[Fiction] The Predicament

[Richard Darcy]

Ok, so this is my first story here. I'd love any feedback - this is obviously just the intro. I would think there will be 7 or 8 episodes... depends on how the writing goes!



The note was written on dusky pink paper, and as Michael read it for the third time, he found himself no closer to working out what it could possibly mean. The six words were written in printed handwriting across the note – “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

It was the directness and simplicity of the phrase which struck him each time he read it. This was no clever note designed to seduce, or even a stunt one of his friends might pull. It seemed, simply, a statement of fact: “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Michael folded the note slowly, casting his gaze around the open-plan office to see if anyone was looking his way. As his search swept passed the photocopier, he thought he saw the new girl in the office avert her eyes quickly. Or was he imagining it? He couldn’t tell. He thought her name was Samantha – he had been introduced on her first day several weeks ago, but busy office life had dulled his memory, and now he wasn’t sure.

Still, the strange note intrigued him, and Michael was determined to find out who had left it on his desk. So, at lunchtime, rather than going for a walk into the local shopping centre as he usually did, he slipped into his boss’ office. He knew his boss was out for the day at some high powered meeting, and he knew too that from that office he had a commanding view across the rest of the floor, including his own desk.

As he unpacked his sandwiches, Michael kept his eyes fixed firmly on the comings and goings around the office space, smiling at the well rehearsed jokes between colleagues, and shaking his head at the usual skivers who were managing to snooze at their desks without anyone noticing. He took a bite of his sandwich, and as he wiped the mayonnaise from his lips, he saw Samantha – if that was her name – moving across the office with a pile of files balanced under one arm. He watched as she negotiated past the couple talking in the middle of the room, past the huge A1 printer, and then as she passed his desk, and unmistakeably, placed a note on his desk, before carrying on in the directions she was travelling.

Michael blinked slowly, taking in what he had just seen. So it was the new girl… but what a bizaare thing for her to do. He kept his eyes fixed on her as she moved towards the lift door, and looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time. She had dark hair, cut with a layered fringe and let to fall just below her shoulders. She was slim built, and carried with her an air of fragility, a sense of nervousness.

As he watched her enter the lift, he let himself smile briefly. This was strange indeed – by far the strangest thing that had ever happened to him at work, but, he thought to himself, interesting. Very interesting. He wondered, if this girl knew who he really was – the lifestyle that he led outside of work – whether she would be quite so brave. Time, thought Michael to himself, will tell…

[italian99]

Decent opening, different for sure.

[Officelover]

This story is written impeccably, and could very well become a great addition to our site. Bravo, good job, and keep writing!

[Lil C]

that is an interesting start
please continue

[Coyote]

great beginnig. I'd love to see how this turns out

[Richard Darcy]

Ok - thanks for all the very positive replies. Time for the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Do let me know!

By the next morning Michael had the plan, and the equipment, in place. It was no accident then, that as he ran towards the lift doors and put his hand between them to stop them closing, Samantha was already inside, clutching another pile of files and loose paper to her. He nodded as he stepped inside, and was sure he saw a blush rising in her cheeks. Without a word he pressed the ground floor button, and stood back, pretending to focus his attention on a poster stuck to the lift side. But as the lift began to vibrate and move slowly downwards, he lifted his finger again, this time pressing the emergency stop button. The lift shuddered and ground to a halt, and as it did so, Michael raised his eyes to Samantha, to find her looking straight at him in undisguised surprise.

“So,” he said slowly. “You can’t stop thinking about me?”

The look on her face, somewhere between terror and confusion, told him instantly that he had caught her by surprise. Her face told the picture as she fought between her instincts to lie and deny everything, and her realisation that she had been caught out.

“I don’t… I mean, I’m not sure…” she stuttered, unable to finish either sentence, lowering her eyes a little as she spoke.

“Ok,” Michael said firmly and coolly. “Let me make this easier for you. What is it that made you write those notes, and why me?”

Again Michael saw the indecision in the girl’s face. “Ok, look,” she said, almost in a whisper. “I saw you. At the club. Last Friday.”

“Ah,” breathed Michael. “And I assume you are talking about Club Torture? Well, well. So what were you doing there last Friday?”

The girl was clearly embarrassed to be talking about this, but it was clear too that she wanted to tell him, wanted to talk about it. “I…err… well, I just wanted to watch. I just wanted to see what happened. And then I saw you, and well… I’d seen you at work, and I just can’t stop thinking about what I saw you doing there… you know.. to that girl…”

Michael smiled, partly at the memory of what had happened that Friday, and partly at the idea of this girl’s fascination and naivety.

“Well then you have a choice to make,” he said slowly, stepping one step closer to Samantha. “Which really, is what I’m all about. You see, I like to give those who choose to serve me, choices. Some people might call them predicaments. And this is your first choice, your first predicament. You can walk away now, take the lift to the ground floor, and never speak to me again. Or,” he continued, looked directly into her gaze, “you can take off your panties and give them to me….”