Sucking Up, by Clinediap

Chapter 1
Chapter 1

Chapter Description: by Clinediap

It started, really, eight years before, when Alicia was just a little girl. It was the year her parents were getting divorced, and the year that she realized exactly how easy to manipulate they were. At first she had been truly upset about it all, of course, but as time went on, she found out that the more she cried, the more she was taken shopping for a new outfit, or a new pair of shoes, or whatever she wanted at the moment. That was when she’d taught herself to fake cry, and began to get quite good at it.

Her parents weren’t stupid, and realized what was going on, but they felt bad enough about what they were putting her through that they didn’t put a stop to it right away, and when they did end it, they did it gradually. It took Alicia a while to truly accept that, no matter how hard she tried, things would never go back to what they were then, which led to many, many tantrums, both at home and in public. For a time, they worked nearly as well as her crying used to, but soon her parents decided they had to show a united front against them as well.

Nobody sees themselves as a spoiled brat, so Alicia never thought of herself in those terms, but it was the best way to describe her. Sure that she deserved whatever she wanted, yet unable to convince her parents to get it for her anymore, she’d spent her teenage years sulky and resentful - and, once she began to fill out, somewhat slutty, though she quickly found that boys her age didn’t have much money, either - until, at last, she was old enough to move out and get a job, sure that, once she had a real cash flow of her own, she’d be able to afford the lifestyle she wanted.

That was, of course, much more difficult than she’d imagined, given the jobs actually available to her. She managed, with a bit of luck, to get a job at a pharmaceutical research company, though only as a lowly secretary, making just enough to pay her rent and her utilities, and keep herself fed, but not much else. Her boss, Dr. Jadin, from what she understood, had quite a lot of pull in the company, however, so she had a plan. All she had to do was get to know her boss, find out her interests, and befriend her, and maybe that would be enough to get the woman to recommend her for a nice, big promotion.

While Dr. Jadin went out to lunch, Alicia would sneak into her office and search through her computer, checking her Internet browsing history to see what sort of sites she visited. It wasn’t the perfect strategy, she knew, since it was her work computer, after all, and chances were she went to more personal sites in her free time, but as the weeks went by, Alicia began to notice an interesting pattern.

Finally, one day, as she was bringing Dr. Jadin a cup of coffee in the morning, Alicia just asked, as casually as she could manage, "Did you happen to catch the Little Miss Princess pageant last night? It was adorable! This one little girl..." She stopped as she watched the older woman stare at her in shock, and then, without warning, beging to cry. Panicking, Alicia hurried to the office door and closed it before hurrying back to her bosses side. "I’m sorry! What’s wrong?" Her heart began to beat faster as she wondered if, instead of making things better, she’d just screwed herself.

"No, no, dear," Dr. Jadin sniffled, patting her hand gently. Alicia had to fight to keep from grinning openly at this sign of affection, however small, something she’d never gotten from her boss before. "It’s not your fault... You couldn’t have known..."

"But I’d like to," Alicia told her softly. "I... I really look up to you, Dr. Jadin. I’d like to know all about you."

The woman raised an eyebrow, looking down at her secretary. "Really?"

Alicia nodded. "I swear, whatever you tell me won’t leave this office. And it seems like there’s something you really need to get off your chest. You can tell me."

"Well..." Dr. Jadin hesitated for a moment. "Not really, but... A long time ago, I had a little girl. And I’d enter her in pageants, and we’d have the most fun getting ready for them... We never won, though we got third place once, but that was never really the point, you know? It was just spending time together." Alicia nodded understandingly. "And... Well, it was a long time ago. She died, and... Well, sometimes, I just watch those pageants, and I remember what it was like. You know? What it felt like to have my little girl look up at me and grin, all dolled up, and..."

She began to cry again, and this time Alicia dared to hug her, pleased when the woman hugged her back. "I don’t really know what that’s like," she admitted, "but... My parents divorced when I was a kid, and I went to live with my dad, so I haven’t had a real mother for a long time. But... Oh, this is a little embarrassing, but.... I mean, you’re just so smart, and powerful, and... Well, I kind of look at you as my mother, Dr. Jadin."

For a moment, she wondered if she’d gone too far, if the woman was going to get offended. She wasn’t old, so perhaps the implication that she was old enough to be the mother of the eighteen year old in front of her, true as it may be, would make her angry. Instead, she smiled, giving Alicia another hug. "That’s sweet of you, dear," she said. "And you don’t have to call me Dr. Jadin, you know... I’d let you call me by my first name, but for the office, that might be a little too personal... How about just ma’am? It’s not perfect, but at least it will be a little shorter for you."

"Great," Alicia smiled, pleasantly surprised at just how well this was going. In no time, Dr. Jadin would be looking for a new position for her, something that would really suit her talents. "I guess I should get back to work," she said, squeezing Dr. Jadin’s hand as she walked away from her desk. "If you need to talk, though, I’m right outside."

