Holly MacAllaister

By

Karen Anne Summerfield
Ó June 1999

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"Cindy, I really don't want to do this." Holly looked in her mirror at her partner when she emerged from the bathroom.

"We've been through this before. I know you don't, period! This time you are going to do it anyway. I'll make it up to you, but do understand, I have got to attend with someone and you are her, Holly.

"Val made it quite clear. She told me this time she wanted no excuses, if I again showed up without a date. She even told me to pay someone, if it came to that, but no excuses or I'd be on the street before Monday. We both know - that is not a viable option." Cindy smoothed her gray wool sheath before the mirror.

"How much longer before you're ready?"

"Another ten minutes. I'll be on time." Holly MacAllaister returned her attention to her red mane. She finally stood and smoothed her mini-kilt over her black tights.

"I feel underdressed." Holly compared herself to her wife, who was dressed much more casually. Yes, they were married, but kept it a secret. Holly had breasts when they had met in college, but never seriously considered ‘going all the way’, even though the hormones she had ingested since turning eighteen, no longer allowed her plumbing to function fully.

"You are just fine. Trust me." Cindy helped her finish arranging the yellow, white, black and red tartan wool, matching her kilt, from Holly's right shoulder to her left hip under the large, lace jabot on her blouse. Holly was shaking from her nerves.

"Look, if you'll feel better, I'll let you wear your dagger." Holly's reaction was one of instant improvement. She frequently dressed to reflect her heritage, she even had a maid's uniform that contained a bit of her clan's tartan. Cindy often wondered about the almost magical power this silver fitted weapon seemed to have with Holly. There was no doubting what it could do with her, but never had she understood how or why it could give the girl confidence. She did not understand its calming influence on Holly either.

Cindy brought it from its display stand on top of Holly's dresser. The seven-inch, double-edged blade had been a major source of fights in the beginning, until Cindy declared it a topic never to be discussed unless she raised it. Crouching, Cindy slipped the clip on the back of the ornate scabbard over the top edge of Holly's black thigh boot.

She straightened to carefully watch Holly's pretty face, especially her deep, green eyes. "Go ahead", Cindy nodded toward the knife as she said this. Holly bent her knees until her right hand reached the handle. Once her long nailed fingers had wrapped around the silver hilt, Holly closed her eyes, just for ten seconds. Hearing it, Cindy looked to see the polished blade leave the scabbard, just halfway, pause and when Holly released the handle - the blade slid back in by gravity.

"Thank you, Cindy. You don't know what this does for me."

"You're wrong, I do know what it does for you. I just do not understand any of it.

"Ready?"

Cindy drove, explaining who else she expected to be at her boss's dinner, just three couples, besides themselves. "It's going to be work for us, before, probably during and after too. We've a big presentation to put on Monday and a lot of work still needs doing. What we don't finish tonight, we'll be doing tomorrow. I really don't want to work tomorrow before the presentation."

"Look's like we're late, that’s Judy's Ford and Mary's Mercedes." Cindy referred to the cars parked in the driveway when she turned into it.

"You did say three o'clock. It's only ten 'til."

Without being asked, Holly retrieved from behind the seat then carried in, Cindy's attaché and laptop case. She walked on her medium heeled boots confidently behind by two steps.

It was a man who opened the front door in response to the chimes. Perhaps early fifties, he was trim and handsome.

"Hi, Cindy. Come in, please?" Though he had addressed his wife's employee - clearly, his eyes were checking out Holly.

"Hi, Peter. Peter, this is my friend, Holly MacAllaister.

"Holly, Peter Vilks, Val's husband." Holly dipped a proper curtsey.

Peter's look was warm and neutral, inviting them inside. His wife's look was anything other than neutral after the introductions when she entered the hallway. Her jaw had dropped to her chest and it required a moment before Val regained her normal, disciplined exterior.

"I see, Cindy. Explains a bit, doesn't it? I'd never thought about." Peter understood as much of his wife's comment as Holly had, nothing.

There were two men in the living room and the TV was tuned to the Sunday pro football game.

"Broncos just scored, seven zip, Pete."

Peter did the introductions when their mouths had closed and they fell silent. Their reaction to the redhead in the micro kilt was much the same as Val's, for much different reasons, especially watching her curtsey deeply to both of them. Peter resumed his seat in front of the TV, leaving his wife to handle the rest.

The ladies were set up in the large den, papers spread out all over. Their own computers were open before them. Though Cindy and Holly were a few minutes early, Judy and Mary had been there much longer.

