The Bet - Chapter 55 (Thursday – week 8 Part 7 of 9)

The Bet

By Karen Singer

Chapter 55 (Thursday – week 8 Part 7 of 9)

     It was break time and Robin was still a bit undecided over what she was going to do about Sissy.  She really wanted to make him go.  It would be so funny!  But she dared not.  She knew with a certainty that she couldn’t do it.  Not as long as he was wearing that silly and all too precious outfit.  No, she was just going to have to make another excuse and hope that none of the women decided to come down afterwards to see him for themselves… which the more she thought about it, the more likely it sounded. 

     She stared down at him on her cubicle floor, once again playing with the paper dolls.  Ridiculous!  And in that dress with that bow in his hair, he looked like such a parody of a little girl it was crazy.  She really did love his dress!  It really was gorgeous!  And evidently, he had several more that were similar.  She wondered what they looked like.  Did they have matching shoes too? 

     Yes, the ladies would all die to see him in that outfit.  They’d all have a major fit over him.  And she would love so much to see it that she was almost convinced to make him go.  Unfortunately, she still dared not.  Not unless he volunteered to go himself… which was very unlikely.

     It was such a shame that Derek had been so huffy about her ideas.  But she guessed she couldn’t blame him.  But oh well, she didn’t want to put an end to any of those rumors anyway, she was enjoying them way too much – in light of what she was doing with Sissy. 

      “Sissy,” she said to get his attention.  She waited till he was looking up at her.  She nearly giggled at the pacifier stuck in his mouth.  “I think it would be a good idea for you to go to break this afternoon.”

     Chad was horrified.  A good idea?  Not at all!  He got to his feet as quickly as he could, fumbling past the net skirts to do it.  He didn’t even think about it as his hand plucked his pacifier from his mouth.  He curtseyed.  “No Robin, please…” he whined in his stupid lisping sissy voice.  “I can’t.  I really can’t!  Not today.  Please…”  The final ‘s’ sound of the word ‘please’ was nothing but a drawn out hissing ‘th’ sound.  He stood there desperately waiting for Robin to reply, but he finally realized she was waiting on him.  Pacifier back, curtsey, back down on the floor like an idiot.

      “But that dress is simply too beautiful to keep hidden back here.  Just think how much everyone would love seeing it.”

     Everyone seeing it was just what horrified him the most – whether they would “love” seeing it or not!  Back to his feet, curtsey, pacifier.  “But Robin… I can’t!  I just can’t!  Please!” he begged.  Pacifier, silly curtsey, back to the floor like a baby.

     Robin shook her head.  “I guess… maybe I’ll let it pass today.  But don’t expect me to be this lenient in the future!”  She was totally stern on the outside, but giggling on the inside.  She knew he wouldn’t want to go.  Even though it was such a shame.  The others really would die over his outfit!

      “Now I have to go to break and figure out what to tell everybody since they’re all asking to see you.  In the meantime, what do we do about you?  Do I need to tie you up again to make you stay there?”

     Chad jumped to his feet and curtseyed before plucking his pacifier out of his mouth.  “No Robin, I’ll stay right here!  I promise!”  Pacifier, curtsey, down.

     She already was fairly certain he wouldn’t go anywhere.  She nodded. “Very well, as long as you promise, let’s see if for once you can be trusted… although from everything I’ve seen about you so far, that’s going to be a long shot!”

     Stand up, curtsey, pacifier.  “I’m not going anywhere!  I promise!” he repeated somewhat enthusiastically since she was letting him stay behind.  Pacifier, curtsey, down again.

     Robin nodded as if she didn’t believe it.  “In the meantime, I guess we better keep you busy.”  She pulled another bottle of formula out of his diaper bag and set it on the desktop.  She was about to give it to him, but she changed her mind.  “Stand up,” she ordered.

     Chad got to his feet. 

      “Now curtsey.”

     Chad curtseyed as instructed.

      “Now remove your pacifier.”

     Chad pulled his pacifier out of his mouth.

