Saving Herself (Ch. 04)

CHAPTER 4

The next morning, Devin tried to act casual at the office. Coffee with Marla was nice, really nice, but the reality was that she could probably get him fired for sending that photo. Even worse, she could blackmail him. He sat at his desk and cursed himself for being so stupid. It wasn't the first time he had put himself in a precarious position. He had, after all, allowed his ex-girlfriend Tabitha to talk him into giving her his chastity keys.

He tried to focus on a recent assignment, but his thoughts drifted back to Marla. He knew he should keep his distance, but her presence felt like a magnet. He finished a few menial tasks and decided to abandon work for a coffee break. As he was about to leave for the break room, Marla walked by his desk, with her heels clicking on the concrete floor.

She paused at his cubicle with a smirk and a smile. "Busy day, Devin?" she asked, with a touch of sarcasm.

Her presence startled him. Looking up, all he could see was curves. "Wasting time with budget formatting, sadly. Hendricks wants me to take a stab at consolidating our new acquisition, but I've been procrastinating. What about you? Any big plans for the coming weekend?"

Marla leaned against his desk with her hip cocked to the side. "Oh, you know, the usual, maybe brunch with friends and some errands."

Thinking she was finished speaking, he looked back to his computer. "That sounds nice," he said.

Marla leaned closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "But I have to say... I've been thinking about our little coffee date. Maybe we could do that again?"

The idea of getting together with Marla excited him, but something inside him flashed a signal of caution. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he said. "I don't want to cause any trouble... for either of us."

Marla chuckled, "Oh, you have no idea how much trouble I can handle."

She straightened her skirt and checked the top button on her blouse. From the way Devin was staring, she must have popped a button.

"But don't worry," she said. "I can be very discreet when I need to be."

With that, she walked away, leaving Devin alone with his thoughts. His sensibilities told him to keep his distance, but his emotions raged with curiosity. He watched her walk toward the elevator and wondered what might happen if they did get together. She was dangerously irresistible.

Over the following days, Devin visited Marla's cubicle more frequently. His excuses varied from requests to borrow office supplies to gossiping about fellow employees. On Friday, he found himself leaning against the side of her desk. His chastity device was discreetly hidden beneath his trousers but within arm's length of his office crush. He tried to play it cool, as they chatted about the new office tardiness policy, but the way her eyes followed him around the office all week had his stomach filled with butterflies.

"Marla," he said, forcing a casual tone. "Do you have an extra pen? Mine is running low on ink."

Marla looked up from her computer. "Oh, you again," she said with a smile. "Sure, I have some pens in my drawer."

She opened her top desk drawer and handed him a ball point. Her touch lingered longer than necessary. Devin felt a tiny jolt of electricity between them and muttered an awkward thank you.

Marla leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "So, Devin, why are you really here? Surely it's not just the pen." She stared at him with mischievous eyes.

Devin swallowed hard, trying to muster the courage to ask her what he really wanted to ask, but instead blurted, "I was just wondering what you're doing this weekend."

He felt like an idiot the moment he said it. Marla laughed at his discomfort.

"Like I told you, church and brunch. Maybe some errands. Why? Did you have something better in mind?"

She watched him shuffle nervously and added, "Maybe we could get together and talk about your situation."

The blood drained from Devin's face, and his heart fluttered. "Really?" he whispered.

Marla nodded with a smile. "Mmm hmm. I'm curious."

Devin's heart felt like it would pound from his chest. Marla was on his mind all week, but in the moment all he could think about was the shame of his predicament. His flight instinct told him to turn and run, but his legs felt heavy and anchored to the floor. Marla reached to trace her fingertip along his forearm.

"Tell me, Devin," she said, her voice low and seductive. "What exactly are you hiding? What is this dark secret?"

Devin raced to contrive a reasonable answer, but he'd already sent that damn photo. If he said anything inconsistent with that, she would know he was lying and pissing her off might lead to trouble. He didn't know if he could trust her but didn't see an alternative.

"Well..." he managed. "I've been wondering what you thought about the photo I sent?"

Marla's eyes sparkled with mischief. She looked at him with a coy smile, "Oh, that! Ummm, I found it intriguing." She leaned back and recrossed her legs. "You always seemed pretty strait-laced. I didn't expect that sort of thing from you."

Devin knew things had already gone too far but didn't know how to undo them. "I don't know what got into me," he said. "That was crazy wrong of me to send it."

He tried to regain his composure by adding a compliment. "There's something about you that made me want you to see it."

"Is that so?" She let the question sit. "Well, I'm flattered, but we both know it was unprofessional. You should probably be disciplined for it."

Devin swallowed hard and repeated her words, "Disciplined for it?"

He hoped to God she wouldn't report him.

"I know, I know, I know," he said quietly. "It was wrong, and I'm sorry. Please don't report me."

Marla held back her laughter and waited for him to finish begging. "I was thinking about another type of discipline," she murmured. "You really are an idiot, aren't you? Is this how you sweet-talk a girl?"

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. Her touch was soft and warm, but his body shook with fear. Maybe she would keep his text message to herself, but he couldn't be sure. She sensed his nerves and squeezed his hand again. Trying to comfort him, she said, "I like you Devin, but I'm not sure I'm interested in getting involved with someone who's locked away."