Naked and Defiant (14 page)

"You were trying to spare her, sweety. Did
she know about your personal interests?"

"She did."

"And?"

"She is a natural. When is the trial?"

"One more week, my friend. Did you get that
phone call from your buddy?"

"I did," Griffon unwrapped her arms from his
neck and stood up to lean against the window frame. "He's done his
homework. Simon Kinslow is going down, and the psychological report
from Torrance will ensure that Jade receives her freedom."

"I can't believe that her father tried to
declare her incompetent. What kind of parent is that?"

"A frightened and insecure one. I'm just glad
that I had the connections to intervene. I want that kid to have a
chance to have a life she deserves."

"You want that kid to have a chance with you.
Come on, Griff. I've known you for ten years. I was there when you
married the
demon spawn.
"

"I told you not to call my ex that, young
lady. Do I need to remind you to respect my orders?"

Tasha sniggered, "Mr. Badger, as your
corporate counsel, I retain the right to express my professional
opinion in any circumstance I deem appropriate."

"Well, I, as your employer, retain the right
to apply discipline to my corporate attorney's backside as I deem
necessary. Over the desk, missy. I have been neglectful in my
duties. You are long overdue for a thorough thrashing."

Tasha giggled as she eased her pencil-skirted
body across the large mahogany desk and wiggled her bottom in eager
anticipation. Griffon chuckled, smacking her slender flanks while
walking to the back of the desk.

"It's been a while since I have had to put
you in your place, counselor. I think your sassiness warrants my
ruler, don't you?"

Tasha's eyes widened and she stood straight.
"Uh, no. That thing is wicked. I was just playing …."

"Return to your position. I will not repeat
myself." He lowered his voice and slapped the wide, ironwood ruler
loudly on the desktop. "Over—all the way. Hold the edges, and do
not release them under any circumstance, or I will retrieve the
cane."

Tasha gulped, no longer smiling, as she
watched Griffon transform into the hard-faced, unyielding badger
that he had adopted as his logo. "Griffon, please don't take your
anger and frustration out on my ass."

"Silence!" his voice boomed. He positioned
himself behind her and ran his hand along the curve of her bottom.
"Since when do you tell me what to do with this bottom? Who owns
this ass?"

"You do, Sir."

He cracked his hand across her cloth-covered
mounds. "How long have I owned this ass?"

"Since the day I signed my contract, Sir. Oh
…," she exhaled as his hand again whacked her soft curves.

"Ten years, then? Yet, you still find it
necessary to try to top from the bottom. That will not do. No, not
at all," Griffon chided, picking up the ruler. He placed it in
front her. "Kiss the instrument of your correction, Tasha."

Quivering, the woman obeyed, her knuckles
whitening as she tightened her grip on the edge of the desktop.
Griffon removed a full-length mirror from the private bathroom of
the office suite and positioned it against the wall, so that he
could see Tasha's face.

"Eyes open. I want you to watch your
punishment. I want you to anticipate the fall of the ruler before
it strikes your flesh. I want you to see your tears as the pain
becomes too much to bear. " He slid her skirt over her hips and
left it wadded at her waistline. "You knew that I would want to do
this today, didn't you?"

Tasha nodded, shifting her thong-clad bottom,
framed in smoked-gray thigh-highs held in place by a garter belt.
"Yes, sir. I suspected you would want some relief. You have not
been yourself during this mooning period, and your girls are
worried about you."

"I see," Griffon said thoughtfully. "For that
considerable forethought, I will make certain to reward you by
making you feel this paddling for a few days."

"Thank you, Sir," Tasha sighed in defeat.

"You may cry if you desire," Griffon said,
aligning the ruler against her fleshy cheeks. He pulled his arm
back and brought the wooden ruler down against the pale flesh,
leaving a deep red imprint. Tasha rose on her toes and howled along
with the sound of the impact. Griffon waited for her to return to
her position before again lifting the instrument of suffering into
the air.

