Chapter the Eighteenth: Waiting.

The end of the week was usually marked with a quiet drink at the nearby 'watering hole' and so I ended up in there, nursing a beer and just relaxing. As the evening warmed up, I moved over to a table next to the bar and sat with a bowl of nuts, watching the people coming and going.

My thoughts about the past days were spinning around in my head. All the changes and the options and the reactions; it was still fascinating. I found that I needed to keep my amazment in check for fear it would overwhelm me. The various options took me back and forth between smiling inwardly and gripping the table in fear. However, I suddenly found my attention being drawn back to the room and was surprised when a voice asked if the chair next to me was taken. I looked up from me reverie and was greeted by the face of a tall, elegant young woman dressed as if she'd just come from a job interview. Her dark blue business suit was well-tailored and flattered her figure. The carefully brushed dark hair was accented by a couple of slides and she wore a simple string of pearls against the silk blouse under her jacket. Her skirt was tailored to fit her hips and thighs closely and stopping as it did, just above her knees, showed a beautifully proportioned pair of long legs.

Almost shaking my head to stop the urge to stare her up and down, I told her to 'please, go ahead' and she lifted the chair, turning to take it to a table behind her. As she did so, it became apparent that another group of people had already taken her place. She swore to herself, lightly and then stood in an embarrassed dilemma, what to do with her chair?

"If you'd like to join me I would be happy to move around..." I said to her, brightly.

She hesitated slightly and I felt the delicious thrill as I pushed her to agree.

"OK.But only if you're sure." She said.

Her name was Karen and it turned out that I was right about her outfit. She'd just successfully attended a job interview at a television newsroom in one of the big business towers downtown and, as this was near to the bus station, had decided to come in for a quick drink to celebrate.

I asked her why she would be celebrating alone and her face clouded slightly as she told me that there wasn't 'anyone else' to celebrate with. As it happened, her new job was one which I was familiar with. My wife, Maggie had worked in a newsroom, as a Program Organiser, and I had seen how exciting and busy that sort of work could be. She seemed impressed at my knowledge of the work. I called the waitress over and ordered a couple of drinks and after checking with Karen, a couple of plates of appetisers. We clinked our glasses and toasted her good fortune. She still seemed unsure of whether she really should be sitting with me.

"Would you like to tell me why you don't think anyone would celebrate with you?"

I enquired. She sighed and gazed into her glass.

"Things just don't seem to be really working out between us. I was so keen to get myself a job, and I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the relationship."

It amused me to see that she didn't consider it strange to be pouring out her troubles so swiftly to a stranger. I could only guess at the reasoning her mind was doing to accept the fact.

"So you think it was your fault?" I asked.

"I just didn't want to be the one who stayed home and cooked." She countered, not really answering my question.

I pressed the point. "You are still living with him though..." She dropped her eyes to the table and held on to the stem of her glass.

I nodded to let her know that I empathised, and took a sip of my beer.

"So, he wants the 'little wife' at home to do the cooking and cleaning eh?"

She looked up at me, "Something like that," she said and emptied the last of her wine glass, placing it with deliberate care back on the table.

I called for refills and we spent the next few minutes picking at the nachos and the crudités that had been delivered.

"Thanks for this," she said, indicating the table. "I didn't realise how hungry I was. The interview made me so nervous that I couldn't even eat breakfast!"

"If you're that hungry, why not let me buy you dinner?" I asked, smiling. It was delicious to watch the temptation flash through her mind.

"Thanks, but no. I have to get home, I don't think it would be right." She twirled her glass in her fingers and made as if she was in more of a hurry to leave.

"If you're hungry, and I know I am, a dinner would seem a good solution. I promise I'm good company" I said as friendly as I could and pushed the impression that this was going to be alright into her.

"Well, if you're sure..." she said and allowed herself to be convinced.

"Sure thing, it's nice to have someone as lovely as you to eat with and you do need to celebrate such good fortune." She blushed beautifully and smiled shyly.

