It was not uncommon for tech magnate Martin Polis to find himself on the front page of the city’s major newspapers, usually for some grandiose mega-project or software development that proved little more than smoke and mirrors. The renovation of his family’s expansive, gaudy mansion in the heart of downtown was no exception. Dozens of construction and contracting firms had battled it out in a stiff competition for the billionaire’s patronage, and in the end, the losers counted themselves the lucky ones. For they’d been spared the immense pressure of having to satisfy Polis’ unbridled ego, of the endless waste of time and resources wrought by the daily radical changes to the design, and the constant mistreatment of his subordinates that had made his name mud in both the general public and amongst his competitors in the tech industry. In the end, the work remained uncompleted, the contractors electing to pay for breach of contract rather than endure his demands a minute longer.
Yet apparently, they’d managed to finish the basement before abandoning their employer, and in the cell at its heart, Sandra Landry gave another helpless scream, the noise left muffled by the sound-baffling material that lined her prison, not to mention the awful ball gag wedged tight in her mouth. Still clad in a tight-fitting blue satin blouse, black leather pencil skirt and thigh-high boots, the beautiful blonde accountant writhed helplessly beneath the unblinking gaze of the security camera in the upper right corner of the cell, the pressure of the ropes binding her wrists, ankles, thighs and shapely upper body undiminished after several hours spent struggling for release. And after all this time spent in the darkness with nothing but her own thoughts for company, she could feel the fear bubbling up with each passing moment, like a kettle on the boil, until the pressure was all but palpable, the frantic animal desire to escape shrieking for release. “Mmmmpppggh! MMMPPPPPGGGHHH!”
Then came the crackle of a speaker coming to life. “Good. You’re still awake,” the voice of Martin Polis reverberated within tight confines of her cell, and Sandra could almost hear the sneer in his words. “Have you taken the time to consider my offer, Ms. Landry?”
“Mmmppggghhh!” Sandra spat back, unable to conceal the helpless tears welling up in her sea-green eyes.
“Stubbornness does not become you, my dear. I meant what I said. I seek to bring down my chief competition once and for all. You have access to the financial data and user accounts that will let me do so. Assist me, and you will be set free. Or do you require further pressure to come to your senses? I’m sure the men I hired to kidnap you would be more than happy to ensure your cooperation.”
“Nnnggghhh!” protested the elegant blonde, the implication sending a spasm of purest terror running down her spine, while a thousand cruelties at their hands played out in her mind’s eye, each more horrific and degrading than the last, pressuring her to submit. “Nnngghhh, mmmpppggghhh!”
And yet… something held her back. Perhaps it was the many friendships she’d developed in the sixth months working for MagnusCorp, the realization that she’d been letting the people she cared for down by ensuring Polis’ victory. Perhaps it was the knowledge that engaging in such unethical behaviour, even under duress, would be a betrayal of the work ethic and professional standards she held so highly. Perhaps it was mere pride goading her to refuse his arrogant demands, and the knowledge that she could not trust a man who’d abducted her in the first place to keep his word.
But on the other side of the coin, she was helpless here; bound, gagged and utterly unable to protect herself from anything Polis or his thugs sought to do to her…
Fear and pride, anxiety and resolve, the need to protect herself and the desire to do right by her co-workers; a tangled web of competing emotions and desires rendered the beautiful accountant paralysed with hesitation, with every last choice promising only disaster. “I’ve run out of patience, woman,” Polis declared, voice rank with anger. “Nod or shake your head, but I want your decision, and I want it now.”
And so, pressured, frightened, and facing two terrible outcomes, Sandra Landry made her choice…