Signing the New Contract

Signing the New Contract

Robert was able to watch her while remaining hidden by looking between the books on the library shelf. Her name was Melissa, she was his co-worker, and she was absolutely gorgeous. Her long brown wavy hair was styled in a complicated arrangement that fell elegantly across her back and framed her face perfectly. Her features were locked in concentration as she studied the ancient book in front of her. This didn't mask the beauty of her thin arched eyebrows, full lips, and delicate nose. The simple white blouse she wore struggled to restrain her perky breasts, whose cleavage peaked out from behind the buttons she had left undone.

The rest of her body was hidden by the table she was sitting at, but Robert could fill in the details from memory. She had a small waist, accentuated by full hips, and a voluptuous ass. Her skirts never reached past her knees. Her legs were shapely and looked like they went on forever, especially while she was standing in her customary high heels. Steeling his courage, Robert stepped out from behind the shelf. If he wanted to get anywhere with her, then he would need to talk to her, rather than just spying on her.

Robert was a legal researcher with the law firm Morrigan, Baalhaddad and Wolfanima, more commonly referred to as M, B and W. He was a damn good one too. Over the last year and a half, he clocked more time in the law library than anyone else, including Melissa. His efforts weren't going unnoticed either. Rumour had it that the senior partners were talking about him, although certain people seemed to think that was a bad thing. In his opinion, the firm deserved all of his hard work. Especially, after what they had done for him. They had found him destitute and disbarred, unable to get a job in his chosen profession. They gave him his second chance, and for that, he was loyal.

There was only one thing that bothered Robert about working at M, B and W. It was the strange sounds that echoed through the building. Sometimes, late at night, he could almost think that he was hearing chanting and howling coming from the ventilation system. The sound gave him the shivers every time he heard it.

As Robert walked towards the table where Melissa was sitting, he glanced at the book she was puzzling over. He recognized it immediately. It was a tome from the eighteen hundreds on the topic of land ownership.

"Another native land dispute?" He asked.

"No, its' the same one," Melissa replied, looking up with a smile, "We're appealing to a higher court."

"Of course we are," he said, "And that means double checking all of our research. Especially the shit we made up."

She giggled in reply. They first met while they were simultaneously researching different land disputes. They were forced to share the same books. When instructions came down for her to invent something to help the case, he made it sound believable.

With the ice broken he sat down across from her, and they started chatting about office politics. He did his best to keep her laughing, looking for the right time to ask her out on a date. Just as he was starting to think the timing was right, she raised her arms above her head and stretched languidly. Her full perky breasts strained against the fabric of her blouse and Robert found himself openly staring at her chest. He quickly moved his gaze up to her face, but it was too late. She saw him staring at her breasts. To his utter surprise, she didn't look angry. Instead, she smiled and then leaned forward, revealing her spectacular cleavage. He was flabbergasted. She was flirting with him. He opened his mouth to ask her out to dinner, but he was interrupted.

"Ah, Robert," a voice said from behind him, "I knew I would find you in the library, hard at work, as always."

Robert jumped to his feet and spun around at the sound of his name. The man behind him was a full partner in the law firm. He was the boss of Robert's boss.

"Mister Donoley, I didn't hear you coming. I was just helping Melissa here with a case she's working on..."

"That's unimportant," his immaculately dressed superior said, cutting him off, "I'd like to speak with you in my office. Now."

"Certainly sir," Robert replied. It didn't sound like a request. Throughout their conversation Melissa didn't move, shamelessly displaying her cleavage to the both of them. Robert saw Mister Donoley look down her blouse and then up into her eyes.

"Melissa, I have a task for you as well," he said, "Why don't you meet us in my office once we're done?" This strange proposition was greeted with an even stranger reaction on Melissa's part. A moment's confusion showed on her face and then she lit up with joy.

Mister Donoley didn't give him a lot of opportunity to figure things out. When Robert looked up from Melissa's face he was already halfway across the room and Robert had to scramble to catch up. Following his superior through the library and out to the elevators, he tried his best to keep from shaking with nervousness. Mister Donoley cut an intimidating figure. He was a tall man, in his forties, in good shape and his suits looked like they were more expensive than Robert's car. Robert had never been summoned to a partner's office and he had no idea what to expect. They quietly rode the elevator together up to the sixteenth floor, stepped out, and walked past Mister Donoley's receptionist. His office door stood open and the sight greeting them inside made Roberts eyes bulge in fear.

Inside the office were three other people. Miss Carmella, the head of the research department, sat in a small chair near the door. She was his direct supervisor. Across from her, in a corner of the room, was a man Robert recognized as a contract lawyer. In the middle of the room was an older native man sitting on one of two comfortably padded chairs. There were a number of elder native men at M, B and W, but Robert didn't know exactly what they did. The clerical workers referred to them as 'shamen' because of their habit of wearing expensive suits with a prayer necklace instead of ties. Frozen in the doorway, Robert watched as Mister Donoley stepped into the office and sat down behind the desk. He gestured to the last remaining chair in the middle of the room.

"Please take a seat," he said.

Robert slowly walked into the room and sat down in the proffered chair. He felt like he was walking into an ambush. He had no idea what was going on. The only thing he had heard was that he caught the attention of the senior partners. There was an eerie silence in the room. Nobody was talking. They were all just staring at him. Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine as he heard an eerie howling coming from the ventilation system.

