Part 7a - Hec Agrees to be Loaned

I arrived at the office, coffee in hand, far earlier than normal. I was the only one around, this was very unusual. I was early to initiate the plan that would lead to my weekend with Hec as my submissive. I shivered at that delicious thought.

I started reviewing the day. I had already moved things around on my calendar so that if Hec checked, my day was busy. As I did, my phone pinged.

I checked; it was Bea telling me that she and Hec had arrived and that he would be at his desk soon.

I took a deep breath, stood and said to myself, "The game's afoot," and stopped dead in my tracks. Why did I say that? I never said things like that; it was the sort of thing James, my ex-husband, used to say.

James was the sole reason Bea was 'lending' me her husband for this weekend so that, with Lotte's help, I could begin to understand James's needs.

I left my office, walked to Hec's desk, and sat down in the visitor's chair.

"Morning, Hec," I said with a smile.

"Hello, Claire. It's early for our daily review meeting?"

"I need to move our meeting to this afternoon. Something has come up that can't wait."

"Sure; I'll need to let Bea know I'll be leaving late."

I watched Hec; he had no clue what Bea had planned for him. I was feeling brave and thought a little teasing would start my day off well.

"I've already spoken to Bea. I thought I'd check with her to get permission for you to stay late, as I didn't want to get you into trouble. I hope that's OK?"

Surprise crossed Hec's face.

"She said that she has something very special planned for the weekend," I said with a playful smile.

I knew Bea had been teasing Hec mercilessly about the evening I used him and what might happen in the future.

When Bea told me this, she was laughing because it was driving him wild.

"We wouldn't want to ruin Bea's surprise, would we?"

I watched as Hec's face tightened slightly. I could see his mind turning my comments over, wondering what, if anything, I knew about Bea's plans for his weekend.

"I do know whatever Bea has planned will be great fun," I said with a knowing smile. I left quickly, afraid I would say too much and ruin the surprise for Hec.

With that, I walked quickly back to my office so that I could sit down and calm myself before I got too excited. As I walked away, I could feel his eyes following me, wondering if I knew something he didn't. I did, and he would find that out this afternoon.

***

The day was dragging. Meeting after meeting, and I was getting more and more excited. Time seemed to slow down, probably because I kept checking my watch every chance I had.

My current meeting was drawing to a close when the area outside my office erupted with cheering.

Everyone in my meeting looked at each other, not knowing what was happening.

A few minutes later, Hec burst through my office door without knocking, so fast it bounced off the wall.

"Hec, what are you doing? I'm in a meeting. You didn't knock?"

Hec stood in my office, almost dancing from foot to foot. His face was flushed, eyes wild and shining; he was obviously excited and very happy.

"What is going on? You don't just barge into my office in the middle of a meeting; you know better. Get out now!"

He completely ignored me and carried on dancing from foot to foot.

"They're signing, signing early."

"What? Slow down. Who is signing what?"

"Peter McAllister. He just spoke to me and told me they will be signing the three-year contract next week, and he wants to meet with me on Monday to discuss the additional two-year contract option."

He had landed the contract he had been working on for most of a year.

I stood up and did something I had never done before: I hugged Hec in the middle of my office, something I normally frowned on, but this was an exceptional day. As I hugged him, my mind raced through the implications of the contract for him, the department, and the company. Before I could work through it all, the smell of his cologne intruded on my senses; it was a wonderful smell that reminded me that, in a few hours, he would be mine for the weekend.

I broke our embrace and said,

"Well done. I knew you would land the contract." I genuinely meant what I said.

"Have you told Bea?"

"No, not yet; I thought I'd tell you first."

"Thank you. That makes our review meeting this afternoon even more important. I'll see you then."

"Hec, let Bea know now; this is important. She will want to hear about it."

As he left, my mind started to consider the implications again. My first thought was that Hec could ask for anything, absolutely anything and get it. I hoped he spoke with Bea first; she knew the office politics around this project as well as I did.

What interested me most was that Peter McAllister spoke to Hec personally to tell him he had won the contract; he didn't have one of his minions call him. That meant Hec and Peter McAllister were on first name terms. Their relationship made it almost certain Hec would lead the contract implementation.

At last! My final meeting was over. Hec was next.

