Monica Kelly silently slipped out of bed; trying not to wake him. She searched his bedroom floor for her panties, but couldn’t find them anywhere. Most of the floor was littered with his own dirty clothes, but she spotted her bra lying by the doorway. Monica tiptoed across the floor and grabbed it, and quickly slipped it on.

Brandon, or was it Brendan- Monica couldn’t remember, snored quietly as Monica searched for the rest of her clothes. She could see her skirt lying just outside the bedroom door, so she very stealthily scooped it up and slipped her legs inside it. She could put her panties on later when she found them.

“You want to get breakfast?”

Monica spun around to see Brandon or Brendan sitting up in bed, looking at her.

“Oh! No. I have to get to work.”

“I didn’t get your number,” he said.

“I didn’t give it.”

Monica hurried out of the bedroom. Her purse was at the top of the stairs, right where she’d dropped it the previous night. She remembered he’d gotten her blouse off moments after entering his front door. A quick check down the stairway left Monica relieved to find it still there. Grabbing her purse, she quickly hurried down the stairs and put on her blouse and both of her heels which also lay nearby. She couldn’t be out of this man’s house soon enough.

It wasn’t until she was outside that she finally felt a pang of regret. Brandon or Brendan wasn’t a bad guy by any means, but she wasn’t proud of what she’d done with him the previous night. She almost considered going back in to apologize, until she checked her phone and realized it was almost time for work. She had to make a call.

“Hey Shari. It’s me. Do you think you could give me a ride to work today? I’m at-” she read the numbers on the side of the house, “8771 Clements. Yeah. I did some bad things last night. Appreciate it.”

Shari had been Monica’s best friend from work for the past three years, and Monica was sure she could trust her to keep her illicit hookup secret from her other coworkers. It wasn’t long before Shari arrived and Monica got into her car.

“Bad things last night, huh?” Shari said teasingly as Monica got in. “I want details!”

Monica rolled her eyes. “I’d rather not relive them.”

It was at that moment she remembered she hadn’t retrieved her panties. They were still somewhere in Brandon or Brendan’s bedroom. Evidently Monica would be going commando to work and her date had a souvenir of their tryst.

“Before we head into work, there’s a quick stop we have to make,” Shari said. She pulled into a corner store and went inside while Monica waited in the car. The voluptuous redhead emerged minutes later carrying three bottles of champagne.

“Champagne? What’s the occasion?”

“I can’t tellllll,” Shari said teasingly. That was all Monica needed to hear.

“The Martinez deal went through?” Monica exclaimed.

Shari grinned ear to ear. “You didn’t hear it from me!”

For months, Monica and Shari’s company, J.T. Levinson, was in talks to buy out one of their biggest competitors, Martinez, Inc. If the deal went through, rumor had it that all of the Martinez employees would retain their jobs, but be moved into the empty office space on the floor below J.T. Levinsons’. It was a deal that would allow George Martinez to retire in luxury and allow J.T. Levinson to double their profits.

“That is SO exciting! I wonder what our bonus checks will be like!”

“Let’s not count our chickens yet,” Shari said. She pulled into the parking lot behind the Williams building and the two secretaries exited the car.

They caught the attention of most of the men in the office when they entered. Their male coworkers’ eyes instinctively drifted towards the tight skirts as they undressed the attractive ladies with their eyes. And in just a few days time, they would not have to do this.

Monica’s boss Albert Hosdale and Shari’s boss David Carter were in the conference room. David’s eyes lit up when Shari entered.

“Did you bring it?” he asked.

Shari held up one of the bottles of champagne and grinned.

“Get everyone in here! Monica, start pouring glasses!” he said.

Monica did as David asked and before long, the conference room was filled with most of the J.T. Levinson staff. Monica handed a glass to each employee as they entered. From the murmuring and muttering, it was apparent most of the people in the room had already guessed the occasion, but that didn’t seem to stop David from climbing onto the conference room table and shouting to get their attention.

“Well, I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you all here!” he said.

“Oh my gosh! The new soap dispensers came in?” Lori Peterson guessed, facetiously. Everyone laughed.

“Almost as exciting as that!” David said. “I’m happy to announce, that after months of negotiating, Martinez said yes!”

