I could scarcely believe the other girls in the office hated me that much but there I was on a stage, naked, manacled and gagged waiting to be auctioned as a house slave for the Christmas to New Year period. And I’d had no say in the matter. Only an hour previously I’d had no inkling of what was going to happen to me and how it would change my life.

Bricet, Higgins and Dean are a firm of auctioneers dealing with a wide range of items from small collectables and antiques through to livestock and farms. I work in the flourishing coins and stamps department with three other girls and Mr. Williamson the manager and expert on the subject. He really knows his stuff and seems to spend hours pouring over stamps with a magnifying glass and looking through large tomes. He’s supposed to have a very valuable collection himself but I’m told it is stored in a bank vault somewhere.

Lisa Schoffield works in reception and deals with customers who bring things in for valuation and makes appointments for the manager. She’s the one who dislikes me most and was the brains behind the scheme to humiliate me and to cause me so much grief. Like many receptionists, she has a beautiful figure and knows how to show it off to the best advantage. She’s also very snooty; all smiles to the customers but catty to me. Fortunately she knows that she couldn’t do my job so she hasn’t tried to oust me.

Sara Canning mans the switchboard of the call centre. At times she is very busy but often she has nothing much to do except repair the polish on her nails or fiddle with her bleached blonde hair. She and Lisa are best friends and go clubbing together at weekends and often boast of their sexual conquests. They always try and discus their exploits in front of me, knowing that I’ve never had a real boyfriend and that their talk upsets me. According to them, no boy would ever want to go out or have sex with a fat unsophisticated girl like me.

Cheryl Pierce does the accounts, prepares invoices and generally oversees the financial side of things. She’s the nicest one of the three but, like the others, always acts in a superior fashion. Her work keeps her busy so she has less time to torment me. They all joined the firm about four years ago when the department first opened. All are about twenty-four years old, a year older than I am.

I’m Hayley Jennings and I’m a small time computer artist and my job is to produce the catalogues and brochures for the auctions. Unlike the others, I’m plump and being only 5 ft 4”, I have a dumpy appearance. They, of course, call it fat and ever since I started work there they’ve made snide remarks about my appearance. I’ll admit that I’m not overly concerned with my looks and, as I enjoy my food, I’m not too worried about keeping to a diet although I have tried some of the fad weight loss methods in the past. I don’t wear much makeup and wear clothes that are comfortable for my size and quite often they are in garish or clashing colours or with dangling bits of material they wouldn’t be seen dead in. I think it adds to my arty appearance but they just think I dress with bad taste. Fortunately, work wise, I deal directly with Mr. Williamson and I get on well with him. He’s a gentleman in the old fashioned sense of the word. I do enjoy my work and the creativity involved in designing the brochures and catalogues as well as advertising material. I believe I am good at my job and it seems to be appreciated by my manager and, on several occasions by his bosses, which again did not add to my popularity with the office girls. Arsehole Licker, Lisa called me after Mr. Bricet himself came to my workspace and congratulated me on the layout of a flyer.

Probably what triggered their vendetta against me was a little incident that occurred one lunchtime. Our lunch break is from noon to one o’clock. This particularly Friday they didn’t return until 1:20. At 1:10 Mr. Williamson came out of his office and saw me in Sara’s chair trying to answer the phone. He asked where they were and instead of covering for them and saying they were in the loo or something, which he would have seen through anyway, I came right out and said that they hadn’t returned from lunch. He asked me to send them into his office as soon as they arrived, which I did. Even I could smell the booze on their breath. What actually happened in there, I don’t really know except that he gave them the option of losing an hour’s pay or working an extra hour that day or losing their jobs. They took the extra hour option although I didn’t know what good it would do the firm as we shut the doors at five and he had to stay behind as well. Guess it was more like a school detention. I gave Lisa a little smile, or more likely it was a smirk, when I left at five and she glared at me and snarled, I’ll get you back you ugly fat bitch, you just wait.”

Mr. Williamson must have noticed the atmosphere in the office had worsened because when, about two weeks later, I went in with some catalogue proofs he asked, How are you coping with Lisa and the other girls?”

The question took me by surprise and I, almost automatically, replied, Okay. He wasn’t having any of that and questioned me further until I admitted that it wasn’t pleasant working there and that I was half considering looking elsewhere for employment but I done nothing about it so far. I keep hoping it will blow over but it just seems to be getting worse sir. I really don’t know what to do about it. I felt a tear run down my cheek.

