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Lifted Belladonna [Author's Note: Based on an idea from Karen Bolte] James gave his wife and secretary a wayward glance as they stormed around him, screaming about his purloining. He knew every word they said was true. Although he knew he deserved them, that fact did not make it any easier to hear his own wife speaking so ill of him. James was a thief. Worse, he had stolen for a woman who had been loyal to him and his wife for years. It was not a financial theft in James' eyes. It was merely an intellectual theft. Shannon lacked the contacts that he had made over the years to make any use of her ideas and writing. Given that, he had no qualms about lifting several passages from her unfinished novel based on her mother's life and passing it off as his own work. He very much doubted that the girl even read his books. This book was unlike his others though. He had been publishing stories for years as a freelance writer, but they had been male dominated adventure tales. The stories had found a limited niche market, but they were not selling in a way that would allow him to focus fulltime on his writing. When he found Shannon's novella on the company's system, he gave it a read. At first, he was amused by the idea of his secretary trying to write a novel of her own. On some level, he felt it was cute. The initial chapters had a quaint feel. The more he read of it, however, the more engrossed he became in the story. The main character was fleshed out in a way that his characters typically were not. His goal was action, hers was character development. By the time James finished reading the unfinished work, he had an idea for a story of his own. The story would have a female character that was not just a one-dimensional love interest. He wanted her to be like the character in Shannon's work. As he wrote his typical action story, he worked in the new character into separate chapters. Those chapters, however, proved more difficult to write than he anticipated. Memories of Shannon's character distracted him as he felt that she was superior to the one he was forming in every way. Seeing no harm in it, James began to lift sections of Shannon's stories and insert them into the portions of the novel regarding his female character's back-story. While, at first, he tried to rewrite her work, he found that his rephrasing was causing some of the charm of the character to fall away. As he continued writing the novel, more and more of the story began to be near word for word reproductions of Shannon's. The story was published not long after it was finished. At first, it sold like his prior works. That was until a favorable review about the female co-lead brought new readers to the work. The novel continued to reach levels of popularity that he never imagined it could attain. The publisher was begging him to begin work on a sequel, wanting to create a universe built around the female character's adventures. While James was reaching a level of success he never anticipated, the success unnerved him. He knew that the risk of Shannon figuring out his successful novel was predicated on his theft always remained and seemed to be growing increasingly inevitable. This was the day he knew that the inevitable had finally come to pass. His book tour had taken him across three continents. He was only home for a few days before the demands of the tour were going to take him to more locations. While he had talked with his wife regularly throughout the trip, she had never hinted that anything was wrong at home. Now, he knew that the calm he perceived was anything but real. Shannon had read his book. She had been one of millions worldwide to do so, but she, alone, had reason to know that it was hardly his work alone. Devon had suspected that something was amiss about the work before Shannon had confronted her with the evidence of James' plagiarism. She knew that her husband rarely delved into his character's feelings beyond fear and courage. She had given her husband notes about trying to make his characters more than interchangeable figures amidst physically trying circumstances. The girls glared at James while he sat in his chair awaiting his fate. Their express threats to bust him for plagiarism filled his head. He knew that there was little defense he could muster besides claiming it was inadvertent, but that would be laughable in his eyes if the full extent of the evidence got out. Devon paused after she laid bare the threat again. She steeled herself as she said, "James, this how it is going to be." James' eyes rose from the floor to meet his wife's glare. His eyes darted from hers, unable to meet her angered gaze for long. Devon shook her head before she said, "You're going to assign the bulk of the royalties to Shannon immediately." James nodded while he looked down at the paperwork that Shannon slid in front of him with a blank stare. There were sign here, initial here and notarize here stickers throughout the document. He signed and initialized wherever a sticker was located before his wife notarized the forms that took money that would have gone into their joint bank account and directed it to Shannon. Shannon grinned, realizing how much richer she had become than either of her bosses in a matter of seconds. James put his head down, knowing that the fruits of his success were now greatly reduced to the revenue of his book tour and the small remainder of the royalties that had been left in his name. Devon crossed her arms before she said, "And we're not letting you get away this easy." James' eyes rose to meet his wife's again while she added, "Even with all the money you're giving to its rightful owner, you still brought us in more money than we've had before. So, there's no reason for you to stay on as my partner any longer." "What?" James asked, wondering for a second if his wife was going to free him to concentrate on his writing. "As of today, you will be signing over your half of the company to Shannon." "You'll enjoy working for me," Shannon added with a smirk. "Working for you?" James asked with confusion. "Yes, we need a secretary," Shannon answered. "You can't expect me to stay on," James retorted, realizing that his initial hopes were folly. "You'll be here to the day you die," Devon rejoined. "But what about my writing?" "What about it? Between my half of the company and the profits from your sliver of the royalties and the book tour, we're going to be comfortable for the rest of our lives. It's not like you have anything original to offer the literary world anyway," Devon explained with a dismissive wave of her hands. The direct barb from his wife made James sink low in his chair. Devon gave his defeated expression an approving glance before she continued, "A great secretary knows every aspect of the business. Where could we find a better girl for that than you?" James went to speak, but could not refute the statement as he missed his wife's choice of pronoun. Devon smiled as she added, "We know you can evaluate and pass on information to us. You know this place better than anybody, but us. We'd have to train any other girl to get her up to your speed." James gave his wife a sullen nod. He buried his chin into his chest as he squirmed while the two women started talking about his fate as if he was not in their presence. James shook his head while his wife detailed the full extent of Shannon's new holdings. Unable to bite his tongue any longer, James asked, "Do I get anything?" Devon and Shannon's heads jerked towards James in unison. Shannon shook her head before Devon answered with a grin, "Of course, darling. You get skirts and lots of them." Shannon gave Devon a curious look. She turned and saw James' blushing cheeks as he sunk further in his seat. Devon laughed at her husband's discomfort before she added, "Oh, come on, James. Don't be like that. It's not like she can blackmail you now. She basically has everything you had." Shannon turned to Devon as she asked, "What are you talking about?" "My little husband has been dressing like my slutty sister for years," Devon answered. "I do not dress like a slut," James retorted. "Yes, he does. Don't listen to him," Devon replied with a smile while she turned to Shannon. "He dresses in skirts?" Shannon asked, surprised by the revelation. "All the time," Devon answered, exaggerating a little in the process. "It's not all the time," James replied with some ruefulness in his tone. "Oh, my God. You do," Shannon exclaimed with an excited tone and a punctuating laugh that cut at James' last lingering strand of self- esteem. "How long has he been doing this?" "As long as I've known him," Devon remarked. Shannon turned to face James as she asked, "How long?" "I don't know exactly." "Bullshit!" James blushed before he admitted, "The earliest I can recall was about 3." "You've known you were a girl since you were 3?" "I'm not a girl!" Shannon shook her head, upset that James had deceived himself and his wife into thinking the contrary of her conclusion, which she believed was unavoidable. "Well, you're a girl, now," Devon added with a clap of her hands. James gave her an anxious look, hoping that she would stop spilling the intimate details of the desire that caused him great self-disgust. Shannon laughed at the thought before she said, "I can't wait to see him in a skirt." "Oh, stop calling him a him." "What else would I call him?" Shannon inquired. "A her, a she, a woman, a girl, a bimbo what else?" Devon countered. "But how's he going to...I mean...won't it be obvious." "My little Haley's got some practice, dear. You'd be surprised what the girl can do with herself." James blushed and put his head down. He stared at his feet, wondering how he could ever feel smaller as his wife disclosed his feminine name to someone else to the first time. "I guess I'm going to have to see it..." Shannon replied with evident disbelief. "See for yourself," Devon replied while she began to look through her pictures on her phone before she came upon a photograph of James dressed in a Halloween costume from the year before. Devon smiled as she handed the phone to Shannon. Shannon's jaw dropped as she saw James and Devon standing in dueling Harley Quinn costumes. Her eyes drifted to his sheer, black pantyhose covered legs, which were far longer, leaner and shapelier than she expected. "Where did he get those curves from?" Shannon inquired out of near disbelief. "The store," Devon retorted before adding, "It certainly wasn't anything his mother gave him, like us." Shannon was bemused by how feminine James looked in the picture with a hand on his stuck out, shapely, red and blue, short shorts covered hip. His fingernails had been painted a deep red color. If she had not known that he was a man, she sensed that she would have mistook him for a less than attractive woman trying to look her sexy and mischievous best. "Wow," Shannon said as she handed back the phone to Devon. "You should see her when she's not in a character. She looks even better." Shannon shook her head before she said, "I'm looking forward to it." "Tomorrow, can't come soon enough," Devon remarked with another smirk. "No," Shannon said in a low voice and a shake of her head. "Then, why wait?" Devon inquired with a grin and a clap of her hands. Shannon and James' heads snapped towards her. Devon gave them a knowing grin as she continued, "I brought a little sample from Haley's wardrobe." "She has her own wardrobe?" "You don't think I'd share a wardrobe with my husband, do you?" "Is she your husband?" "Well, I guess, now she qualifies more as my partner," Devon remarked with a laugh as James' perceived inadequacy grew in his eyes and Shannon's. "Except in business," Shannon added to twist the knife in James further. Devon nodded before she told James that his outfit was waiting for him in her office. James gave Devon a pleading look, not wanting to dress in front of his former secretary who had become his boss in a matter of minutes. "You're just delaying the inevitable," Devon remarked at James' failure to move. James clenched his eyes before he heard Shannon ask, "Is he going to be okay as a secretary?" "She's going to be better than okay. She's going to be happy once she realizes that you've got no problem with Haley being Haley." Shannon nodded as a smile came upon her face at the prospect. Until the moment she found that he had stolen her work, she had never disliked James. She felt that he was a nice man on a fundamental level. She had chaffed at some of his orders, but she felt that he was good to her overall. While she wanted him punished, she still wanted him to be happy. Shannon smiled as she walked to James and said, "It'll be okay. I promise I won't laugh...too much." James blushed before Shannon handed him off to his wife. Devon looked down at James as she said, "Come along, Haley. You can think about what you did while you're getting dressed." James nodded in silence before he got to his feet and followed his wife into her office. He froze as he saw the cream-colored dress awaiting him. It was on a hanger beside a pair of nude, sheer pantyhose and his foundation garments and forms. James realized that everything he used for his feminization had been brought into the office by his wife. James turned to his wife and glanced at her. His mouth started to open as he thought about offering some defense for his actions. After a few aborted attempts, Devon said, "Save your breath. Just get dressed and come out and see us." "O...Okay," James replied with a stammer. Devon shook her head before she slammed the door, leaving James alone with his rueful thoughts. The anger in her eyes let him know that nothing could have ever been worth his wrongdoing. He wanted to resist complying with her order, but he feared that doing so would only make her angrier. He put his head down as he clasped his black gaff, wondering if his wife even knew what the garment's purpose was. Lifting his legs, James stepped into his gaff before he reached between his legs. He yanked his slightly erect member between his legs, feeling that he had no time to let it go fully flaccid. James cringed as he felt the uncomfortable feelings that greeted the crush of his member beneath his gaff. The feeling was as uncomfortable as it was unusual. He had not made the mistake of trying to tuck his engorged manhood since he was a young teenager first experimenting with cross-dressing. James' hands reached for his smooth front by instinct. He did it every time he wore a gaff. It was the feminine illusion that made all the displeasure of the garment worth it in his mind. Having little time to dawdle on it with his wife and secretary on the other side of the door, James' hands yanked away from the black garment and reached for his sheer hosiery. James rolled the pantyhose down before he rested his rear as he began to work them up his legs. The slow painstaking process was usually pleasurable to James. The silky feeling of the delicate fabric was something he always looked forward to experiencing. While the sensations aroused the same feelings in him, the knots in his stomach over how his wife and secretary would soon relate to the feminized version of himself in the workplace were overpowering the feelings. His hands descended to his legs to smooth out the nylon once the control top of the hosiery met his hips. He exhaled deeply as his hands moved away from his smooth thighs. As he stood up, James' hands brushed the smooth front of his crotch again. A smile came to his face while he embraced the smoothness once more. The James that existed before his deception was uncovered had fantasies of this type of moment. The reality of the situation, however, was proving to be far less about excitement and butterflies and more about the dread that was unmitigated by the pleasurable feelings the clothing aroused in him. After pulling his hosiery up tight to further compress his manhood, James reached for his bra. James slipped his arms through the straps before he hooked the front clasps and stuffed the cups with the breast forms his wife had removed from his closet. The bra she chose was an ill fit for the forms, but he managed to adjust the straps to make it manageable. Part of him was sure that the discomfort was entirely planned by his Devon, who was not one to make that sort of mistake. "My God! She thought of everything," James muttered with a shake of his head in a low voice as he caught sight of one of his shaping camisoles. James pulled the white v-neck camisole over his head. He felt the compression on his stomach as the piece helped to give him a more feminine figure. James' hands reached for the lace detailing along the camisole's straps. He had purchased it because he felt that the lace gave it an especially feminine touch that he longed for. It normally made him feel pretty, now, it made him feel foolish. He feared what Devon must have thought when she first saw the camisole. She certainly knew that he could have bought a less ornate version of it. Instead, she had to realize that the man she married had went for the most feminine version he could find. With a shake of his head, James reached for the fitted dress with shirred knots at the neck and waist next. He stepped into the dress and brought it over his body. He worked his hands through the dress's long sleeves before he adjusted the hemline of the form-fitting skirt over his nylon-covered legs. Once he brought the zipper up his back, James reached for his ponytail. He undid the holder and watched as his long hair settled to frame his face. His eyes darted towards his shoulders. He always loved how his hair brushed his shoulders whenever he was en femme. A knock on the door served as a reminder that he was not engaging in a fantasy anymore. James' heart raced from the sound before he heard his wife yell, "Haley, hurry it up in there!" "Sorry, dear. I'm just doing my makeup," James rushed to respond, prompting Shannon to laugh at the absurdity she perceived about the reverse of a normal conversation between a husband and wife. "Well, don't come out looking like too much of a whore," Devon answered as she shared a laugh with Shannon. James burrowed his chin into his chest for a moment. He reached for his makeup bag and began to remove the cosmetics. James' hand reached for his contouring makeup first. He applied a color two shades darker than his skin tone to his Adam's apple. While it did not make his Adam's apple disappear, the dark colors helped make it look smaller. His hands then darted back into the bag. He painted his lips, eyes and cheeks with basic makeup, unwilling to let Shannon see the full extent of his skills the first time she saw his feminized visage. James then stepped into the cream colored, four-inch heeled, pointed- toe, d'Orsay silhouette pumps. James felt that his wife had selected his most girlish pair of shoes to humiliate him further in front of Shannon, while he was bracing himself against the wall as his feet settled into the pumps. James then tied each satin self-tie ankle wrap before he stood up. James smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at how the heels lifted his rear in his figure hugging dress. He loved how they forced his false chest out too, but he found himself hating it at the same time. The normal sexual thrill was diminished by knowing the ridicule he had brought onto himself. "Come on out, Haley. You can't hide forever," Devon teased through the door. "I'll be out in a moment." "Say that in higher tone, dear. You don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about you." "Sorry," James replied, using the more feminine tone he had long worked on. "Better," Devon said. "Needs work," Shannon added. James clenched his fists as he knew what was in store for him the minute he emerged through the door. He put his head down for a moment before he heard another knock on the door. "Open up, dear. Time's up," Devon ordered. "Come out, come out wherever you are," Shannon teased. James hung his head while he reached for the door handle. He twisted and pulled the door back towards him. Devon gave his feminized appearance an approving glance. While she always preferred him in his regular outfits, she had long ago become accustomed to seeing James in his feminized state. Conversely, Shannon was startled by James' appearance. While she figured to know what to expect based on the Halloween photograph, James looked far more ordinarily feminine than she ever imagined he could. She put her hands over her mouth as she examined him from head to toe. The way the forms and undergarments padded out his body made her start to laugh. She stifled herself as she looked down at his hosiery that was run free and resting over his shaven legs that told her that he had engaged in cross-dressing on his book tour. That thought made her start to laugh. She took away her hand and let it come out of her. James bit his lip and tasted the lipstick upon it. He stared up at the ceiling as Shannon continued to laugh. "I'm sorry," Shannon said to Devon before continuing to