The Motivated Employee

"You're hitting our targets, Dani," Celina said, holding a cup of hot coffee in both hands.

Dani looked up from the spreadsheet she'd been working on for the past 2 hours. Her cheeks flushed and she hoped her crush on her boss wasn't obvious. "Thanks, Celina." she said as she pushed a strand of light brown hair behind her ear.

Celina sipped her coffee, eyeing her best employee over the rim of her mug. "But our targets are well below your average." she added in a lower voice, in case someone could hear through the walls. "I've noticed you've seemed distracted lately."

Dani felt the temperature rise in her neck. She'd been trying so hard to keep her head in the game. "Wh-what do you mean?" she tried to say casually.

Celina sat down in the chair next to Dani. "You've been coming in early, staying late, but your numbers aren't reflecting that extra effort. You're here physically but mentally you're not."

Dani tried to catch her thoughts. She had been working harder than ever to distract herself from the thoughts she was having about her boss. And had been hoping the extra hours might impress Celina too. "I'm sorry." she stammered, fidgeting with a pen. "I didn't realise that my numbers weren't improving at all."

Celina's caramel eyes looked at Dani thoughtfully. It was unlike her to be unaware of her own numbers. "I'm not trying to put you down, Dani. But there's no point in you staying late when it's not making any difference. I can see something's up. So I want you to go home at 5 like everyone else, alright?"

Dani felt relieved but didn't adjust her gaze to look at Celina. "Alright."

"Also. I noticed something peculiar on my Facebook."

Blood rushed from Dani's neck to her cheeks. She'd accidentally liked a photo of Celina from five years ago, a photo of her hiking in Europe. Dani thought she'd pressed unlike quickly enough so Celina wouldn't get notified.

She tried to feign innocence. "What do you mean?" Dani asked.

"Your finger slipped, I see." Celina smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you stalking me on Facebook?"

Dani looked up and her eyes widened. "It was just... I didn't mean... I wanted to..." she stuttered as she tried to quickly formulate a believable excuse. She looked down at the floor again and took a deep breath. At this point, it would be easiest to tell the truth.

"Look. I like you."

Celina paused with surprise. "What?"

"I like you. I have a crush on you." Dani repeated, now wishing she hadn't said it.

And then Celina ran a hand through her cropped, brown, curly hair and chuckled. "I appreciate the compliment, Dani, but I've got a partner." she said, referring to Joanna. Dani had never seen Celina's partner, but Bec had heard about her from colleagues.

Dani remained looking down, frozen with embarrassment. "I know.. I - I know it's awkward that I said that but it's better for you to know. So you don't think anything else is up. Like, I don't like my job or something."

Celina folded her hands together. She'd never had a conversation like this before. "Okay." she said coolly. "Let's keep this professional, yeah?"

Dani nodded while still looking at the floor. "Of course." she said, relieved Celina wasn't angry. Her boss had chuckled at one point. So that was a good sign. She wasn't sure what to do about this crush but felt like some of the weight was off her shoulders now that Celina knew.

Later that night, while Jo was washing the dishes, Celina sat at the kitchen counter, recounting the conversation she'd had with Dani earlier. Jo looked up, her hands covered in dishwashing detergent bubbles, and smirked. "So she's into you. But why would she tell you that?"

Celina shrugged, sipping on a cup of water with a slice of lemon in it. "Well, she knows you're my partner. I think she just wanted to clear the air. She was really struggling to look at me while she was talking."

"Aww, that's a bit cute." Jo cooed.

Celina swirled her water like it was wine. "She approaches things uniquely in her work too, so I guess it fits with her personality."

Jo laughed, the soap bubbles bursting as she rinsed a bowl. "Unique, huh?" She wiped her hands on a towel and turned to face Celina. "You know, if you're thinking of fucking her, that's okay."

Celina's eyes shot up, from her glass. "What? No! I wasn't thinking of that!" she protested.

"Remember our chat about opening up our relationship?" Jo responded.

Celina nodded slowly, recalling the conversation they had a few months ago about exploring with others. It had been mostly theoretical, and mostly for Jo. Celina would have waged money that Jo would be the first to sleep with someone else.

