A few minutes after nine, Matthew looked up from his computer to make sure that everyone had settled down to work. Everyone on his team was usually very prompt, and he had very rarely had to correct anyone’s behavior privately let alone formally discipline. Today, however, hardly anyone was at their desks and it was already ten past. Instead, everyone crowded around Jessica’s desk, excitedly murmuring about something.

Halfway out of his seat to investigate, Matthew thought better of it. Jessica had never quite clicked with the rest of the team; she was the only member who never joined them for drinks after work on Fridays, and she often left the office to eat her lunch privately elsewhere. Matthew had no issue with someone who valued their privacy and did not wish to devote non-work hours to their job. It was their time, after all. Still, he had been hoping for a while that he would be able to find some way to better integrate her into the team.

He decided to let the gathering continue for a few minutes longer, and then reassess if it did not dissolve naturally. Sure enough, when he looked up after finishing the first stack of papers in his inbox, everyone was back at their desks and working as they should be. Jessica sat at her desk, with nothing amiss that Matthew could see, although she certainly seemed to have dressed nicer than her typical business casual. Her dark brown hair was bound on top of her head with several curls artfully hanging free, and she wore a dark blazer and matching skirt. He briefly wondered if he should have stepped out of his office to see what the gathering had been about, just to keep up to date on the goings-on in the office. He was unaware of any important meetings on her schedule, and he wondered briefly if she had another job interview scheduled. He felt slightly guilty that he would not be altogether sorry if that was the case. It was largely his fault that she had remained isolated for the few months since she had joined the office.

During her first few weeks she had been bright and cheerful, ready with a laugh or a wickedly dirty joke. Matthew could not deny that he had been charmed by her almost immediately. Her personality was almost magnetic, and he had missed the signs that she was spending more and more time laughing and joking with him in particular. Her fingers lingered on his arm slightly too long, and she stood slightly too closely by his side as they went over the next quarter’s budget. It all came to a head one night when the pair of them were the only two working late, and the last to leave the office. He had not seen the kiss coming until her lips were brushing his. Matthew hurriedly pushed her away, blathering frantically about his girlfriend of two years. Jessica had been very polite, but he had seen something like fury in her eyes before she left. Since then, she had been nothing but cool and professional in the office, not just for him but for anybody, and kept her distance. When Jake came into his office a little before lunchtime, Matthew saw his chance to get a little more information about what had transpired that morning and motioned for him to close the office door behind him.

“What’s up, boss?” Jake said. Jake and Matthew had followed each other through departments over the years, and he was the only person in the office that Matthew had trusted enough
to confide in over what had transpired with Jessica.

“Just the end of the quarter slam to get everything in to corporate. What was the story with Jessica this morning?”

Jake grinned. “Good news for you, Matt. Maybe you’ll finally be able to relax around her.”

“What do you mean?” Matthew asked.

“She’s engaged, man. Huge rock, too. I don’t know anything about jewelry but even I could tell that it was a thing of beauty. Cost someone a fortune, that's for sure.”

Matthew frowned. “Wow. To who? Has she mentioned anybody?”

Jake shrugged. “No idea. She said they’re still keeping it a secret until he’s had time to tell his family, but she couldn’t resist taking it into work to show off.”

“Makes sense,” Matthew said. “She isn’t really close to anyone in the office, so I don’t know why anyone here would expect to know him. Was it weird that I stayed in my office? Did anyone say something?”

Jake’s face was all the answer he needed, and Matthew sighed. There were definitely downsides to trying to cultivate such a friendly office environment.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jake said. “Everyone knows that you have a ton on your plate to get finished up before transmittal. They know how hard you’re working.”

“I guess. I’ll just make sure I find a time to stop by and congratulate her.”

Jake smiled. “Sounds good. Anything I can help with?”

“No, just keep everything on track until this is over next week and I can get back to paying attention to our day-to-day,” Matthew said.

Jake rapped his knuckles against the desk by way of agreement, and then strode out to the office. Matthew peered out his window at the back of Jessica’s head. She appeared to be concentrating on her work, peering through her glasses at the screen as she typed. Matthew debated walking over to her desk right then and there to get it out of the way. Before he could move to stand up, as though alerted by some hidden sixth sense, Jessica turned and met his eyes. Matthew reflexively looked back at his computer before he could catch himself.

