It was the best of times; it was the worst of times; very much depending on your position in the Chattersby Company hierarchy.
From the management point of view, it was the best of times. After 10 years of Republican rule Washington, DC, business practices had run amok. The government worked very hard to favor business and business had taken great advantage of the situation, especially in the areas of employee relations. All concepts of employee rights had slowly disappeared over the years. Terms like "harassment" had been dropped from the company vocabulary. Lower-level employees were lucky to have any job at all and knew better than to complain about their treatment.
From the employee's point of view, it was definitely the worst of times. Almost all traditional white-collar jobs were now exported overseas. America in 2010 was a true service economy. The only jobs were clerical and cashier positions that barely paid above minimum wage. Worst of all, there had been so many layoffs as jobs left the country that almost all existing jobs were part-time with no benefits. Most people had to work two or three jobs just to pay the bills.
The Chattersby Company was an unusual organization in many ways. Its location was in a small town in western Arizona. This was lucky for the local people because jobs were scarce, competition for them was fierce and Chattersby offered employment for many. Some people felt the company located in the town just to take advantage of the situation - people would work for low wages and they would never complain about the way they were treated.
Chattersby was also unusual in the product it offered - contract secretarial services. Other firms would use Chattersby to handle document generation (known in the old days as "taking dictation" and "typing"). Executives at companies without the burden of their own clerical staff would call in to dictate letters, just as if the clerks were in the "outer office". And once documents were generated, copies of them needed to be "filed" for posterity. To provide these services, Chattersby had a large, old-fashioned "Secretarial Pool" where the majority of its employees worked.
Chattersby didn't take any shortcuts with these services. The employees, known by the old-fashioned terms of secretaries and filing clerks, actually typed letters on old-fashioned typewriters obtained very cheaply from companies that were fully computerized. Copies were made with carbon paper and the copies were put in filing cabinets. This inefficient way of working necessitated a fairly large staff of secretaries and filing clerks, with a correspondingly large staff of supervisors.
Another unusual touch was that all the secretaries and filing clerks were female (typically young and very pretty) and all the supervisors were men (typically lecherous). In keeping with the old-fashioned theme, the clerical staff had to dress in office wear of the 1970s - white blouses and black skirts or pretty dresses. Accessories were also important to the scene - high heels, hosiery (stockings and garter belts were preferred over pantyhose), lacy slips and other feminine touches were required if a clerk was to be promoted to secretary and a secretary was to keep her job. New employees were somewhat put off by the dress code (especially since the men didn't seem to feel the need to wear suits and ties) but, with jobs scarce and the pay relatively generous, Chattersby had no trouble keeping a full staff.
The male supervisors (known formally as Bosses) prided themselves on their supervisory capabilities. Chattersby had a elaborate "performance review" system and employees were reviewed quarterly. The review would evaluate the employee's actual work (number of letters typed, accuracy in filing, etc) as well as several intangible categories such as teamwork, promptness, attendance and conformance to company policies.
Getting a bad review could mean dismissal. Many other seemingly minor infractions of company rules could also mean dismissal. Stealing offices supplies for use at home was considered very serious. Damaging any company property was a serious offense. Spending too much time at a coffee break was very bad. Sneaking a cigarette in the ladies room was also very bad. The secretaries and filing clerks had to really toe the line to keep their jobs.
Of course, there were no government agencies available to arbitrate an unfair dismissal for either performance problems or petty rule infractions. However, during a visit to "The Room" where offenses were discussed, the offender was usually given a choice - face dismissal with no chance of being rehired or suffer a company sponsored punishment. With the job market like it was, most employees chose punishment over dismissal.
The reader can probably guess that Bosses found many reasons to threaten dismissal, whether as part of a performance review or for a real or trumped up rules infraction. As a matter of fact, the Chattersby Company had a formal Hall of Punishment suitably sized and equipped for carrying out the punishments that were accepted.
Most punishments took the form of public restraint, discomfort and humiliation. The Hall of Punishments was actually the wide main hallway in the building, connecting restrooms, the cafeteria, Bosses offices, the secretarial pool and filing rooms. There was a lot of traffic in the hallway, especially Bosses on their supervisory rounds. A punishee was restrained in cleverly designed equipment and forced to suffer all manner of embarrassment. This would occur over an hour or more depending on the severity of the offense and the sufferers were exposed to anyone in the hallway. Punishments were always timed to include lunch hour, so everyone got a chance to witness the punishment.
