The Perfect Right Hook Read online

  The Perfect Right Hook

  by: Amy DeMeritt

  The Perfect Right Hook

  Copyright © 2016 Amy DeMeritt

  All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1541024861

  ISBN-10: 1541024869

  This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Cover designed and licensed by Amy DeMeritt

  Dedication:

  To: Kristin

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  About the Author

  Next project:

  Chapter One

  My head is pounding and my body feels like it’s been run over by a Zamboni. My arms and legs are stiff and I can’t move them at all. Wait, why can’t I move? I slowly open my eyes and see that I’m lying stretched out naked on my bed with my arms and legs securely tied with black 550 para cord to my head and foot boards. What the hell?! My heart starts racing and I feel like I can’t breathe. What happened? Who did this to me? I test the strength of the knots and they’re unmercifully firm and unbreakable. I feel like I’m about to hyperventilate with a full-on panic.

  “You’re finally awake.”

  My eyes snap to my doorway and I only slightly relax seeing her familiar face, but I’m still startled to see her. We broke up years ago. She’s just standing there with an evil looking sneer on her face, which makes her sharp angular features look menacing. She’s wearing a red polo with her boxing gym’s logo and a pair of straight front khakis.

  “Tina? What… why am I like this?”

  “You lost a bet last night. Granted, you were drunk when you made the bet, but you never did let me do this when we were together, so I had to take advantage of the opportunity.”

  “Did we? Did you top me? What bet are you talking about?”

  “Relax Jordan; nothing happened. Jesus, you were so fucking wasted it would have been like rapping you. But you’re awake now. You want a quick fuck before I have to get to work?”

  “Tina, we broke up years ago, and from my recollection, we didn’t leave things on good enough terms for a quick friendly fuck. Can you please untie me now and tell me what happened last night?”

  “Nope, you’re going to stay like that for the rest of the day. The past may be ‘water under the bridge’ or whatever, but a bet is a bet. As far as what happened last night, I’ll fill you in later when I come back to untie you after work. I don’t have time right now. Or, if you have the guts to call for help, I left your phone next to your pillow. The voice command is on so you won’t need your hands. See you later.”

  “Tina! Wait, please don’t leave me like this. I can’t miss work today or I’ll be fired.”

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. You know damn well that place needs you. They can’t afford to fire you. But if you’re so worried about it, just make a phone call. Maybe Callie will come cut you loose. She’s to blame for your condition after all.”

  “Callie? What do you mean? Damn it, Tina, please!”

  Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. I can’t believe this is happening. None of this makes any sense. In what godforsaken circumstances would I have been in last night with Tina that I would have made a bet and ended up like this? And what does Callie have anything to do with this? Tina just smiles and starts to walk out of my bedroom.

  “Tina!”

  “See you later, Jordan!”

  I lay on my back completely helpless and just cry. I can’t believe she would do this to me. When we were together, she wanted to experiment with bondage and other light BDSM “games”, but I was firmly against it. There are just too many people around the world that are forced into those “sex slave” types of activities that I just can’t see the pleasure in purposefully putting myself into a situation like that. Even now, being naked and tied up on the bed, completely vulnerable, I do not feel even the slightest twinge between my legs. I only feel fear and panic. I’m going to have a heart attack if I’m not cut loose soon.

  As a boxer, I’ve had a few pretty bad blows to the head, and right now, I feel like I’m in one of those moments. My head is pounding as if every blood vessel in my head is pulsing against my skull with each rapid panicked beat of my heart. My eyes are starting to become unfocused and blurry from the tears brimming at the rims of my bottom lids. My lungs burn with anxiety. Breathe Jordan – in ten counts, hold three counts, out ten counts, that’s it, just breathe. Deep, slow, calming breaths help bring the panic down enough to take action and try to fix my situation.

  Using my phone’s operating system’s robot name, I call her to my aid to dial Callie’s number.

  “Hey Pixie.” A husky but feminine voice coos out of my phone.

  “I need your help. Can you come over?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  I tell her my situation and she laughs into the phone. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking, but yes I’ll come over and cut you free.” I feel myself slightly relax, but feel very confused. How does she not know? Tina said she’s the reason I’m tied up like this.

  It feels like its hours later when Callie finally saunters into my bedroom with a big grin on her face eyeing me up and down. She’s standing at the foot of my bed just looking at my naked body with those root beer brown eyes of hers dancing with desire. Her brown lips curl into a bigger smirk when she finally meets my eyes.

  “Hey Pixie, looking good.” She licks her lips and I feel my panic increase. She lets out a small chuckle and runs a couple fingers down my shin. “Are you sure you don’t want me to top you before you have to go to work?”

  “Callie, please don’t joke. Just untie me.” She shrugs her shoulders with a smirk on her face and looks at the knots securing my feet. “I’m going to need a knife or scissors. That crazy bitch knew what she was doing. These are some serious knots. I’ll be back.”