The room erupted in cheers. Monica gulped down her champagne along with her other coworkers, excited and relieved to have months of negotiating work finally come to an end. She looked to Albert, but found her boss had already left the conference room, leaving his glass of champagne behind.

The conference room door opened, and a late arrival entered. Monica froze. The late arrival was none other than Matt Purcell. Matt was a newly hired marketing consultant who looked as though he were a model. His wavy black hair was combed to the side, and his piercing blue eyes locked with Monica’s as he stepped into the room.

“Hey, Matt. You missed the fun. I mean- the announcement,” she said, not taking her eyes off him.

“Had a call to finish up. I take it the Martinez deal went through?”

“Sure did! Champagne?”

Matt nodded. Monica poured him a glass, and as she handed it to him, their fingers briefly touched. Her pulse soared.

“Thanks,” Matt said, and winked.

Monica turned around, and took a deep breath. She was about to turn back to face him again when she felt a hand slap her bottom. She spun around to face Mike Delaney, who was grinning boyishly. Monica groaned. Mike had been itching to sleep with her for the past year even after she’d refuted him in every possible way she could think up.

“Hey, Miss Tightbuns! Still feeling firm!” He squeezed the ample mound of Monica’s bottom through her skirt.

“I do my best,” she said with a forced smile.

She could see the small erection forming in his pants just below his beer belly. Mike squeezed her bottom again, curiously.

“You’re not wearing any panties, are you?”

“Shh!” Monica whispered. She looked over to see Mike’s comment had caught Matt’s attention.

“You naughty girl! How about you come back to my office for a little one-on-one discipline?” Mike grinned, mischievously.

“I’ll pass, thanks Mike.”

“Ah! You can’t hold out on me forever, hon!”

Monica excused herself from the conference room, and could feel Mike’s eyes watching her ass as she walked out. Robyn Valberg, another secretary, followed her out.

“Mike is such a CREEP!” Robyn whispered as soon as the doors shut behind her.

Monica let out a long breath.

“You’ll get used to him,” Monica finally said. “He’s not this bad most of the time. His horniness is on overdrive lately because of, well, you know-”

Robyn looked at Monica quizzically. “No. What?”

Before Monica could answer, Shari stepped into the hallway.

“Have you seen Albert? David wants to talk with him,” Shari said.

“He left a few minutes ago. He was on a call and looked kind of concerned,” Robyn said.

The three secretaries curiously made their way down the hallway to Albert’s office. Just as they arrived, he emerged, and Albert looked as if he’d been slapped in the face. He beckoned the three ladies into his office and shut the door.

“What’s wrong?” Monica asked.

Albert sighed, and took a seat at his desk.

“I just got off the phone with Martinez. He’s backing out of the deal.”

“He is? Why?” Shari exclaimed.

“Yeah! I thought this was a done deal. Why’s he backing out now?” Monica asked.

Albert tapped his fingers on the desk sullenly.

“He was all ready to go through. He’d signed the papers and they were on their way to us. But one of his assistants brought something to his attention...” Trailing off, Albert shook his head and spat out the words he was putting off saying. “He found out about Nude Secretaries Day.”

“Nude what?” Robyn asked, bewildered. Monica and Shari exchanged glances. It was an annual tradition which the two veteran secretaries of J.T. Levinson were all too familiar. One day each year, all of the secretaries were required to report to work completely nude.

“Nude Secretaries Day,” Shari said. “We have it every year. All of us, you, me, Monica, we have to work the whole day naked.”

Robyn shook her head, disbelievingly. “That’s ridiculous! How can they expect us to do that?”

“That’s what I thought at first,” Monica said. “But it’s actually a lot of fun. You’ll get used to it.”

“Monica’s right, Robyn,” Albert said. “In past years, in most cases, once the secretaries get over the initial shock, they find they really enjoy it. I’m sure you will, too.”

“Not a chance. You girls can run around in your birthday suits if you want. I won’t be taking casual day to that extreme, thank you very much,” Robyn said. She walked out of the office.

Monica and Shari glanced at each other awkwardly.

“Hopefully convincing Martinez will be easier than convincing her,” Shari said.

(. )(. )

The associates of J.T. Levinson held a staff meeting later that morning to determine how to handle the Martinez situation. Monica and Shari were asked to attend, and after serving coffee to each of the men in attendance, they took a seat at the table.