I checked my watch again; I had a few minutes before Hec would arrive, during which I could gather my wits. Lotte hadn't been helping me relax. All day, she had been texting me about our plans with Hec.

I went to the ladies' room to calm down and reapply my makeup. I looked in the mirror. A stranger looked back. That stranger had a flushed expression and wild eyes.

I washed my face, reapplied my makeup, and decided I looked mostly normal, then headed back to my office to wait for Hec.

****

Hec tapped on my office door and waited to be invited in.

I smiled and said,

"Knocking before entering, what a novelty! Please come in."

Hec flushed slightly.

"Sorry about earlier, I was just caught up in the moment."

"Hec, no apology needed, and thank you for letting me be the first to know that you had landed the single largest contract in the company's history."

"I mean that, I really do. Thank you."

Bea was due to arrive in a few minutes, which gave me plenty of time to talk with Hec and, hopefully, relax both of us.

As we talked, I slowly worked through the list of questions I had prepared earlier. Hec had a copy. I wanted our meeting to look serious, not an excuse for a meeting. When Hec and I were halfway through my list, Bea knocked on the door and came in. She was carrying a long racquet bag and an overnight bag.

As soon as Hec realised Bea was in the room, he stood and went to kiss her. Nothing serious, just a peck on the cheek. She thanked him with a radiant smile and started chatting to me about the McAllister contract. We kept chatting for a few minutes; I noticed Hec was still standing. Hec always did that, and I had never realised why. Now I understood. He was discreetly submitting to her authority; he wasn't allowed to sit down in Bea's presence until she permitted him.

Eventually Bea relented and told Hec to sit, which he did.

Hec and I continued working through my questions. Bea caught my eye and nodded, indicating I could reveal that I was the mystery woman who sat on his face earlier this week. I had been waiting for this moment all day. I just had to time it right.

Bea started to unzip the racquet bag and began placing items on the desk. Hec caught sight of them and gasped; this was my moment!

When I was invited to Bea's to meet Lotte, I was given some odd, very specific instructions that made no sense; however, it was made clear that I had to comply or the visit was off.

The instructions were simple: I had to bathe fully and not use any perfumed products whatsoever. I was also to bring my favourite perfume. James had given me a perfume blended just for me; it was unique. So I brought that.

When Bea and Lotte took me to see Hec, he was naked and tied to a bench. It was also obvious that he had a blindfold that completely blocked his vision. He also had a pair of industrial earmuffs that made sure he could hear nothing. His only senses were taste, touch and smell. As I climbed up to sit on Hec's face, Lotte sprayed me with the perfume I had brought. Only then did I realise what Lotte and Bea were up to. What a delightfully devious pair they were.

Bea had started talking about the items she had taken out of the racquet bag. Hec was looking increasingly concerned as she enumerated canes, chastity cages, hoods, and more; he had also taken his eyes off me.

This was my moment!

I reached into my desk drawer for my perfume and sprayed it in Hec's direction. It had an immediate effect.

Hec's head snapped round to look at me.

"You!" he said.

"Yes, it was me," I replied with a broad smile.

For an instant, Hec did nothing; he just stared at me in disbelief.

Suddenly, he jumped up so quickly that the chair he was in flew backwards and tumbled into the middle of the room.

Neither Bea nor I said a word.

Bea broke the silence and said to Hec,

"Claire needs our help."

"What? Why?"

"We both know that Claire has always been a fantasy of yours. I'm loaning you to her for the weekend."

"You can't."

"I can."

"But..."

"Hec, don't sound so surprised; it's in your slave contract. The one you signed on our wedding day."

"Bea...."

"Get undressed. I want to show Claire how your chastity cage works so she can take it off this weekend."

Loud laughter carried into the room from outside my office.

All heads turned to the sound. Three blurred figures were visible through the frosted glass. Still laughing, they strolled past my office.

"Please, Bea, please not here."

I was still smiling. I looked at Hec; he wasn't. The colour had drained from his face, leaving him with a strained and panicked look.

"I've told you once, get undressed so I can demonstrate to Claire how to use a chastity cage properly."

As I looked between Hec and Bea, something in Hec's expression made me look closer.