During the introductions of Holly, both seemed to display no undue reactions to her presence accompanying their co-worker. Cindy moved to any empty area of the table between Mary and Judy. Her well-manicured nails just skimmed the table briefly and withdrew to her side. What happened next was not lost on anyone.

"Should have told me you wanted to get an earlier start, Val. I'd have been here," Cindy stated.

Holly went into motion. The computer case open, she had it set up, the AC adapter plugged in and it was loading as she extracted the diskette box and CD wallet, opening both to display their contents. Case gone, Cindy's attaché was set up on a spare chair Holly had brought over. From it, two pads and pens were set out. When finished, Holly dipped to Cindy.

"Thank you, Holly." Cindy sat and, not being told a thing, Holly left the room and returned with a large silver tray she had seen on the sideboard when passing through the dining room. Cindy ignored her circling the table collecting empty glasses, snack bowls and napkins.

"Where we at, Mary?" She leaned to peer at Mary's screen. Holly disappeared into the kitchen and returned without the tray immediately.

"May I serve refreshment, ladies?"

"Coke, Holly." Cindy did not glance away from her screen. Val was shaking her head when she left for the kitchen with their order.

"Cindy, when I said to be sure to bring a date, I did not mean to hire a maid."

"Holly is not my maid, we do live together and often share my bed for the night." Her voice was quiet and calm, but her look to her boss was challenging. "Is there a problem with that, Val?"

"No, of course not. I just did not expect it."

Holly served their soft drinks, placing full bowls of chips and pretzels on the table. She disappeared in the opposite direction and started cleaning up the den. Tray full of empties and trash, she faced the men who were staring at her in disbelief.

"Who is drinking what, guys?"

After serving their beers, Holly tidied up the room and disappeared into the kitchen. Before attacking the dirty glasses and bowls, she checked the refrigerator, a rib roast had been prepped and the pots atop the stove told her what else the hostess had planned on the menu.

"Mrs. Vilks, at what time did you plan dinner to be served, please?" Val answered without thinking of the question or why it had been asked. Cindy suppressed her giggles, quite proud of Holly as she again disappeared.

Completely on her own, without consulting anyone, Holly changed the menu and redid the preparations to the roast, fully confident her meal would turn out to be perfectly acceptable. Dinner underway, she brought sodas to the ladies and a round of beers to the men.

Not caring in the least, she asked, "Who's winning now, guys?" Bill Brown, Mary's husband answered.

"Eagles, thirty-seven, Denver seven. They completely shutdown right after you got here."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil this for you." She giggled, making a joke out this statement. "Next time, consult with me, before you place any bets.

"Who does everybody want to win?" The Broncos were their unanimous choice. "OK. How far into the game are they?"

"Halfway into the third quarter, about twenty-two minutes, left."

"I'll make it exciting for you then!" None saw her right hand go to her dagger and pull it just part way out. "OK. There you go. Enjoy the game."

"Interception! Holy shit!" None were paying the least attention to the cute redhead leaving the room. "He's going to run it - all the way!" Holly grinned to herself.

It was well over two hours later when Val entered her kitchen. So engrossed in the work that they had been doing, she had forgotten completely about dinner. Holly had been sitting at the kitchen table, reading a bread cookbook. She immediately closed it, stood and curtseyed to her questioning hostess.

"You were invited as my guest, Holly, not as my maid for the afternoon?" Val caught what she had just said, in a very disapproving tone. She smiled as she thought it through. "I don't suppose I'm being a very good hostess." She walked about her now clean kitchen, lifted pot lids and peered in the oven. She also looked at the dining room table set with her best china, sterling, crystal and linen.

"Why only seven settings, Holly?"

"I'll eat in here, if it’s OK, ma'am? I'll need to be up and down, bouncing around quite a bit to see everyone is tended properly." Val pulled out a chair and sat, motioning that she wanted Holly to do the same.

"Care to tell me about yourself?" Holly was not comfortable, seated across from the woman.

"I'm Scottish, a lassie, if you will, ma’am. I'm twenty-seven. Cindy and I have known each other since she was in grad school. What else would you like to know, ma'am?"

"Call me Val, or my full name Valkeryrie. Do you work?"

"If you mean, do I having paying employment, no. I tend the house for Cindy and attend all her needs and desires, Valkeryrie.

"Are you German?" Holly asked.

"Yes. Kinda hard to miss it with a name like mine and the way I look. Both sets of my grandparents were born there."

"Excuse me?" Holly bounced up, curtseyed and hurried to turn down a pot that had started to boil.

"I took the liberty of selecting wine from the rack and have it chilling to serve with dinner."

