Duty

Was she tired? Yes, she was. She was very tired, but she still dragged her body up. She was a woman and a wife; it was her duty to get everything ready for the day and as it was for all women of Vippon, duty was everything for Yukiko.

Yukiko rubbed her eyes and looked at the time of the small clock she shared with her sister. There was no alarm as that a clock like that would cost more but years of getting up at 5am in the morning has given Yukiko an internal body alarm that worked better than any clock.

Pulling her blanket away, Yukiko stood up and quickly went for her clothes. Her husband was a tradition man so his wives always slept naked even if it was in the dead of winter, even if it wasn’t her night to sleep with him. Yukiko put on her panties, underpants, and bra in a hurry. These were quickly followed by her winter kimono. Much thicker than her summer clothes, it was a necessary expense for the cold winter of Vippon but Yukiko couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at the money wasted for her comfort.

She then tied up her hair tightly in a bun before putting on her hoodveil. Most foreigners think the hoodveil was a garment that just wrap around the head, covering the face but leaving only her eyes visible. However the head covering was actually 2 pieces of three-foot fabric which were tied securely around the head. One of the cloth was tied on top of the head covering the hair and was tied to the second piece of cloth which cover the lower face as well as the neck area. Combine together, the 2 cloths totally covered the whole face outside the small area near the eyes.

Usually, Yukiko would put on the hoodveil first before her kimono but in winter, it was the other way around. Yukiko tied her kimono with a simple obi before leaving the women room. This was the room she and Kimo shared and as per the norm, the women room was right beside the kitchen. As she left the room for the kitchen, she noticed the television was still on. Curious, she went towards the living room and noticed her husband’s son, Kato, sleeping on the couch.  Sighing silently, she shook the boy awake.

It would have been easier to just call out but as a woman, she did speak to men unless spoken to. Even if he was currently just a 13 year old boy and she knew him since he was a baby, Kato was a man. After a few seconds of shaking, Kato’s eyes opened. He looked around sleepily before quickly understanding the problem.

“Sorry”

Yukiko was glad the boy was brave enough to be embarrassed but publicly she told Kato another thing. “I’m a woman Kato. You are going to be a man in a few months, you don’t say sorry to woman.”

The boy smiled sheepishly and nodded.

“It’s still early,” Yukiko told him. “Go back to your room, your mother will wake you when it’s time.”

Kato nodded and got up. Yukiko went to close the television. After doing so, she heard a gasp and turned to the sound. At the entrance of his room, Kato met his mother. Kimo had slept with their husband last night and like Yukiko had awoke to do her womanly duties. Unfortunately, she had not veiled before coming out of the room and now for the first time in years, Kato was looking at the face of his mother.

Kimo raised her hands to her face to cover it but it was a futile gesture. Kato quickly turned and walked to his room, leaving behind 2 shocked women in his wake. Then, after the shock was over, a look of pure rage appeared on her face of Kimo. Luckily for everyone, instead of confronting her son who should not be there, Kimo proceed to stomp to the kitchen.

Yukiko followed her sister to the kitchen and gave her a few seconds to compose herself. Her sole unwed daughter, Yukio, was just getting up and she knew immediately there was trouble. However she was a smart girl and knew enough to keep quiet. Yukiko was glad. At 15, Yukio had been sleeping in the kitchen for the past 2 years getting ready for her marriage which would be arranged by her husband in a couple of years time. Knowing when to be quiet was a good trait in a wife. 

Yukiko went up to her sister and touched Kimo on the arm. Kimo took a deep breath before turning to her. Yukiko tried to keep her voice as pleasant as possible but the message still had to be given.

“Control yourself sister. In a few months, Kato will be a man and you cannot keep thinking of him as just your son. He is the heir to the Yukimura family name and will need help adjusting to his new position.”

Her sister had a look of surprise but she was a good second wife and quickly nodded. “I understand sister. It’s just…hard. I keep thinking of him as my little baby. He was such a cute baby and now…well, he’s all grown up.”

“He was a cute baby,” Yukiko assured his sister. “Now, he will be a good man. It’s as much our duty as his mothers to guide him to manhood as our husband.”

“I…understand.” Kimo finally said. “I will do what’s needed.”

Yukiko hugged her sister. In a way, she understood her sister’s pain. She had 3 daughters and the two oldest had married. It’s always hard to see children leave the nest. Kimo took another deep breath and Yukiko knew she was good to go.

After years together, the two of them had teamwork on their side and breakfast was quickly prepared. Very few words was given to Yukio. In Vippon, you traditionally learn by watching and her two mothers were masters at preparing breakfast. With breakfast ready, the three women took the food out to dining table and went for their daily morning routine.

They brushed their teeth and did their business in the toilet before taking that morning shower. To save money, the three women went into the shower together. The water was cold, warm water was only for the men, and the three women washed each other to quicken their shower. They were careful not to get their hair wet and the non-washing of their hair made the shower time even quicker. Even then, they were all shivering when they came out.

After putting on their kimonos, Yukiko looked at the time and saw that it was almost 6. All three women then proceed to put on their hoodveils. Yukiko looked at the time again and saw they still had some time. She took a quick look out of the window and the city in white. She always thought the city covered in snow a soothing scene. Then, she signaled to the other women.

The 3 women went and stood in a row in the living room. The flat the Yukimura family were staying in had 2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a storage room. Yukiko’s husband had insisted on the women having a room of their own so the storage room had been converted. Both Yukiko and Kimo had quietly suggested that they just be allowed to sleep in the kitchen with Yukio.

He refused to allow it.

The 3 women knelt and waited for the men to wake. They did not have to wait long. The alarm from their clocks rang exactly at 6am and the women bowed their heads to the ground. When the men stepped out of their rooms, the first thing they would see would be the kneeling and bowed women.

Yukiko had always wondered how the faces of the men looked like when they saw the women like this, but with her eyes to the ground she would never find out. When she heard the footsteps of the men heading to the bathroom near the kitchen, Yukiko stood. Together with Yukio, she stepped into her husband’s room. Kimo headed into her son’s room.

Making the bed was a simple chore in Vippon. Yukiko just had to clean the futon a little, untied it, folded it up and then stored it in the cabinet. Mother and daughter were soon on their way out of the room. Yukiko walked to the dining table with Yukio dutifully following a step behind. They stood near the table and waited for Kimo. Yukiko’s sister soon came out of Kato’s room and she stood between mother and daughter. Yukiko’s husband and Kato arrived at the dining table and took their seats at the table. All 3 women knelt on the floor. Although they did not bowed their heads to the ground, all 3 women kept their eyes respectfully downwards.

The men began their breakfast. A few moments later, Kimo stood up and walked to her husband’s room. At her movement, Yukiko saw her husband raised an eyebrow but she knew what her sister was doing. Kimo was soon back at the table. She knelt in front of Yukiko and Yukio and with both hands, offered a belt to their husband.