      “Now promise me you’ll be a good baby girl.”

      “I pwomith to be a good baby giuw,” Chad said in his stupid sissy voice.

      “Put your pacifier back in your mouth.

     Chad did as ordered.

      “Curtsey.”

     Chad curtseyed.

      “Now get back down on the floor.”

     Chad immediately got back down to the floor again.  What was that all about?  He had been doing it just that way every time he opened his mouth.

      “Now do it again, just like that.”

     Once again Chad got up and went through the exact same routine before getting down again. 

      “Good.  I’m going to break now.  I expect that bottle to be finished as soon as possible.  I don’t intend on staying as long as we usually do since I’m not in the mood to answer a lot of questions about why you’re not there.  So as soon as you finish that bottle, I expect you to practice standing and saying that you promise to be a good baby girl over and over and over again.  When I come back, I’m going to stop at your cubicle instead and I better hear you practicing and practicing and practicing – nonstop!  Got that?  Don’t let me hear you not practicing or you’re going to be parading that beautiful outfit of yours all over this building until I’m sure that everyone has seen you in it!  Got that?”

     Chad was shaking a bit.  Over and over and over again?  But he got to his feet and went through his usual routine.  “Yeth Wobin,” he agreed in his stupid sissy voice before going through it all to get back down to the floor.

      “Yes what?” Robin asked. 

     Chad had to get to his feet, curtsey, and remove his pacifier.  “I promise to be a good baby girl,” he said before putting his pacifier back in his mouth, curtseying, and getting back down on the floor. 

     Robin smiled slyly.  “Just… like… that!  Every time!  And I promise I’m going to be checking!” With that, she turned and walked out. 

     Chad wasn’t at all happy about what she was making him do, but at least he didn’t have to go to break today.  Plus… at least she wasn’t making him stand out in the hallway and do it like she sometimes did!  He grabbed his bottle and put it to his mouth.  He didn’t have to go to break!  Relief!

     Derek got up from his desk.  Damn Robin!  Damn women in general!  Stupid rumors!  That’s all they were, was stupid rumors.  But the damn women couldn’t seem to get reality into their pea sized brains!  To them, the idiotic rumors were reality. 

     Well, it was time to put a stop to it all!  He made his way to the elevator and rode down with several women. He couldn’t help but notice that the topic of their conversation concerned Sissy and what he might be wearing.  He didn’t care what Sissy was wearing.  They could talk about that all they liked!  He just didn’t want them slandering him! 

     Like a gentleman, he allowed the women to exit the elevator first and he followed them all the way into the break room.  The room was mostly full already.  His eyes immediately went to the women’s usual table as he headed straight for it.  He saw Robin just sitting down, but he didn’t see Sissy… not that he really cared.  That table, with or without Sissy, was where he needed to concentrate his efforts… or ire!  Let them know how unhappy he was about it all!

      “So where’s Sissy?” one of the women asked Robin before she could even sit down. 

     Robin saw all of them looking at her expectantly.  Out of the corner of her eye, she also noticed Derek heading straight for them.  “Well, he’s…”  Before she dared say anything else, she decided to see what Derek would do.  She stopped talking and looked up at him as he approached.  She smiled as he stopped at the table.  “Hi Derek,” she said in a somewhat mocking voice.

     Derek looked at her.  Damn the woman!  But he thought once again about how she probably did have the power to squelch all the rumors about him quickly.  Damn her!  Instead of giving all of the women the tongue lashing he had been practicing in his head, different words came out instead.  But as he said them, his eyes never once left Robin.  His voice was pure kindness, but his eyes staring at Robin said something else altogether.  “Hi ladies,” he said, trying to sound casual and nice – despite how he felt.  “I know you were all looking forward to seeing Sissy this afternoon, but I’m afraid I needed him to take care of something important for me… kind of real quick.  So if you miss him, don’t blame him… or Robin,” he managed to force Robin’s name out without spitting too badly, “blame me instead.  Sorry, but I really needed his help.  Okay?” 

