Part 14,  The Weekend.

The weekend began for Nina much earlier in the week, although she didn't know it.  Nina's new boss, Sarah Wickland, had spent a good hour Tuesday morning arguing a motion with the judge of one of her more prominent cases.

It was rare when Sarah ever needed to go to court; most of her cases settled well before then, but she had an obstinate client, a sleazy opposing lawyer, AND a judge more worried about his upcoming vacation time than his job, to contend with.  What's more, this particular lawyer had been sandbagging her, stalling her discovery requests.  By law, he had to show her all he had, but the trial was fast approaching and she knew he hadn't.  That's what she was arguing about.

Judge Williams sat silently at his desk, slowly going through the motions and counter motions filed by both sides over the so-called missing paperwork, and pretty much ignored the two opponents snapping at each other like two little dogs.  When eventually he did raise his head, he bellowed for silence and then ruled in favor of Sarah.  She was to get all she asked for; Frank Morgenstern was to hold nothing back.

He didn't, or at least it didn't seem that way.

Thursday afternoon, over forty boxes of files, receipts, and other such paperwork was delivered to the firm and to Sarah Wickland's office.  Seeing this huge pile and knowing her opponent was trying to bury her in paperwork, Sarah was on the phone immediately with the judge to complain.  Her complaint fell on deaf ears.  He told her that she had asked for everything, and everything was what she got.  He also refused her request for a continuance; trial would start promptly at 9:00 am Monday morning.

Sarah wasn't beaten yet, though; she had a reputation of being tough, and it was well earned.  She knew that somewhere in this pile was the evidence she needed to win this civil suit, and she wasn't going to let anyone snow her under, even if it meant working all weekend.

With a smile, she had Franklin, her secretary, catalog the boxes while she reached for the phone.

---***---

Nina just happened to be working in her own office that afternoon.  Normally she would have been upstairs in Sarah's office, but another lawyer had needed the extra hands for a project so Sarah had reluctantly let her go.

For Nina it had meant an afternoon at work with clothes on, something she rarely got to have since she started working for the Legallady.

The phone on her desk rang, and Nina picked it up without looking at it.  "Nina West speaking," she said brightly.

"Nina, this is Sarah.  Could you come up here please?  Something has come up!"

Nina paled, her thoughts on actually staying dressed for more than a few hours fading away.  She looked up at the clock and saw it was almost quitting time, but that didn't mean much to Sarah.  Nina groaned.

"Yes, Ma'am, I can be up in a few minutes," she said, trying not to show her disappointment in her voice.

"Thank you.  Oh, one more thing.  There's another girl, Helen.  Bring her too, I need to talk to both of you."

"Helen, Ma'am?" Nina asked, wondering what was going on.

"Yes, bring her with you."  Sarah hung up, so Nina put the phone down.  She sat in thought for a minute, wondering what the emergency was and why Helen had to go with her, then she smiled as she realized she wouldn't be spending time naked upstairs.  So far Sarah hadn't let anyone see Nina upstairs without any clothes on, not even her creepy looking male secretary, so Nina felt safe.

"Say, Helen?" Nina said, getting her friend's attention.

Helen looked up from her computer, busy trying to finish the retype of a deposition she had been given.  "Whaaaat!" she said.

"You and I have to go upstairs, we've been summoned."

This made Helen stop typing.  "What do you mean, summoned?"

"Sarah Wickland wants us," Nina said with a shrug.

"You mean just you, right?  You're the one who works with her."

"She wants us both."

Helen was rather surprised, and she wondered what the Legallady wanted from her.  "When?"

"Right now," answered Nina.

Helen sighed and looked at her computer.  "Okay, let's go."

---***---

Franklin had them wait for twenty minutes while Sarah was on the phone.  Then he let them into the inner office with a greasy smile that gave both young women the creeps.

As Nina entered the office she had come to know so well, she couldn't stop herself from glancing at the hidden closet where her clothes had been held hostage so many times, and her fingers almost reached for the buttons of her blouse on their own accord.

Sarah Wickland was behind her glass desk, and she stood up and walked over to the door leading to her conference room.  Without a word, she opened the door and gestured the two young paralegals inside.  What they saw on the other side of the door made them shudder; it was almost full of cardboard file boxes.

"Ladies, I present to you our weekend," Sarah said with a grimace.

"What?" Helen said, turning to look at the Legallady.

"Nina, you know about the upcoming trial?  Dah vs. Cronenberg?  Well, here are all the files we've been petitioning for since we got the case.  Ten years of disciplinary reports, receipts for permit passes, fines, and whatever other kinds of junk their bastard lawyers decided to throw at us!"  Sarah was not in a great mood.

Nina began poking at one of the boxes.  "Don't tell me we have to go through all this stuff," she said dismally.

"Oh yeah, every box, every file.  And we have to get it done by Sunday morning so I can prepare my case for trial on Monday."

Helen shook her head.  "Ms. Wickland, that will take all weekend if we're lucky, and I have plans this weekend."

"Cancel them!" ordered the lawyer.

"Cancel them?  Do you know how long it took me to arrange..."

"I don't care, Helen.  I need you and Nina to help me get this done.  Between the three of us, we should be able to sort out all this paper in time, but I need you.  Besides, this is what you do here.  You work for the firm, and the firm right now is ME.  Unless of course, you would rather NOT work for the firm?"  Sarah looked levelly at Helen, who wilted.

"Okay, okay.  I guess I'm spending the weekend here with you guys," she said.

"No, not here," Sarah said, showing the girls back into her own office.  "I don't care much for throwing away a weekend either, but I'll be damned if we're going to waste it here in this office.  The trial is being held in Buffalo County, neutral territory for all concerned, except that my home is out that way.  We'll meet there tomorrow; I'll have Franklin ship that mess in the other room out there.  Then we can at least enjoy some pleasant surroundings while we work.  We can even go swimming on our breaks; you like to swim, don't you, Nina?"

Nina nodded.

"Well then."  Sarah smiled and began showing the paralegals the door.  "Franklin will give you directions.  Be prepared to spend the entire weekend with me, no driving back here at night.  Pack for the weekend, but pack casually, very casually."

Both girls nodded, each one thinking about how her plans were shot, although Nina was actually a little relieved.  Her new housemate, Kelly, had been making noises about having a party over the weekend, and as she would certainly be partying naked, Nina knew that Kelly would insist she did too.  Nina would have been very nervous spending the weekend alone with Sarah Wickland, but with Helen along, Nina figured there would be none of the nudity Nina had to normally endure with this woman.

Who knows, it might actually be fun!

Sarah's last words as they left the office were, "I'll see you both out at my place bright and early at 8:00 am."

Helen groaned.

---***---

"So what's the big deal on this case anyway!" yelled Helen over the wind as she drove Nina and herself out to Sarah Wickland's Friday morning.  "What's it about?"

Nina began to blush, wondering how to talk about this rather unusual case.

Helen glanced over at her friend and noticed the red face.  She also noticed how well Nina filled out her T-Shirt and shorts, and how her long legs showed off their well muscled tan.  Helen felt a little frumpy in comparison in her blouse and pants.  She pushed the thought out of her head and tried to concentrate.

"You might as well tell me; I'm going to find out anyway!"

Nina nodded, sighing.  "Do you know about the Cronenberg School for Girls?" Nina said.

Helen shook her head.  "Can't say that I have!"

"Well, neither had I before I first saw this case, and I'm kinda glad.  Cronenberg is one of those disciplinary schools, the kind of school you send kids to who can't be handled any place else.  But it's a private school; they don't just take any problem kids, usually only the ones with rich parents."

"Sound's like they would fit in around here!" Helen commented.

"Not all the kids are problem kids, though.  Quite a few are there simply because their parents approve of the way these girls are handled," continued Nina.

"So what's the problem?" Helen asked.

Nina glanced at her friend.  "The er...school...this branch anyway...recently changed its disciplinary measures, and a lot of the parents are up in arms about it.  They want the school to return to its previous rules and get back in line with the other Cronenberg schools.  They're pretty upset.  The leader of the group they formed, Jacob Dah, sued the school over its change of policy.  The other parents joined in, and now the school is fighting back."

"Who's likely to win?" asked Helen, curious.

"I don't know, to be honest.  I've only seen the first brief and heard Sarah grumble about it.  But neither side is willing to settle, so it's going to court!"