It was foolish, brought on by the months of attempting to avoid any contact with Jessica that might be perceived as encouraging or flirtatious. But now, by looking away, he was giving the exact wrong idea that he had been caught staring. Matthew dared a glance away from his computer screen, and found Jessica still watching him. She arched an eyebrow at him coolly, and Matthew responded with an awkward wave before returning to his work. They had fallen into rhythm with each other so quickly when she had first started working at the office that Matthew couldn’t believe how flat-footed he felt before he had even tried to exchange words with her. Resolving to speak to her before she left for lunch, Matthew returned to his work. It was difficult to focus, and he kept reminding himself not to glance up at the workspace for fear of Jessica catching his eye a second time. If that happened, she would be certain she had caught him staring. If she wasn’t already. But by the time lunch rolled around and Matthew lifted his head to consider the office, Jessica’s chair was empty and the rest of the office had stood to put on coats or grab their lunches from the fridge.

Matthew poked his head out of his office. “Jessica already head out for lunch?”

Brenda, who sat at the desk next to her, nodded. “Do you need her for something?”

He shook his head. “Just wanted to offer my congrats is all.”

Brenda smiled. “I’ll let her know. You want to join us for lunch?”

“Can’t, going to have to pull a long day today. Next week?”

Brenda nodded, and Matthew went back to his desk. He had not made nearly the headway that he had hoped so far, and if he did not manage to make better progress in the afternoon he would likely be looking at quite a late night. He pulled out his sack lunch and focused once more on reviewing the numbers. But when lunch was over, Jessica did not come to his office. She sat down and resumed her work, the same as any other day. Matthew wondered if he had been mistaken earlier, and whether his congratulations would even be welcome. He could not imagine the entire office cared enough that he had not joined them in congratulating her that they would even remember it tomorrow. Jessica had shown him exactly what she wanted, after all: a cool, professional relationship. Without the looming need to find a way to organically congratulate his employee, Matthew made significantly better time on the data entry. He would still have several hours of work left once everyone else went home, but nothing he hadn’t done before and nothing close to the crunch he had feared. As his employees trickled out after closing, Matthew waved and promised not to stay too late as they protested his long hours. As the hustle and bustle quieted and the lights dimmed in the front, Matthew stretched his back and prepared to settle into his work once more.

A knock came at his door, and Matthew looked up to find Jessica standing in his open doorway. She had somehow managed to walk up to his office without him noticing, despite wearing heels. His face must have plainly shown his surprise, because she was very obviously hiding a smile. “Sorry, is this a bad time?” Jessica asked, eyes glittering behind her glasses. Her makeup was subtle and professional, pulling his gaze to her eyes and the shape of her red lips.

“Um, nono, not at all,” Matthew stammered. “Sorry, I just didn’t know anyone else was still here.”

“Brenda said you wanted to see me,” Jessica said, taking a slow and deliberate step into his office. “I tried to poke my head in earlier, but you looked a little stressed. Crunch for transmittal
hitting you hard this quarter?”

“Yeah, I was, just a little behind. Working on transmittal.” Had she already said that?

“But that’s um, not why I called you here, obviously.” Matthew said. His brain refused to work properly, and Jessica did not offer him a branch as he floundered. Instead she just watched him with that knowing smile. “ I mean, I just heard that congratulations are in order.” She still watched him, expectantly. “And, I wanted…to say them,” he finished lamely.

She laughed, and brought a hand to her lips as she did. A hand that Matthew had not even realized had been concealed behind her back as she entered the office. It caught his eye immediately as
the ring flashed in front of him, glittering in the light. “Thank you, Matt. I appreciate it.” She made no move to leave or to end the conversation, and Matt wracked his brains for something to say. “So is that the, uh, ring?”

Her grin was dazzling. “It is,” she said, making the last few steps to cross the distance to his desk. “Let me show you a closer look. You look like you could use a short break. Everyone can see how hard you’re pushing yourself, and I need to savor any chance to show it off now while its new.” He nodded slowly, about to say something, but suddenly the ring was in front of him and he lost his train of thought.