Yukiko kept her silence as Kimo explained to their husband what mistake she made and why she needed a beating. The evil glare their husband gave Kato gave Yukiko no doubt who he thought was at fault. However…

“Kato, take the belt and give your mother 10 strikes.”

Kato looked like he was just asked to kill someone. “What…me? You want me to…”

Yukiko’s husband nodded. “The woman showed you her uncovered face. The dishonour is yours so her punishment is yours as well.” Yukiko’s husband look at his son sternly. “Do your duty son.”

Kato sat there dumbly. Seconds passed and Yukiko’s husband went back to his breakfast. Faced with his father’s order, Kato stood up shakily. He stepped around the dining and went to his mother. His face showed his agony but he took the belt from the hands of his mother. Although Yukiko’s husband was a traditional man, he much prefer the belt as the house discipline tool instead of the standard bamboo cane or wooden paddle. Almost all of the women’s punishment were by the belt and Kato had learned what he should do after seeing his father doing it so many times.

He stepped behind Kimo immediately after taking the belt and Kimo bowed her head to the ground. Kato raised the belt above his head and swung. The belt hit his mother across the back. Kimo’s body reacted but she kept her dignity by neither crying out nor moving away. Part of a woman’s duty in Vippon was to accept such punishments and Yukiko knew there was no way her sister would dishonour herself. Kato raised the belt again and again swung it down.

Yukiko made a point to watch the punishment. Kato was a man now, and she knew she needed to remember this scene. Remember that if she disobey him in the future, she would be in Kimo’s place. She needed to see and remember the power the young man has over her from now on. He was no longer a baby. He was no longer a boy. He is now a man and she, a woman, must obey.

After 10 strikes, Kato stopped. He dropped the belt in front of his mother. Kimo rose her head and took the belt with both hands. She stood up and gave a deep bow to her son. Kato went back to his seat at the table and looking at his face, Yukiko knew he would never fall asleep watching television ever again.

Kimo walked back to their husband’s room to return the belt. Kimo soon returned and took her place between Yukiko and Yukio. All 3 women returned their eyes respectfully downwards. When the men finished their breakfast and got up, all 3 women bowed their heads to the ground. As the footsteps got further away, the women stood up and cleared the table. They then went back to the living room and knelt at the door of their flat.

The men stepped out of their rooms dressed for their day. Yukiko’s husband was a taxi-driver and in Vippon this meant he was dressed in a finely-pressed suit with a tie and black pants. His son was still in school and was dressed in his school uniform of a white long-sleeved shirt with a black jacket over it. In the summer, the jacket would be put aside but now it’s winter and the jacket was part of the uniform. Kato’s black pants completed the look.

As the two walked towards the door, the 3 women bowed their heads to the ground. The men sat on two stools either side of the door and Yukiko crawled to her husband. With proper respect, she kept her head low as she put on her husband’s black leather shoes. She then crawled back to her position in line. On her left, she felt Kimo crawling back in line after putting on the shoes for her son.

“Raise your head.” The 3 women did as ordered and Yukiko’s husband continued. “You all did well today. I want all of you to do the same for the rest of the day. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Sir.” The 3 women intoned as Yukiko saw her husband put on his white gloves. The men left. 

The moment the door closes again, Yukiko’s left arm went to her sister and hugged her close. Yukiko knew her husband had said the words of doing well especially for her.

“How did feel Kimo?”

“Painful,” her sister said. “But at the same time, proud. I felt so proud. My boy all grown up.”

Kimo’s face finally broke and she began sobbing. Yukiko gave her sister a shoulder to cry on. When the sobs subsided, Yukiko pulled down her faceveil showing her face to her sister. She gently pushed Kimo apart from her and pulled her veil down as well. Yukiko then gave her sister a wet kiss on the lips. When they parted, Yukiko’s words were for her daughter.

“Yukio, please start the cleaning without us. Yours mothers will be busy for the next few hours.”

Yukio giggled her acknowledgement and Yukiko pulled her sister up to her feet. Hand in hand, she led Kimo to their room. As the first wife, it was usually Kimo who serviced her but today would be different. For doing her duty so well, Yukiko knew her sister deserved a reward and Yukiko fully intend to give her one.

This too was part of a woman’s duty in Vippon.  

The Takeover- Epilogue

The restaurant was called “The Veil”. It wasn’t on a trendy street or listed as one of the top restaurants in the city. In fact, it was located off a street corner that most residents of the city would drive past without a second glance during the day.

However once every two weeks, the “real” executives of Sun Horizon have a work dinner at the restaurant and you only need one look inside it to understand why. Outside the excellent food and the Middle Eastern décor, the service there was totally in line with Sun Horizon.

The waitresses in the restaurant were all dressed in loose fitting black robes with their face covered in a niqaab. More importantly, the owner of the restaurant, who is a member of both Humble Serenity and the M.A.P, assured the executives all the secrecy and privacy they wanted with a room all to themselves. In many ways, that’s what makes the restaurant perfect for Sun Horizon.

Salim couldn’t help but think that as he wiped his mouth with the towel provided by the restaurant. Unlike the plain food and water he allowed his wives, the food in front of him was feast of meat, fish, vegetables and rice. However the dinner was now over and after the food were cleared by the ever quiet and covered waitresses, it was time for the reason of the meeting.

Sameh Mozgov was a long-time employee of Sun Horizon and like a lot of reverts he was devout in his belief of Islam. Smart, clever, loyal and religious, it had been no surprise when he was entrusted with overseeing the takeover of the company. As such, he was the one who brought the meeting to order.

“Okay, let’s begin.” Sameh addressed the group. “How are we doing with our employees so far?”

“Very well,” one of the executives said. “All the girls are obedient and the men are giving orders though it’s early days so everyone is going lite. Things might change as time passes and the men start giving stricter orders.”

“That’s to be expected though the programming and the gas should help with that.” Sameh replied.

“About that,” another executive spoke up, “The Creed is still protesting the diluted version of their gas. They say they can’t promised the men and girls won’t break their programming if we don’t use the full version of their gas.”

“Didn’t you already tell them we need the employees to actually be able to work? Their full version of the gas makes the girls into mindless bimbos!”

“I did but…well, it’s The Creed. I think Anwar Brown just prefer their girls to be mindless bimbos.”

More than a few of the executives began grumbling, Salim included. That’s the problem when you work with other groups. Although all of the groups in the alliance believe in male superiority, none of them has the same idea of what that mean or how much control they need or should imposed on the girls.

“That’s enough.” Sameh said. “Tell The Creed we are keeping a close eye on the employees as a whole and we will report any abnormalities to them. In fact, send them a copy of the Employees Conduct Report to show them how close of an eye we are keeping.”

“About our partners,” an executive Salim knew as Faizal then began. “Both Humble Serenity and Immersion are also asking for reports on how well the mind-altering program is holding.”