Helen shrugged.  "So we get stuck in the middle, great.  What did they change, anyway?"

Nina looked down.  "Are you sure you've never heard of this school?"

Helen shrugged.  "The name doesn't ring a bell.  Why, do they torture their students?"

"No...well...that might be up for debate."

Helen looked over at her friend, intrigued by that answer.  "Now you HAVE to tell me."

"Er...well, at Cronenberg, they use humiliation as a tool to discipline the girls.  Any infraction of the rather stiff rules they have there means a girl can lose items of clothing for a while.

"What?" Helen said, thinking it was a joke.

"From what the brief said, these girls can be stripped naked if the infraction is serious enough."

"You're kidding!  And they changed that?  Good for them!"

"Well, not all of it.  The girls can still be stripped on campus, but when leaving the school, any girl without clothes is given a bright yellow plastic sack to wear so she doesn't have to appear naked in public."

"Wait a second.  That's what they changed to?  Are you trying to tell me that before the change, these poor girls were allowed out in public without clothes?"

"I think so," Nina said, rather uncomfortable with the idea herself, knowing the feeling of being without clothing and away from someplace safe.

"That's illegal, isn't it?" Helen said.

Nina shook her head.  "Not for Cronenberg students, not in their home county.  Legislation was passed allowing the school to operate as they saw fit.  But someone got cold feet anyway, and changed how they issue their discipline in public."

Helen shook her head.  "That's crazy.  And you know what's even worse?  This suit is about parents WANTING their daughters exposed in public like that."

Nina nodded.  "Here's the turn off."

The house was large and flat, done in a Grecian style that reflected Sarah Wickland's office decor.  Pillars and statues decorated the front yard, and Nina was surprised to recognize the style of one or two of the stone nudes.  After seeing her host's art studio, and the pieces of his own work that he decorated his own property with, Nina was quite familiar with his composition.  The familiar look of embarrassment or shame, the half hidden bodies caught in that vulnerable moment.  Brian Cook certainly had a talent for bringing out that image in stone.

Nina then realized something else.  Brian had plans for several depictions of her OWN nude body.  Up until now Nina hadn't really thought about what would happen to those statues after they were made, but seeing this display brought home to her the fact that people might buy them.  Nina realized that her nude form done in stone would be looked at by hundreds, maybe thousands of people, and could last for longer than a lifetime.

Just imagine having people look at your nude body for a hundred years!

Nina got the shivers and missed noticing something she would have found very interesting.

Helen took one look at the statues and blushed.  She looked away and didn't look back.

The two girls got out of their car and carried their single bags up to the front door.  It was opened as they approached by Sarah herself, standing in the doorway in a dark blue bikini.

"Come in, come in," she said, and the young women walked in, a little stunned at the sight of the senior partner in such skimpy clothing.  Sarah filled out her swimsuit well at that, her forty-four-year-old body looking at least a decade younger.  "Go through to the left, there's a bedroom four doors down you can share while you're here.  Change into swimsuits if you like, we'll be working out by the pool anyway today!" she said.

The girls mumbled their greetings and made their way to their assigned room.  Through to the left brought them out into a courtyard in the middle of the house with a small pool and a fountain.  Off the courtyard were doors to various rooms, one of which was theirs.  Nina quite liked the space and the layout of the house; its Greek themes evident even here.

"Great place!" Helen said as they went into their room.

"Beautiful.  But wow, I didn't expect to see her in a swimsuit, did you?" Nina asked.

Helen shook her head.  "Do you think we should join her?"

Nina said yes, knowing personally that a "suggestion" from Sarah Wickland was nothing different from an order.

The girls changed quickly, Helen showing some embarrassment at getting undressed in front of Nina, while it didn't even occur to Nina to be embarrassed at all.  It was when they were half changed that Sarah poked her head in the door.  "Everything all right?" she said with a smile.

Helen had only just pulled on her bikini bottoms and quickly grabbed the top, holding it to her chest and blushing.  Nina on the other hand was still naked, sorting out the suit she hadn't worn in over a month.  She had her back to the door and simply looked over her shoulder at her boss.  She flushed a little, but didn't jump to cover up as Helen had.

"We're fine, thanks," Nina said, knowing that Sarah was going to get in the games she could.  Once again, Nina was glad Helen was there so she wouldn't have to spend the entire time naked.

Sarah grinned and left them alone.

"That was weird," Helen said.

Nina only nodded and got dressed.

When they came out, they saw Sarah waiting for them across the courtyard.  "Come on over, let's have some breakfast!" she said, so the young women dutifully padded over.

As she walked, Nina looked about the courtyard for the huge pile of boxes they were supposed to go through, but only saw several long tables set up as if to receive them.  "Where are the files, Ma'am?" she asked.

Sarah frowned.  "Not here yet.  I've been on the phone with Franklin half the morning over this and he assures me they'll be here soon.  In the meantime, let's eat."

They sat down to a simple breakfast, and while they ate and engaged in small talk, Nina noticed that for a change she was probably the most dressed person around.  Both Sarah and Helen wore bikinis, although Helen's was rather more conservative.  But Nina wore a swimmer's one piece, designed for someone who spends a lot of time crawling through the water rather than sitting beside it looking pretty.  Nina had to grin.

Her grin faded however when she looked over at Sarah.  Her boss was giving her a critical eye.  She shook her head.  "I don't know where my manners are today.  Look at you!" she said, making Nina go pale and Helen look up confused.

"What's the matter?" Helen asked.

Sarah smiled.  "Helen, dear.  Wouldn't you agree that as your hostess it's my duty to see that you are comfortable here as my guests?"

"Er...sure!" said Helen.

"Oh no," whispered Nina, knowing what was coming.

"Of course it is.  I have to make sure that you feel at home while you're here.  And of course, I know that YOU know how Nina here stays comfortable at home.  Hmmmm?"

Helen looked blankly at Sarah for a moment, then it dawned on her and she smiled.  "Yeah, I guess I do.  But I didn't know YOU knew."

"Oh, Brian Cook and I are old friends, he tells me everything."  She smiled once more and focused on Nina again.  "Now I know that suit just HAS to be less comfortable than what you are used to, not to mention the way it would just RUIN your beautiful all-over tan.  So don't be ashamed when you take it off; we'll understand, won't we Helen?"

Nina looked at her friend who grinned back at her.  "Sure, I won't mind, it won't be anything new to me to see her naked."

"Helen!" Nina said, shocked at her friend's amusement.

"Well then," continued Sarah sweetly, "Nina, I can hardly insist that you wear that suit since you would be more comfortable without it.  In fact, I could hardly insist that you wear ANYTHING while you are staying here.  Treat my home as yours, I insist!"

Sarah gave Nina a look that Nina had come to know well.  So she stood up, and without a word, peeled off her suit until she stood naked once more.  She blushed furiously, even though both women had seen her nude quite a bit already.  It was not their looking that embarrassed her, but how Sarah had manipulated her.  Nina, to be honest, was getting rather tired of being manipulated, but she couldn't see any way out of it.

"There you are, more comfortable already.  Now come sit down and finish your food.  We'll soon have a lot of work to do."

Nina sat, her ass in direct contact with the wrought iron seat, and ate as best she could while she tried to calm down.  She knew she would get used to this, as she did working naked at the office; it only took time.  At least she wasn't naked in front of strangers again.

While she adjusted, she listened to Sarah and Helen talk.

"You live here alone?" Helen had asked her.

"Now I do, yes.  I used to have a live-in maid, but she left several years back," replied the Legallady.  "I have a service come in and clean the whole place once a week, but otherwise it's just me; I enjoy the solitude."

Helen nodded.  She enjoyed solitude as well, but got very little of it living with three other roommates.  "I like the way you decorated the place.  What made you choose a Greek theme?"

"Well, I..." began Sarah, but the phone started ringing inside the house.  "Excuse me while I get that.  In fact, Helen, as Nina won't be needing her suit or her clothes while she's here, why don't you go pack them up and put her bag back in your car."

"Er, sure.  If Nina doesn't mind," Helen said, looking at her friend.

"I'm sure she won't mind," Sarah answered as she went inside.

Nina sighed.  "Helen, what the hell are you doing?"

Helen giggled.  "Oh come on, it was funny.  I didn't know you were actually going to strip, though.  I thought it was all for laughs!"

"Well, as you can plainly see, it isn't; and now she's got you putting my clothes out of reach."