laugh. "I hope this isn't everyday," Devon noted to Shannon. "I'm sorry. This is just too funny. I'm sure I'll get used to it." "You better. We are running a business," Devon chided. "I'm sorry," Shannon replied again to her former boss turned partner. As Shannon composed herself, Devon smirked as she said, "Haley, I think you look darling." That comment made Shannon laugh again. Devon shot her husband a grin, which made clear to him that the woman could not help herself. "Shannon, I was being serious," Devon added. "Of course," James replied with evident sarcasm. "I always loved that dress," Devon said. "On him," Shannon added. "I think it would look good on any girl." Shannon nodded as she said, "It is pretty." "That's Haley's taste. She's a total girly girl at heart." "I can see that," Shannon replied as she smiled at James' blushing face while his wife explained his wardrobe choices at home. Shannon laughed about it. She could not believe that she had missed the hints over the years that James was a cross-dresser. In retrospect, certain things seemed less trivial than she sensed at the time. Devon then turned her attention back to James. She gave him a passing comment about having to do something more with his hair after the tour was over. "I don't think she looks that bad," Shannon interjected. "I didn't say she didn't. She just doesn't look her best." "Well, I love those shoes on her. Now, the heels give her a lift that I like," Shannon commented with a laugh. "If only we had done this earlier, I doubt she would have been so brazen to lift anything she shouldn't have," Devon responded with a nod. She grinned at her husband's squirming in his heels and dress, feeling he deserved it for stealing from their loyal assistant. "Haley, stop blushing. You're going to have get used to this," Devon chided as the grin left her face. James nodded with downcast eyes before Devon added, "You'll be expected to be in full girl mode every moment you're in this office." James nodded again before Devon turned to Shannon and said, "We're going to keep her to a tight schedule of outfits so that we can make sure that she's not wearing the same old thing everyday." "Oh, a girl can't do that." "A guy can..." "But she's not a guy," Shannon added, enjoying helping Devon tease James. James listened in silence as they continued to discuss his fate in laughing tones that made a mockery of his disguised masculinity. James waited anxiously for what the schedule would be before his wife spoke the words after a pause to build his suspense. Devon grinned as she said, "I was thinking Monday is a perfect day for her Midi-Day." "Why not Wednesday for Midi-Day" "Oh, we have to make Wrap Dress Wednesday a thing for her." "Works for me," Shannon said with a grin and laugh as she stole a glance at her squirming former boss. "Now, for Tuesday, I was leaning towards Shift dresses." Shannon shook her head as she said, "No. I think two tone Tuesday has a better ring to it." Devon raised her eyebrows before Shannon explained, "Get her in a nice skirt and a top." "No skirt suits though," Devon added. "Oh, no. We don't want her getting too big for her britches and thinking she can dress like a boss." James blushed at Shannon's reply before Devon added, "I think the skirts have to be short too." "Nothing more than a mini," Shannon seconded. "Well, that's settled. So, why not move Shift Dress day to Thursday." "I'm good with that," Shannon said with nod before Devon continued, "And Friday, we'll round it out with a Fit and Flare Day, a perfect dress for date night too." "You can't expect me to go out like this?" James countered. "Out like what?" Devon asked, feigning confusion. "En femme!" "En femme? What does that even mean?" Shannon asked. "Dressed like a girl," Devon explained. "We'll I guess we go out en femme all the time," Shannon replied. "That's not the same and you know it," James retorted. "It's a distinction without a difference now, little lady," Devon countered her husband's protest. "You're one of us girls, now," Shannon teased while she cupped her hands in front of her. "Now, don't go giving her a big head," Devon remarked before she added, "She's got to earn her new place in the world." "I couldn't agree more. Do we need to give her an orientation?" Devon laughed before she said, "Oh, no. Haley knows what she expects out of a good secretary. She's been watching you like a hawk since you started." "Really?" "Yes, I always figured that it was because she wanted to be in your shoes." "Well, she sort of is, now." "Haley's right where she belongs," Devon noted before she went into her office. James turned to Shannon. She started towards his old office before she paused and said, "Haley, I've been working on a report while you were gone. Can you be a dear and scan it into me?" "Sure. Where is it?" "It's on my desk." James nodded as he understood the meaning of which desk was now hers. James walked by Shannon with his head held low and went into his old office. His eyes widened as he saw that Devon and Shannon had already taken the initiative to remodel the room in his absence. His sports themed decorations had been replaced with colorful, floral vistas. The white walls had been painted beige and a floral wallpaper had been added along the top of the walls. The report was on the corner of her desk, which she had clearly been sitting at for some time. He leaned forward and picked up the report before he hurried out of the room, not wanting to confront the reminders that his punishment had been a long-held secret by his wife. He wondered when they first found out about his theft. He sensed that it had to be near the start of the tour. It was clear that Shannon had already become entrenched in his office in his absence. James hurried through the office, feeling the constricting hemline of his midi-length dress compress his stride with every step. He found the sensation wonderful, even as he hated the reminder that it was something he would likely have to deal with every minute of his remaining professional life. As he fed the report through the scanner, James knew that everything he had worked for in his life was gone. He sensed that he would be serving Devon and Shannon for the rest of their working lives. He was going to be dependent on Devon's income. He knew that they had no intention of paying him money to be the secretary. He figured that they both felt that he did not deserve it and would enjoy doing it enough en femme that he would do it for free. He knew that they were right. That thought only made him feel sicker about himself. He wanted to rebel. He wanted to shout that he was a man, but he loved the feeling as he scrunched his nylon-covered toes in his pumps and closed his eyes to revel in the feminine sensation. Once the report was finished scanning through the copier, James put a new staple in it and carried it back towards his former office. Shannon smiled as she saw James enter with the report. "You can just leave it on my desk," Shannon said with a dismissive wave that sent James retreating from the office. James walked towards Shannon's old desk. He had been sitting in the chair behind it for most of the morning before he was ordered to change in his wife's office. He had long dreamed of sitting in the chair in a similar outfit, but the reality of it felt different. There was no choice, but, in his fantasies, there had been no choice either. He had wanted this, but only in his fantasies. He had no real desire to spend the rest of his life doing her menial work. He hoped that the girls would notice his penance in time and let him do work more commensurate with his talent level, but he knew that was a long way off. James smoothed out the skirt of his dress as he went to sit in Shannon's old chair. The low backed, mesh and fabric chair was in stark contrast to the high backed, leather chair he sat on in his office. James pulled the chair under the desk and went to sign onto the computer system. He furrowed his brow as the computer rejected his username as unknown. James called Devon's office and noted, "The computer's not letting me sign in." "Did you try your user name?" "I put in James..." "James? Who's that? We have no one by that name on the system!" "Come on, Devon..." "Did you try your name, Haley?" "Are you saying it's Haley.Ambrose?" "What else would it be?" "What's my password?" James asked. "Sec4life." "That's not a reference to the Southeast Conference by any chance?" James asked in jest. "Not a chance in hell. And get all that sports crap out of you now. You're a girly girl, so start acting like one," Devon answered before she hung up. James hung up his phone and typed in the name and password that Devon had dictated to him. As the system allowed him entry, he noticed that several of the drives that contained the most sensitive information in the company were locked to him, just as they had been for Shannon. "Come on," James muttered before he turned on his email and saw the large build up of unanswered emails from Shannon and Devon giving him various orders. James tried to put them in order as he jotted down what he needed to do. He pulled up a report that needed to be compiled and got to work pulling the various pieces of it together. As he worked, Devon forwarded him an entry for the company blog. James nodded as he read it over and signed in as the administrator of the blog and uploaded the post providing an update about changes in their field. Once the information was added, James went back to working on the report. The sound of the ring of the phone made James growl for a second before he noticed that it was Devon calling for him. James forced himself to offer up a chipper tone as he said, "Yes, Devon?" "Haley, I just sent you an email about my meeting out of the office tomorrow. I need you to call each number I gave you to make sure that everyone is going to be there." "I'll do it, now." "Good," Devon replied before she hung up the phone. James read the numbers and the names he was unfamiliar with as he dialed the first number. As the voice on the other end said hello, the reminders of James' clothing and location in the office made his voice stay in its highest register. James cringed at how high his voice climbed as he introduced himself to the perplexed sounding voice on the other end. As James' voice descended to its normal feminine tone, he could tell that the girl on the other end of the call was growing more comfortable with him as he confirmed Devon's meeting time. The next four calls were easier for James. He kept his voice in a high, breathy tone with a slight Eastern European accent that he had long ago adopted to further conceal his masculinity and real identity while en femme. As he hung up after the last call, Shannon emerged from her office and remarked, "You know, if you keep up that accent people are going to ask why your name is Haley Ambrose as opposed to, say...Natasha Fatale." "We'll just have to tell them that Halina married my brother-in-law for a green card," Devon called out from her office. "That seems like something Haley would do, but who's Halina?" "Haley is her Americanized name." "That could work, but we'd have to get her a fake engagement ring." "I'll take care of that," Devon yelled. James blushed at the thought of wearing an engagement style ring that told the world that he was a married woman. He put his head down and hoped that the girls would forget it while they each went back to work. As lunchtime came, James retrieved the meals that Devon had packed for them before they left their home that morning. James was amazed by how she kept what was awaiting him a secret. She did not let on that it would be anything but a normal trip to the office. 'She's crafty,' James thought while he put together his lunch and his wife's. Devon came in and grabbed one of the two meals and sat down in the kitchenette. James took his cue from her and sat beside her. They ate lunch together and chatted. James was relieved by how friendly their talk was. It felt as if they were talking as they normally did. He hoped that his wife would get over her anger with him in short order. As their conversation shifted more towards work, James realized that the conversation was quite different from their normal talks. She was giving him undisguised orders to attend to when he got back to his desk. Once they finished eating, Devon left James to clean up the kitchenette while she went back to work. James knew that cleaning up the office was a responsibility that he had inherited from Shannon when their roles had swapped. After he finished cleaning up, James returned to his desk and finalized the report. He sent it to Shannon for review before he looked through the stack of documents he needed to file for his bosses. James got to his feet and filed away the papers that were finished before he returned to his desk to find the others on the system that required modification. James searched through the system and found each document and made the required revisions for the rest of the day. The work was only interrupted when Devon or Shannon called out to James to get something for them. James was thankful that he had built up a sufficient comfort level with heels to be able to stay in them all day while he walked around the office getting the girls, papers, drinks and supplies. "All right, Haley, lets get going," Devon said as the end of the workday came. "Let me get changed..." "For what?" "You can't expect me to go out like this. I'm a famous..." "Plagiarist? Tranny? Tranny plagiarist! What?" "What if someone sees me," James pleaded. "Soon enough someone will. It's up to your skills to keep them from seeing James Ambrose through your pretty face, Haley." "But..." "This isn't up for discussion." James gave her a nod as she walked toward the front door of the building that they had purchased together years earlier. James felt exposed while he walked through the front door. He was relieved that none of the cars passing by seemed to take notice of them as they walked down the concrete steps and headed towards their car. Devon got into the driver's seat while James opened the passenger side door. He got into the seat and looked at the building he knew the he had likely walked into in pants for the last time. As Devon pulled out of the parking spot, his mind drifted to the book tour he was about to continue on the next day. Part of him was filled with dread. Another part was filled with desire at the likelihood that his time on the tour would be his last in men's clothing. He wanted to be revolted by the prospect that he was about to be living out the last days of his admittedly substandard masculinity, but he was more excited about it than he wanted to admit to himself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - James gave his wife a nervous look as she turned the car off after she parked in front of the office. James glanced at the office building and thought about all that had changed in his life. He was richer than the last time he exited it, but he knew that his role inside it remained what it was before the last leg of his successful book tour. Once he entered the door, he would cease to be James Ambrose, successful male writer. He would instead be Haley Ambrose, secretary to Devon Ambrose and Shannon Fisher. The idea made his manhood swell. He had been fantasizing about it for too long for the reality to seem horrible any longer. He wanted to experience it. He wanted to hate it. He hoped it would be everything he desired. James swung his legs out of the car and felt the cool wind blowing up the calf length skirt of his black Midi-dress he was sure that Shannon was going to compliment. His wife could not help but do so when he picked it out that morning. The long bell sleeved, pull over dress was in stark contrast to the pantsuit she was wearing. He felt that she had been deliberate in choosing her suit and low-heeled shoes to show the distinction between their roles. She was the businesswoman and he was a businesswoman's Rayon/spandex clad assistant once they entered the office. James walked towards the door of the building. He adjusted the full- rimmed, Wayfarer styled glasses he had decided to wear in place of his contacts. He wondered if Shannon even knew that he wore glasses. She had only seen him in contacts before because he felt that glasses conveyed weakness in a man. That thought seemed to no longer apply in James' mind, so he did not hesitate to putting on his Tortoise colored glasses that morning. As they stepped into the building, James heard Shannon approach the door. She grinned as she caught sight of him. "Oh, Haley, how I've missed you," Shannon said as she approached him. James said hello to her while Shannon hugged him before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. As Shannon ceased her embrace of her secretary, she looked him up and down and said, "Well, that's enough of that. I can see that you need to get a few pointers." "About what?" James asked while he gave her a curious look before giving his wife a look of concern. Devon smiled as she answered for Shannon, "About your looks. We want you to put your best foot forward. You are a representative of our company, and we expect you to look presentable." "What's wrong with the way I look?" James inquired as his fingers reached for the scoop neckline of the dress he had selected with such care. Shannon smirked at his discomfort with the idea of being told he was not sufficiently presenting himself as a girl. Shannon shook her head as she said, "For one thing, when did you start wearing glasses?" "I've needed them for years," James explained. "I think they look good on her," Devon added. Shannon nodded as she said, "Okay. I'll give you a pass on that one." "Is that all?" James asked. "Oh, no. Everyday you're going to be given an inspection," Devon answered. "Are you being serious? Every morning...," James asked as his stomach started to flutter. "Well, not every morning," Shannon interjected. "So, not everyday?" James asked. "Oh, no. Definitely, everyday." "But you just said..." "I just said it wouldn't always be the morning. Sometimes, it'll be midday, others the end of the day. Maybe Devon checks you at home every now and again," Shannon replied, cutting James off. "We've got to keep you on your toes," Devon explained. "You've got to look picture perfect all the time," Shannon added. "Such as right now," Devon noted. "Right, so stand up straight, girl," Shannon ordered. James stood still and looked down at his long-time subordinate turned boss. The girl gazed up at him and said, "You did better on the hair today." "She couldn't have done worse the first day," Devon noted. "You can only work with what you got," James replied, trying to defend himself. "Shush, no talking during the inspection." James struggled not to roll his eyes while Shannon returned to her inspection. She shook her head as she looked at his face. "What?" James inquired. "What did she just tell you?" Devon countered. "If you have to know, which you do, your makeup meets with my satisfaction, but those eyebrows...NO!" "I think she needs to trim them up too," Devon added as she walked over to him. "That's the first write up." "Write up?" "Yes. Failing to meet the standards we set is a write up or a demerit, if you will. I expect you to trim those eyebrows by tomorrow." "Is that understood?" Devon inquired. "Yes, dear," James replied. "I already see a second write up and we haven't reached her neck," Shannon said as she turned to face Devon. Devon looked James over and stopped at his ears and said, "No earrings. That's a definite write up." "No question," Shannon replied. "But I don't have pierced ears," James countered. "Well, if you don't want a write up tomorrow, you'll fix that," Shannon retorted. "I'll see to it," Devon responded for James. Shannon's eyes returned to James and looked over his neck. She nodded at his necklace, as well as the midi-dress he selected in accordance with the requirement of the day. Her eyes moved down his form and stopped at his hands. "Haley, present your nails." James held his hands up prompting a shake of Devon and Shannon's heads. Devon said with a hint of disappointment, "Such a guy move." "I don't see any guy here," James rejoined. "I wouldn't stand for one," Devon retorted, ignoring James' violation of Shannon's order to not speak. Shannon nodded before she added, "Hold your hands out in front of you. Leave your hand slightly lower than your wrist like your showing off your ring." "What ring?" "You didn't give it to her yet?" Shannon asked. "No. I forgot to bring it home for my little Halina." James remembered what the girls said about a ring the last time they were all together. Devon walked away from James before Shannon repeated her order, "Haley, you still haven't presented your nails." "Sorry," James replied as he held his hands out in the manner that Shannon dictated. He felt ridiculous with his wrists partially limp. Shannon shook her head at his nails and said, "They're not painted! That's a demerit. You need your nails to pop off