All work stopped, all talking ceased, all eyes turned as the door to the side entrance opened and Stephanie stepped into the office pulling her suitcase after her. For a few moments life seemed to stand still. No one moved. Even the customer Tracy was serving stopped her explanation. She had no idea what was happening but she knew something was about too. David, sitting alongside Stella discussing her artwork, turned slowly and said coldly, "You're late Steph. Put your case in the storeroom and go into my office. Stand in the corner facing the wall, I'll be in when I've finished here and will deal with you then."

Tears streamed down her face as she dragged her case into the store. Polly helped push it under a shelf and whispered, "You're very brave Stephanie. We didn't think you'd come. Try and keep calm and you'll get through it." Stephanie walked into David's office and stood in the corner as she'd been ordered. She left the door open in case closing it would further rile her boss.

"I wouldn't let my manager treat me like that," Janet, the customer, stated, "I thought she was in charge of the office."

"She was until last Friday. Kelly's in charge now. And David's a good boss; there's a special reason for what you saw that I'm not going into. Now you wanted a print run of a thousand�" Tracy didn't wish to go into a detailed explanation and wanted to get rid of the customer as soon as she could to see what David would do.

David was both disappointed and glad when Stephanie didn't turn up at the usual time of 8:30. Kwikprint didn't open to the public until nine o'clock but he liked to get things organised, the machines warmed up and the girls settled into their work routine before any callers came. At nine he'd accepted she wasn't coming and he would have to see about getting a replacement. His mind wasn't really on the explanation Stella was giving him. Now he was even less sure as to what to do. Sending her into his office to wait like a naughty girl, at least gave him some time to think about his next move. "Sorry Stella, would you mind going through that again. My mind blanked out." She smiled, correctly guessing the reason. He still found it difficult to concentrate but for another ten minutes he pretended to do so. "Email the two alternatives to Faulkener's and see which they will go for, Stella. Let them choose and if they want some alterations, go from there. You know I'm not into some of your arty designs but Faulkener's seem to appreciate them." Slowly he made his way round to each of his employees and had a word with them. Every time he passed the open door to his office, he glanced in and saw Stephanie was still in the corner waiting. As soon as Janet left and only the staff were in the building, he entered his office and shut the door.

Stephanie glanced nervously around and then faced the wall again. "Come and stand in front of my desk Steph," and when she complied he went on, "I take it that you've thought long and hard about this over the weekend?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I have too, although I didn't really expect you to come back. I decided that, given the chance, I would really keep you as a slave and you must have accepted that by returning but I, and I'm sure you as well, realise there are limits to what I can do. In the world of today, I cannot be an old-fashioned slave master who flogs his slaves without mercy. However, I will test the limits of what I can do without causing you any real harm. Is that understood?"

"I think so sir."

"First of all your position here. You are my slave and not slave to the others. With them you are an equal except that Kelly is now your supervisor. They cannot order you to do anything that isn't in the normal course of your work. You will continue to do the same work as before except Kelly will now issue the work sheets and that kind of stuff. You will do the filing and ordering as before and be the link between the main office and me. You will still work at the same desk and perhaps now you will remember to turn the intercom off." David grinned at her but she didn't return the smile. "I shall continue to pay you at the same rate as previously. So far, I wouldn't think that will be too much of a problem for you, will it?"

"No sir."

"After work, you will come to my home and cook and clean and I shall also expect you to sleep in my bed with all that entails. At home, you will be completely my slave and will do my bidding and allow me full access to your body whenever I wish. I would guess you haven't taken many men to bed before, is that so?"

Stephanie blushed, "I have never�"

"So this will be a new experience for you. One I hope you enjoy but if you don't, too bad. As long as I do. You are only my slave whose purpose in life is to give me pleasure. Failure to do so will result in punishment. Make no mistake about that. That is what being a slave means and by coming here with your case ready packed, it is what you've agreed to. Any questions?" David knew he was laying it on a bit thick but he could always back down a bit.

"Sir, how long will my slavery last?"

"Until I grant you your freedom. That might be a month; it could be ten years. You will earn your freedom by being a good and faithful slave."

"Will you use contraception sir? I wouldn't think you would wish me to become pregnant and I'm not on the pill or anything."

"Yes, but we will arrange for you to go to the clinic as soon as we can. I think that is all we need to say for the time being. We can work out the details as we go along. As of now you are my 24/7 slave and will do my wishes without question. The only alternative is to do a runner. Then it will be no pay and no references. Understood?"

"Yes sir. Please don't be too hard on me. I didn't really mean what I said. I was just angry."

"I know that but I am still going to give you the punishment I promised and as the others heard your outburst, so they will hear you squeal when I smack your bare arse. Remove your skirt and knickers slave."

"But sir�"

"The door is closed slave Steph. None of them will see you and I shall be seeing you completely naked before the day is out. Get used to it. Either do as I say now, or run out of the building or I get the girls in to help undress and hold you down. You accepted the position of slave so I hope you are not going to renege on it. Now prepare for your punishment."