"It's just like over at Mr. Cook's, isn't it," Helen said.

"Too much like it.  Now I'm stuck here naked."

"Well, why don't you just get dressed then?" Helen asked.

Nina considered it, but shook her head.  "I can't; I had better not."

"Why not?"

Nina considered telling Helen about the threat Sarah had made to reveal Nina's nude secret to the rest of the firm, but decided not to.  "It's complicated.  Look, you'd better do as she says and take my clothes away."

"Are you sure?" Helen said, leaning forward and touching Nina's arm.

The naked girl nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Nina didn't watch Helen scamper off.  Instead, she looked at her plate until Sarah returned.  The lawyer watched Helen in her bikini cross the courtyard with Nina's bag in her hands and enter the house.

"A nice girl," Sarah said, "I was surprised when Brian told me that she knew your little secret.  But then I expect that you had to have a friend, someone to confide in about your experiences."  Sarah looked directly at Nina.  "Someone to share them with, perhaps?"

Nina scowled.  "She doesn't share anything; it's strictly me, Sarah!"

Sarah shrugged.  "Pity, we might have to see what we can do to change that."

"No!" Nina said firmly.

Sarah just smiled.

Helen came back out.  "A truck just pulled up outside.  Franklin's driving."

"That would be the files; about time, too!  Come on, let's go unload," Sarah said, getting out of her chair.

Nina actually stood up before realizing that she was about to be exposed to someone else.  "Wait, I can't go out there!"

"Of course you can, Nina.  It's only Franklin.  He won't talk," Sarah said.

"It's not his talking I'm worried about; it's his looking!"

"Nina!  We're not going to unload all those boxes by ourselves.  If we're to get this done, we need to pull together as a team.  Now stop bellyaching and come help!"

Nina looked startled at her boss, and knew this to be another one of those helpless moments.  She nodded slowly and glanced at Helen, who looked rather stricken herself.  Nina was glad to see that Helen didn't find all of this situation funny.

Nina walked behind the two other women as best she could, but coming out in front of the house there was no hiding from Franklin.  The creepy looking little man had walked around to the back of the truck and had opened it up.  He was just about to climb inside when he spotted Nina and his jaw dropped.

Nina started blushing again as she felt his watery eyes crawl up and down her body, and she could swear she noticed a bulge appear in his pants before she looked away in disgust.  Even the college boys she met on the beach last weekend hadn't looked at her with such obvious lust.  But Franklin let it all hang out.

"Oh, put your tongue back in your mouth," said Sarah, actually smacking him across the back of the head.  "We have work to do; which boxes first?"

Franklin tore his eyes off Nina's body and turned to face his boss.  He gave her an appreciative once over as well before answering.  "I numbered all the boxes according to a general date, but just glancing through some of them I saw that a lot of the files are mixed throughout.  I bet the assholes at Cronenberg shuffled them on purpose."

"I wouldn't put it past their lawyers," Sarah agreed.  She looked inside the truck to see all the boxes stacked toward the front of the box.  Despite the early hour, the inside of the box was already hot.

"Nina, hop up in there, will you," Sarah said.  "You can pass the boxes back while the three of us haul them inside.  Okay?"

"Sure, I can do that."  Nina padded carefully over the gravel driveway and climbed up into the truck.  It occurred to her that as she did so, she gave Franklin a close up and unobscured look at her ass and pussy, and she blushed even more when she thought she heard him lick his lips.

She tried to stand up, but the box was too short, making her bend over.  This made her breasts hang in front of her a little more, so she squatted down.  One look at Franklin and where he was looking now made Nina think THAT was a bad idea as well.  She turned, and grabbed a box.

"Not that one, pull them by the numbers," Franklin said.

Nina nodded, not trusting herself to speak, she was so embarrassed, and found the right box to start with.  Sarah took this one, a silent and sorrowful Helen the next, and Franklin the third after letting his fingers brush Nina's.  He gave her a leer and a wink and carried the box away.

Nina sat down and sighed.

Box after box was handed out, each one very heavy and awkward to carry inside the truck box.  The heat also made it difficult, and Nina was soon sweating up a storm.  Her skin looked slick, and Franklin loved to watch her bend and shift, her athletic, well toned body a delight to the eye.

Nina tried not to look at him.

---***---

Nina sat at one of the tables, paging through file after file from the box in front of her.  After unloading the truck, Nina took advantage of the courtyard swimming pool to loosen her overworked muscles and rinse the sweat off herself.  Her hair now lay in a wet mat down her back, but she felt better.  The only thing that marred her swim was Franklin watching her as she climbed out, dripping water from every curve.  The leer he gave her made her stomach roll; he really was a repulsive man.  Now he was across the courtyard from her, indexing the files and trying to get them in some sort of order, while Nina, Helen, and Sarah dove in and tried to read them.

Sarah had explained what she was looking for, and while the girls understood what she wanted, their heart wasn't in it.  Both of them felt for the young girls at Cronenberg, and thought it horrible that their parents were working to bring back their humiliating punishments, but only Helen was foolish enough to voice her opinion.

Sarah was quick with her reply.  "If you think you're on the wrong side of this argument," she said, "feel free to leave now and join the opposition...permanently!"

Nina was stunned, but Helen hadn't caught the venom in Sarah's words.

"But you have to admit that it's a rather cruel thing to do, forcing these teenage girls to walk around topless or bottomless, or even naked!" Helen said.  She waved around a few papers she had been reading.  "I mean look at this one!  For talking back to a teacher, this girl got her blouse taken away, and when she tried to explain herself the teacher took her bra away too.  She had to stay like that the rest of the day!  That's hardly fair, and I want to know, is it really effective?  It just seems cruel to me, not a valid form of discipline at all!"

"You think that, do you?" Sarah said, standing up and walking over to her.  Nina watched quietly from her own table.

"Yes I do.  Embarrassing though it must be, it's hardly a way to instill proper values in a young girl, and I doubt she learns a lesson that other methods couldn't teach better."

Sarah looked at her for a moment, then held out her hand.  "Give me your bikini top," she said.

"What?" Helen asked, going from concerned know-it-all to scared in the blink of an eye.

"I said, give me your top!"

"Why?"

"Because I want you to feel what they feel, only then perhaps will you be able to tell me if Cronenberg's rules of discipline are effective or not.  I think you should spend the weekend under the same rules, just to live in their shoes for a while.  Now give it to me."

"I can't do that," whispered Helen, going pale and glancing at Franklin, who was also watching from across the pool.

"Well, like I said, you can always leave and join the opposition.  It's your choice.  But while you're here, you're going to be a part of THIS team, which means knowing that what we are fighting for in this suit is what is best for those girls.  And it seems to me that the only way to convince you is to have you experience it for yourself.  But as I said, it's your choice."

Helen stared at Sarah, who stared back at her with her arm outstretched.  Helen swallowed and glanced at Nina who didn't move.

"I...can't afford to leave the firm," Helen said.

"Then you know what you have to do, Helen," Sarah said slowly.

Helen flushed, and she reached behind to undo the catch of her bikini top.  She gathered it up in one hand while shielding her breasts with the other arm, a deep red flush flowing through her.

Sarah took the top away from her.  "You'll get this back at lunch, if you're good."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Helen, head low.

Sarah started to walk away, then stopped and turned.  Nina saw a glint in her eye.  "One more thing.  Cronenberg rules state you can't cover up anything exposed, so sitting there with your arm across yourself is a big violation worthy of more stripping."  Sarah let that comment hang in the air for a minute, while Helen considered it and caught its meaning.

She slowly moved her arm away until she sat up straight, uncovered, her breasts on display to the courtyard.

Franklin gave a whistle of appreciation, which almost made Helen cover up again, but she held fast while Sarah glared at him.

The lawyer went back to her seat, and the three women slowly got back to work.

Franklin stood watching for a few minutes; the naked back of Nina, the wonderful breasts of Helen, the supple figure of his boss, and thought himself a very lucky man.

It took another glare from Sarah to get him working again.

---***---

Helen didn't get her top back at lunchtime.  Sarah caught her hiding behind her paperwork, lifting it up so Franklin couldn't see her breasts.

"What did I tell you about covering yourself up, Helen?" Sarah said loudly so that all could hear.

Helen jumped and flushed with either anger or embarrassment, Nina couldn't tell.  But Helen slowly laid the file she was reading down flat on the table.