“We can convince him,” David said, with all the conviction of a man claiming the sun would rise the next day. “He’s worked too long to finalize this deal. He’s stalling in the hope we’ll cave.”

“I’m not so sure,” Albert said, languidly. “I heard his voice on the phone. He was livid. I’m sure he’d sooner burn his company to the ground before he’d let us tell his girls how to dress. Or rather, how not to dress.”

Mike chuckled. “What’s this guy’s issue? He a queer? Or is he just pissed he’s gonna miss seeing all that T&A after he retires?”

Albert held a hand up to silence Mike. “Uh, Mike? Martinez’s daughter is a secretary at his company. I think that was his biggest concern.”

“Yeah, Mike, he doesn’t want you feeling her up when she starts working here!” Rich Hetland joked.

Everyone laughed.

“Well, maybe Martinez’s daughter could be exempt from Nude Secretaries Day,” Monica suggested. She slunk into her chair when she felt everyone in the room looking at her. “I mean, just so the deal can move through...”

The men present looked at each other, as if they were trying to decide which of them was going to explain the obvious to Monica. Finally, Albert spoke up.

“First off Monica, nepotistic privilege is only going to expose her to resentment from her coworkers. George Martinez has always wanted his daughter treated the same as all of his other employees,” Albert said. “Secondly, Vanessa Martinez is an absolute knockout. We’re talking all natural double D’s, an ass to die for, and legs for days. Hell, Rich, bring up those bikini pictures you found of her.”

Rich took out his laptop and made his way to Vanessa’s Facebook page, where he opened up a set of photos of her on vacation. He linked his computer to the conference room projector, and everyone in the room was treated to a view of George Martinez’s daughter posed next to a palm tree in a skimpy red bikini. All of the men went silent. Even Monica and Shari felt their jaws drop at the sight of Vanessa’s smooth skin and delicate curves.

Rich flipped from one photo to the next, each one providing a seemingly more stunning depiction of Vanessa’s physique than the last.

“I- think the photos speak for themselves,” Albert said. The other men in the room nodded in agreement. “Now, show of hands. Anyone in this room okay with this woman being the only woman in our office NOT naked on Nude Secretaries Day?”

Monica glanced around the room to see not a single hand raised.

“Well, February 5^th is Nude Secretaries Day,” David said. “I propose we invite George Martinez, his daughter, and his VP’s over to visit that day, and see what we can do about changing his mind.”

“I say great minds think alike, David,” Albert said. “That’s why I asked Monica and Shari to this meeting. Monica, I want you to be extra friendly with Mr. Martinez during his visit. You did so well with Mr. Schwartzbauer last year, I’m sure you’ll do just as well with Mr. Martinez.”

Monica sighed. Last year she’d been assigned to be extra friendly to Mr. Schwartzbauer to convince him to close a deal with J.T. Levinson, which of course meant helping him empty his balls. She could only assume she’d be expected to do the same with Mr. Martinez, now having earned the reputation as the office slut.

“Shari, being as you’re so good with the women, you’re in charge of handling Miss Vanessa.”

Shari grinned. “With pleasure!”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to charm that woman out of her underwear as you always do,” Albert said.

Monica had to admit this was true. Shari was perhaps the sole reason Monica hadn’t quit her job the first year she’d been asked to participate in Nude Secretaries Day. For Shari, nudity, even in public and in the presence of the opposite sex, was the most natural thing in the world. She seemed to have a talent for convincing other women to adopt this way of thinking, and had successfully garnered the cooperation of most of the secretaries at J.T. Levinson for the past six Nude Secretaries Days.

“I’d say we have a plan!” Mike declared. Everyone seemed to be in agreement.

“Work your magic, ladies!” Albert said. “You two get Martinez to agree to the buyout, I’ll double your bonus!”

“Shari, you get Vanessa out of her clothes before she leaves Tuesday, I’ll triple yours!” David said.

“Not a problem!” Shari said with a smile.

(. )(. )

Barry Knapp was at his desk when his secretary Robyn placed a paper on his desk.

“What’s this?” Barry asked.

“My two weeks notice,” Robyn said, sharply.

Barry looked up in shock.

“You’re quitting? Why?”

Robyn folded her arms.