“Immersion?” Salim asked. “What do they want? They were only in charge of the programming of the female executives? When we got all the executives to go for the “group retreat” before the takeover, didn’t they get all the data they needed at their compound then?”

“They want more, just in case they said.” Faizal added, “I think they see this as a grand experiment on changing social behavior and just want more info for the future.”

“Which might be a good thing,” the first executive said. “Going forward, more information for them might make things easier for us.”

“Especially for Humble Serenity,” Faizal said. “They are the ones who wrote the whole orientation program. They were the ones who provided the drugs for the food and decided on how to add the gas to lower the mental defenses of the girls. Hell, even the screen projection was a joint project between them and Immersion.”

That exactly got Salim worried and he said so. “Those two groups are working very close together, maybe too close. We should keep an eye on them.”

Sameh put up a hand to stop that argument from going forward. “That’s a potential problem that’s above our pay grade. Let’s just keep our problems to the takeover only. Faizal, send them the reports we are sending to The Creed. In fact, tell all of them that’s what we are doing. No need for them to think we are playing favorites. How’s our coverage by the media and local politicians?”

“M.A.P came through on that front.” The media executive said. “They used their media network to ensure positive coverage by the local media. Some protests by feminist groups and their allies of course but they can’t get any traction with the politicians without any local outrage.”

“Which they won’t get because this is a “friendly” takeover.” Someone said and everyone laughed. The “friendly” takeover was mainly due to Immersion. Before the takeover, Sun Horizon had invited the executives of the company to a retreat. Unknown to the executives invited, the retreat was ran by Immersion. Once the retreat was done and Immersion had run their VR simulation program on them, there were no objections to the takeover.

“Okay,” Sameh said. “That’s it for today then. HQ and out partners will be pleased. It’s a good start for our alliance. Everything is going well but please remember it is still early days. Everyone do their job and keep an eye out for any problems.”

With that, the dinner was over and everyone took their leave. Salim look at the spread in front of him and wondered how his three wives were enjoying the oatmeal, biscuits and water they were having for dinner.  Salim couldn’t help but chuckled at the thought of his wives eating on their hands and knees like the bitches they were and was kind of sorry he wasn’t there to see their humiliation. There were some nights he even took a cane to their asses while they were eating to pain add to their humiliation.

“Best hurry back,” he thinks. The earlier he got back home, the more time he got to play with them. When Salim got to his car, he was already thinking about what humiliation he would be ordering his wives to do tonight. For him, it was going to be a fun and enjoyable night.  

The Takeover (Part 5)

So how was my first day under Sun Horizon? In a word; boring. Sure I must always speak of myself in the third person; there were times I had to kneel, had to serve, but all in all, it was a pretty normal day.

Problem was that I wasn’t an executive like Sylvia or Kylie, or even a secretary like Agnes. I was an office drone and after the takeover…I was still an office drone. I spent most of my day in my cubicle typing away like normal, with only my niqaab remaining me of my submission to my male co-workers. It just wasn’t enough.

So at the end of my day when I took off my uniform in the locker room, I did so with a lot of regrets. It wasn’t a bad day but I was missing something. Something that would take my joy of submission to the next level.

There was however nothing I could do about it. I didn’t even know what I was missing. Luckily, someone did. I walked out of the locker room into the carpark, and my answer was there.

I saw Salim walking in the other direction with a briefcase, no doubt walking to his car. I had been avoiding him since learning he was married with 2 wives but after all those dreams…I walked towards him. As expected, he stopped and greeted me.

“Emily!” He exclaimed. “How was your first day?”

“Very well sir.” I was careful to keep my voice low and submissive.

“You look good Emily. A messy bun like that is perfect for a lowly female.”

The neat hair bun I took pains to tie this morning was now messy due to the niqaab and head-covering. Salim clearly meant this as an insult but for someone looking for a further step into submission, I felt more happy than angry at the insult.

“Thank you sir. I live to serve.”

“You feel like serving further?”

I was surprised by Salim’s question. The day was over but I remind myself he was a man and I was a female. There could only be one answer.

“Yes sir.”

“Come with me then.”

            Salim turned and started walking, certain I was going to follow. I did. As I thought, he walked to his car. He went to the back and opened the boot. I thought he was going to tell me to carry something for him back to the office. I was wrong.

            I was very wrong.

“Get in.” He said.

            I looked at him in shock but Salim just stood there. He fully expect me to get into the boot of his car. If anything, he looked a little annoyed I was taking my time deciding whether to get in. With that thought, shame overcame me.

            I was making him wait. I, a lowly female, was making a man wait for me! I immediately crawled into the boot of the car. Salim didn’t wait for me to get comfortable; he just closed the boot. I saw that there were air-holes and after the intimal surprise, had to wonder if Salim made his wives travel in the same way. I got excited by the thought. He was treating me like one of his wives!

The journey was short. I’m sure given time I would have panicked, I was in the boot of a car after all, but before I could do so, the car stopped. I heard the car door being opened and closed. Then the boot was opened.

Salim was standing there with a smirk on his face. He ordered me to get out and I did so. He closed the boot and then locked the car. Salim walked off without a second glance at me. Left with little choice, I dutifully followed.

Walking behind him, I looked around and recognized the carpark we were in. We were in his building. I drove to Salim’s place several times while we were going out and even noticed my favorite parking lot. My heart jumped when I recognized the place; Salim drove me home!

We entered the lift and went up. I walked behind Salim looking at the ground and reminded myself to be quiet. We got to his door and he opened it with a key. Once the door opened, the incense smell hit me immediately and I saw 2 pieces of cloth on the ground.

I was unsurprised by them. In fact I kind of expected them. It seems only proper that his wives would greet Salim on their hands and knees with their head bowed to the ground. I only wished to be there with them.

Salim walked in and dropped his briefcase and jacket on the ground. Only then did I notice Salim was wearing a suit. As I half-wondered how a clotheshorse like me could missed something like that, Salim sat on a stool near the door. His wives got up and I was unsurprised to see both of them were in a burqa.

One of them picked up Salim’s jacket and briefcase while the other went to Salim and began to take out his socks from his feet. I watched all this in silence. Salim then got up and signaled me to follow. We walked into the living room while one of the wives closed the door.

He sat down on a sofa. Looking at him sitting down with his legs apart, he looked like a god to me. My knees felt weak and I didn’t fight my desire to kneel before him. Even then, looking at Salim while on my knees, it didn’t feel right. I looked down at the ground and bowed my head to the floor.

I kept my head to the ground as Salim spoke something to his wives in a different language. Minutes passes and then I felt my skirt being lifted. I fought the urge to move and stayed in my position. I wasn’t told to move, so I won’t.

Then I heard a sound and that was the only warning I had before pain wreaked my body. There was a primal instinct within me to move and to get away from whatever was hurting me but…Salim didn’t tell me to move. In fact, I was certain he wanted me to stay in my position and take my punishment. I knew then what this was.

