izaak/chloe take 3

I tossed and turned all night, plagued by recurring nightmares of being chased by cops, usually ending with Izaak watching while I'm dragged away in handcuffs.  So when he woke me up that morning, I gasped in shock, relieved to see that I hadn't actually been arrested, until the previous night's events washed over me like a wave.  The last thing I remembered was fighting Izaak about going to bed, earning myself a few light (but irritated) swats as he helped me into my pajamas.

Blushing at the memory, I squinted up at my roommate who held a plate of toast and a hardboiled egg in one hand, mug of hot tea in the other.  His face was serious, dark half-circles rested under annoyed eyes.  

"You're already dressed for work.  What time is it?" I asked as I reached for my breakfast.  

"Seven o'clock."  A blanket of awkward silence settled throughout the room and I felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of my stomach:  guilt.

"Oh, running group is already over?"

"We didn't go."

My head pounded as I chewed my food, details from last night popping into my mind every so often.  Izaak's eyes bore into me, almost making me wish that my dreams of being arrested had been real.  "Why are you staring at me like that?"

He sighed and shook his head, looking away for a second.  "I didn't like the influence Violet had on you last night."

Eyebrows raised, I tried my hand at comedy.  "So does that mean you'll spank her instead of me?"

izaak/chloe spanking scene take 2

When Izaak woke me up, my head pounded and sinuses ached.  It took me a few minutes to pry my eyes open from the nightmare of being arrested to see him standing there with a mug and plate of toast and a hard-boiled egg.

"You're already dressed for work... What time is it?"

"Seven o’clock."

"Running group is already over?" I sat up taking my breakfast from him.

His face remained stoic and unamused.  Dark half-circles rested under his annoyed eyes.  He probably hadn't slept at all.  "We didn't go."

I pushed the comforter out of the way and patted a spot next to me for him to sit next to me, but he remained standing.  "I am sorry for last night, ya know, I was just... wasted."

"Not as sorry as you're gonna be, ya know."

My body trembled, a nervous shiver tracing down my spine.  "I know I agreed to this and all, but it seems like you're spanking me every day.  Isn't that a bit much?"

As I'd hoped, he gave a light chuckle.  "It seems like you're also misbehaving every day.  This evening I expect you to come straight home from work, we need to have a long talk about what happened yesterday."

I groaned.  

chloe ch10 spanking scene

My head was stuffy all day, throbbing so much that even pain killers didn't help.  As Izaak had recommended, I drank water all day, but was definitely not on my A game.  Mr. Specter yelled at me a dozen times over silly mistakes, ending the day with a direct order to not come into work hungover again or else I'd feel the wrath of his rattan cane.  Yikes!  

Izaak was seated on the couch with his laptop when I arrived, dropping the apartment keys into my bag and slipping off my shoes.  A cold chill settled in the room as I realized my roommate was still irritated and I had a big punishment coming up.

"How was your day?" I asked, pathetic attempt to make conversation.

He didn't answer for a moment, still typing, and I wondered if he'd even heard me.  But then when I locked the door behind me, he looked up.  "Come sit down, we need to talk."

"Can we not?  I have a pounding headache."

He closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table, then patted the seat next to him.  "It's really important."

I groaned and stomped towards him like a little kid, ready to have a tantrum.  "I know I shouldn't have partied last night or left so abruptly, but I just needed a night of fun and..."  I'd arrived at the couch and poked out my lower lip, trying to be cute.  

He wasn't buying it, face straight, not entertaining my conversation.  "Sit."  

With a whine, I plopped to his side and folded my arms, eyes staring at the ceiling in annoyance.  I even grumbled a little, frustrated to have this conversation.

ch 3 addition idea

Drunk, high, and uninhibited, my ex boyfriend and I went back to his apartment, which was conveniently only a block away.  It was under the excuse that ---something--- but we both knew that I was going to fuck his brains out, because that's how I deal with shit.

"You still like it rough?" he asked in the elevator, pushing me against the wall by my throat.

"What do you think?"  I pushed him back, stronger than he'd imagined because he practically went flying to the other side.

"Damn sis, you been workin' out?"

"Fuck off."

His hand was on my ass when we got off the elevator, and I didn't try to stop him, instead reaching back to grab his dick, squeezing it as he hardened under my grip.  That made it much more difficult for him to unlock the door, but once he managed, he shoved me inside.

"We're all alone," he cooed leaning against the counter.  

The familiar stench of liquor + weed + El Salvadorian food brought me back to our complicated past.  Passionate and forbidden love.  Very messy.  Suddenly I felt like puking.  

He moved towards me and placed his hands on my hips, pulling me forward so that I was against him, erection pressing against my thigh.  

"Ew, get off," I said as he tried to give me a slobbery kiss.  

Without saying anything, he grabbed my boob, squeezing it a little tighter than I liked but ignoring my yelp.  Finally I pushed him off.  

"We shouldn't."

"You know you're gonna, so why go through this every time?  It's not like you're gonna get back with whitey anyway, right?"

I rolled my eyes.  

chloe at dominics

Sitting in the back of the bar, drinking, snorting, playing poker, it was easy to lose track of time.  Despite still being dressed in paintball clothes, our afternoon adventure felt days away.  Izaak was a distant memory as I was ruled by dopamine and no longer concerned with rules or even laws.  I'd broken half a dozen that night, and just wanted to keep breaking more.

Violet lost again, slamming her hand on the table which caused me to jump.  "You'll get 'em next time!" I said in a chirpy, annoying voice.  

"I need a cigarette," she grumbled as she scooted out of the chair.  "Play my spot til I'm back.  I'm gonna beat these motherfuckers in a min."  

My eyes stayed hyper-focused on her as she staggered to the front door, then followed her as she descended the stairs, only remembering the game when she had completely disappeared.  Everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to add my chips to the pot, so I did, cracking my knuckles and confident that I'd win.

And I did.  Then I won another, much to everyone's disapproval.  And then another, which was when I realized maybe I should go since they were glaring like they wanted to gang up against me.  Maybe also I was a little paranoid.

dominics again

"Two mojitos for my tab."  Violet grinned at the bartender, who didn't seemed even half as amused as she.

He flipped the towel over his shoulder and shook his head.  "Your tab is gettin' up there, chamaca.  We're gonna have to cut you off."

"Aw come on, Bro.  Put it on Vic's tab then," she said with a laugh, patting him on the arm.

Lips pressed together in irritation, he started making the drinks, poking in the straw and sliding them towards us.  When she reached to grab it, he took ahold of her wrist.  "No more until you pay some of your shit off.  Entendido?"

"Si, seńor!"

x-x-x-x

There were seven people seated around the table, all men except Violet, most of them also Latino.  They spoke to each other in Spanglish, calling each other names and reminiscing about past games.  They were mostly macho guys, older than us, maybe in their late 20s.  Most of them didn't seem to like Violet, especially since she kicked all of their asses, except for one named Leo.  He was her only real competition, which she whispered into my ear at one point.

Her best trick was playing the man instead of the hand.  She relied mostly on reading others' tells, something she'd learned from her friend and my boss: Gabriel Specter.  

After our first mojito, Violet had won a few hands, so exchanged a few poker chips for cash and ordered me to get us another beverage.  With the rest she paid for more cocaine, not even attempting to hide it from me at this point.

chloe at dominics

What am I getting myself into?  I wondered as I sat in the backseat of a black towncar next to Violet who punched furiously into her phone.  It'd been ten days since I started living under Izaak's stupid rules, and for the first time I savored the taste of freedom, feeling rebellious and liberated.  Nevermind that his purple-haired brat friend was a little crazy and high as a kite.  She needed a friend, and frankly, so did I.

“They won’t fucking leave me alone," she griped.  "Always talking about Gabe but what the fuck good is Gabe gonna do me?  I don’t wanna stop partyin’, ya know?  Life is too short.  Too many regrets already, I don’t want more.  Molly needs to just shut the fuck up, and Toby needs to dump this hoe already.  I don’t know what he sees in her.  Do you think she’s pretty?”

No use in answering.  As soon as I opened my mouth, she kept going.

“She’s using him for something, but I’m not sure what.  Can’t believe that bitch laid on me like that.  And Toby had the nerve to get mad at me.  Fuck him, yo.  And all those bitches.”  The messages stopped long enough for Violet to glance up at me.  Her eyes were glossy like she was ready to cry.   “I’m gonna take you to a place in my old hood… it’s my high school hangout.  Honestly, if Gabe knew I was back there, he’d kick my ass more than Izaak’s gonna kick yours for comin’ with me tonight.”

violet and clo's first convo

I was skeptical of her at first, being that she's one of Izaak's friends.  He's such a rigid tight-ass, so I just assumed she'd be a similar preppy-type.  That's why I didn't bother making small talk with her as we walked down the sidewalk, instead digging my phone out to check my messages.  I'd been ignoring them lately, which I remembered why when I saw they were all from bill collectors.  Ugh.  That would bring down my high.

When we rounded the corner, Clo caught up to me and cleared her throat.  "Can I have a cigarette?"

Glancing in her direction, I snickered a bit.  "Sergeant Douche has you on a smoking ban, huh?  Is he gonna beat your ass for this?"

"Not if he doesn't find out," she retorted quickly, evil grin spreading on her lips.

Stopping in front of the bodega, I took the pack of Camels from my handbag, flipping a cancer stick out for her.  Her cherry red lips formed a perfect O, and she popped the cigarette inside, glancing up at me to light it for her.  The flame flickered on, dancing in the wind until she leaned forward, inhaling.  