“Nude Secretaries Day? What kind of business is this?”

Barry shrugged.

“The other ladies went along with it. It’s actually becoming more common, so I heard.”

He shrunk under Robyn’s angry stare.

“Not with me. I won’t even be coming in that day,” she snapped.

Barry leaned back in his chair, defeated.

“Robyn, Martinez is coming over that day and I’ve got to be on top of things! What am I going to do without a secretary that day?”

“You’ll have to make do without one. I’m out.” She walked to the door.

“Anything I can do to change your mind?” he offered, hopefully.

Robyn stopped. “Yeah! Not make me come into work naked that day! How about it?”

Barry shook his head apologetically. Robyn walked out. Sighing, Barry picked up his phone and pressed the fourth button on his speed dial.

“Hi, Shari?” Barry said. “I need your help.”

(. )(. )

The Booby Bunk was an all-nude Gentleman’s Club where the staff of J.T. Levinson frequently met after work. Monica and Shari tagged along with their randy male coworkers at Albert’s request. The two secretaries sat in the corner, quietly sipping their drinks and watching the nearly naked dancers gyrate on stage. Monica counted her blessings that at this moment at least, she was able to remain dressed. In just a few days, it would be her doing her job in the buff.

To Monica’s surprise, Shari was not being her usual jovial self. Instead of ogling the gorgeous dancers along with the guys, Shari sullenly sipped her margarita and said very little.

“Hey. What’s up with you tonight?” Monica asked.

Shari sighed. “Oh, it’s just- Robyn put in her two weeks today.”

Monica arched an eyebrow. Somehow that was not what she was expecting Shari to say.

“I heard. I didn’t know you two were that close.”

“We aren’t. It’s just that Barry asked me to try to convince her not to. And I couldn’t.”

Monica shrugged. “It’s not for everyone. He’ll hire someone new. I’m sure he’ll find a cute girl to fill her seat before the 5^th.”

Shari shook her head. “That’s not the point. I’ve ALWAYS been able to talk girls into taking their clothes off. Even you, Miss Modesty!”

Monica chuckled. It was true, Monica really hadn’t been an exhibitionist until Shari had brought it out in her.

“And just now, I was talking to that cute bartender up there,” Shari said, directing Monica’s attention to the busty brunette serving drinks. “I tried to talk her into showing me her tits. And she said no!”

“She’s a bartender! If you want to see tits, all you have to do is turn around!”

Shari let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s not the POINT, Monica. Albert and David are expecting me to convince the Martinez girl to take her clothes off next Tuesday. If I can’t do it, this multi-million dollar buyout might not happen!”

Monica placed her hands on Shari’s cheeks.

“Hey,” Monica said. “Don’t sweat it. If convincing Vanessa to strip naked in front of her father and all of his business associates can be done by anyone, it can be done by you. And if not, it wasn’t meant to be. Trust me.”

Shari stuck out her lower lip.

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Monica peered up at the stage. “Hey. There’s a girl you should have no trouble convincing to take her clothes off.”

Shari looked to the stage. The girl in question was Heidi Thomas. Heidi worked as a secretary at J.T. Levinson during the day, and danced at the Booby Bunk at night. Heidi’s pretty face and busty figure was perhaps the main draw for her male coworkers at J.T. Levinson to come visit her at her other occupation.

The club emcee’s voice came in over the speakers. “Gentlemen, let’s give it up for one of our most popular dancers, Butterfly!”

Rock music blasted over the sound system as Heidi proceeded to wrap her pink lingerie clad body around the pole. Albert, Mike, and David each took out their wallets and took seats at the edge of the stage. Within seconds Heidi’s bra was off and fluttering down upon the gawking spectators below.

“Remember when THAT girl was apprehensive about stripping at work?” Monica said in Shari’s ear.

Shari nodded. That girl was now clad in nothing but panties, and those were now edging slowly down her thighs.

“I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about,” Monica said.

(. )(. )

Julie Downey had just stepped out of the shower when she heard a knock on the bathroom door.

“Julie! Phone!” Her stepfather bellowed through the door.

“Just a sec!” She quickly grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it snugly around her slim but curvy 22-year-old body. She opened the bathroom door and took her cell phone from her stepfather’s extended hand.

“Hello?” she greeted, swiping her wet hair away from the receiver as she did.

