Proud

Brenda Sullivan loved speed dating. It was quite entertaining to be in a large room, surrounded by dozens of people, all of them somewhat desperate to be noticed and appreciated while she observed their reactions and noted those who would make good hypnotic subjects to play with in the future. However, occasionally, she did it on the spot and that’s where speed trancing came in.

The man sitting before her at the Belvedere Club was called Jim Banks. He was in his early forties, worked as a bank manager, and loved assertive women. He was hardly a looker but dressed well, smelled nice, and was obviously smitten by her. A curious individual through and through, he had far too many questions to ask her in the short time allotted, so he chose the ones that allowed him to gain the most information about her without sounding too needy. The sentence that caught her attention the most was,

“Tell me something you’ve created you’re most proud of.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” she lay down her phone on the table, screen facing up, and tapped the app on the lower left corner. “I made this.”

“Hypnowheel of Fortune?” he mused, staring at the colorful logo. “What is that?”

“Exactly what the name implies. It plays just like the popular game but with mesmerizing consequences whether you win or lose. It’s a lot of fun,” she smiled.

“Come on. Does that really work?”

“Why don’t you play a quick round to find out?” she navigated the app’s menu and selected an easy puzzle with only three words, comprising twelve letters total. On the screen, the riddle was displayed like this,

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“How do I play?”

“Spin the wheel and then select the letters you want from the keypad at the bottom. Consonants are free but you’ll need to buy vowels with the virtual money earned from your spins. Solve it quickly and you may get an additional prize.”

“Okay. Ready to be dazzled,” he said.

“Good.”

Jim touched the colorful wheel, its spiraling luminous pattern reflected on his pupils. It stopped on the $300 space and the first letter he chose was a T but to no avail.

“Try again, dear.”

Jim followed her lead with a better spin. Landing on the $900 dollars space, he went for the letter S and the board lit up once.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ _

“Hmm, that doesn’t say much, does it?”

“I guess not,” Brenda gently brushed her right hand against this. “but that’s why you have a couple more attempts. Why don’t you try a vowel next time?”

It was a good suggestion, one he gladly agreed to. He spent half of his virtual earnings to trigger the letter E, two instances of it materializing in utmost silence.

_ _ E _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ E

“Hmm, still tricky…”

“Anything special on your mind right now?” she asked.

“I really like the clean interface and the spiral pattern is… hmmm…”

“Say no more,” Brenda purred. “Spin the wheel again, let it go round and round, deeper and deeper…”

Jim barely registered her words, eyelids fluttering. The people around him were becoming a hazy blur, out-of-focus characters in a scene where the only thing that mattered was her game and the possible prize for winning it.

His two guesses were successful, both at the $200 space. The first letter was a B and the second an N, which also appeared twice in the puzzle.

B _ E N _ _ _ _ N S _ E

“Anything yet?” she insisted.

“I’m thinking…”

“Don’t think too hard for our time is almost up. In fact, it’s probably best if you don’t think at all and simply go with the flow.”

“Let my mind spin with the wheel?”

“You can say that. The more it spins the better you feel. You understand, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Go for the win.”

Jim spun the wheel one last time. The letter M was the first to come to mind but, at the very last second, he turned it upside down and choose a W. The timing for it couldn’t have been more perfect.

B _ E N _ _ _ W N S _ E

“Oh…”

“Do you have the solution, Jim?”

“Maybe.”

“Then say it loud. You’ll love it, I’m sure.”

Head tilting slightly to the right, he parted his lips and said,

“BRENDA OWNS ME?”

“It’s not a question, dear. Say it properly and sink for me,” the hypnotist commanded.

“BRENDA OWNS ME.”

“One more time, all thoughts going blank… There’s only me and my will now.”

“BRENDA OWNS ME,” he concluded, brain completely shut down and under her mesmeric control.

“Awww, so sweet… Shall we ditch this joint and get to know one another better at my place?”

“If that’s your wish…”

“It is. Come, pet.” she rose from the table just as the time limit was running up. “The wheel is still spinning within you. You’ll become more relaxed and compliant with every step you take behind me. You will obey.”

“Yes, Brenda. You own me…”

“And don’t you forget it,” the entrepreneur said, even prouder of her accomplishments. Speed dating was definitely a blast but ensnaring new toys would always be her favorite attraction. Her weekend was going to be glorious.

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