Which is a long way of explaining why Chrissy was more than a little nervous. Chrissy was a Level 2 Filing Clerk and was desperately trying to get promoted to Secretary. Filing clerks were on their feet all day long and being in high heels was a real killer. Since secretaries were able to sit down while they typed, that was a much more desirable job. Besides the pay was a little better.
Chrissy had been with Chattersby for about a year and had a hard time getting promoted from Level 1 Filing Clerk to Level 2. She tried real hard but always seemed flustered and clumsy. Since she was very pretty with long blonde hair, she seemed to attract more supervisory attention than other clerks. Her first Chattersby punishment was for that very reason.
She was busily filing letters a week or so after she started working there and was in the filing room. The bosses kept a nice leather easy chair in the filing room so they could closely supervise the newer clerks. Chrissy wore a short, low cut dress to work that day, trying to impress the bosses. She was surprised to find that almost all the letters she was given to file were either destined for the bottom drawers (requiring her to lean over) or for the top drawers (requiring her to stand on tiptoes and reach high over the drawer with the obvious consequences). Boss Frank was paying very close attention to her activities and made Chrissy very embarrassed. She politely asked Boss Frank to please stop looking up her skirt.
Of course, correcting a Boss was very bad behavior and she was immediately taken to The Room. Her options were explained to her and she reluctantly chose "punishment". She knew that if she was fired, her husband would be very unhappy and he had interesting punishments of his own.
So, after only a week the job, she found herself in the Hall of Punishments, standing on a wooden block with her hands tied behind her back and pulled up high behind her in a very uncomfortable position for two hours. Naturally, this allowed anyone passing by to look up her skirt or down her top with very little effort. Many bosses paid her a visit that day.
Today was her quarterly review and she had been summoned to The Room and told to wait in The Chair (the process was very formalized with ominous names for everything). The employee chair was a straight-backed wooden chair that was not very comfortable. Employees usually had to wait for a time for the Boss to show up and were expected to sit very quietly with a proper posture (ankles crossed, hands folded in their lap, sitting very straight). It was rumored that there were hidden cameras in The Room and a punishment could be given for poor sitting technique.
Eventually, Boss Frank came in and got comfortable in the fancy desk chair reserved for Bosses. He had Chrissy's Permanent Record with him and spent some time reading through it. The folder contained past performance reviews, punishment history and photos of the punishments she had endured. He seemed to be spending a lot of time in the photo section, but Chrissy maintained a proper posture and said nothing.
"Well, Chrissy, it looks like you've been doing better recently at your filing duties. Your error rate has gone down quite a bit since your last punishment but Boss John has noted a disturbing trend lately. He was watching you last week and says that you were acting very funny. Does Boss John bother you?"
"No, Boss Frank, Sir," Chrissy responded. It sounded like a trap to get her to say something bad about Boss John.
"It seems that Boss John was checking the file cabinets after you left and found that about half of the letters you filed were in the file folders upside down. Do you have any explanation for this?"
"I'm sorry, Boss Frank, Sir. I didn't think it mattered very much which way the letters were facing. I'll be very careful from now on." Chrissy had a bad feeling about this.
"Chrissy, EVERYTHING matters very much at the Chattersby Company. We are a service company and proper service is the only thing we do. Every service we perform is very important and it is a serious matter to do each service correctly. What if a customer came in for an audit and found his important letters stuck in folders helter- skelter? I don't think he would be very impressed, do you?"
"No, Sir. I'm very sorry. Please forgive me, I'll never do it again"
"Chrissy, your record shows that you continue to make serious mistakes like this no matter how much we work with you."
Boss Frank has a funny leer when he said "work with you".
"I'm afraid we're going to have to dismiss you. It's a shame, too, because you seem to try so hard."
Chrissy knew that this was her cue. It was either be fired or beg for an alternative.
"Please, Boss Frank, Sir, I'll do anything if you don't fire me. I love working here so much and I think you're a wonderful boss. Isn't there anything I can do to get you to reconsider your decision?"
"Chrissy, we've been down this route before. We've had a lot of discussions about this and you have had quite a few punishments since you've been here and nothing seems to help. I can't see any alternative but to fire you."