“Hello Julie, this is Barry Knapp calling from J.T. Levinson, how are you this afternoon?”

Julie’s heart skipped. After weeks of submitting resumes to offices around the city, she’d finally gotten a call. Julie quickly switched off the radio mounted on the bathroom wall and cleared her throat.

“Hello Mr. Knapp, I’m doing wonderfully.”

“Good to hear. I’m calling in regards to the application you submitted for the secretary position. Are you still interested?”

“Yes, I definitely am,” Julie said authoritatively.

“Excellent. I’d love to have you come in for an interview sometime in the next week. Can you tell me what days you’ll be available?”

“Um, let me check my schedule.” Julie quickly hurried from the bathroom and down the hall to her bedroom. As she did, her stepfather stole a glimpse at her towel-clad body.

Craig Holland married Julie’s mother ten years prior, and in the years since, he’d noted his wife’s daughter’s growth into a mature young woman with some interest. He’d been disappointed to see Julie had covered herself with a towel before she’d opened the bathroom door. On a few occasions in the past, Craig had been lucky enough to catch more revealing glimpses of Julie in her bra and panties, and once he’d even gotten a very brief peek at her topless.

Julie took out her day planner and examined her work schedule for the following week.

“I’m available Tuesday and Thursday, either of those days would work,” Julie said.

“You’re available Tuesday the 5^th?” Barry’s voice perked up. Julie confirmed her answer.

“That would be the best day for you to be here, actually,” he said. “Why don’t you come on by at 10, if that works for you?”

“It does!” Julie said.

“Good. And please dress nicely. We prefer our secretaries wear skirts and high heels. I recommend you wear both for your best chances of getting hired.”

“I’ll be sure to,” Julie said.

When the call ended, Julie let out a triumphant “YESSSSS!!!!”

“Got a job interview?” Craig asked, appearing in the door frame.

“Yes! At J.T. Levinson! I have an interview on Tuesday!”

Craig thought for a moment. “J.T. Levinson. I know where that is. They’re not far from my office. If you want, I could give you a ride?”

“That would be great! Thanks so much Craig!” She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a loving squeeze. He hugged her back, while enjoying the sight of her partially exposed bottom peeking out from underneath her towel in the mirror behind her.

He let out a knowing smile. “Glad to help.”

(. )(. )

It was ten minutes to eight in the morning when Monica stepped into the lobby of the Williams building. She waved hello to the security guard before making her way to the elevator. To her surprise, it was empty. Monica usually rode up with at least one other person every morning, usually a coworker, but today she had the small metal box to herself as she ascended to the fifth floor.

She squeezed her purse to her side nervously; the plain beige design matched her tan overcoat nicely. Albert had texted her earlier that morning asking her to prepare notes for an impromptu meeting at eight sharp. She would have to hurry to make sure they were prepared in time.

At the fifth floor, the doors opened, and she saw Tim, from the mail room making his rounds.

“Morning, Monica,” he said.

“Hi Tim,” she said, and made her way to her office. As her high heels clicked across the floor, several men poked their heads out of their offices and eyed her with much interest. Monica smiled at them and continued to her office.

Once inside, she could see Albert snatching papers one-by-one as his printer spat them out. He handed the entire stack of them to Monica as she entered.

“Here’s everything we’ll need. I’m thinking we’ll need ten copies.”

“Not a problem,” Monica said. “I’ll have them in the conference room in-” she checked her watch, “seven minutes. And not a minute later.”

They both laughed. Monica placed her purse in her desk drawer, and noticed Albert watching her closely. She blushed as she untied the belt around her long coat, and pulled the coat from her shoulders.

Albert’s eyes went wide when he saw Monica pull the coat from her body, revealing what she was hiding underneath. She sheepishly hung her coat up on the wall hook, and flipped her day calendar to Tuesday the fifth.

“Happy Nude Secretaries Day, Albert,” she said, turning towards her boss to give him a clear view of her naked body.

“Happy Nude Secretaries Day, Monica,” he said, and sat back in his chair with a smile.

He ran his eyes up and down her body. Her breasts were round and beautiful, with soft light brown nipples. Her belly was toned and flat thanks to her many hours of crunches at the gym. And best of all, her pussy, freshly shaved, peeked out between her creamy white thighs.