you. You're not a professional after all, you're eye candy." "Is that what you think a secretary is?" James inquired. "What did I say about talking?" Shannon rejoined before Devon walked back over to them. She smiled at James' outstretched hands as she removed the cubic zirconia adorned ring from its box and slipped it onto James' ring finger. James watched as the act mirrored what he had done to his wife many years earlier after she said yes to his proposal. "Well, that makes a big difference," Shannon noted with a smile. Devon nodded in agreement before Shannon ordered, "Now, paint your nails tonight. And stop cutting them. You need to add a little length." "What about when I go out?" "They'll be presentable then too," Devon replied. "But how can I go out with long nails?" "I do it all the time." "But you're..." "Just the same as you, Haley, a girl. Stop thinking about what men get to do. You're not one of them anymore. Their concerns are not yours," Devon responded with a dismissive wave of her hands. "But..." "Speaking of butts, give me a twirl," Shannon interjected. James followed her order and Shannon gave him an approving nod. She turned to Devon and said, "Those foundation garments are a real asset." "They almost make hers look real," Devon added. "I might have to get some too. If they can do that to her, what could they do for someone who actually has a little something to work with?" Devon laughed before Shannon returned to inspecting James. She gave his shaved legs that were visible beneath his nude pantyhose a nod as she said, "No visible body hair. That's perfect, and I don't see any bulges where they shouldn't be." "I made sure she was well tucked before we walked out the door," Devon replied with pride as James' cheeks burned red. Shannon nodded in silence before she glanced at his shoes and said, "The two-inch heel minimum is complied with." James gazed down at his shoes before Devon said, "So, she's only got to cleanup her eyebrows, pierce her ears and paint her nails." "That's what it says here," Shannon replied as she held up her write- up. "Just three demerits, all in all, not bad for her first day," Devon noted. "Not bad at all," Shannon seconded before they told James to get to work. "And what exactly is that?" James asked. "Don't worry, I wrote that all down for you," Shannon said as she tapped a sheet of paper that was taped to the wall by James' new desk. James eyes were drawn to it before Devon interjected, "Don't read it just yet. First, I want to break you in. How about two coffees? I like mine with a little cream and sugar, how about you, Shannon?" "I'll take mine black, but give me that Vanilla flavored coffee." James nodded as his manhood swelled at the idea of getting the two women coffees. He moved around them to retrieve their mugs from their offices before he started towards the kitchenette. It was a walk he had made many times before, but it felt much different with his new clothing. While he was familiar with all the sensations of his new wardrobe, he had never thought he would get the chance to spend a minute of his life in heels in his office. "I should have fucked up years ago," James joked to himself before he realized the situation he was in. There was no way out. He had written himself into a corner where being a secretary was going to be his life's ambition. There would be no more book tours, no more press, except for a possible obituary about another hermit author that could not withstand first fame that he would never get the chance to read. James made the coffee and started back towards Devon and Shannon's office with one cup in each hand. James felt the familiar pitch of his feet as he walked. Even though the calf-length skirt of his dress was looser than most he would wear, James knew that it still constricted his gait in the way he always loved. He was sure, however, that it was inappropriate for him to enjoy it under the circumstances. James walked into Devon's office first, but came to a stop as she glared and asked, "What are you doing?" "Bringing you coffee, like you asked," James replied in a confused, meek tone. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Devon." "That's another thing, Haley. I don't think you should be calling me Devon while we're here. Perhaps you should call me, Mrs. Ambrose, at least until you learn a little respect." James' manhood swelled in the face of his wife's stern lecture. James cleared his throat and swallowed hard before he replied, "Yes, Mrs. Ambrose." "Actually, you know what? I don't like that. Mrs. Ambrose. It makes it sound like I belong to someone. Why don't you call me Ms. Hart instead?" James froze as his wife asked him to call her by her maiden name. The thought that she was distancing herself from their marriage made his stomach sink. James squirmed before he replied, "Yes, Ms. Hart." "Thank you, Haley. That takes me back," Devon responded with a smile before she went back to her work. James stood in silence before he asked, "Can I give you your coffee now, Ms. Hart." "Did you knock?" Devon retorted. "Oh, sorry," James replied before he pivoted on his heels and knocked on the door. "Yes, Haley. What can I do for you?" Devon inquired with a grin. "I just want to drop off your coffee." "Thank you, you're a real doll," Devon replied as she motioned for James to enter. James situated the coffee cup on Devon's coaster before he asked, "Do you need anything else from me?" "Yes. Don't let Miss Fisher's coffee get cold," Devon noted with a knowing nod. James' manhood swelled again as he thought about having to address his former secretary by her last name. It was something that he had never done with her. He always felt it was old fashioned, a view that Devon seemingly shared until it could be used to embarrass him. James walked out of Devon's office with the erection between his butt cheeks hobbling his steps. Devon struggled not to laugh at his stumbling gait as he tottered on his heels. She knew well enough what was causing it. With his head down, James knocked on Shannon's door. Shannon smiled at James as she asked, "What's up?" "I just wanted to bring you your coffee," James answered. "Well, isn't that sweet," Shannon replied. Shannon held out her hands as James approached her. He turned the cup so that she could take it by the handle. Shannon took the cup and immediately savored the scent in front of him. She sipped it and said, "That's the best cup of coffee I've ever had." "It's nothing we haven't had before." "Oh, Haley. Don't be silly! It tastes so much better because you made it. You'll be making all my cups from now on, coffee girl." James nodded before he inquired, "Is there anything else you need?" "Yes, familiarize yourself with your new schedule. It's something that I want you to be following like second nature by the start of next week." "I'll try..." "Haley, I know you're a fast learner. All women are," Shannon said with a smirk. James nodded, which gave Shannon a sense of satisfaction since she knew that she was driving their relationship at the moment. James walked out of her office and moved towards his desk that was situated between Devon's office and the one he had ceded to Shannon. James smoothed his skirt out while he sat at his desk and peered at the writing on the wall. James leaned over his desk as he inspected the details that laid out how every minute of his day would be utilized by his superiors. James wondered if Shannon had always been this regimented or if Devon had a hand in drafting up his responsibilities. James read the list to himself how the first thirty minutes of his day would be occupied with three tasks: 1. Review yesterday's to-do list and create a to-do list for today. 2. The list must have three columns: (A) Must be completed by EOB; (B) Should be completed by EOB; and (C) Items to be addressed if time permits. 3. Sort through all emails since close of EOB of the prior workday and answer all emails requiring short responses. All emails requiring detailed responses will be handled at a later time. James processed the requirements before he proceeded to the next timeframe. The following two and a half hours were blocked out for meetings, writing detailed response emails, ensuring that his email was cleared out and responded to, writing formal letters, meetings, working on data sheets for the girls and handling whatever projects they had. From noon to 1:00, James found that he was required to take lunch. He was prohibited from spending it at his desk. He figured it was to make sure that he did not try to hide himself at his desk all day. Once he returned to work, James was going to be required to return all missed phone calls, respond to emails and handle all routine matters until 4:00 P.M. The final hour was reserved for handling all items remaining on his must do list and determining what could be put off for another day and following up on the items required for completing upcoming tasks. At the bottom of the list, he saw the note signed by Shannon reading, "Above all, always be flexible." "You didn't give me much time for that," James retorted to himself. James stared at the emails and was unsurprised to have not received emails from anyone but his two bosses. James responded in accordance with his written directive before he began to plan out his day based on the requests contained in the emails. Once James finished, he started to work on setting up meetings for the girls. As he began sending draft email responses for his bosses to send, Shannon called him into her office. James approached with his hands cupped in front of him. Shannon was bemused by his feminine mannerisms and obvious submissiveness. She smirked as she said, "I've got another task for you." "What's that?" "This copy job," Shannon answered as she handed James a stack of papers and gave him his instructions. James paused as he flipped through the papers. Shannon smirked at his dawdling in her presence. She curled her lip as she said, "Is there anything wrong?" "Uh...no...nothing." "Do you think making copies is beneath you?" Shannon teased. James shook his head before Shannon pressed further, "Good, because nothing is beneath you now, understood?" The stern tone used by his former secretary made James' manhood surge. He hoped that the evidence of it was not visible. James nodded in reply to Shannon's words before she said, "Do you find anything unusual about what I'm telling you?" "No. I'm a secretary. It's something that goes with the territory," James explained himself in a meek tone. "That's good. You're a smart girl," Shannon replied in a patronizing tone before she added, "But you're not smart enough to get started on the job." "Oh, sorry," James responded with haste as he turned on his heels and scurried towards the copier. The sound of Shannon's laughter at his reaction to her forceful words and teasing made James' cheeks burn red. While he was embarrassed, he was aroused by her treatment as well. The scenario kept replaying itself in James' mind as he fed the documents through the copier. He tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand while he put more documents into the machine and bundled up the documents it was churning out. As James daydreamed in front of the machine, he heard beeps that brought him back to reality. James frowned as he looked at the error message and blinking red light that told him that the machine had jammed. "Damn it," James muttered to himself. While he had always had Shannon clear any jams he had caused in the past, he knew that it was now his job alone. Her frequent complaints about the quality of the machine came back to him while he removed pieces of paper from nearly every part of the machine. "Piece of crap," James said with a shake of his head as it started to push out more photocopies. "It gets the job done," Shannon called out from her office, having overheard James' complaint. "We can't afford a replacement," Devon lied, just as James had often done to Shannon about the subject. James knew that his cheapness when it came to the printer was not going to be forgotten by either of the girls. They were both going to enjoy watching him struggle with the time suck it caused on his day the way it had drained on Shannon's in the past. As the machine jammed again halfway through the job, James clutched his head. He pulled apart the machine again as he gave it a few frustrated sighs and grunts. "How's it coming?" Devon asked as she saw James bent over the machine, removing paper from the side. "Goo...D," James responded with a yelp as he felt his wife's firm hand slap his rear. His head jerked to his laughing wife as she said, "I so get why men used to do that, now!" "That's harassment," James countered. "Only if a man does it," Devon rejoined. "I don't think that's true." "Maybe not, but I'd like to see you bring a harassment claim against your wife." James blushed before Devon continued to tease, "I can just see the complaint. My wife grabbed my ass." Devon paused before she began to pull James' skirt up his legs. James froze as she worked her small, smooth hands under the skirt of his dress as she said, "And she put her hands up under my skirt. It was so very terrible! Oh, your honor, it made me feel so violated when she started tickling my little dick through the soft, cotton gusset of my sheer nylon hose like I was some sort of office whore." "Hey, no fraternizing on company time," Shannon shouted at her new business partner from her office, half bemused and half disgusted by the mental images being generated by Devon's narration of her actions. "She knows how to kill all the fun," Devon whispered with a pout before she added, "We'll pick this up later." James nodded as he said, "Yes, Ms. Hart." "Good, girl," Devon replied with a wink as she walked away from him to let him pull down the skirt of his dress and continue to clear the jam from the printer. After clearing a few more jams, the large copy job was finished. James carried the copy job towards Shannon's office and knocked on her door. She acknowledged him before she told him how to package the papers to be sent out. James made mental notes based on her words before he took to accomplishing the task. James carried the packages to Shannon to inspect before he was allowed to close the packages. Shannon smiled as she finished looking over his work and said, "You did a good job." "Thanks," James forced himself to reply to the praise of his ability to do a near mindless task. He felt the condescension in her praise, but he was excited by it. That excitement was more worrisome to him than the prospect of how far Shannon was willing to push it. By the time James got back to his to-do list, he was shocked by how much time had passed. He went back to writing correspondence for Devon and Shannon's review. With every change they made to his work, James forced himself to swallow his pride. He was a published writer. Not only that, he was successful. Now, his work was being scrutinized and redrafted. James' work was broken up as Shannon yelled from her office, "Haley, I need a cup of coffee. James got to his feet and took Shannon's cup from her outstretched hand. As James took it, Shannon reminded James about how she liked her coffee. James walked away from Shannon and brought the cup into the kitchenette. After it brewed, James started back through the office. As he carried Shannon's cup through the suite, his eyes darted into Devon's office. He caught the smile on Devon's face as she noticed his eyes looking at her. James' eyes darted away as he wondered what Devon must feel about watching her husband fetching coffee for his ex-secretary in a pair of heels and a dress. He knew that she thought he deserved his fate, but he wondered if she felt that her fate was no longer entwined with his. James tried to force those doubts away while he brought the coffee to Shannon. She smiled as she took a sip. As she sipped on the coffee, Shannon gave James a dismissive wave. He returned to his tasks until lunchtime came. They called up an order from the eatery in the ground floor of the building. When it arrived, Devon sent James to pay for the meal. James was nervous as he went to meet with the staff. He was relieved that he had rarely interacted with the deli staff, since he used Shannon and his wife to handle those interactions in the past. James hoped that they would not see through his disguise. To his relief, the employee was not especially intrigued by James. James took the meal from the man and headed towards the girls' offices with the food in hand as he breathed a sigh of relief. As he went to hand over the first bag to Devon, she said, "Why don't we all eat together in the conference room?" "Okay," James replied, happy for the company. Shannon joined them soon after as they all walked into the conference room together. Devon sat at the head of the table, while James sat beside her, smoothing out the skirt of his dress as he situated himself in his chair. Shannon sat at the other end of the table as they all began to eat. James knew that the girls were making a point with the seating arrangement. James had always sat at the head of the table, but, now, he was restricted to the middle, just as Shannon once was. As they ate and chatted, Shannon and Devon discussed business as if James was not there. He tried to interject, but his input was disregarded offhand. James' cheeks burned at the treatment. He could see Shannon smirking about it since he had often dismissed any idea she had for the business without a second thought. From her position alone, James felt that she was incapable of having a valid business idea. Now that he was forced to listen to her, he realized that the girl was far more astute than he had given her credit for. That realization only made his position beneath her more exciting for him. He knew that there was a real chance she could run his business well for years. James' manhood swelled as he again dealt with the reality that his new position could in fact be for the rest of his life. Even as his stomach wrenched at the thought, he found it impossible not to be aroused by the prospect. Once their meals finished, Devon and Shannon stood up and left James to clean up after them. There was nothing that needed to be said. James knew that there was no question about the situation. It was expected that he would take care of their mess. James threw away the wrappers, paper bags and empty bottles. He wiped down the tabletop and threw away the soiled paper towels. James headed out of the suite once he was done cleaning. He started towards the bathroom and heard his heels clicking on the tiled flooring beneath his feet. The sound brought a smile to his face as he went towards the ladies' room. The sight of the title of the room on the door gave him pause. While he knew that he could not go into the men's room, he was nervous about how he would be received in the ladies' room. He knew that there was a chance that one of his company's tenants would see through his disguise. "This is going to suck," James said to himself as he punched in the key code. As the door unlocked, James pushed the door in and heard heels clicking behind him. James' heart raced as he peered over his shoulder. James felt relieved to see the face of his wife following him into the bathroom. She whispered in his ear, "First time?" "Certainly, not going to be the last," James remarked. Devon smiled as she said, "Well, getting potty trained is always tough at first. Just remember your place and where you are." James nodded as he glanced down at his hemline and thought, 'Like I need a reminder.' James went into an open stall and watched as Devon went into the stall next to him. James worked his nude hosiery down his legs as he began to sit down. James felt weak with his legs hobbled together, only able to stretch as far as the constricting nylon would allow. He laughed to himself as he thought, 'This would put me at a disadvantage in any fight.' His manhood swelled at the thought as he rolled the long skirt of his dress up and forced his member beneath the lid. He stared up at the ceiling with a smile as he realized that his wife knew that he was sitting to pee just like her, although she was the one with her pants around her ankles. Once he finished, James followed her lead in taking a small bit of toilet paper and wiping himself before he stood up. James let his skirt down and brought the sheer pantyhose back up his legs. James walked out of the stall and tried to avoid eye contact with his smirking wife. They washed their hands beside each other in silence. As they each dried their hands, Devon whispered, "You should have brought your purse." "Where's yours?" James countered. "I don't need to touch up my makeup," Devon retorted. James gazed in the mirror and could not see anything that required a touchup. As his eyes focused on his lips, he realized that his lunch had done a number on his lipstick. "I'll take care of it," James said. "See that you do or Shannon will give you a demerit. She's not as forgiving as me," Devon lectured her husband. "I