Salim was punishing me. He was punishing me for all the things I had done to him in collage and in the office. I remembered all the things I said about him and the hurt I caused when I cheated on him. Of course, he wanted to punish me. It was only natural right?

And I totally deserved it!

I knew in my heart I totally deserved the punishment and once that got into my head, the urge to move dissipated. My face was filled with tears but I stoically took the hits and resolved not to move from my spot. With my head to the floor, I didn’t even know who was hitting me or what instruments was being used, but none of that mattered.

I was not moving till Salim told me I could.

In the end, my body gave up on me. I cursed my worthless weak female body as it fell to the ground, no longer able to hold the kneeling position. My mind was willing but the pain was just too much for my body. The beating stopped and the house was silent saved for my sobbing. Through my tears, I saw Salim standing up and he spoke to the wife who was beating me. They were speaking in the foreign language and I saw the wife was holding on to a bamboo cane.

She was also looking submissive at the ground while Salim was speaking. He sound pleased. Salim then looked at me. His face had a questioning look on it and I felt my heart jumped as I looked up at him. I was not a religious person but at that moment I gave a silent prayer to Allah. Why Him when I’m not even Muslim? Well, it just seemed appropriate. My answers were answered when Salim spoke, this time in English.

“Wives, you two had done well tonight. You may both eat dinner with your hands today. No utensils of course, but you may use a plate and glass instead of your normal dog bowls.” Salim then pointed at me. “Clean her up and dress her. I’m going out for a dinner. When I get back I expect to be greeted by 3 properly dressed wives.”

My heart leapt when I heard that and I forced myself to my knees. I ignored the pain wrecking my body as I got into position and bowed my head to the floor. One of the wives then spoke;

“My lord husband, what about our newest sister? May she have dinner with us tonight?”

“Yes, but she may only eat from the dog bowls like the bitch she is. You are a bitch, aren’t you Emily?”

            I looked up at Salim and did the first thing that came to mind. I barked. I barked like the bitch Salim thought I was. He smiled and walked to the door in laughter. His wives knelt and bowed their head to the ground as their lord and master left. I followed the actions of my new sisters and never felt happier in my life!  

The Takeover (Part 4)

Rituals are important; so say the Sun Horizon Female Employee handbook. Okay, so it didn’t actually say that but it might as well because the handbook was filled with them. As a girl at the company, I’m supposed to follow all of them and I, along with all the other girls in the company, intended to do just that.

On the first official day of the takeover, I woke up earlier than I ever did for work. I awaken at 5am to brush my teeth and took a morning bath. I took pains to tie my hair in a neat bun before taking a quick breakfast. After the breakfast, I walked to the bus pick-up point near my house.

Usually I don’t do that, I do have a car, but since only men were allowed to park their vehicles in the building carpark from now on, driving to work was no longer a viable option for girls. For us, the company had a company bus to pick up and drop us off from work.

Around 6.30am, the Sun Horizon company bus arrived. I entered it after thanking the bus-driver for picking me up. There were already several girls on the bus and most of them had their hair tied up. Some had even did what I did and tied their hair were in neat buns. The attire was uniformly casual and demure. Any accessories like earrings, necklaces or watches were absent. About the only exceptions were wedding rings and a small handbag here and there.

I saw Sylvia and took a seat beside her. We smiled at each other, both of us a little overwhelmed by the fact we were both going to work as second-class citizens, and also by the fact we were actually looking forward to it. All the girls were seated quietly with their hands on their laps and I took care to follow them. It was a strange ride.

I was seated beside a girl who was formerly my superior but from today onwards, we would be of the same rank in the company; which was at the bottom of the company totem pole. I knew from talk in the office that almost all the female executives in the company had joined Sun Horizon and many of the men had wondered why. As a girl, I knew the reason. However strange it was to see former executives, including a former VP, boarding the bus to go to work as assistants to men, the payoff at the end of the day would be worth it. It might just be the start of our first day, but this was just a feeling I had. A feeling I was sure of.

The bus stopped along the road outside the building and as the door opened, we stood up. Before alighting however, we had to thanked the bus driver for safely bringing us to work. Some of the girls bowed at the waist but others curtsy. I choose the curtsy.

We need to take a short walk from the bus to the entrance of the building and it was unexpectedly free of protestors. Even though the takeover by Sun Horizon was friendly, there had been fears of protestors due to the company’s infamous policy on gender roles. Guess all the public relations work the company did had worked.

The security guard at the door was male so as I passed, I did a curtsy. I could see he was trying to stop a smile coming to his face and had to silently laugh at that. If the guard was going to continue working here, he might as well get used to this and enjoyed it.   

We went down the stairs to the basement where it had been converted to the girls’ locker room. To get the locker room, the girls had to pass the carpark and it was another strange experience. In the past, I would be driving into this carpark, but now I was just walking to a room to put on my uniform. I admit; I felt nervous walking to the locker room but once I entered the room, I took a deep breath and…once the “Sun Horizon” air filled my body, my anxiety just went away.

The lockers were assigned via your name and I quickly found mine. I opened it and found the clothes given to me by Sun Horizon. Just the sight of them made my pulse quickened. I almost tore off my clothes to put them on.

First was the black dress. The length of the dress reached my ankles and the long sleeves on it totally covered my arms leaving only my hands uncovered. With my hair already in a bun, I decided to do my veil first. I wrapped a white cloth over my head, leaving my face uncovered. Thank god for Youtube or I would never have gotten it.

Next came the face veil. Called the niqaab, it was a veil I had to strap around my head just above my eyes. The veil dropped down in front of my face, covering it. I then pulled up the hood of the dress and pulled it tightly around my head using a drawstring. Tying the string into a knot, I left the knot dangling below my chin. With the face veil, you couldn’t see the knot from the front but from the side, you could. I had to wonder why Sun Horizon designed the uniform this way. It looked different from the uniform they had for the girls of other companies they had taken over.

Well, that was nothing I had to worry about. I was just glad to wear it.

I walked out and back to the staircase. Walking up to the ninth floor, I and the rest of the girls assigned to the floor began our work. We cleaned the tables, wiped the phones, watered the plants, placed sweets into the meeting bowls, and tried to make the office as pleasant to the men as possible.

Although there was no rule stating it, all of us were silent when cleaning. It just didn’t seem right to be speaking when we were working and unsupervised by any men. If someone had walked in on us, we would looked like black ghosts walking around the office. That would not be an unfair description.

Once everything was done, we looked over each other’s work and pointed out the minor mistakes each of us made. It was here that female cattiness began to show and a new hierarchy began to form.

Agnes Allen was just a secretary in the office but she was also a mother of 4 boys who did all her housework on her own. She has a lot of experience cleaning up after her boys and it showed in her work. Her area of the office was almost free of mistakes. Kylie Bentley however was a young executive who was on a trail up the corporate ladder when the Sun Horizon takeover happened. As a young twentysomething born to upper class parents, I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t done a day of cleaning in her life. Her area was terrible and Agnes called her out on it.