Tasha pounded her fists on the desk,
breathing heavily as another stroke landed squarely across both
cheeks. One stroke after another, the ruler flattened harshly
against the deliciously-rounded globes. They jiggled beneath the
wood, the edges of the ruler embedding into their softness and
leaving behind burgundy stripes of raised welts. Tasha panted with
effort as each lash engraved itself into her bottom.

Griffon set the ruler down next to Tasha's
head and returned to his position next to her inflamed rear. He
stretched his hand and directed his heavy palm against the crease
between her bottom and thigh. Tasha stared in the mirror at her
tear-stained face, meeting his eye in the reflection. Griffon's
face registered no emotion as blow after heavy blow fell upon the
lower portion of her bottom. He stopped, his hand suspended
mid-air, when he heard the break in her tears followed by pools of
liquid pain shining beneath her face.

His silence was deafening as he gently pulled
her skirt back down over her thighs and smoothed the wrinkled
material with his palm. Tasha painfully pushed herself to stand
before him, her face streaked with mascara, hair disheveled.
Griffon kissed her cheek.

"Thank you. Return to work. Have Sara come
see me. She forgot to process an invoice, and I need to have a
discussion with her. Have her bring the strap from her desk drawer
to present to me."

"Yes, Sir," she sniffed, a tiny smile on her
face as she rubbed her aching posterior. "It's good to have you
back, Griff. We've missed you."

"Tell me that after you try to sit down at
your desk," he grinned. With a happy hug, Tasha departed.

***

Griffon kicked his shoes off and collapsed on
his couch. He closed his eyes, thinking of the bottoms he had
paddled that day. He had missed that interaction with his girls
over the last few months. His private office held only female
employees, each one a confirmed spanko. The relationship that he
shared with them had been satisfying, for each girl had something
unique to bring to the table that met both her, and his, needs.
From the true masochistic demands seen in his corporate counsel to
the childlike scoldings required by the filing clerk, he had been
there to provide a working environment that functioned with
efficiency, respect, love, and loyalty. Every one of his girls had
been there from the beginning, with no terminations and no
transfers. They had been patient with him over this 'mooning
period', as Tasha aptly named it, but it was time to get back on
the ball. He could not allow his heartbreak to destroy what had
taken him years to build.

Cracking open a bottle of sparkling water, he
removed a file folder from his briefcase. His brow furrowed as he
read through the reports sent from the private investigator. The
information about Simon did not concern him as much as the ones
about Elijah Brockton. The man was ruthless in the business world
and ran his company much like a dictatorship, with constant
turnover in the employee base and ongoing lawsuits designed to
paralyze competitors. It appeared as though he had turned his
business tactics homewards, and Jade was the weapon he planned on
using for retaliation.

Tasha's instincts had been correct. She
anticipated Brockton's strategies to use Jade's situation as a
means of revenge after Griffon negated a contract with Brockton.
Griffon grimly recalled how Brockton was discovered cutting corners
with safety regulations and putting Badger-Clark construction crews
in danger. That decision had cost the old tycoon nearly a
half-billion dollars and resulted in a lawsuit that was thrown out
of court within hours of being filed. Brockton had vowed to get
even, and until Jade stepped into the picture, he had no
leverage.

Behind Griffon's back, Tasha had contacted an
old colleague of hers, Dr. Niall Torrance, and apprised him of the
situation. In response to her concerns, he had contacted Brockton
and offered his assistance in the event Jade demonstrated any
post-traumatic stress related to her being marooned. He had
emphasized that the effects of being vulnerable and unprotected
with a stranger in such a dangerous and intimate, environment,
could have lasting repercussions. As predicted, Brockton seized the
opportunity to use Jade against his nemesis, believing he had an
ally in the psychologist.