This morning, when he announced that the McAllister project had been won, I had seen him genuinely excited.

Bea and Lotte had both told me humiliation was Hec's thing. Fear was part of that excitement. This wasn't excitement. He was terrified. I needed to stop this!

"Bea, we need to stop; this isn't working."

"Nonsense, Claire. He loves this level of humiliation. Don't you, Hec?"

With that, she tenderly reached out and stroked his cheek. He didn't flinch; he just stood there, looking terrified. Why couldn't Bea see that he was close to panic?

"Get undressed. We both know this is what you want."

With that, she turned from Hec and began explaining the items she had placed on my desk. Bea was treating it like a demonstration.

Hec stepped a little closer to Bea and said:

"Please, Bea, you promised never in public."

Bea turned sharply and snapped at Hec.

"Get undressed now! Don't embarrass me in front of Claire."

Hec was close to tears. His hand began to rise towards Bea.

The office door swung open as Lotte arrived.

"Sorry, all. Traffic was a nightmare."

She paused as she entered the room and looked around.

She looked at my face, then at Hec. The moment she saw him, she ran and put herself between him and Bea. Once standing between them, she said:

"Red, Bea, I'm saying red."

Hec collapsed into a chair, sobbing.

I stood up, more shocked than anything, and looked at Bea. She understood Lotte's use of Hec's safeword but not why. She looked past Lotte, saw Hec sobbing in the middle of the office, and finally grasped she had taken things too far.

"Hec, I don't understand. What's the matter?"

"Bea, stand there, don't move, don't speak, don't even breathe," snapped Lotte.

I could see that Lotte was almost incandescent with rage; Bea visibly flinched at Lotte's anger.

Lotte turned to Hec, knelt beside him, took both his hands, and held them in hers.

"Everything has stopped; I've used your safeword."

"I'll protect you. You are safe now."

"Talk to me. Please talk to me. Tell me what happened."

He continued sobbing; Lotte placed a hand on his head and tenderly stroked his hair.

"Bea broke her promise," he sobbed.

"She told me not to embarrass her in front of Claire and just to do as I was told."

I watched Bea. Her face was pale as she realised the damage she had done.

"Hec, I'm sorry, I was confused."

"I asked you to stop. I said 'not here' again and again, but you ignored me and just kept telling me to undress so you could show me off."

Hec's voice rose. "You don't love me!"

I watched that hit home with Bea.

"I do, Hec, I do."

Hec ignored Bea and looked directly at Lotte; their faces were mere inches apart when he said:

"Will you take me back? Please, take me back!"

I saw Bea gasp in shock and slump to the floor.

I watched Lotte smile, a slow, sad smile, then gently move his hand to her face and hold it there. The only sound was Hec sobbing.

"I love you. I always have, and I always will. But we can never be together."

"Please, please take me back. I made a mistake," he pleaded.

"No, I can't."

"I came close to destroying you when we were together; I can't risk that happening again. That's why I let you go to Bea. I realised that she understood your needs better than I ever could, and I wanted you to be happy."

"I can't take you back; you are married to Bea now."

Hec slowly stood and said to the room, "Nobody wants me, nobody loves me." With that, he turned and walked towards the door.

As I watched the scene play out in my office, I finally grasped what Lotte really meant when she said that she had nearly 'broken' him. I had understood her words without truly understanding what they meant. Now I did.

As Hec reached the open door, I suddenly knew exactly what to do. I stood up and said,

"Hector, where are you going? We haven't finished our meeting. Sit down. We need to finish our meeting."

His head snapped round. Nobody ever called Hec 'Hector', except possibly his mother, and that would have been years ago.

He paused, looked at me, then looked at Lotte and Bea; he didn't know what to do.

"Quickly, Hec, it's Friday, and I want to get home. I have things to do."

He was still undecided.

"Hec, we were halfway through your project cash flow projections. I must understand them now you have landed the biggest single contract in the company's history."

Slowly, Hec turned and walk towards me. He moved his chair from the centre of the room and sat down in front of me as though the last few minutes had never happened.

"Ladies, this discussion is commercial in confidence, so if you could please leave. I'll call you when we have finished."

Lotte instantly grasped what I was doing; Bea looked confused. Lotte reached for Bea's arm, gently pulled her from my office, and closed the door behind them.