“It’s beautiful,” he said instead. It was. It was the largest stone that he had ever seen in person, and it seemed to catch the light in different ways with each tiny movement of her hand as she held it out.

“Thank you,” Jessica said. “I love it. I keep showing it to people just as an excuse to look at it carefully myself. I keep finding myself staring at it as it catches the light, and considering the shape of
the gem as it gleams. I’ve noticed a subtle pattern etched into the face of the gem. Its difficult to make out, but looking for it is so peaceful. Have you noticed the same?”

“Yes,” Matthew said, trying to catch a glimpse of the pattern she mentioned but finding it difficult as Jessica began to move her hand back and forth slightly.

“It’s so comforting,” Jessica continued, “And looking at it helps me forget the stress of the day and relax a little bit more. It’s so easy to forget just how stressful and overwhelming our lives are, and that makes it so important and so easy to keep staring. I’ll bet the more you stare, the more relaxed you feel. Isn’t that right, Matt?”

“Yes,” Matthew said, eyes locked on the ring. He thought he could make out the pattern she had mentioned, but it slipped away again with the movement of her hand. He leaned forward for a better look.

“In fact, the more you watch my ring the more the rest of the world begins to fade away. Nothing except the ring on my finger and my voice. It feels so much better watching the ring and
listening to my voice. All your troubles washed away by the ring, and my voice. It feels so good, doesn’t it, Matthew?”

“Feels so good,” Matthew whispered.

“Without all that stress, it just makes you more aware of how amazing it feels to watch the ring on my finger. As your stresses drift away, your thoughts become slow and sluggish, don’t they? It’s so easy not to think, to let your mind be filled with nothing except the sound of my voice. It feels so. Very. Good. Feel yourself floating in that blissful experience. The only thing keeping you grounded is how important it is to keep watching the ring, and listening to my voice. Can you do that for me, Matthew?”

“Yessss,” Mathew said.

“Good boy,” Jessica said. “You’ve been such a good boy, listening so well to my voice and staring at the ring. I’ll bet it's so difficult to keep your eyes open, to keep watching the ring. Your eyelids are so heavy now, fighting to stay open.”

Matthew wobbled in place as his eyelids fluttered, and Jessica placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. She kept the ring in front of his eyes the whole time, but leaned down behind him to
whisper directly into his ear and she ran her fingers through his hair. “I know its so hard to keep your eyes open, but its so important to keep watching the ring on my finger. But I will let you in on a secret, Matthew. I’m going to count down from five to one. When I do, you will have no more energy left to keep your eyes open and they will close. But you will still see the ring on my finger in your mind’s eye, capturing your attention even with your eyes closed, won’t you? If you can keep concentrating on the image of the ring, you will stay in this beautiful, blissful state of relaxation. Do you
understand?”

“I…understand,” Matthew said.

“Good boy. Concentrate hard, now, as your eyelids become heavier and you hover at the edge of a deep hypnotic sleep. Five. Very good, memorize every detail of this ring on my hand so that you can picture it perfectly. Four, imagine the smoothness of my hand and the gleam of my fingernails next to the stone as they catch the light. You're doing so well, Matt. Three, notice how well the diamonds compliment the golden band, how perfectly they harmonize into a thing of perfect beauty. Two, focus on the gems, Matthew, I know if you strain hard enough you will be able to see the engraving. It’s so important to you. Eyelids heavier and heavier now. One.”

Something snapped close to Matthew’s ear, and his eyes immediately slammed shut. It wasn’t a problem though. Jessica was right, he could still see the ring on her hand in front of his eyes, shining out against the black void, lulling him into a peaceful sleep free from all of his problems. 

“You can still see it, can’t you Matthew?” Jessica’s voice was a breath in his ear, but he was beyond noticing such things. All that mattered was the ring.

“Yes.”