I puffed on my own cigarette, thinking about how I'd probably not have any bill collectors on my back if Gabe was working with me again.  But you only live once and I didn't want to waste my time worrying about money.  “That’s one reason I haven’t gotten a Dom yet… I’m not ready to quit any of my shit.”  

chloe notes

High on my first night out in a while, I started having cravings of my old life.  The impulses were real.  When a wallet appeared in my vision, I couldn't help fantasize about snatching it, and eventually gave into those urges.  It was with one of the gangster-wannabe guys that Violet knew — his brown leather wallet was thick with cash, and half hanging out of his back pocket.  I licked my lips.  It was just too easy!

So when I walked to his side, I "accidentally" bumped into him, snatching it out of his pocket and depositing it in mine in one quick motion while also apologizing.  Later when I went to the bathroom I took out all the cash and threw the rest in the trashcan.

x-x-x-x

I went outside to find Violet and saw her chatting with the same skinny guy.  I stumbled down the stairs towards them, realizing now that it was really angry, and his two gangbanger friends were close by.  At any moment they looked ready to attack.

“Goddammit, it’s been a long fucking day, get out of my face,” she spat and shoved him away.

“Bitch better give me my money.”  The guy was about the same size as Violet, and I wasn’t sure who would actually win the fight, but didn’t really want to find out.  

“Just relax.  I got you, boo.”  Then she patted him on the head and stuck her right hand in her pocket.  Instead of actually getting out any money, she wound up and decked him in the face, trying to run, only to be stopped by one of the bigger guys.

some dialogue

"You're so quiet, Toby!" Vanessa said, slapping him on the shoulder.  "You're not a noob, though, I know.  You have extensive experience."  She gave him a wink.

"Barf, get a room," I murmured.

Toby shot me a glare but Vanessa just ignored my comment, instead continuing with her interrogation.  "What was your most memorable experience?"

"When I was in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, I became friends with a young woman from the village where I worked.  She was really sharp, came up with all these schemes to con people out of money.  It was a game for her, she didn't need the money much.  Then one day I caught her in the act.  She was so ashamed and begged me not to turn her in, tried to bribe me even, promised that it was the last time she'd do such a thing.  So naturally we came to an agreement that a spanking would be adequate punishment instead of sending her to the village elders.  

"We went back to my place and I scolded her, in English because my Spanish is muy mal.  I made her lean over the back of the couch, dress up, panties down.  The scene was as formal as possible, that's what would've been most effective for her, and I used a traditional South American implement — the rebenque, which is a leather strap."

Vanessa's mouth dropped.  "Whaaat really?  This doesn't sound believable!" 

Toby just nodded.  "I know.  Even I don't believe it sometimes."

chloe consequences

"Funny timing you have, Chloe."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, ignoring the pounding of my heart in my ribcage as he stepped toward me, waiting for me to elaborate.

Shit.  Normally I'm a good bullshitter, but Izaak made me so nervous, I couldn't think straight.  "Maybe I'm not cut out for this lifestyle.  Maybe it's not me."

"What I hear is a poor excuse for trying to get out of trouble.  But if you still feel that way tonight, we can discuss it."  His eyebrows raised and he pointed at my plate.  "Finish."  Then walked off.

Well, that hadn't worked out as planned.  My whole body trembled as I broke a piece of the toast, unable to stomach it.  

violet paintball

At some point I plugged my ears with screamy music to block out Vanessa's squeaky voice.  She was grating at my nerves, and if I had to listen to her much longer I'd end up punching her in the face.  Though no one else seemed to notice her annoying, snotty behavior.  Toby seemed head over heals for her and Clo chatted with her easily, acting like a normal human being.  Clearly Molly liked her, and Izaak seemed to feel neutrally about everyone, at the moment making him the only person in the car I could stand.

When we pulled into the arena parking lot, I was the first out of the SUV despite my being in the very back.  I immediately lit a cigarette and walked away, stretching my legs and trying to pump myself up for the match.  At least I could channel any rage against Vanessa into my paintball skills.  

Everyone was already inside when I stubbed out my cigarette.  Feeling to make sure my baggy was secure in the little pocket of Vic's swim shorts, I walked to the tiny warehouse-type building.  Molly was chatting up the cashier while Izaak inspected guns.  

The other three were huddled up chatting and giggling, so I just stayed off to the side until Toby and Clo approached me wearing red vests, holding out one for me.

“It'll be us against Molly, Izaak, and Vanessa."

I mock-gagged.  “Don’t be a traitor and let your new little girlfriend win.”

violet ch8 beginning

The ride was boring as fuck and I was restless, wanting to get some of my negative energy out.  Vanessa was monopolizing the conversation in the back, asking tons of questions to everyone, though I was the only one who didn't answer, sneering at her instead.  I didn't like her enough to entertain her antics.

At some point Molly cackled in the front seat, causing Vanessa to stop talking and start prying into what was so funny.

"Bro, she's a pothead, everything's funny," I muttered.

But Vanessa insisted and eventually Izaak agreed to share us all his personal info.  "Molly is laughing because I told her I'm kind of a spanko newbie.  I have not been very active like she is."

"What does that mean?  I would've expected you to be more into it because you're like, older."

"Rude!" I said loudly to Vanessa.  "He's not old, he's like 30!  Just cuz you're a kid don't go judgin' others as old."

"Age doesn't equal experience," Clo said with a shrug.

"So do you, like, have a lot of experience?  'Cause you look young like me."  Vanessa  made some kind of head motion insinuating that she's cool cuz of her immaturity.

"It has nothing to do with age," Izaak said firmly, glancing back at us through the rearview mirror.  "Part of it is the need to keep a low-profile for work.  But also, I'm a Middle Eastern man in the US.  It's hard enough to find someone to spank, but add being a brown-skinned Muslim on top of it and most of the spankees become crickets."

violet family meeting izaak

"Wooden spoons are such a feminine implement."  The sting from the cane was still strong, but that didn't stop me from being a smartass.  "It's going to feel like an Italian mom is whacking me."

Izaak kept a straight face, not even cracking a smile.

"Damn, Bro, did you get training from those British guards?  You've got a mean glare."  My hands reached back to rub my aching backside, and with his piercing gaze, you'd think I'd stop digging my hole deeper.  "Are you gonna wash the spoon before making pasta later?"  My laugh echoed through the room as no one else bothered sniggering at my lame joke.

The large hand wrapped around my upper arm caught me by surprise, and next thing I knew I had fallen over Izaak's knee.  He positioned me with his left leg over mine, butt high in the air, arm circling my waist.  "Whose brilliant idea was it to take illegal substances on the plane?"

"It's not illegal..."

A loud CRACK! rang out as he crashed the wooden spoon against my bottom.  I shrieked, having not expected it to hurt that much.  "Answer the question."

"But..."

Without hesitation he peppered a few more deafening swats to my backside, causing me to squirm to break free, to no avail.  Then I reached back to get him to stop, but his large hand and quick reflexes enabled him to catch my wrist before I even got close.  He held onto my hand for another few swats.

more violet ch3 ideas

"Gabe asked about you," Molly said casually as she interrupted my video game to chat.  "He said you never wrote him back."

I grunted in response, trying not to listen, too focused on shooting people.

"I think he wants your help with something work-related."

Pausing the game, I glared at her.  "Did you tell him I got fired?"

She didn't respond to my question.  "It's just one case he needs help with.  He said that your 'outside-the-box skills' would really help figure out something."

I groaned and went back to playing my game.  "Gabe can fuck off," I muttered.

"VyVy, come on, you can't just keep playing video games, you've gotta go out."  I ignored her, focused on shooting.  "I know things are shitty, but they'll get better when you get back into the swing of things again.  Working... Taking care of yourself... Staying sober..."  She didn't seem to realize how impossible it was for me to do that.  "What you're doing right now isn't helpful."

Her words coincided with me getting shot and killed in my game.  I groaned and glared at her.  "Honestly, you can also fuck off."

Deep inside I knew that I should've been nice to her.  Molly had helped me a lot over the 7 years we'd known each other, and had been a better friend than I could've even dreamt of.  But at that moment I was too broken to care.  And Molly too nice to make me feel guilty.  Instead, she turned and left.

violet redeeming qualities

As I was walking home, I saw a couple of cops harassing a drunk Mexican guy who didn't speak much English.  I was high as fuck, which just made me angrier and more confident, despite having just gambled away more money than I'd be able to pay back.

"Did you rob the bodega on 36th avenue?" the cop, a tall white guy, asked.

"Hey!  You don't have to answer that!  Usted no tiene que contestarle."  I ran up to the trio, much to the cops' disapproval.

"Just who do you think you are?"

Luckily I still had my work badge on me.  "I'm an immigrant rights activist, and I'd like to ask if you're arresting my client or if he is free to go?"

"Your client?  You don't even know this man!"

The two cops looked at the guy then at each other.  The guy seemed really confused and was babbling on and on in Spanish too quickly/drunkenly for me to understand.  I told him (in Spanish) to shut up and stop making the situation worse for himself, then folded my arms and stood up straight to the cop.

"Are you arresting my client or is he free to go?"

The other cop finished writing a ticket for disturbing the peace (by being drunk in public) and advised the guy to go home.  I waited until they left to explain the ticket to the guy.  He was grateful times a million and told me about his family in Mexico, the depressing loneliness that filled his soul sometimes, how he could only destroy it with alcohol.

And I felt that.

violet at dominic's

I pulled up to Dominic's with hands in my pockets, a little high from Molly's weed and sweaty from my speedy walk.  The bar sat on top of a restaurant and the stairs were outside, a crowd of wannabe gangsters standing at the bottom smoking cigarettes and talking shit.

"Violeta Esperanza," one of them said with a Spanish accent.  We made eye contact and I realized it was my no-good ex-boyfriend, Andy.

"Andres Baez."  The name made me want to hurl.  "I haven't seen you since **significant life event**."  

The men in his group laughed.  No doubt they were going to give him shit later for what I'd said.  "What brings you back to our side of the tracks?  You musta dumped that white boy cuz I know he wouldn't let you hang out in the hood."