"But she's my employee." Celina said.

"So?" Jo shrugged. "You're both adults. You can separate work from pleasure. And it might just be the motivation she needs to step up her game."

Celina smirked at the idea. It was true, Dani had been off her game lately, and apparently, all because of a silly little crush on her boss. But it was risky, given the power imbalance between them. "You're terrible, Jo." she said shaking her head.

"The poor girl is so horny she can't work properly. Do her a favour, Cel!" Jo teased. "Let her fuck it out of her system."

Celina's smirk grew. "When you put it like that, it would be rude not to fuck her." The thought of Dani's eager blue eyes and the way she blushed at every little compliment was tempting.

The next day, Celina called Dani into her office. She behind her desk as a nervous Dani stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Take a seat, Dani."

Dani sat down, her legs shaking. Celina leaned forward, her fingers intertwined. "Dani, I noticed your numbers are still not up to scratch."

Dani looked surprised. "We only spoke yesterday. The system won't show any improvements until this time next week."

"I know, but I've been thinking. Maybe there's another way to motivate you." Celina stood up and walked around the desk to stand right behind Dani. She rested her hand on Dani's shoulder. "I think some physical motivation could do the trick."

Dani momentarily stopped breathing. "Wha-what do you mean?" she said, voice quivering.

"I'm thinking of giving you incentives." Celina said, low and measured. "If you meet your targets - your own targets, not the company's average - I'll reward you. But if you don't... let's just say you'll wish you had." Celina's thumb rubbed circles on Dani's shoulder.

Dani exhaled loudly, realising she had forgotten to breathe. There's no way she would have predicted Celina would suggest this. But she wasn't afraid. Maybe Celina would touch her...

"Now," Celina began, "Stand up and bend over the desk."

Dani's pulse accelerated as she rose to her feet. The prospect of being close to Celina, even in such strange circumstances, was too enticing to refuse. She placed her hands on the cool wooden desk and bent over.

Celina gazed at Dani's firm, round ass in her black skirt. She raised her hand. "You're going to get a spank for each percentage point you scored under." Her voice was firm. "And you will count."

Dani nodded, her cheeks flaming. She took a deep breath and braced herself. The first smack landed with a loud crack, making Dani yelp. "One," she wheezed. The second followed swiftly, and Dani gritted her teeth. "Two." Celina's hand was strong and stinging. "Three."

By the fifth smack, Dani's ass was tender. "Five."

Dani's counts increased in volume. "Six, seven, eight." Celina rubbed her ass cheeks in between smacks. Dani felt her underpants dampening. She bit her lip and hoped Celina hadn't noticed.

"Nine," Dani whimpered. And then the final smack was the hardest.

"Ten," Dani choked out. She straightened up, rubbing her burning cheeks over her skirt.

"How do you feel?" Celina asked, her voice softened.

Dani turned to face her, her eyes watering from the sting. She couldn't lie. "It hurts."

Celina smirked. "But you liked it anyway."

A hint of a smile played on Dani's lips. "Yes, I did."

"That's what I thought," Celina said. "Now, let's talk targets for the week. I want you back to your average by the end of next week. And if you are, there will be a reward for you. But if not, you will be punished again."

Celina paused to see if Dani might protest. "Okay." Dani said, nodding.

"But if you're not comfortable with this, you can tell me." She searched Dani's face for any hesitation.

Dani took a moment, processing the humiliation she had just felt mixed with the excitement of her boss' touch. "I-I'm okay with it. It's just... I've never done anything like this before."

"Alright. You can get back to work."

Dani nodded and hurried back to her desk. Did that really happen? And was she okay with it? Dani had no reason to think Celina wouldn't stop if she told her to. The rest of the day was a blur - every keystroke, phone call, email and spreadsheet had a newfound urgency behind it.

Dani worked with such focus that she wasn't even aware of the time. Celina had predicted as much and appeared by Dani's desk at 4.59. "Alright, Dani, it's 4:59. Time to pack up and go home," she said with a smile.

Dani looked at the clock, surprised. She had been so focused on her work that the day had flown by. She gathered her things and headed out the door, unsure which friend she could debrief about this strange but exciting experience with.