The Dresden Files/Codex Alera is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction.

I awoke first the next morning. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was already after 10 am.

"Ugh," I said. "Holy cow, it's late."

Karrie's eyes opened, and she smiled. "G'morning Mithtreth."

I frowned at that. Mistress? When did that happen? "Good Morning, Karrie."

She giggled. "That wath like wow, wow, wow, WOWIE, last night, Mithtreth."

I nodded. "It certainly was."

"Mmm God, I'm already turned on. Wanna go again?" She sat up on her knees, twisting her piercings and watching them fall back down.

"I have to go to work, child."

"Mmm, okay, Mistress. Would you like me to make you breakfatht?"

"That would be lovely. I'm going to jump in the shower real quick."

"Oooh, I could scrub your back?"

"Breakfast, girl," I said, laughing.

"Yeth, Mith." She got up and bounced into the kitchen, where I heard her singing softly.

I got into the shower. I used Mur…I mean, Karrie's shampoo and hair products. After drying off, I touched up my face with the makeup in my purse, then got dressed. My silk stockings were a wreck, but my legs didn't really need them.

After drying my hair and putting on the jewelry I wore the day before, I looked at least presentable if a little wrinkled.

I went out into the kitchen to find oatmeal and toast. She had a bit of a guilty expression on her face.

"I burned the oatmeal a little," she said. "I'm tho thorry."

"It's okay, darling." I took a few bites and smiled. It was also pretty lumpy.

"What are your planth today, Mith?"

I sighed. "Well, I need to go into the office, and then I have other work to do."

She nodded, rocking back and forth.

"What about you?"

"Oh, I have that job, too, now."

"Oh!" I said, taking my bowl to the sink. "Speaking of jobs, John Marcone said he could also put you to work."

"You mean the criminal, John Marcone?"

"Yes. He has several clubs you could work at."

"Would you rather me work for him, Mith? Or do the online work?"

"Much prefer you work for John. He said he'd keep an eye on you."

She smiled. "Okay."

"I'll text you his address. You can uber over there, yes?"

"Yeth, Mistress."

"Perfect," I said, leaning over to give her a kiss. Now that she was fully Karrie, her lips did not burn me in the slightest. I knew what that meant, she didn't really love me, not truly, though we now shared a different kind of bond.

She beamed up at me. "Have a good day, Mith. Will You be back tonight?"

"Possibly, or I may have you brought to my Penthouse. Would you like that, pet?"

She shivered, nodding, her platinum ponytail bobbing up and down. "Yeth!"

"Mmm, perfect. Now, a few instructions."

She listened expectantly as I considered.

"One: No more tattoos. You are far too perfect a creature to be decorating yourself like that. Unless I tell you otherwise, you are not to have anymore ink."

She looked a little sad at that but nodded. "Yeth, Mith."

"Two: This is your chance to explore your sensuality. I expect you to do that, but I want a full report at the end."

She nodded, smiling, and blushing. "Okay, Mith."

"Three: I want you to share your location with me at all times through your phone app. If you get in a situation that you don't like, text '911' to me, and I will have you picked up immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yeth."

"Perfect."

"Four: if anyone, Harry included, tries to do anything else with your mind, you are to text 911 to me."

"Yeth, Mith."

"Now, tell me all those things back, dear."

"Umm…she concentrated. No Tattoos, Have sex, but tell you, share my location and no mind control."

"Perfect. You are such a bright girl."

She beamed at me. "Thank you, Mith!"

"Now, before you forget, share your location."

She pulled out her cellphone and tapped in a few settings, and I heard a chime on my own."

"Perfect. Is there anything else, girl?"

She shook her head. "Not that I can think of, Mith, other than pleathe be careful."

"I will, my darling."

She smiled. "I am tho happy, Mith; you have no idea."

I smiled, taking a last few bites of the burnt toast.

"I'm glad."

Once back in my BMW, I considered my options. The clock was ticking on Susan's issue. I needed to get back in touch with her to see how she was faring on her list. I still hadn't learned anything about the person of interest at Coiffure Cup, and I had several burning projects at Wraith Industries…

My phone buzzed, and I looked down. I had several messages from Father, needing to meet with me, immediately. I'd wanted him to WeChat yesterday, and I remember hearing the chimes, but I'd been meeting with John and…well, didn't answer them.

I sighed. Father had a way of turning molehills into mountains. Best to check in anyway, I was sure Natalia and Elisa would be happy to see me as well.

I considered the drive; the estate was a good hour away in the best traffic, but I could take the heli and be there in a few minutes. That way, I could check-in at the office first.