     Had he really done that?  Had he really given Robin and Sissy and excuse for Sissy not being there?  Damn the woman!  Why didn’t he just yell at them all like he planned to?  Before he could say… or do… something he might really regret, he walked off toward the coffee pots.

     Robin was totally gleeful inside.  He had done it!  He had done exactly what she wanted him to.  “Excuse me ladies,” she said quickly as she got up and went over to stand next to Derek while he poured himself some coffee.  “Thank you,” she said somewhat sincerely, but also with a bit of mischievousness in her voice. 

      “Don’t thank me!” Derek growled softly as he poured his coffee.  “I shouldn’t have done it!”

     Robin just smiled.  “And to think your wife divorced you.  Strange.  You really would make a good husband.  You already know enough to do what a woman asks.”

     The look Derek gave her left no doubt as to his anger.

      “Just kidding!” Robin said quickly.  “Just kidding!  You know I appreciate what you just did for me.”

      “Now will you please kill those damn rumors?  Set them straight?”

      “Not till tomorrow…” Robin said teasingly.  “Like I said, not till tomorrow.  And especially not before you do the other little thing I asked for.”

      “Not on your life!” Derek growled softly, but menacingly.  “Not on your life!”

     Robin just smiled.  “We’ll just have to see how you feel about it tomorrow then.  In the meantime, I wonder just what kind of rumors I can start about you and Sissy now that you’ve said you have him doing something for you.  Especially since he doesn’t even work for you.”  With a teasing wink, she quickly walked away before he actually did hit her… or worse.  Men!  Sometimes they were just too easy!

      “So Robin,” one of the women asked as she sat back down.  “What’s going on?”

     Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek walking out of the break room.  He didn’t exactly look happy but she didn’t care.  She was happy.  She turned to the woman who had asked the question.  “What’s going on?  What do you think?”

     Stand up.  Pull out the pacifier.  Curtsey.  “I promise to be a good baby girl.”  Pacifier back.  Curtsey.  Down on the floor.  Talk about monotonous!   And Robin wasn’t even there!  Why was he bothering?  She had said she would be back from break early.  But he didn’t really believe her.  She was just saying that to make sure he did what she wanted.  But did he dare not do it?  He went through the routine again, his voice saying the words sounded nothing but bored.  Why was he bothering if she wasn’t there?

     Before he went through it again, he glanced at the time.  There was still more than ten minutes before she would even be leaving the break room.  He got to his feet, but instead of curtseying or doing anything else, he cautiously looked out into the hallway.  Nobody there.  Why was he bothering.  He decided to take a break for a few minutes and maybe start again just before he expected her back.

      “I don’t hear you!” Robin’s voice lashed from over top of the wall between them.

     Startled, Chad immediately pulled the pacifier out of his mouth and went through his routine again.  And again, and again, and again.  But Robin wasn’t making an appearance.  He was doing it yet again when she called over the wall, “you don’t sound like you mean it!  Say it so I know you really will try to be good!”

     Chad was forced to put a little more effort in the way he said the words.  He thought he heard a small giggle from the other side of the wall, but it could have been his imagination.  What was she doing over there anyway?  That was his desk, not hers!  He went through the routine again… and again… and again…

     Robin was surfing the sales on the internet.  She had come back quietly and simply went into his cubicle instead of hers.  The fact that he had stopped for so long that one time told her that he probably couldn’t be trusted any more than a child yet.  It was a good thing she was making him do it.  Maybe eventually he’d get the message to do as he was told!  Maybe!

     As his voice droned on in the background, and the sales scrolled by on the screen, her mind played back what had happened in the break room.  She was very surprised that Derek had agreed to go along with her request.  Very surprised!  But would he go along with the rest of it?  Somehow she very much doubted that.  But then… he did actually do what she had asked of him for today.  So would he tomorrow?  She’d just have to wait and see. 

     But one thing was for sure, tomorrow afternoon, no matter how Sissy was dressed, he was going to have to show up in the break room!  Like it… or not!