I rolled my eyes.  "Oh fuck off.  As if I'd let that prick boss me around like that."

"Oh, I see how it is, he broke up with you."  My eyes narrowed and he laughed in my face, so much that I finally grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall.  

"You shut your fuckin' mouth, man, or I'll knock your teeth out."

He choked on laughter, only shutting up when I raised a fist, ready to punch him.  "Okay, okay, chill woman!"  His hands raised to shield his face and I smirked, glad he was still scared of me.

"I need you to give me 2 grams on credit," I said in a low voice, still holding him against the wall.

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Cuz you owe me.  And I'll pay you back tomorrow."

fillers

"How'd you end up with good ol' Izaak anyway?" I asked as I sucked on the cigarette.

Smoke blew out of Clo's nose as she sighed in pleasure.  "I didn't have anywhere else to go after my granny died."

"No other family?"

She shook her head.  "Nah, they disowned me and my dad forever ago.  He's kinda a dick."

chloe scene with izaak/violet

After work I rode the subway with Violet, picking up on her nervous energy as we stood silently next to each other.  She kept looking around, startled anytime someone bumped into her, occasionally chewing on her fingernail.  It was almost like she felt vulnerable, afraid that Izaak would expose part of her that she tried to keep hidden.

We were already in Queens when the bench opened up and Violet took a seat, looking up at me with less-than-confident eyes.  So I decided to finally ask.  "Nervous?"

"It's killin' me, can't you tell?  I dunno why.  I never even get this way with Gabe."  She paused to look away and sigh. "You know, they say be careful what you wish for, and right now I wonder if maybe they're right."

"Hah, yeah, but enjoy the nervous anticipation.  It's part of the fun of the game.  This isn't a real punishment."

She considered that for a moment and smiled.  "You're right.  We're playin' like a couple of teens, and if I was that young again, I'd channel the anxiety into doin' something crazy."  Her eyes widened in excitement.  "We should --something crazy?--!"

I laughed and shook my head.  "No way, that's nuts!"

"Broooo, c'mon!  You know you wanna."  She grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me a little with excitement.  "Let's do itttt!"

We'd arrived at our stop so stepped off the train, and before I knew it, I was following Violet down the path to do the crazy idea.  I guess it wasn't so bad, just something that Izaak definitely wouldn't approve of.  

Chloe thoughts

chloe dialogue story

"What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

"When I was in high school I went with some friends to Canada to get a shipment of MDMA to sell back home.  Immigration between Canada and Michigan is fairly easy to get through, but we each took a pill before making the drive back, our driver had said he could handle it.  Then we got closer to the checkpoint he started flipping out and was going to give us away.  The officers were suspicious but then I started crying and fighting with him.  Like, 'dammit Anthony I said I was sorry why can't you just forgive me!'  And somehow my act got them to back off and they let us through."

chloe finding vanessa

After Izaak went to bed I dug out my laptop.  My mind was racing too much to be able to sleep with everything that was going on lately.  First confessing to Toby, then the letter from Sage, then the sex (which we still hadn't discussed), now Violet getting too friendly.  Would I ever get a break?

Toby was definitely pushing for me to not run away, and our new connection had me more attracted to the idea of staying.  He still wanted me to confess, but since that wasn't on the table I continued toying with the idea of blaming someone else.  But who?

I opened my web browser and Google popped up.  Winters Corporation yielded many results, including articles about his arrest and alleged crimes.  I shivered at his sinister grin that popped up in the image results.  My stomach twisted in disgust.

If I was going to frame someone, a co-worker would be a good start.  So I clicked through the company info, looking for any potential target, but it was hard to figure out who to choose.  After a few minutes on the website, I switched to social media, sifting through pictures of old sleezy white guys before noticing a familiar face suggested to me.

Vanessa Ramirez, Administrative Assistant at Winters Corp

violet annoyed

Every so often the urges become unbearable.  It usually happens when I'm in the office, millions of things going on, then Gabe starts yelling at me.  

"Why haven't you finished yet?  I needed the info yesterday!"

"Damn, can't you let me breathe for a fuckin' minute?!"

He glared at me and put his hands on the table, leaning over me, trying to be all intimidating.  "You've had more than enough time, what the hell is going on?"

I stood angrily and pounded my fist against the table.  "I can't get a minute of goddamn peace, you're always breathing down my neck, how the hell do you expect me to get any-fucking-thing accomplished?"

Gabe's eyebrows raised and he straightened up.  "Watch the tone, Young Lady."

"Don't fucking call me that, we're at work."  My nose wrinkled in disgust.

"You're dicking around too much and I don't like it.  Something's going on."  He began pacing slowly behind me and I rolled my eyes.

"What we're doin' right now is dicking around."

He nodded and stayed silent, so I kept going.

"This is all bullshit anyway.  Rich douchebags tryin' to fuck over the poor people like they always fucking do.  Lookin' for shortcuts and pissing on the little guy.  How do you live with yourself doing this?  I'd need a bag of drugs to help me forget what a tool I am."

He'd stopped pacing and just stared at me now, arms folded, face stoic (or something).  It was probably my cue to shut my mouth, but I was on a roll, why stop?

ch24 violet

The high from playing with Izaak and Chloe came to a crash the next morning when my alarm went off. I must've snoozed for thirty minutes before I realized what I was doing, rushing for a quick shower and skipping breakfast. Starbucks was on the way.

I took a few hits off Molly's vape pen when the cravings for old bad habits crept in. It was hard to stay focused on work, especially when that was a source of most my current stress. Gabe was being a dick all day, and Chloe was kinda distant. I wondered if our wild night had given her a drop, too.

The next few days I stayed mostly to myself. I was grumpy and frustrated and still torn about what to do with the Winters case. His court date was quickly approaching, so I avoided Gabe at all costs. I hoped he assumed I was hard at work on other cases, which I usually was. But my work was dwindling and eventually I'd have to talk to him again.

It was almost time to just tell him, though I toyed with the idea of talking to Chloe instead.

#notfeelingittonight

ch23 chloe

"You're home late," Izaak commented when I strode in around 9pm.

"Only like an hour past usual."  I was uncharacteristically perky when I came home, content after the hour-long chat with Toby.  My feelings for him were growing.  But as I entered the living room, I realized that Izaak was definitely annoyed with me.  "What?"

"Where were you?"

I laughed.  "Okay, Dad."  Then walked off to my "room" to put away my bag and change into pjs.  I checked the hiding spot to make sure Sage's letter was still there, and it was, seemingly untouched.  Then I pulled my hair into a ponytail and went back to where Izaak sat on the couch, dry expression.

"So you're really not going to tell me where you went?"

"Nope," I responded, plopping down next to him.  "How was your day?"

He shook his head, finally cracking a slight smile.  "Long and stressful.  I bought Indian for dinner.  There's a plate in the microwave for you."

"Sweet!  How much do I owe you?"

Izaak distracted himself with watching tv to conveniently not hear my question, so I went to get the food he'd left for me.  He'd even fixed my plate.  "So how are you feeling about this scene with Violet tomorrow?"

"How should I feel?"

I brought the plate and a glass of water to the living room, sitting at Izaak's side.  

**something, idk yet**

x-x-x-x

"What happened yesterday with Mr. Winters?" Gabe questioned, closing the door behind me and coming around to the front of his desk.  

notes about chloes crime life

chloe's crime:

I convinced Sage to hack into Winters Corp's server to look for any new meds they'd been testing and highly advertising, then send me any of the trial studies she could find.  I re-created the paperwork with significantly different numbers, bad results, and had Sage swap them out with the originals.  

----

My crime life started at age 13, petty theft from the rich kids at my school, usually electronic devices that I learned how to wipe clean of any data so I could use for myself, or sell to others for profit.  I thought my dad would be proud, and he kinda was, but my granny was horrified when she found out.  She told my dad off for being a bad influence so he tried to "discipline" me with grounding and going to therapy.  That obviously didn't work.

I kept stealing occasionally to make money, sometimes hacking into the school system to change grades (usually out of fun, because my grades were always good since I was great at conning).  

I met Sage when I was 16 on the deep web.  She was only 11, but smarter than anyone I'd ever met.  We quickly befriended each other after realizing we had opposing strengths and would make a great team.  

Together we hacked into a lot of accounts of people we deemed immoral or as "deserving" of our crimes.  Mostly it was just for fun and extra money since I have expensive tastes.

violet ch22 continued

"Being unable to sit comfortably isn't a viable excuse to come in late to work."  He was following me around the office trying to figure out why I'd missed the first half of the day, and so far I hadn't been indulging him.

"I told you already, I wasn't fucking feelin' well.  You got a problem with that excuse, ask Molly."

He stopped me.  "What the hell is wrong with you?  Was last night not sufficient?"

"Fuck off," I responded with an eyeroll and trying to walk away.

His fingers wrapped around my upper arm and he jerked me back towards him.  "You're about to end up bare-assed over the desk again if this attitude doesn't stop."  His voice was low and threatening, creases in his forehead showing how serious he actually was.

"Whatever, can I just get to work now?" 

"Any progress on Winters?"

I groaned again and pushed him off me.  "When there's progress, you'll know."  

He didn't follow this time, allowing me to go to the conference room.  The door slammed behind me and I leaned back, grabbing the vape pen out of my bag.  Molly wouldn't prescribe this unless she truly believed I'd benefit, so I took a couple of hits, almost instantly feeling the stress melt away.  

In a haze I plugged in my computer and booted it up, working on some of the other cases to distract myself, though it didn't really work.  As I stalked a hedgefund manager's cheating wife, I was thinking about Chloe and how I'd be able to prove it's her.  So far I didn't have any hard evidence.

ch21 chloe after meeting

I shifted around uncomfortably in Izaak's suburban after the meeting.  There was a blanket of annoyed silence present, which I chose to ignore due to the pain in my ass.  At first it felt like he was just upset with me about the oil.  After the night I partied with Violet and coke, I wasn't surprised at his annoyance.  

