Accidental Slave by Claire Thompson Page A

others on his floor who came and went to clear out.
    He was reasonably sure everyone was gone, but just to be sure, he called out, “Anyone left?
    I’ve had it for today. You’ll set the alarm?” He stopped, listening for a response from behind any of the closed office doors, but all was silent.
    His heart picked up its pace as he approached Elizabeth’s office. Reaching into his pants pocket, he removed his key ring and inserted the key in the door. His key, which all executives were given to enter the front doors of the agency during off-hours, also unlocked all the office doors, except for human resources, where employee files and payroll information were kept.
    Even that door used to have the same key, until fanatical Helen came on board and insisted the lock be changed.
    With a glance in either direction down the silent hall, he unlocked the door and went in. He wished he had taken the flask with him, as he could definitely use another belt, but he didn’t want to take the time to retrieve it. There was no knowing if some gung-ho employee might suddenly decide the best way to spend their Saturday night was at the office.
    Gary turned on Elizabeth’s computer, drumming his fingers impatiently on the smooth, shiny surface of her rosewood desk while it booted up.
    He smiled at how easy it had been to get Sheila Murphy, one of the company’s techies, to reset Elizabeth’s corporate password, which worked for both her computer and email account.
    Sheila wasn’t unattractive but she was too thin for Gary’s taste, not to mention too aggressive. Gary preferred his women with more curves and less independence.
    Nevertheless, somehow they’d ended up making out in a supply closet at the office Christmas party that past winter. He’d been drunk and she’d been eager. She’d made it clear she’d like to get to know him better after that, but he’d managed to come up with enough excuses so she’d stopped asking.
    Until this morning.
    Earlier in the week Gary had been nosing around the tech offices while formulating his plans to slander Elizabeth. He’d learned Sheila had accepted a new job in another state. Seeking her out, he’d struck up a conversation, turning the charm on full force. She’d reacted as he’d hoped, blushing and smiling. She told him she was coming in Saturday morning to tie up a few loose ends and when he suggested breakfast with him beforehand, she’d jumped at the chance.
    When he’d explained how Elizabeth’s team planned to pull a fun prank on her and needed access to her password to do it, she’d been skeptical at first, spouting party line about security.
    But when he’d moved next to her in the booth and run his hand along her bare leg beneath her skirt while leaning over to kiss the nape of her neck, she’d begun to sing a different tune. After all, he’d assured her, it was just a joke mail to Elizabeth from her own account. Elizabeth loved practical jokes, he said with a laugh.
    They’d returned to the office and he hadn’t even minded the repeat of their Christmas party tussle in the supply closet. Afterwards she’d changed Elizabeth’s password, admonishing him with a coquettish giggle not to tell she’d done it.
    Now he waited anxiously for the computer to boot. After a few seconds the familiar blue screen appeared on the monitor with the company’s logo. Gary typed in the temporary password Sheila had written down for him. He pressed enter and held his breath. The screen went black a moment, its drives whirring and clicking as it loaded Elizabeth’s desktop and programs. I did it, Gary whispered. His heart was hammering unpleasantly but that didn’t stop the broad grin from splitting his face.
    After closing the reminder to change the password, he opened her Internet browser and typed in the address of a particularly brutal BDSM site he liked to frequent when home alone and in need of jerking off. He clicked through several of the pages and then typed in a new