     Mel sat back in her chair and relaxed.  Now that she had taken care of her little responsibility as far as Feinbaum’s contract was concerned, she felt nothing but relief.  So much stress seemed to have suddenly left her.  She still worried that she might have missed something, but she had read the thing very carefully from start to finish and couldn’t find one thing out of order.

     She was also feeling somewhat good because Gloria had agreed to act as a judge for their bet.  Yes, Gloria had some strict conditions, but that was fine.  She had already called Cassie and Sandy and warned them to expect a call from Gloria.  Andrea she had told as soon as she got back from lunch. But she had delayed in calling Robin because she wanted to wait a bit so she could ask how the day went for her and Sissy.  But the day had droned on long enough now.  She picked up her cell phone and dialed Robin’s number.  The phone rang longer than she expected it to, but Robin answered before she actually gave up.

      “Hello?” Robin’s somewhat breathless voice answered.

     Mel figured she must have hurried to get back to her phone.  “Hi Robin, it’s Mel.  I was just checking to see how everything went today?”  Was that Sissy’s voice she heard in the background?  What was he talking about?

      “Wait a minute,” Robin replied as she went out in the hallway and started walking further away from Sissy’s little practice session.  “Okay.  Sorry about that.  I just wanted to get away where we could talk easier.”

      “So what’s going on?” Mel asked.  “Was that him I heard when you answered the phone?”

      “Yeah.  I’ve got him practicing curtseying before and after he talks again.  He’s got nothing better to do right now so when he’s not drinking from his bottles, he’s practicing.”  She giggled.  He really does look ridiculous!  And I’m loving every minute of it!”

     Mel smiled.  She had no doubt that he looked ridiculous.  And once again she wished she could be there to see it.  It also clued her in as to why Sissy was curtseying more than she required lately… which she wasn’t about to put a stop to.  “Listen Robin, while I’ve got you on the phone, I just wanted to warn you that Gloria is probably going to call.  I finally managed to convince her to be one of the judges too, but she had some requirements of her own before she said yes.”

      “Requirements?”

      “Yeah, but they all sound like ones that you’ll probably be very happy about.  I’ll let her tell you though.”

      “Okay,” Robin replied cautiously.  “So now there are five of us judging?”

      “Yes.  That will be a much better number I think. No ties that way.”

      “Sounds fine with me.  I’ll wait to hear form her.”

      “So, no problems today?”

      “Not really.  I’m starting to look forward to what you’re going to have him wear tomorrow though.  Can you give me a clue?”

      “I don’t really know yet,” Mel replied.  “Actually, I may just let him decide tomorrow.”

     Robin was somewhat disappointed.  Well, it was probably for the best if he wore something more “normal” tomorrow.  She needed him in the break room!  “Okay, Mel.  I understand.  You still going to be there to pick him up at quitting time?”

      “I should be.  I don’t see anything that should delay me right now.”

      “Okay.  I’ll have him change just before that so he’ll be ready.”

     Mel thought about that for a moment.  “No, don’t bother.  Make him stay in that dress.  But tell you what, I’ll delay getting there for a little while.  Tell him I’ll call him when I get outside.  In that dress, I imagine he should come running quick enough.”

     Robin giggled.  “No doubt he’ll run!  What about the bag of clothes you packed for him.”

      “Keep it there.  You don’t even have to tell him about it.  He can bring it back home with him tomorrow when he leaves.”

      “You’re really going to make him walk out to your car in that dress?” Robin giggled.  I may cancel going to the gym just to see it.

      “You may not want to bother.  I’ll probably wait a good twenty or thirty minutes before I pick him up.  If your company is like most others, everybody pretty much clears out in the first five minutes.”

      “Sometimes it seems like it,” Robin agreed, “but with some of these techs here they have to stay longer.  No doubt, somebody will see him!”

      “If that’s the case, then I may not wait as long.  If he’s going to be seen in that dress, then at least it will only be as he’s hurrying out.”

     Robin giggled.  “I may definitely wait around then.”