To her credit, Kylie tried to correct her mistakes but her inexperience showed. In exasperation, Agnes told her something that would shaped the relationship of the two from then on. “Stop. You’re just making it worse. I’ll do it, you just go kneel over there.”

Everyone stopped. Some of the girls looked at each other in uncertainty and while we were wondering if this was just a slip of the tongue from Agnes, Kylie stepped to the spot Agnes pointed out and did as she was “told”. Kylie knelt and put her hand on the hand as it was stated in the handbook.

Just like that, a new hierarchy between the girls began to form. It didn’t matter what job you used to hold or if you got a MBA or a high-school diploma; what mattered now was how well you can do your new job. What mattered now was how well you clean, how well you served, and how submissive you were. In the new order, Agnes was queen of the floor and Kylie was the dirt on the ground.

The rest of us continued our cleaning, ignoring the kneeling Kylie. When the clock reached 7.30am, Agnes clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. All of us including Kylie went to the entrance of the office. There was a corridor where you had to pass to enter the office. It was here where we placed ourselves.

We girls divided into two rows and dropped to our knees. Then we waited. Strangely, while waiting there for the men, I felt a joy I could not describe. It just felt right. Logically I know it wasn’t right but…it just did. It just felt natural and correct.

It soon began. The bell of the lift stopping on our floor rang and I put my hands on the ground in front of me. Looking down at the floor, I couldn’t see the men but I could hear them walking in. Then I heard the signal from the two girls in the front of the rows. As soon as I heard the sound of their foreheads slamming to the ground, I too lowered my head to the floor. The submissive sound it made was music to my ears. I shouted out the morning greeting.

“Welcome Sir! This girl wishes you a good day at the office!”

The Takeover (Part 3)

The day after the conference, I marched into the office and informed our HR manager I was going to take the deal from Sun Horizon. Sylvia, my HR manager, was a very bemused person by the end of the day because I was not alone. Not even close.

By the end of the day, most of the girls in the company joined me in signing on to Sun Horizon. By the end of the week, over 80% of the girls had agreed to join Sun Horizon. To say this was surprising was an understatement. At a meeting of all the girls who were willing to join, Sylvia openly admitted that she thought Sun Horizon would be lucky to get 50% of the girls. She then uncharacteristically joked that this shows how little a girl like her knows. We all laughed at the joke.

According to Sylvia, the takeover was a done deal and Sun Horizon would make a public announcement in two weeks’ time. During this period, Sun Horizon would implant some changes in the office and any girl who changed her mind could approach her. I would admit to being anxious at these proposed changes but to their credit, Sun Horizon tried to make the transition as smooth as possible.

First they install air filters in the building that gave off the same smell as what they had in the auditorium. Then they announced that from then on, all girls must address all males as “sir”. They also encouraged the men to address all females as “girls”, no matter what position the girl currently held.

At first, it was weird as hell. We had junior male clerks addressed female executives as “girls” while female managers like Sylvia were addressing men working for them as “sirs”. It was a soft launch of the new regime and I guess this was Sun Horizon’s way to get everyone used to the fact that gender was more important than positions or capabilities.

However soft it was, the underlining idea of male superiority was unmistakable. What was an order for the girls was framed only as a suggestion for the men, but if you thought people would be questioning and complaining about the unfairness of it all, then you would be wrong.

Such questions just seem unimportant. Every time I tried to seriously think about why I agreed to sign on to Sun Horizon, the problem just goes away. Breathing in the air of the office and a wave of contentment would come over me. Things were going just as well at home.

At night, my sleep was dominated by dreams of me being in a burka or wearing a niqaab. I would be alone and I would be wearing a burka or niqaab. I could be walking in the streets, in the countryside, or even on a beach but I would be walking alone and looking for something. Most of the time, I would wake up without finding this something but sometimes, I would find what I was looking for; a man.

A man would show up in my dreams and I would have this urge to kneel before him and bow my head to the ground. I would show the man my submission and he would accept me as his slave. The men that showed up in my dreams came from all shapes, sizes, age and ethnicity and I do not know any of them save one; Salim.

In these rare occurrences, Salim would appear with his 2 wives standing behind him. I would knelt and bow but unlike the other men, he would not accept my submission immediately. Instead, one of his wives would walk to my back, a cane would appear in her hand and she would use it on my body. If I stood up, ran or even moved, Salim would reject me and I would wake up in frustration. If I took the punishment till he was pleased, I would awake feeling refreshed, satisfied and happy. 

In some ways, the strange dreams helped me at work. Even though there were two weeks to go before the takeover, the work culture in the office had changed drastically. On paper, the changes by Sun Horizon had been slight but as people put them into practice, things became different. In simple terms, although no one said we had to do it, once the changes became practice; girls in the office became more submissive to the men.

Girls began to adopt a “speak only when spoken to” rule with the men. If the men asked for something, we reply. If they didn’t, we kept our mouths shut in their presence. Girls began to move around the office with their head down and when a man and a girl crossed each other in the corridor, the girl would move to the side, leaving the center to the man. At least, that’s what happened at first.

I don’t know who started it, but a few days after the practice began, girls started to stop and turned to face the wall. Only when the men passed them did the girl began to move off. If the men didn’t move, the girl would crabwalk along the wall pass the men. Only after passing them would she turned and walked normally.

It also became normal for the girls to get coffee for the men. The man, usually seated at his cubicle, would turn to the girl nearest to him, and ordered the coffee. No matter what the girl was doing, she would drop it and go get the coffee for him. This quickly became the norm in the office and before the first week was out, girls would be handling everything the men needed from coffee to photocopying of documents.

Not everything was to the disadvantage of the girls however. As the day of the takeover came nearer and nearer, the company slowly but surely shifted more work to the men. Some men grumbled of course but having a girl at their beck and call largely muted any disagreement they had.

Within the two weeks transition period, this arrangement, work for men and service for girls, became accepted practice within the office. Men stayed in their cubicle and do the work while the girls would handle any miscellaneous tasks given to them. More than one person in the office mentioned that it was as if every 3-4 men in the office were sharing a secretary between them.

Personally, I thought it was a lot more going on than that. I was serving 3 men in the office during this transition period and felt a joy whenever one of them told me to do something. This sense of joy did seem strange to me but at the same time, I didn’t really care about it. I mean why mess with a good thing? 

The girls who refused to sign on with Sun Horizon were of course horrified at the developments in the office and they protested with management. However since they were less than 20% of the female workforce and they were all leaving within two weeks, their complains were ignored.

As the days passed and the day of the official takeover came near and near, I became more and more excited. I couldn’t wait for the day when I could only wear the niqaab and greet my male co-workers on my hands and knees. To my slight surprise, I wasn’t the only one.