“And you still feel so amazing, the best you’ve ever felt, because of my ring. Don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Good boy. Drifting so deeply for me. And you never want it to stop, do you? You want to stay in this bliss forever, with my voice in your ear and my ring in your mind’s eye?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you do. Remember how overworked and stressed you were before you saw my ring. You didn’t even realize how bad things were. Here, now, with me, everything is perfect. The ring is
perfect. I am perfect. The ring is on my finger. Exactly as it should be. You need this feeling to last forever. Going back to the way things were before would be like torture, wouldn’t it?” Matthew squirmed in his seat. He didn’t like thinking about how terrible things had been before. It seemed so long ago, it was so hard to remember time before the ring. But he knew what Jessica said was
true, that it had been horrible. Nothing like the bliss he felt now.

“You would do anything to keep things as they are now, wouldn’t you Matthew? This ring on my finger is so important to you. It’s the most important thing in the world to you.”

“Most...important…in the world,” Matthew repeated dully, watching it glitter from behind his closed eyelids.

“Of course it is, Matthew.” Jessica was practically crooning in his ear. “Now hold out your hand.”

He did, and something small and cool dropped into his palm. “Keep it close, Matthew. It’s so important that you make the correct choice Matthew. The ring is not on my finger anymore, Matthew. It’s in your hand. You can still see it in your mind’s eye, but you know that its not on my finger anymore.”

“What?” Matthew’s mind was moving so slowly. The ring still spun in his mind, but he knew something was horribly wrong. It was no longer perfect.

“You can feel all of those horrible feelings creeping back in, Matthew. All that stress and frustration. But if you concentrate on the image of the ring, you can keep those thoughts at bay for a
little while.” Matthew concentrated as hard as he could, but Jessica was right. He was supposed to be floating in a blissful bubble, but he could feel the whispers of his old life pressing around the edges.

“Keep concentrating, Michael. It would be so horrible to go back, you don’t think you could stand it. You want to stay here, with the ring and my voice, keeping you safe and telling you exactly
what to do don’t you? You know that if you concentrate hard on the image of the ring in your mind, and do exactly what my voice tells you, you won’t have to go back to your horrible old life. Can you do that Matthew?”

Matthew was concentrating too hard, trying desperately to fight off the trappings of his old life, to do anything except nod numbly. The next time Jessica spoke, her voice was further away. “In a
moment, I will snap my fingers and you will open your eyes. You’ll be able to stay deeply asleep for me, because you have that perfect ring in your hand and my perfect voice in your ear, but your eyes will be open. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Matthew said. Her fingers snapped, and Matthew saw that Jessica was now leaning against the wall near the office door, the same as she had when she first came in.

“There’s something you can do to make the world right again, Matthew. Something you can do to get the ring back on my finger, where it is meant to be. Think, Matthew. Think hard. How can you get an engagement ring onto my finger?”

Matthew’s breath caught as he realized what he had to do. Of course, it was so obvious. He tried to reach out the hand with the ring, but Jessica only laughed.

“You have to do it right, Matthew. Look at me, Matthew. Truly look at me. I’ve seen you staring through your office window. You know how beautiful I am. Just as beautiful as the ring. Stare at me,
Matthew. My beauty entrances you, doesn’t it? I turn you on, don’t I Matthew? You’ve been lusting after me for so long, haven’t you? It will feel so good to finally admit it, won’t it Matthew? The old
Matthew, will his stress and his loneliness would have denied it, but you’re ready to admit how much I captivate you, aren’t you Matthew? How perfect I am in your eyes?”

“Yes,” Matthew breathed. He couldn’t believe he had ever turned her down, couldn’t believe he had ever considered any other woman. She was gorgeous, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“In fact, you’re getting hard just looking at me, aren’t you Matthew?” It was true, he felt himself stiffen at her words but still couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “You’re so hard, harder than you’ve ever been in your life. You’ve never lusted after anything the way you lust after me. You can hardly control yourself. Feel the weight of your cock dragging you down, down to the ground. On your knees, Matthew. Slide down onto your knees. That’s where you need to be to make everything perfect again, isn’t it?”

Matthew groaned as the weight of hic cock pulled him slowly down the chair and onto his knees. He looked up at Jessica, and felt like he was drowning in her smile. He still held the ring out in his
offered hand. “Looking at me feels so amazing, Matthew. But you need to make things perfect. It feels so right to be on your knees in front of me. So natural to be subservient to me. You dream of the two of us together, forever, bonded by the perfect ring. Do you know what you need to swear in order to make that happen, Matthew? You need to swear to love me, to honor me, and to obey me. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Matthew said. Of course he could swear that. It was all he wanted to do.