She lingered idly for a moment so Albert could check out her body, before grabbing the packet of papers.

“Well, I better get these copied,” she said nervously.

He watched her tight, firm ass as she walked out of the office with the packet in her hands.

It still felt surreal walking through the office wearing nothing but her high heels. She could feel a cool draft against every square inch of her skin. She could feel her breasts bounce with every step she took, unrestrained by a bra. She could sense the watchful stares of her coworkers, gleefully eyeballing her as she passed them by.

She was pleased to see Shari hurrying out of her office, and to see she was not the only person working naked that day. Shari’s full double-h breasts bounced heartily as the buxom redhead scampered down the hallway towards her.

“Heyy!” Shari greeted. “Happy Nude Secretaries Day!”

Monica smiled, and the two nude ladies embraced tightly, squeezing their breasts against one another as they did. Just as quickly, they released one another.

“Not much time to chat. Got to prepare for this meeting!” Shari blurted out, and continued to streak down the hallway.

Monica stopped at the xerox machine and quickly printed off ten copies for the imminent meeting. As she quickly compiled them into separate packets, a voice behind her made her stop in her tracks.

Matt Purcell was coming down the hallway. She could hear him getting closer. Since this was his first year at J.T. Levinson, this would be his first time ever seeing Monica nude. She prayed he would not be disappointed.

“Monica?” he asked.

She froze. He’d already spotted her; there was no fleeing now. Slowly, she turned to face him, forcing herself to keep her arms to her sides to give him a good look at her.

“Hi, Matt,”she said, her voice trembling.

Matt’s eyes went wide. His gaze went from her face, to her breasts, to her pussy, her legs, back up to her breasts, and finally her face again.

“You ... look ... amazing,” was all he could say.

Monica blushed.

“You think so?”

Matt nodded. “I heard you had a rocking body, but, I was not expecting this.”

Monica giggled nervously. “Thank you.”

“I- need to use the copier,” Matt said, grinning. He patted Monica’s butt to nudge her aside.

“Sorry!” she said, and quickly scampered away.

“Uh, Monica?” he asked.

She stopped in her tracks.

“You want your copies?”

“Oh!” She slapped herself in the forehead with a self-depreciating “duh!” and quickly retrieved the copies from the output tray. Flustered, she hurried to the conference room while Matt chuckled.

The meeting was already in session when Monica entered the conference room, but it came to a standstill the moment she set foot inside. Every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at her. She blushed. Even with this being her third year participating in Nude Secretaries Day, Monica still felt self-conscious upon having her body ogled and admired by her coworkers.

“I- got the copies,” she said hesitantly, holding them up.

“Well, don’t be shy gorgeous, hand them out,” Albert said assuringly.

Monica strutted towards the table as the eyes of her coworkers followed her every step. She could see that Shari was pouring coffee; Shari was enjoying her role to its fullest as evidenced by the way she leaned farther than necessary over the table to fill each man’s cup and letting her large breasts linger in their faces until the cup was filled.

Monica went around the table, placing a packet in front of each man, and as she did, she paused to allow him to gawk at or grope her. She placed a packet in front of David Carter, as his hand wandered up her thigh. She smiled at him before moving on to the next man.

John Burton wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, prompting Monica to laugh giddily as he did. He kissed her on the hip before releasing his grip.

Monica then felt a hand squeeze her bottom tightly, and she didn’t have to look to know who it was. Mike Delaney was grinning ear to ear when she placed his packet in front of him.

“I’m liking it, Miss Tightbuns! I’m liking it a lot!” he said.

“Of course you are!” Monica said, snarkily.

Mike gripped Monica’s butt cheek firmly and jiggled it up and down. When his palm seemingly had had its fill, Mike smacked her behind and she was on her way.

She continued handing out the packets, until she finally stopped in front of Albert. Her boss smiled up at her, and rested his hand on her side. She stared at him seductively as his hand drifted down the curve of her hip and along her thigh. He pressed his face close to her belly and inhaled deeply.

“You’re still as ravishing as ever, Monica,” he said.

She giggled and kissed the balding spot on his head.

It was at that moment the conference room doors opened, and Heidi Thomas came rushing in. She was dressed in her usual skirt and blouse ensemble, and she looked into the room in exasperation.