But about halfway home, something felt a bit off and suddenly my brain went into panic mode.  What if Izaak knows?  What if Toby told him?  Or Violet?  Maybe she found out?

"Are you mad at me?" I finally asked, unable to contain my spiraling thoughts any longer.

Izaak glanced at me.  "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed."

My stomach twisted at his cliched response.  "Is that why you're being so quiet?"

He kind of shrugged, keeping an eye on the road, seemingly debating how to tell me his thoughts.  "Work's been rough lately."

I waited for him to say more, but he didn't, instead back focused on turning into the underground parking lot of his apartment.  I wasn't sure how to handle the silence.  He never really said that his problem *wasn't* me, but I couldn't help think it was.  My life experiences had taught me what to look for when someone's ready to get rid of me, and Izaak currently had that look.

On our way up to his apartment, Izaak checked the mail, passing a letter to me.  Strange.  I never received snail mail, not even at my old place since I tried to stay off the grid.  But this was even a personal message.

chloe + violet dialogue cont

"Okay, here's a typical spanko question.  Do you have daddy issues?"

I snorted.  "Yes, of course!  Don't we all?"

Violet shrugged.  "I dunno.  So c'mon, spill it."

"My dad never gave me enough attention, simple as that.  And I think that all men are dishonest trash, so I don't give them the time of day.  Can't trust anyone."

"Facts. I don't think I have 'daddy issues' per se... my relationship with my parents was pretty good until they left.  But then my uncle was a fucking douche.  He used to get drunk and play poker with these sleeze bags.  Misogynists who thought they could outsmart me, but I'd lift their money when they were too drunk to notice.  What tools."

I rolled to my side and rested my head on my hand, studying her.  "How'd you get into the scene?"

chloe + violet dialogue in seattle

sharing their past

violet telling chloe about the time that toby saved her

---

"Molly kept buggin' me with her stoner music playlist," Violet said, clicking on it with her phone as she laid back on the bed, body embraced by the fluffy pillow and blankets.  "So I guess we should smoke to this shit."

The song started with a slow beat and guitar notes, light music at first, the male voice coming in after a few measures.  The beat sped up, a side voice said something in Spanish, then the singer continued and I felt myself moving to the beat.  Violet was into it, too.  

"I like it."

We laid next to each other on the bed for a few minutes just listening to the music without speaking a word.  It was the quietest I'd ever seen Violet.  

My thoughts were racing full speed.  I wondered how long it would take her to figure out the connection with me, how much Sage had let spill, what info would be on the drive I'd copied, how could I get out of this.  

Thank God for Violet.

"Ok, we need to get to know each other better.  Pinky swear that everything we discuss in the next 6 hours is confidential and doesn't leave this room."  She held out her bony pinky finger.  

"Deal."  I hooked my finger with hers, giggling at the grade school charade.

"What's the craziest shit you've done?"

Of course Violet would ask the first question.  But it got my mind off the other stuff.  Now I had to think of something impressive, but sincere.  **idk what story, figure out later**

chloe + toby after confession

"You know I sometimes work with the FBI... how can you trust that I won't reveal all of this?"

The lump in my throat grew and I tried to swallow it.  "I trust you."  My voice was soft, seductive.

"Don't do that, Chloe."  He leaned forward.  

"What?"  I batted my eyelashes and tucked my hair behind my ears, smiling at him.  

Toby's face remained unmoved.  "Why me?"

"Because you're my best friend here..."

He immediately cut me off, just like Izaak would have.  "Don't lie."

My eyes rolled.  "Who else would I have told?  If Gabe knows, then I'm going to jail.  If Izaak knows, I'm going to jail.  You're the only person not strongly connected to either of them.  And you're my running buddy.  I really do feel close to you."

Shaking his head, Toby sighed and broke eye contact, glancing around the room as if trying to figure out what to do.  "This is not good, Clo."

"I know."  The silence was slightly uncomfortable, but I felt a bit more content, happy to have someone on my side.  Or at least it seemed like Toby would be on my side.  "Should I just run away again?  That's what my gut is telling me..."

"No, because once you start running, you'll never be able to stop, and you'll live in a constant state of anxiety and paranoia."  He looked like he'd been there, done that.  "How long until Violet figures out it's you?"

"How can I predict that?"

"She's smart, and when she's focused, watch out.  How's her mood lately?"

chloe flashback?

It was right after my grandmother died.  I wasn't thinking clearly, just consumed with this heavy depression, feeling robbed of the last person who gave two shits about me.  Most days I couldn't get out of bed, couldn't eat, just slept all day unconcerned with work.  

The last I'd seen my granny she was taking a handful of drugs, most that I'd never heard of.  But there was one I recognized, --name--, and I knew it came from Winters Corp, because I'd already conned William Winters before.

That was years ago, when I just needed extra cash.  We set up profiles as minors to speak to rich pedophiles and con them out of money.  

It started out with just lifting credit cards, but that got so boring, and often the cards would be cut off after a day or two.  Sometimes it resulted in marital discord, which I appreciated.  Those guys didn't deserve to live happy lives with their families if they were out searching for underage girls to fuck.

We decided to step up our game.  I continued to meet with the pedophiles, but instead of just having a session with them, I'd lift info, investigate them further, find a way to fuck up their reputation.  I wanted to embarrass them, expose them.  I'd find out their deepest darkest secrets, not that fucking minors wasn't big enough, but real dirt.  I'd con them out of their bank account info, security question answers, business investments.  There is not one piece of information a man isn't willing to give up for pussy.

violet after meeting

Now my research obsession was even stronger.  My caned ass didn't stop me from sitting on it all night and trying to find out more about Chloe, piecing together her crime.  Everything fell together so easily — the chat conversation, I could totally tell that it was Clo on the other end now that I was reading it in her voice.  Her awkwardness when we went to visit Sage.  Had they even ever met in person?  All of those "good deals" she got us when we were in Seattle. 

Goddammit.  There were so many signs and I never saw it!

I was anxious all night, hunched over in the dark typing away madly on my keyboard.  There had to be some kind of explanation for this.

Before I knew it, the sun was rising and I'd slept exactly zero hours and zero minutes.  I wasn't even that tired, fueled purely on adrenaline and fear.  

Ratting out Chloe was the last thing I wanted to do — she'd saved my life at Dominic's, I couldn't turn her in for committing all these crimes.  In fact, I owed her.  Winters probably deserved everything she did to him!

Staying in my room was not helpful, so I rolled out of bed and went to make breakfast.  I made enough for Molly, too, because I was about to wake her and she absolutely hated being waken.

The scent of bacon filled her room after I opened the door, then tiptoed to her bed, sitting on the edge.  "MollyPop... I need you."

violet after seattle

I obsessed over the recording of my meeting with Sage, listening to it over and over again to find new evidence.  There had to be something worthwhile in there.  

The jetlag had me irritable and I was probably coming down from the weed party we'd had.  It was probably too soon after sobriety to get so fucked up, and the crash was not going well.  Gabe yelled at me almost the entire day because I was too slow-moving for him.  And I didn't take it lightly, often shouting back much to his disliking.  I'm sure he was counting the days until the spanko get-together we would have with the intentions of me being spanked in sorta public.

When Gabe had enough of my shit for the day, he sent me home, threatening another caning if I didn't come back with a better attitude tomorrow.  Or at least get some of the work he'd assigned done.

This Winters case was always on my mind though.  How was I going to figure out about this mysterious Pattie Cake?  I had to start thinking outside the box.

So I wrote down all that I knew so far:

-Age 23-26
-From Lansing, Michigan
-white female
-Little/spanko
-physical appearance sorta from Fetlife pics

Okay, I really didn't have much.  But how big could Lansing be?  I searched the high schools there, finding out there's only 5.  Well that could be easy.

how violet finds chloe

Someone has framed Mr. Winters for fraud.  Charged have been brought against him for advertising a false medication to shareholders when at the last meeting, thus causing stock prices to rise.  But the medication ended up being a sham, and the corporation who sold it to him is gone.

**The corporation's name.

Mr. Winters suspects someone by the alias of LittlePattieCake, whom he met off the internet.

**print outs of a sexy chat (some key phrase that only Chloe says)
**heavily pixelated screenshot of her a few years ago

First searches:

-LittlePattieCake on google
-> fetlife profile with some photos and confirming her location as Detroit, MI
-> spankingtube video description, with her present in the clip

-Other similar crimes
-> vague article about Sage Sawyer

-Sage Sawyer
-> not much info
-> genius hacker
-> lives in Seattle

Contacts a friend to check on the Sage Sawyer case, and gets the casenotes that have been sealed.

Gets details of the crime:
-Sage met with a wealthy businessman. sold him something fake
-Businessman was also charged with statutory rape since Sage was underage and they had sexual relations, with the evidence being video footage of "kinky activities"
-Case sealed because Sage was a minor at time of crime
-She's now on house arrest

Gets photo of Sage and shows it to Mr. Winters, but he doesn't recognize her.  She's too young — the girl he fucked wasn't that young when they met.

**conclusion is that Sage's accomplice is LittlePattieCake

violet paying debts

When Gabe and I started working together, he obligated me to create goals for myself.  It was part of our deal — he'd work with me, help me get my life and finances together, but only to the extent that it was sustainable.  Here's what I came up with:

1) Pay back debts, including money owed to Jason and my old job
2) Go back to therapy
3) Figure out what I'm going to do with my life

When I finally got my signing bonus, it was time to start working on goal #1.  So on the afternoon/evening I had off before our trip, Gabe strongly suggested I spend the time wisely, because the next few weeks would be chaotic. 

Fair enough.  I started by getting a couple of money orders, one for my old job, the other for Jason.  I was significantly less worried about seeing my old colleagues than my ex.  At least I had a better job... but my love life was in shambles.