Chrissy began to cry. She was surprised that Boss Frank was being so hard. "Please, Boss Frank, Sir, I need this job so badly. Please, please, let me stay. I've been very bad. I want to be punished. I'll do anything."
Boss Frank was clearly enjoying this. "OK, Chrissy, I guess we can try one more time. We'll think of a suitable punishment. It won't be pleasant. And this is your last chance."
"Oh, thank you Boss Frank, Sir. I promise I will be good from now on."
"It's almost lunch time. We better get started or we'll miss the lunchroom traffic. Stand up, turn around and cross your wrists behind your back."
Chrissy knew that punishment started with being bound, collared and sometimes gagged in The Room. She would then be led out through the secretarial pool to the Hall of Punishments on a leash so that everyone would know she was being punished. It was all part of the humiliation.
Each boss had his own favorite way of binding the errant employee. Boss Frank favored a rope wrist tie - it was more personal than handcuffs or leather restraints. Frank went to a filing cabinet, opened the top drawer labeled Corrections and took out a length of light green rope.
"I'm choosing this light green rope to match your dress, Chrissy. I hope you appreciate that."
"Thank you, Boss Frank, Sir."
Chrissy was wearing a simple pale green printed dress that fit loosely and ended below her knees. She was hoping that it wouldn't give the bosses a chance to ogle her as much as they did when she wore shorter skirts and dresses. Since she felt more covered in this dress, she had chosen some nice lacy underwear this morning - a fancy satin slip with luxurious lace trim, matching frilly panties and garter belt and white stockings with a lacy top. Her husband always appreciated it when she wore outfits like this so she could do a sexy striptease when they were home alone.
She stood and faced away from Boss Frank with her wrists crossed behind her. Chrissy shivered when he touched her arm and began wrapping the rope. She always seemed to get a little turned on when she was tied up and she began to get a flush. This added to her embarrassment, especially when the other girls saw her. They knew what this meant (many of them were also turned on by bondage and felt the same way).
Frank folded the rope in half to form a loop and snuggly wrapped the looped end around her wrists vertically three times. He then took the loose ends, fed them through the loop and cinched the binding by wrapping the loose ends horizontally. He made a neat knot on the back of the binding were her fingers could not reach it.
This was a very effective tie. The cross-cinched binding prevented her from moving her arms very much - she had to hold them with her wrists crossed at a 90-degree angle in the middle of her back. She was glad he didn't tie her palm-to-palm since that usually led to having her elbows tied together to make things secure. She didn't like the way an elbow tie made her arch her back and stick out her breasts. She struggled and twisted a little bit to test the bindings, just as anyone does when they are bound. The binding was secure.
Boss Frank then took a heavy leather collar out of the file cabinet. This was placed on Chrissy's neck and locked from behind. It wasn't a true posture collar but was high enough and snug enough to make her hold her head upright with little room for movement. A four-foot long chain was then locked to the front D-ring. The chain was her leash and had a nice leather handle at the other end.
"I noticed in your record that you prefer to be gagged during punishments. I don't know why I'm being so nice, but I'll gag you this time."
He removed a large red ball gag from the drawer and held it at Chrissy's lips. She knew that once it was in, she had no chance of pleading for mercy or complaining about the punishment to come. But she also didn't like to have other people ask her questions when she was being led to the Hall of Punishments and being punished and a gag pretty much prevented that since she couldn't very well answer. So she said, "Thank you, Boss Frank, Sir" and cautiously opened her mouth.
Boss Frank pushed the ball in. It always surprised Chrissy how big the ball seemed. She thought that by know her jaw muscles would be stretched enough for it to be comfortable (her husband also used a gag on her when he was feeling frisky). She felt the strain on her jaw and moaned a little as Frank moved her long hair aside and securely buckled the gag strap behind her neck. When he was done, Chrissy tossed her head to straighten out her hair so it hung straight down her back and somewhat hid the wrist bindings.
"Maybe being tied won't be so obvious," she thought. It was a silly thought and she knew it. But what's the point of having long hair if you can't toss it once in a while?
"Let's go. Everyone is waiting," Frank said as he picked up the leash and gave her a tug. She had worn high heels that day and stumbled a bit when he tugged her leash but quickly caught her balance and submissively followed him out into the secretary's room. Her high heels clicked loudly on the hard floor announcing their arrival.