know," James said as they headed out of the bathroom. They strolled back towards the office together before James opened the door for his wife. James followed Devon back into the office and went back to work. After applying another coat of lipstick, paying a few bills for the company and putting together some mailings, Devon called out to James. "Yes, dear," James replied out of habit. Devon shook her head at James' familiarity before she said, "That's not professional, Haley." "Sorry, Ms. Hart," James said as he hung his head in the face of her scolding. "It's okay, but try not to do it again, sweet cheeks." James' head jerked up to gaze at his wife's smiling face before she added, "I'm the boss. I decide what's professional." "Got it," James replied. "Good. Now, let's see if you can figure out where to file these," Devon responded as she handed him a stack of folders. "I'll try my best." "Do me one better and just get it done," Devon rejoined. James' member surged as Devon knew it would in the face of her stern order. She could see the unease on her husband's face about his enjoyment about the way he was being treated. Not wanting to displease his wife with hesitating the way he did with Shannon, James hurried to take the files from his wife to make clear that he did not believe he was above his new place in the office hierarchy. James took the files and hurried out of Devon's office so she could focus on her work. James scuttled over to the file cabinets with his skirt-shortened stride. He began to draw them open as he looked for the various folders where the files belonged. He searched using the file number system that he had implemented. He knew it well. He figured that his knowledge of it was probably second to only Shannon's since it had been her job to make sure it was followed. Now, it was his responsibility to ensure that everything was put in its proper place. As he continued to put away files, Shannon came out to inspect his work. James felt embarrassed that such a menial task was not beneath Shannon's diligent review. He knew that nothing he did would likely ever go unnoticed. Shannon was too intimately familiar with every detail of his new role to let him slip up on anything. As she scolded him for placing correspondence in a folder in non- chronological order, James realized that her expectations of him were greater than his ever were for her. James nodded as he acknowledged that she was right. James redid his work while Shannon walked way with a shake of her head. As James did it, he noticed that Shannon had always ensured that everything was in chronological order. It was obvious that it had always been that way, but he had never noticed it before. The more evidence he saw of it, the clearer it became to him that Shannon was holding him to the standards she set for herself, at least when it came to his work product. Once James finished filing the documents, he went back to his desk and started to do data entry from the payment and expense stubs the bank had provided them with. He focused on his work before Shannon called out to him to go over the calendar for the following day. James told her he would be in her office shortly as he printed out two copies of her calendar for the next day. James then strolled into her office, feeling his hem pressing against his legs with his every mincing step. James sat before Shannon's desk with a copy of her calendar and a pen. She gave him an approving nod before they went through each item on the calendar. Shannon enjoyed lingering on the important meetings she had coming up the next day. She knew that it was impossible for James not to be comparing them with what was in store for him. While she was meeting with several heads of local businesses the company was trying to do business with, he would be sorting her emails and typing up correspondence that she was going to rewrite, no matter how good it was. She would be having lunch with a man with a nine-figure net worth and his business partner, while James was stuck ordering from the office building's in-house deli. James would likely be sorting her mail, while she was on a business call with his wife, turned boss. James was amazed by some of the meetings she had setup, even as he had a hand in confirming many of them. He could not believe that she had been so successful so quickly. While he knew that she could be charming, he never knew that she could take it to the level she was ascending towards. After they finished going over the calendar, Shannon dismissed James from her office. James spent the remainder of his day trying to cross as many items off his to-do list as possible, while he simultaneously made a list of items to handle the next day. His efforts were sometimes thwarted by the girls' requests for last minute assistance and by having to field phone calls for them. As they left the office together, James felt oddly at ease with his new life. It had been everything he dreamed it would be. "Can I call you Devon, now?" James asked as they stepped out of the front door. "No. That's a demerit. You can't speak to me informally until we are off company property." "Sorry," James replied as his manhood engorged in reaction to her polite scolding. "It's your first day, Haley. You were bound to make mistakes," Devon kidded James before they got into the car. As they pulled out of the parking lot, they made small talk before James saw Devon veering off the road into a shopping center. James gave her a confused look as he inquired, "What's going on?" "I made an appointment to get your ears pierced. I can't have you getting another demerit for not wearing earrings. It reflects poorly on me as your supervisor," Devon said through a smirk. "Devon..." "That's another demerit." "What? We're miles from the..." "This car is leased by the company, so its company property, and I'm your boss on company property." James knew she was right and nodded before he said, "I'm sorry Ms. Hart, but..." "Haley, you don't get to question your boss. My decision is final and Shannon completely agrees." James nodded his head before he followed Devon out of the car. They walked toward the tattoo and piercing parlor as James asked, "You couldn't have taken me somewhere nicer" "Shannon's sister works here," Devon answered with a grin. "She told her sister?" James asked, incredulous. "Sisters tell each other everything," Devon teased. "Does she know what I am?" "You've only fooled people in passing, dear." James blushed before Devon put her arm around his waist and said, "You're a work in progress. By the time we're done with you, only a doctor will know for sure." Devon's words prompted a nervous look from her husband, even as he felt a familiar tinge of arousal at the thought. He was unsure if she was promising him a good thing or a nightmare. He continued along beside her as they entered the parlor. James' eyes widened as he saw the woman coming out to greet them. The woman was the spitting image of Shannon. He could not believe that he had never inquired what her sister did. He knew she had a sister and her name, but nothing more than that. The cheery faced woman beamed as she said, "You must be Devon and Haley." "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Nicole," Devon said as she greeted the woman. "Same here," James chimed in, relieved that there were no threatening figures in the parlor. "So, this is our little victim?" Nicole asked with a grin as she looked James up and down. "That's my Haley," Devon said with a nod. "Well, isn't she fetching...all things considered of course." "I was just telling her that she's a work in progress." "She's like a draft of the final product." "That's something that she's amply familiar with," Devon noted with a smirk. "So, I've been told," Nicole answered while she shot James a knowing look. James hurried to say, "I've apologized to your sister..." "You don't have to apologize to me, Haley. You've worked it out amongst yourselves, and I just have to say, I like the deal she struck." "It was the best for all involved," Devon replied. "Well, enough chit chat," Nicole noted before she motioned for James to follow her. James sat down in the seat and felt nervous as Nicole prepared his right ear for the piercing. "This will pinch a bit," Nicole warned before she punched the hole in James' ear. James yelped, prompting Nicole to laugh and say, "Don't be a little bitch." "That more than pinched!" "A little pain today is for a lot fashion tomorrow," Devon counseled. "And lucky for you, you have only one more ear," Nicole joked. James nodded before Nicole prepared his left ear for a piercing. James cringed as he steeled himself for the second piercing. James clenched his eyes as he fought off the urge to yelp again as his ear was punctured. "See, that wasn't so bad." "No," James replied as he reached for the studs in his ears. James then listened as Nicole gave him the aftercare instructions. James made mental notes about it, but his head was swimming. Devon gave him a sympathetic look before she told him, "I'll help you remember what to do." James thanked her in reply. Nicole smirked as she asked, "Now, that you're all prettied up, why don't I give you one of my specials?" "WHAT?" James asked in a high-pitched tone that made his wife laugh. "A tattoo! Shannon said that you wanted a tramp stamp. We have a lot to choose from. I'm thinking a pretty butterfly would be symbolic for you." James looked at his wife in horror. She struggled not to laugh again before she answered for him, "Oh, maybe another day, Nicole. We're trying to get Haley started on the right path with small steps and a tight hemline to make sure of it." Nicole feigned displeasure before she said, "I'll hold you to it." "Just so you know, I think she's more of a Minnie Mouse girl," Devon teased as she smiled at her husband. "My condolences," Nicole joked. James' face went flush as he felt his wife was telling his new boss's sister that he had a small penis. He knew he was medically average. He had done extensive research on the subject to prove it to himself. Soon thereafter, Devon paid the girl, and they headed out of the parlor. James felt relieved to be removed from the immediate threat of a tattoo or an additional piercing. As they walked towards the car, James asked, "Did you have to tell her that?" "What?" "That I have a small dick," James replied through gritted teeth to Devon's feigned ignorance. "I don't think about it as that," Devon countered. "That's clearly what you think it is, but I...," James protested. "Haley, you're girl now. You just have an enlarged clit. It may be, like, the biggest clit ever!" James shook his head at the image that his wife had planted in his mind before he got into her car. Devon started the car and drove them home. Once they got inside, Devon told James to make dinner. James put his hands on his hips as he put his bag down and said, "I've been working all day too." "But I'm the breadwinner, and skirted little plagiarists do whatever Sugar Momma wants," Devon teased. James hung his head, even as his wife's teasing was making him aroused and frustrated. James looked at the ground before he looked his wife in the eyes to ask, "What would you like?" "Surprise me, but make it good," Devon answered. "Any hints at what you think would be good?" James inquired. "You know what I like," Devon countered. With that lack of guidance, James set about making dinner while his wife relaxed in the den. James slipped off his heels as he worked. The cool floor felt good under his nylons as he struggled to keep from sweating while he toiled in the kitchen. Once the meal was done, James set the table and called in his wife. Devon sniffed the air as she walked in and said, "Smells delicious, dear." "Thanks." "Who'd you steal the recipe from?" "Are you ever going to let me live that down?" "I suppose I should. That was James, not you Haley. You're new and improved, a sleeker, sexier model." "More fuel efficient too?" James joked. "We'll see once I start you up!" "Oh, I'm started, it's just a matter of you shifting me into gear," James countered. "Well, at least some parts of James made the transition." James grinned at the comment while they started eating. James served his wife through the meal and understood that it was his responsibility alone to cleanup after the meal that he had made. Once James finished tidying up the kitchen, he went to join his wife in the den. As he entered the room, Devon turned towards her husband. A smile came across Devon's face as she said, "Are you ready for the next step?" "What's that?" "Avoiding more demerits." "Now?" "If we don't do it now, you'll get them again tomorrow. Come on, I'll help you." "That's what you're calling this?" James inquired. "Hey, if you want to feel my wrath and Shannon's, that's your business. Most girls try to keep their bosses from crawling up their butts, but..." "I was just joking," James replied. "Come upstairs and let me fix those messy brows of yours." "That's going to be so noticeable," James complained. "Haley, you're girl now. You want it to be noticeable." "But I won't be able to go out as a guy." "With two pierced ears and sexy arched brows, good luck with that." "DEVON!" "Haley, you need to let go of this fantasy that you're going to be able to be a guy." "I've been a guy my whole life!" "A guy who dresses up like a girl and looks like a guy. That's who you were. Now, you're going to be a girl, and if you dress up like one, you're going to look like a girl doing it." James' manhood swelled at the idea, even as his gaff fought to compress it. The idea that he would be unable to pass as a man one day was as intoxicating to him as it was alarming. Devon clasped James' hand and led him towards the stairs. After they ascended them, Devon sat James down on the toilet seat and began to pluck away the stray hairs from James' brows. James was relieved that it did not hurt much at all to have the hairs removed. Once the last hair was pulled, Devon showed James her handiwork. James' eyes widened as he saw the two, thin high arching brows that were on his face. He knew that he could never pass himself off as a straight man until they grew back in. He sensed that he was trapped with having to pass himself off as a woman until that day came. "Thank you, Devon," James squealed. "Now, for your nails." "There's not much you can do with these," James said with resignation as he looked as his short nails. "A little color goes a long way," Devon replied as she removed a bottle of burgundy colored nail polish. James put his hands on the sink vanity and watched as Devon coated each nail with the dark color twice before she told him that he needed to dry his fingernails. James grew impatient as he waited for the paint to dry. He looked at his wife and asked, "Is there anything we can do to speed this up?" "Well, I don't have a nail dryer, but you could always do the shake method." "What's that?" "You just shake your hands up and down." "And that works?" "Like a charm," Devon answered with a smile before James began to follow her directions. The sight of James' wrist going limp as he waved his hands about in front of him to dry his nails left Devon unable to contain herself. James gawked at her as his wife nearly fell over laughing. "What?" "I have to have you do this at work! Shannon would LOVE to see this!" "THANKS," James said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sorry, honey." "You don't seem sorry," James countered. "Well, once you come to bed, I'll make it up to you." "Let's go," James exclaimed as he got to his feet. "Not until I'm sure your nails are dry," Devon rejoined, prompting a growl from James. "That's unlady like." James purred in response. Devon laughed as she said, "Let me see those nails." James flashed his painted nails at his wife. Devon inspected the nails and said, "You're ready." James hurried behind his wife into the bedroom before they both disrobed. As James climbed into bed, Devon's fingers reached for his manhood. She giggled as she teased, "My strap-on's bigger." James' mind swirled for a moment before he felt his wife's tongue in his mouth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - As James' first week at work as Haley came and went, he found himself growing at ease with his new role. The tasks were largely mindless and were easy for him to master despite the teasing from Shannon and his wife. In truth, it was that teasing that helped make the whole thing exciting for James. The forbidden nature of what they were doing had long held him back, but he was, now, living his dream. It was a fantasy he had and had no control over anymore. Losing control was always part his fantasy as he wanted to be at another's mercy. Now, he was, and it was everything he dreamed it would be. Still, a constant sense of dread remained in the back of his mind. While he had seemingly fooled everyone he had come into contact with as Haley, he figured that he would not be successful forever. He doubted that he would never slip-up despite his constant state of being on guard against doing so. There would come a moment when he did something to give him away at the most inopportune time. He only hoped that the situation would not escalate from humiliating to dangerous. The demerits the girls gave him, however, were consuming his mind for the time being. There was nothing that seemed beyond the girls notice as he scurried around them fetching their coffee, making their copies and directing their calls. The daily inspection was the thing he feared the most. It was intimidating, and he never knew when it was coming. The girls varied which one of them would give him the inspection and when. On Tuesday it was first thing, on Wednesday it was after lunch, on Thursday at closing and Friday at 3 P.M. while he was getting Shannon her last cup of coffee of the workweek. It was always a head to toe inspection. His hair had to be brushed, styled and knot free. The morning inspection was the easiest for it, but a trip to pick up lunch for a nearby eatery on a blustery Wednesday had made him fail the inspection at the first point of the examination. "But I didn't have a chance to fix it," James whined while he reached for his hair that had been tossed about by the wind. "You should have fixed it before you walked through that door," Devon countered as she pointed to the front door. James felt frustrated as he said, "But you won't let me tie it up." "Tied up hair doesn't look professional," Shannon replied, repeating the words he had spoken to her on more than one occasion. James blushed as he knew that he was going to be living in accordance with every statement he ever made to the girls. The statements were driven by how he wanted to dress. He wanted to dress like a girly- girl. He was living that dream vicariously through them. Now, that he was living as a girl, he realized they were going to make sure that he lived it just the way he said they should. From his hair, the girls checked his eyebrows. James had to make sure that they were groomed each morning with no stray hairs. James passed the test the first two days before Devon said, "That's a write-up for not having any color in those brows." "What are you talking about?" James asked while he touched his brown, arched eyebrows. "You need to use an eyebrow pencil a tone lighter than your natural brow color to really dress them up." James was confused about what his wife was saying. Devon smiled at the effect that her write-up had on him. She loved making sure that he never got too comfortable as a girl. There was always going to be something else to learn and the chance for her to tell him that he should have already known it. Given his long-professed love of dressing as a member of the fairer sex, she figured that he might actually believe that he should have known the little details that she and Shannon had long ago committed to memory. Once they confirmed his eyebrows were manicured and style to perfection, Devon or Shannon's eyes descended to James' ears. He always made sure to wear one set of earrings a day. With his ears attended to, the girls focused on his makeup. He never failed to not get a demerit on some aspect of it. No matter what he did, it was never enough to reach the exacting standards the girls set for him. First, it was his wife telling him that he applied too much concealer. James was forced to look in his wife's hand mirror as she told him how he ended up with too thick a layer of it on his face as she showed how it made his every wrinkle more pronounced. "You want makeup to make you look younger, not older," she chided. James apologized as Devon announced his demerit. She then shook her head as she looked at his eyes and said, "You've got too much mascara on." "I do?" "All I see is clumps and the wrinkles in the corner of your eyes. Mascara is supposed to touch up the lower lashes and accentuate the edges of the eyes to give your gaze extra expressiveness." "Sorry," James replied before Devon's eyes continued to focus on his as she said, "And you put your eyeshadow in the wrong areas." "What's