"Fine. Is there anything you think you need that you didn't find, Holly?" Val didn't really expect the immediate reply.

"Yes, a decent, sharp, carving knife. I'll manage, though." The way Holly smiled caused Val to want to question, but she didn't.

"What time?"

"Seven, just as you requested, ma'am. I'll give everyone fifteen minutes to freshen up, Valkeryrie."

"Holly, come a sec', please?" Cindy's call from the other room caused Holly to immediately rise, curtsey to Val and go there, Val close behind. Cindy pointed to Judy's computer. "Fix that please?"

In her office, Val was the computer whiz, though the three others could hold their own with most. As Judy rose and Holly slipped in her chair, Val had read the error message displayed. Val’s corrective action would be a cold reboot, losing all displayed since Judy had last saved.

Despite her very long, red nails, Holly's fingers flew over the keys. Perhaps a minute and nearly seven hundred keystrokes, later, Holly slowed to "Save" the open file. She closed the application and slowly progressed through the application that loaded from a CD, one she had set out for Cindy at the start.

"Ah, there you are. Can't hide from Holly MacAllaister for very long." It had been ten minutes since she'd inserted the CD. "All fixed, you won't do that again! Let's see what other nastiness you have hidden inside." Another ten minutes later, Holly had Judy's program loaded and the file displayed. She curtseyed and returned to the kitchen.

Val picked up the CD wallet to read the label on the one that had been used.

" 'Holly's Little Bag o' Tricks', written by Holly MacAllaister, Copyright nineteen-ninety-seven, nineteen-ninety-eight." She set it down. "I'll not ask you if she actually wrote that program. May I look at this, Cindy?"

"You have to have Holly's permission, not mine. She made that copy for me, but made me promise never to ever let another even borrow it. Don't know, as fast as she is, if you caught that you need a password to open it. You do not want to see what will happen on your hard drive if you ever try to access it improperly. Holly showed me once, on a computer we were going to wipe clean anyway. Ask her nice, Val."

Holly broke the conversation announcing "Dinner in fifteen minutes", then went to the men engrossed in another game.

"Dinner soon, guys. Go clean up. How was the last game?"

"Great! Denver by one point in the last ten seconds." Charlie grinned.

"I cheat! Tellin' you up front. Anyone want to bet with me on this one?" She watched as the score was announced. 'Vikings seventeen, Jets zero.' "Any of you want to bet? Jets by fifty. Thousand bucks."

"Can you cover that kind of a bet?" Bill was eager to take her money, ready to spend it on new toys for his PC."

"I'll cover her bets." Cindy, returning from the powder room, had paused to hear most of it.

Charlie was the only real skeptic. Instead of betting against Holly, he offered the same bet to his friends. Over eager, they accepted. Cindy did not know how, but she had very early on, learned never to bet against Holly. There was no way to win any bet that Holly offered.

Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Holly lifted her dagger and let it fall back. She went to tend supper as Peter and Bill shouted their dismay over the sudden events on the large screen.

Holly needed no magic, just her skill to earn the compliments for the dinner that she had prepared and served.

"Holly, the meal was absolutely delicious. Thank you." Val changed the subject.

"I'd like to purchase a copy of your Bag o' Tricks, please?" Without a half a second hesitation she heard Holly's shocking reply.

"The program is five hundred dollars. The password to open it - is five thousand, Valkeryrie."

"That's absurd! For a computer program she has? What's it do?" Peter was protesting. Val cut him off.

"You have to see it to believe it. Be quiet." She stared at Holly a moment.

"How much for a corporate pack, with training, Holly?"

"Seventy-five hundred for twenty-five users. Every disk will be unique, so you cannot swap around. Fifteen hundred every user over twenty-five." Holly was circling the table, refilling their wine glasses and not even looking as she answered.

"Double or nothing, Guys?" Holly served the after dinner drinks to the men at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bill was a sucker, but Peter's skepticism made him hold back.

"I think I've enough on this. Thanks for the offer, Holly."

"Let you off the hook for half, five hundred." Peter, not at all sure, took out his wallet and counted five hundreds on the table. They immediately disappeared down inside Holly's boot top.

"Bill?"

"You can pay me when the Jets don't score."

Holly went behind Charlie, leaned over and whispered in his ear. He made the same offer Holly had. Peter had just passed him five hundred dollars when the Jets scored another touchdown. Bill was not pleased, but too stubborn to concede to the girl in the micro-mini kilt.

Val called Holly as she passed through to the kitchen with the tray.

"Holly, we are not making the progress I had hoped for today. What is your fee? I'd like you at the office, first thing in the morning?" Val was an acute businesswoman; she knew what Holly might do. Holly's quick response, still took her back.