"I need to give that woman a raise," Griffon
mumbled, reading the reports. Dr. Torrance determined that Jade
was, indeed, suffering from PTSD; however, he opined that her
obsession with independence was the result of her father's
strangulating control and threats of financial abandonment. He
clarified that his opinion was based on Jade's statements that she
was coerced to comply with stringent dress codes and food choices
and forced to abandon self-study after her father terminated access
to all finances, transportation and communication. The doctor
concluded that the island experience and subsequent survival
training merely awakened the woman's untapped needs. Her desire for
further education and personal improvement, and the avenues she
wished to explore to reach her goals, were indicative of someone
who was fully and completely competent to determine the direction
for her life.

Griffon shook his head as he reviewed a
financial statement from Jade's private account. Brockton had seen
that she was stripped of every penny and no longer had
authorization to use the credit cards associated with the account.
Anger rose as he looked at copies of service bills which indicated
that both her personal phone and Internet service were
disconnected. Finally, a land-line telephone bill showed
restriction to local, specific calls, with all others blocked.

"That rat bastard. He certainly is making it
impossible for you to escape. Well, I promise that this is going to
blow up in your daddy's face, my girl," Griffon said, aloud. "I
just hope you can see that I did all this to protect you as well as
myself."

"Tash?" he lifted the phone to his ear.
"These statements are very incriminating, but how can we get them
accepted as evidence? You know the PI didn't obtain them
legally."

"Hello to you, too," Tasha grumbled. "It's
nearly two in the morning."

"Yeah, well." Griffon glanced at the clock.
Where had the time gone? "
Sorry, I got caught up reading
these reports. There are a bunch of loose strings here that concern
me."

"Don't worry about that, Griff. There is no
reason to have to bring these up in court unless Brockton comes
after you personally."

"Do you think he will?"

"He has a reputation for slinging dirt in
public arenas, so it would not surprise me. That is why I will be
coming with you. If he does try to causes problems during Simon's
trial, then we have something to use as leverage to silence him. If
he does not bring it up during the trial, then we can approach him
afterwards with the evidence and do some bullying from our
end."

"You are brilliant, my friend. Another
question: how can we use this information, since it was obtained
under, uh, questionable circumstances?"

"You worry too much," Tasha chuckled. "First,
they have Jade's name on them, and with her permission, we can use
them however we need to. If what you have told me about her is
true, then she will be more than happy to sign over the documents.
I can also pretty much guarantee that Brockton the Beast will do
almost anything to prevent a scandal like this from leaking to the
media. It would destroy his business overnight, if the public found
out he abused his daughter."

"Who would have thought that luxury would be
considered abusive?"

"That just goes to show how our society has
deteriorated, honey," Tasha sighed. "You need to get some sleep.
This nightmare is almost over, and you can have your precious jewel
back in your arms."

"Actually, Jade is an ornamental rock,"
Griffon chuckled. "One more week?"

"One more week. Trust me. I'm pretty good at
my job. That's why you pay me the big bucks, Boss."

"I don't pay you enough. I am going to …"

"Don't even think of saying it. You pay top
dollar already, and the
benefits
are wonderful," Tasha
giggled.

"Thanks," Griffon said, humbly. "Call me if
you hear anything, okay?"

"Shall do. Sleep well, Griff."

***

"Stop messing with your tie and sit still,"
Tasha whispered."You are fidgeting like a kid in church."

"I can't breathe. It's cutting off my air,"
Griffon grumbled."And these shoes hurt like hell."

"You are impossible. Remember the whole idea
is to present yourself as a respectful businessman with honorable
intentions."

"I'm the not the one on trial. Simon is,
remember?"

"I warned you that if Brockton has anything
to say about this, he will find a way to drag you in. It is his
m.o. to use a courtroom for self-gain. When he does, we have
evidence to use against him and promote silence."

"Inadmissible evidence!"

"Please just calm down and act natural. I
know the judge, too. He won't tolerate it for a minute," Tasha
paused with a frown, looking at his suit. "Are you wearing your
good luck T-shirt under that?"

"Yeah," Griffon grinned.

Tasha shook her head. "I don't know what to
do with you sometimes. You are such a child. It's time to go in.
When you see Jade, be formal. Don't give anyone any ideas that you
are anything other than casual friends who underwent a grueling
experience together."