"Thank you," Dr. Jadin told her. As Alicia reached the door, she spoke up again. "Oh, Alicia?" The girl turned around, eager to please. "As your boss, I didn’t feel it was my place to say anything, but... Well, as your mother figure..." She smiled softly at that, making Alicia feel ever more certain her plan was working. "I... Well, I’d like it if you would dress a little more... conservatively."

Alicia looked down at herself in surprise, not quite understanding what the woman was saying. It was how she had dressed for years now, at least when she hadn’t been confined by the dress code at her high school. She had on a mini-skirt, just long enough to keep her thong hidden, unless she wanted to flash it at some cute co-worker, and a shirt that showed off her rather ample cleavage. "You don’t... like the way I dress?" She’d heard that before, of course, but mostly just from people she thought were jealous of her. It really didn’t seem like that was the case this time, so she wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

"You’re a very beautiful girl," Dr. Jadin said, "but... Oh, forget it. It’s not my place."

"No!" Alicia protested, not wanting to undo all the work she’d done this soon. Dr. Jadin might close herself off, then, and not trust her again. "Please, I want to know what you think."

"It’s just that... I don’t think you should be flaunting your body like you do. If you were my daughter, I wouldn’t let you out of the house like that." Alicia bristled at the words, almost instinctively, but forced herself to smile and nod. "You certainly don’t have to, of course, it’s just my opinion."

"No, no, I’m sure you’re right," she replied.

"And... Well, I see you drinking soda at your desk all day long, and... You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you know it isn’t good for you."

"Umm... Yeah, you’re right," Alicia nodded again, groaning inwardly. She hadn’t anticipated Dr. Jadin taking to this so quickly. It was turning out to be much more trouble than she’d expected. "Well, I don’t really like tea, but I guess I could just... drink water..."

"Actually..." Dr. Jadin flipped through some papers on her desk, finally pulling one sheet out. "We’re working on new flavors for a line of healthy soda alternatives... If you wanted to test them out for the company, you’d get a little extra in your paycheck."

"Oh! That sounds great!" Alicia grinned. "I can always use a little extra money..." It was never too early to plant that idea in her boss’s head. "Thank you so much, Dr. Jadin!"

"Ah-ah..."

Alicia blushed, giggling. "Sorry... Thanks, ma’am."

"That’s better," Dr. Jadin said. "Now, if you could just sign here... There’s nothing hazardous about the drinks, of course, but you know what legal’s like around here..."

"Oh, yeah," Alicia nodded, though she didn’t really know anything about it. She walked back over to the desk and signed the paper Dr. Jadin pushed towards her.

"Perfect!" Dr. Jadin declared. "I think you’ll really like it. And you’ll get plenty of it... So, besides your bonus, you can also save some money from just not having to buy drinks for yourself."

"Yeah, that’s..." Alicia started, only to notice that a pen had rolled off Dr. Jadin’s desk. "Oh, let me get that for you." She bent over quickly, grabbing it and handing it back to her boss, who looked a little more serious.

"And maybe you could wear some slightly more... substantial underwear," she suggested.

Alicia’s face turned red, though she wasn’t sure if she was more embarrassed that she had flashed her panties to her boss, or that her boss had been paying attention. Perhaps she really could benefit from a somewhat longer skirt. "Well, okay..." she agreed uncertainly. "It’s just..."

But she didn’t have to finish. "Kids these days," Dr. Jadin shook her head. "I’m not blaming you, dear, just the culture you grew up in... Here." Alicia was surprised to see that she was being handed a stack of money. "Go buy yourself some new ones during your lunch break," she said. "Actually..." she flipped through her purse some more, coming up with another wad of cash, "get yourself a whole new outfit."

For a moment, Alicia could only stare at the money, shocked. She hadn’t expected anything like this. It made her feel like a little girl again, one who could get whatever she wanted... But she knew she couldn’t do that. "No, I can’t take your money," she protested.

"Yes, you can," Dr. Jadin insisted. "Think of it as an allowance."

Alicia squirmed, feeling a little sorry she’d picked that as her story now. In general terms, it was all right, but it was getting slightly weird now. "No, I can’t," she shook her head.

"All right," Dr. Jadin nodded. "I’ll just have to get you something myself, then." Alicia opened her mouth to protest, but Dr. Jadin cut her off. "You can’t tell me what to do during my lunch hour. If I want to go shopping for you, I’ll do it."

"Well... All right," Alicia gave in. "But you don’t have to."

"I know that," Dr. Jadin told her. "That’s what makes it fun. Now scoot off and get some work done, dear."

Alicia did as she was told, but she couldn’t help wondering if her plan was working a little too well.