A Misinterpretation

Mandy's boss was going to blow a gasket.  He had a very important meeting today in about 30 minutes, and as his personal assistant, it was her responsibility to ensure that all the correct paper work be laid out in the conference room- along with waters, coffee, light snacks, and anything else that may be necessary.  However, she was not even in the office yet.  Her car had decided to refuse to run today, forcing her to take the bus into town and then practically run (in heels) down 3 blocks to her office building.  She was now using the short elevator ride to try and compose herself, and think of how she was going to explain this situation to Mr. Larkin.

When she had started working for him, about 4 months ago, everyone had told her what a hard ass he was, and not to be deceived by his devilish good looks.  At 45, he had salt-and-pepper hair, crystal blue eyes, and a strong jawline that seemed to exude confidence.  He didn't stand for incompetence or disorganization.  Fortunately for Mandy, she was the queen of organization, and a hard worker to boot.  She loved leaving work at the end of the day with a feeling that she had done the best she could.  Mr. Larkin must have felt she was doing well too, because they had been getting along swimmingly.  She had even been able to get the stern financial lawyer to crack a  handsome smile last week when she had beat him to the punch at printing out some needed paperwork.

"You're a girl after my own heart, Mandy," he had praised, making her beam with pride.

What was it that her grandmother had always told her growing up? Pride cometh before a fall.  That never seemed truer than right now.  As she stepped off the elevator she could see into the conference room through the big, open double doors.  There was Mr. Larkin, looking displeased, distributing file folders filled with the necessary papers at each seat.  He happened to look up and see her rushing to take over.

"There you are!  I do not want to discuss why you are late at the moment," he said when he saw her open her mouth in an obvious attempt to start explaining herself.  "I just want you to finish preparing the room, while I go to greet the clients.  We can discuss your tardiness later," he finished grimly.

"Yes sir," was all Mandy could say.  She quickly gave the room a once over.  Everything seemed to already be done, except for fresh hot coffee.  She dashed over to the break room to begin brewing it.  As it was percolating, Mandy's mind worrying about how Mr. Larkin would reprimand her later.  Would he merely scold her verbally, dock part of her wages, or worst case scenario, terminate her.  She really hoped that he would be understanding.  She loved this job, and it paid better than any job she had ever had before.  She had actually been able to set money aside to buy a new car, which she had planned to do this weekend.  Well, it was one weekend too late now!  Stupid car!

Once the coffee was finished she placed it on a serving tray with several mugs, and started back towards the conference room.  The doors were closed now, so the meeting must have already begun.  Great she was late again.  She was just about to open the doors and go in to serve coffee, when she thought she heard Mr. Larkin say something to the group about his "personal assistant."

Mandy felt incredibly hurt.  Was Mr. Larkin really berating her in front of a whole room of clients?  How humiliating!  Mandy leaned towards the door again, and tried to listen closely to what was being said.  Unfortunately, the doors were made of a thick wood and it was hard to follow the exact conversation.  She was able to make out phrases here and there, though, and what she heard was incredibly distressing.  She could have sworn that after hearing someone mention that 'some sort of action should be taken immediately to the offense', someone else said something about a...'SPANK!', and then there was a round of agreement from everyone in there!

She had just been a little late, due to circumstances that were out of her control.  How dare these people sit in there, and discuss possible consequences for her when they didn't even know the entire story.  And worst of all they were suggesting something so barbaric and old fashioned, it almost seemed like some kind of bad dream.  She shook her head; she must have misheard them.  She pushed her ear up against the door now, completely forgetting about the coffee needing to be served.  She strained to hear the voices in the other room.  For a while they all sounded a bit muffled, then, clear as a bell, she heard the word 'spank' again, then something about being 'bent over', and lastly recognized Mr. Larkin's voice saying, "I absolutely agree."

Mandy was furious!  She flung open the door, marched inside, and began to loudly announce, "If you think for one second that I would ever allow you to bend me over and give me a spanking merely for being late, or for any other matter, you are sorely mistaken Mr. Larkin!  And how dare all of you sit in here and discuss something so absolutely inappropriate about a person you have never even met before.  I am horrified and dismayed at your anti-feministic viewpoints and whole hearted agreement in causing someone physical pain!  MY CAR BROKE DOWN!"

Upon finishing her rant she set down the coffee tray, squared her shoulders, took a couple deep breaths, and then turned to stare down Mr. Larkin.  Everyone seemed shocked and surprised at her dramatic entrance and heated speech.