wrong with it?" James asked as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, feeling that he was sporting the smoky eyed look his wife required him to display. "You put it over the whole lid area. That also makes you look visibly older! You should have just dabbed it in the outer corners of your eyes." James nodded as he made another mental note. Devon cut short her review of his makeup that day after he failed the first three points of her inspection. While that relieved James at first, it meant that his wife left errors for Shannon to catch the next day when her turn for an inspection came. While James had fixed his eye makeup and used a fluid concealer containing luminous particles on his skin to give it a healthy, natural look, Shannon's eyes focused on his lips. "So, small," Shannon said with a scowl. James sucked his dark painted lips into his mouth and said, "I can't help that." "True, but you could paint your lips accordingly. Dark lipstick makes your lips look thinner. You want a brighter color." "Sorry, Devon didn't tell me..." "Don't blame your wife. You're your own woman," Shannon chided with a shake of her head. James nodded in reply before Shannon added, "And you put rouge on the apple of your cheeks, that's another demerit." "What is the apple of my cheeks?" James countered. Shannon explained, "It's the center of your cheeks. That's for young girls, not girls your age. You need to stop putting it on like you're some 16-year-old girl trying to desperately get all the boys attention! Tomorrow, I expect you to dab rouge on the upper cheekbones, but don't get too close to your nose." "I will," James replied with blushing cheeks. "And use mellow and natural tones to make your face look younger and give it a romantic glow." "Do you think Devon will like that?" "I said it would be a romantic glow. She won't be able to keep from kissing you." "But that'll smear our makeup," James joked. "And that'll be another write-up for you," Shannon countered with a serious expression. On Thursday, Devon told James that his lips failed inspection for not using lip liner. When he corrected it on Friday, Shannon explained that he had put it on wrong. "How?" James demanded to know. "You made your lips look overdrawn." James could only nod in response. He was happy enough that she was not criticizing him again for failing to freshen up his lipstick over the course of the day. Learning to pause throughout the day to check his makeup was difficult for James to get down, but the changing times of his inspections left him with no other choice. Devon and Shannon enjoyed seeing James touch up his makeup in the restroom and at his desk throughout the day. They knew that he was becoming more and more like the prissy girly-girl he always wanted to be. After finishing their inspection of his makeup, the girls would proceed to ensuring that he was complying with the required outfit of the day. James felt boxed in by the lack of clothing choices. He was restricted to a type of outfit each day, which he felt was like a uniform restriction. While complying with it seemed simple to James, the girls changed the rules almost immediately. As two-tone Tuesday came, James found his miniskirt being critiqued for not being short enough to qualify. As James looked down at the way the blue, chambray skirt's ruching and ruffled trim rested slightly beyond the midway point of his thigh, he could not even fathom how much shorter the girls' definition of a miniskirt was. The remaining days, James found himself relieved that his wrap dress, shift dress and fit and flare outfit all passed inspection. Once their eyes moved beyond the clothing covering his torso, the girls looked over his body. It was the one test James always passed. He kept his body perfectly clean of hair and his wife ensured that he maintained his daily moisturizing regimen. The inspection would then proceed to his nails. They had to be perfectly manicured and painted. While James felt that this would be an easy task, on Tuesday, his nails were criticized for chips in the paint. "I've been typing away...," James began to defend himself before he was told that there was no excuse for not touching them up. James made a mental note of it and went home and added another coat. The next day, he failed the test for his burgundy colored nails being too dull. He was confounded by the statement, but figured that it was best not to defend himself given how his prior efforts had gone. James went home that evening and painted his nails a pastel blue, only to have Shannon tell him his nails were too flashy the following day. James could not bite his tongue as he asked, "Well, what's just right?" "We can't do everything for you," Shannon countered with a grin. James struggled not to grumble to himself while he set about planning to paint his nails for the third straight night. He knew it was something that his wife had never done during their marriage. As James fretted over his nails, the girls looked over his legs. They checked his pantyhose, stockings or tights for any visible bunching, twists, runs, creases or wrinkles. James made sure to put them on perfectly each morning, knowing that the slightest mistake in bringing them up his legs would result in scolding and a demerit. The heels on James' feet were always the last point of the inspection. The stated requirement was shoes with a heel of 2 inches or higher. As the inspections continued, the girls added further requirements that they explained to James were implicit. His shoes could not be scuffed. His heels could never be too boxy. The shoes had to cover all of his toes, unless they were peep-toed pumps. Once the inspections ended, James could not believe the number of write-ups he was accumulating. He did not even know what it meant, only that he wanted to avoid getting anymore. To further keep him on guard, to his consternation, James found that the inspections were not always limited to the once a day appearance inspection. As James stood copying papers for Shannon on Wednesday, he felt comfortable, knowing that the daily inspection had already finished. Still, Shannon looked him over from head to toe and said, "That's a demerit for standing wrong." "What?" James asked, astonished by the statement. "You're not standing like a lady," Shannon explained. "What am I doing?" "Your legs are spread to far; they're pushing out your hem." James looked down and saw that the knee length hem of the green printed skirt of his dress was stretched as far as it could go, which he had already sensed by the feelings on his legs. James glanced up at Shannon as she said, "Bring your legs closer together." James brought his legs together and felt a slight relief on his legs before Shannon added, "And stand up straight. Girls don't slouch." "I've seen plenty of girls slouch," James countered. "That's because they're trailer trash," Shannon rejoined before she added, "And that's a demerit for questioning your better." "My better?" "Yes. Not only am I your boss, I think you can agree that I know a little bit more about being a woman than you." James nodded silently as he forced his spine straight as he pressed the buttons on the copier. Shannon gave him an approving nod before she added, "Bring your elbows in when you do that." James brought his elbows to his ribs as he reached for the next papers to copy. Shannon smiled as she said, "That's much better. Now, you look like a secretary making copies, instead of some dude in a jade wrap-dress spread out like he's trying to seem imposing." "Thanks," James forced himself to reply to her faint praise as she left him to finish his task. James was thankful that the task was completed without a paper jam before he started to sort the copies for Shannon. To his dismay, Shannon found fault with that as well. James grew frustrated as Shannon seemed to pick holes in every detail of his work. He felt that he had never been as petty with her, but, then again, he realized that she had never stolen anything from him. James sensed that she enjoyed making him her whipping girl. It was all part of his punishment. Still, he was hopeful that she would forgive him in time. As time went by, James figured that her feelings for him would soften. While things would never go back to the way they were, he hoped that she would at least let him become his own secretary, rather than measure him up against the assistant she had been for him. The week also brought about more tweaks from the girls. Beyond his work and his appearance, the girls, as promised, focused on his mannerisms. As James typed correspondence for Shannon, Devon walked by his desk and noticed how he was sitting. While his knees were together and his elbows were pulled in as he was trained, she noticed that his feet were apart. Devon shook her head as she said, "Bring your feet together." The sudden order from over his back made James jump. His head jerked while Devon told him to cross his feet at the ankles and tuck them close to his chair. James hurried to comply with his wife's directive. The haste of James' actions brought a smile to Devon's face. "Now, that's ladylike," Devon said with a nod as she walked away from him as James' heart continued to race. Another time, Shannon caught a scowl on his face. She shook her head as she said, "You should always be smiling a little." "I can't smile all the time." "Well, you certainly can't be sitting around here with resting bitch face. It gives off the wrong impression. "What do you want me to do?" James inquired. "Just keep the corner of your mouth turned up slightly. It'll make you appear warmer." "Like this?" James asked as he forced a slight smile to his face. "Exactly. It's also a natural facelift," Shannon said with a nod. James hands reached for his face, prompting Shannon to laugh and say, "Can you be anymore vain?" "You just told me I needed a facelift!" James retorted. "No, I didn't! I just said your face is lifted when you smile," Shannon explained with a laugh as she walked away and let James return to his data entry. James found that he could never get a break from inspections. Even while he had conversations with the girls, they would tweak how he moved his hands as he talked. They would require him to make more eye contact with them. They would order his pitch up or down and fluctuations. His choice of language was required to be more verbose and flowery. He had to use words that struck him as affronts to his dwindling masculinity, such as cute, enchanting and lovely. Even actions he did to comply with his physical inspection brought complaints and mockery. His constant checking of his makeup to ensure it was perfect for inspection, led to demerits for doing it too much. Shannon never missed a chance to call him a bimbo concerned only with his looks whenever she caught him in the act of touching up his makeup. As his cheeks blushed, James could not help but feel that there was an unfairness to it all. As Friday evening came, James felt relieved to be free from it as he headed home with Devon. After James made them a quick dinner to share, Devon started playing with James' long hair. James smiled at her before he asked, "What are you doing?" "Plotting." "I don't like it when I hear that." "Well, one of us needs to be the plotter, now that you're writing days over." James blushed at the reminder of the misdeed that brought him to the moment of sitting en femme beside his wife/boss on a Friday night at home. Devon sat James up and said, "Come with me." James followed his wife into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet while she put her curling iron on. James gave her a curious look before Devon explained, "We need to play down your shoulders." "Why?" "They're a bit wide for a girl's." "So, I've noticed," James admitted. "Don't worry, some girls have big shoulders, they just need to play them down." "What does my hair have to do with that?" "You want people to look at your hair, not your shoulders," Devon answered. James nodded before Devon explained further, "You don't want your hair to fall exactly shoulder length. That just draws eyes to where your hair lands." James nodded before Devon ran her fingers through his hair and continued, "You want your hair to fall either above or below your shoulders." "You're not going to cut it?" James asked with some alarm. Devon laughed while she said, "I'll leave that to a professional and, besides, your hair falls below your shoulders." "My long, luxurious Hippie hair," James joked. "Yes, but it's too straight," Devon answered with a smile and a concerned look. James gave his wife an inquisitive look before she explained, "Straight hair, draws attention to the angles of your body. It makes you look even wider than you are." "So, I need to curl my hair" James inquired. "I wouldn't go full on curlers. I would say you need a wavy look. It will soften the appearance of your shoulders and balances out the proportionality of your body." "How long have you been planning this?" James asked as his wife took hold of her curling iron. "Since Shannon explained it to me yesterday," Devon answered. "Do your worst," James kidded. "Oh, you wouldn't want me to burn your hair...or your head, so stay still," Devon rejoined as she began to curl his hair. They made small talk while Devon added waves to his hair. She was amazed by the subtle difference it made to James' appearance. She loved the way it looked on him. James saw the eagerness in her eyes while she stood him up to inspect her work. James was shocked by how much of a difference the change to his hair made. "Wow," he said with wide eyes. "You look so hot," Devon said as she clasped her hands. "You think so?" "Yes," Devon said as she took hold of her husband's hand and started to walk towards the door. "Where are we going?" James inquired as he picked up his pace. "Don't be dense," Devon chided with a grin as her eyes continued to focus on his hair. James nodded as he finally put together his wife's clues. The curls on his head flared to the side as he rushed behind his eager wife into their bedroom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - After eating breakfast on Saturday morning, Devon smiled as she said, "Let's go food shopping." James gave his wife a confused look as he responded, "You almost seem eager about that." "I guess I am." "Why?" James asked as his heart started to race, anticipating that the normal chore had taken on new meaning for his wife. "Because this will be my last time," she countered. James nodded, understanding that if he was working as a secretary and she was the breadwinner, the task would fall on him, just as cleaning and cooking had. James followed his wife up the stairs and went to get dressed. Devon stopped him as he reached into his closet for a pair of pants. "Oh, no. That's a write-up." "We're not in the office," James countered with a whining tone that made his wife smirk. "Details," Devon rejoined with a dismissive wave of her hand before she took out a black maxi-dress that was covered with the print of large brown leaves for him. "You can't really expect me to wear that," James protested. "You want something that shows a little leg?" Devon teased. "That's not what I meant? It's too girly." "What are you talking about, Haley? You're a woman now!" "Just because I'm working as one, doesn't mean I can just go around dressed like this." "Actually, it means you must. We don't want people to get confused about what you are." "I'm a guy pretending to be a woman." "No, dear. You were a woman pretending to be a guy. I think your eyebrows and nails tell that tale," Devon retorted. James sucked his lips into his mouth as he realized his foolishness before Devon said, "Now, put on your bra and panties like a big girl and stop fighting me, okay?" "Yes, dear," James answered. "See, wasn't that better? If you just pretend that you're always at work and obey me all the time, imagine how much easier your life would be." James shrugged, believing on some level that she was right. A life without choices would certainly be easier. James put on his gaff before he slipped into a matching black bra and panty set. After he stuffed the cups of the bra with his c-cup forms, James slipped the dress over his head. He brought the soft dress down his body and watched as the hem of its gathered, flowing skirt nearly descended to his feet. James worked his arms through the long sleeves before he cinched the dress's empire waist with the attached self-tie. He paired the dress with his black, rubber wedged flip-flops with a one and a half-inch heel to ensure his dress stayed off the ground. The sound of the shoes slapping against his soles filled James' ears as he headed into the bathroom to put on his makeup and style his hair. Once he finished, James pursed his lips and laughed at his feminized reflection. He had rarely seen himself dressed so casually en femme. He found it to be an odd treat as he set out to locate his wife. Grabbing his purse, James walked into the kitchen to see his wife finishing her preparation of the grocery list. Devon smiled as she put down her pen and said, "Are you almost ready?" "I'm ready now," James answered. "Good to see you got over your early morning jitters." "No. They're still there," James replied. "Well, you hide them well." "Thanks. Are you ready to potentially humiliate me in the most mortifying way possible?" James asked, half-joking. "I was born ready," Devon responded with a smirk. James rolled his eyes in the face of his wife's declaration that he in no way doubted the validity of. He felt at ease in the soft casual dress while he strolled out of his house, following Devon to her car. As James put his purse down on the floor of the car, Devon smiled as she said, "That was something!" "What?" James asked, confused by what he had done. "You just strolled out of that house, head up; chest out, like this is the most natural thing in the world." James blushed as he realized that he had not performed his normal check for neighbors before exiting his home en femme. Devon laughed at his reaction while she noted, "It's okay. They're going to have to find out about my lesbian lover sometime." "Please don't call me that", James replied while he squirmed in his seat. "What? Are you gay?" "You know what I mean", James countered while Devon pulled her car out of he driveway. As they drove, James asked, "What store do you go to?" Devon shook her head as she answered, "You really don't know? What would you do if I died?" "Find a grocery store," James responded. Devon shook her head while she told him the store she normally went to before adding, "But that's not where we're going." "Why?" "I don't want to have to deal with all those people that know my face. I want to be anonymous." "For when they see you walking around with a tranny? "No, I've flirted with too many guys at the supermarket. I don't want them thinking I've been a lesbian all these years." "WHAT?" James shrieked. "Chill out." "You've been flirting with guys," James charged his wife. "Harmless stuff. They do it with all the pretty girls, and like you haven't done it too!" "I've never flirted with a guy," James rejoined with a serious expression. "How about a girl, other than me?" James hemmed before deciding to neither lie nor confirm his wife's belief. Devon shook her head at her husband's incriminating silence. Once the supermarket came into sight, James felt nervous. He started fidgeting in his seat. Devon ignored her husband's actions while she parked the car. She got out and motioned for him to join her. James felt exposed all over again as he stepped onto the pavement of the parking lot. While he had been in public before, he had been careful to not linger in one store for long. While his stomach fluttered, James made small talk with his wife as they walked towards the door and grabbed a shopping cart. With each step he took and word he spoke, James tried to put into practice everything the girls had drilled into him. Devon noticed his efforts to keep his body posture tall. He kept his stride small and his elbows pulled into his body in an effort to make himself appear more petite. He talked with his hands and kept a smile on his face as they came to the freezer containing the first items on her list. Devon smiled as she handed him a box of soy burgers. The forced smile left James' face as he held the box and asked, "Why not a regular burger?" "Red meat is too manly," she said with a pat on his shoulder. "Why?" "Red meat increases testosterone, soy is a phytoestrogen," Devon answered. "And that is what exactly?" James inquired while he raised his arched, manicured eyebrows. "Soy has natural hormones that mimic estrogen. They might even help fill out the cups of your bra a little bit, if you're lucky," Devon whispered her explanation with a punctuating laugh. James squirmed for a moment as he thought about having real breasts. He had always wanted them on one hand, but his better judgment had always made clear that they were impracticable. Devon licked her lips as she pointed to the grocery list and pointed out all the