Page 3 of Gene

She shook her head. “No, Sir. I just need to practice unbuckling them so I don’t have another situation like this.”

And now she was talking to her boss about going to the bathroom and not being able to get her pants off. How much more embarrassing could this get?

“Well, if that changes you let me know. But how about we don’t put ourselves in a situation like this again? Don’t let it get so desperate that you’re in a rush and might pee your pants.”

“Yes, Sir, sorry Sir.” She looked down at her feet.

“Now, are you really okay?” He asked again.

Sammi gave him another confused look. “Yes, boss, I am okay.”

“Nolan radioed me to say that you looked pale and like a strong wind could blow you over.”

“That snitch,” she growled before she could stop herself. “He needs to mind his own damn business. I told him I was fine, perfectly fine, and he goes andradios you?”

Sammi should have known that something like this was going to happen. Maybe she needs to find a couple of jobs on the farm to complete by herself so no one can snitch on her.

“He wasn’t snitching. We all look out for each other. He was just looking out for you.”

“I don’t need him to look out for me. I’m fine.” She sighed.

“You do look a bit pale. If you need to take a couple more breaks, you can. You just started the job, and you aren’t used to the demand. That’s perfectly fine. Everyone starts off like this, needing breaks. You’ll slowly build up a tolerance and not need as much time to recover, once your body gets used to it. It’s not a problem,” he gently said.

“I’m perfectly fine. I don’t need extra breaks. I have been okay,” she replied.

It was a total lie. She was anything but fine, but he didn’t need to know that. She just needed to make it to her insurance kicking in.

“I beg to differ. You have dark circles under your eyes, you look pale even though you’ve been out in the sun all day. You look utterly exhausted, like you've spent forty hours working today alone.” Gene chuckled.

Sammi clenched her jaw, keeping her thoughts to herself. She knew how exhausted she looked. She had looked at herself in the mirror while washing her hands. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but it wasn't going to stop her from working.

“How much water have you had today?” Gene asked.

She shrugged. “Some.”

She wasn't about to tell him it had only been a couple of ounces. He didn't need to know that.

“How much?”

“How is that any of your business?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“I’m your boss, and if you aren't okay, I need you to answer, so I can help. So how much water have you had today?” he asked again.

“Do you do this with every new employee?”

“No, but that doesn't change anything. I want to know, need to know how much you drank today. This job is taxing, and I need to know that you are taking care of yourself appropriately.”

He wasn’t going to like her answer if she told him truthfully.

“So I don’t think you actually need to know. If you’ve never done this to another employee, then why me? Is it because I’m a girl? I don’t need your pity.”

This was what Sammi was afraid of, being treated differently because she was a woman.

“No, it’s not because you are a girl, Little One,” Gene replied.

A shiver worked its way through her body as he called her Little One. She had read about being called that nickname several times, but it never happened in person until now. And this was the person she fantasized about.

Did he know? He couldn’t. She made sure everything she wore and how she acted didn’t reflect that. Sammi knew he went to BTS, a Littles club, but that didn’t mean anything. She knew there were a lot of Littles in Springfield, though it didn’t mean everyone was.

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