I took the train to the bleak concrete courthouse, walking the few blocks to my old office.  Such a stark contrast to where I worked now, a modern building with wealthy corporate-types, mostly white people in pressed suits who assumed the minorities were out to get them.  My old office was falling apart, the building dating back to the 60s, and hadn't been well maintained.  I also only saw a handful white people (to be fair, Queens is one of the most diverse counties in the world, so it makes sense), and no one in fancy attire.

violet + izaak dialogue

"Why are you so rigid and uptight?" 

Izaak snorted and shook his head at me, but had a grin that showed off his pearly whites.  "Who said that about me?  Chloe?"

"Nah, it's just the impression I get.  Maybe it's the whole cop thing."  

"Oh?  Not into police officers?"

"Can you blame me?  I'm a hood Mexican chick, cops aren't exactly tryin' to be nice to me.  I dunno how you put up with the racism, especially since you're brown, too.  Where are you from anyway?"

"Egypt, but was adopted by my aunt in Poland at age 8, so I don't remember much about my homeland."

"Damn, and now you're here.  You've really been around."

"You have no idea."  He leaned in towards me taking a sip of his drink.  "So your family is from Mexico?  Have you ever been?"

"Nah, we never had the money nor anyone to go with me.  Then after my parents were deported shit kinda hit the fan for me, so I didn't wanna go see them.  My brother went to see them a few times.  I never got around to it."

"Why not?  Don't you want to know about your heritage?"

I cleared my throat and pushed my emotions away, wondering how I could answer without opening a can of worms.  "I know enough about my people already.  I'll go one day."

His eyebrows raised, realizing that I was feeling uncomfortable and dodging his question.  "If it makes you feel any better, I have no desire to return to Egypt."

chloe + toby dialogue

Music rang through Molly's room as everyone chatted, munching on snacks that Violet made (she's surprisingly really good at cooking).  We all knew each other well enough by now that it wasn't awkward, even when someone brought up the spanking topic.  It was all kind of surreal... I'd never been anywhere with so many spankos in the same room.

I watched as Izaak and Violet engaged in light flirting, the grin on his face never going away.  The chemistry between those two was odd, coming to life for the first time that night.  

From my side, Toby looked at me, half-chatting with Molly and Gabe, but clearly wanting to strike up a convo with me.  When the opportunity presented itself, Toby scooted closer to me.

"So how'd you get into the lifestyle?"

I shook the hair out of my eyes and smiled at him.  "You know, always kinda knew it was there, the fascination with punishment and spankings.  I was finding videos and stories online as a pre-teen, fantasizing about what'd it'd be like to have a strict older brother."

"Are you an only child?"

"Yup, only me.  That's why I'm so spoiled."

He chuckled.  "Well, I know what to do with spoiled little girls."

A tiny blush spread across my cheeks.  "What about you?  How'd you come to the dark side?"

molly weed fiasco

It was 7:41am when I arrived at Gabe’s office on Tuesday morning after staying up all night, unable to sleep.  Chloe was sitting behind her desk, large iced coffee hiding her yawn.  She looked surprised to see me but didn’t have time to ask questions when someone smacked me on the ass hard.

“If you’re up this early, you must be in trouble,” Violet said with a laugh.  When I didn’t entertain her statement, her expression turned serious.  “Oh shit, you really are in trouble…”  

"I... I need to see Gabe..." I sucked in a deep breath and tried to hold back my tears, but a few slipped down my cheeks anyway.

"I'll go get him," Chloe offered.

"What the hell happened?" Violet wanted to know when Chloe had disappeared.  I didn't want to explain it to her, but it all spilled out.  With a gasp, my friend bolted to Gabe's office and all I could hear was her demanding he see me right away.  

Within seconds, the two young women were back, and fresh tears spilled from my eyes.  Chloe placed a hand on my shoulder.  "Don't worry, Gabe will get you out of this."

“After he beats your ass,” Violet added with a smirk.  

“You’re such a bitch!” Chloe hissed in my defense.

Violet just shrugged.  “I know.  But it’s true, and she knows it.”

violet and chloe in seattle?

"Yoooo, these edibles are dope as fuck."  I stumbled down the street, aviator sunglasses shielding me from the bright Seattle sunlight.  "I can't feel my legs."

At my side, Chloe giggled and shrugged, clearly stuck in her own thoughts.  Her brown hair was wavy today and fell over her bare freckled shoulders.  I had the sudden urge to inhale her peachy hair scent, but resisted, instead distracted by the street car rumbling to a halt in front of us.

"Cloooo, broooo, I don't know nothin' about you.  We need to have an off-the-record night.  Whatever happens in Seattle stays in Seattle.  Whatta ya say?"  I pushed my sunglasses down to the top of my nose to look her in the eyes.  They were as red as the stop sign.

"Let's do it!  But let's get ice cream first."

We didn't stop with ice cream, though.  We also went on to make a lot of other purchases, but that sneaky bitch knew all the tricks in the book on how to rip off all the stores.  She also somehow managed to con our way into a nicer hotel suite, at half the cost of what we were going to pay anyway.  **idk how she does this, but eventually i can explain here**

When we got in for the night, munchies in tow, along with the vape pen that we swiped and the oil we'd gotten for Molly.  We'd been sucking on a flavor called "super lemon haze" all day, but now was time to switch it up to a hybrid strain called "gelato."  

"This shit's tasty."

chloe and toby after seattle

I called Sage at least 3 times, still no answer.  If I kept it up, they'd start getting suspicious of me.  But it's not like Sage could help anyway.  What was she going to do?  Take the fall for me?  Highly doubtful, since she already did it once.

My anxiety was off the charts, though, meaning that I couldn't tolerate sitting in the office for very long, so made an excuse to leave early, much to Gabe's disapproval.  He was still kinda annoyed at our trip expenditures, even though we stayed under budget (aside from that 12 cents, haha).  Also, Violet had been in a constant state of grumpy, which didn't help the office environment.

Instead of taking the train back to Queens, I plugged my ears with music and started walking north, enjoying the warmth of the sun against my face and arms.  As I walked I tried to steer clear of thinking about anything, instead focused on my surroundings, enjoying each little park that I passed, watching people and their dogs, admiring the random flower here and there.  

After the sunset I looked up to see that I'd made it all the way to 64th street.  Figures, I'd been walking for over an hour and half.  But somehow my subconscious must've been hard at work as I enjoyed my leisurely stroll, because I had ended up in front of Toby's office.

plot notes - spanko family meeting

Everyone's having a great time, it's really chill and even though Vanessa is there trying to create drama, the others are able to diffuse it.  

Violet's a little grumpy cuz of the jet lag and being without substances, still not knowing too well how to cope with the stress.  But she and Chloe have bonded on the trip and are feeling closer than ever right now.

As the meeting progresses, almost coming to an end, everyone's teasing Violet (or something) so she finally says, "can we just get onto the reason that we're even here?"

Everyone looks to Gabe, because it was kinda his idea.  He explains that being spanked in front of others has been an effective tool for Violet's discipline.  Then asks her to recite to everyone what their deal had been.

"For every penny we went over budget, we would get one stroke of the cane in 'public'."

"And how much did you go over?"

Unable to keep a straight face Violet said, "Twelve cents," with a snicker.

"Uh huh, I'm glad you're finding amusement in this."  He paused, glancing over at me (Chloe), then at Izaak before addressing the group again.  "And I think there's something else that needs to be let out in the open."

Violet and I blinked, looking at each other in confusion, then back at Gabe.  "What are you talkin' about?  We didn't do anything else."

The way Gabe looked at me made my stomach twist into knots.  What if he knew?  He'd solved the case for Violet and found out my secret?

"How about that each of you brought home drugs from your trip?"

violet ch9ish - seattle

"Last time I was in an airport I got my ass beat in the family restroom."  Chuckling at the memory, I looked at Clo, thankful to travel with her instead of an uptight man with control issues.  Her mouth was dropped at my statement.  "What?  Like you haven't done anything that kinky."

"Sadly I haven't.  But also I haven't done much traveling."

The two of us presented our IDs and the airline agent glanced at each of us, asking for checked bags, then handed each of us a ticket.

We made small talk for a little while.  **will write this some other time**

Like Clo, I also hadn't traveled much, though the last few years I had more opportunities than many people.  But never had Seattle been a destination for one of my jobs, so I was psyched.  The first thing I noticed was how clean of a city it is, especially compared to the gritty streets of New York.  Lots of friendly white people, the midwestern-type like Clo or Molly, but most of it was bearable.  At least there were a few people of color scattered around.

We rented a car that Clo drove towards our hotel while I calculated how to get to Sage's house, and practiced ideas of what to say to her.  My colleague helped, reminding me what sounded like a social worker, and what didn't.  "These badges are legit.  Bro, you did a good job."

She beamed at my compliment and I wondered more about her background, realizing that we had to have another heart to heart, without me getting too fucked up this time.  

violet near end continued

The pain was getting more intense, my bottom heating up as if being set on fire.  It was impressive, much worse than I'd imagined with his hand, and he just kept going and going, not letting up.  "Penn Station!" I howled when the spanking was unbearable.  "She was gonna get a ticket to Toronto."

Izaak grabbed me by the hair roughly.  "Are you sure?"

"Yes, geez!"

With my tights and panties still at my knees, handcuffs still holding my hands tight behind my back, Izaak lifted me with ease and ushered me to the corner.  "Stay here til I get back, because if she's not there, we'll go for a second round."  He put his hands on his belt buckle as if showing me what he'd use next.  

"But that will take you like an hour!"

Without listening to me he left, closing my door and taking Molly with him.

