Property development was a tricky old game. One minute you acquire a decent sized tenement for a few hundred thousand, a quick soft shoe shuffle to do it up and in a few weeks you have a million quid mortgage on a property worth five times that. The next, well just about anything could happen.

Carolynn Blake had turned this trick two dozen times now, each time racking up her portfolio and each time expanding her debt. At 30 years old she was as confident as they came, a little brunette bundle of energy with cheeky smiling eyes and a cocky demeanour that she carried with an understated authority.

It was a hard won personality, one born out of adversity. At 18 she had inherited the family mortgage and two much younger sisters. Her university place was suddenly surplus to requirements and she had needed cash quickly.

In 12 years she had built a property empire worth 20 million and had safely got her two sisters into good schools with real futures. The trouble was 15 million of her portfolio was still mortgaged and the market had tanked.

“Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate,” John Dacia had told her time and again, but Carolynn had been cocky and over-confident. Now she was paying the price.

John Dacia had been in the business for 25 years and had seen three crashes come and go. He was now one of the richest developers in London. Carolynn has met him early in her career and rather than become a rival he had become a firm friend and something of a mentor.

It was to him that she had decided to visit to see what, if anything could be salvaged. Maybe a loan, maybe he could pick up her most vulnerable stock… maybe something else?

“Are you dead in the water?” the craggy-faced John asked her as he swivelled his office chair to face her. His expression was paternal and concerned, but from the way he fingered his short salt and pepper hair Carolynn knew that he had no quick fix for her.

When he had something up his sleeve John would wink and draw in his cheeks like he was sucking on a mint. The head scratch was his tell when the news was not good.

“Pretty much,” Carolynn made a thin line with her lips before making a grimace.

Whenever she talked to John she would hunker down like a naughty schoolgirl and roll her eyes. When she wanted something she would bounce up and down like a puppy while she pouted and peered up at him from under a low raven black fringe that all but screened her eyes. This was the way she presented herself now.

“I can throw a 100k your way at bank rates,” he offered, “I wouldn’t need any pay back for say…” his eyes flicked back and forth as he calculated, “Eighteen months?”

Carolynn grimaced again and her head sunk lower into her shoulders. “Not reaaalllly gonna do it John,” she drawled, “Can’t you buy Riverdale from me, you wanted it once? Or maybe come in on my whole portfolio for say… 25%?”

“You’re talking about five million,” he baulked, “Your debt can’t be that out of whack?”

“The shortfall is only three,” Carolynn said sharply, “But I could use to two to buy…”

“Consolidate,” John growled, cutting her off. “Besides, if I came in with you it would be 50-50 or no dice.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” she sighed.

“You knew I would say that,” he shot back.

“Yes,” she agreed wearily. “What if…?”

John closed his eyes and slowly sat back. Of course she knew he wouldn’t settle for 25%. What was her game?

“I was thinking about your other… interests,” She said slyly, “You have always coverted my bum… I was wondering if we might come to some sort of arrangement.”

John opened his eyes and looked at her hard. “I know you don’t like my alternative lifestyle and I can’t see you whoring yourself out, even if you were worth anything like five million. I am not even going to go there in any…”

Carolynn bounced up and down to cut him off. “No, here me out,” she said eagerly, “You’ll like this.”

“Go on,” John snorted, what in hell’s name could she possibly suggest?

“The same deal, five million in return for a quarter of my outfit, but you hold back half for 28 days. If I haven’t bridged the gap, the other 500k and made a profit by then…” she swallowed and pondered for a moment, “Then you own my bottom, I mean it’s yours for any purpose. If I get out of line then you can spank me silly and send me to the corner like a bad girl. Think of it, you know I am good, but you get to mentor me hands on, so to speak. If we stay in business together you can veto anything I do and if you say so I’ll consolidate until my eyes bleed.”

John gaped and shook his head. “And what if we don’t and it all goes tits up?” He was too much the business man to be distracted at this stage by a tail.

“Then I’ll sell out for any price you name. You’ll more than cover any loss from the equity and I lose,” she with finality.

“I don’t want you to lose,” he said wearily, “But this is nuts.”

“I’m serious; you have always wanted to teach me a lesson. Take this deal and I’ll make you rich and if it comes to it, I’ll make you rich with a crimson-bottomed partner. I’ll even bring my own lube,” she winked at him and allowed her full lips to slowly be colonised by a smile. “Look I am desperate John. I have worked hard and sacrificed so much. My kid sister is still in college and Ruth has only just started her legal indentures.”

John looked her up and down. “Three questions, conditions if you will…”

“Shoot,” Carolynn felt lightheaded, this was better than poker and for the first time in weeks she saw some real hope.