"You get your top back at supper," Sarah said, going back to her work.

"But..." Helen began.

"Bed time!" Sarah snapped.

Helen opened her mouth, as if to protest further and Sarah looked up.  "Would you like me to include your bottoms as well, Helen?" Sarah said sweetly.

Helen paled and looked over at Franklin, who was enjoying the young woman's discomfort immensely.  Helen shook her head.

Sarah went back to her work, and the group kept on going.

They worked through lunch, and Nina was volunteered by Sarah to go make sandwiches for everyone.  On one hand Nina was happy to go inside and out of sight of Franklin for a while, but on the other it was worse for her as she had to walk around giving everyone their food, which meant showing herself off in front of Franklin even more.

Eventually though, the creepy little man finished indexing and sorting all the files, and now they were all in an order to make life easier for the women.

"Thank you, Franklin," Sarah said, barely looking up at him.  "I'll call you Sunday so we can prepare for trial."

"Sure thing, Sarah," he replied, his eyes only on the breasts of both Nina and Helen.  "I can stay if you like, pull files and stuff for you."

Sarah looked over at Nina and Helen, smiling inwardly at how uncomfortable the younger women were with the idea that he might stay longer.  But she figured they had suffered enough.  "No, Franklin, that's fine.  Go home!"

You could tell Franklin was disappointed, but he left anyway, and once he was gone the tension lifted somewhat.

"Ma'am," Nina said shortly after he left, "Can I ask a question?"

"Yes, Nina, of course," Sarah replied.

"Franklin.  Can we trust him not to...well, talk?"

Sarah looked up.  "Nina, I wouldn't have allowed him to see you like this if I thought he would talk.  Don't worry about him blabbing, he has good reason not to betray me."

"Good," Helen said from her table.

Sarah looked over at her.  "You think me an ogre, Helen?  What is it they call me, the Legallady?"

Helen just looked at her, too scared to say anything.

Sarah chuckled.  "I'm not as bad as you think I am, Dear.  I just wanted to show you how effective Cronenberg discipline can really be.  You know that now, don't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Helen replied.

Sarah smiled.

"Does this mean I can get dressed again, Ma'am?" Helen asked.

Sarah chuckled.  "There's no reduction in punishment at Cronenberg, even after a lesson is learned.  Tell you what, though, we've all put in a lot of work today.  Another hour, and I'll buy us all dinner, how about it?"

Nina and Helen agreed, and the women bent once more to their task, a little happier now.

They had gotten a lot done.  The indexing had helped, and now certain threads were being followed with ease.  When Sarah finally called a halt to the day, she knew she had the makings of a good case in her hands.

"Have a swim, relax," she said to her two young paralegals, "I'll make dinner arrangements."

Nina and Helen got up, and Nina stretched, tired after spending the day in the same chair.  She eyed the cool water of the pool and thought seriously about another dip.

Helen watched her friend slowly limber up, and again admired the nude's supple body.  She sighed.  "I need a drink, you need anything?"

Nina shook her head.  "I'm just going to jump in the water for a little bit."  Nina looked at Helen, still self-consciously hiding her breasts and struggling not to.  Nina knew how she felt, but had gotten used to her nudity here after a full day of it.  Franklin leaving had been a big help.  "It'll be okay, Helen, you'll see," she said.

"Let's not talk about it now, okay?" Helen said, clearly embarrassed.

Nina nodded and headed for the pool.

When Sarah came back out of the house, now fully dressed in a light pleated skirt and matching blouse, she found Nina swimming as usual and Helen laying back on a sun bed.  Sarah knew Helen was still nervous about being topless, and wondered how she would react to her latest ploy.  The Legallady wasn't a sadist, but she had played these types of games most of her life it seemed, and she wondered how both younger women would react if they knew certain truths about her.

Sarah Wickland put those thoughts aside for a later time and made her announcement.

"You both did very well today, we got a lot accomplished.  I know we have a chance at beating our opponent in court now!"

"Thanks, Sarah," Nina said from the water, much more relaxed now.

"Well, I'm in the mood to celebrate," Sarah said with a smile.  "Helen, why don't you run and put on a skirt, and we'll be off!"

Both young women looked up, stunned.

"We're going out?" Nina asked.

"You mean a dress, right?" Helen said at the same time.

"Yes we're going out, and I meant a skirt, not a dress."

"But I can't go out like this!" Helen said, panicking once more.

"Helen, you're fine.  You don't have to worry," Sarah said.

"But I'm topless!" Helen almost screamed.

"And I'm naked," Nina added, climbing out of the water.  "You can't take us out like this, Sarah.  Be reasonable.  We're playing your little game here, but out there is the real world.  We're going to get arrested!"  Nina was also close to panic, wondering if she would actually go to a public restaurant if Sarah insisted that she do so.

"Nina, Helen, it's okay," Sarah said, trying to calm both women down.  "Where I'm taking us out to dinner, they won't care how you're dressed, or even IF you're dressed..."

"Where's that, some strip club?" Helen said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.  "They may not care, but I do!"

"No, it's not a strip club.  If you must know, I'm taking you to the Valley Palms, at the Buffalo Resort."

"Valley Palms?" Nina asked confused, but Helen caught it.

"You're talking about the nudist resort, right?" she said.

"Yes, and no doubt half the people there will be as under dressed as the two of you.  Now come on, our table will be ready in just half an hour."

Sarah held out her hand, and both Helen and Nina stared at it.  Nina finally looked over at Helen, not believing the thoughts going through her head.

"It'll be just like that time we went to the beach," Nina said.

Helen looked at her, wild-eyed.  "Are you saying we should go?  Like this?"

Nina inclined her head.  "I will if you will; I'm game."  She took a deep breath, not believing she was actually considering going to a restaurant completely naked, yet thrilled by the idea at the same time.

Helen swallowed.  One thing she admired about her friend was her courage, the way she carried herself even when naked.  Now her friend said she was ready to out to a restaurant just the way she was, and even though it was a place well used to dealing with nudity, it was still a daunting prospect.  Yet...there were many times when Helen wished she had Nina's courage, and found the idea of failing in front of her almost as scary as being seen topless.

Almost.

Sarah watched both girls as they made up their minds.  She figured she had applied enough pressure; it was all up to them.

Helen closed her eyes and nodded.

"Very good.  Then off you go, Helen; get that skirt on.  You can meet Nina and me out front."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Nina followed Sarah out to her car, butterflies in her stomach.  She wished she had at least something to wear out to the restaurant, but knew Sarah wouldn't hear of it.  She was glad at least that Sarah's Mercedes wasn't a convertible.

Climbing in and placing her bare skin against the warm leather, Nina decided to ask her boss a question.  "Why are you doing this, Ma'am?"

"Doing what?" Sarah said, buckling her seat belt.

"Why did you make Helen take her top off?  Why are you forcing us to expose ourselves to strangers?  Why do you want me naked all the time?"

"Those are big questions," Sarah remarked, looking over at Nina.

"I hope they have big answers," Nina replied.

Sarah smiled, but didn't answer.  A moment later Helen got in the car, looking odd in a floor length skirt and no top.  She sat with her arms across her chest.

Sarah looked at her.  "What did I say about covering up?"

Helen opened her mouth in shock.  "But...I thought..."

"We're not done yet.  You're now topless the rest of the weekend.  Want to go for the bottoms?"

Helen flushed and moved her arms.

---***---

The Buffalo Nudist Resort was a public resort, although by unspoken agreement it was a rather exclusive public resort.  It was nestled at the upper end of the Buffalo Valley, from which it took its name, and commanded a wide view of the surrounding countryside all the way down to the ocean two miles away.  Strategic placement and a few shady land buys assured the place no overlooks, so its patrons were guaranteed their privacy to cavort with nature 'au natural'.  All the public got to see, those that weren't brave enough to accept the "Required Nudity" law of the club, was the administration building, the gift shop, and the four star restaurant.  Buffalo Nudist Resort was no campground on land nobody else wanted, it was a full service resort with everything including on-site massage therapists.  It even had a beach that surrounded its own lake.  The place exuded money.

This was fairly obvious to Nina and Helen as Sarah drove into the parking lot.  Bentley, Rolls, Cadillac... the lot looked like a car salesman's dream.  The mere prosperity of what they were seeing made Nina and Helen nervous.

