Miss Bright raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised at Holly's spunk. 'Usually I would agree with you, Miss Chambers. We provide a service here and usually I would not dream of interfering with the integrity of your vision, but to be frank, I don't think you're in a rational state of mind right now. And I can't, in good conscience, take advantage of you when you are clearly not operating at your full mental capacity.'
Holly couldn't even argue with Miss Bright. She was absolutely right. Holly was feeling more than a little off kilter since that terrible night, but she honestly felt like this was her only chance to recover. If this harebrained scheme didn't work then she was going to have to move, and that was her absolute last resort.
She loved her apartment. Not only was it adorable, it was also a steal. She had somehow lucked out and found the last reasonably priced apartment in Vancouver. It was a co-op building, so her rent was greatly reduced. Anything comparable in the area would most likely cost double or even triple the price, which she really couldn't afford. Or she'd be forced to move outside the city which meant either purchasing a car or taking all of her very expensive camera equipment on the Skytrain. Neither option appealed to her, and there really wasn't any guarantee that the dream wouldn't follow her to her new home. She'd had the nightmare while staying at her mom's, so it was entirely possible that geography had no influence over her subconscious. No, she definitely needed to take drastic measures before abandoning her home.
'I'm willing to sign a waiver, declaring that your company is not responsible for any repercussions that occur from enacting my dreams. Isn't that enough?' Holly glared at Miss Bright, willing her to back down and comply with her wishes. She was completely shocked when the woman actually dropped her eyes and began scanning the file again.
'Alright, Miss Chambers, if this is what you really want. But first, tell me this, how do you imagine your Scene Facilitator approaching you? Should he pose as a threatening stranger who roughly restrains you, and then takes you without any kind of preamble? Or did you imagine something more sensual? Perhaps a scenario where he pretends to be your lover, and surprises you in the middle of the night? Would something like that satisfy your requirements?'
Holly shook her head vehemently. 'No, as much as I would prefer the kinky imaginary boyfriend route, I don't think that will help banish the dreams. It has to be as close to my nightmare as possible. And that means anonymous and vaguely scary.'
Miss Bright leaned back in her throne-like chair and crossed her elegant arms over her chest. 'Perhaps if you described the dream? Maybe that will give me some idea what you're looking for.'
Holly held up her chin and ignored the heat that flared in her cheeks again at the thought of discussing her fantasy with Miss Bright. As mortifying as this discussion was, she didn't really see how she was going to avoid talking about this if she wanted to make her twisted fantasy a reality.
'Well,' she said softly, looking down at the hem of her sweater, she began fiddling with a loose thread as a distraction. 'I don't know what your dreams are like, but I don't actually know where it begins or ends. I'm just unconscious and then all of a sudden I'm in the middle of this situation. Most nights, someone is there, in the room with me, and they're hurting me. Holding me down and doing terrible things to me. Saying awful, ugly things and threatening to do worse if I don't shut up. But sometimes it's completely different. Someone is there, yes, but he doesn't want to hurt me. He wants to worship me.'
Holly glanced up at Miss Bright and watche d her expression, waiting to see doubt there on her face, but instead she s aw complete indifference. This woman doesn't care, Holly thought to herself, but she's not judging me either. For some reason, that distinction g ave Holly the courage to continue her description.
'He shackles my hands to the headboard, and blindfolds me, but he does it all so gently. I fight him a little, but he's so powerful that it's quite clear that I'm completely at his mercy. Once he has me restrained, he begins kissing me. Everywhere. I mean, every square inch of my body. And as he does this he's talking softly to me. Saying these dirty, wonderful things to me. Telling me how gorgeous I am, and how much he wants me. How desperate he is for me.'
Holly grinned at this. 'I know it seems ridiculous that anyone would say those things to me, but in the dream I feel beautiful and sexy. He makes me feel that way. Like a goddess.'
Miss Bright looks at her blankly for a moment. 'Why is that ridiculous? You've never had a man tell you that you're desirable before?'
Holly rolled her eyes. 'Well, yes. But you know men. They'll say anything to get laid.'
'Maybe so, but that doesn't mean it's not true.'
Holly gestured down at her plain clothing and ran a hand through her slicked-back hair. 'C'mon. I'm no man's fantasy. I look like I haven't slept in weeks, and even before this happened, men weren't exactly panting after me. I'm twenty nine years old and I've only had three boyfriends. No one is mistaking me for a supermodel, believe me. But I'm okay with being plain. At least I was until this dream man came along and made me feel like I was missing out on something more.'
Miss Bright shook her head in disbelief. 'I have no idea how so many intelligent women are deluded into believing they're plain just because they aren't emaciated giants from the pages of Vogue. You, Miss Chamber, look like you could use a good long rest, and possibly a few good meals, but other than that, you're quite lovely. If the three men you had the misfortune to date neglected to convince you of that, then they were imbeciles.'
Holly gaped at Miss Bright in shock, clearly surprised at her passion. 'My boyfriends didn't convince me I was plain. My mirror did.'
'Then your mirror is clearly of the fun-house variety.' Miss Bright said, her voice completely deadpan.
Holly couldn't help it. A bark of laughter escaped her. Probably the first genuine laugh she'd uttered in months. It felt amazingly good. 'Fun-house? Really?'
Miss Bright looked disgruntled. 'Well, you have no idea how frustrating it is. Women come here. We're talking about incredibly smart and beautiful women of distinctive taste and charm, and yet they're worried that their SFs won't be attracted to them because they're too short, too old, too fat, too skinny, too something. I try very hard not to lose my temper with them but it's extremely difficult. The men who work here are paid a great deal of money to make our clients feel beautiful and yet they are so determined to believe they're undesirable. And the fact that they are paying for their fantasy just seems to undermine their confidence further.'
'I had no idea.'
'Forgive me, Miss Chambers. I should not be discussing this with you. But if one more client postpones their appointment because they want to get plastic surgery or a full body wax first, or they want to book extra personal training sessions so they can lose five more unnecessary pounds, I am going to start issuing refunds, and that is not something I do lightly.'
Holly tried not to grin at the blonde executive's threatening tone. She had clearly hit a nerve. 'So, your, uh, guys, they don't complain when they're set up with an average woman?'
'Certainly not. Like most men, they appreciate variety. If they were only interested in pursuing sexual relationships with 22-year-old bikini models, then they are in the wrong business. Besides, most men don't require the same strict standards of attractiveness that women impose upon themselves. And the men who work for Delta of Venus, Inc., appreciate feminine beauty in all its forms. Now, getting back to your fantasy. What happens after he kisses you and verbally titillates you?'
Verbally titillates? Oh yes, the dirty talk. 'Well, then he makes me, uh, kiss him. Down there.' Holly pointed down at her own crotch.
'He makes you perform or al sex? While you’ re restrained? So he straddles your chest and you fellate him?'
'Umm… Yes.' God. Fellate sound ed so clinical and weird. Could Holly do that to a stranger? In the dream it had felt so sexy to give up control and do exactly what her dream lover demanded. But in reality, she thought maybe she would feel awkward performing that particular act with someone she would never see.
'And you would like to include this in your fantasy?'
Holly hesitated. To be honest, she wasn't too sure about this part. But if she wanted to be true to the dream then she didn't have much choice. She nodded in response to Miss Bright's question.
'And then?' Miss Bright prompted.
'Well, in the dream, he somehow manages to flip me over and then he takes me from behind. Hard and fast.'
'Anally?'
'No.' Holly nearly shouted. 'He just props me up on some pillows and takes me. It's unbelievably hot and he
