"My lady, what's wrong?" Ning asked when Stacey emerged from the bathroom.
"That took a while. It sounds very messy in there," said Nurse Redfern.
"What do you expect," Stacey retorted angrily, feeling her entire body trembling, "with that beastman dog and idiotic person both in there? Get me a rolled up newspaper and prepare a collar and leash. I'm going to teach that mutt a lesson he's not going to forget when he comes out. Someone can hold Imiliana down when she comes out. Since she wants to be the wife of a dog, she can be punished like one."
"Beastman?"
"My lady?"
"He's a beastman," Stacey growled in a very low voice, "who has mated with that girl. He touched me. Dared to touch and make fun of me and try to drown me in his dirty bathwater. If I don't teach him a lesson, neither of those two are going to learn that there are some lines you don't cross."
Ning and the facial expressions of the other bodyguards changed. They seemed guilty, concerned and yet very pleased with her. As if happy she was finally going to do something about Imiliana, rather than letting the bullying continue. Anger and shame also flooded their faces for not realising how much danger Stacey had been in just now. How had they not heard Greyjo's voice? In fact, why couldn't they hear it now?
"Our apologies for not noticing sooner. Consider it done, my lady," Ning said, opening the bedroom door to look out into the corridor and give orders. A rolled up newspaper was soon brought to Stacey. A dog collar, muzzle and chain leash soon followed.
"Am I allowed to discipline Imiliana as well?" Stacey asked, "because she's been just begging for a beating. I can't stand her attitude. She tried to drown me in that bathwater and ganged up with that beast to humiliate me."
Whether they agreed or not, she was still going to make sure she gave that girl a lesson she wouldn't forget. Stacey was tired of letting that brat continue to have her own selfish way. Since her parents had never educated her, she would do it for them. She might never have done something like this on Earth because the laws wouldn't allow it, but this wasn't Earth. She was on another planet in another country where corporate punishment was allowed. She would just have to make sure she didn't go overboard with things.
"We'll hold them down," Ning said in a firm tone. "My lady, you may do as you wish."
The moment the bathroom door opened, both dog and girl were immediately caught by the guards and pinned down to the floor. The muzzle, collar and leash were cinched tight around the dog's neck before he could break free. Greyjo tried to bite and attack, twisting and snarling. Imiliana screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling to break free.
"You stupid bitch," Imiliana screamed. "How dare you treat me like this? Who do you think you are? I'm going to tell my father about your abuse of power and how you're always getting in my way. You think you're so clever and that you're so special. You don't even know Tadpole. What use are you? You're just a waste of space and resources. You faker. Even the beastmen don't want you. You hurt Greyjo and I'll have you tied down in a beastman town to be their whore. I'll have you whipped and r***d to death. You're not even badly injured and you have to make such a big fuss so that everyone will wait on you. It's just a bump on your head. Everyone's had a bump on their head before but haven't needed all the attention you do. You're just trying to attract pity to get more viewers and fans but I can see what you're doing. You're such a fake. It's so obvious. Everyone can see if they use their eyes. You're a disgusting slut. If you didn't sleep with someone, how would you have even gotten into this program when you're just an abandoned street rat? You should just get lost and be kidnapped by the beastmen to be their plaything for the rest of your short life. Maybe you'll even learn to enjoy it."
Stacey ignored Imiliana while she spouted ugly words. The dog beastman had to be dealt with first.
"Dare to touch me and try to drown me? Dare to threaten to tie me up for your friends and kill me?" Stacey seethed at the growling dog, catching hold of its collar and beating its backside with the rolled up newspaper in her hand. The guards prevented the dog from struggling. "You knew you were overstepping what's allowed and you still think nobody can stop you doing whatever you want?"
Greyjo yelped and tried to get up to attack her, switching between his normal dog form and human-like form in order to try surprise the bodyguards and break free. The Huo Guards were prepared though. Greyjo was unable to break free at all.
Stacey whacked his backside with the rolled up newspaper until he began whimpering and stopped fighting. Then she nodded to the guards and they dragged him outside the hotel to be chained up. Next, Stacey had Imiliana bent over the edge of the bed and she gave her a good walloping.
"Shut up! You're a spoilt little kid, you know that? You know what is right and wrong and still want to do whatever you want. You have been selfish and careless ever since you came," Stacey scolded. "You don't think about or for anybody else besides yourself. There are lines you don't cross and you have crossed so many of them now, I barely know where to start. I don't know why no one has ever taught you any life lessons before. You have abused and hurt me when you're meant to be my assistant. You haven't done the job you were employed for from the very beginning. I gave you so much leeway so that you could get whatever dog sh** experience you wanted but you thought I was a walkover."
Stacey felt like her head and chest were going to explode. She was so angry.
Imiliana had reverted to cursing her in a high pitched voice in between beats of the rolled up newspaper on her backside.
"You think you're so privileged because your father has an important position," Stacey raged, "but what have you done to earn anybody's respect? Nothing! Nobody truly respects you. I let so many of your provocations slide on behalf of your father and Thieren, but not today. Why should I keep giving way to you when you're meant to be my employee? Who wants a worker like you? Nobody would ever want someone as prejudiced and condescending as you. I might have even been willing to be a friend instead, but you didn't even want that. Who wants to be friends with a superficial lazy worm who doesn't have any dignity and would rather rut with a dog?"
Imiliana stopped screaming and lay on the bed sobbing.
"You wanted the dog," Stacey continued, getting in one more stroke with the newspaper before throwing it aside, "I let you have it. But then you had to use my bathroom when you could have just used your own to wash him. You were purposely provoking me and trying to tread on my authority. Then you tried to drown me in the dirty bathwater and threatened me. You put me in danger with a beastman and stripped me in front of him. You even encouraged him and gave him ideas. You humiliated me, knowing I was helpless without my guards in there. I don't know what's going on in your head but you are definitely not staying with us anymore. If someone did that to you, would you stand for it?"
Stacey glared down at Imiliana panting. She felt her temper starting to wind down and with it, a rapid loss of energy. It didn't mean she wasn't still angry, but it seemed she had reached a limit. A limit to how much her body could handle.
"I gave you so many chances and now, I've had enough," Stacey said, holding onto the bedside table for balance. "Since you like the dog so much, you can go and be its bitch. We're not bringing you back to CC anymore. You can explain to your father yourself."
Ning supported Stacey before she could fall, lowering her down onto the ground. Her blood pressure had probably shot through the roof and affected her brain injury, but she was so angry. So angry. She didn't think she had ever been this angry before.
Imiliana caught her breath and screamed abuse at Stacey. She had only stopped screaming earlier because she had run out of breath and Stacey's spanking had been too painful for her to handle. The noise she made only ceased when a bodyguard gagged her with a face towel. Stacey was unable to focus on what she had been saying anyway. Imiliana was dragged out of the room by the guards.
"Calm down," Dr Jin and Nurse Redfern helped her to sit down on the bed. Stacey had to put her head down. Her stomach was unsettled and she felt nauseous. Her neck had gone stiff with anger and the muscles were cramping with pain. Her vision was swimming and her inner ear was too.
The doctor and nurse took her vital signs and then helped lay her down in the bed properly. Stacey groaned and felt her inner elbow be pinched by a needle.
She heard Ning make a phone call to Thieren while the doctor and nurse muttered wishes that there was a hospital nearby.