Sarah Wickland pulled into a parking space a fair distance from the restaurant, and Nina wondered why Sarah hadn't at least TRIED to look for something closer.  But it was obvious to her now that her boss got some sort of thrill from exposing her, and Nina was sad that now Helen was a part of things too.

"I can't go out there!" Helen said with a scared look.  The young woman was gripping her seat with both hands to stop herself from covering up.

"Yes, you can, Helen," Sarah replied, gathering up her handbag.  "You'll be fine, won't she, Nina?"

Nina tried to smile, and she took one of Helen's hands.  "You'll be okay," she said.  "It'll be me everyone will be looking at, not you.  At least you get to wear your skirt!"

Helen didn't look comforted, but she gave Nina a small smile.  "You're so brave, I don't know how you do this."

"No one is going to be looking.  This is a nudist resort; everyone is used to naked people here, they think nothing of it.  Now come on!"  Sarah opened her door and climbed out.

Nina bit back a remark and opened her door.  She took a deep breath and stepped out.  Standing naked next to the car, she took a cautious look around and saw several people heading either to or from the restaurant.  All were dressed, to Nina's dismay.

Helen got out after her, and while she was able to keep her hands down, she never-the-less stood behind Nina.

Sarah locked the car, the beep of its alarm making both girls jump, and she started walking to the restaurant without a backward glance.

Both Nina and Helen knew they were stuck; unable to get back in the car, they either had to follow Sarah or wander around out here for a while.  Neither prospect appealed to them, but they ended up following their boss anyway.

To Nina, it was just like the first time she approached Diotelli's grocery store.  The people coming in and out, all looking at her; not with horror at her nakedness, but with a casual interest.  One or two raised their eyebrows, but a few also mumbled greetings as they passed.  The entire atmosphere felt odd to Nina; she was not yet used to the acceptance that fellow nudists gave each other.

Helen was just scared, and shied away from any contact with anyone.  Blushing furiously and wondering if her job was really worth the humiliation, she could only try to avoid being looked at directly.  The only thing that kept her going was Nina.  Helen figured that if her friend could do this completely naked, then she should be able to handle it topless.

They entered the restaurant, and first timers Nina and Helen were immediately impressed with the quality of the interior.

It reminded Nina of the movie "Titanic," the grand dining room with all its splendor.  It was bigger than she expected, and mostly filled from what she could see.  At least a hundred people she thought.

Just inside the lobby was the maitre d'.  He was dressed in a silk suit as befitted his station, and he raised an eyebrow when Nina and Helen stepped inside.  But he was a professional and didn't let his eyes linger.  Besides, it wasn't the first time someone had dined there nude, although it was unusual.  What Sarah had...neglected...to tell the young women was, while the restaurant was an official part of the resort, it was unofficially expected that its patrons would dress for dinner.  This was because the restaurant was also open to the public.  There was no rule stating that you HAD to dress, but it was suggested that you do.  Nina and Helen didn't know it, but the crowd that night was a mix of resort regulars and members of the general public who just wanted to eat in a high-class restaurant.

If they HAD known, they could have told who was who simply from the reactions of those they passed as they were led to their table.  The nudists either ignored them or smiled in an amused manner at their foolishness.  The public either stared at them in shock, or in many cases in lust.

Both Nina and Helen noticed some of the looks, but their attention was taken by where they were going.  The maitre d' was leading them to a table almost in the middle of the restaurant.

"Oh, can't we get a booth?" Helen said desperately.

The maitre d' raised an eyebrow.  "There are no...booths...here, Madam."

Sarah smiled.  "This table will do fine, John.  Thank you."

John bowed slightly and left the ladies alone in the middle of the room while they seated themselves.  Nina and Helen both looked for a seat that would grant them the least exposure, but there was none, so they just sat.  Helen held her head in her hands, but Nina was somewhat glad that the tablecloths were long enough to cover her up from the waist down.

A waiter appeared in a moment, bearing menus and taking drink orders.  Helen ordered something rather strong, as did Sarah, surprisingly enough.  Nina, never a heavy drinker, kept her drink order soft.

"You okay, Helen?" Sarah asked, noting the woman's distress.

Helen took a deep breath, her breasts rising and falling, before nodding and sitting back.  "It's just a bit...overwhelming, that's all."

"You'll be fine.  Now, order anything you want, my treat!"

Nina was glad Sarah was buying; the prices matched the quality of the room.  But the selection looked wonderful, so she decided to splurge.

While they waited for their food, Nina took a careful look around the room, searching for anyone who was at least topless as Helen was.  But it seemed that everyone was dressed, and most in his or her Sunday best!  Nina felt awkward and out of place being the only naked person in a room full of strangers, and she wondered what chain of events had brought her to this position.  With a little grin, she thought about Brian, and how he had gotten her to stay naked all the time at home so he could study her embarrassment for his artwork.  Nina thought he should have come on THIS trip; there was enough embarrassment between her and Helen to make several statues!

But as time went on, she found herself growing used to her nudity again, as long as she didn't look at some of the folk around her.  She was puzzled as to why a few couldn't take their eyes off her, while others acted like they saw naked women eating in restaurants all the time.  A few smiled at her, and Nina made half hearted attempts to smile back, but some, mostly men but some women too, openly leered at her.  This made Nina uncomfortable, and she did her best to avoid their eyes.  But throughout the entire meal, she could always feel them watching her, their eyes on the bare skin she could not cover.

She traded looks with Helen from time to time, and could see that her friend was suffering from the same thing, although the drinks she was sucking down did seem to relax her.  Finishing her second, Helen's face was now flushed from more than embarrassment.  Nina noticed that Helen's breasts and upper chest were also slightly redder than normal.  Her nipples stood out too, something Nina hadn't noticed before.  Nina wondered if it was the drink.

But the food was very good, and Sarah kept the conversation light and off business.  She asked both girls about their upbringing and why they had come out here to work for the firm.  She offered little of her own past though, and was adept at turning the conversation back around to either young woman.  Sarah didn't seem as affected by her alcoholic consumption either, although she matched Helen drink for drink.

Helen was feeling no pain.  Normally a light drinker herself, she had been scared enough to take refuge in alcohol.  Now she felt a lot calmer, somewhat numb in her face and body, and a lot more in control.  When she thought Nina wasn't looking, Helen would glance over at her friend, admiring how she handled being naked in front of all these people so easily.  Helen felt weak having to drink her courage from a glass.

Eventually, after a dangerous fight with the restaurant's specialty cheesecake, which all three women lost, the meal ended and they began to make their way out.

Nina was glad to be out of there, but was concerned for her friend.  Helen had gone quite pale once she stood, and while she was able to walk by herself, she didn't look at all well.

Sarah noticed this as well, and took charge, steering the topless girl into the ladies room rather than out the front door.  It was a good thing she did, for no sooner had they entered than Helen pulled away and dove for a stall.  Her expensive meal, and the drinks that had accompanied it, all came back to rejoin the world.

Nina immediately got on her knees to help Helen out as the sick young women knelt before the toilet, while Sarah stood in the background and watched, a concerned look on her face.

"She's not a drinker, is she?" Sarah stated at one point.

Nina shook her head and supported her friend, whispering quietly to her.  Nina was used to dealing with drunks; one thing she hadn't talked about at dinner was how her father was an alcoholic.

Helen eventually knelt back, her face less pale.  She looked better for throwing up, and Sarah knew she probably felt a lot better as well.

"How are you doing, Helen?" Sarah asked.

Helen took a deep breath before answering.  "Better, a lot better.  Still rather dizzy, though."

"It's okay, Helen; you're just drunk," Nina said.  "You'll be fine once we get you home."

Sarah echoed the sentiment and she helped Nina get the girl to her feet.  She was a mess, not quite making the bowl the first time.  Vomit was on her face and drops decorated her bare chest.  But her skirt had taken the brunt of the damage.  She had knelt down in the mess she had made on the floor, and leaning against the bowl at one point, had covered her lap as well.

"Nina, wet down a couple of towels; let's get her cleaned up," Sarah ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am," Nina said, wanting to help.

"Then go tell the maitre d' what happened here so he can have someone clean up."

Nina nodded and got to work.

Helen started fussing when Sarah began undoing the catch on the side of her skirt.  "What are you doing?" she asked.

"You're skirt is a mess, girl.  You can't go out there like this.  We have to clean you up!" Sarah replied.