Every other weekend, we girls would frequent a bar where we would unwind with drinks, dance and music. That weekend, after a few tequilas, one of the girls spoke about the dream she had been having. In the dream, she was walking in a grass field and it was windy. She was wearing a thin transparent veil when a strong gust of wind came and blew her veil away.

Her veil was gone and she felt as if a part of her soul was too. She frantically ran after the veil but the wind would always keep it just out of her reach. After a long chase, she would knelt and cry in frustration. The wind would die down and the veil would fall to the ground. If she stood, the wind would pick up again. To get the veil, she would have to crawl to it. Sometimes she did it on her hands and knees; other times, she would crawl on her belly. She would crawl to the veil and grabbed it. With her veil in hand, she would put it on and only then would she felt whole. Only then, when it was safely over her head, would she feel complete.

I was alarmed when I heard her story. It was different but at the same time eerily similar to my own. Then another girl started to talk about her dreams, and it was as if a dam had burst. Soon everyone was exchanging stories about their dreams and the veils they were wearing in them. It was scary that we all had similar dreams but at the same time, strangely comforting. I was not alone and I was not the only looking forward to the day when I would be wearing the niqaab. All the girls were now openly admitting that that they were also looking forward to the day. I found that I was not a strange weirdo. I was part of a group of women who had the same dreams and aspirations.

It was a very comforting thought to have.

I was even happier a few days later when Sylvia announced that Sun Horizon had sent over our uniforms and we girls would be sent for the fitting. It was less than a week before Sun Horizon would publicly announce the takeover and our company acceptance of their bid. The day of the takeover was coming and I couldn’t wait for it to arrive.   

The Takeover (Part 2)

After what happened at his place, I spent the rest of the week avoiding Salim. It wasn’t difficult. The asshole didn’t even tried to call me. I still saw him a few times in the office but even then, he treated me as if I didn’t exist. I was yesterday’s news.

It suited me just fine.

It also meant that when my co-workers began to ask questions, I didn’t have to hold back. I hadn’t announced the fact that we were going out but word gets around and almost everyone knew we had been seeing each other. When they saw the sudden coldness between us, people started to ask questions. So I did the only thing I could; I told the truth. 

I told everyone Salim was an ass who had played me along even though he already had 2 wives at home. I didn’t tell them about me cheating on him in college of course but then I also didn’t tell them he made his wives help him seduce me so in my mind, it was about even. By the end of the week everyone knew about how badly he had treated me. Most of the female employees were going to resign anyway but after word spread about me and Salim, almost every female in the company, including me, got their resignation letters ready.

When the new week came around, we were told there would be an engagement conference for all the female employees of the company by New Horizon. They were going to try to pitch the company to us but it was a waste of time. Most of us had already made up our minds. At least that was the thinking everyone had when we entered the auditorium.

Auditorium D was on the fourth floor of our building and it was relatively big. It could hold up to 80 people but for some reason, we were told each conference was given to only about 30 girls. I didn’t know why because you would think it would had been easier and faster for New Horizon to have more girls at each conference. It would also be less expensive.

When I went through the entrance, the first thing I noticed was the food at the back of the auditorium. Coffee, tea, and various finger-foods were available for us and 4 veiled women were standing there, asking us to relax before the start of the conference. They were clearly female employees of New Horizon and they got us curious.

They were wearing a black long-sleeved robe that covered them from the neck down to their feet. It was wide and totally in line with the Islamic thinking that female clothes should not be figure hugging. The robes also had a hood that the women pulled up to cover their heads. Their face were covered with a niqab and with their hands covered by black gloves, I couldn’t see any part of their face or body.

A thought came to my mind and I wondered how it felt to be totally covered like that. It must be so mysterious and exotic. I stopped the thought right there. Where the hell did that came from? The thought was so funny I had to mentally laugh at myself. I decided to take my mind off the women.  

There was free food and drinks available so that was easy. Most of the girls joined me while a few tried to speak to the 4 veiled women. However outside some polite small talk, they refused to say anything of substance and asked the girls to try the food and drinks while we wait for the conference to start. It was during this waiting time that I smell the strange air inside the auditorium.

I had been inside the auditorium before and the air was different from usual. However it also smelled somewhat familiar. After a short while, I realized the smell was similar to what I smelled at Salim’s home. I guess the guys at New Horizon must really like their incense.

After about 30mins, a man walked up to the stage at the front of the auditorium. He was short, fat, and looked like he had never exercised for a day in his life. I looked at him as he walked up the stage and the first thought that came was that he was a fat bearded nerd. He stopped when he reached the center of the stage and looked at us. If you asked me why, I couldn’t tell you but at that moment, he looked like he owned the stage. A moment ago he looked like a joke, now he just looked imposing. I fought an urge to look at the ground and instead looked straight at him.

It was a mistake.

On top of the stage, he looked down on us with a sneer. With a condensing voice, he spoke into the microphone and told all the girls to put down our food and sit down as the conference is going to start.

Instead of getting mad, I was embarrassed. We were here for an engagement conference but instead, I was stuffing myself full of food and drinks. I quickly put down my drink and rushed to the front of the auditorium. My only out was the fact that everyone beside me looked just as embarrassed as I was.

As the man started speaking, I found myself sitting quietly in my seat with my hands on my lap and my head was bowed low. I didn’t even realized what I was doing till I heard the man say in passing the sight in front of him was what Sun Horizon was looking for. Women with their heads hung low in respect to men.

A fire was lit inside me and my head shot up. All around me, the rest of the girls did the same. It was as if we were in a daze and had all suddenly awoken. The man smiled on the stage and I found him infuriating. It was as if he was playing with us. He then said that there was a video he wanted us to see and left the stage.

The auditorium had a huge screen and as the video started, I found myself falling into a daze again. Honestly, I didn’t remember what was on the video, it was that boring. All I remember was that the video had a lot of bright lights and some soothing music in the background. Yet although I don’t know the details of the video, I strangely know what was shown. The video showcased New Horizon’s deal to us girls.

Anyone still under contract would have the option of resigning from the company while those who stayed would keep drawing their current salary but would be “reassigned” to roles more in keeping with the New Horizon culture. The video was very upfront with the fact that no girl would be employed in any executive position after the takeover and being a secretary was the highest position a girl could hope for in the company. Also, anyone who stayed till the end of their contract will also be offered a contract extension but with a new salary more in keeping with their job scope.

When the video was done, the man came up to the stage again and I was once again struck by how bad he looked. You would think New Horizon would have sent someone with more PR and HR skills to sell their company to their future employees. It was then that the thought struck me that New Horizon might not be aiming to keep us. As the man droned on, the thought played in my head and began to make more and more sense.

My suspicion then became confirmation when the man told the 4 Sun Horizon female employees to come up to the stage. The girls in the crowd began to murmur among themselves but my eyes were struck to the women. The camera displayed the women on the video screen as they stepped up to the stage with their head bowed.

