Sean looks at the ledger, shaking his head in dismay. Cup of coffee beside him, he is settled in his chair, Sonya tucked in the corner, and he wants to understand what’s happening before he reacts.

It’s not just a couple of things she hasn’t done this week. Usually, she doesn’t follow some kinky routine he’s set for her, or there are a couple of things she’s neglected to do. But this week – this week, there are a lot of items not crossed off her list, or not even close to meeting her goals. And some of it is important.

He glances over, watching her stand in the corner. She is usually so eager to please. So hard on herself when she doesn’t do well. He is a little bit angry – after all, she didn’t pay the parking ticket that they talked about last week, and that money was coming out of his account. But she wasn’t even close to her steps goal either, and way off target on her Healtlhy Eating menu plan.

No, he shakes his head firmly. This is not really about exerting more Domly control. When he met her, she was a competent adult woman. Sure, some subs seem to need micro-management, but not Sonya. And he’s not the kind of man who would enjoy that dynamic.

He looks at his girl standing patiently in the corner – at least she looks patient. He doesn’t want to put a damper on her desire to submit. This is going to be challenging.

**************************

Standing in the corner, Sonya’s lost in her own swirl of shame. All she can think about is all the things she hasn’t done. He’ll be so disappointed in her, how will he ever trust her again? He won’t. Things won’t ever be the same between them. She’s not crying anymore, she’s just given up.

She’s so lost in her own misery that she doesn’t even hear him behind her. His hand on her collar startles her, as he turns her to face him.

“Come,” he says. He leads her over to stand in front of his chair. Unfastens her hands. This just adds to her misery, surely it means that he’s through with her. Just done. And she doesn’t blame him.

“Get me some fresh coffee, please, he says, and get yourself a bottle of water. Come back and sit on the floor here,” pointing to the space in front of his chair. Relieved that he is still speaking to her, she hurries to the kitchen with his cup, preparing his coffee with one sugar and a dash of milk. She takes it to him, offering it with her head bowed.

“Thank you,” he says, “You may set it down.”

She scurries back to the kitchen to grab her water, then settles herself on the yoga cushion at his feet. He’s holding the ledger book, and her stomach lurches.

“Tell me about this,” he says gently.

She looks down. “I don’t even know what to say, Sir. I just – I didn’t do anything I was supposed to this week. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

She is about to start crying again but she glances up at him. He doesn’t look upset or distressed at all. He’s almost – like he’s almost smiling. What?

He shakes his head. “Baby. That’s pretty dramatic, isn’t it?” He holds back a chuckle watching the shock on her face as she takes this response in.

“But I’ve been terrible!” she says.

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s say that’s true. Should I throw you in the dungeon? Chain you to the wall? That won’t fix any of this, will it?”

“Well,” she’s a bit off balance now, “No. No, Sir, it wouldn’t fix anything. And…” with a hint of a smile, “You don’t actually have a dungeon to throw me in.”

“Exactly. There are things you need to be punished for, but I’m not starting with that. It looks like you didn’t pay our estimated taxes “

“N-no, Sir, I didn’t.”

“Or the parking ticket we got last week.”

“Noooooo See, I am terrible!!”

“I see that you didn’t say Sir just now. That is a punishable offense. Not paying taxes or the ticket are things that you agreed to do last week. If you wait too long, we’ll owe extra money in penalties, so yes, you will owe a penalty for that.”

He waits to let that soak in. Then –

“But we’re not ready for that. First things first. Go back to your desk and take care of those two things, please. Now. When you’ve finished, email me the receipts for each payment and go back to the corner, please.”

“What?” She hadn’t expected this – and doesn’t really like it. Shouldn’t he just punish her and then give her another chance to do it on her own?

“Did you not hear me?”

She hears his voice tone shift but she’s dismayed. “I mean, I heard you, but…” she glances down at herself, all naked and cuffed.

“Let me see if I’ve got this right.” He laughs, “First, you act like you didn’t hear my directions, then you want to argue. Is that really your best choice?”

“Oh.” she says, thinking ‘oh, shit.’ She starts to aplogize, “I’m -“

And he cuts her off. “No. You no longer have permission to speak. Listen carefully. One: Go pay the money we owe. Two: Email me the receipts. Three: Go stand in the corner. Now.”

Her heart is pounding, she’s not sure if she’s reacting to his tone of voice or her own lingering sense of injustice at this response. Either way, she’s not arguing with him right now.

She’s never paid a parking ticket on line before, but it’s not very hard, as she quickly discovers. As she forwards the emailed receipt to Sir, she feels a touch of relief. Done.

She has done the quarterly tax payment before, many times. She hates knowing that much money is coming out of their account, but it’s not hard to do. And she knows they have to. And – now that’s it’s done, as she hits “send” to forward the receipt, she feels an amazing lightness in her chest. Her whole body actually feels better.

Damn, she thinks. That’s kind of magical.

She hears the ding of Sir’s phone as the message lands in his inbox, and that reminds her that she’s supposed to be in the corner.

Sir watches her scamper over to the corner, holding back his grin. Silly girl, he knew she’d feel better once she just did it. Now he has to think about what he’s going to do with the rest of this. He’s not taking control of her diet, or exercise either. No thanks. But he does want her to succeed. And he plans to think carefully about what he’s going to punish her for and what penalties she needs to pay…