Well, this wasn't my first rodeo.  I wobbled to the dresser, wincing with each step, and found a paperclip, twisting it into different forms behind my back before inserting it into the lock of the cuffs.  Wiggling it around, I finally heard a snap and jerked my wrists to open the left side.  I didn't bother with the right, instead rushing to call Chloe and warn her about Izaak.

"I told him Penn Station, but it's only a matter of time before he realizes I mislead him.  Come back.  I think he really wants to help you get a good deal."

On the other end of the phone, I heard her sigh.  "I dunno..."

violet and tiffany continued

I stopped for a minute to see what'd happened, and also noticed Izaak in his calmness telling us to knock it off (or something, idk, it was hard to hear), and then looked back at Tiffany just in time to see her fist make contact with my left cheek.  After that, I was seeing red, no longer in control of my body.  I pushed her off me and slapped her across the side of the head then crawled on top of her, ready to punch her back.  And I would have, except somebody grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back, then pushed me off her face first into the floor, knee on my back.

"I told you to back down, Violet," Izaak scolded.  

"Let go of me!" I shouted, struggling to get free, but it was never going to happen — Izaak is almost twice my size and definitely in much better shape than me.  I looked over to see that Toby had ahold of Tiffany and her nose was bleeding.  When had I done that?  I squirmed again under Izaak's weight, trying to break away.  "Get off me!  Let me fuck that bitch up!"

"Hey, enough!" Izaak said with a sharp tone, pushing my head down.  "I'll let you up when you've calmed yourself down."

I couldn't see what was going on with Tiffany and Toby over there, not since Izaak hid my face, but it seemed like she was struggling as well.  Toby was lucky she didn't have her taser on her, because that would've knocked him out.  Clearly the guys underestimated her ability to fight.

violet and izaak, near end

I could hear the loud pounding on the door all the way from my room in the back of the apartment, and instantly had the feeling that it was Izaak.  Molly answered and at first their talking was too low for me to hear.  But I could tell it wasn't just formalities.  As heavy footsteps pounded towards me, I took a deep breath, ready for the confrontation.

"Violet," came Izaak's voice, then the knock.  "Open up, I need to talk."  When I didn't answer he continued, "where's Chloe?"

Adrenaline was triggered, which usually gets me in the mood to fight, something I couldn't really do with Izaak.  FBI agent and all.  And this was probably an unofficial visit, but it could quickly turn official.  My nostrils flared as I took a deep breath in, reminding myself to relax, then stumbled to the door, opening it gracefully.  Izaak was standing there next to Molly who looked worried.  "What makes you think I know where Chloe is?"

He sighed in exasperation.  "This is serious."

"Nobody's laughing.  And I can't tell you where Chloe is, I've been sworn to secrecy."  I held up my little finger.  "Pinky promised.  There's no breaking that."

My calmness was bothering him, which just made it easier for me to relax.  Izaak was getting worked up, though, and Molly was now chewing on a fingernail.  "Listen," he said, taking a step forward into the room.  "It's better for us all if you tell me where to find Chloe.  If she's trying to escape, she's just going to end up in more trouble.  Nobody wants that."

chloe ch8ish continued

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you have a company card after seeing your debts yesterday."

"Well then do you have another idea?  Travelers checks?  Pre-paid giftcard?"  Violet went on to mention a few other options while Gabe turned to my direction, scanning me up and down.

"Take her with you.  Miss Patterson, you'll make a budget for me to approve before the trip.  If you two go over, you'll earn a lash for each penny."  Then looking at Violet added, "in front of the others at a get-together.  Understood?"

"Sheesh, fine.  So dramatic."

Gabe grabbed her chin and made her look him in the eyes.  "I'm serious, Violet.  Not a cent over budget, or your ass will pay."

Glaring at him she sneered, "yes, Sir.  Geez."  He let go of her chin and she rubbed where his fingers had been.  "You don't have to always be such a hardass."  Then turning to me she winked, "make us a good budget."

It was a busy day.  I did my best to wrap up all of the work I could before leaving for the trip.  Plus I had to book our flights and hotel, and create the budget.  Gabe gave me the corporate card with another warning.  I wasn't worried about it — people naturally gave me things for free, or I had my other methods of getting upgrades.  Violet and I would do just fine.

"Hey, I'll see you at the airport at 8?" 

chloe ch8ish

Despite my panic attack at seeing the greasy old man again for the first time in 4 years, I managed to go the day without smoking a single cigarette.  Izaak was proud and boasted at how good I was doing while we ate a healthy salmon and salad for dinner.  My mind wandered to dark places, focused on evil Mr. Winters and all the others that I'd committed crimes against.  

Part of me wanted to confess to Izaak already, but we'd gotten too close over the last few weeks.  Our friendship was better than it'd ever been and sometimes things got hot and heavy — maybe he'd want something more with me.  Not that we could have anything with all these secrets.

"Have you started your art school applications?"

I shrugged.  There was no use going to school if I ended up in jail, but I couldn't tell him that.  "Haven't had much time."

His lips pressed into a fine line of skepticism.  

"I have to make portfolios and work has been busy."  I shoved a fork full of salad into my mouth to avoid having to say more on the topic.

"We're going to look over applications tonight and set a goal.  No procrastinating on your dreams, kiddo."

My heart felt warm and a smile spread across my cheeks.  It was nice to have someone who cared so much about me.  "I'll get it done, promise."  I didn't want him to see me writing in my alias instead of my real last name.  I also had to figure out how to tell Izaak that none of my credits would transfer.  But how could I think about all of that with the work stuff?

chloe's crime maybe

I created a pill that didn't exist.  I forged documents of fake studies that had bad side effects, so as to give them an out.  But both times they decided to buy the drug anyway.  I gave them loads of marketing material to sell the drug to shareholders, which caused their stocks to raise dramatically.  Then I bailed, blocked the number of my fake company, causing their shareholders to lose a tremendous amount of money.  

The first time Mr. Winters knew it was me, and somehow managed to get back in touch with me through the dark web.  He threatened me, saying that he could play this game better than I.  But alas, he could not.  I had a recording of him soliciting a minor, so was able to blackmail him into not turning me in.

The second time, it was out of hatred since my grandma died while taking meds from his pharma company.  With his reputation of buying meds that have bad side effects, I knew her death could've been prevented.  The only way to get revenge was to ruin his reputation for good this time.  Last time I cost him a lot of money.  This time I would cost him his life, just like he had for my grandma.  

The new medicine I created was almost a miracle drug.  I busied myself into making fake news articles and got them published on some websites.  It was an idea I'd had for a long time, so was relatively easy since I was avoiding reality and my thoughts at all costs.

violet ch7ish, take 3

Clo pushed open the conference room door. "You've been hard at work all evening."

I peeked up from my laptop and stretched a little, glancing outside. The sky was dark blue now, almost black. It must be late. "Getting back into my flow has been nice." Straightening up in my seat I asked, "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh... um, well, Mr. Specter was saying that you were supposed to have met him ten minutes ago and sent me to find you..."

"Fuck... our meeting..." I jumped out of my seat and bolted towards the door. "Thanks!" I said hastily and jogged to Gabe's office.

He was sitting behind his desk, yellow light from his lamp giving an eerie look to his face.  "You're late."  He stood in a rush, bumping his chair back and buttoning his suit jacket.  "Are you going to take this job seriously?" he asked, coming towards me.

"I'm late because I was taking this job seriously."  I slapped a stack of folders on his desk.  "Finished all these."

He cocked an eyebrow.  "And the Mr. Winters case?"

"What about it?"

"Is it done?"

"That's gonna take a little longer than a few hours, Mr. Specter."  

He gave me an incredulous look and opened up the first folder, flipping through, then the second and third before flopping them back on his desk.  Satisfied, he beckoned me to sit and I did so.  My ass was still tender but I kept a straight face, determined not to see the pain it caused me.  He came around in front of me and leaned back, half sitting on his desk.  

"Was it good enough, Sir?"  

violet ch7ish, take 2

Clo pushed open the conference room door. "You've been hard at work all evening."

I peeked up from my laptop and stretched a little, glancing outside. The sky was dark blue now, almost black. It must be late. "Getting back into my flow has been nice." Straightening up in my seat I asked, "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh... um, well, Mr. Specter was saying that you were supposed to have met him ten minutes ago and sent me to find you..."

"Fuck... our meeting..." I jumped out of my seat and bolted towards the door. "Thanks!" I said hastily and jogged to Gabe's office.

He was sitting behind his desk, yellow light from his lamp giving an eerie look to his face.  "You're late."  He stood in a rush, bumping his chair back and buttoning his suit jacket.  "Are you going to take this job seriously?" he asked, coming towards me.

"I'm late because I was taking this job seriously."  I slapped a stack of folders on his desk.  "Finished all these."

He cocked an eyebrow.  "And the Mr. Winters case?"

"What about it?"

"Is it done?"

"That's gonna take a little longer than a few hours, Mr. Specter."  

He gave me an incredulous look and opened up the first folder, flipping through, then the second and third before flopping them back on his desk.  Satisfied, he beckoned me to sit and I did so.  My ass was still tender but I kept a straight face, determined not to see the pain it caused me.  He came around to the front of me and leaned back, half sitting on his desk.  

chloe ch3

3- Chloe’s First Punishment Day

A loud pounding on the wall woke me up, followed by Izaak’s booming voice.  “Peterson!  Rise and shine!”  The fancy down-feather comforter was ripped away, leaving me exposed in my pajama shorts and tank top.  I poked my butt out slightly, hoping the lovely view would entice him to play with me instead of forcing me out of bed.  “Remember, today we start doing things my way for a month.”  

I groaned and rolled over to my stomach, ignoring his perkiness.

“You’re not going to like what happens if you don’t get up on your own,” Izaak warned, heavy footsteps fading as he walked away.  

