Chapter XXVIII

"Mr. Gladstone?" I asked, peeking my head into his office. he was sitting comfortably in his chair, looking over some paperwork on his desk. Though I hadn't seen him in half an hour, it felt like I was just in here. His hand swatting my diapered bottom. The crinkling sound of his comfort. The blush on my cheeks. I looked nervously around the room and wondered if I was making the right decision. But I knew it couldn't be the wrong one. What other options were there?

"Yes, dear?" Dear. Darling. Sugar. Sweetheart. Words parents used for their children, words family members might use, or close relations. Affectionate terms like that had become the norm between Natalie and her employers. Employers? Maybe they weren't so limited in term now.

I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. This was the right thing to do. I couldn't get in trouble. "Cora dressed me this morning," I said. "And Mabel has been saying very rude things about my clothes. She's been mean to me all week, actually. She thinks that because I dress sort of childish, she can boss me around." I elected not to mention rubbing her feet for an entire day, because that was just as embarrassing to me as it was to her. But this? This wasn't my fault.

"Cora dresses you. If somebody has something negative to say about your attire, that's an assault upon her and no reflection on you." Mr. Gladstone stood up and tugged down the edge of his shirt, standing tall and stern. "It's quite alright, Natalie - you're safe here. Come with me."

Mr. Gladstone walked out of his office with purpose. I bit my lip and followed behind him. I hadn't mentioned the diapers, but she knew about those too. Would she use them against me? I knew I couldn't get in trouble for them, but the embarrassment might kill me if the whole office knew...

Mr. Gladstone left his office, Natalie followed, and the two of them disappeared into the Natalie's shortly thereafter. Mabel looked up with a proud smirk and crossed her arms.

"Are you here to get your things, Natalie?" She snorted, and Mr. Gladstone spoke very firmly in response.

"Mabel, you'll be paid until the end of the week, but I'd like you to leave now. We won't need you from here on out." The girl blinked. Her mouth opened and closed, and then she started to get loud.

"Excuse me? What the fuck did she tell you? She dresses like a fucking baby at work, she wears DIAPERS! Did you know that? And I know she doesn't need them, it's just some... some sick game. And she cries all the fucking time. Is this who you want managing your office?" Obviously, Mabel thought this was a good power play on her part. Mr. Gladstone watched her and shook his head.

"And yet you're the one throwing the temper tantrum? Please leave - an attack on a member of our family is an attack on the company, and I will not tolerate it."

Mabel stared at him in disbelief, then looked at me with a vengeful glare. I was relieved that Mr. Gladstone had shut the door behind him when we came into my office, but Mabel's voice had a tendency to carry. Did anyone in the office hear her? I shifted side to side, crinkling softly, as she stormed out of the office.

Everybody watched as Mabel stormed out, every single set of eyes in the office. And Mr. Gladstone closed Natalie's office door afterward so the two of them could be alone. He sat down in her chair, and he pulled her into a sitting place on his lap, and his words were... so tender, so loving, so stern.

"Are you okay, dear?"

"Yeah... I think so." I smiled at Mr. Gladstone and kicked my feet. Here, on his lap... it wasn't that bad. Actually, it felt kind of nice. He was so strong, so powerful. And he was in my corner. "Thank you so much... I didn't want to get her fired, but..."

"That's not for you to decide, Natalie my lovely girl; it's a decision I make. You're not responsible for it, just like you didn't make the decision to wear your quite lovely little ensemble today - which, by the way, I think you look adorable in." He made sure not to step on Cora's toes, not to seem like he'd been working with her on this - but by now, would Natalie even care?

"Thanks," I muttered, looking down at my dress. "Everyone really likes it, and they treat me so kindly. It's been so long since people treated me this way. It feels like I belong somewhere." I felt a little blush on my cheeks and looked away. "A-anyway. I should get back to work. I'm behind because of Mabel."

"If you need anything, please let me know." He set her down, leaned in to kiss her forehead, and left her there in her office. Mabel was gone. But how much her life was changing.

I looked at Mr. Gladstone curiously as he left the office, rubbing the spot on my forehead. A boss kissing his employee on the forehead? Not normal. But I sat down at my desk all the same and let out a relaxing sigh. Finally. Everything was back to normal. Better than normal! No more spankings, and even my chair felt more comfortable!

"Knock knock." Prin let herself in with pursed lips and closed the door behind her. "I just wanted to check up on you after... you know... what happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. I'd been working hard all morning to address all the emails I missed yesterday. Most of them were reactions to the fact that I hadn't emailed them back! Ugh. I miss one serous day of work, and it all piles up. Prin was a welcome sight, actually. "Thank you for the hug earlier. It's not really 'professional', but I'm glad you were there for me."

"Psh, who cares about all that? You've proven that you're willing to do whatever it takes to make yourself a part of all of this, Nat, and I think that's awesome. Did I tell you how cute you look today?" Prin had, of course. "Seeing you come out earlier, with Mr. Gladstone? He looked just like a riled up Daddy ready to get some justice for his scorned little princess; it was quite a sight."

I puffed out my cheeks in annoyance and Prin let out a lighthearted laugh.

"I'm just kidding!"

"I guess..." With this dress and my red eyes from crying, I wouldn't be surprised if she was right.

"Well, I'm happy to be here." I couldn't overstate what it meant to me that I had a home again. A place to work. People who actually cared about me. It was... unbelievable.

"I'll take your afternoon queue delegation if you want to catch up on the rest of your morning stuff, if that would help? I'm sure that like 90% of it is going to be follow up survey requests and TPS reports anyway, right?”

"Oh, that would be amazing! Thank you so much!" If Prin helped me, I might actually catch up on my work today. She was the best secretary I could ask for.

"Send me your reports, okay Nattie?" she said on her way out.

"Uh huh. Thanks again!" Prin stepped out and I smiled joyously. I felt warm and full of butterflies. Finally, everything was going my way.