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Melissa Gold was a perfect assistant. She did what she was told, she was always there when Val needed her, and most importantly of all, she never questioned anything. When Mel tapped her on the shoulder from behind in her first week and Val nearly turned around and killed her, she never asked why she was so jumpy. She spared physical contact with her boss as much as possible because she just noticed. It was wonderful.
Eventually, Val decided to open up just a bit. They’d brush hands when passing something and she wouldn’t immediately pull away. It was good for her to practice.
This was around the time when she became a bit… obsessive. Valentina didn’t consider herself a very jealous person but she felt herself getting antsy every time she didn’t know where Mel was. At first, it was a basic desire to know what she was doing, who she was talking to. A necessity as her employer, of course. But every once in a while, Mel would mention some boy she was talking to, or someone she made friends with at a party and Val would get this sick feeling in her stomach.
That was her songbird. She’d have to keep her in a nicer cage.
So she made some moves and potentially sabotaged a few relationships. It was all business. The people outside could poison her, feed her lies. Melissa could slip away. She left her hand on top of hers a little too long this time and watched the younger woman twitch at the sudden change.
Of course, just as Valentina expected, she began to slip away. Luckily, she had ears everywhere. She knew Mel could sense the change in her demeanor. She didn’t like being aggressive, but sometimes it was the only way to teach someone. That’s what she had learned as a child, anyways.
Physical contact was a non-issue when Val was in control. Her little bird sang so pretty, after all.
She had reigned her back in just the right amount. Enough for Melissa to still feel free without realizing she was completely under her boss’s control. She would never find out. Val had finally locked the cage.