a sweetheart. Everything go ok?”

“Yup. He was nice. I hope he sees me again.”

“Well he’s one of my best clients. Don’t expect all the guys to be as well behaved.”

“Yeah I kinda figured that but what do I do if things get a little out of hand?”

“Deal with it, I’m afraid; the best way you know how. But let me warn you, be very, very diplomatic. If it comes down to a choice between you and losing a client, you’ll be gone. Understand?”

“Yes. Perfectly,” Ann replied coldly.

“Good. I don’t want any misunderstandings.”

“I have Mr. Pendfold’s letters here,” Ann continued, holding up the sheets of paper.

“That’s fine. You can leave them with me. I’ll run them through the meter and mail them after work. And he left this for you.”

Reena passed Ann an envelope. “What is it?” she asked.

“Your gratuity. You will receive one from each man you work for.”

“Oh gosh, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me; just be extra nice to Mr. Pendfold. Got it?”

“Yes,” Ann said, placing the envelope in her shoulder bag, “I will.”

It seemed to take an age to get home. Ann had wanted to rip open the envelope as soon as Reena handed it over, but she didn’t want to appear that desperate. And opening it on the bus didn’t seem wise; people might suspect a young woman counting out cash from a plain white envelope. So she waited; waited until she had shouldered her way through her front door and dropped her bag onto the kitchen table. Just then the phone rang. Damn, Ann thought… Betty!

“Hey, it’s Betty,” she announced unnecessarily, all bright and chipper. Ann clenched the receiver with her chin and rummaged the envelope out from her purse.

“Betty; you watching my front door?”

“Yeah. Don’t mean to be a snoop, but I got you into this thing. I just wanted to know if you’re ok.”

“Thanks and don’t mind me; I’m just teasing,” Ann replied, “and yeah, today went ok. I mean I was as nervous as hell going in, but it turned out ok. Hell, I got a gratuity.”

“Excellent! Who did you work for?”

“A sweet old guy; Mr. Pendfold?”

“Oh Lord. Is he still alive?” Betty asked in faked amazement. “I remember him. Must be a hundred years old by now. His wife died way back and now he just sits around and makes money. Really… tons of money. He’s into junk bonds and off shore investments or something. Everything he touches turns to green, if you get my drift.”

“Don’t know about that,” Ann replied. “I only spent an hour with him and typed up a couple of his letters. He was a real gentleman.”

“How much did he give you?”

“Don’t know. But I have the envelope right here.”

“f**k. You haven’t opened it yet. Come on… come on, girl,” Betty prodded, excitedly. “What’s in the envelope?”

“Ok. Just a sec,” Ann held the envelope with one hand and ripped the end off with the other, spilling the contents onto the kitchen table. The bills tumbled into a heap and she poked at them with an index finger, mentally calculating. “Holy Mother of God!” she exclaimed excitedly. “There’s four hundred dollars here!”

“Ooo-whooooo!” Ann heard the hoot come down the telephone line. “What did you two get up to? I want my ten percent.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Ann jeered back. “You didn’t have to sit there trying to ignore your bare boobs while fingering a keyboard!”

“Selfish cow,” Betty responded. “Just remember who saved you from living on the street!” Then, her voice lowered to a more serious note, “You ok with it? I mean… you going back?”

Ann inhaled deeply. “No, I’m not ok with it. If Dave found out, well I just don’t know. I guess I’d crawl under the closest rock and wait for the divorce papers to arrive. And who could blame him. But on the other hand, this was my first day and with one more like it I can make up the money for a mortgage payment. I really don’t have a choice, do I? I have to go back.”

“Sorry, Ann. I really am.”

“Don’t be,” Ann reassured her. “You provided me with an option, just like you said. It was up to me to accept it. And I did. Now it’s up to me to live with it.”

“Good luck, kiddo; they won’t all be as easy as Mr. Pendfold.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ann replied. “I guess that’s what really scares me.”

After Betty rang off Ann re-counted the money and then stashed it in the cookie jar on top of the fridge. The money was a lifesaver. One more day like today and she could retire; at least for a few weeks. And by then, who knew, Dave might have found a new employer. Life could be back to normal with his salary covering the mortgage, car payments and the grocery bill. She could go back to being the simple little housewife at the end of the block and Dave would never have to know how she earned the extra money to see them through. Somehow it seemed doable; at least until she had another four-hundred dollars.

Ann was up early the next morning to shower, shave her legs and wash her hair. She felt a little more confident as she toweled off and took a moment to stand naked in front of the full length mirror. At twenty-six, she was still slim and her breasts were good: evenly balanced with longish, matching n*****s. She stood a scant five feet. Ann brushed out her pubic hair and with a small pair of scissors, delicately trimmed away stray hairs. Thinking of Reena’s image of crisp efficiency, she combed her hair back and clasped it behind her neck with a bone clip. Ann slipped on her rimless glasses and checked out the effect in the steamy glass. She look more “bookish” than icy “business woman” but even so, the look isn’t bad, she thought. Ann made up her mind to go with it; applied light makeup and pulled on a lacy bra and pants. Her legs still retained enough of a summer tan and so forgoing pantyhose; she dressed in a light wool skirt with frilly blouse and modest three-inch heels. A jacket about her shoulders completed her outfit and looking at herself in the mirror, she was reassured; satisfied she didn’t look like a common w***e. It was time to go to work.