"But this is all I have to wear!" Helen said, but she had to admit her skirt was a total loss.  She could feel that it was soaked through, and the smell wasn't helping her stomach any.

Nina brought over some towels she had wetted down and left quietly on her next errand.  She blushed again as she stood out in the lobby, enduring looks from nearby people as she waited for the maitre d' to come back from inside the restaurant.  When he did return, she told him what happened, and almost ran back to the ladies room.

Inside she was shocked to see Helen standing naked, her skirt and panties a puddle on the floor beside her.  Helen was blushing beet red and rubbing herself down with a towel while Sarah stood in front of a sink rinsing another one out.

Sarah looked up as Nina came in.  "It had soaked her through to the skin; she couldn't wear anything."

Helen looked up, scared.  "Nina, please tell me I don't have to go out there like this?"

"Your clothes are a mess, Helen.  You can't put them back on," Sarah said angrily.  "Tell her, will you, Nina?"

Nina looked at the small pile of clothing.  She knew that SHE wouldn't want to put them on.  "It'll be okay, Helen.  If you HAVE to go naked some place, a nudist resort is as good a place as any.  All you have to do is get from here to the car.  It'll be okay."

"You sure?" Helen said, wanting to trust her friend.

Nina careful stepped forward and took Helen's hand.  "I'm sure," she said with a smile.  Nina knew that Helen was far from sober, but she seemed to be in control, which helped.

Helen nodded and finished wiping herself down.

Things were just coming under control when there was a knock at the door and it burst open.  A man in a maintenance uniform walked in and stopped dead when he saw the two naked women.  He blushed bright red as Helen shrieked.

"Sorry, I thought you were gone!" he said as he backed right out of the room.

Sarah smiled and started to chuckle.  "Did you see the look on his face?"

Helen and Nina, both scared witless by the sudden encounter, stared at her.  Then suddenly Helen started to giggle as well.  "Yeah, it was pretty funny."

Nina just shook her head.  "Can we get out of here now?"

Sarah agreed that it was time to go.  "Come on!"

They left the ruined clothing behind, and as a threesome stepped out into the lobby.  People stared at the two nude young women, but no one stopped them as they exited the restaurant.  Helen was beginning to really feel her drinks now and had problems walking.  So Sarah ordered both girls to stand outside the entrance while she went for the car.

Of course, this only added to their exposure; two nude, well-built young women drew a lot of attention.  But only minutes later Sarah pulled up in her Mercedes, and Helen and Nina were able to jump in the back.

It had been quite a dinner.

---***---

"Oh, my head."  Those were the first words out of Helen early the next morning.

Nina was already awake, lying in her bed, and pushed back her thoughts as she got up and went to help her friend.  She picked up a couple of Tylenol and a glass of water she had ready, and helped Helen drink them down.

"Thanks," whispered Helen, "I feel like hell."

"Don't worry, it'll pass," Nina said with a smile.

"God, I hope so.  I have NEVER been that drunk."

Nina chuckled.  "I hope you never are again."

"Count on it."  Helen sighed and opened her eyes.  Her first sight was of Nina, still naked, sitting on the side of the bed and leaning over her.  Helen's second sight was of her own nude body stretched out in front of her.  She started blushing immediately and moved to cover up, but felt heavy and old.

"Ugh," she said.  "Can I get something to wear?" she asked.

Nina dodged the question.  Instead, she stood up and put the empty water glass on a table.  "When you're feeling a little better, come on out and get in the water.  Believe me, floating in a pool is a good pain reliever."

"Sure," Helen said, trying not to nod.  "Did we...did I really walk naked through a restaurant last night?"

Nina paused at the door.  "Well, only through the lobby, but yes, you did."

"Oh man."

Nina looked at her friend for a moment, a sad expression on her face, and then left the room.  She walked out into the cool of the morning and dove cleanly into the water.  The pool was too small for her to get her usual vigorous work out, but just being in the water was calming to her.  It was the only place where Nina felt really good about being nude, floating weightless.  It was the only time not having clothing made her feel free rather than boxed in.  She wondered what she would do if she couldn't swim.

Presently, as Nina expected, Helen appeared at the door to their room.  At least her head did; the rest of her hidden behind the doorway.

"Nina!" Helen whispered loudly.  She waved frantically for her friend to come over.

Nina bit her lip and swam to that side of the pool.  She didn't come out, though; instead she just propped herself up on her arms, showing just her head and shoulders above the level of the deck.

"Nina!" Helen whispered again, looking around to see if Sarah was awake this early in the morning.

"I'm here," Nina replied.

"Where are my clothes?  My bag is gone!"

Nina took a deep breath.  She had hoped that Sarah would be the one to break the news to her; Nina didn't like doing her boss's dirty work for her.  "They're in your car."

"What?"

"They're in your car, everything you brought, just like all my stuff is."

"Why?  I'm just supposed to be topless, not naked!"

Nina sighed again.  "It's Sarah's doing.  She told me that since you're under Cronenberg rules this weekend, you have to suffer all of them."

"I'm really beginning to hate that school, but what has that got to do with my clothes being taken away from me?"

"You messed up your skirt and underwear last night.  The rules state you lose anything you mess up, so Sarah said that you lose the right to wear anything below the waist the rest of the weekend.  I guess that means now you go naked...just like me."

Helen swallowed.  "I can't," she said, her voice breaking.

Nina quickly climbed out and padded wet and nude over to her friend.  She took her and gave her a hug for comfort, knowing it was hard on Helen to hear this.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay.  You'll be fine.  It's really not that bad.  It's just for today."

"I can't go out there naked; what if she gets the idea to humiliate us someplace else!" Helen said, wrapping her own arms around Nina and holding on.

"She won't.  I made her promise last night not to humiliate you further.  You'll have to work here naked today, but that's it.  No trips, no one coming over.  It's just going to be the three of us.  I promise.  You can handle that, can't you?"

Helen sniffed.  "Just us?  Yeah...I can handle that."

"You'll be fine," Nina said, smiling.

Helen nodded, and Nina suddenly became more aware of the woman she was holding.  A part of her actually enjoyed the hug, the skin to skin contact of another person.  It had been a long time for Nina since she had indulged in such pleasures.  But the fact that it was a friend, and another woman to boot, soured the experience for her a little, and she reluctantly broke free.

Helen didn't want to let go at first.  She too was enjoying the contact; her friend's warm yet wet flesh meeting hers.  The firmness of her muscles, the way she smelled.  Helen drew strength from all this and felt...close to Nina.  But she let go, and the two women stood facing each other, both flushing a little from the contact, but for slightly different reasons.

"You okay?" Nina said to her.

Helen nodded, then winced.  "Yeah, except for my head, and my throat is still sore, and I really need to brush my teeth."

Nina smiled.  "I'll meet you in the pool; go clean yourself up."

---***---

The sun was higher in the sky when Sarah Wickland finally emerged from her room in one corner of the courtyard.

Nina and Helen were both still in the pool, half floating in one corner as they talked.  They watched slack jawed as their boss walked from her room to the bathroom, for the older woman was completely naked.

"Hello ladies," she said with a smile, looking totally at ease with her nudity.  She went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Nina and Helen didn't know what to say; it wasn't what they had expected at all.  They stayed mute until a few minutes later Sarah came back out.  They watched as Sarah slipped into the pool and swum toward them.

"How are you feeling, Helen?" Sarah asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Er...better now, well, better than I was.  Nina gave me some pills and the headache is going away.  I'm sorry I got so drunk last night."

"It's perfectly understandable.  I did...push you...a little hard last night.  Nina convinced me to let up a little on you today," she said with a glance at Nina.

In fact, while Helen lay sleeping off her drunk.  Nina and Sarah almost got into a shouting match over Helen.  Nina had been appalled by what Helen had felt she needed to do to handle what was being done to her, and Sarah in her own way was a little upset by the same thing.  Her virtually harmless bit of fun hadn't turned out to be much fun after all.  But Sarah was not a person to back down that easily, and it was only after certain concessions were promised by her new paralegal that Sarah agreed to turn down the pressure on Helen.  Sarah had been adamant about Helen staying under Cronenberg rules the rest of the day, but there would be no other surprises for her.

"Ma'am," said Helen, "do I really need to stay naked the rest of the day?"

