Chapter 4

Ben arrived at CaliaCorp in a suit and tie with his satchel slung over his shoulder. Standing at the base of its steps, he looked up at the enormity of the building. It dwarfed all that surrounded it, a monument to woman’s triumph over nature, or her hubris, Ben was unsure. With a deep breath in, he ascended the steps and entered the lobby. He knew where to go, floor 64, where he would meet with Lucy, the extremely cute girl who sat on his interview panel. From what he remembered, she was bubbly and outgoing, dressed casually and seemed like a fun boss, despite being quite young. She had to have been hired straight out of college, because no way she was older than 25. Ben was 29, so it was not as though he were ancient compared to her, but her energy and enthusiasm made him feel as though a generation separated them. Maybe it was her never being broke and living in the Circuit District or somewhere like it. She probably grew up with wealthy parents in a CaliaCorp block, with all the swimming pools and indoor gardens and AI maids, and whatever else they put in them, Ben had never so much as stepped through the door of a CaliaCorp building before his interview.

Passing through the cavernous lobby and all of its golden, sparkling decor, he stepped into an empty lift and pushed the button for the 64^th floor. No-one followed him in this time, and the lobby was quiet, the receptionist barely looked at him. As the lift travelled up, he could swear the music that played in the lift picked up interference or had a weird track under it. It was as if a woman’s voice were droning on just too low to be heard clearly. If he strained to listen, he thought some words were coming through, but that made him more confused, so he relaxed and waited for the lift to journey up the impossibly huge tower and deposit him where he needed to be. Even inside the lift was glamorous. More gold ran down the walls in faux-drips, as if spilling from the top of the tower and covering everything below it. Frosted glass separated the gold drips, reflecting Ben back in broken segments. The journey up took several minutes, but finally the lift pinged, and the doors slid open.

Ben’s jaw dropped as soon as he looked into the workspace. It was a rave. Loud music thumping from huge speakers dotted around the place, blackout blinds covering the windows and blacklights illuminating everything in blues and pinks and greens, with fluorescent flashes everywhere, from graffiti daubed on the walls reading things like Calia Forever and Lucy is Life to the skimpy clothing everyone wore. The women were in brightly coloured bikini tops and shorts or skirts and the men were all wearing swimming shorts. Most were in fantastic shape, better than Ben, but that was probably explained by the fact everyone danced around as though in some sort of hedonistic ritual. No-one so much as looked at him as he emerged from the lift in his grey suit, feeling completely lost and out of place. There were no desks, just a giant dance floor with a disco ball and strobe lights flashing constantly. Ben just stopped and stared, not sure what he should do.

Then the music stopped. At the opposite side of the room he saw her, Lucy, as gorgeous as she was in the interview, sitting on what looked like a throne, with a man on either side on all fours. She pushed a button on the chair and the blinds slowly opened, then stood.

“Alright team, back to your desks.”

Everyone scampered away into rooms behind the dance floor, leaving just Lucy and Ben. She started walking toward him, her miniskirt sashaying along with her hips and her breasts in a tight bikini top rocking back and forth. Ben tried not to stare, but the wicked grin she wore seemed to tell him she liked it. Her eyes were big and wide, accentuated by thick eyeliner, and as before, bright pink lipstick shone on her soft, wet lips. Ben licked his own as he stared at her. Her pink hair, which glowed under the blacklights, looked more like candy floss in daylight. It was cute and sexy at the same time, cut short and showcasing her sharp features, softened somewhat by rosy cheeks and the freckles that crossed her nose.

She was beautiful, Ben decided.

“Not really dressed for this environment, are you buddy?” she chuckled.

“Um, no Miss…”

“Just Lucy, babe, we’re chill here. You’ll get used to it super fast.” As she said that, she peered into his eyes and he felt weak, as though he had no choice in the matter. Ben gulped.

“So, what am I going to do today, uh, Lucy?”

She bounced from one foot to the other, bobbing her head back and forth. “Let’s get you a tour!” she exclaimed. “Follow me.”

Lucy walked around the edge of the dance floor to the left-hand side of the room. There was a separate room there, and a matching one on the right side of the dance floor too. At the first room on the left Lucy opened the glass door and revealed a plush, modern office. This was more like what Ben had expected. Cool air breezed from vents on the ceiling and six women worked at large, lavish desks of marble with rose pink trim. They were typing at computers that were dwarfed by the size of their workspaces, which were covered in reports, books and trinkets. One even larger desk was at the opposite end of the room.

“That’s mine,” Lucy said, “but this room is managers only, let me show you where you’ll be working.”

She shut the door and walked Ben over to the room on the right-hand side. From outside it looked like the room the managers worked in. Ben expected plush, comfortable, modern work areas, and he would walk into more marble and pink. Somewhere a voice in Ben’s head screamed at him that no, this was not normal, that he had walked into a barely contained orgy, and he should leave, but a warm wave of pleasure flowed through him as he quelled the stirring confusion.

“Take a look,” Lucy said and opened the door to the other office.