soy items. She then smiled as she advised, "You'll be eating a lot of phytoestrogens." James nodded to himself as he read aloud the list providing, 'soy milk, soy yogurt, soy powder, soy beans, soy cheese, tofu, soy burgers, soy sauce.' James' eyes rose to meet his wife's, glimpsing the smile that remained on her face. The grin only grew while she added, "It doesn't just stop with soy. There are hundreds of foods with it." "Oh, joy," James replied as he forced the smile back onto his face as they started walking through the supermarket while Devon directed him down the aisles. Devon showed him were each of the items were as they went through the store. As he picked up ground flaxseed, James gave his wife a curious look while he asked, "Why are we eating flaxseed? It's a seed, right?" "You used to eat sunflower seeds when you played baseball," she countered. "That's because it's baseball. It's either that or you're chewing gum or tobacco or going crazy when you're not up at bat." "Well, flaxseed is full of healthy fat and super high in phytoestrogens. If you want a fuller rack, they're the best thing to sprinkle in yogurt and salads." "You're really pushing this," James countered. "I'm not pushing anything. It's who you are, now, and a girl's got to watch her figure," Devon rejoined. James nodded, acknowledging the latter was true. He knew by the rest of the list that his wife had given him that he was certainly stuck on a healthy diet full of dried prunes, peaches, winter squash, green beans, collard greens, raspberries, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, lentils and healthy fats. There was nothing remotely manly about the foods that she was making him buy. As they continued through the store filling the cart, they came to a stop before the yams. James furrowed his brow as he looked at the number of yams she had written down on the sheet. "Who eats this many yams?" James asked. "You," Devon answered. "Me?" "Sure, they're the best food for girls like you; wild yams are even used for female hormone balancing." James could only nod before they finished food shopping and went to the cashier. After they paid, they went back home. Devon ordered James about the kitchen as he put away the groceries before she talked him through making their lunch. Once they ate and James finished cleaning up, Devon told him that they were going clothes shopping. James gave her a curious look before she explained that he needed to diversify his wardrobe to ensure that he did not end up wearing the same things week after week. James accepted the statement and was excited about the prospect of adding to his new wardrobe, even as he knew he risked further exposure by shopping en femme. After James paused to touch up his makeup, Devon led the way to the car before she drove them to the outlet store that she liked to shop at. James' stomach churned as he thought about what awaited him. He wondered if the women there would be the ones to see through his feminine fa?ade. It was a familiar doubt that had yet to be validated, which made him feel slightly more reassured. As he talked with his wife during the car trip, James tried to reaffirm that he looked like a girl. If no one had realized he was a man before, he wondered why the people in this store would be any different. With that thought in mind, James took a few deep breaths as his heart rate started to slow. It began to rise again while Devon pulled into the parking lot. She parked a few stalls and a drive aisle away from the door. They exited the car together, each slogging their bags on their arms. They walked into the store and James followed his wife's lead. As Devon walked slightly in front of him, she turned to her husband to note, "Your biggest problem is your shoulders." "What's wrong with them?" "They're big for a girl's." "So, you've told me," James reminded her. "They're not impossibly big. Some girls have big shoulders, but you have to minimize them." "So, what does that mean, other than curling my hair?" "Don't wear spaghetti tops and strapless tops." "Not really an issue," James said with blushing cheeks and a laugh. "Well, there's a little more to it than that." "Are you going to tell me?" "No. It'll be more fun for me to just correct you," Devon replied with a grin. "So considerate," James joked. "We're shopping for you today. I need to have some fun." James nodded before his wife smiled at the dress she picked up. She held up against James and said, "This will work." "Why?" "It's a scoop neck." "So?" "You want your neckline to be rounded. It helps to slim your shoulders. So do vertical lines, like V-necks and halter tops." "I don't have the bust for those," James countered. "Give it time," Devon replied. The words sent a shiver up James' spine as he wondered if his wife was serious about giving him real breasts. Devon continued, "You have a medium frame, so you're going to stay with those C-Cups. I wouldn't want your tits bigger than mine anyway." "Could you keep it down," James pleaded, not wanting people to overhear his wife dictating the size of his breasts. "So, why else is this perfect?" Devon asked as she continued to hold up the dress. "I don't know." "Take a guess." "Because it's a little black dress." A smile came to Devon's face as she replied, "So very close. It's because it's dark, period. Dark colors have a slimming effect on everyone. And what else?" "I really don't have a clue," James admitted. "Look at the sleeves. They don't cut horizontally, there's no puff. There's nothing there to make your biceps look bigger." "I didn't realize they were big." "They're no 24-inch pythons, but they're not as girly as I'd like, but we'll make a 97-pound weakling out of you yet." James was confused by his smiling wife's declaration before she continued, "These have a nice diagonal cut, which is slimming. Three- quarter sleeves will work for you too." "I'll keep that in mind." "See that you do, because you're picking out the rest of your clothes," Devon said as she handed the dress to James. Devon led James over to a rack of skirts and said, "What's the best choice?" James looked over the various prints and said, "Not the leopard print." "You're right, for the wrong reasons." James furrowed his brow before Devon explained, "You're right because you're not 24 years old. You're wrong, because the principle of the print is right." "What the hell does that mean?" James demanded to know. "It's called deflection. It's like a magic trick. You want people to pay attention to something else. You wear a printed or embellished bottom and nobody's looking at your shoulders, they're checking out your legs or cute butt." "Is it cute?" James asked as he looked over his shoulder. "Don't get a big head," Devon chided. "Sorry," James replied. "That fit and flare dress you wore on yesterday. That's the right idea too. You want a flare out to balance out your shoulders." "Then, what's with the midi-dress day, the..." "Variety is the spice of life, Haley," Devon counseled. "Right," James replied with half-mocking sarcasm. "Besides, a gathered, pleated or A-line skirt will do just as well as a flare." "But yet you make me wear a straight dress," James teased. Devon scrunched her face before she said, "I'll talk to Shannon about it." "Please," James replied with a smile. "Watch it or it'll be Slutty French Maid Monday," Devon said with a scowl. "You wouldn't?" James rejoined. "You want to bet?" Devon countered as she glanced down at his hemline to remind him of what she was capable of getting him to do. "Anyway, you want to balance out your outfits. Don't pair a short skirt with a short top. You'll look like a slut. If you go tight on your top and bottom, you'll look like a sausage." "So, don't dress like a slutty sausage. Got it!" "And don't dress like a nun either," Devon rejoined. "Don't dress like a slutty nun with a sausage. Got it," James kidded. "Stop doing that," Devon said with a laugh and a shake of her head. Devon then made James put her advice into practice. He picked out a few outfits based on the parameters she set before she sent him into the dressing room. James felt like a pervert as he entered the dressing room. His heart raced as he saw a girl look at him. He fretted, 'She knows I don't belong here.' The sickness in his stomach subsided while the girl flashed him a smile before she walked past him. "Thank God," James muttered, sensing that the girl had seen him as another girl. James stepped inside an open stall and put on the dress that Devon selected first. James' hands trembled as he was stripped down to his obvious shape wear. He hoped that no security guard was looking into the stall at that moment. He quickly put on the dress and felt his heart stop racing as he brought up the zipper. He smiled as he checked his appearance in the mirror before he stepped out to be judged by Devon. Devon gave compliments to her selection. He then went back in and put on another outfit for Devon. Devon gave her opinion on the outfit before he repeated the process a few more times. Once he finished, Devon set aside the clothing she did not like on him and made him carry the rest as they went to the jewelry department. "I don't want anything expensive," James whined. "Good, I was only thinking about buying you junk," Devon retorted as she handed him a chunky bracelet. "Isn't this a little large?" "By comparison to what I wear?" Devon inquired. "Yah." "That's because I'm thinner. You're too big to wear anything as dainty as this," Devon explained as she pointed at her small, golden bracelet. "You're going to only wear big earrings too," Devon added. James nodded as he reached for a chunky necklace, prompting Devon to blurt out, "But not a necklace!" "Why?" "Because you want a long necklace to create vertical lines to slim your upper body." "This is getting confusing." "Well, you're the one that wanted to be a woman, Haley. The rest of us didn't have a choice," Devon countered with a grin. Once they picked out a few pieces of jewelry for James, they went and selected a single-breasted jacket with a narrow collar and lapels before they started towards the shoe department. Devon had James select a number of pairs of rounded toe heels with a medium thick heel before they went to the cashier. After the purchases were paid for, James and Devon started back to the car. They put away the bags and drove back to their home. Devon stood over James' shoulder as he carefully put away each new item he had purchased. Once he finished, James went down stairs to start making their dinner under Devon's tutelage. Devon smiled as she saw James rushing around the kitchen while he tried to keep up with her every order. The sound of his low heels clicking on the floor and the hurried look on his face made her want to laugh. She cursed herself for not exploiting his cross-dressing years earlier. It would have saved her thousands of hours of chores and been much more entertaining. They ate the meal together before James cleaned up and joined his wife in the living room. She selected a movie to watch before they caught up on some shows she had taped and went to bed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - As Devon stirred on Sunday morning, she nudged her husband. James groaned while he rolled back over, trying to fall back to sleep. "Wake up! It's a new morning for you, Haley." "What?" James asked with a groggy voice as he saw the early hour on the alarm clock. "It's time for church." "I don't go to church," James replied. "No, my husband didn't go to church, but my sweet little Haley is a God-fearing woman," Devon countered, adopting a southern accent to tease him further. "You don't want me to go with you." "I always wanted you to go with me," Devon retorted before adding, "Now, I have leverage." James shook his head at his wife, before Devon continued, "It's either you go with me, or I'm going to sign you up to work in a soup kitchen. I'm sure the homeless men won't be leering too much at you in that skin-tight sweater dress I've been holding back for you for just that occasion." James' eyes widened as he sat up. Devon smiled at his response as she said, "I knew that would motivate you. That's why I'm a born coach." James forced himself out of bed before he saw the outfit that Devon had left out for him. James gave his wife a curious look before she explained, "It's your Sunday best. I got it especially for you." "What decade is this?" "For you, the 1950's," Devon answered before adding, "So, don't question your husband!" James shook his head before he showered. Once he made sure that his body was free of hair, he put on his foundation garments and a pair of nude, sheer pantyhose before he stepped into the pale blue, dress. By the time his hands had made their way through the ruffled three- quarter sleeves, Devon was standing behind him. "Let me help you with that", she whispered into his ear before she brought the center back zipper up his spine. "You look delectable", she cooed as her hands rested on his padded out rear. "You know, we don't need to go to church today. I can make you scream oh, God, without all that..." "That's naughty talk. That's why my little devil in a blue dress needs a little church in her life. If she had it before, she might have known right and wrong and might still be able to pretend to be a man", Devon retorted, shutting down James' latest effort to get out of going to church. James hung his head while she buttoned the broach on his shawl collar. Devon gave him an approving smile before she stepped away from him to continue getting ready herself. Feeling frustrated by his wife's teasing, James tried to put the feelings she aroused in him out mind while he went to apply his makeup and style his hair. As he put his brush down, James stared into the mirror. The girl staring back at him in the pretty, sheath silhouette dress caught him off guard. While he had seen himself en femme countless times, he had never felt as pretty as he was in the pale blue dress that Devon had selected. The smile on his face grew as he looked himself over. He struck a few different poses before he heard his wife stirring about. James tore himself away from his reflection to start towards the front door with his heels in his hands. After grabbing his pocketbook, James bent down to slip on his greige, patent leather, sling-back, 3- inch heeled, rounded-toe pumps before stepping out the front door. Devon beeped her horn as James approached the car. James shot his laughing wife a glare as he motioned for her to keep it down. "Move it, toots," Devon called out of the car. James drew open the car door and swung his legs into the car together. He shook his head and said with a glare, "You don't have to be an ass." "But where would the fun be in not being one," Devon joked. "You could get me killed." "Who's going to kill a pretty girl like you?" "Someone who knows I'm not a pretty girl." "Then, they must be blind." "Devon, everyone here knows me." "And I know them. I'm the only one up this time of day, well, except you now," Devon responded. James hoped she was right while they made their way down the road. As they passed by the exit for the church Devon went to, James said, "You missed your exit." "Did I?" "Yes," James replied with a curious expression. "I thought we'd try somewhere knew for a change." "Did you change churches?" "As of today," Devon answered. "Why?" "It's the same denomination, Haley. I just want to make sure that no one knows you where we're going." "You didn't seem to care about that back at work." "That's different. Shannon's not God." "You make me treat her like one." "No. I make you treat her like a goddess. That's different," Devon countered her husband. James rolled his eyes before Devon pulled off on an exit. James looked around while Devon continued down the roadway. Shortly thereafter, they got out and headed into the church. James gave the few volunteers in the church that greeted them a wary look. Their kindness, however, disarmed him by the time they made their way into a pew. James felt like sleeping as the sermon was given. He was eager to leave when the service was over, but Devon forced him to introduce himself to other parishioners. James swallowed his distaste for his situation and forced a smile to his face while he introduced himself as Haley Ambrose to dozens of fellow worshipers. While they greeted him with warm welcomes, he felt like a fraud, lying about his name and who he was. He wanted to tell them the truth, but he knew it would not go over well. Instead, he resolved to hate himself in silence, knowing that he was likely going to be seeing them weekly going forward. Once they returned home from church, James made breakfast and spent his day cleaning up around the home. The cleaning was only broken up by the break he took to make and eat lunch. James rested at the end of the day after getting Devon and his outfits ready for the next day. The following morning, James returned to work in a midi-dress. After a first thing inspection by Shannon and getting cups of coffee for the girls, Shannon and Devon sat James down in the conference room to go over the new ground rules in the office. James was confused to find that there was going to be even more for him to remember. Shannon smiled as she said, "While you're becoming more presentable as a woman, you need to work on your deportment." "What are you thinking?" James asked. The smile remained on Shannon's face as she turned to Devon. Devon gave Shannon an approving nod before she continued, "There are two primary rules. First, you must always obey your employer's demands." "Oh, that'll be a hard one," James joked as he looked at his wife who had gotten him into working as her fulltime, skirted secretary. Shannon smirked at his response before she added, "Second, you must always address all superiors appropriately, Ma'am, Sir, Ms. or Mr." "My superiors?" "You know any man or woman that walks through the door and us, of course." "You want me to call my wife, Ma'am?" James asked with exasperation. "Hell, no. You're going to still call me Ms. Hart," Devon rejoined. Shannon gave her a surprised look before she asked, "Any further questions?" "No, Ma'am," James answered. "You always were a fast learner, Haley," Shannon responded with an approving nod. James spent the day trying to work in compliance with the new rules into his workday. The girls tested him throughout the day. He messed up Shannon's title a few times, earning him more demerits. Once the workday came to an end, Devon took James to a salon. James was worried about how he would fit in such a female environment. He would be forced to interact with other women. He figured that it was his greatest chance for exposure. James walked into the salon with a knot in his stomach. His eyes darted around the place before Devon said hello to the receptionist. The girl greeted Devon warmly before her eyes trained on James. "Is this the lovely Haley you've been promising us?" The receptionist asked. The statement made several of the salon workers turn towards her. James felt that he was being scrutinized. He wondered how much his wife had said about them. His stomach sank as he saw the inspecting the looks he was receiving. James did not have long to think about it before the shampoo girl came over and introduced herself. "So, who wants to go first?" "Take, Haley. It's her first time here," Devon answered. "Oh, a first timer. I'll be gentle," the shampoo girl joked. James nodded as he went along with the girl. She sat him down in front of the sink before James rested his head back beneath the faucet. The girl warmed the water before she began to rinse his hair. She ran her fingers through his hair and worked her fingers into his scalp. James felt a tingle run through his body as he enjoyed the feeling of his scalp being massaged before the girl worked the shampoo through his hair. Once the girl finished, she rinsed the shampoo from his hair. She pressed a towel into James' long hair before she led him over to the hairdresser. James sat down at the station before the stylist put a cape over him. She ran her fingers through his hair as she looked him over and said, "Devon, told me all about you." "She did?" James asked with evident nervousness. The hairdresser noticed it as she answered, "Don't worry, you're in good hands." James nodded before the stylist said, "Don't move your head. I want to cut anything I'm not supposed to." "Sorry," James replied. "Don't worry about it," the girl replied before she began to shapeup James' hair. James watched as the girl worked on his hair before his wife was seated beside him. The stylists worked on both of their heads at neighboring stations. James snuck his wife looks, while she did the same. Devon talked more with her stylist than James did. He was too nervous about what the hairdresser would say. As the girl neared the end of James' cut, she asked, "So, how long have you been living as Haley?" James' stomach sank anew as he realized that his wife had told the staff all about him. James stammered before he said, "A few weeks." "She's