As soon as the door clicked behind Lotte and Bea, I released the breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

I hoped Hec's professionalism would win out over his desire to leave. It had. I sat down. Now the hard work could begin.

We continued with the question list I had prepared earlier as though the last few minutes had never happened. The only difference was that I deliberately slowed everything down. As we progressed, Hec's overall demeanour changed. No further tears, just clear, coherent responses.

I reached a complicated part of the cash flow, and I had deliberately transposed two numbers. Hec spotted my error instantly and corrected me the way he always did with anyone who made a mistake: firmly, but with no attempt to make the other person feel small. This was the Hec everyone loved and respected. I smiled; I knew he was back.

Finally, we finished everything, and I had nothing to hide behind.

"Hec, what you don't know because I forbade Bea to tell you is that she and I fought the entire management team to get you the McAllister project. Everybody wanted the project, but only if you were seconded to their department. They wanted you so you could do the work and they could claim the credit."

"Bea and I both knew you were the best man for the job."

"There is something else you don't know; you have saved the company."

"Since COVID, the dynamics of the market have changed. We, as a company, were months away from a restructuring exercise; even Bea doesn't know that."

"Restructuring?" whispered Hec.

"Yes, up to 17% of the company. Almost one person in six would be let go. That meant that at least two of your team would have to be let go. That would probably be Craig and Susan, as they are the newest members of your team."

Hec gasped, "Craig and Susan?"

"Yes."

"But Craig's wife is pregnant, and he has just moved into their first house and taken on a mortgage so that they have more space and a garden for their new family."

"With the contract you have secured, they won't be let go; you have saved them."

"There is one other thing. It's deeply personal, and you must promise never to tell a soul."

"When my marriage ended, it was my fault entirely. I didn't understand what my husband needed. He wanted me to take the lead in our relationship both generally and sexually. I couldn't do it. I then did something that caused him to divorce me; I regret that mistake every day."

He was looking closely at me. I knew I had blushed terribly.

"Bea and Lotte were helping me to understand what he wanted and what I needed to do."

"They suggested that 'borrowing' you for a weekend would help me understand the submissive mind and allow me to reconcile with my James."

"I was hoping that you would help. Remember when you asked yesterday if there was anything you could do to help? A weekend with you would have helped so much. Bea and Lotte also told me that I was a fantasy of yours; I was so deeply flattered that a man like you could express such an interest in me. When Bea said that I could borrow you, I jumped at the chance. I realise that was thoughtless and I apologise for that."

He had been looking at me all the time I was talking. His face was unemotional and gave nothing away.

There was one last thing I could do.

I reached up to my neck and removed the thin chain from underneath my blouse. He recognised the chain and its small key instantly. I then placed them on the desk in front of me.

"I had so looked forward to this weekend with you and Lotte. My mistake was expecting you to be my slave for the weekend. I'm cancelling this weekend and I won't mention any of this again unless you ask me to."

"Hec, whatever you decide, I need you to be here at work on Monday, ready to start contract discussions. Without you steering the contract, it will go badly wrong, and I know you wouldn't want that."

"One last thing: winning this contract means so much for you personally. Please don't walk away. McAllister is your project. Your team needs you. Craig and Susan need you. I need you."

After I finished talking, I pushed the key and chain towards Hec; they now sat inches away from him.

Hec said nothing while I spoke; he just looked at me in a way I couldn't read, which unsettled me, as I thought I understood Hec well.

He slowly reached for the key I had placed on the desk between us, picked it up, and gripped it tightly.

I went and opened my office door and asked Lotte and Bea to come in.

Lotte's expression was neutral; Bea's eyes were puffy, and she had clearly been crying. They both came into my office. Hec was still seated with his back to us. Lotte, Bea, and I stood in silence, unsure where this was going.

I watched Hec stand, slowly turn away, and walk toward the open door. My heart sank; I had failed. Hec was going to leave.

As he reached the door, he paused, then closed it. He turned around and walked towards us.

When he stopped, he looked at Bea, then Lotte and finally at me.

Hec stepped closer to me and, without a word, he knelt before me.

Hec then placed the key to his chastity cage at my feet and bowed his head.