“Hayley, I don’t want to lose you. Nor do I want to see you so unhappy Maybe He paused and appeared to be thinking, Maybe if we clear the paper and office supplies store next door we could set that up as a computer room. It will take a week or two to get it approved and probably a while longer to get the necessary work done, but that should keep them out of your hair especially as I have my own entrance so you wouldn’t have to go through reception. If you don’t mind putting up with them for a while longer, would you stay if I arranged it?”

“Yes, sir, I agreed, I like the work I have to do and I could concentrate better if I was away from them but won’t they start making up tales about what we

“They’ll be enough other people coming into my office not to worry overmuch about that.”

Oddly enough the atmosphere did improve shortly after although it was never friendly and I was pleased when Mr. Williamson told me on the last working day before Christmas, that he’d been given approval for the conversion. Friday December 23rd 2005 will be a day I shall remember for as long as I live.

That afternoon work was slack, Mr. Williamson left early to pick up a present for his wife, and I finished what I was doing, shut the computer down and began to tidy my desk. There was under an hour left before finishing time. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lisa close the outside door and lock it from the inside. Strange, I thought, but went on with what I was doing. Next thing I knew, Sara looped a rope around my body and my chair, pinning my arms and effectively immobilising me. Immediately I screamed Cheryl put a bright red ball gag in my mouth and I now realised that I was in trouble. In order to have a gag and rope to hand, they must have planned what ever they intended doing well in advance but at that moment I had no idea of the extent of the trouble I was in.

“Payback time Hayley dear, Lisa grinned, I hope you don’t have anything special planned for the Christmas holiday because whatever it was you won’t be doing it. Let’s get the cuffs on her girls.”

They’d got it well organised. With the rope wound around my body and the chair and my speech curtailed, I couldn’t do anything to prevent them doing anything they wished. I was completely helpless. Fear swept over me when I felt the manacles being clamped around my ankles and heard them click into place and felt the cold steel on my flesh. A short length of chain connected the two so I could move around but I only walk with short steps. Sara still held the rope tightly but Lisa and Cheryl were now free to force my wrists together and cuff them behind my back. Get her coat and the rest of her stuff Cheryl; Sara check to see if the way is clear to go. Lisa was in charge and I was shaking and weeping with my fear of her and my thoughts ran wild as to what they might do to me. Cheryl zipped my anorak over the top of my arms and around my body, pulled the hood up and wrapped my scarf around my face so the ball gag was hidden.

“Hallway’s clear, Sara called back after leaving the room for a moment.

“Come along dear, take short steps and you won’t fall over. Lisa wrapped her arm around my waist and led me out although I shook my head, no. Bring your car to the back door Cheryl and we’ll meet you there. Shit! Lisa hissed as the caretaker came round the corner. A ray of hope came to me but before we reached him he turned into another room.

His face reappeared at the door as we passed. What’s up girls?”

“Just off to another party Ted, Lisa replied with one of her winning smiles, This one was too shy to say she would go so we thought she should get out a bit more.”

Ted returned her grin, We could party in my office. We knew he wasn’t serious but it did make me wonder if I was really going to a party and what would happen to me if they left me there shackled, helpless and vulnerable. Would I be beaten? Raped? Humiliated? Forced to have sex with men? Women?

I sobbed as I sat between Lisa and Sara on the back seat until Lisa told me to shut up and remarked that it would be some hours before the party started. To my surprise we stopped at my flat and Cheryl used my keys to let us in. My hopes that one of the other tenants would be around were quickly dashed. In any case I didn’t know them well and Lisa would no doubt have made up another story. Okay girls, let’s get this fat slob stripped off and we can see what she’s really like under these frumpy clothes. See if you can find some scissors. That’ll save us struggling with her and they only charity shop rejects anyway.”

Cheryl came partly to my rescue and pointed out, Cutting jeans material will be more difficult than holding and stripping her and it will be more fun to see her struggling.”

It was of little consolation although my clothes hadn’t come from a charity shop, I had no wish to be undressed by them or in front of them and I rightly guessed that would do their best to humiliate me as much as possible. Are they lesbians? Will they masturbate me? Make me do things to them? Sexual things? Things I have only read about? My anorak was taken off and Cheryl fumbled with the key to unlock my wrist cuffs but before I could do anything more I was pushed face down on to the floor and they pulled my orange angora sweater above my head. Two of them held my arms while the other pulled it right off. My blouse quickly followed and to my horror, I felt the catch for my bra being undone.

“They are really going to embarrass me. I guess they are lesbians, I thought as I struggled to get my arms free but it was to no avail and my wrists were once again cuffed behind my back.

“Turn her over so we can see what those udders of hers really look like. Lisa once again gave the orders and I was rolled on to my back and had to endure more comments as to their size, my suitability as a cow and how much milk they might produce. For a while they mauled them and tormented me with their remarks especially when my nipples hardened and they deemed I was enjoying it. Nothing was further from the truth. All I could do was sob and shake my head in protest; the grunts that passed the gag had no effect.