a new girl," Devon added. "Yes," James replied with blushing cheeks. "Well, you look like you've been a girl for years," the stylist said to reassure him. "She's been a girl forever. You should hear her whine," Devon joked. The girls in the shop laughed as James joined them. He was too nervous to laugh for real, but he faked it as best he could. The girl continued to walk around him, trimming away hairs before she blew James' hair dry. The stylist finished nearly simultaneously with the completion of Devon's haircut. After paying for the haircuts and tipping the hairdressers, James and Devon headed home. James made a quick dinner before they relaxed for the rest of the night. As James arrived to work on Tuesday morning with his wife, Shannon greeted James with a compliment about his hair. James thanked her before he got to work. The workday then continued like the others before. It was the same the next day and the following weeks. The initial exhilaration James felt about living as a woman was soon consumed by the monotony of the routine. It was becoming similar to the feelings he had as a man, except everything was harder and he had less control over his situation. Getting up earlier each morning to shower, do his makeup, style his hair and make sure his wife's needs were met was leaving him tired throughout the day. He tried to compensate by drinking more coffee, but that made for little improvement and more frequent trips to the ladies' room. The morning routine of dressing was stressful as he knew that everything had to be just so or he would get more demerits from his wife and Shannon. James grew paranoid that every curl of his eyelashes, every pencil mark around his eyes and every smack of his lips to dry his lipstick would be the one that resulted in the error the girls would find. And find they did. The girls never let a week go without pointing out at least two demerits in his outfit and deportment. James feared that he would never get it down to the point where he could consistently meet the girls' high standards for his femininity. The heavy bag he slogged out of and into Devon's car each morning and evening was becoming more of a chore. He never realized how much easier it was just to have pockets in his pants. The girls prodded him to complain about the unfairness of how much stuff he had to carry around in comparison to what a guy had to carry. They enjoyed hearing it from the lips of a former man who realized too late that his fantasy was just that. The reality of being a woman was far more burdensome than James ever would have liked to think. Whenever James was sent out to do chores, he felt eyes upon him. He knew that the clicks of his heels were a dead give away for men. Their heads would inevitably turn to give him a look. Some were fleeting, others, however, were outright leers that made him uncomfortable. There was no respite at home, as he was living as Haley 24/7. In addition to his chores at home, that meant that his wife was pushing him at the home gym as well. He joined her for her workouts, where he did squat upon squat to tone, tighten and enlarge his butt and cardio exercise to drop more weight off his already trim frame. As the last day of his first month as a secretary arrived, James woke up to see his wife's smiling face staring down at him. James jumped up in bed, startled by the look he was receiving. "What the hell is going on?" James asked. "It's the end of the month. Shannon and I tallied up all of your demerits." "Okay," James replied as he rubbed his eyes and felt a rumble in his stomach. "You earned a big 111 of them." "Shit," James muttered. "Make that 112, that was unlady like." "You curse all the time, and we're not at work." "Don't bore me with the details, Haley," Devon rejoined. "So, what does it all mean?" "It means that you need to be punished." "How?" "A 112 ways," Devon answered. James shook his head, as he repeated his demand for more information, "How?" "We're going to add something to every part of you, a hundred and twelve times." "That's impossible," James replied. "Oh, you should know by now that I love proving you wrong, dear," Devon retorted before she ordered James out of bed. James went into the shower and washed himself before Devon came into the bathroom to blow out his hair. James could never remember his hair looking bigger as he walked into the master bedroom to join his wife to find out his punishment. James' eyes widened as he looked at the various items that were covering his bed. He gave his wife a stare as he asked, "Are you trying to make me look like a hooker?" "It wouldn't be a punishment if you weren't uncomfortable," Devon answered. James shook his head before his wife chided him for dawdling as she handed him a pair of black fishnet pantyhose. James was not happy about wearing them. He preferred the look of sheer or opaque hosiery on his legs, feeling it was more appropriate for a woman his age. In his mind, patterned tights were for the young and fishnets were for working a street corner or dock. James rolled the pantyhose down and brought them up his legs. He grimaced at the way they looked as he straightened the hosiery over his legs before he stood up and shimmied them over his hips. James took hold of the bra next. He realized that it was a size bigger than he normally wore. Devon laughed at her husband's nervous look as he looked at the double D label. She laughed as she said, "That's right; today, you're going up from Can't Complain to Double Damns." "This is really going to draw attention," James groused with a scowl. "Welcome to the club, sister," Devon teased. "Your breasts aren't..." Devon gave him a glare before he added, "Not that there's anything wrong with your breasts. I love your breasts. They're fun size." Devon shook her head at her husband's fumbling attempt to not offend her. She muttered before she said, "Get your breasts. I can't look at you like this." "Like what?" "A white woman with no breasts, you may as well be Justin Bieber!" "I'm nothing like him," James retorted as he hooked his bra. James took hold of the large breast forms and forced one into each cup. James winced as he did so, feeling the bra straps dig into his sides while he stuffed them. Even once they were in, the bra felt too tight. "What the fuck?" James muttered as he tried to adjust the bra to relieve the pressure. Devon laughed at his futile efforts before she explained, "An ill- fitting bra is just another punishment." James gave his wife a crestfallen look as he realized that he was going to be dealing with the feeling the entire workday. Devon laughed before she said, "Cheer up, you only got like another 105 punishments left." "How do you figure?" "Well, there's 5 in your chest alone. One for each cup and form, plus the too tight bra equals five. Add another 1 for the hosiery and that equals 6 and, when you add in the big hair, that equals 7." James nodded his head as he looked down at his dress. The dress was a bad fit for his body type, but he had no doubt that was why his wife selected it for his punishment. After stepping into the dress, James forced his arms through the holes of the sleeveless dress. His wife smiled as she walked behind him and zipped up the hidden closure in the back. She then buttoned the closure of the dress behind his neck. Devon helped James adjust the short fit and flare dress that barely met the middle of his thighs. Devon's fingers lingered along the dress's jewel neckline before she gave James' faux bust a squeeze. "Al Franken got in big trouble for that," James reminded his wife. "Because he's not a woman," Devon countered. "That's a double standard." "Well, you can benefit from it too, Double D!" "Please don't call me that." "Mmm..., but you look so good," Devon teased. "I'd thank you not to leer at me like that," James joked in response, trying to calm himself. "You look too good not to." "I look like a hooker," James rejoined. "That's good enough for any sailor," Devon kidded with a laugh. "This isn't funny." "Well, not for you. It wouldn't be a punishment if it was." "Do I really have to do this?" "Yes, but this could be a one-time thing if you stopped trying to rack up demerits," Devon lectured. "I've been trying not to," James whined. "Stop whining! We've got too many punishments left to deal with," Devon retorted. James threw his arms down to his side as he relented. Devon walked towards his hair with a hair clip that was covered by a large, fake white orchid flower. Devon smiled as she said, "This is technically bridal, but that's not something we have to worry about spoiling for you, is it?" "No. I'll never be a bride." "Unless you leave me for some nice man..." "That will NEVER happen!" "I hope so, but when you're dressed like this, I have my doubts." "You dressed me like this," James countered. "Again, boring me with the details, Haley," Devon retorted. James shook his head before he caught a glimpse of the flower in his hair. James gave the flowered adorned hair clip a glare. He shook his head as he touched the flower and protested, "This isn't bridal. I'm not a fifteen-year-old girl!" "Then, you need to act and dress like a big girl," Devon rejoined. James scowled while his wife moved around his sides to put large, gold hoop earrings into both his ears. She patted his shoulder as she said, "And that's another two punishments down." James nodded before Devon set about continuing his makeover for the day. She put a pair of blue color contacts in his eyes before she applied his makeup with a heavy hand around his eyes. She matted on the mascara until it clumped. She painted his lips a bright red and added bright red blush to his face that she did nothing to blend. Devon took out a box of press on nails and applied them to James' fingertips. James grimaced at the long, neon pink nails, which looked out of place on his hands. With his nails attended to, Devon handed James the last piece of his outfit. James gazed at the 6-inch-high heeled shoes with a gaping mouth. "I can't walk in these," James protested. "Oh, you've been a quick learner." James shook his head as he looked over the 2' platform of the black stilettos. "Dawdling won't save you," Devon reminded her husband. James felt that there was an air of a threat in her tone. Not wanting to get any deeper in the hole, James put on the shoes and stood up. Devon took him by the hand and brought him over to her full-length mirror. James cringed as he gawked at his reflection. "So, how do you think you look?" Devon asked while James continued to gaze in the mirror. "Like a blue-eyed bimbo." "And you thought you'd look like a whore," Devon joked with a shake of her head. "Oh, I do. The five-dollar type," James countered. "Well, we'll let Shannon be the judge of that." "Great," James replied with evident sarcasm before he followed Devon to the kitchen. They ate before James touched up his makeup. After taking hold of their purses, they made their way towards the car. James felt exposed by the short hemline and the exposure of the skin on his back, shoulders, arms and legs. As James sat down in the car, his heart was racing. Devon could sense his nervousness. Once she pulled out of the driveway, Devon said, "You seem worried." "How could I not be?" "Well, now, you know the foolishness of not trying your best. "I was trying my best," James rejoined, unable to hide how upset he was about the insinuation and the punishments she had fostered on him. "Well, you have to try harder." "You can't give more than a 100 percent." "You have to or you'll get another 100 punishments." "All of this stuff can't equal a hundred," James countered as he looked down at his body. "Oh, so you want more?" Devon inquired with a smirk. James' mouth promptly shut and remained closed until they reached the office. He feared what the girls would do once they cornered him in their suite. Things had already gone far further than in his fantasies that, now, struck him as quaint. As Devon parked the car, James gave her a pleading look. She smiled while she said, "Time to head on in." "I can't do this", James whined. "Oh, I think you can. You just put one foot in front of the other." "I look like a..." "Slut! Bimbo! Yup, that's the point. If you want to be comfortable with being a girl, you'd better be good at it." Before James could respond, Devon stepped out of the car and motioned for him to follow her. James struggled to keep his emotions in check as he opened his car door and swung his legs out together. The sound of his heels pounding on the pavement seemed louder than ever to James. While he was sure it was in his mind, he saw the eyes of some of the building's tenants upon him. He felt exposed as he saw their wide-eyed stares. His mind raced as he assumed they believed he was a prostitute accompanying his wife to work that morning. As they entered the office, whatever relief James felt dissipated as he saw that Shannon was lying in wait for them. She smirked as she looked at James' blushing cheeks and said, "Look at what the cat dragged in!" Her eyes gazed at James' squirming body from head to toe. James waited for her to say something before she said, "Well, it seems that you've complied with everything you need for today." "Oh, I made sure of it," Devon noted. Shannon nodded as she said, "This has made a nice dent in diminishing her stockpile of write-ups." "Well, we both know there's more." "Yup, but those will be quick to deal with." James' heart started to race as Shannon walked around him in a circle looking him up and down as she did most days. She gazed into his eyes as she asked, "Did Devon tell you how else you'll be paying for your graceless oafishness?" "No, Ma'am," James replied in a weak voice to his former secretary's inquiry. "Breast implants are the starting point," Shannon explained. "WHAT?" James yelled. "That was unlady like," Shannon retorted. "A definite demerit," Devon added. "You can't be serious," James pleaded. "Questioning her superior, that's another demerit," Devon advised. James shook his head as he gazed at the two women with astonishment. He crossed his arms over his false bust before he asked, "May I speak?" "I'll allow it," Shannon answered with a grin. "I can't get breast implants!" "And why is that?" "Because underneath all of this, I'm still a guy," James explained. The girls laughed before Devon rejoined, "Haley, that part of your life is over. You know that." While he had been told that, the reality of the situation was finally bearing down on him. There was not going to be a reprieve. The punishment was a life sentence. He was Haley Ambrose for life. His manhood swelled at the idea. He felt that his arousal was a betrayal of himself as he hung his head. Devon broke up his self-pity by noting, "It will get rid of your demerits quick." Shannon nodded as she added, "Yup, a demerit will be eliminated for each cup size you go up per breast. So, with the C-cups Devon picked, that's three demerits extinguished on each side of your chest right there." James stared blankly ahead of him before his eyes veered down at the faux breast that he knew would soon give way to fake breasts he would not be able to take off to shower. Devon caught his lingering stare at his chest and noted, "It will also get rid of that worry you had." "What worry?" James asked. "That the girls at the salon would be able to look down your top and know that you're not really a girl." James nodded in response to his wife's answer before she continued, "Plus, you'll be getting rid of more demerits with them." "How?" James asked with some hesitation. "Well, you'll be the one telling the doctor that you want implants. So, that will get rid of one demerit, and every consent and waiver you sign will make up for another demerit." "You might walk out of this with a clean slate," Shannon interjected. "And luscious titties as big as mine," Devon joked. James was terrified about the prospect, even as it made him aroused to think about having breasts of his own. There seemed to be a degree of finality to it. He shook his head as he said, "I can't go in for an operation..." "It's a very simple procedure," Devon interjected. "But it's life changing," James whined. Shannon gave him a dismissive look as she said, "They're implants. They come out as easy as they go in." James shook his head at her response, feeling it was not nearly as easy as she explained it. He knew that there would be incisions in both breasts. That alone would leave him with telltale scars about what had been on his chest forever. "But the scars..." "They diminish over time," Devon counseled. "But...," James tried to protest again. Devon put a stop to it as she said, "This is your fault, Haley. You wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't done such a poor job being a woman." "If you keep that up, you'll end up a real one," Shannon interjected. James' head jerked towards Shannon's smirking face as she teased further, "Snip, Snip." James' manhood swelled at the idea of its own destruction to his horror, even while his stomach sank. His hands fell towards his crotch as his brain knew that it wanted to preserve the part of him that was allowing his punishment to continue. The girls sensed his discomfort and laughed at his reaction to grab for his smoothened crotch. Devon shook her head before she remarked, "Don't worry, baby, I'll never let her do that." James felt a sense of relief as Devon added with a shake of her head, "I don't want to be the penetrator. They're the ones that always get in trouble." With that comment, the conversation ended. They then all got to their work. Despite his outfit, the day proceeded as normal. James made sure to avoid any liquids to ensure that he did not need to use the bathroom. While the urge came past midday, he forced himself to hold it as he did not want anyone to see him that did not have to. As the end of the workday neared, Devon told him to shut down his computer. "But we're open for another 30 minutes," James rebutted. "Shannon can handle it," Devon noted. James nodded as he complied with his order and followed Devon out of the office. He felt exposed again as he walked through the building and parking lot. James felt relieved to be in the car again and took a few deep breaths. He slunk down in his seat, hoping to hide himself from the view of anybody they passed that day. As they made their way home, Devon veered off the highway to head to a connector road. James' eyes widened as he asked, "What are you doing?" "I told you we were going to see a surgeon?" "Today?" James asked with alarm, shocked by the suddenness of it. "Yah. You need a consultation so that he knows what he's dealing with." James felt relieved that the surgery was not that day, but was mortified about the prospect of being seen by more people dressed as he was at the moment. He fidgeted in his seat while Devon told him about the surgeon. James nodded as he listened to the details about the plastic surgeon before Devon parked in the parking lot. James was relieved that there was no one in the parking lot while they headed inside. Once they entered the office, James followed his wife to the receptionist. As Devon signed them in, James saw the receptionist give him a sneer over his outfit. She quickly forced herself to hide her displeasure, but James knew what the woman had to be thinking about him. James tried to put it out of mind as he took the bathroom key from the receptionist and hurried to the ladies' room. James unlocked the door and rushed towards an open stall as he tottered on his too high heels. James hiked up the short skirt of his dress as he pulled down his gaff and fishnets. He felt an instant sense of relief while he released what he had been holding in for hours. James breathed a few sighs of relief as he went before he stood up and flushed the toilet. He then washed his hands and touched up his makeup before he walked back into the reception area. After sitting beside his calm wife for a few minutes, James and Devon were called into see the surgeon. James walked behind his wife into the office and shook hands with the man. James was surprised that the man offered no visual reaction to his appearance. James sat down in front of the surgeon's desk. He made small talk with the man for a few moments before the doctor asked what procedures he was there to discuss. James gave his wife a glance. She nodded in response before James forced himself to say, "I would like to get breast implants." "That's a very common procedure for our transitioning community and women in general for that matter," the surgeon replied in a calm voice. James nodded, understanding that he was lumped in with both of those groups for the foreseeable future and likely the remainder of his life. James was then forced to specify the size his wife had selected for him. The surgeon took notes before he began to explain the procedure and how it would affect James' body. The risks and complications were detailed next, forcing James to confront the fact that it was anything but the easy procedure that Shannon had flippantly described his breast