All the previous evening and for much of the night, Stephanie had tried to imagine how she would cope when ordered to undress for the first time. "Just do it and be proud of what you have even if it isn't much compared with any of the others at the works. Don't let him see you are afraid or humiliated by it," she repeated to herself but now it came to actually doing it her proud thoughts went flying out of the window. Crying, Stephanie slowly undid the zip on her skirt and lowered it. Even more hesitatingly she lowered her knickers and stepped out of both garments. "Just do it and be proud of what you have," she silently started to say her mantra. David walked around the sobbing woman and noted her luxuriant growth of pubic hair. He ran his fingers through it, causing Stephanie further embarrassment, but it was a little while before he removed them.

"Lay over my desk Steph. It's only going to be a hand spanking this time unless I have to get someone to hold you." Knowing she had little choice, Stephanie did as requested. "Kelly, are there any customers in the shop please," David asked into the intercom.

"One just leaving, David."

"Then keep the line open until one comes in or until I say close it. I'm weighting the switch this side so it doesn't spring shut. Everyone can listen in."

"SMACK!" "Aaahh!" Stephanie tried to mute her cry but the intercom picked it up and relayed it to the office. Tracy quickly latched the outside door so no one would get in.

"SMACK!" "Aaahh!" "SMACK!" "Aaahh!" "SMACK!" "Aaahh!" David smacked the offered bottom as hard as he could until both cheeks had received about twenty swats and Stephanie was sobbing and writhing almost uncontrollably. Resolutely she tried not to give him the satisfaction of pleading but in the end she succumbed and after only a few more hard smacks he finished. He switched the intercom off after telling the girls to return to their work, knowing they would be discussing what he'd done for the rest of the week. Turning to Stephanie he spoke quietly as he helped her to her feet and hugged her for a few minutes. She started to resist but quickly gave up. "Use my toilet and clean your face up. There's some cream in the cabinet that should help your bottom. I use it after I've had a hard ride. Put your skirt back on but leave your knickers here. That's the only punishment you need have if you do what you should."

She felt his erection hard against her loins but tried to ignore it in case he wanted to take her there and then and perhaps open the intercom again for the others to hear. All her instincts told her to condemn what he had done to her volubly and vociferously but she kept remembering that was why she was in this position and it was why her bottom was now so sore. Deciding on a policy of saying nothing she didn't have to, she murmured, "Thank you sir."

Twenty minutes later David half dragged her into the main office. "Girls," he started so all could hear, "Let me remind you again that Stephanie is my slave not yours. You will treat her as you do each other. You will not make fun of her or try to wind her up. If she gives you problems, you bring them to me and I will deal with her in my way. Now please continue with your work. I think all of you have more than enough to get on with."

They did indeed have plenty to do and with David popping into the main office more frequently than usual, the girls had little chance of antagonising Stephanie. Polly did speak to her while she waited for a packaging note and waybill. "Keep your cool Stephanie. He could have hit you far worse. Probably by now your bottom is just beginning to feel nice and warm and you'll start feeling horny. Pete's spanked me a couple of times before we fucked but not as hard as yours sounded."

At 12:30 the sandwich van came and most days, the staff bought lunch from it and they closed the shop for half an hour. Today when Stephanie rose to go to the van David bade he sit where she was. He bought her a salad roll, something she frequently bought for herself and gave it to her.

"Can I be a slave too David?" Stella quipped. "That seems to be the only way I'll get the boss to buy me lunch!"

"Owning a slave has responsibilities as well as pleasures, Stella. If I keep a slave I have to feed her. That's my responsibility."

"The same as it was your responsibility to smack her arse for being naughty," Stella laughed. There was no malice in the words but they caused tears to once again well in Stephanie's eyes. Seeing this, Stella came over and gave her a hug and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Stephanie just nodded but for the first time she felt the apology she received was genuine and she was now part of the staff. Part of their group and not the dreaded supervisor.

"Another perk of being my slave," David whispered to her, "Is that you get to use my toilet and you can use the cream again if you need to." Stephanie knew that using his loo was a big concession. If she used the normal staff one, the girls might have accosted her and deliberately antagonised her there in the hope she'd throw another tantrum. However, even after being with them for only a few hours, she felt they were more sympathetic to her than they'd been all the previous months.

As was common with their business, the mornings were relatively quiet with non-urgent work that had come in the previous day, being completed. In the afternoons, the pace usually picked up with jobs coming in that needed to be out the same afternoon. So it was on the first afternoon of Stephanie's slavery. No one had much time to do anything but work. David even had to make the coffee at afternoon break because the others, even Polly who usually did the job, were so busy. He was pleased that the staff were working happily again. Even Stephanie was caught up in the urgency of the productions and began to forget her sore bottom until she sat down a little too hard.