“You love me more than anything else in the world, don’t you Matthew? Certainly more than any other woman?”

“Of course,” Matthew said.

“Swear it for me, Matthew. Promise me that you will love me forever”

“I will love you forever, Jessica. I promise.”

“And swear that you will honor me, that I will be the most important thing in your world?”

“I will honor you above anyone else. I swear it.”

“And you will obey me in all things? Anytime you hear my perfect voice, you will know deep in your soul that I know what is best for you and that you must obey?”

“Yes, Jessica. I must obey.”

“Good boy. Everything is so close. Feel your vows ingrain deep in your brain. To love, honor, and obey. You have to hold onto them tightly, with every scrap of your being, if you want to make everything perfect. Can you do that Matthew?”

“Yes,” he panted. He needed it so badly. He was so close. His cock strained against his trousers.

“Good boy, Matthew. When I snap my fingers, you may ask the question you have been waiting to ask for so long now. Its so important to you that I say yes, it’s the most important moment of your life. If I say yes, you will feel a rush of pleasure unlike anything you have ever felt before, overwhelming any last trace of resistance or any doubts you may have. Now ask, Matthew. This is the moment. The happiest moment of your life. Ask.”

Matthew held out the ring, hand shaking with need as he stared up at Jessica. “Jessica, will you marry me?”

Jessica triumphant smile was predatory as she leaned down in front of him, examining his face. She ran a finger slowly over the bulge in his trousers and Matthew almost came immediately.

“In a moment,” Jessica whispered. “I am going to put the ring on, and everything will be perfect once more. But know that if I ever draw your attention to the ring again, or say the words ‘remember how you proposed,’ your mind will immediately focus on the ring and my beauty just as intensely as you are right now and you will fall back into this deep hypnotic trance.”

Matthew squirmed with need as she held her finger out. There was a roaring in his ears as he slowly slid the ring onto her finger, but all he could see was the ring and her eyes. Her eyes and the ring.

“Yes, I will marry you, Matthew,” Jessica said as soon as the ring was firmly on her finger. It was too much for him. His eyes rolled back into his head as he came explosively, thinking only of the ring and her eyes, her eyes and the ring as everything faded to black. In the darkness, void of all thoughts, he thought he could hear Jessica’s voice whispering instructions as he drifted in the black.

A knock came at his door, and Matthew looked up to find Jessica standing in his open doorway. She had somehow managed to walk up to his office without him noticing, despite wearing heels.
Matthew frowned, something seemed off. His pants were wet, and—

Jessica smiled and waved, and Matthew felt a rush of pleasure as he saw the ring on her finger. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was that such an amazing woman had agreed to marry him. He stood immediately, and rushed over to her. Their lips met as he pulled her into a passionate embrace.

After what seemed like hours, Jessica finally pulled away from him and gifted him with that dazzling, perfect smile. “Down, boy,” she said playfully. “You made me promise to keep our relationship a secret for now, remember?”

“Of course,” he said. But he didn’t want their relationship to be secret. He wanted to boast to the world about his amazing fiancé.

“Have you made the call yet? I thought that if you made the call tonight, you could come back to my place once you finish work.” Her smile was devilish, and Matthew felt his cock grow hard as a rock once more. Once more?

He shook the thought from his head. “I will call her immediately, and break up with her. I should have done it long ago.”

“Better late than never,” Jessica purred, brushing his lips with hers. “Call me as soon as you finish work. I’ve waited far too long for this.”

“Yes, Jessica.” He watched her as she strode out his office, mesmerized by the sway of her ass as she walked. He couldn’t believe he had been in denial about his feelings for her for so long. As soon as she was out of sight, Matthew pulled out his phone to dial his girlfriend. Then he could finally begin his new life with Jessica, just as he had always dreamed. He couldn’t wait to share the good news with everyone at the office. It had been so hard keeping it a secret, but everything would be worth it once they were together at last.