As they entered, everyone turned to look and a few pointed at her. All the bosses stopped their supervisory activities and came over to the main aisle to appreciate Boss Frank's latest review victim. Frank walked from boss to boss, leading his charge. All the bosses congratulated him and discussed how much good it would do Chrissy to be corrected. Some even suggested their favorite punishment for Chrissy's mistake.
Chrissy tried to look straight ahead and ignore all the attention. She could feel her face getting very flushed as bosses commented and secretaries and clerks whispered about her plight. Some of the bosses' suggestions for punishment scared her but it also gave her a thrill to think about how it would feel. She could feel herself getting turned on and that embarrassed her even more.
They slowly worked their way through the pool and out into the main hallway. It was lunch time now and the hallway was crowded. By now, everyone knew about Chrissy and they were standing around to see what was in store for her.
As they got to the punishment area, Chrissy saw that two other clerks were also being punished today. Some company would be nice even though they would not be able to speak to one another. A gag was almost always used during punishments except when it was felt that the punishment would be enhanced if the girl could plead or beg. For example, spanking or forced orgasms were some activities that elicited a lot of enjoyable begging.
Sandy was strapped to the Scarecrow Post (three hours for smoking in the ladies room). This device looked fairly tame but would wear on a girl after awhile. The scarecrow post was a simple T-shaped cross with a small platform at the bottom. The platform could be raised or lowered with a crank in the back. At the start of the punishment, a stool was put at the foot of the device and the victim stood against the main post with her arms extended out from her shoulders along the crossbar. Leather straps then secured her wrists to the ends of the crossbar (notches were cut in the back of the crossbar to position the straps and keep them from moving inward).
Once her arms were secured, she then stepped off the stool onto the adjustable platform and the platform was lowered until there was sufficient tension in her arms to keep them straight. The platform was just wide and long enough for a pair of high-heeled shoes, forcing her to keep her heels against the main post (unless she felt like hanging by her wrists, which few did). Sometimes her ankles were strapped to the post; sometimes the victim would be free to move her legs any way she wanted.
The overall effect was very striking. The girl was forced into an erect posture that nicely displayed her charms for all to see. She was forced to arch her back since the post was right behind her and this displayed her breasts nicely, especially in the thin, silky white blouses that were favored by the bosses. Since the cross put her off balance, especially in high heels, she had to balance the tension in her arms with her leg muscles. This caused a lot of strain and became very uncomfortable after awhile.
Sandy was two hours into her time and was constantly shifting her position as much as she could. She would slump a little to take pressure off her feet, but that greatly increased the strain in her arms. She would try to stand on tiptoes to rest her wrists and shoulders, but she could maintain that for very long. Sometimes she just hung her head and moaned. She had on a lovely long- sleeved white blouse that was thin enough to teasingly show off her lacy white bra. Her nipples had become hard for some reason and this delighted the onlookers. Her skirt was short, black and thin enough to show a hint of garters underneath and nicely defined her straining leg muscles. Red high heels and a red belt completed her outfit. It was very pretty sight.
Karron was across the hall from Sandy and was positioned in a low pillory (two hours for wasting carbon paper). She was wearing a yellow shirtwaist dress that had a very full skirt. A very nice touch was a full crinoline with layers of lacy chiffon ruffles. In her bent over position, the crinoline was fully exposed and outlined her panties, garters and stockings beautifully. Her long hair was a blessing because it had fallen around her face and she couldn't see who was watching her.
The pillory was a simple and secure device that inflicted its own style of discomfort after a short time. Luckily, Karron wasn't wearing high heels or it could have been much worse. As it was, she was constantly shifting and twisting to try to ease the ache in her back and legs. She would mumble behind her gag in frustration and this caused the watching crowd much pleasure.
But our story is about Chrissy, who was waiting patiently, since she had no other choice. She had been taken to the Suspension Station and was now kneeling before Boss Frank with her leash chain fastened to a eye bolt in the floor, preventing her from looking up. Boss Frank was informing the crowd of Chrissy's error and was getting to the specific punishment.
"Chrissy was of the impression that filing letters right side up or upside down didn't matter very much. As we all know, this is simply not true. Chrissy will the suspended by her ankles for one hour to show her the important difference between the two."