The man said this was standard walking position prescript in the Sun Horizon Girl Employee Handbook. Girls were only allowed to walk with their head bowed. The 4 girls stopped behind the man and stood facing the crowd in a straight row.

The man told the crowd to remember the position the girls were holding. While waiting from orders from men, their feet must be shoulder length apart, with their hands clasped at the small of their back, and their eyes must be downcast to the ground between their feet. They must maintain this position to mark themselves as respectful, submissive women. The man then turned to the women behind him and ordered them to kneel.

They did so immediately. It was surreal and the auditorium fell silent. The women on stage fell to their knees with a grace I would have never thought possible. It looked to me as if their upper body didn’t move an inch but they fell to their knees in slow motion. When it was done, their basic position still hasn’t changed. Their hands were clasped at the small of their back, and their eyes were cast to the ground between their feet. Only now, it looked as if their knees and not their feet were shoulder length apart.

How did they do that? I wondered to myself and the next question that immediately came to my mind was whether I could be able to do something like that. Wait, what? I opened my mouth in shock. I was going to resign. What was I doing even thinking about something like that?

Hoping to put my mind out of that line of thought, I focused on the only thing I could; the speech of the man on the stage. He was now talking about the demerit system Sun Horizon had on female employees. Anyone who got 25 demerits in a month would have her pay cut but anyone who got less than 15 in a month would get a bonus of at least 10% of her monthly pay. The girl with the least amount of demerits for the month would get a bonus of up to 50% of her monthly pay. A few of the girls started murmuring again at this stage. The potential pay increase could be very important to some of them.

The man continued without a thought to his audience. He mentioned that the girls would be assigned a daily supervising officer, or a DSO. This would be a male working on the same floor and the DSO would be the girls’ superior for the day. This duty was to be served on a rotating schedule among the men and he made no bones about the fact this was to ensure that every man in the office would be superior to every women in the same office.

Then came the coup de grace. The man told us about the “morning greeting”.

The 4 women stood and spilt up to stand around the man, 2 to his left and 2 to his right. Together they turned to face him, dropped to their hand and knees and shouted.

“Welcome Sir! This girl wishes you a good day at the office!”

The man explained that this was the position and greeting all girls of the company must make every morning. We would arrive earlier than the men and as the men arrived for work, we would be in this position and greet the men a good day at the office.

You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium. We were all stunned. They expected us to be in this humiliating position every morning for our male co-workers. Are they crazy? This confirmed my thought that Sun Horizon didn’t want us. They wanted all the girls gone; why else would they have a presentation like this?

The conference ended soon after. I remembered there was another video we had to sit through but don’t ask me what it was about. By then, all of us girls were like mindless drones, we just wanted out of there.

The rest of the day also passed in a fog. I’m sure I ordered takeout and drove home as usual but again, don’t ask me how I did any of those stuff. I don’t remember anything. The only thing I do remember was what happened that night. That night I slept and when I woke, I opened my eyes…and I couldn’t see.

My sight was blurred like there was something in front of me. I stood up and there was a weight on my head. Strangely, I felt great. It just felt right. I felt like I was different and I didn’t know why.

I saw someone in front of me and I started to walk slowly towards him. As I got closer, I got used to the blur in front of me. I could make out the small details my vision provided and the person in front of me was wearing a blue outfit. We stood before each other for what felt like hours before I felt the need to reach out. I needed to see the person in front of me. For some reason, I raised my hands and my vision cleared.

I was standing in front of a giant mirror and the person I saw was me. I was wearing a burqa and I had just flipped it over my head. Below the burqa, I was totally naked. Not only that, I looked happy. I looked contented. I flipped the burqa back over my head and felt a peace I had never felt before.

It just felt right. 

I woke up then. My breathing was hard and I knew what I wanted. My hands went between my legs and I masturbated. As usual, I formed a mental image of what I was doing. I thought of myself in the burqa and of the conference I had earlier in the day. I imagined myself bowing, kneeling and serving the men and my hands was soon filled with my juices. I came and had to put my pillow over my mouth as I screamed.

I never did that. I never screamed. In fact, usually I wasn’t even all that loud when I came but today was different. This was something else. This was something beyond my control. As my body was wrecked by joy, I thought of something I never imagined.

I was going to enjoy working in Sun Horizon. 

The Takeover

The moment my life changed, I wasn’t skydiving or climbing Everest or even doing charity work, changing the lives of the less fortunate. I was in my cubicle. It’s a fair reflection of my less than exciting life but I don’t regret it.

If I wasn’t at my cubicle, I wouldn’t have met Him again.

Him was Rick Brunt. As I was looking at my files, I sensed a presence behind me. I looked back and there he was; the former boyfriend that I cheated on. First thing that struck me was how different he looked.

Gone were the athletic body and clean-shaven face. In their place was a slightly plumb bearded man with a look of surprise on his face. I didn’t know how to greet him. After all, he broke up with me the moment he found out I was cheating on him with a player on our college’s basketball team, but he had no such problem.

He shouted “Emily” loud enough that the whole floor could hear and offered me his hand to shake. We talked and, okay, flirted. It was amazing, as if we never broke up in bad circumstances. He offered me dinner and I agreed.

The next night, we had dinner at The Veil. I thought it was a weird choice at first but agreed because I had wanted to visit the restaurant. A Middle-Eastern restaurant that had sprung up recently, it had the hook that all the waitresses wore veils. According to the web, their waitress changed their attire almost everyday. One day, they could be serving customers in niqabs and the next in Hello Genie costumes. Seeing their waiting list, it was a hook that worked.

Now there were a few things no dinner date could do without. The food of course, but another thing no good dinner date could do without was laughter. Without laughter…well, it was just incomplete.

On that note, the date between us was a great success. We hadn’t met each other for years but were soon engaged in the same witty banter we had when we were together. I was glad. I didn’t want to end things the way they did but Brunt said he was grateful it did.

As we talked, he told me what he had been doing since we broke up. Brunt had travelled after college and while in the UAE, he converted to Islam. He was known as    Salim Al’Tusk now and worked for the Sun Horizon Company, a company infamous in the country for imposing a strict dress-code on female employees and for not having any women employed in any position above clerical level.

As shocking as that was, I was glad to see that Salim was the same person as Rick Brunt. His name might had changed, but Salim Al’Tusk was the same jovial guy who cracked silly sci-fi jokes and quoted TV catchphrases.

At the end of the dinner, he paid the bill and I was shocked to discover the amount. When he said that his place was nearby and offered me a visit, I couldn’t say no. I wouldn’t say it was pity or an obligation, but he had spent so much money I couldn’t turn him down.

His place really was nearby and 20 mins after we left The Veil, I was in his living room. I felt like I was in another world. There was a strong smell of incense in the air and the room was dominated by a huge soft Persian carpet. There were also no tables or chairs in the living room. Several pillows of various sizes were placed at one side of the carpet and though strange, I found lounging on the carpet while hugging the pillows to be very relaxing and comfortable.