We quit the bar and I walked with her to a little restaurant that was in the hotel a short walk along the quiet streets.

"I've been here a couple of times," I said, "it's quite good, do you like vegetarian dishes?"

She couldn't know that I had plucked from her mind the fact that she didn't eat meat but it didn't do any harm to get on her good side. She brightened and told me it was a great place to go. We were soon shown to our seats, in a secluded alcove (as I had ensured) and the meal ordered. I began to let Karen start to feel the better side of my power and she warmed to my 'personality.' It was when our food arrived that things took a very nice turn. Our waitress Jennifer was a stunner. Her gleaming blond hair shone around a fresh face that seemed show her to be genuinely keen for us to 'enjoy our meal.' She had a delightful figure, slim and curvy in all the right places. Her black skirt hugged her slender thighs and she wore a form fitting black jersey turtle neck that showed the generous curves of her tits.

Karen followed Jennifer's every move, she seemed unable to tear her eyes away from her.

After she had finished delivering our food, Jennifer turned and walked away. I watched Karen's eyes following her.

"She's quite a looker isn't she?" I stated, as I flipped open my napkin.

Karen was caught off guard and blushed, "Um... yes, I suppose she is." She stammered and hastily began fiddling with her place setting.

The attraction she felt for the waitress was pretty obvious to me, I hadn't done anything to cause it, but there was no way I was going to leave it alone! This was just the sort of thing my new powers were here for. I was going to give this girl a bit of a nudge in the right direction.

"It's always nice to be served by someone who's attractive, don't you think?" I asked.

"Y... Yes... I guess so." She said.

"You guess it's nice, or you guess she's attractive?" I asked. I flashed some images of Jennifer across her mind and slipped an increase in Karen's latent desires.

"I guess... it's nice to be served by someone... as attractive as she is." She stammered and looked away to where Jennifer was stood at the bar.

"I'm sure she feels the same way about serving such an attractive customer too"

I said and raised my glass of water in way of a toast. She smiled and dropped her eyes. Jennifer was certainly not going to argue about a chance to get to know Karen. I had previously closed my eyes to concentrate on her thoughts and the willingness to experience another woman was pretty close to the surface.

"What?" I asked, grinning, "not used to compliments?"

"Not really, no. It seems I've not had many recently." She grimaced slightly and again, averted her gaze...

"Well, things are going to be better for you from now on. I can feel it. New job, independence... you're on the up!"

Her face reddened, she was certainly not used to being looked up to. She began to eat her meal, to cover her embarrassment.

"And Jennifer sure seems to think you are attractive. I've seen her looking at you." I said confidentially. It was a lie but I placed a couple of commands and ensured that Jennifer would begin to glance Karen's way more obviously.

"Wh... what do you m... mean?" Karen asked, looking disturbed.

"Just that it seems that attractive people find each other attractive." I replied.

"Oh," she said.

"You do find Jennifer attractive don't you?" I asked, pointedly.

"She... is an attractive girl," she whispered.

I let the feelings of arousal drift into her mind more and more. "What if she came over here and told you how attractive you are, would you like to believe her?" I asked.

"Sh... she wouldn't do that." Karen whispered. She put her knife and fork next to her plate and stared at me.

I Smiled at her and said "let's see what she says."

I caught Jennifer's eye and she quickly came across the room. She was already quite pleased to get closer to the beautiful woman at my side. I just pushed her a couple of notches up on her 'interest' scale.

"Jennifer?" I started, "Could you tell Karen here... is she an attractive lady?"

"Oh yes! I don't think there's anyone prettier!" She beamed at Karen, saying with conviction, the thoughts I had planted in her head. Karen stared at her, mezmerised.

"Th... thank you." Karen whispered, "you are very pretty too."

Now it was Jennifer's turn to blush.

"Jennifer, do you stay here in the hotel?" I asked.

"No, I have an apartment in a block that the hotel owns just across the street, it's really convenient. I'm here training for my catering degree, and I was lucky to get the full package so it means I can be a little more independent.