"My fees vary, Valkeryrie. Depends on what service you wish me to perform. Maid is a hundred a day, computer consultant is two thousand," she shrugged. "Whatever in between, depends.

"What would you expect me to do?"

It was settled, before Holly was done though, she had one more thing to state.

"I'll not abide by your silly dress code for your office, so don't expect me to show up looking all prim proper and Miss Corporate, Valkeryrie."

"And just what is that supposed to mean, Holly?" Val wasn't objecting, just curious.

"It means you can expect to see lots of her legs and very high heels, for starters, Val." Cindy offered.

"You are going to earn your pay, the hard way, tomorrow, Holly. Don't even ask, your little dagger stays home." Cindy told her this when they'd returned home. "It got you two thousand dollars tonight, whatever you get from Val, you'll earn."

"You can be a real bitch when you want to be, Cindy." Holly was making a joke of it. She never expected that Cindy would have allowed her to carry it to the office.

"And that little bit of foul language just earned you some accessories for the office too. Any more and I'll add to them." It was, in a way, a game between Cindy and Holly, but Holly also knew that if she misbehaved or disobeyed, Cindy could and would, make things quite unpleasant.

"I guess for starters, I'll be corseted?"

"For starters, your chastity belt and your favorite plug too, the one that you hate to sit on." Holly knew exactly what plug Cindy referred to. When inserted and locked to prevent her from removing it, this plug still protruded about two inches outside her back strap. When Holly sat, her weight would force it in an inch and expanded a full inch beyond its relaxed two-inch diameter. So plugged, Holly would not choose to wear one of her tight skirts as it would show. Cindy had another idea about it.

"You told Val you weren't going to follow her dress code. I think you'll dress to follow part of it. Wear your black leather suit, black stockings and your seven-inch heels." This was not Holly's first choice, but Cindy could have picked something worse.

In the morning, after Holly had dressed, Cindy inspected her and accepted the small padlocks Holly knew she'd be asked for. Just about everything Holly wore was designed to lock. There were padlocks to join the French cuffs of her white latex blouse, through the end of the collar bar, through the waistband of her skirt and the three strap buckles in front of the peplum jacket. The ankle straps on her black patent heels also locked. Though her stockings and the long tight black latex gloves that sheathed Holly's hands and arms did not, themselves lock on, they still would be nearly impossible for her to remove without the keys to the rest of her attire.

Standing perfectly straight, the short skirt just covered the dark tops of her long stockings and if she bent over, her chastity belt and plug would be clearly visible. Cindy smiled at her partner after Holly straightened her seams.

"I think you need one of your collars." Holly knew if she protested, she could very easily worsen her situation. Instead, she merely stood still until Cindy had buckled a one-inch wide, black leather one snugly about her neck and locked it too. The one chosen was more conservative than the other choices Cindy had available, with just a chromed plate engraved 'Holly' and a small, silver bell hanging from the ring in front.

"Get your purse and your laptop, Holly. I'll meet you by the car."

Holly was quite accustomed to being out and had no problem with doing so, though she much preferred to stay home and do chores, limiting herself mostly to going shopping for food, supplies and occasional trips to the mall. Though her taste in clothes tended toward the short side, she'd never have chosen, on her own, to wear what she was, out in daylight, saving it for a party or clubbing which she and Cindy did very infrequently. Exiting the car and checking her seams in the parking lot reminded her of just how she was dressed.

"Good morning, Holly." Val was all smiles, but seeing how Holly was dressed did raise her eyebrow. "Cute! You did warn me about violating my 'stupid dress code'.

"Come, I'll show you around then you can settle in the conference room, that's where we'll be working to finish."

Mary and Judy came in as Holly was setting up her computer. Mary's reaction to her leathers was not as accepting as Val's had been, but Judy thought it was great.

"Did you bring your bondage toys too, Holly?" It was a joking question, made to poke a little fun. Judy certainly did not expect the reply that she got.

"Everything you might need is in my purse, but that might get everyone upset, don't you think, Judy?"

"Knock off your games, Judy!

"Holly, just sitting there is going to be enough of a distraction." Mary glared at her friend, hoping the subject would drop. She was relieved to find it had been.

"I assume, watching you yesterday, that you are familiar with Power Point, Holly?"

"Yes, I know it, Mary. What would you like done?"

"Cindy and I have other parts of the presentation to work out. I'd like you to work here with Judy and start creating the slides and stuff. Think you can do that?"

"Sure."

 

 

 

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© 1999 by Karen Anne Summerfield. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.