Under His Protection - Love Under Lockdown

If Shawn ever found out where I was, it would be bad. Horrible, even, considering last year’s Christmas party…

Shawn and I had gone to the annual work party. It was the normal routine; I went to his work party, and he went to mine. There were cookies and catered food, and since Lamb Associates had the money to go all out, they had even hired a bartender and server. We were standing around the printer, balancing our plates on it and picking at the food, when Shawn spotted Mr. Lamb.

“Oh, so that’s your pretty boy boss, huh?” he had said. “He’d better not lay a finger on you.”

At the time, I had found his jealousy mildly endearing, mostly because I didn’t think I was in the same galaxy, much less league, of Julius Lamb. I remembered wondering if Shawn could somehow sense I found him attractive, but back then, he was just my boss.

Putting on my bathrobe, I went downstairs to get some breakfast. I found Mr. Lamb already fully dressed and going through some files. He had a breakfast plate already prepared for me.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he greeted. “Grab some breakfast and get dressed. We have a lot of work to do.”

“Okay,” I said, smiling. “Thanks for comforting me last night.”

“Uh huh,” he said, not looking up from his files. “I’m going to set up the Zoom meeting. It’s 8:30 now. Think you’ll be ready by 9:30?”

“Oh, uh, I guess I could be,” I said.

His demeanor was suddenly all-business again. Did I do something wrong?

“C’mon, hurry up and eat,” he said. “We’ve got clients to attend.”

“Uh, yeah, let me grab a shower first,” I said, returning upstairs.

It was so strange. Maybe I’m just not awake yet, but Julius was acting completely differently now. Did last night not mean anything? Did it even happen?

After getting ready, I came back downstairs, quickly ate breakfast, and got right to work. It was like we were back in the office. Something had signaled to me that we were going to forget about work and spend a lost week testing our sexual limits… but that Mr. Lamb was down in the basement.

This Mr. Lamb was intent on servicing his clients. Maybe that was the extent of this. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe I’d go down the basement stairs and find no door to a dungeon of pleasure, just a wall.

Julius called up a meeting on Zoom, and I recognized several of my coworkers on the call. My boss thought it best that I stay off camera and quiet during the call. I texted in my suggestions while Julius pretended that I was somewhere else. It was for the best; it would’ve been a shock to my coworkers to see me wandering around in the background.

But as the day wore on, I didn’t know what to expect. We took a break for lunch and it was still very businesslike. I thought maybe he’d tie me up for an hour and do something to me, but nothing happened. It seemed completely out of his mind; Julius was solely focused on the work.

Eventually, I got my laptop from my pile of stuff and set up on the opposite end of the kitchen table. Julius’ cold attitude made me frustrated, but I didn’t want to press the issue. This was his house, his world; I was still learning the rules. Perhaps I just needed the patience to get through all this.

I was worried that when the lockdown was all over, Mr. Lamb would want me to leave. Who would want to leave here? This fabulous house, with a beautiful man? No way! I loved it here. Plus, his strong hand made me feel safe and alive at the same time.

I longed to be cuddled by him again. Perhaps all I had to do is work hard and make it until the end of the workday.

This was the discipline Mr. Lamb referred to, I guessed. Without discipline, we’d probably just descend into sexual activity for days on end; we’d lose track of time, and whatever work we could accomplish would fall by the wayside.

We couldn’t do that. The business was still important. Dozens and dozens of people depended on Lamb Associates for advertising, not to mention a paycheck. It was more important to be strong, focused, and disciplined.

There was a time and place for dungeon fun; I just had to wait and be patient. I had to remember that being kept waiting was the most exhilarating part of the dance we were doing.

Instead of imagining myself working on my social media clients, I imagined myself lying in the basement on the stocks. It was that feeling of denial that heightened the sexual appetite,

Sitting in the kitchen, I centered myself and focused on my tasks. Julius was acting professional, so I had to do that, too. If he had the patience and the will to wait, then I had to develop that will and patience, too.