"Gentlemen, this irate young lady is my personal assistant, the one I was telling you about earlier.  If you'll remember, I was explaining how I didn't know how I ever managed before she started working for me," Mr. Larkin calmly stated.  He was sitting at the head of the table, with his fingers crossed in front of him on the table, and an almost wicked smirk on his face.  "Then, of course, we began discussing the South Pacific American Nautical Company, or as we affectionally refer to it SPANC, and how now is the time to take action, since they are really bent over a barrel financially."  When he finished, Lawrence Larkin returned his gaze to Mandy and cocked an eyebrow, successfully lobbing the conversational ball back into her court, and hitting her square in the forehead with it.

Mandy felt like she was drowning.  Once she understood what her boss was telling her, she felt so foolish.  Why would they all have been talking about her?  Of course they were talking business.  These were well-to-do clients with valuable time, time they wouldn't waste discussing a silly personal assistant.  She had let her imagination run away with her fears, and now she was really going to pay for it.

She couldn't seem to breath in more than tiny little gasping breaths, as she stood there trying to figure out what to say or do.  Part of her wished she would just stop breathing and die right here on the spot; that had to be better than the utter mortification she felt right now.  Every set of eyes was on her, waiting for her next move.

"Uh, well, it looks as though, uh, I may have misinterpreted the little bit of the conversation I, uh, accidentally overheard as I, uh, brought you lovely gentlemen some coffee," Mandy stammered as she tried to force a smile across her strained face.  "If you'll just excuse me, I'm sure you all have many important matters to discuss." She turned towards the doors, and began to escape the room as quickly as possible.  To her utmost horror, Mr. Larkin rose and began following her out.

"If you all would be so kind as to give me a moment," he said as he stepped out of the room and closed the doors behind them.  He then rounded on Mandy, "That was one of the most disgraceful scenes I have ever witnessed, not only for you, but for me and my company as well.  You have the rest of the day to think up a really good reason for me to not fire you!  Which I really don't want to do.  You do a very good job, and if I have to terminate you at the end of the day, it will just make this day worse than it already is."  Then he calmly returned to the conference room, quipping out something humorous; causing everyone to laugh, and putting them all at ease.

Mandy had spent the rest of the day hiding at her desk, and racking her brains trying to come up with a list of all her positive qualities.  However, no matter how many she came up with, none of them seemed to outweigh the ridiculous spectacle she had made of herself.  Finally, she had remembered another of her grandmother's favorite sayings, "Desperate times, call for desperate measures."  She knew what she needed to do, even though it went against everything she felt she believed in.  At 4:45 that evening, right before closing time, she marched herself down to Mr. Larkin's office, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said simply.  He put away what he was working on, and gave her is undivided attention, "Well, what have you come up with?"

Mandy took a deep calming breath.  She reminded herself that no matter what happened in here tonight, she would still be the same capable personal assistant that she had always been tomorrow.  She clenched her fists to keep them from shaking, and forced herself to look into her boss's eyes.

"Mr. Larkin, after much contemplation, I feel that there is no good reason I can give you to keep from firing me.  My horrible behavior today is completely inexcusable," Mandy said sadly.  "However, I have another idea that I am hoping will help to clean my slate, to an extent."  At this point she stopped and seemed to be having a little trouble gathering the courage she needed to continue her well prepared speech.  She looked down at her toes, and then back at Mr. Larkin.

"Go on..," he encouraged, "I'm quite curious about what you are going to suggest."

"Well, sir. Well....I think...I think I deserve a spanking," she said softly.  Then words just started spilling out of her at a fast rate, "I think it only seems fitting, after the events that transpired today. After  all, it was a the idea of a spanking that seemed to spark my little outburst earlier, and, though it may seem unorthodox, I think that it will help me recover from my guilt and you from your anger."

"What about spankings being anti-feministic, and all that other nonsense you were spouting earlier?" he asked.

"Well, I've been thinking of my grandmother a lot today," oh heavens, now she sounded like a crazy person again she thought, but continued on, "and she used to live by the adage 'spare the rod, spoil the child,' and to be honest I think I've acted much more like a child today than a grown woman."

"So you were spanked as a child, Mandy?" Mr. Larkin inquired.

"Yes sir.  Not very often, I was a pretty well behaved, but occasionally I would get into a bit of mischief," she replied.

"Let's say I entertain this little idea of yours,"he began, "I want you to realize that the spanking I give you will be much worse than any you ever received from your grandmother.  Also, you will have to do exactly as I tell you, no matter how uncomfortable it may make you feel.  Do you understand?"

She searched his face with her eyes.  Could she really do this?  Did she have any other choice?  She really loved this job, and really liked Mr. Larkin.  He was a good businessman and boss; she didn't want to feel that she had disappointed him.  "I understand," she finally answered, sounding much braver than she felt.

"Alright then.  I think this in fact may be a good solution to out little problem, so let's begin."  He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a thin, whippy, stainless steel ruler.  It was very modern and sleek looking, and right now was scaring the hell out of Mandy.