My lips curved up in a smile, thinking I’d won and Izaak had left.  Instead, the room suddenly brightened and I realized that he had opened the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight.  The cure for that?  Pillow over the head.  “It’s too early to get up!  No one needs a resume at…” I pried an eye open to glance at my phone.  “6:22 in the morning!  Are you joking?”  

“You’re lucky I didn’t wake you up 22 minutes ago.  C’mon, it’s time for our morning workout.”

“HA HA HA that’s funny Izaak.”  

He snatched the pillow off my head.  “I’m serious.”

violet and tiffany

"I need a favor."

"Always needin' a favor when you call me, Dean.  What is it this time?  Need help with a case?"

"Actually it's Tiffany."

I stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk at the mention of my BFF.  "What happened?  You know I'll do anything for my bestie."

Dean sighed.  "I'm worried about her.  Sam and I are working on a case and Tiffany won't answer her phone.  When we left she was fighting a lot with this guy she's seeing..."

"Whoa, when did Tiff get a boyfriend?"

"It's not official," Sam said.  "They're quote-unquote just friends."

I groaned and rolled my eyes.  "Oh, I know who you're talking about."  It was the reason Tiffany and I hadn't spoken much lately.  "The narcissistic asshat who doesn't have an honest bone in his body."

"Yeah, that one."

"As I was saying," Dean interrupted, and I imagined him glaring at his younger brother.  "When she fights with him, she won't eat, drinks too much, and is likely to harm herself.  We were checking in every day, then yesterday she stopped answering."

"Say no more.  I will find her and beat her ass for worryin' you."

"Thanks, Violet.  I owe you one."

Hanging up the phone, I turned around, heading towards Tiffany's house and calling Chloe in the process.  "Girl's night.  Let's have a sleepover at my place."  She agreed and offered to bring mind-altering substances, and even though I'm supposed to be straight-edge for a little while, I agreed.  Tiffany could probably use them.

violet back in office (ch 7?)

Clo pushed open the conference room door. "You've been hard at work all evening."

I peeked up from my laptop and stretched a little, glancing outside. The sky was dark blue now, almost black. It must be late. "Getting back into my flow has been nice." Straightening up in my seat I asked, "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh... um, well, Gabe was saying that you were supposed to have met him ten minutes ago and sent me to find you..."

"Fuck... our meeting..." I jumped out of my seat and bolted towards the door. "Thanks!" I said hastily and jogged to Gabe's office.

He was sitting behind his desk, yellow light from his lamp giving an eerie look to his face.  "You're late."  He stood in a rush, bumping his chair back and buttoning his jacket.  "Are you going to take this job seriously?" he asked, coming towards me.

"I'm late because I was taking this job seriously."  I slapped a stack of folders on his desk.  "Finished all these."

His arms folded.  "And the Mr. Winters case?"

"What about it?"

"Is it done?"

"That's gonna take a little longer than a few hours, Mr. Specter."  

He shook his head, inching closer to me.  "I see you're no longer wearing the headscarf, instead parading around here with that unnatural hair color.

"In case you haven't noticed, it's 2019, nobody cares what color my hair is."

Chloe ch 7ish

Taking a sip of my iced coffee, I tried to pry my eyes open to start working.  Ugh, this waking up early thing was really starting to get old.  The month couldn't be over quick enough.

I'd already checked the voicemail and was working on sifting through emails when Gabe walked in.  "Violet, Chloe."

She thrust out her hand and I smiled.  "Yeah, we've already met."  She didn't seem to recognize me, which made sense considering the amount of alcohol and drugs she'd consumed that night.

"Yeah, my party buddy.  This is my girl."  

"That's right, you're the reason she came in hungover yesterday.  Now I'm not sure how I feel about you two working together."

"Nah, we'll be fine, bro."

"I'm not your bro, stop talking like that and act like you belong here."

Violet looked much different than she had when I saw her last.  She was dressed up in black slacks and a striped purple and white button down shirt.  Her hair was covered with a purple headscarf.  "Are you muslim?" I asked bluntly, as she would've liked.  It seemed like a good idea to get Violet on my side.

"Nah sis, Gabe here just says purple hair is 'inappropriate' for this environment."  She gave an exaggerated eye roll much to Gabe's disapproval.

"Keep it up and see what happens."  Then he turned to me and started ordering me to complete a few tasks for the day.  I also gave him the work I'd already completed to earn his half-praise.  "Show Violet the conference room she can use," then he disappeared into his office.

movie continued

Chloe out and about trying to get ahold of Sage, but not having much luck.  She remembers that she's close to Toby's office so goes to see him.

"I need your help."

"Sorry, Chloe, but this is a huge conflict of interest... I can't..."

"Please, Toby... I don't have health insurance and I don't trust anyone else.  You're the only one who can help."

He seems doubtful yet intrigued.  But still trying to tell her no.  Giving lots of excuses.

Chloe goes into his office anyway and eventually just spills it:  "I'm a con-artist and I did something bad against one of Gabe's clients."  

Hesitant and annoyed, he closes the door threatening a spanking.

x-x-x-x

Violet's researching LittlePattieCake, digging up all the dirt she can.  She's watching videos, reading chats, etc.  It all seems so familiar but from where she just can't place.

Gabe interrupts her to remind her of the meeting they're supposed to be having right now.  When she finally gets to his office they have a big argument, yelling passionately at each other.  It's getting really heated.  It's late and nobody is at the office, so Gabe does a scene with her.

x-x-x-x

Violet ending

random chloe notes

I'd thought it'd be easy to move in with Izaak.  I mean, come on, how hard could it really be?  He's attractive, confident, has his shit together, would be a good influence on me.  All I'd have to do is adapt to his life, as boring and torturous as it may be.  

The first month was great.  I fit right in, though I did lean towards more the partying side of NYC.  I wanted to start over but here I was in a new city with so much to explore, so much fun to be had.  But I reigned it in a bit for Izaak's sake.  He was so much more boring than I'd expected.  He was very quiet at home, mostly resting when I was around.  He was a bit wound up, too anxious for my tastes.  

I guess it's necessary for him to be cautious — the locks on the apartment were hardcore, and it's not like the apartment was easily accessible.  It was perched at the top of a 5 floor walk-up.  I guess easy access from the roof though, which sometimes he took me up there so we could enjoy the sunset.

Sometimes he went out for dinner with friends, but mostly Izaak was the type of guy to stick with a routine.  Every morning he went for a workout, then showered, then work.  He arrived back home every evening around at the same time, only long enough for a short rest before his volunteer coaching or participating in some other kind of sport.  Usually he was home by 7, dinner by 8, reading or listening to music or working by 9, bed by 10.

chloe random

"What's becoming too much?"

"All of this.  The rules and the job and the punishments.  I can't handle it!"  

He kept eyes on me, not saying anything for a moment until finally, "finish your breakfast and come to the living room," then walked out.

I sat there for a moment pouting that he didn't listen to me and automatically decide to rescend the punishment.  But also part of me was happy with his response.

----

i just need more chloe/izaak back and forth.

----

"Be real with me, Chloe.  What's going on?"

I hesitated because I knew I couldn't be truthful with him.  There was so much I needed to say, yet couldn't.  There's no polite way to insert "I'm a criminal and only wanted to stay with you so you could protect me and I might need your protection because my boss is about to find out that I committed a crime against his client."

"You're thinking of what you want to say, not what you're actually feeling."

"I think I'm in love with you!" I spat, immediately regretting it when I saw the look on his face.  "No!  I didn't mean it like that."  My face was redder than it'd ever been with him and I covered it with my hands.  "I mean, I'm developing feelings.  The L-word was too much.  Ohmygod I can't believe I said that."

Izaak pulled my hands away from my face and looked me in the eyes.  "As adorable as you are when you blush, I'm not buying it, kiddo.  Something else is going on."

ch 7 notes revised

Tuesday, Violet's first day at work.

*working in gabe's office and I'm starting to get the hang of it.  Going out with Violet did me some good, and so did the convo with Izaak.  I'm becoming a new person.  Chloe Patterson.  It's been a full week since I started (maybe longer) and I'm getting more confident.  I'm solidly ignoring the message about Sage because it could be a set up.

*Mr. Winters comes in with a partner, he's very distracted but I go in panic mode. Gabe has so many high profile clients, and I should've seen it coming.  But really, what are the chances that I'd be face to face with the man who killed my grandmother?  Feelings start to surface and it takes everything in me not to say something stupid to him.  Not that he's paying attention to me anyway.  Instead I say politely to his partner that Gabe is out of the office.  The partner leaves a message for Gabe and I realize that I have some very confidential info about this person now.

*Gabe comes in with Violet.  I'm still a little stunned about the meeting with Mr. Winters but faking it til I make it.  I show Violet to the conference room and make a little small talk with her.

*Then I hang out with Toby doing something 

beginning ch5 chloe

"Let's play 20 questions!" Vanessa suggested as our ride felt like an eternity of listening to Violet's endless bitching and ruminating over what could have happened that I'd need to contact Sage.  I hadn't had the privacy since I'd received the anonymous message, but was also avoiding it, anxious about what the conversation would bring.  Most likely, someone was trying to find me.

"No one wants to play your childish games, sis."  Violet gave an exaggerated yawn.

"Come on!  It'll be fun, we can learn more about each other!  I found a website with questions!  I'll go first... oh these are too basic, let me get a juicier questions."  She scrolled through the page on her phone and Violet groaned to get her to hurry.  "Oh!  Here we go."  Vanessa looked up and then at me.  "Chloe, what gets you fired up?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to glance at her.  She was younger than the rest of us, short, and a little preppy.  Her smile seemed fake, and eyes accusing, as if she was trying to catch me in a lie before I even answered.  What did this woman have against me?

*idk, think of an answer*

Violet clapped, laughing and admiring my dirty deed, while Toby and Vanessa looked at each other, mouths dropped.  Molly seemed unfazed, clearly having heard crazier, and Izaak acted as if he wasn't paying attention.  

