Chapter 2: The First Night

Free Indirect Discourse

At long last the night had arrived. Sandy checked over the apartment one more time just to be sure everything was perfect. She had an impressive assortment of wine and liquor and a beautiful tray of finger food arranged on her modest coffee table. She had brought in several chairs from the dining room to make sure that everyone would have a place to sit. Plus, the dining room chairs would be easy to arrange once the entertainment arrived – she wanted to make sure everyone could get a good view. For now, though, she had the chairs arranged in a circle so that everyone could comfortably face each other as they talked – no TV or board games this evening – this was to be a sophisticated social gathering in keeping with Sandy's newfound adulthood. As she finished arranging the chairs the thought suddenly entered her mind that at some point this evening she would probably be sitting in one of these chairs hypnotized. Again, she wondered why she had always assumed that she would be the Mistress's subject, but pushed the thought out of her mind even as it sent shivers up and down her spine.

Sandy had spent the whole day cleaning and getting ready (her boss had given her the day off since it was her birthday), and decided that in the hour before the party she would indulge in a nice long bath – it was her day, after all. As she lay in the bubbles and let the warmth of the bath surround her she began to muse on the evening ahead. She had been so thrilled to know that her boss, Penny, had agreed to come, but as she reflected in the dreaminess of the bubble-bath she also realized that she was somewhat nervous about Penny coming this evening – after all, she would have to make a good impression. She knew that her friends wouldn't do anything to embarrass her, but what if the wine wasn't expensive enough or the conversation not adult enough?

For a moment she felt a brief burst of panic – what would her boss think about the hypnotist? Would she find it silly? Sandy started to worry – after all, her boss had overlooked her age and lack of experience in hiring her. What if seeing that her new "adult" receptionist was into juvenile party tricks like hypnosis made her rethink Sandy's potential?

And what if Sandy said something damaging while she was hypnotized? She didn't have any concerns that she might reveal some kind of negative thoughts about her boss because she really didn't have any. She admired Penny tremendously – she was a young, successful woman who had never shown Sandy anything but respect and kindness. But what if Sandy, while in a trance, revealed too much about her own insecurities? She was doing her best to be a professional, and to live up to Penny's expectations, but she was always worried that she didn't have what it took. She feared that Penny – a strong, independent woman who seemed so powerful and in control – might learn that deep down, Sandy still felt like she did her freshmen year at college as she tried to adjust to being away from home.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that there was really only one solution: she would have to let someone else be hypnotized. Penny might find the whole thing a bit juvenile, but Sandy could always tell her that she was catering to some of her friends or something. As long as she wasn't in trance herself, the damage would be minimal. Penny had always been so kind to Sandy that she didn't think one off-beat night could possibly ruin their working relationship.

Upon making this decision, though, Sandy realized that the excitement that had steadily begun to course through her had diminished a bit. The flush that had come over her when she had thought about hypnosis had returned as she had soaked and thought about the night – even intensifying a bit as she thought about what she might reveal to her boss while she was under. But when she realized that she couldn't possibly be the one to be hypnotized as long as her boss was around, some of that excitement was gone.

There was nothing to be done about it, though, so Sandy tried to push all of her worries and desires regarding hypnosis to the back of her mind and to focus on the other aspects of the night to come. Her other friends, Shirley, Mila, Casey, and Mindy were all roughly her age and were similarly trying to really make it on their own for the first time. They would all really enjoy the very adult kind of party that Sandy was trying to throw here – she was sure that they would appreciate its symbolism as much as she did.

The real unknown, Sandy realized, was the hypnotist. Sandy really didn't know much about "the Mistress" and hadn't been in control of the conversation with Eve. She wasn't even sure what it was that had drawn her to the idea of hiring a hypnotist as entertainment in the first place. She had to admit, Eve was one heck of saleswoman. Sandy had only intended to make a very simple phone call to get some preliminary information and ended up making a booking for an "Exploratory Session," which was supposed to be the most intense of the options available.

It suddenly struck Sandy that she had never even learned how much this was going to cost! Eve had managed to get her to agree to the booking without ever mentioning price. Yet, somehow, Sandy felt that it would all turn out fine – Eve had been so assuring and seemed to know what was best. Somehow Sandy trusted her and was willing to follow her lead. Ironically, Sandy thought to herself that if the receptionist had been this incredibly persuasive just imagine what "the Mistress" could do!

That rush of excitement that she had been trying to push to the back of her mind rushed back undeniably at that thought. Why was she so turned on by all of this?

"So that's it, " She thought. "I guess I just admitted to myself that I find this arousing. But why? I've never really thought about hypnosis before. Here I am making my start as an adult in the world and suddenly I'm turned on by stuff I used to see in cartoons."

Whatever the reason, the realization that she was drawn to hypnosis on some kind of sexual level only strengthened her resolve. She had to resist the temptation to be Mistress Catherine's subject. Eve had said that the direction of the "exploratory" sessions were governed by the subject, and she was starting to get an idea of the direction that her session would take. Her girlfriends would probably find it all amusing, which would be fine with her, but she couldn't let her boss see her like that.

Maybe she could explore this newfound fetish on her own once the party was over.

Getting out of the tub, Sandy started getting herself ready for the party. Since she wasn't headed to a night on the town she didn't feel that she needed to get too dolled up – just some stylish jeans, and a simple top would do. She put on some light makeup and did her hair in a simple, slightly tousled look and was, in the end, pleased with what she saw in the mirror.

A little bit later the guests started to arrive. Mila and Shirley arrived together and Casey showed up shortly thereafter. Penny came almost exactly on time. She was well aware of the possible awkwardness of the situation – being at the birthday party of her employee – so she had done her best to put everyone, herself included, at ease with her dress and appearance. She had decided to forgo the business attire that Sandy had always seen her in and, instead, to simply wear jeans, a simple top, and some modest heels.

She was actually looking forward to the evening quite a bit. She really liked Sandy, and was happy to have hired her. She had sensed, though, that Sandy found her a bit intimidating, despite Penny's best efforts to always be as genuine and respectful as she could be. Penny saw this party as a chance to break down some of those walls – to get to know Sandy on a more personal level so that they could enjoy working together that much more.

Though only thirty-two herself, Penny had come to think of Sandy as a kind of protégé – someone in whom she saw herself when she was younger and wanted to pass on what she knew. She had been impressed with Sandy when she applied for the job and, though there were more qualified applicants, decided to go with the energetic young woman who seemed so eager to make a start in the "real world."

So far she hadn't been disappointed at all – Sandy was an extremely hard worker and very eager to please. At times Penny almost found it overwhelming – as though Sandy looked up to her so much that it was almost a responsibility unto itself. But this was a small price to pay for a personal assistant who was so willing to take on extra work and with whom there seemed to be such a special personal bond. Though they'd only been working together a short time, Penny already felt a sense of protectiveness over Sandy, and really wanted to see her – and to help her – succeed in reaching her goals, whatever those might be.

Upon arrival at the party she saw that three of Sandy's friends had already arrived. Sandy made quick introductions and Penny was soon welcomed by Shirley and Mila, who were seated on the couch with plates of finger food and glasses of wine, and then Casey, who had just finished putting food on her plate and was headed towards the wine.

"Here, let me get that for you." Sandy said to Casey.

"Sit down, would you?" Casey replied. "It's your birthday, for god's sake, we should be waiting on you."

"You're her boss," Mila quipped, "can you order her to sit down and relax for a bit!"

Penny laughed as she made her way to the table to get a glass of wine for herself.

"I'm not her boss tonight – we're out of the office so right now she's just a friend."