Backing out the driveway, I saw Karrie's face in the window, waving goodbye to me. I waved back, smiling, then put the car in drive and started toward the office.

Sighing, I turned on some music, a lovely Wagnerian opera. Part of me hated what I'd done to Murphy, turning my fierce, strong, loving partner into a submissive, sensual pet basically enthralled to me made the Harry part of me quite angry. I could feel him down there, seething, but at the same time, I recognized that I hadn't reduced her strength in any capacity. She was still a very strong person, just exploring her sensual side, and I was allowing that. Murphy had never been truly happy, always fighting the dark on the side of the light. Now, she could relax, enjoy some casual sex, and truly explore what she'd always envied in others. I was the conduit for that release, true, but if she hadn't wanted this, her mind never would have allowed it. With any kind of trance, you could never force someone to truly be something they didn't already want to be. You simply removed the objections and empowered what was in their soul.

By making myself the center of that focus, I could at least continue to protect and guide her. It obviously bypassed the True Love curse of the white court; she adored me, worshipped me, really, and that kind of love was within allowed behaviors.

The music lifted me up in ways, Wagner never had. I realized for the first time; I, too, was truly happy. I had a daughter who loved me, a partner who worshipped me, and I was queen of an empire where the Baron of Chicago wanted and desired my advice.

I blushed a little, thinking of John and his embrace yesterday. What a power couple we could be. He recognized it too, yet we both realized what dangerous ground that would open up. I knew without a doubt, he would launder all his ill-gotten gains through the legitimate empire of Raith Industries. Nothing would be outside our grasp; politics, businesses, anything our mind could entertain could be ours.

It was a scary thought. But one that deserved a bit of consideration.

Jenni was happy to see me, as I stepped off the elevator. "Wow, twice in two days!"

"I know, right? I'm spoiling the lot of you." I said, walking swiftly toward my office.

"The Board of Directors is meeting right now. Would you like to attend?"

"Of course," I said, changing directions abruptly and heading for the board room.

I swept into the room and saw three of my Directors sitting in front of a conference screen with twelve other faces peering out.

"Well," the president said. "Good Morning, Lara. What a pleasant surprise!"

Dick Bently took my hands in his and kissed me on both cheeks. "Thank you, Dick."

I smiled and nodded at everyone, then sat in my chair at the table. I saw a gold engraved plate; 'Lara Raith: CEO' and my chair was, of course, white leather.

The meeting continued with the secretary of the board reading the minutes from the last meeting. Then they got to company reports and projections. When they got to my report, Dick said: "Lara, would you like to provide us your report in person since you are in attendance?"

"I'd love to." Smiling, I stood, then pressed a button that showed my report on the screen. I went through everything from personnel issues to technology acquisitions as the result of the shelter in place directive. I directed attention to the unplanned expenses incurred, the resources needed, and mitigation protocols to overcome the projected quarterly shortfall in revenue generation."

"In conclusion, I expect Raith Industries to actually improve our position as a result of the shelter in place. Through leveraging our bio-medical facilities in coordination with the Gates Foundation, we are providing facilities and resources for the development of a global vaccine that could provide immeasurable relief on the worldwide stage and bring the Raith Capital Funding Initiatives into a potential windfall of growth potential while saving lives."

I smiled. "And looking damned sexy while doing it."

Everyone at the table laughed and applauded as I sat down.

"Well, that was invigorating!" Dick beamed. "You certainly have turned the company around after the previous incumbent—"

"Don't worry about offending me," I said. "I'm going out to see my father later this afternoon. We'll keep the old man off the board and behind the scenes, minimizing any further damage from his old school ideas."

Dick put his hands together. "Excellent, truly excellent work, Lara."

"I wish I could take credit for it, Dick, but I've really got an excellent team working for me. They do their jobs so well; it makes me look good."

"But it was your vision to bring those people together and empower them to do their jobs, Lara. So the credit comes back to you."

I shrugged. "Okay, you got me with that one."

They laughed again, and Dick smiled as he went on with the meeting.

I took the opportunity to step out and get back to my office.

"How did it go?" Jenni asked when I walked back in.

"Perfectly," I said. "Thanks for the heads up."

"You're welcome, boss!"

"Can you let Malcolm know I'll be needing to go out to the estate?"

"Want him to come in now."

"Yes, if he's available."

"Of course."

"What else do you need me for?" I said, sitting down in my chair, and pulling up my email.

"Dave Lawson in accounting, Frank Peterson in HR, and Ian in IT all wish to see you."

I sighed. "Let them know I'm here and have about an hour, will you?"

"Of course."

And with that, I got to work.