  A few moments later, she returns with a big steak knife and I recoil in greater panic when she reaches towards my feet with it. She places a hand on my ankles and looks at my face with a kind smile.

  “Relax, Jordan. I’m not going to hurt you. Damn, girl, this really isn’t your thing, huh?”

  I shake my head and bite my bottom lip trying not to jerk my legs while she works the knife between my skin and the rope. She slowly cuts upwards with the back of blade just barely digging into my ankle.

  When my legs are free, I have to resist the urge to thrash them around to enjoy their freedom as to not expose my groin to Callie. She quickly comes around the side of the bed and kneeling on one knee next to my ribcage, she quickly cuts the rope off the headboard. I pull my hands forward but they’re still tied. I hold them out to Callie and she carefully cuts through the tough cord.

  Once I’m free of my restraints, I pull the sheet up to cover myself and start crying again. Callie sits down next to me and wraps an arm around me, pulling me onto her chest.

  “Do you want me to beat her up?” I let out a small laugh in between sobs. “No. Just don’t let me drink anymore.”

  “What are you talking
about? Pixie, you never drink. You’re allergic to alcohol. Look, I don’t know what happened last night because I wasn’t with you, but I’m going to hunt Tina down and get some fucking answers. Now, get up and get ready for the day so you don’t lose your job. Don’t forget to meet me at the gym for a training session tonight.” I sit up and rub my eyes. “Ok, thanks Callie.”

  Everything seems so foggy. I don’t remember anything from yesterday or last night. Nothing makes sense. And why does my head hurt so badly? What the hell did Tina do to me?

  After Callie leaves, I have to rush around getting ready for work. Typically, it wouldn’t be such a big deal if I had to call out, but this week it’s pretty much impossible. I work in IT doing reporting and software development, but this week I’m also covering for both of our support technicians. It would be our luck that while one is on vacation, the other would be chosen as a juror for a murder trial. I actually started with my company in the entry level support technician position, but worked my way up over the past six years to where I am now. In some departments, it would probably seem degrading for someone of a higher up position to have to do entry level work again, but for those of us in IT that got our start in a tech position, its actually something we enjoy doing occasionally. It breaks up the day being able to get up from your desk to help a user with their system issues or replace hardware. Give me a really bad paper jam in one of the copy, print, fax combo machines and I’m really happy. Taking a giant machine apart and then reassembling it gives me that joy I felt as a kid playing with Lego’s or Transformers. It’s fun.

  When I get to work, and log into the help desk ticket system, I smile. It’s already flooded with issues. After feeling completely helpless and vulnerable this morning, this is exactly what I need, to throw myself head deep into work. Being an expert in my field and having an office full of people dependent on my skill and knowledge gives me back the power and control I felt like I had stolen from me this morning. I hate feeling vulnerable and defenseless.

  I check my email first, to see if there are any escalated issues, before I start plowing through the ticket system. I have three urgent emails from my manager, all in regards to the desk setup of the new accounting manager that started today. Apparently, one of our techs set up her desk last week, but nothing is working. Her phone and computer won’t turn on. Wow, first thing in the morning and I get a potential “monster” ticket right off the bat. This could either be as simple as plugging something in, or as complicated as having to wire the entire office for power. I’m hoping it’s the latter of the two. It’s actually very probable since we recently reconstructed the office layout and that office has been empty since the change.

  I grab a voltage tester and head down the hall. Our company has an open-door policy so none of the offices have doors, but I feel like I should still knock before entering an office, it just seems impolite not to. I tap a few times on the door frame and peek my head inside.

  “Good morning, I’m Jordan. I’m here to look into your power issue.” I freeze as I’m about to take a step into her office. The woman sitting behind the desk can’t be any more than twenty-six to thirty years old and she’s gorgeous. Her face is slightly round with soft features and she has dark hair and very light seafoam green eyes. How did someone so young become the accounting manager for such a large company? Aside from her gorgeous face, there is something else about her that is drawing me into her, something comforting. I can’t explain it; it’s like an unseen aura of peace radiating from her.

  “I’m Alex. Thank you for coming so quickly. I have a meeting in an hour. Do you think you’ll have me up before then?”

  “It’s possible, but it depends on the problem. Do you mind if I take a seat?” Alex stands from her desk and takes a couple steps back. I sit down and make an unnecessary mental note of how much more comfortable her chair is than mine – one of the perks of being in management I guess.

  I reach to make sure the plugs are securely plugged in and Alex says, “I checked that. I’ve already checked to make sure everything is plugged in tightly. I even unplugged and plugged everything in.” She exhales impatiently and I smile. I want to point out to her that she would be surprised how often users submit tickets for hardware not working and it actually ends up being because something came unplugged, but I decide not to say anything as to not further frustrate her. I pull the plugs out of the outlet and insert the testing rods of the voltage tester. Nothing. There’s no juice coming from the outlet. I stand up, and after pushing her monitors aside, I pop open the top of the back panel of her desk. Nothing. There should be wires fed up through the panel going into the outlet. I slightly bite my lip and turn to look at her.