“I want to be absolutely clear that you know what your chances are about going through with this. This 28 days, can you do it?” he said thoughtfully, “Because if you think you can and that you won’t have to go through with anything…”

“No I get it, I really do. I think for once my chances are slim to none frankly, I just needed one more shot at it for my own piece of mind,” she replied honestly.

John nodded. “There has to be a time limit on your… service, otherwise I guarantee we won’t end up friends,” he said firmly.

“Five years,” she agreed with a curt nod.

“Three,” he countered, “You might meet someone by then and I don’t need any complications.”

“You can’t say fairer than that,” she said with a genuine smile. “What’s the third condition?”

“Will you take a spanking here and now so that you at least have some idea about what you are getting into?”

Carolynn’s jaw lowered to something of a gape before closing in determination. For a moment she fixed her gaze on the middle distance before meeting John’s eyes and nodding.

“Will it hurt?” she asked wistfully.

“Hell yes,” he grinned.

“I was afraid of that,” she said ruefully and proffered her hand. “Mr Dacia, we have a deal.”

“The strangest deal in business history,” he said, not quite believing that once again he had gone along with one of her crazy schemes.

*

Carolynn had never felt so… so what? She had no point of reference. She glanced at her suit hanging by the door. John had let her keep her underwear and blouse on. Well the bra anyway, her knickers went south as soon as she was across his knee and now hung like a surrendered flag around her ankles.

Her smooth bare bottom jutted up from his lap as tight as you like and she could feel his appreciative gaze prickle at her skin. A hot flush burned her face and an involuntary sigh escaped her throat.

“You alright?” John asked.

“No,” she countered nervously, forcing as much cheeky bravado into the response as she could.

“Tough,” he said somewhat sharply and gave her a single smart smack.

“Ouch, that hurt,” she gasped.

“Good, it is supposed to,” he chuckled and spanked her again.

She hissed through gritted teeth and rocked her bottom back and forth. It didn’t hurt as much as she feared but the sting was still unexpected.

John was uncertain that this would work, after all Carolynn has always been so full of herself and way too confident to play submission games. He gazed down at the pert sun-shy-white pert bubbles and the red handprints developing on their curves.

“You know this is for real don’t you?” he said.

“Well duh,” she said sullenly, but both her tone and the beet infusion staining her face announced that she was far beyond her comfort zone.

“No cheek from you young lady,” he growled and spanked her half a dozen times in a row.

“Oh, ow, oh,” she yelped and kicked her feet.

Then gripping her jaw tight shut she silently steeled herself for the onslaught; and it came. The fire took hold in her seat and threatened to overwhelm her. If she could just hold on it wouldn’t be so bad.

“You’re taking this well,” he said without breaking the rhythm.

“Uhm,” she grunted and screwed up her face.

Her bare bottom was bright red now and the hot stain rolled neatly around both globes, describing them perfectly against the white of her thighs and the dimpled small of her back.

“Feeling it?” he asked letting his arm rise and fall with solid resounding impacts.

“Uh-ah yessss,” she hissed and tightened her fists where they met the floor.

Her bottom was hot now and all sense of resistance and control was being squeezed out until it was all sting. It couldn’t be much longer, she told herself. It wasn’t so bad.

John scooped his arm so that it cracked each round upwards and then together. He could this all day; he smiled, now noticing the tightness in his trousers.

Carolynn was struggling for breath now, almost as if it was her who was doing all the work. The spanking was taking its toll and sapping her strength. Time was off, was he spanking slow or fast? She just couldn’t tell. It could have been minutes or days, only logic denied the latter. All the while her bottom was getting impossibly hot as if it were actually on fire. Coping and not coping hung in a metaphysical scale.

“That’s crazy red,” he said in admiration.

“Yes?” she said in a strained voice that strived to be conversational. Then the balance shifted.

The short explosive burst of tears took her by surprise, as did the rush of water on her face.

“This is so stupid,” she said to no one in particular.

“Don’t be embarrassed, the crying will help,” he said kindly, although his concern did not extend ti mercy.

But she was embarrassed. Surrendering her bum had been her choice; she had owned it with her usual level of control. But she didn’t control this and the sudden onrush of tears was a shock; the vocalised sob even more so.

“Please John, please, I’m sorry,” she wailed and she was crying freely and noisily.

“Sorry for what? That you made a deal?” he asked casually as he spanked her harder.

“No,” she bawled, “I’m just sorry.”

“That’s it, let it out,” he told her.

The spanking lasted another five minutes or more before he finally lowered her o her knees for a hug. Hugging back she cried and cried as she shook.

“That’s it, hey there you go,” he soothed, “Do you still want to cut a deal?”

To be continued.