Chapter 4

Millie

My heart is beating so hard in my chest that I’m worried it will rupture. Barb was serious when she told me how scary this man was, but she could have been just a bit more descriptive. He looks

like he could pick me up and tear me in half from my arm sockets.

He’s almost two feet taller than me, and he’s so well-built that he looks like he’s been lifting weights since he was born. Not to mention the scar across his face from god knows where. This person looks more like a convicted felon than a business owner, at least to me. I’m under the impression that he’s just here to bully me.

“Well, let’s hear it then,” he says coolly.

My skin prickles with a cold sweat. I feel completely unprepared to be having this conversation with him, and we’re in the middle of a rush. I’m ready to begin panicking, but I force myself to breathe through it.

I suck in a deep breath before beginning. “You’re charging way too damn much for rent here, and it’s cutting into my profits significantly. If you don’t reduce the rent, I’ll be forced to leave and bring my business elsewhere, and I’m not the only one,” I blurt, shoulders down with my chest out. I feel ridiculous, but I can’t half-ass this performance if I want him to take me seriously at all.

He grins at me in a way that makes me sick to my stomach. “Okay, well, I guess you leave me no choice then,” he replies.

A wave of relief washes over me. I must be more intimidating than I think I am because it seemed far too easy to get him to fold.

“Oh, but it isn’t for free,” he adds. “I’ll reduce the rent if you get on your knees and let me spank you right here, right now.”

My blood freezes in my veins, and my eyes widen in horror. “W-what? How would that work?” I ask, uncertain of how exactly to articulate my shock and embarrassment at his demands.

“Does it matter how it would work?” he asks. “Only that you get what you want, and I get to punish you for it.”

“Someone would call the police on you, and my shop would suffer,” I stammer.

But before I’m able to continue a counterpoint, Viktor glances around and finds the fire alarm on the wall, pulling it and releasing the horrible siren into the store.

Everybody looks around at first, unable to tolerate the obnoxious wail. They quickly make their way out the front door, almost as if by Viktor’s will alone. I’m horrified at what I’m seeing, but I can’t even articulate the fear and apprehension I feel as I’m faced with this impossible decision.

When I decided to quit being a stripper, I chose never to allow myself to be objectified by men for money ever again. I’d had enough with the groping, grabbing, slapping, and stroking that came with being a dancer. It felt disgusting, and it made me feel disgusting. Owning my own business was supposed to remove me from that situation completely, and I took that as a point of pride when I left the sex industry.

But at the same time, what’s the point of having this bakery if I can’t even turn a profit because the rent is so high? I might as well just go back to stripping at this point if I can’t make any money off my own business.

It isn’t even just about me, either. What about everyone else in the building? I know they stood up for Nikolai last night, but they might just be scared of Viktor. How couldn’t they be? I have to do something.

As the last customer clears out, I force myself to make a decision that I never thought I’d have to face again. I slowly ease myself over the counter until my breasts are pressed into the cherry wood, and I’m bent over completely. I can feel my heart beating into the countertop as if it’s trying to push me back up, to stop me from humiliating myself like this.

I feel him move behind me, and he tears down my pants, exposing my bare ass to my empty shop. At this point, I’m just grateful that I don’t have any security cameras set up because I couldn’t bear for this to be recorded or even seen by anyone else.

I bite my lip as he runs his hand along my inner thighs, teasing me before he takes his first hit. His hand connects hard with my skin, and I yelp loudly as my flesh reddens.

He presses me down into the countertop as I try to get up. “Let me up, we had a deal,” I plead, but instead of allowing me to retain any of my remaining dignity, he simply laughs.

“You think just one spanking is enough to equal reduced rent for an entire complex?” he asks, and he smacks me again, this time low enough to hit my pussy as well.

I feel my vulva begin to swell, and I wish I could fall through the cracks in the floor. This is the most humiliating moment of my life, and I thought I’d built something that would keep me out of situations like this forever.

Clearly, nothing will stop men from using me for their sick pleasures.

But it isn’t that simple. As much as I hate that this is happening to me, I can’t help but feel myself growing aroused at Viktor’s cruel touch. He teases between my thighs after every other spanking, and the contrast makes me feel as though my pussy is going to drip down my legs onto the floor. He’s older than me, at least by ten years, and the whole idea of an older man seeing me in such a vulnerable state sends chills up my spine.

At one point, I feel him press himself up against me, just narrowly avoiding rubbing his cock between my legs. My face flushes, and I break out into a fevered sweat. I’m brought back to memories of being thrown over a client’s lap once, being spanked relentlessly until he was so hard that I could feel him throbbing against my ribs. The memory sends a rush of warmth into my clit, and I involuntarily open my legs a bit, giving Viktor more space to slap my pussy.