  “I uh, have bad news. I’m going to need to wire your office for power. You don’t have any wires connected to your outlets. I don’t think I’ll have you set up before your meeting. However, I can set you up with a laptop till I can get your office ready. That will only take me about fifteen minutes.”

  She looks so frustrated. I actually feel bad that I had wished for this scenario before coming to her desk. I know it’s just superstition, but I feel like I “jinxed” her.

  “Why didn’t you check to make sure everything worked before I started today?” It’s odd, her voice and tone just don’t seem to match her words. I don’t detect anger in her tone at all. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t the one that set up your office. I don’t typically handle tech issues. I work in reporting and software; I’m just filling in since both of our technicians are off this week. I’ll work as quickly as possible to get you set up and able to work today.”

  “Ok, if you can get me the laptop that would be great.” I just sit here looking at her, feeling almost in a trance. Her voice – I could listen to it for hours. It feels like soft silk on my ears, like something so soft you almost feel like your imagining its existence. Chinchilla fur, that’s what it feels like, so soft it feels almost like water or air. “Um, do you need something from me?” She’s looking at me confused and I realize I have been staring at her for way too long. “Oh, sorry. No, I’ll be back soon.”

  I quickly go back to my department and grab a laptop. After reviewing the setup request for her desk, I make sure the laptop is setup with access to all the requested programs and drives on the server. When I get back to her office, Alex is sitting in her chair leaning forward with her elbows on the desk and her face in her hands.

  “Are you ok?” Alex looks up with a blank expression. “Yeah, I’m ok, just a little frustrated.”

  “Ok, well I have your laptop ready, so hopefully that helps. I just need you to test your login credentials and make sure you can access everything you need to.”

  I place the laptop down on her desk and Alex slides over to it. She types in the credentials I printed out for her and she receives an error. She looks up at me with a crestfallen look that makes me want to hold her. “May I?” I reach forward and she slides over a little bit. A couple clicks later I have her try again. This time it works and her desktop starts to load. She lets out a deep sigh of relief. She tests access to her email and the server and everything seems to be working fine.

  “Thank you. I hope I have time to finish this before my meeting. Will I be in your way if I work in here?”

  “No, you should be fine. You may want to sit on the other side though because I’ll need to pull up some floor panels to find the wires to connect to. I need to go get some tools and materials and I’ll be right back.”

  While I’m gathering what I need to wire Alex’s office, my co-worker and friend Regina comes clomping into the department with her heavy elephant tread. It has always amused me how such a tiny woman can walk so heavily. Callie calls me Pixie because I’m no more than five foot three inches and weigh about a hundred and fifteen pounds, but next to Regina, I feel gigantic. The woman is in her fifties (more than twenty years older than me), pencil thin, and only five feet tall. Sure, three inches isn’t much, but when you’re three inches, or more, shorter
than the rest of the adult world, it feels great to be that much taller than another adult.

  “Hey, doing the grunt work this week, huh? Looks like you have yourself a doozy first thing in the morning.”

  “Yeah, the new accounting manager’s desk needs to be wired.”

  “Who worked her ticket last week?”

  “Uh, I think it was Todd. I’ll have to look.”

  “That little piece of shit. He should have taken care of that. Send me that ticket number when you get done.”

  “Sure.”

  Regina’s a supervisor over the technicians and she’s always butting heads with Todd. He’s a young guy, basically right out of high school, with a cocky attitude and thinks he’s above his current responsibilities, but he tends to screw up a lot of the tickets he works by cutting corners. Our other technician, Beck, is around his same age, but polar opposite in work ethic – you can actually count on him to do the job right.

  Several minutes later, I tap on the door frame of Alex’s office. She looks up from her laptop and quickly waves me in. “Please just tell me if I’m in your way at all and I’ll move.” I smile as I set my supplies down on the other side of her desk. “Don’t worry, I will.” She smiles for the first time and actually lets out a small laugh. “I’m sorry you got stuck with having to deal with me today. Especially since this isn’t really your job. Sorry if I was rude earlier.” I shake my head and start moving her computer monitors out of my way. “You’re fine. Don’t worry about it. I actually enjoy doing this kind of work every so often.”

  I grab a long flat head screwdriver and climb under her desk. I pop out the back panel of her desk wall and then lift the floor panel directly under her desk. Damn. There should be a series of capped wires under here, but there’s not. I scoot out some and pop out the panel directly in front of her desk. Nothing. What the hell? This is probably why Todd didn’t bother to do the job right last week. I stand up and move to the other side of her desk, where she is currently working on her laptop, and pop out the panel a few feet to the left of her, next to her wall. Nothing. I look over towards Alex and realize too late that my eyes are right in line with her legs. Damn, how did I not notice those before? She’s wearing a pinstripe skirt suit with black two-inch heel pumps. Her legs are long and smooth and have an amazing defined muscle in both calves’.