They didn’t stop there. Shortly afterwards they set about removing my trousers and everything else below my waist. I did try and kick out when I could but with a girl holding each ankle, it was pretty hopeless. My patch of dark black pubic hair caused some obscene comments and a debate as to whether it should be shaved off, but they decided it would add to my innocent look if it was left on. If she’s innocent now, she certainly won’t be by the time she gets back here, Lisa commented with an evil smile on her face and I suspected that I would be raped at this party. I wept bitterly but they had no compassion for me and continued to laugh and make fun of my predicament.

“I think we ought to take her to the loo and then tie her to the bed or something and gag her with something softer until we collect her for the the party. We can put the ball back in again later, Cheryl suggested. She needs to look presentable for that. It was more or less agreed and Cheryl even gave me some water to drink before Sara tried to insert my knickers in my mouth. They were too large to fit, which caused them a good deal more merriment at my expense and they left one half hanging down over my chin. Sara wound nearly a whole reel of Sellotape around my head to keep them in place.

“Bye. Lisa waved as they left, We’ll be back in about she looked at the clock about three hours to take you out. Don’t run away. How could I do that when they’d tied my wrist and ankle cuffs to the bed? I was seriously worried now and tried to loosen the Sellotape but they had wrapped it round too many times and I would have needed the suppleness of a lithe contortionist to try and undo the knots in the tights they had used to bind me to the bed. For now I could do nothing but lie there and worry over my fate.

My imagined scenarios were nothing like the actuality. Maybe I’ll have to wait at tables naked at this party. Maybe they’ll prostitute me. Get men to pay them money to use me? To fuck me? Or will it be women? Perhaps I’ll have to dance for them? That wouldn’t be very elegant! A pole dance perhaps? Or will they have me publicly spanked? Whipped? I wouldn’t put it passed Lisa to arrange something like that. So lying there alone in my terror I imagined many painful and obscene things that might be done to me. The three hours dragged slowly but eventually with a mixture of relief and fear, I heard the door open.

“She still here! Lisa cried out and the others laughed. Sara and Cheryl released me from the bed and, still manacled, I was taken to the toilet to pee. Afterwards Sara painfully ripped off the Sellotape and washed my face while Cheryl combed my hair. They added a little make-up and I was warned not to start crying again to spoil it all. Lisa stood and watched with obvious glee while the others did the work. By then I thought I was more or less cried out but my body still shook with fear. When I could get a few words out, I tried pleading with them but Sara quickly replaced the ball gag.

“That looks better. You’re almost human again now. We just need to put this collar on so we can put a lead on you if necessary like a good little doggy bitch. Sara tightened a leather collar and locked it around my neck, then pointed to my reflection in the mirror. There are four rings set permanently into the collar so we can attach a lead or clip your handcuffs to them. We don’t intend you should get away.”

“Where’s your birth control pills? Lisa asked.

My eyes flew wide open; my mind quickly reasoned, If they want my pills this is going to be more than a one night thing. More than a party. Were they going to keep me as a prostitute for the whole Christmas holiday? For ever? What had Lisa said earlier? I hope you don’t have anything special planned for the Christmas holiday because whatever it was you won’t be doing it. They must be using me as a prostitute or call girl for the whole holiday. I had planned visiting a few people over the Christmas period but none would be too concerned if I didn’t turn up.

I nodded to the top drawer of the bedside cabinet. In a way it was lucky that I was on the pill. I’d started when I went to technical college and most of the students in my graphics class were boys but I never needed them. One boy was quite friendly but when he offered to take me to a college party and I turned him down, he never asked again. I watched helplessly as they put the pills and some toiletries and stuff in my handbag, which confirmed my conviction that I wouldn’t be returning there that night. Will I be staying with Lisa and Sara? They might well want to keep me as a servant they can tease and torment. But I wouldn’t need the pills if there were only those two girls, would I? Perhaps they’ve invited some boys round. I wondered, knowing that they shared a flat and maybe a bed for all I knew.

“Unplug her phone Sara. Put the coat around her Cheryl and we’ll be off. Again Lisa gave the orders and Sara and Cheryl did as they were told. Cheryl opened a large plastic bag and produced a beautiful imitation fur coat smelling of mothballs and wrapped it around my body. It came to well below my knees so at least my naked body was covered. Cheryl also found my pink rabbit slippers and put them on my feet. Pretending to fasten the coat collar more tightly, Cheryl whispered in my ear, Go with the flow Hayley. You might even get to like it and thank us later. Her words were prophetic.