It was too late. I wanted to grab the words as they were leaving my mouth and stuff them back in. I was angry and I? d just lost control and let my anger out on one of my peers, Dave... in the middle of an executive presentation! My heart raced with fear as I tried to cover myself, apologize, retract... but I was just making matters worse. A quick glance toward John was almost unbearable, but I HAD to know what my boss and mentor? s reaction would be. I shouldn't have. Now instead of expecting the worst, I KNEW it. John's cold, empty stare told me that the best I could do was to shut-up and minimize my losses. I was not looking forward to the drive home, or of course, worse yet... getting home. I squirmed just thinking about it, and I knew it was going to be a very long day.
The meeting ended, probably rather abruptly after my "foot in mouth", but it seemed like an eternity to me. I tried to walk back to my cube unnoticed, taking the stairs instead of the elevator to try and avoid John, thinking of ways to impress him before the day was over. It was early yet! If I could just find a way to mitigate the harm I'd done, maybe... On my desk was a note from John - "See Me NOW". I knew he was angry, but maybe this was a chance to display my remorse and promise to redeem myself. Maybe he was going to be understanding. Maybe...
As I walked toward his office, I put my best facade on and tried to act as if I was not trembling. I remembered how much John had done for me in the nearly two years we? d been rooming together. John, a Vice President, had first interviewed me for a job with the corporation when I was about to finish college. My transcript sparkled, I was confident... well, more honestly - pretty full of myself. I just knew that any company would be lucky to get me! I suppose most fresh college grads are a bit superior. Anyway, I received several offers, but John had shown a particularly personal interest in me. He said I reminded him of himself, and offered to be my personal mentor if I accepted the position in his company. I was impressed that a VP saw enough potential in me to make that kind of commitment. John had warned me that the work would be hard, the hours long, and the criticism harsh. I knew my life would basically be his, but I was convinced I could get on the corporate ladder "fast track" with John, and accepted the job. John lived alone in large house and offered to put me up while I found a place of my own. We became fast friends, so I never bothered to move out. I? ve matured as a person and as an employee much more than I thought possible since then... Thanks to John? s guidance, encouragement, attention, affection and yes.. his discipline.
I'll never forget the first time he spanked me. I hadn't been spanked since I was 10. I had screwed up royally at work... I was trying so hard to emulate his executive persona, but I had been lazy and I had started to become a whiner. One morning John caught me mouthing off to a client I was fed up with and he suddenly became fed up with me. He could have fired me on the spot, but gave me two alternatives to outright dismissal from work and moving out of his house immediately. I could take a demotion, which I knew would knock me off the "fast track" permanently, or I could turn myself over to him for intense training and place myself under his complete control - professionally AND personally, as if he were my father. He told me right up front and calmly [as if it weren't the life changing moment we both knew it was] that I had been acting like a spoiled bratty kid and my training would include corporal punishment when necessary. If I acted like a child, I would be treated like a child.. starting that night. I was stunned. I desperately wanted to advance my career. I even more desperately wanted to please this man who had trusted me... and whom I'd disappointed. I knew he was right, but I was still in disbelief. Could this really be happening? Did he really mean it? My god, I was 24 years old... surely there was another alternative; he HAD to be kidding, right?. My pulse was racing. I was still _c_o_c_k_y enough to challenge him and try to laugh it off. He simply said I could walk out the door now or select one of his options. I argued a while longer, but it he clearly meant what he said, and I knew I was powerless. John gave me until the drive home to make my decision. That afternoon I made the most important decision of my life. At 5:00 I walked to his office and sheepishly gave the speech I'd been preparing in my mind. I was embarrassed and I was scared, but I tried to look him in the eye and with a tremor in my voice said "Sir... I know I've behaved badly and I know I've disappointed you. I appreciate everything you've done and for giving me a chance to make it right. I am truly sorry and I'm... I? m... I? m ready to go home with you to begin my training." John seemed to almost cry and I knew I'd made him happy. I was glad. The drive home was uncomfortable. John was talking about all the wonderful potential I had and how much we could accomplish together toward my career. I was still scared, but confused. He hadn't mentioned the spanking again. Was he bluffing? Did my speech please him enough to make him change his mind? He was smiling proudly as we walked into the house, but my questions were immediately answered. My head started spinning as he walked straight to the kitchen table for a chair and said, "I'm sure you're anxious to get this over and done with, so go hang your suit coat up and come here to me." I was about to pass out... I really WAS going to get a