"That's nuts!  Okay, your turn to ask."

chloe's dna surprise (ch 17ish)

Toby came in with his laptop and a huge grin on his face.  "The DNA results came in!"

The rest of us huddled around, wanting to see what we found out.  "Mine first!  I wanna make sure I'm Mexican."  Violet bumped into me, squeezing in-between Molly and me.  "And then let's make sure Molly's really Irish."

"Yeah, because the red hair and freckles and Irish last name aren't enough to confirm that," she giggled.

Everyone watched as Toby clicked through the profiles stored in the website, finding Violet's and showing us all of her ancestry reports — half Spanish, half Native, as she'd expected.  She was surprised at the little bit of Indian-Pakistani heritage she supposedly had, but then quickly became bored and let Molly have her turn.  Her results were also as expected, practically only northwest European and kind of generic/boring.  

Then she found something Violet hadn't seen:  "Look!  It's my DNA family!"  Tears brimmed her eyes as she clicked on the link to see others who took the test and had a DNA match with Molly.  "How do I have over 1000 relatives?"

"What if you found a long lost sibling?" Violet teased.

"That would be amazing!"  But alas, she did not:  the page was all third or fourth cousins, some as far away as China.

chloe continued

He also took off my shoes.  I was silently grateful for having Izaak in my life as I dozed into a fitful sleep.  Nightmares of getting caught and being kicked out plagued me.  Mr. Winters recognizing me and showing evidence that I did all of those shitty things to him.  Being homeless in Detroit or worse, prison.

I was almost grateful when Izaak woke me up, but had a pounding headache and a horrible taste in my throat.  He handed me a mug of hot tea and plate of toast with hardboiled egg.  

"You're already dressed for work... What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Exercise club is already over?" I sat up placing the mug on my side table and taking a big bite of the toast.

His face remained stoic and unamused.  Purple half-circles rested under his annoyed eyes.  He probably hadn't slept at all.  "We didn't go."

I pushed the comforter out of the way and patted a spot next to me for him to sit next to me.  "I *am* sorry for last night, ya know, I was just... wasted."

"Not as sorry as you're gonna be, ya know."

My body trembled, a nervous shiver tracing down my spine.  "I know I agreed to this and all, but it seems like you're spanking me everyday.  Isn't that a bit much?"

As I'd hoped, he gave a light chuckle.  "It seems like you're also misbehaving everyday.  How many cigarettes did you smoke yesterday?"

a diff version of chloe ch5

Izaak didn't speak to me for a while, and I didn't mind, not feeling his negative energy but instead smiling out at the darkness as I watched the city pass.  How awesome was it that I now lived in New York City?!  All the tall buildings.  The sights that I'd seen on tv and movies all my life.  I'd survived my first week working for a bossy rich white guy, made quite a few friends, and won a bit of cash at poker with Violet.  Life was good!

Until my roommate heaved a sigh and began his lecture.  "Are you not even a little sorry for what you did?"

"What did I do?" I asked innocently, turning to look at him with a half smile, batting my eyelashes.

Nostrils flaring and gripping onto the steering wheel, Izaak remained as patient possible.  "Leaving the game like that without saying anything, going to some bar in a dangerous part of town, getting wasted and chased out of the bar by some guy with a weapon.  Does any of that seem like a good idea?"  He turned to look at me as he stopped at a redlight.  "And I can also tell that you've been doing more than just drinking."

Eyes widened, I looked away.  My cute puppy face didn't work, so maybe I could take the Violet approach.  "You can't prove that." 

“Are you really going to lie about this?”

I folded my arms and looked at him with attitude, rolling my eyes.  It was hard to keep myself from laughing.  The angry girl look just didn't suit me well.

“If you don’t want to discuss this now, then we can talk in the morning after our workout.”

chloe ch 7 notes

*working in gabe's office, it's not going well.  He's kind of a dick and I kind of suck at this job.  Still hungover from last night.  Feeling a bit mesmerized by Violet... never known anyone like her before.  Also having a bit of an identity crisis.  Who am I now?  Who am I trying to become?

*Mr. Winters comes in with a partner, he's very distracted but I go in panic mode. Gabe has so many high profile clients, but I never imagined how small of a world it is.  What are the chances that I'd be face to face with the man who killed my grandmother?  Feelings start to surface and it takes everything in me not to say something stupid to him.  Not that he's paying attention to me anyway.  Instead I say politely to his partner that Gabe is out of the office.  The partner leaves a message for Gabe and I realize that I have some very confidential info about this person now.

*Maybe there can be a flashback to past

*Gabe comes in seemingly refreshed and much peppier.  He informs me of a future co-worker and then barks at me for not getting enough done today.  Soft transition to going home later and meeting with Izaak

*spanking scene with Izaak

chloe ch 5 after dominics

He waited til we were back in the SUV to interrogate me about my time with Violet, but I didn’t feel like answering.  This past week of being controlled had me frustrated.  I just wanted a little privacy for once instead of Izaak interfering with it all.

“I know that you did cocaine.  And you know that I have a zero tolerance drug policy, Chloe.”  

“You can’t prove that I did anything.”

“Are you really going to lie about this?”

I folded my arms and looked out the window as we passed something.  I was trying to learn a little from Violet and not take Izaak’s shit.  But it was really hard.

“If you don’t want to discuss this now, then we can talk in the morning after our workout.”

“I’m so tired of your fucking workouts,” I sneered.

He didn’t respond for a moment, unsure of the best way to proceed.  He opted for, “I don’t think I like this influence Violet has on you.”

“I think you’re going to have to get over it.”

"That's enough," Izaak growled as he slammed on the brakes at a redlight, now focused on me instead of driving.  "I'm tired of this attitude.  You left the arena without telling me, went to a sketchy neighborhood and got drunk, high.  Some guy was chasing after you two with a weapon!"

The car behind us honked, signaling that the light had changed, so Izaak refocused his attention.  

"You're going to get a good spanking for this, Young Lady.  No mercy."

I gulped, not really sure what he meant by that, but not wanting to find out.  

chloe part of ch3

The aroma of something filled the living room and my stomach immediately growled when I entered.  Music was blaring from the tv, classic rock, and Izaak was singing and dancing along, not even realizing that I'd come in until the door slammed behind me.

"Oh, hey kiddo, how was your first day?"  He reached to turn down the volume, then returned to stirring something in the pot.  

Tossing my bag into my half of the room I heaved a sigh and plopped down at the kitchen table.  "I'm not cut out for this type of work."

"It's only the first day, how can you say that?"

"Really, Izaak?  A receptionist?  In a fast-paced law office?  I'm an artist, not an office person."

"You're an artist, so you're adaptable.  You can do this to work your way through college.  Look," he grabbed a couple of brochures and handed them to me, "I even picked these college applications up for you."

"You do know that this is all virtual now, right?"  But I appreciated the sentiment and decided to open up a little to him.  "My own family didn't even help me with the college stuff.  They wouldn't even have an idea where to start."  I peered off into the distance thinking about my grandma again.

izaak's perspective

I was caught doing something I shouldn't while in the military, and ended up owing somebody a favor.  A few years later he (Peter) approached me with a request.  He wanted me to keep an eye on his biological daughter whose adopted dad had just been jailed.

Chloe was in my psychology class and the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.  Though the fact that she was 4 years younger and I'd just been through raising a son, I kind of always saw her more platonically, like a little sister.  From the beginning I could see that she gets away with everything.  It was infuriating at times watching her escape from consequences.  But helped me understand why Peter wanted help keeping an eye on her.

That first spanking was when she kept flaking over a project we were doing together.  She must have shown up 5 or 6 times without having done any work at all, until finally I got fed up and she dared me to spank her.  I wasn't sure if she agreed that she deserved it or if she had a kinky streak (or both?), but she allowed me to put her over my knee and smack some sense into her.  

It was the only time I actually punished her.  Since I was supposedly helping out her father, I didn't want to cross lines unless absolutely necessary.

We became close.  I'd just gotten out of a bad relationship, she had daddy issues (and no clue about her biological father I realized), so we got along well.  She just needed some guidance.

getting chloe's voice

Thinking about the past too much.  Missing my granny, missing Sage (my BFF and partner in crime), missing my old lifestyle.  Life with Izaak isn't bad.  His apartment is nicer than my granny's old house but I hate the way he looks at me with pity.  I'd much rather live alone again.  Then I could just experience my depression in my own way, without any kind of shame.

This apartment is too small.  Staying in a living room gets old after a while.  Even with the dividers it feels like there's no privacy.  If I'm behind closed "screens" all the time then Izaak starts to question things.  Then that look of pity.

I've been self-medicating with cheap weed I swiped from a guy at the club and chain smoking on Izaak's balcony after he falls asleep or while he's at work.  The last thing I need is another lecture from him about the perils of my bad habits.  It could be much worse.  I could give into my urges to return to my previous lifestyle.  

What I want to do is start searching again for men to take advantage of.  Wealthy corporate heads who like bossing me around.  Guys who wouldn't think twice of innocent little me, until I'm long gone with their credit cards and bank account info.  NYC is crawling with old men who deserve the pain I could bring them.  

But I've turned away from that life.  Coming to live with Izaak means that I can't go back.  Now I'm sorta on the grid.  He's keeping track of me again.  He would figure it out.  But mostly it's because of Sage and my granny.  Sage getting arrested because of me really threw me for a loop.  And my granny's dying wish was for me to straighten up and not turn into my dad.  

Haven't talked to anyone in my family since my granny's funeral.  Dad was there with an officer and handcuffs.  How shameful.  My uncles didn't speak to him, and only said a word or two to me.  The only conversation I had was with my one cousin, who promised to keep in touch (but who keeps promises anymore?).  It was a nice service.  I'm glad that I had the money to fund it.

Too bad the lifestyle isn't for me anymore.  I wish I could believe that.