The work is hard but they look after me."

I decided to push Karen to the limit of her normal responses.

"That's really good" I said and then indicated Karen. "My friend Karen here is trying to celebrate getting a new job and she doesn't have anyone to celebrate with. Do you think you could help her?"

Karen went white with shame, but I noticed she didn't say anything to protest.

Jennifer gulped. "Well... I don't know... I guess I... " she seemed confused by her emotions, I slid a couple of pushes her way and she looked deeply into Karen's eyes. "I guess it would be nice to help Karen celebrate. " She smiled at Karen and continued to tell us the time she finished her shift. It would only be another three quarters of an hour and she just had to get the receipts in order, then she would meet us in the lobby and we could go back to her place.

Karen hardly touched her food whilst we waited. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the waitress as she moved around the room.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

"How did you know this about me? I've never ever done anything like this before.

I haven't even admitted it to anyone." She was scared at the way things had happened so fast.

"Maybe you show more about what you really want, more than you imagined" I said, placing my hand on hers. "If you want to be with her, then let yourself go to her. It'll be fine, don't worry."

I reminded her to eat up and she picked a little more at the cool dish.

Karen was trembling as she stood and I escorted her to the hotel lobby. The charming decor was warm and cosy and there was a large open fireplace surrounded by large overstuffed armchairs. Jennifer was going to be a few minutes more and so the two of us sat down to wait.

"This is crazy!" Karen said suddenly. "I can't believe I've actually done any of this. She looked at me, hugging herself.

I decided to play this for keeps. Karen needed to do this, I could see it in her eyes, feel it in her mind. All she needed was an excuse to avert the shame of admitting it.

"Your trouble is now Karen, that you have no choice. I control you tonight. I decide what you are going to do, not you"

Her eyes went wide and she looked frightened. "What do you mean? Control?" she asked.

I blatantly laid in a command and she began to slip her hand up to the front of her blouse, plucking some of the buttons undone. She slipped her fingers into the cup of her bra and lifted out the cool, smooth globe of her tit, letting my eyes feast on the perfection of her perky little nipple.

She was horrified and gasped. "How?... how did you do that??" she looked at her hand as if it were someone else's.

"It's a little skill of mine" I said, smiling, "I am going to make sure you get what you want, even if you don't realise yet, that you want it."

I let her get herself back together, tucking her tingling breast back into its cup she straightened her clothes in a panic.

"I don't want you doing this to me! I don't need your help. Everything will be fine, just leave me alone and let me go home. I'm already late!"

"You can't go home Karen, He's waiting for you, he'll be angry..."

She paled, the tears looming in her pretty eyes. "I'll be alright, I want to..."

"Don't be stupid!" I said, forcefully. She blinked at my raised voice. "He's going to beat the shit out of you for going off like you did today. You haven't told him about the interview have you?"

"I... I was going to." She said in her quiet frightened voice.

"You were going to stay out rather than go and face him, weren't you? You were going to wait until it was late enough for him to have fallen asleep, weren't you?" I could see that I had put my finger on it. "No, Karen, you are going to start your new life tonight, here. There's nothing you are going to be able to do to stop it."

Karen was about to speak again, but Jennifer suddenly appeared behind her chair and cheerfully greeted us.

"Hi there! I hope you don't expect my place to be much, but you're welcome to come up and we can have a drink to celebrate your new success. I even managed to get a bottle of bubbly from the wine waiter, he says it's quite good."

Karen just looked at her with her moist eyes beginning to sparkle. It was evident that she really did find Jennifer attractive. She didn't say anything as we all rose and walked out to the street and made our way to the second floor apartment across the road.

Jennifer's flat wasn't overly large, but it was reasonably well appointed. I'd half expected it to be some sort of garret that the hotel had begrudgingly let her have but this was pretty impressive for a young girl on her own. Karen was quite impressed.

"Oh wow! I think this room is bigger than my entire place! And it's a lot prettier!"

We took off our coats and Jenny hung them in the hall closet.