Corporate Manoeuvers · Part 1

Corporate Manoeuvers · Part 1 (1/2)
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Corporate Manoeuvres

I never should have accepted her invitation for drinks at her hotel room. She was nice though. A little TOO nice for being our competition.

I was a sales rep for the Simply Fabulous Stocking company and she worked for our worst competitor, High Fashion Nylons. both companies were at the same convention vying for prime contracts from distributors and modeling agencies. But she talked a good game and made it all sound like two girls getting together to talk that I accepted. It was all hindsight now, under the circumstances.

I don't know when she slipped the drug into my tea. Maybe it was when I went to the restroom. Perhaps it was always drugged the entire time and it just took time to affect me. but whatever the case, I had maybe three sips and I was drowsy. She feigned concern well enough, and offered for me to lie down. I politely refused and said I wanted to go to my room.

I stumbled once then hit the floor almost unconscious. The last thing I clearly remember was her bending over me with an evil smile on her face.

I woke up after I don't know how long and found myself lying on her bed. I tried to get up, but couldn't. My hands felt stuck behind me.

My feet refused to move apart from each other. Then I noticed the tight circles pressing against me from all directions. My eyes popped wide open as I realized I was tied up from my shoulders down in thin white ropes.

"What the…" I gasped, wriggling in the restraining cords.

"Awake at last." Sabrina said from her chair by the bed. I turned my head and found her going over my briefcase with a finetooth comb. Contracts and other papers were scattered across the little table by the window.

"What are you doing?" I asked with alarm, "Untie me!"

" Hush up, darling." she snapped," You are in no position to make demands."

"Those are my private papers, You have no right…"

"And you have no right to take away my company's business!!"

she returned angrily. " Simply Fabulous has been slaughtering us all over the market so it was left to me to find a new way of leveling the field."

"So you kidnap me and tied me up?"

"I didn't kidnap you, dear, you came of your own accord. As for the other, it's merely a formality. I couldn't exactly ask you for these papers now could I?"

She was right on that tack, but I had to try to make her see reason.

" But keeping me here is illegal. Don't you see that? It's false imprisonment.

You'll go to jail forever for this."

"True. If anyone knew you were in here, and they don't. No one's going to notice two women walking off together, regardless of who's wearing what company badge. So you might as well relax because you're no going anywhere."

"My room-mate knows I'm here." I lied.

She dropped the contract she was reading and looked at me, "

Really?"

"Yes. When I went to talk to the matre' d downstairs, I told her I was meeting with someone at room 237. so you better just let me go right now."

"Hmmm…" she said stroking her chin," I can see your point here, princess. But I have another idea. How about I invite your little friend over for a drink?"

"What?? You can't!! "

"Sure I can. It was easy enough to talk you into coming here.

It should be just as easy talking her in."

"With me lying tied up on the bed? HA!"

"You're right there. I guess I'll just have to tuck you away for a little while." she looked around the suite, " That closet should do nicely."

She got up and walked over to the walk-in closet the deluxe suites came with. She popped open the doors and looked around, " Nice and roomy." she observed.

"Let go! Let go of me!" I cried, struggling in her grip. Sabrina grabbed me under the arms and half carried half-dragged me over to the closet. Stocking feet offered no friction on the smooth carpet as I tried to dig my toes in to slow her down. She pulled me inside and dropped me hard on my butt.

"OW!! You'll never get away with this!"

"Of course I will darling. I've done this lots of times and the only thing that ever comes of it is some corporate embarrassment for the loser. In this case, you. Now sit here and be quiet."

"Like hell I will. Help!! Help me!!" I shouted.

Sabrina seemed unconcerned as I screamed to my heart's content but merely reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a foam rubber ball and a white scarf. I drew in another breath to scream and she grabbed my nose and pulled it up. She jammed the ball into my mouth and pressed it deep inside with her thumb and held it there. She arranged the scarf neatly and pressed the wide flat part over my mouth. I twisted my head left and right trying to dislodge the gag, but it only slowed her down.

She pulled the scarf around my head and tied it tightly behind my head, gagging me.

" mmmph!!" I called. It should have been a loud scream for help, but the foam reduced it to a whimper.

"That's better." she said, arranging my tousled hair around the gag, " Now, sit there quietly while I make a phone call."

All I could do was glare at her as she pulled the double doors shut and crossed the room to trap my friend. I struggled experimentally.

She must have been a girl scout at least once because none of the ropes moved. I twisted my bound hands back and forth, wriggled my feet inside the ropes trying to find some weak spot in her bindings.

I heard her pick up the phone. I heard her talking to Michelle.

She was very convincing. She made the invitation once. She made it again.

Good ol' Michelle wasn't falling for it, unlike you-know-who. I smiled under my gag. Sabrina made an exasperated sound and set the phone down.

She crossed over to the closet and opened it.

"Your friend wants to talk to you. She also sounds like she didn't know you were here, clever girl. Now that she does, I want you to make sure she understands the invitation is on the up and up."

I shook my head no.