Salim bought out a tea set and as we drunk the tea, we began to talk once again. Laughter filled the room and one thing led to another. Soon we were kissing and cuddling. I half-thought we were going to do it there but Salim lifted me up and carried me to the bedroom. He may not look like an athlete anymore but he still had the power of one.

Once inside the bedroom, I discovered that his bedroom also had Middle Eastern décor. There was a king-sized bed with 2 red Middle Eastern rugs on either side of it. The walls were purple and the floor had the look of dark hardwood. There was even a Middle Eastern looking trunk place at the end of the bed.

My look at his bedroom ended there as Salim placed me gently on the bed. Kisses followed before we began to take our clothes off. He quickly slipped on protection and we began in earnest.

I have to admit it was easily the best fuck I ever had. Salim always had size, but now it also came with skill. His thrusts were hard and brutal, and I was wonderfully helpless beneath him. I had my orgasm the same time he did and after that, we just laid there in bed. Salim had definitely improved on his technique since college.

The next morning I said goodbye, silently hoping to see him again. After an afternoon of fitful waiting, he finally called and we arranged to meet that night. A movie and a dinner later, we were back at his place again. You can guess what happened next.

Before I knew it, we were in a relationship again. We met almost everyday for dinner and then sex at his place. More than a few times, Salim made dinner which was a huge surprise. In college, his cooking was terrible but nowadays he could open a restaurant. On days when dinner was at his place, a low table would be brought out and placed on the carpet of the living room. Food would be served on it. We would sit on the carpet, have our dinner and talked. After dinner and washing up, which we would do together, we would watch TV while resting on the beanbags. Salim laughed when I asked about the pillows and corrected me on what they were called. After TV, it would be a night of mind-blowing sex.

This went on for about 2 months and in that time, I began to know Salim again. In many ways, he was the same person but in others, I could see the change in him. He was a Muslim and followed a sect called the Tibyss. I never heard of them but then I knew little about the religion. All I knew was what was on the news but Salim assured me he followed their religious doctrine closely. However he didn’t try to impose his views on me and I honestly didn’t much cared about his religion.

What I was really interested in was the sex and his home.

Salim’s flat was a 3 room apartment with a small kitchen, a living room and 2 bedrooms, one of which was always locked. The whole place had Middle Eastern décor and was amazingly clean. I thought all those years travelling the world had made Salim domestic but I was wrong.

I was very wrong.

Remember where I was when I first met Salim at the beginning of this story? I was in my office and he was there because he was helping to finalize a takeover of my company by Sun Horizon. It was a surprise because no one knew the owners were looking to sell but as time went on, everyone in the office knew the deal was going through. We would soon be part of the infamous Sun Horizon Holdings.

The joke in the office soon became one where women had nothing to do but be covered up in veils and serving coffee. More than a few of the women started to prepare their resignation letters, but I was not one of them. I had known Salim for a long time and he seems to be still an okay guy so I thought it was likely other guys in Sun Horizon would be similar to him.

As the takeover deal began to come about, one night while we were lounging on the carpet watching Netflix, I found myself asking Salim about the changes and work conditions that would be placed on female employees of the company. He thought about the matter for a second before saying he was the wrong person to ask. He was a finance guy and it would be better if I asked a woman that was currently working for Sun Horizon. When I asked if he could introduce me to someone, he said he would be more than happy to.

I could ask his wives about what it’s like to be working in Sun Horizon.

It was a bolt out of the blue. Salim never said he was married and while I never asked, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. I stood up and screamed at him but all I got was a smile. That was when I understood this was revenge. He had wanted to hurt me for what happened in college and when I accursed him of this, he happily admitted as much.

He said that at first that was the plan but as time went on, he found that he really liked having me around. It was fun talking to me like when we were both younger. He was a piece of work and I told him I felt sorry for his wife for marrying someone who would betrayed her just for a stupid revenge.

That was when he surprised me again. Salim said he had 2 wives and both of them knew about me. I didn’t believe him and when I told him as much, he offered to prove it to me. That was when he asked if I wanted to meet them.

I stood in shock as he then stood up and walked to the room that was always locked. Salim dug up a key from his pants and knocked on the door 3 times. He said he was coming in and unlocked the door. He opened it and with a wave of his arm, invited me to enter.

I looked inside and saw that the room was very plain. Unlike the rest of the flat that was tastefully decorated with Middle Eastern furniture, this room had almost nothing. There were a few books on the floor, a rundown wooden cupboard and an exercise bike in one corner, but outside these there was nothing. No carpets, no tables, no chairs; not even a window.  

Only two things caught my eye; 2 pieces of clothes that were on the floor.

It took my mind a moment to process and Salim took this second to shout out a command. The moment I heard him said “Stand”, the 2 pieces of clothes began to rise. As they stood up, I understood that they were burqas. 2 women wearing shuttlecock blue burqas were standing in front of me.  

My shock must have been written on my face because Salim began to explain. The 2 women standing in front of me were his wives and they had always known about me. Every time we came back here to have sex, they had been staying in this room. In fact, they were the ones who cleaned the flat and made dinner for us. They could even hear us if we were loud.

I didn’t know how to react and as I stood there like a fool, Salim told his wives I had questions about what it was like to be looking in Sun Horizon. He told them to answer every question I had. I began with one not about work.

I asked them why they didn’t stop us. I then asked them why they allowed Salim to treat them this way. One of them answered me. She told me as wives, they were there to serve their husband and to do whatever they could to make him happy. If that meant helping him seduce a whore, then it would be their duty, desire and honor to do so. I reeled from being called a whore but could not find a way to defend myself. Salim did it for me.

Salim calmly admonished his wife for being so disrespectful to a guest and ordered her to apologize to me. His wife immediately melted to the floor and I realized she was kneeling. She was kneeling and bowing her head to the ground in front of me and had been doing that when Salim and I first entered the room. Not for the first time, I didn’t know how to react and Salim took the lead.

He ordered his wife to stand and told me to ask away. My mind was a blank. The situation was so surreal I just didn’t know what to say. Salim then decided to “help”. He told his wives I must be uncomfortable speaking to two people wearing burqas. He ordered them to take them off.

Both his wives did so immediately. They flipped their burqas over their heads and I saw their faces for the first time. Neither of them was wearing any clothes beneath their burqa. No shirt, no blouse, no skirt, and no pants, but they weren’t naked. Both of them were wearing white adult-sized diapers and around their necks was a black collar with a ring attached to it. However what really stuck me was their faces.

On each cheek of their face was a tattoo. On their right cheek was a tattoo of the Venus symbol, while on the left was a tattoo of the name Salim Al’Tusk. My head spun at the sight and I did the only thing I could.

I turned and fled out of the house.