spanking! I still couldn't believe it was happening, and I had actually asked for it! I wanted to run, but couldn't. I robotically hung my coat in the closet and walked over to John. I'm sure my face was flushed with terror and embarrassment and my mouth was gaping. I must have really looked like a wide-eyed little kid. I couldn't speak if I'd wanted to. John didn't prolong my agony. He was seated in the chair, and I was facing him. In an instant, he grabbed my left arm, pulled me to his right side and hauled me over his lap. There's a reason why this is called the classic spanking position... my ass was the apex to the angle of my body... a perfect target. I had finally crossed the threshold of no return. My last chances to change my mind were all used up, and John knew it too. I lay there with my butt waiting and my heart pounding. I didn't even know, at the time, how lucky I was that my pants were still pulled up. Since a spanking was obviously going to happen, I now resolved to retain as much dignity through it as I could... I was a man, after all, not a little boy. Tenderly, wistfully John said, "I love you, you know. You are now my son. I will raise you and be proud of you. I will hug you when you're good and spank you when you're bad. It is my responsibility to see that you learn to take YOUR responsibilities seriously. Tonight you will learn that the customer is always right!" SMAACK - his large hand finally met my ass with surprising force. Even through my slacks and briefs, it stung. "SAY IT!" he yelled. "Say what?" I pleaded innocently... I was pretty incoherent. SMAACK SMAACK! "The customer is always right," he repeated. "The customer is always right" I whimpered an echo. SMAACK... he paused briefly... SMAACK SMAACK SMAACK SMAACK - four very quick and hard ones... "Say it!" -- "The customer is always right!" Oh... I was beginning to understand. SMAACK "The customer is always right," I said on cue this time. My ass was warming up fast. SMAACK! "Pleeeease, the customer IS always right... I know that now!" SMAACK! SMAACK! SMAACK! SMAACK! SMAACK! - very quickly again as he said "No commentary! Just repeat your lesson until I'm convinced you believe it with all your heart." I don't know about my heart, but my ass was already convinced. SMAACK! "The customer is ALWAYS right" I tried to say with conviction. This alternating swat and speak went on with a steady but increasing rhythm for at least 25 spanks. My butt HURT! I realized that age doesn't matter... a spanking is a spanking and _d_a_m_n_ it... they're painful. When he stopped, I started to get up. He pushed me back down; "You'll get up only when I tell you to, young man!" he was now quite stern. "I think you've learned your lesson for tonight. I believe you are convinced and understand that what you did was wrong." Whew... that wasn? t SO bad, I thought. I was waiting for him to tell me to stand up and go to bed when he said, "Now you need something to REMEMBER what you've learned so that this never happens again. Now stand up, but stand still!" He quickly unbuckled my belt and pulled it from my pants. Oh God, I thought. I was once again in shock, too shocked to even react. I instinctively and unconsciously began to whimper as John unfastened my slacks and opened my zipper. He yanked my pants and briefs down to my knees with one quick jerk. As my suit pants fell to my ankles, I was suddenly jerked back 'into position' over John's knees. I don? t know which was worse, the utter humiliation of being a bare-assed grown man in the OTK position, or the fear I had about what was to come. "Now we'll make certain that you NEVER talk to a client like that again! Next time a customer starts to make you angry, you remember THIS!" !Whip!... "aaaaUGH" !Whap! "oooWWW".. !Split! "OUUUUCH!"... !Splat! "NOOOOO" !Swhippp! "Pleeeeeeeease!" My own belt was slicing my already sore ass. I was embarrassed, I was humbled, I was sorry, but most of all... I was on fire! The leather seared my cheeks over and over. I was screaming, kicking, crying, pleading and begging. John just ignored my screams, held me down, and continued until I finally went limp over his lap and sobbed. Oh I certainly learned and remembered that the customer is always right that night, but the additional understanding was much more profound. I accepted the fact that I had been fundamentally wrong, and I really deserved this punishment. I HAD been acting like a brat and I was never going to improve if I didn? t work to get better.... and I knew I had proven myself lazy enough to avoid the work if left only with my own will power. In the intimacy of being spanked, I realized that John really did love me... that I needed him, that I needed his discipline, that his firm direction could really mold me into a better person... that his loving guidance and discipline would motivate me. I was genuinely sorry for my self-centered behavior - I was suddenly taking internal responsibility for my actions like never before in my life.
The memory of that first night was strong as I walked toward John? s office. I knew I was in trouble. I started to knock on the door, but it opened beneath my knuckles. John looked right through me and said, "Hold my calls," to his secretary. He seemed calm enough, but then, he never let his anger show in a professional environment. That was just one of the many talents I was trying so hard to learn from him. Holding his calls, however, was not a good sign. John would only take a break during business hours for the most urgent reasons. He motioned me inside, closed, and locked the door behind him.