"I'm afraid you don't understand. You see your friend could seriously screw up my timetable, which means I'll have to pay her a personal visit, which means that she might have an unfortunate accident. A very fatal one.

Get it?"

If she was crazy enough to kidnap a woman in broad daylight, I had no reason to doubt she might harm Michelle. I nodded at her.

"Good girl." she said.

She hoisted me up by my arms and dragged me back to the bed.

"Now let's get one thing straight. Keep it light and casual and get her butt over here. You mention one word of what's happening or try to act clever, it'll be worse for both of you. Got it?"

I nodded for emphasis. Sabrina removed my gag and put the phone to my ear. I swallowed in a dry throat, " Hi Michelle." I said brightly.

Sabrina gave me a warning look.

"Hey Sasha, what's up?"

"Just hanging out. We could really use a third party though."

"Yeah but isn't she well…. the enemy?"

"Forget all that. We're all girls here."

"Well…."

"C'mon Michelle. You're bound to have a good time." I said. Sabrina gave me a deadly look.

"Okay, sure I'll be there in five minutes.'

" Good. See you soon."

"Bye."

She hung up. Sabrina yanked the phone away from me," Bound to have a good time? Are you trying to get her killed?"

" Look she's on her way. That's what you wanted, right?"

" True enough. Now open your mouth."

"Don't stuff that ball in my mouth, it hurts my jaws."

"I don't care if your face unhinges, I said open your mouth!"

I obeyed her and she kneaded the blue mass of foam in place and tied the scarf securely over my mouth. She dragged my back into the closet and set me on the floor. She closed the doors. The water started in the bathroom. Sabrina went back to the table, gathered my papers and stuffed them into the briefcase. She put the case on the floor by the credenza.

She had just gotten the room to rights when Michelle knocked on the door.

She opened the closet door just a crack.

"Not a sound." she warned, then closed the door once more.

Sabrina opened the door.

" Hi there.' she said sweetly.

"Hello." Michelle replied," Where's Sasha?"

"The bathroom. She'll be out shortly."

"Is she okay?"

"Just fine." Sabrina replied, " Have a seat. Have some tea."

She had said the exact same words to me. I struggled vigorously with my ropes. I had to do something to stop her. If Michelle drank that tea, she'd be unconscious and helpless. The cords refused to budge. I started scooting across the floor.

"That sounds lovely." Michelle said, much relaxed. Sabrina fetched another glass off the nightstand and set it in front of Michelle. She poured a full measure of drugged tea for her. Michelle licked her lips and raised the glass to her mouth.

I kicked the closet door open, groaning as loudly as I could through the gag. Michelle turned her head and did a double take. I wasn't in the bathroom as Sabrina had claimed but was instead a bound and gagged captive of our worst competitor. the glass tumbled from Michelle's hand untouched.

"What the hell is going on?" Michelle cried, standing up," What have you done to her? "

"The same thing I intend to do to you, my dear." Sabrina said mildly, raising a silver derringer in her left hand. Michelle looked at me, looked at the gun, then back to me again. She was trapped.

"Raise'em high, deary." Sabrina said gesturing with the gun.

Michelle reluctantly obeyed.

"Now stand over there by the bed and drop to your knees."

Michele did as she was told.

"Cross your ankles." Sabrina instructed her. She stepped on Michelle's toes, effectively pinning her to the floor as she prepared a loop of cord to tie her hands.

"Right wrist, then the left behind your back." Sabrina said.

Michelle complied. She winced as the cords surrounded her wrists, were drawn tight and knotted. Sabrina got out another loop of rope and began tying Michelle's arms behind her, elbow to elbow. Michelle gasped with pain and bit her lip.

"Why are doing this?" she asked.

"I'm being paid a lot of money to make sure you two don't get your contracts signed. Without those, your company's going to lose a lot of business and High Fashion Nylons profits."

"Industrial sabotage."

"Precisely. I'm going to keep the two of you tied up here until well after the deadline. Past that point, my company reps will have gotten your business lined up on our doorstep and you two will look like fools."

" So then what? You just leave us like this?"

"I'll drug both of you and put you back in your room. The chemical reads as simple alcohol in the bloodstream. People will think you got stupid drunk and missed the deadline. Even if you two tell what actually happened, no one will believe it."

"You bitch!!"

"That's enough out of you." Sabrina said and pulled pair of handkerchiefs out of her suit pocket.

Michelle whimpered then growled as she stuffed the first handkerchief in her mouth. Sabrina threaded the second one between her teeth, trapping the wad of white linen inside her mouth. Sabrina knotted the gag firmly in place. Michelle muttered angrily.

"Get up." Sabrina said, stepping back.

Michelle rose unsteadily to her feet, thrashing her arms back and forth behind her. Sabrina had done a good professional job however and nothing moved. Sabrina pushed her down on the bed and got another rope out to tie her feet together. While she worked on that, Michelle gave me a wide-eyed look. We were trapped in a hotel room and no one outside was the wiser.

Corporate Manoeuvers · Part 1 (1/2)
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