The secretaries and filing clerks watching gasped at the magnitude of the punishment. Surely, hanging upside down for that long would be horrible. The watching bosses gave Frank a round of applause. Chrissy simply moaned behind her gag and shivered in dread.
Boss Frank went behind the kneeling girl and took two heavy leather cuffs from the assortment of suspension equipment displayed on the wall. He fastened these tightly around Chrissy's ankles and locked them securely. The cuffs had a thinner strap that was locked under her instep, securing her shoes in place. Boss Frank then gently laid Chrissy on her side, still chained by her collar to the floor. She squirmed a little to get her bound arms out from under her side.
Boss Frank then took the hoist controls and lowered the hook down to the suspension cuffs and connected them up. He thoughtfully asked Chrissy if she was ready.
A gag-muffled "Umm-huh" sounded like a positive response so the hoist was started. The upward motion was very slow.
As soon as the slack was taken out of the hoist chain, Chrissy's shoes came off the floor, unbalancing her. She rolled over onto her stomach to take pressure off her arms. As the hoist slowly rose, nothing much dramatic happened until the hoist was high enough to pull her knees off the floor. This started to arch her back so she squirmed around some more until she was on her back lying on her arms. She moaned a little as she tried to get her arms comfortable.
With Chrissy on her back, her legs were now raised up at an angle. This in turn caused her dress to slide up (or down in this case) her legs, exposing her knees and a bit of her lacy slip. She had the sudden thought that she might not end up as well covered by her long dress as she thought she would. As the winch continued its slow rise, her suspicions were confirmed.
Soon her legs were raised even higher and her dress slid down to her waist, exposing her lacy slip fully. The smooth, shiny material also started to slide down, exposing her lacy stocking tops and garters. She frantically tried to use her hands to grab her clothes and hold them in a more modest location but the secure wrist bindings didn't give her much freedom. She managed to grab the back hem of her dress and hold it against her thighs.
The hoist slowly rose and now pulled her bottom off the floor. Her legs were almost straight in the air now and her dress and slip were bunched at her waist. Her panties, garters and stockings were in plain sight and were causing quite a stir in the crowd. Chrissy began to mumble frantically behind her gag, making sounds like she wasn't as ready as she thought she was earlier.
More hoisting action raised her up higher so now only her shoulders and head were on the floor and her legs and torso were almost straight up. The front of her dress and slip had now fallen past her panties and exposed her stomach. She still held on to the rear of her dress, so she was still covered a bit from behind. But she was definitely giving the crowd quite an eyeful.
As the hoisting continued, her shoulders came off the floor and she was fully suspended. She kept her neck bent forward and looked up at her body hanging in the air. Her dress and slip were now down to her neck exposing the bottom of her bra. She thought if she could just hang on to the rear of her dress, she would not be exposed any further.
Just when she had that thought, the slack came out of her leash (still hooked to the eye bolt in the floor) and the sudden tug on her neck caused her to lower her head and loose her grip on the rear of her dress. This was a disaster for her because now her dress and slip fell completely down around her head, only kept from coming completely off because her arms were bound behind her back.
She screamed ineffectually behind her gag and wriggled frantically from her ankles, twisting and spinning a little. At this point, Boss Frank stopped the hoist. There was a little slack left in her leash, but not enough that she could raise her head from the vertical. Her struggling had caused her dress and lacy slip to completely cover her head. All that could be seen was her long blond hair hanging from under her dress and laying in a beautiful pile on the floor under her.
Stepping back, she was quite a sight. Long legs covered in silky white stockings hanging straight from the hoist led down to her satin covered hips. Her garter belt was stretched nicely from under her panties. Her slip and dress hung from her shoulders, exposing her lacy pushup bra with her breasts almost coming out of it. Her movements caused her to slowing turn back and forth, giving a lovely show to all who watched.
Chrissy could do nothing except moan in humiliation and discomfort. Blood was slowly building up pressure in her head and her ears were pounding. She was also feeling strangely aroused and tingly between her legs. She thought about what would happen if someone touched her there - maybe she would enjoy it. What would an orgasm be like hanging upside down and helpless? She wondered how it would feel if her vibrating dildo was inside her and shivered at the thought of it. She thought maybe she would have to experiment with her husband.
She thought about hanging there for an hour (how long had it been already - 30 minutes?). She surely had to agree that there was quite an important difference between right side up and up side down. Boss Frank was right.