Was he planning on using that to spank her?  'Of course he was, stupid,' she told herself.  This is going to be a real spanking, with real pain, and she was just going to have to deal with it.

"Mandy, I need you to come forward and bend over the front of my desk," he commanded.  She did as she was told.  "You may reach out and grab the opposite edge with your hands if you need to, it may help you resist the urge to use them to cover you bottom during your punishment."  Mandy reached out and grabbed the edge of the desk in front of her and then laid her head down flat on the desktop.  The wood top felt cool on her  right check.  She closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing heart, as she waited for him to begin.  She had noticed that the ruler was still laying on the desk.  Maybe he wasn't planning on using it after, all she thought.

Then she felt him touch her, and she jumped in reaction, assuming that he was ready to strike.  However, his touch was quite gentle as he pulled up her black, pencil skirt, and then pulled down her black lacy panties.  She hadn't expected him to bare her bottom.  It made her feel even more uncomfortable and ashamed.  She was ready to cry, and they hadn't even started yet.

"I'm ready to get started now.  This is your last chance to change your mind.  If you would rather be fired than go through with this, then you may go pack up your desk and leave," Mr. Larkin explained, more to her naked rear, than to her it seemed.  She hesitated a moment, and then shook her head.  She was going to get what she deserved.

"Good choice, my dear.  The first part of your spanking is going to be with my hand, and then I'll finish with my ruler," he instructed matter-of-factly.  Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw him roll up his sleeves, and get in position.

A moment later she felt a hard stinging slap across her bottom.  "Oh!" she startled, and before she had time to really process just how much it hurt, there came another and another.  The pain her bottom was experiencing was so much worse than she had imagined!  He had a steady pattern going- left, right, left, right, but all Mandy could think was that they were- hard, hard, hard.

She could feel the heat rising across her rump, and imagined it must be getting very red now.  Her hands were griping the side of the desk with all her strength.  She was now squirming and wiggling around in place in response to the torment he was creating with his never ending swats.  Left, right, left, right- her quiet little yelps were now turning into loud squeals and apologies.  She didn't know how many she had received, all she knew was that it was too many.  She couldn't take anymore, even told him so, but he didn't seem to hear her.  He just continued on like a machine- LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT.  Tears were streaming down her face when he finally stopped.

"You may take a moment to compose yourself, Mandy,"her boss said not unkindly.  She reached back to rub her poor abused bottom.  It was so hot to the touch it felt like it had been baking in an oven.  It also felt quite raw and bruised, and none of her massaging seemed to be making it any better.  She decided to put her hands to better use by wiping the tears off her face and trying to straighten her hair.  She knew she must look a mess.

After allowing her a few minutes to get under control, Mr. Larkin announced, "Now for your final 10 strokes with the ruler." OH NO!  Mandy had completely forgotten about the ruler!

"Mr. Larkin, please, please no more.  My bottom hurts so bad already, and I'm so sorry!" Mandy pleaded.  Her bottom might fall off and die if it was expected to take any more tonight.

"Mandy, you embarrassed me and yourself in front of a room full of very influential and valuable clients today, after easing dropping in on a private meeting," he reminded her. "Now bend back over the desk, and prepare yourself for the rest of your punishment.  And remember, this was your idea."

She slowly repositioned herself across the desk.  She did deserve this.  She gripped the edge of the desk again, and squeezed her eyes shut.  When the ruler came swinging down and made contact with her skin, she had a moment to think, 'it didn't fall off and die, it exploded instead,' before letting out a high pitched, "Aaahhhhh!"  She grabbed her bottom and could already feel welts raising up from where the sides of the ruler had impacted.  Tears were running down her face again.

"Get back into position, Mandy.  I know you want this to be over, so let me finish," he said firmly yet gently.  She somehow managed to get back across the desk, even in her distressed state, and stay there for the rest of her spanking.  She thought, though, that it was because she didn't have any strength left in her to move.  Each strike felt like she was being busted open, and by the time he finished she was openly sobbing.

Mr. Larkin then gingerly helped right her clothing, lifted her up off the desk, and wrapped his arms around her.  He caressed her back and whispered how proud he was of her, telling her that she had been very strong and brave.  It was so comforting to hear, and made Mandy feel so much better.

After a while, Mr. Larkin pulled away, and announced that he had one more issue to deal with before the work day was over.  He went around his desk and opened the side drawer.

"I've noticed how hard you have been working around here, and I wanted to show you that I really appreciate it.  You really are the best assistant I have ever had, and may I add the prettiest," he said with a wink, causing Mandy to blush, "and now that I don't have to fire you, I want you to have this little bonus check.  I'm hoping you will put it towards buying a new car, and we can avoid any more situations like this again in the future."

"Oh! thank you sir....for all of it, for everything," Mandy replied sincerely.