‘Enough isn’t what I’m looking for. That’s not what business is about.’
‘But it’ll upset the girls.’
‘Never let sentiment cloud your judgement, Ruby. That’s one of the first rules of business. I thought you were strong-willed, not someone who the girls can walk all over.’
‘I am!’ she snapped, insulted at his implication that she was a soft touch.
‘Then do as I say. Oh, and I want us to start charging the clients for coffee and tea. Some of them are taking advantage. I’ve noticed how much we’re going through. In fact, the girls will have to pay too.’
‘That’s ridiculous! And how would I do it anyway? It’s not a coin operated machine.’
‘For heaven’s sake! Use your imagination. Why do you think I put you in charge? Stick some signs up and a box to collect their money, or something. Oh, and make sure the girls know.’
Ruby wasn’t happy. ‘I don’t like this, Victor. It’s like you’re winding people up for no reason.’
‘I’ve told you, Ruby, it isn’t about sentiment, it’s about business, and many businesses fail because the owners are too soft with their employees and customers. I thought you were strong, that’s why I chose you.’
Ruby wanted to retaliate but the backhanded compliment had floored her. She knew that to continue arguing would make him think she was doing it for the wrong reasons; because of sentiment or whatever. And she needed to prove that she wasn’t soft. So, even though the anger was festering inside her, she kept her temper and agreed to his wishes.
When they’d finished their meeting, she led him upstairs and into Ruby’s Dungeon where she soon adopted her fierce Mistress Ruby persona. Victor had changed too. Gone was the ruthless businessman and he had once again become the subservient little man who would do anything she demanded. But Ruby was still annoyed; she hadn’t forgotten the way he’d spoken down to her and almost forced her to agree to his wishes. Twenty minutes later she had him tied to a stool wearing a gimp mask and chastity device with his hands strapped tightly behind him while she smacked his back with a wooden paddle.
As she increased the strokes of the paddle Ruby could feel Victor’s mounting excitement and, after a while, he struggled to grasp his genitals and release his pent-up frustration. But the bonds around his wrists and the metal chastity device prevented him.
Ruby smiled to herself in amusement; she enjoyed this part of the job where she had complete control over the clients and at the moment it was giving her an outlet for her anger. She would time it just right, till the clients felt they could stand it no longer then she would release them from their shackles and allow them to masturbate.
But Victor was nowhere near ready yet, and she still hadn’t started with the leather whip. She finished with the paddle, allowing him a few moments to recover while she walked tantalisingly around him and selected a whip from the rack, running it through her fingers while he watched in keen anticipation.
Victor was still struggling, his hands pulling against the bonds that held them tight, and he was murmuring as though he was trying to tell her something. But the gimp mask made his words sound distorted and she couldn’t tell what he was trying to say. Ruby didn’t care anyway; he deserved to be punished after the way he’d spoken to her. Then he started rocking backwards and forwards, his hands still pulling against the restraints.
‘Well, well, Victor. You are excited tonight, aren’t you?’ she teased as she brought the whip down on his backside.
Victor’s rocking became more frantic, and Ruby wondered for a moment whether she had overdone it. Normally she could gauge how far to go by his level of twitchiness but this rocking was a new thing and it unsettled her for a moment. But then she realised she was overreacting. She couldn’t have overdone it. She’d hardly got started yet. Usually she would increase the intensity of the lashes till she felt the client had had enough. And with Victor, this would generally take a while.
But as his reaction became more intense, she stopped for a moment, shocked. Ruby realised she had a problem just as Victor’s rocking became so frenzied that he lost his balance and keeled over onto his side. Then he tried to bring his knees up to his chest as though he was in pain.
In a panic, Ruby rushed to remove the gimp mask. ‘Are you alright, Victor?’ she cried.
Victor was struggling to breathe and he couldn’t get his words out. He was still trying to prise his hands from the bonds so Ruby untied them. As soon as his hands were freed Victor clutched his chest.
‘Oh shit!’ muttered Ruby, worried that her temper had perhaps made her go harder on him than she realised.
By the time she suspected that Victor was having a heart attack, it was too late. He was already unconscious.
*
In her panic, Ruby left Victor where he was, and locked up the dungeon while she dashed to the reception desk to see Tiffany.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Tiffany, concerned when she saw the alarmed expression on Ruby’s face.
‘We’ve got a big fuckin’ problem!’ said Ruby, panting and looking around to make sure nobody was listening. Pammy was the only girl now sitting in the waiting area and Ruby hoped she couldn’t hear as she leant in to Tiffany and whispered. ‘It’s Victor. I think he’s had a heart attack.’
Tiffany was so shocked by what Ruby was telling her that she spoke louder than Ruby would have liked. ‘What? You’re joking!’
‘Shush,’ said Ruby, whispering, ‘I wish I fuckin’ was!’
‘So, where is he now? Is he alright?’ asked Tiffany.
Ruby shook her head, feeling tears cloud her eyes as she said in a shaky voice. ‘I think he’s dead. He