Sarah nodded.  "Yes, Helen, just so you get the complete picture about life in Cronenberg.  But to make things easier on both of you, I'm going to spend the day nude as well.  Okay?"

Strangely enough it was.  Both Helen and Nina felt better about their boss being as nude as they were.  Some how, it didn't seem as hard to be naked if everybody else was too.

"Well then.  Let's get some breakfast together and attack those files.  We have a lot of work to get done today, and I KNOW you don't want me to call Franklin back to help us," Sarah said with a grin.

Both girls shouted "NO!" and the tension eased; the three of them climbed out to find something to eat.

---***---

It was not long after lunch when the swearing started.  Up until then, the three legal professionals had been working smoothly together on the boxes of files, sorting through them for the information Sarah needed to win her case.  Because of Franklin's index, the job was fairly easy, and all three women were confident that the bulk of the work would be done before supper.  But as time went on, Sarah, who was coordinating the separate bits of information the girls were feeding her, began frowning more and more.

She began digging in the boxes after their working lunch, pulling files they had already gone through.  Towards the end, she was scattering paper everywhere, and Nina and Helen watched their nude boss get angrier and angrier.

It was when she got on her cell phone that they discovered the reason why.

"God dammit, Franklin, answer your phone!  Franklin?  This is Sarah...yeah, hi.  Look, was this everything Morgenstern sent us?  Yeah, I'm talking about the files.  Is this everything?  Nothing got left behind at the office?  Are you sure?  Well, when you went through them, did you find any personal statements from the students filed in the wrong places?  Yeah I know the files were a mess, you didn't really think that asshole would make it easy on us, did you?  Yeah I know.  That dickhead is going to get a call from me AND the Judge.  He can't be dicking around with files...Yeah, see you tomorrow, bright and early!"

She hung up and dialed again, this time looking at her paralegals, who sat quietly and watched.  Sarah mouthed the word "asshole" and pointed at the phone.  Then someone on the other end answered.  "Sarah Wickland for Frank Morgenstern please...  Don't give me that, I know he's there.  Where else would he be the weekend before trial?  ...if you don't put me ...would he like me to come down and yell at him in person, because I'd like that, the long drive would give me time to get REAL worked up!  I thought not, now put me through to Morgenstern.

"Morgenstern, you officious prick! You shafted me...  You KNOW what I'm talking about, you asshole, don't play innocent with me...  Yeah this IS for real, so will the call I make to the Judge in a few minutes telling him you've been withholding evidence...  Yeah I knew that would get your attention...  Student personal statements, about half are missing.  You didn't think we'd notice that did you?  ...Well, hell yeah, I want them!  Where are they?  Okay, you call the school right now and have them pull those files.  I'll have someone over there in an hour...  Yes, an hour, and God help you, Frank, if they aren't ready... Yes, you have a nice day too, asshole!"

Sarah almost broke the phone hitting the off button, but she grinned broadly at Nina and Helen while she dialed another number.  "I love yelling at him, he's such a prick!"  She put the phone to her ear, and a moment later it was answered.

"Jacob?  Hi, it's Sarah...  Yeah, things are going fine, we should be in good shape for Monday, but I told you Morgenstern wouldn't come completely clean...  Yeah he tried to pull a fast one on us, some files weren't here.  I'm sending a girl to go get them now...  No, you don't have to go down there, I put the fear of God into the prick; he'll have the files ready...  I love you too...  Bye!"

Sarah hung up, took a deep breath, and sighed.

"What's wrong exactly?" Nina asked.

"We're missing an entire series of student remarks.  Our opponent says it must have been a mistake in shipping, but you can't trust him.  Nina, I need you to drive out to Cronenberg to fetch the files."

Nina's eyes opened wide.  "What, like this?"

Sarah looked at her like she was actually considering it, then she smiled and shook her head.  "It's tempting, but you had better not.  Run out to your car, bring the bags in and get something on, the keys are hanging by the front door.  I'll have directions written out for you by the time you come back in."

Nina sighed in relief and hurried out to get dressed.  As always, it felt odd putting on clothes after so long naked, but it also felt comforting, even though all she chose to wear was a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, with panties and a bra of course.

Coming back in the house, Nina felt doubly weird to be the only clothed person there, and she noticed Helen staring hungrily at her clothing.  Nina winked and Helen smiled back.

"Here, you go," Sarah said, handing her a piece of paper.  "It should take you an hour to get there, so if those files aren't ready, give me a call and I'll call the Judge.  You do NOT come back here without those files, no matter what they try to do to stall you or make you leave.  You got that? Now get going!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Nina said, and she was on her way.

---***---

Driving Helen's car, it actually took Nina less than an hour to find the school, and she pulled into the front parking lot with time to spare.  Getting out, she was amazed at how many students were around, given that this was a Saturday afternoon.  But then she remembered that a large number of the students were boarders.  She wasn't surprised to see them all in uniform; the school naturally had a very strict uniform policy, which was what the case was all about!  Nina was surprised however by the sudden splash of yellow exiting the building she was about to enter.  A group of girls had come out, and amongst them was one girl with a bright yellow plastic bag draped over her body.  Her head stuck out the top, but the rest of her was hidden.  She seemed in good spirits though as she chatted with her friends, and only seemed self-conscious about her apparel when she saw Nina staring at her.

Nina wondered what she had on, if anything, under the bag.  She would have asked, but the entire group of girls was staring at her now, making Nina feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She looked down at her tight shirt and well-worn shorts, and felt very under dressed amongst these young women.

"Er...the Principal's office please?" Nina asked them.

"First on the right," one of the girls answered, and Nina went in.

Going in the right door, Nina found herself in a waiting area with a long counter on the other side of the room.  In chairs around the waiting area sat a few girls, and Nina was surprised to see one of them with no skirt on.  The girl was obviously nervous, and the way the front of her shirt draped over her lap, it was obvious the girl had no underwear either.  Yet the girl did nothing to move the shirt so that it covered her.

"Who on earth are you?" said an elderly female voice from across the room.

Nina looked up to see a gray haired lady in a smart office suit standing behind the counter.  Nina smiled and walked forward.  "Hi, I'm Nina West, here to pick up some files for Sarah Wickland?"

"Get out!" said the old woman sharply, making Nina jump.

"What?" she asked, not expecting the hostility.

"I said, get out!  How dare you come into this school dressed like that!"

Nina looked down, she didn't look THAT bad.  "I'm just here to pick up some files..." she began to say.

"I don't care what you're here for, young lady!  This is a school, not a whorehouse!  What kind of example are you showing these children, dressed like that?"

"I didn't mean to..."

"Just get out and come back when you are properly dressed!"

Nina had enough; she figured it was just a way of getting her to leave without the files.  Besides, she didn't have anything else in the car to put on; her bag was back at Sarah's.  "No, I won't go!  Just give me the files I'm here for and then I'll be on my way."

The old lady scowled at her.  "You'll have to see the Head Mistress about that, but you aren't going to get in to see her dressed like that!"

"Well this is all I have, take it or leave it!" Nina answered back angrily.

"Fine," replied the old woman smugly, "I'll take it.  Hand me your shirt, please," she said holding out her hand.

"What?" Nina asked, not quite believing she had heard right.

"Your shirt, give it to me, and the shorts."

"Why?"

"Until you are considered decently dressed, and in THIS school that means being in one of a limited set of acceptable outfits, you will NOT be going in to see the Head Mistress."

"I'm not taking off my clothes!" Nina exclaimed, glancing around at all the female students watching this drama.

"Then get out, it's your choice!"

Nina wasn't sure what to do.  She thought of calling Sarah, but she doubted she would be allowed to use the phone, and she didn't want to waste time to go look for a new outfit.  Sarah told her not to let them stall her, but this was a pretty big stall.  So, unable to think of anything else, Nina reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.  Blushing, she handed it over to the old woman.

"The shorts too!" ordered the old lady.

Nina swallowed and undid the button holding her shorts up.  She pulled them off quickly and handed them across, now dressed just in bra, panties, and sandals.

The old woman shook her head.  "That underwear, far too decorative.  Your bra, please."

"No!"

"Your BRA, young lady!" said the old woman in a voice that brought back Nina's early school years vividly.  Unable to stop herself, Nina reached back and undid the clasp of her bra, slipping the garment off and revealing to the room her firm, tanned breasts.

"And just for being argumentative, your panties too." said the old woman.