augmentation to be. James crossed his legs while he tried to keep up a brave face. "Are you sure you want to do this?" The surgeon asked once he finished. James looked at his wife. Again, Devon responded with a nod. "Yes," James replied as he looked the surgeon in the eye, knowing that at least a part of him was in favor of the surgery. The surgeon said, "Okay, let's get started then." "What?" James asked, alarmed by the prospect of same day surgery. "You'll need to fill out some forms and disclosures, and we'll schedule you for the procedure," the surgeon explained to James' relief. James thanked the surgeon before James was given the forms to complete. James worked on the forms with Devon and returned them to the surgeon's staff for processing before they made an appointment and headed out the door. The date of the appointment a few weeks later hung-over James' head as he got into the car. He swung his legs in together and closed the door. Devon's talking distracted him before he realized that they were not heading home. James clasped his hands as he fretted, 'Where else is she taking me like this?' James did not want to let another person see him as a transvestite slut. Devon sensed his fear as he asked, "Where are we going?" "Home." "But this isn't..." "I know. It was another punishment. I'm taking the long way. I just wanted you to think about more people seeing this version of you. Maybe now you'll start living up to your potential." "Yes, Ms. Hart. Thank you," James forced himself to reply before blushing at the fact that he was speaking to his wife in such a way by force of habit. James worked a few weeks in the office as Haley. He received at least one write-up a day while the surgery loomed over him. As the day neared, the reality of the situation began to distract James, resulting in an increase in his demerits. "Well, at least you'll be a more a realistic bimbo soon enough," Shannon teased with a sneer as he made another mistake the day prior to his surgery. The next day, James went to the plastic surgeon's office with Devon. They signed in and waited for him to be taken to be prepped for the procedure. James felt nervous about everything, but tried to hide it from the staff. As he was started to be put under, one of the nurses said, "Don't worry, every girl gets a little nervous, but this will all be over soon." James nodded before she told him to count backwards from ten. James followed her direction and soon found his eyes closing. As he came out of his anesthesia, James blinked his eyes. He felt disoriented as he felt the discomfort on his bandaged chest. "Shit. This was real," he muttered, remembering that he was no longer James Ambrose, acclaimed author and businessman, but Haley Ambrose, secretary. It was not long before he was discharged with instructions that Devon would ensure he followed to the letter. James dressed in a loose- fitting, zip-front, pink hoodie and left with Devon. Devon left James at home to deal with his convalescence. James felt relieved that she and Shannon were at least giving him time off to deal with his recovery. James took pain pills throughout the recovery period. Despite it, he managed to keep the home tidied and meals on the table, even as he made sure not to lift anything heavy. From time to time, James found himself laughing at the life he was living with his wife at work and him at home. It was similar to many of the housewife fantasies he had over the years, but, as with most of his new life, it was far less exciting in reality than it was in his imagination. Still, he could not help but leer at his augmented chest. The bandaged bumps were a constant reminder of his new self. From the discomfort from the healing, to the change in the center of his gravity to the way they ended up pressed into his bed or getting the way of some movement of his arm, they were impossible for him to ignore. As the Sunday before his return to work came, Devon told him it was time to end his isolation. James was nervous about having to return to the outside world sporting a pair of real C-cup breasts, but he knew he could not put it off forever. James got dressed for church and was relieved that the top was as concealing as the dresses he normally wore to church. If anything, he thought that it was less figure-flattering and drew less attention to his new breasts. The parishioners were the normal mix of kind, quiet and half-asleep that he had become accustomed to dealing with. James was relieved that no one said one word about his breasts. The realization that they were no more noticeable than his forms had been was a soothing thought for James. After leaving the church service, they went to grab breakfast at a diner. James continued to feel uncomfortable as his ill-fitting bra dug into his sides as he ate. Once they finished eating, Devon told him, "I have a surprise for you." James gave her a nervous look, knowing how her surprises had already shaped his life so far. Devon smiled as she noted, "I'm taking you for your first professional bra fitting." "Is that necessary?" James asked, embarrassed by the prospect. "Do you keep pulling at your bra?" Devon retorted. James nodded before Devon said, "Wouldn't it be better if you could be comfortable in your bra?" 'It would be better if I didn't need one,' James thought before he forced himself to agree with his wife's conclusion. James soon found himself going into a store with his wife and heading to see a salesgirl in the intimates' section. She brought him back into a dressing room before James was told to remove his top. As he did so, James understood why his wife had selected a below the knee, black skirt and white, eyelet blouse for him that day instead of the type of demure dress he normally wore to Sunday services. James then stood and waited for the woman to take his measurements. James felt uncomfortable as the first stranger cast her eyes upon his new breasts. He felt like a freak. In his mind, he was a man with full c-cup breasts, but on the other hand, he sensed that such thoughts were folly. He was certain that he was no longer a man. Given the punishment he had agreed to, he almost doubted that he ever was one to begin with. He knew that on some level he wanted everything that had happened to him. He fantasized about all of it. And, just as in his fantasies, he was in no control over any of it. The woman moved towards him and situated a tape measurer under his arms. James watched as the salesgirl brought the tape measurer level with where his bra straps met his bra before she measured his chest circumference just above his augmented breasts. After jotting down the measurement, the woman said, "Please stand up straight, honey." "Certainly," James replied in his feminine tone while he followed her direction. The woman smiled as she brought the tape measurer parallel to the floor and measured the fullest part of his bust. As her hands left his bust, she wrote down the measurement before she subtracted his band size from his bust size. As she looked over the numbers, she smiled and said, "I'm going to get a few compression bras in your size to try on." "What's a compression bra?" James asked. "It's what you're wearing right now. I see it all the time when girls have the surgery to give themselves a little more confidence." "She's definitely more confident," Devon chimed in. James shook his head with a smile at his wife while the woman scurried out of the room. She came back soon thereafter holding a few compression bras that were in the resulting size from her calculations. James tried each bra on and was surprised by how good they felt on him. The salesgirl beamed at her work, always taking pride in making a girl feel more comfortable in her skin. After they finished, James redressed and they paid the salesgirl for the bras, tipped her for her service and headed out of the store. Devon smiled at James as she said, "So, was that really that bad?" James laughed as he said, "She couldn't have been more professional." "That's her job. She knows what she's doing and how she gets paid." "I wish everyone was like that," James admitted. "Well, I can't wait until you show off your new rack to Shannon tomorrow." "Please don't remind me," James said with a shake of his head and blushing cheeks. "Oh, she's very eager to see them," Devon teased. James' cheeks continued to blush as he knew it was certainly true. The next morning, James walked into his bedroom to get dressed for work and saw the outfit that Devon had selected for him. His jaw dropped as he looked at the plunging V-neckline of the crimson, lace, Midi-dress. As he continued to gawk at it, Devon entered the bedroom and said, "You're behind schedule." "You want me to wear this?" "Shannon picked it out," Devon answered with a smirk. "Why?" "She wants your first showing to be a good one," Devon teased. "This is going to show off a lot," James retorted. "That's the point. So, get dressed," Devon ordered. James nodded, seeing no way out of the situation. He put on his bra, padded panties and black opaque tights in front of his wife before he stepped into the Midi-dress. "You can't be serious about this," James said as he gazed at how exposed his bust was in the dress his former secretary had selected. "Hey, I paid way too much for those to hide them," Devon rejoined as James' fingers stopped bringing the concealed zipper up his back. James blushed at her words before Devon continued getting ready herself. James sped up his efforts before he walked out of the home with Devon, feeling as if his breasts were on display. Once they got to work, James exited the car. He saw a few men in the parking lot. He struggled not to blush as he saw the double takes the men were doing to leer at his breasts. "Could they be any more obvious," James whined to his wife through gritted teeth. "Well, boys like bimbos," Devon teased. James cheeks blushed as he was forced to deal with how far he had fallen from the successful author the world thought him to be. James walked into the office building and attracted more leering eyes. Even women were checking out his breasts, however, judgmentally. The safety of the office made James feel relieved as he walked through it. He knew that he could withstand whatever comments Shannon had in store for him that day. He sensed that whatever they were, it would be better than the looks he had been receiving. As they walked towards James' desk, Shannon emerged from James' old office. She smiled as her eyes were drawn to James' ample cleavage. "Haley, did you put on a few pounds?" Shannon joked. "Yah, I packed on a few," James replied, playing along with the comment. "Well, this was certainly money well spent." "I would have preferred a boat," James admitted. "We'll get a lot more out of those flotation devices," Devon countered. James shook his head with blushing cheeks before Shannon added, "So, what's it like being part of the big breasted?" "You tell me?" "Well, how do I say this, Haley, your perspective is a little, shall we say, different from most girls." James gave her a curious look before Shannon continued, "Most girls grow into their breasts, for you..." "They just appeared one day," James replied. "Yes, an overnight success," Shannon joked. "Well, if it wasn't for all the guys leering at me today and the girls giving me dirty looks, I think it would be good." "Lust and jealousy, the twin hallmarks of womanhood," Devon interjected. "Yah, just great." Shannon laughed at James' stated discomfort, which was something that she could relate to. Shannon then asked, "So, how do you handle guys?" "Ignore them," James answered. "That just encourages more staring!" "Well, what would you do?" "Would? I'll tell you what I've done." "Okay, then spill it," James pressed. "You put them on the spot. There's the 'HEY, I'm up here thing' or you ask if they're enjoying the view." James nodded before Devon added, "And you can turn it on them. Take a look down at their dick and start baby talking about the little thing." "That can turn against you," Shannon countered. Devon laughed as she said, "It has on me, more than once." "Where was I?" James asked. "There, but oblivious, as usual," Devon answered with a shake of her head. James was taken aback by the claim. He could not believe he had missed such comments and looks directed towards his wife. Shannon then added, "My favorite thing to tell them is 'I know you've never had a pair this good before, but you can look at breasts on the internet for free.'" James and Devon laughed at the comment before they started to work. James fell quickly back into his routine at work as he tried to get up to speed on everything he had missed. As lunchtime came, the girls told James to pick up their lunch order from a shop three blocks over. James nodded as he asked his wife, "Can I get the keys?" "Where would the fun be in that?" Devon asked. James blushed as he replied with pleading, "People will see me." "It's time you get used to that, Haley. People are going to be seeing a lot more of you going forward!" "But what will say?" James whined. "Shake it off," Shannon called out from her office. "You're a big girl. You know how to handle yourself," Devon added. James pouted as he clutched his pocketbook and raised the strap to his shoulder. He looked at his wife and said, "Wish me luck." "You don't need it. You'll be fine." "I'm glad you're sure." "It'll be fine," Devon repeated while she shoed him out the door. James clutched at the strap of his purse as he stepped away from his office door. He saw people glancing at him anew, the eyes always darting to his displayed ample bosoms. James put his head down and tried to put them out of mind. He was far too cowed to try any of the tactics that Shannon and Devon had told him to utilize. He figured that they might work for a natural born girl, but not for him. With his head down, James headed out of the building and towards the sidewalk that ran along the front of the building. James heard his shoes slapping on the hard concrete beneath his feet. He tried to watch for the consistency of the ground, even as his breasts largely kept him from seeing where his feet were landing. As James started down the increasingly crowded sidewalk, he saw people beginning to look more intensely at him. He feared that they were seeing him for the breasted boy he was, but, instead, he noticed the looks were unambiguously lusty. The looks on the men's faces turned his stomach. He felt unnerved by them. "What the fuck," James muttered to himself. As he looked around he saw two men staring at his breasts. It was too blatant for him to ignore. James forced himself to stare back at the men. They merely grinned back in response before each started typing on their phones. As they started to laugh, James was sure that it was something they had written at his expense. "Fucking assholes," James mumbled, struggling not to stomp his feet. "That's fucking sick, dude," one of the men said as he finally stopped laughing. James shook his head in silence. He struggled not to blush as he was certain that he did not want to know what the man had written. He was sure it was beyond obscene because he had once been in their shoes. The more he walked and got more stares, the more James realized that he had done the same thing to women. He had made jokes about squeezing them and far worse likely within earshot of the women he lusted at over the years. "This is how it feels," James realized with both remorse and self-pity while he looked down at his cleavage. James continued down the sidewalk and saw a man turn away from his girlfriend and gaze at his breasts. The girlfriend noticed nearly immediately. The daggers in her eyes went from her boyfriend to James. James struggled not to scream, "I'm not the fucking problem here." Still, he kept his mouth shut as the girl seemed to be telling him he was too immodestly dressed. He was certain that it was true, but that did not give her boyfriend an excuse to leer at him, especially in her presence. As James reached the eatery, he felt relieved. He walked in and saw the crowd and the relief left him. He saw eyes dart his way. Some lingered longer than others, making him feel as if he was on display. James walked up to the cashier and told him the order he was there to pick up. The girl got him the bags in short order as the man behind him barely hid the fact that he was trying to look down James' blouse from behind. He clenched his fists as he thought, 'Can't he just pretend for a few minutes that I'm not just the two fucking globes on my chest.' James bit his lip as he paid for the meals. He hurried out of the building, hearing the hurried click of his heels on the floor as he rushed towards the door. Getting away from the man was a welcome relief for James. James walked back towards his building and saw some construction workers glancing his way. 'Just great,' James thought, hoping that he would be invisible to them. "Look at those tits," he heard one say. "They're fucking jiggling. The bitch wants it," another replied, unwilling to even pretend to be trying to go unheard by James. James clutched his purse and the bags of food in his hand harder as he tried to ignore them. The men continued with their comments, even while James came up next to him. James sensed that he would never feel more degraded and objectified by what the men probably thought were compliments. As one gave him a wolf whistle as he passed, James froze. James pivoted on his heels and remembered one of the things the girls had told him to say, "You seem to be enjoying the view." "Woo, that bitchy voice is hot," one of the men said in response. "Sure am, baby. I'd like to get a closer inspection," another of the workers added to the laughter of his colleagues. James muttered to himself as the laughter continued while he rushed away. He tried to keep from meeting anybody's gaze. He only stared down at the ground before him, not wanting to run the risk of seeing a stupid expression on another guy's face or the scowl of another jealous or angry woman. James hurried into his office and put the food down on his desk. Devon heard it land with a thud, prompting her to get to her feet. "What's with the pout?" Devon asked as she looked her husband over. "You wouldn't believe me!" "What?" Devon inquired. "A guy gave me a wolf whistle," James answered. "And?" Devon asked. "Did you not hear me? What decade does he think this is"? "Tell me, Haley. What did he do?" "He was on a construction site." "So, he thinks it's 1947," Devon retorted. "You can't think like that. I'm a fucking person!," James protested. "Many men don't think of you as a person. You're a sexual object," Devon responded. "Is our little Haley complaining about men?" Shannon asked with a smile as she came out of her office. "She says they're pigs." "Oh, Haley, you've finally figured out that men suck! Welcome to womanhood!" Shannon said as she embraced him. "Don't worry, Haley. You'll only be dealing with that until you're old and saggy," Devon joked with a laugh. "Something to look forward to," James replied with a shake of his head. "It's better than dead," Shannon noted. James was not quite sure. James clutched his head before he heard the phone ring. Instinctively, he answered it with the company's standard greeting. The girls smiled before James' eyes widened. The girls gave him concerned looks before they saw the smile come across James' face. "That's wonderful," James replied, forcing his voice deeper. Devon and Shannon gave each other confused looks while James jotted down information that he screened with his body. "Thank you again, Marv," James said before he said goodbye to the man. "What's going on?" Shannon asked. "That was my publisher. They loved your book," James said. "Well, if they liked yours, why wouldn't they like mine," Shannon kidded with a shake of her head. "They're going to publish it. They're sending over the paperwork right now." "Seriously?" Shannon asked as a grin came across her face. James nodded before he congratulated her. Devon did the same. "We've got to go out tonight and give cheers to the author," Devon noted. James agreed and said, "I couldn't be happier for you." "Thank you, Haley. I know you did what you could for me," Shannon said with a nod, knowing that James had used every connection he had made to get her book published. "We all knew you had the talent," Devon replied as she congratulated Shannon again. Shannon was effusive with her thanks before Devon added, "And I want to thank you for bringing Haley into our lives." "I can't take all the credit for that," Shannon replied with a grin as she glanced at James. James shook his head as he said, "That one is all on me." "That's why she's a writer and you're the assistant," Devon responded. "Yup." "Fortunately, you make a cute one," Devon said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Maybe you two could be my next story," Shannon joked before she added, "A good writer writes what she knows." "Please! No one would read about our crappy little lives," James responded with a shake of his head.