Page 46 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

"Mr. Campbell, I hate to disturb you, but I know Mr. Hansen has been trying to reach you on your phone for the last hour, sir. Your daughter told him you'd gone out for the night, but I'm afraid there was a small fire in the kitchen. The fire department just left and as the manager on duty, Mr. Hansen is working on evaluating the situation. I know he's anxious for your advice on how to proceed."

Sean was not happy. "Damn. Figures. The first night I try to have a life and someone tries to burn the place down. I'm so sorry, Trace. Can I take a rain check for that drink? Better yet, how about dinner again tomorrow night?"

Traci saw vulnerability in his eyes. Little did he know she was helpless to fight against the attraction they shared. "I'd love to do dinner again, that is if I'm still alive after my speech in the morning. If they run me out of town, I'll be sure to leave you a note."

"Hey, you're going to knock 'em dead tomorrow. You are an intelligent, well-spoken professional who has very important information to share. You've earned your seat at the table, Traci. Don't dread it. Enjoy it. Embrace it."

His words filled her with hope and confidence. How nice it felt to have someone playing the role of her cheerleader. "Thank you so much, Sean. I've had the best night. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow night then."

Despite the fact that the doorman, his employee, remained conspicuously close, Sean leaned in for a short goodnight kiss.

"Night, Sean."

"Sweet dreams, Traci."

Chapter Four

Sean reached for his grande café latte with an extra shot of espresso. It was going to be a very long day. After assessing the fire damage to the kitchen the night before, he was able to get workers to come in and make repairs overnight to avoid any interruption in service to the guests.

Between worrying about the literal fire caused by an electrical short and the figurative fire in his cock caused by one Traci Jackson, Sean hadn't been able to sleep a wink.

After tossing and turning for hours, he'd gotten out of bed at three in the morning and thrown on a pair of sweats. He wasn't proud of the fact that he had snuck down to the Skyline Ballroom so he could nick a copy of Traci's research paper, waiting to be distributed to the attendees the next morning. He knew even before taking it that he was skirting an ethical line by reviewing her work without her permission. After reading her brief, he knew without a doubt that Traci would never have shared it with him. He'd been a ball of nerves since finishing it.

You're getting what you deserve, asshole. If she'd wanted you to know the details, she would have told you herself.

Her report had been professional and clinical, yet that did not stop him from remembering who wrote each and every word. Even if his mind could forget, his ever-present semi-hard erection ensured he remembered the details intimately.

Sean had expected sexual content. What he hadn't been prepared for was the in-depth exploration of dominance and submission in relationships and more specifically, the benefits of corporal punishment and other forms of discipline to heighten the intimacy within relationships. While Traci's research referenced many clinical sources and cited passages taken from sessions with dozens of couples engaged in domestic discipline relationships, it was the final pages where Traci summarized her findings that had hit Sean hardest.

He wished he had more time to process the information, but he'd barely finished reading the brief when his alarm went off. Somehow, he had managed to get through an early morning conference call with Europe, but then had Shirley clear his schedule for the rest of the morning to allow him time to attend Traci's presentation.

Sean told himself he was only going to give her invisible moral support, but that was a lie. He needed to hear the words come out of her mouth so he could hopefully understand what she was looking for in a relationship. She lived in Colorado and he was in no position to start a long-distance romance, yet there was something special about Traci that kept her in his thoughts.

Maybe attending her presentation will help you realize how you couldn't possibly be the kind of man she needs.

Sean had never even contemplated spanking Jerilyn throughout their fifteen-year marriage. He knew without a shadow of a doubt his wife would have decked him first and filed for divorce soon after if he'd tried to turn her over his knee to discipline her. Not that she hadn't needed it, mind you. Anger flared as he remembered he was just now finishing paying off some of the hidden credit cards she had maxed out without his knowledge during their marriage.

No matter how many fights they'd had over money, no matter how many times he'd begged and she'd promised, she just couldn't seem to help herself. He'd loved her, yet her blatant disrespect for spending within their budget had caused almost irreparable rifts in their marriage at times. In the end, she'd been so ill that arguing over money had seemed silly when faced with life and death health issues.

Not for the first time, Sean wondered if he and Jerilyn would still be married if she hadn't gotten sick. Perhaps if he'd been a stronger husband, providing the kind of dominance and leadership Traci wrote about in her paper, things could have been different.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Campbell. May I get you something, sir?"

Sean had been hiding out in the staff-only serving room next to the Skyline Ballroom. He'd known at some point the servers would be coming in, but he couldn't very well sit out with the other conference participants. Not only because he wasn't invited, but he knew his presence would only make Traci more nervous. He wished he'd gotten her cell phone number so he could text her good luck this morning.

"Thanks, Kathy, but I don't need anything. I'm just going to hang out here for a while if you don't mind. My friend is delivering the presentation this morning and I'd like to watch without making her nervous."

"Sure thing, Mr. Campbell. Let me at least get you a chair."

The room was almost full to its three-hundred capacity. Traci was not there yet. Sean worried that she might try to back out, but then he saw her sweep into the room, looking radiant. No one in the room could possibly detect how nervous she was, but Sean caught her slowing as she got closer to the front of the room. She scaled the few steps to the makeshift stage and shook hands with several function organizers who looked relieved that she'd finally shown up.

From his vantage point stage left, Sean had a side view of the podium. Traci wore a black and cream tailored suit with a pencil skirt that ended just above her knees. He couldn't help but ogle her long legs and wished he could cup her perfectly proportioned ass as he had the night before on the Ferris wheel. Sean forced himself to focus on the growing crowd instead and he suspected it was making her more nervous to watch his staff bring in additional chairs to accommodate the larger than anticipated crowd.

Traci sat on the stage and waited to be introduced. Her fingers trembled as she held her notecards, yet he was so proud that she projected a confidence he knew she wasn't necessarily feeling to the rest of the room. He wished he could give her another pep talk before she walked to the podium, but there wasn't time. She was being introduced. She took a cleansing breath before standing and walking to the podium.

After the polite round of applause died down, Traci began her presentation. Her voice was strong, and Sean wondered if she'd been exaggerating her fears the night before.

"I want to thank Dr. Albright for inviting me to speak this year. Being able to share my research and findings with all of you is an honor and I want to thank you for attending today. I hope everyone picked up a copy of my brief on your way in. You're welcome to take notes this morning, and I have saved time at the end to answer any questions.

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