I thought. I thought you even liked me. You teased me about the Walmart and everything!”
He smiled gently. “Yes, we were getting along pretty well. Yes, I do like you. But you need to listen to my warnings when I tell you to watch your behavior, because I will only warn once and then I will spank.”
She seemed to shrink in on herself, crossing her arms over her chest until each hand was griping the opposite arm, giving herself a hug. He waited patiently, curious to see how she would respond to the new order of things in her world. “So. I slapped your arm. You said no hitting and I shoved you. Does that mean I’m out of warnings and you are about to spank me?” she asked quietly.
“No blustering? No threats to tell President Boxford or call the police? No storming into your room and pulling out a suitcase and starting to pack?”
“I can’t go home. My family made it very clear that I have to stick out this job. Boxford probably knows how you are planning to keep me in line. Maybe he suggested it. The local police aren’t going to believe the charges of an overtired newcomer against the well-respected local college and its staff.”
“No one ever questioned your intelligence,” he answered quietly and stood up. “Thank you for sparing me from a big scene. If you continue like this, we will get along very well indeed.”
He hadn’t planned to spank this time for the rough contact, after all she hadn’t really known how things were setting up to be. But since she was displaying such submission to her future, it would be a step backwards to let the matter go when she clearly expected some kind of punishment. “I’ll tell you what, you go stand in that corner while I go downstairs and fetch the materials you need to look at tonight and I will call this lesson learned, a little opening gesture of goodwill.”
She nodded and also stood. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, my dear. Do remember that all your punishments are bare bottomed.”
She blushed and nodded.
“A ‘Yes sir’ is always wise when you are on such thin ice.”
She nodded again, “Yes sir. Thank you for that advice.”
“See? You are capable of quite charming manners. Along to the corner you go, skirt up and panties down, nose touching the wall and bare bottom prominently displayed.”
She shuddered and went to follow his orders.
Making a point of his dominance, he stood watching her for a bit, long enough to make her fidget. “When you are in corner time, Audrey, you will hold still. Is your nose in physical contact with the wall?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then your position is perfect. Stay that way until I return and give you permission to leave the corner.”
“Yes sir.”
When he returned, Rich stood watching Audrey a few more moments. He knew that she was aware of him by how she tensed her muscles. “Continue to stand there while I explain things a bit more thoroughly, please. I am not a monster. I will not abuse you. I am old fashioned and dislike how rude some of the interactions of every day life have become. I am not so extreme that I believe spanking is the answer to all wrongs and I hope that the spankings I need to give you are few and far between. May I never have to apply a strap or my belt to your lovely behind. Don’t ever lie to me and that wish should come true. Watch your manners and the only likely danger zone for you will be the grading issue. Do you have any questions for me?”
“I have several floating around in my head, but I feel unready to ask them at this point. Sir,” she added quickly.
“When you are ready, do not hesitate to approach me about them. The one looming over our heads that I am surprised you did not voice is the issue of your personal scheduling. I sincerely hope to avoid having your bedtime or morning routine become spanking issues. General cooperation and limited whining should keep that from happening.”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. You may replace your skirt and panties and leave the corner. Your materials are on the coffee table. I would prefer that we both remain in this room while you go through everything; that way you will be more likely to ask your questions as they occur to you. However, I am not going to force my presence on you and if you would rather read in your sitting room, there are no repercussions.”
Once she had restored her clothing, Audrey moved to the sofa by the coffee table, sat down and picked up a folder. “May I stop ‘sir’ing you now?”
He chuckled, “You are never required to sir me. I merely suggested that it was wise when you are in dangerous territory. It’s harder to be disrespectful when you are using sir frequently and it does tend to calm me down when I am irritated. Would you like some help with prioritizing?”
“Yes please. I am grateful for any suggestions that you have.”
“You have a little more than an hour before you need to go to bed. I don’t know how long you need for your personal preparations before retiring, but please don’t forget to allow time for that. When it is time for lights out that does not mean go in the bathroom and brush your teeth.” Audrey nodded. “You should not divide the remaining time evenly. Your eight o’clock, Ancient World, is your strongest subject and you can probably get by with just looking at where the class is on the timeline; see what topics John has already covered. You can undoubtedly deliver your lecture without any more preparation than that. Asian Studies, your nine o’clock, is your weakest subject. Along with going through the syllabus and the list of topics already discussed, I recommend that you do a little studying to refresh your memory on whatever tomorrow’s lecture is scheduled to be, make an outline to keep yourself on track. Early European history is your second weakest point so do the same preparation that you do for Asian Studies and then to finish, you are fairly strong on your early American history and don’t need to allow as much time for preparation. Questions? Comments?”
“I am amazed at the depth of your knowledge about my strengths and weaknesses, but tonight is not the time to discuss why that is. While I was in the corner, I was thinking about tomorrow morning and wondering whether you are going to begin each class with me tomorrow and give me a bit of introduction, or whether I should just expect to face the students alone.”
“I plan to be there, make the announcement about John, field any questions that are forthcoming and then introduce you. That means that you will probably have about ten minutes less time for your lecture.”
“There are rules about how much time I have to grade my students’ work and about being late or canceling classes. Are there any other rules? Do I have to stick to the syllabi as they are now, or do I have the freedom to present the material in my own manner?”
“By all accounts you are an excellent lecturer and are popular with the students. I will not second-guess how you conduct your classes, so long as the students are able to demonstrate a suitable understanding of the material on the final exam. I expect to see and approve that exam before it is administered.”
“Are you planning to sit in and observe me?”
“As I mentioned at the beginning of your tour today, when the building is open to students, the front desk is supposed to be manned. We don’t have any overlap in our teaching schedules for that reason. I will not be in your classroom, however I would appreciate it if you would leave the door open so that