Ben’s jaw went slack. He stared in at what looked like a sweatshop… or a dungeon, than an office. There were lots of people, all huddled over computers in tiny spaces. Each cubicle, if you could call it that, was so small the occupant’s neighbours almost rubbed shoulders with each other. There was no large desk in the room, instead a set of cages were at the opposite end, and inside three men were chained. Every single person in the room was dressed in little more than underwear. Many appeared to be completely nude. Dim lighting hung from the ceiling, and the low glow of computer screens illuminated each person’s face. They all seemed to be in a daze, mindlessly typing away at keyboards, barely moving otherwise.

“Are you ready to see your desk?” Lucy asked.

Ben hesitated. He had no idea what to make of it all. He knew that it was wrong, but there was something pushing him to stay, an insistent niggling feeling that he should work here, should work for Lucy and serve CaliaCorp and every time the thought entered his head to do just that, a jolt of pleasure shot through him.

“I… this is very unexpected.”

Lucy smiled, unfazed by his reluctance. “I know we do things a little differently here, but you’ll be so happy serving CaliaCorp, and you will be rewarded for your hard work.”

Ben shuddered as another wave of pleasure coursed through him. He wanted to be rewarded. He wanted to make Lucy happy. He also wanted to run for the lift, get the hell out of the building and never go back. Those two conflicting desires left him frozen in the doorway.

“Are you ready, Benny?”

He swallowed and remained frozen. The part of his mind that knew it was a bad idea was rattling against the cage it was locked in, roaring, bellowing, screaming to be freed and save Ben from whatever on Earth Lucy and CaliaCorp were doing. While he stood there, Lucy leaned close and whispered in his ear, while putting a hand on his crotch.

“Baby Benny, Lucy is your boss now, and you’re going to be a good boy for me, aren’t you?”

Her voice sounded sweet and soft and her breath warm and inviting. She smelled of raspberries. Ben shuddered at her words.

“Come on, let’s get you to work,” she said as she moved her hand away and walked into the room.

This time, Ben followed her, watching her legs as she strutted to an empty seat. She pulled out a chair and smiled, gesturing for Ben to sit in it. He walked to the chair and looked into Lucy’s eyes. Her big, beautiful eyes. Eyes that shouted surrender while promising the most exquisite pleasures. He sat down at the desk, feeling the warmth of the two barely clothed people on either side of him. They did nothing to indicate they noticed his presence. Now sitting, Ben looked up at Lucy, who gazed down at him with a half-smile.

“You’re going to finish your induction now, and then get started with working on some very important projects for me.”

“Ok,” Ben mumbled.

“Good boy.”

She leaned down over him, letting her breasts rest on his shoulder as she did, and pushed a button to turn on the computer. The softness of her body made Ben feel an electricity on his skin. Lucy was so pretty, so cute and clever. He felt eager to start working for her. A moment later, when she stood up, he could feel that electric surge dissipate and started to wonder why exactly he felt such an urge to work in the most bizarre office he had ever seen. CaliaCorp, he knew, was evil, but there was far more going on than he could figure out, and whenever Lucy came near him all those thoughts that he tried to piece together seemed to fall apart. Each time he tried to reconstruct them they became more confused. The only thing that made sense anymore was the feeling of pleasure and purpose that he got when Lucy was there.

“Look at the screen babe,” Lucy chirped.

Ben looked and saw a familiar pattern. Suddenly, the thoughts coalesced into a clear, consistent message. Run. Run away. They want to brainwash you. They want to control you. Run. Ben. Run.

“Stare at it baby,” Lucy said, her words like dripping honey.

Ben shook his head and turned away, spinning the chair around and trying to stand up. Instead, Lucy pressed her hands against his shoulders and pushed him back down.

“No resistance. Only obedience.”

She stared at him, through him. Her eyes pierced his, her words pushed their way into his mind. He could merely stare at her.

“Sit down and watch, and you’ll be rewarded.”

He did his best to resist, but the thought of a reward flashed in his mind. Lucy’s soft, tender hand on his cock. Her legs wrapped around him. Her pink lips around the head of his penis. Her feet in his mouth. A collar clamped on his neck. Despite everything going on around him, every cogent thought in his head, Ben felt his cock stiffen. Lucy glanced down at it and licked her lips.

“You’re getting it Benny. Thinking about all the things I could do to you.”

He was. He could no longer help himself. She was so close, her hands on him. It was too much. The smell of her perfume, the subtle glint of sweat on her body, the gentle flaring of her nostrils. He felt as if he were falling in love with her. For a moment he wondered if the other people in the room had gone through what he had, and as he looked into Lucy’s wide eyes, he knew he truly loved her and only she could fulfill him.

“That’s it, weaker and weaker,” she said. “Turn and look at the screen.”

Ben could no longer fight it, Lucy was his boss, Lucy was so smart and strong and sexy. He turned his chair and looked at the screen, at the spiral he knew from somewhere else deep in his memories. Lucy’s hands began to massage his shoulders, and he felt her warm breath on his cheek as she leaned close to his ear.

“Watch and submit for Lucy, all you ever want is to work for me, isn’t that right?”

Ben nodded. Of course, she was right. A flash of resistance, a fleeting thought, told him that he needed to question it, that she was not right, that he should get up and leave before it was too late.

But for Ben, it already was, and as Lucy’s hands kneaded his shoulders, that final conscious thought slid away, and Ben was lost.