Nina hesitated just a moment, feeling awful about getting undressed in a school, but then resigned herself to being naked once again and removed her panties.  She tried not to cover herself, knowing it was against the rules at Cronenberg, but was hard pressed to keep her hands at her sides.

The old woman took her clothing and put it in a large wooden box next to a desk.  "You'll get those back later.  Now come this way and I'll show you to the Head Mistress's office."

Nina looked once more at the faces around her, noting more than a few smirks at her situation, and sighed.  She went around the counter, glad to be away from the students, but wondered where she was going to end up.  Without clothes, she again felt vulnerable.

The old woman led her to an office, knocked once on the door, and opened it.  She poked her head in and said, "There is a young woman here for those files."

"Send her in, Francine," said a female voice from inside.

Nina was glad at least that this was a girl's school, but that relief was cut short when she stepped into the room.  The Head Mistress wasn't alone in her office.  Sitting with her was a man in a dark blue suit.  He stood slowly as Nina ground to a stop, gazing in amazement at the naked young woman.  The Head Mistress was also surprised to see Nina nude, but not so shocked by it that she let it show.

The man was the first to speak.  "YOU work for Sarah Wickland?" he asked, his eyes raking Nina's body.

Nina swallowed and stoically endured his stare.  "Yes, I do.  Now are those files ready yet?"

The man was taken aback by Nina's response.  Evidently he expected her to be cowered by her nudity.  All it really did was make Nina mad.  She was tired of all the manipulation to get her clothes off.

"May I see some ID?" he countered with a grin.

"What?" Nina said, getting angrier.

"Well I can hardly turn over court documents without verifying who you are, and as it seems you aren't carrying any identification on you, I guess you will have to leave...er, empty handed!"  He chuckled at his joke.

"Well, who the hell are you?" Nina asked.

"Frank Morgenstern, Miss West, and let me say what a pleasure it is to see..."

Nina walked right up to him.  "Listen to me...FRANK!  I haven't had a very good weekend because of you, and this little incident is the last straw.  Now you turn over those files so I can leave RIGHT NOW, or I call my boss and she calls your Judge and..." yelled Nina

"WHO the HELL do you think you are, talking to me like that!" the lawyer yelled right back, and the two of them began arguing right there in the office.

The Head Mistress watched from her desk, not wanting to get in the middle of it.  She had not been in favor of the School Board's decision to eliminate public nudity from the punishment curriculum and secretly sided with the parents.  But she watched with amusement the nude young woman going toe to toe with the well-dressed older man, and she wondered just how far it would go.

What ended it stepped through the door a moment later.

"What the HELL is going on around here!" yelled a booming voice, and both Nina and Morgenstern looked over to see where it came from.

A large man practically filled the doorway.

"Come in Mr. Dah," said the Head Mistress, happy to see the man.

"Aye, that I will.  Morgenstern, what are you yelling at the lass about now?" said Dah, evidently a Scot.  He moved into the room like a glacier, sure and looming.

"Mr. Dah, how nice to see you.  What brings you down here today?" said Morgenstern with a fake smile on his face.

Nina just stared in wonder at the Scot.  Standing between the two men, she felt very small, and being nude made it even worse.

"My lawyer called me to let me know that you've been pulling dirty tricks again, laddie.  I'll not be having any of that again!"

"She was misinformed.  As I was telling Miss West here just now, it was just a shipping error," he said smugly.

Dah looked down at Nina.  "You work for Sarah?"

Nina nodded at the mountain of a man.

He let his eyes take her in for a moment.  "Well, you go stand over there, lass, I'll deal with him and you'll get your files."

"No," Nina said.

Both men looked at her.  "What?"

"I said no.  I'll deal with this, Mr. Dah; you're the client, you're not supposed to get your hands dirty."

"That's alright, lass, I'm not afraid of a little dirt."

Nina whirled around, put her finger on his chest, and began to push.  "I will handle it!"

Surprised at this slip of a girl without a slip, Dah backed up and smiled.  "Certainly, lass, do your job."

Nina turned to face Morgenstern, who was grinning at the way the big Scotsman had backed down.  His smile soon left his face when Nina reached for the phone and started dialing.

"Who are you calling?"

"My boss, so she can call the Judge."

"There's no need for that!" he said, thinking that she was actually going to do it.

Nina made a show of looking about the office.  "I don't see any files here, and you've had more than an hour!"  She continued to dial.

"Come on now, you wouldn't!" he said nervously.

Nina just smiled and held the phone to her head.  "Hi Sarah, this is Nina, I'm at the school."

"FRANCINE!" yelled Morgenstern.

"Yep, that's him.  Do you want to talk to him again?" Nina said into the phone.

Morgenstern made a move toward the door.  "I'm not talking to her, and your damn files are right here somewhere," he said as he passed Nina.  "FRANCINE!"

"Maybe I should just let you go so you can call the Judge," Nina said into the phone, watching Morgenstern panic.

Just as the lawyer opened the door, Francine staggered in carrying a large cardboard file box.  Morgenstern practically ripped it from her hands and brought it into the room.

"Here are your files, now there is no need to call anyone!" he said angrily.

Jacob Dah reached out for it.  "I'll take those.  I'll take it out to your car, lass," he said to Nina.

"Thank you, Mr. Dah," Nina said with a smile.  She listened to the phone for a moment, watching Morgenstern squirm, then held it out to him.  "It's for you," she said, and when he took it, she headed for the door.

Morgenstern's eyes followed Nina's shapely bare behind until it was out the door, so he didn't really listen to the phone until she was gone.  When he did listen, what he heard was, "At the next tone, the time will be 2:45, precisely."

"Shit!" Morgenstern growled.  "That bitch!"

The Head Mistress smiled.

Outside, Nina didn't stop for her clothes.  Her need to get out of the school before really losing her temper overrode even her modesty.  She met Jacob Dah outside, and while he put the box in the trunk for her, Nina climbed in the front seat, still nude because apart from her outfit in the school, the rest of her clothes were at her boss's.

"You driving back like that, lass?" Dah said, coming to her window and smiling.

"I guess I'll have to," Nina replied.

"Well you drive safe then.  It was a pleasure meeting you...er..."

"Nina, Nina West."  Nina managed a smile and they shook hands.

Dah was still smiling as he watched her drive away.

---***---

Helen was surprised to see Nina walk out into the courtyard naked, carrying the box, but Sarah wasn't.  Sarah had a pretty good idea what would happen to Nina the way she was dressed, and was glad that little game paid off.

What did surprise the lawyer were the two phone calls she had gotten while Nina was enroute back from the school.

One was from Morgenstern, complaining about Nina's lack of ethics, manners, modesty, and whatever else he could think of, especially the shameful way he had been treated by her.

The second call was from Jacob Dah, praising the young woman for basically the same things.

Sarah hadn't thought Nina had it in her to go nose to nose with Morgenstern, especially naked, but the young woman proved her wrong.  Sarah thought that if Nina did go to law school and passed the Bar, she was going to be one hell of a litigator.  Sarah was quite proud.

"Any problems?" Sarah asked her.

Nina shook her head, calmed down somewhat after the long drive and glad to be back without getting in an accident.

"Good.  Well, we still have a lot of work to do, so let's get at it."

Nina shrugged and went back to her table.

---***---

The rest of the day was uneventful after that.  The women finished the files, and after a dinner of pizza and wine (of course Nina had to pay the pizza delivery guy), Sarah let both Helen and Nina get dressed so they could go home.

"Franklin and I can finish this up tomorrow," she said.  "But I could use some help, if either of you want to, that is."  Sarah left the request open ended as she watched the two young women, now dressed in casual clothes.

Helen and Nina looked at each other for a moment.  "You know," said Helen, "it is kinda late to be driving back."

Nina nodded.  "Yeah, and I was thinking how nice it would be to have a swim right now."

"A swim would be good.  But I kinda want to finish this job, you know?  I feel like we're leaving Sarah with all the hard work yet."

Nina sighed, then smiled.  "I guess one more day won't hurt us, even with Franklin here tomorrow."  She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off herself.

Helen blinked, blushed, then started unbuttoning her blouse.

Sarah smiled.  "In that case ladies, welcome back!"

The next day was embarrassing as usual, but somehow, even with Franklin leering at them, neither Nina nor Helen minded as much.

It didn't turn out to be THAT bad a weekend.
 

End of Part 14.