"Before we get started, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions," Mister Donoley said.

"Ok, umm, I mean yes sir," Robert replied.

"Tell me about your family Robert. Do you have a wife and kids? How are your parents and siblings?"

"I'm not married sir, and I don't have any children or siblings. As for my parents, my mother has passed on and I never knew my father." As Robert finished answering, Mister Donoley glanced over at the lawyer who was sitting in the corner. A nearly imperceptible nod was the only reply.

"Good, good," Mister Donoley said, "Now my next question for you is whether or not you are loyal to the firm?"

Panic set in. What the hell kind of question was that? Robert frantically searched his mind for anything he had done to make them question his loyalty. He couldn't think of anything, but there were horror stories about corporate backstabbing. What were they investigating? What was he being accused of? They were all starring at him. He had to answer.

"Yes, I definitely consider myself to be loyal. M, B and W hired me when nobody else would touch me. I can't imagine working anywhere else. I've griped and complained to my co-workers occasionally about little things..."

"I'm not worried about a little bit of whining," Mister Donoley interrupted, waving his hand. He leaned forward, "Our firm doesn't have the best reputation, Robert. Does it bother you that you're working for a company that many people consider to be evil?"

Caught by surprise Robert answered without thinking. "No, it doesn't."

"What do you think? are we evil?"

"Umm," Robert was confused. The conversation seemed to be jumping around all over the place. Not knowing how to answer he stuck with the truth, "I honestly don't care."

Mr. Donoley smiled and nodded in approval. On his desk were a pair of beige file folders, he picked up one of them and opened it. "I have a note here that says you posed as an expert witness in the Sorayama case. Following the instructions of your supervisor you essentially lied under oath. Is that true?" he asked.

Robert slowly turned and looked at Miss Carmella. It had been her idea. One of the lawyers needed an expert witness to lie about the age of a document, and they were unable to find one. Using a fake name and documents supplied by the firm, Robert took the stand and lied through his teeth.

"I've been told not to talk about that case sir," Robert replied.

"Quite right, nor should you," Mister Donoley said, turning a couple of pages in the folder, "I have another note here that says you secured some ancient documents for us from the national archives. Anything you'd like to say about that?"

"No sir, there isn't," Robert replied.

Stealing the documents from the national archives had been easy. He had spent forty hours over three days at the archives. In the process the staff lost track of what documents he'd been working on, and more importantly what he had with him when he first came in. He simply walked out the front door with the only existing copy of the treaty. The copy he left behind was indistinguishable from the original, except for a few minor but important changes in the wording. Robert was really getting worried. He just didn't know where this conversation was going.

"Good! Now that we've proven that you're willing to lie, cheat, and steal for the firm I have one last important question. Is there anything you wouldn't be willing to do for the firm?" Mister Donoley asked with an intent look on his face.

The pieces fell into place. They were going to ask him to do something illegal and probably immoral. Lawyers and their melodrama, he barely avoided rolling his eyes.

"No sir, there isn't," he replied. Once again Mister Donoley looked over at the contract lawyer in the corner and received a small nod of approval. He then turned back to look at Robert.

"How would you react if I offered you a lifetime contract with the firm?" he asked. The lawyer in the corner cleared his throat as Robert's heart skipped a beat. Looking over at his counsel Mister Donoley raised a finger.

"My mistake," he said, "What I meant to say was a permanent contract with the firm." Robert had been wrong. They weren't going to ask him to do something illegal. They were questioning him to see if he was suitable as a long-term employee. They were going to reward his devotion to the company with a long-term contract. Lifetime or permanent, it sounded the same to him. Grinning from ear to ear he leapt at the opportunity.

"I would eagerly accept it," he said.

"That's good to hear." Mr. Donoley said, picking up the other file folder from his desk and handing it to Robert. Inside the folder was a thick employment contract.

"Take a couple of moments and read it over if you would like. The benefits are on page twelve," Mister Donoley said. From his tone of voice, it was clear that Robert shouldn't take too long reading it.

Flipping through the contract Robert didn't find anything overly strange in the first few pages. There were the standard requirements for loyalty and confidentiality with little spots below for his initials. A section on entertaining and serving clients left his duties vague and under the discretion of his supervisors, but that was to be expected considering the illegal activities they'd asked of him in the past. Another section, left to the discretion of his supervisors, was a requirement for maintaining a suitable appearance, but he wasn't worried about that. He would wear whatever they asked him to. A final section requiring him to agree to deference, etiquette, compliance, and acclimatization training came as a bit of a surprise. He had no idea what that meant, but it sounded pretty strange. Flipping the page he completely forgot about the odd wording. Printed prominently at the top of page twelve was his salary. It was a six-digit number. They were also offering full medical coverage, an expense account, and a wardrobe budget.

"Where do I sign?" he asked, unable to hide the eagerness in his voice.

Handing him a pen Mister Donoley pointed out each of the clauses he needed to initial and then told him to sign on the fifteenth page. Robert flipped to the last page. It was a little odd. There was a large empty space at the top of the page followed by the word Morrigan. This was followed by another large empty space followed by the word Baalhaddad. A third empty space followed by the word Wolfanimus completed the set. At the bottom of the page were two spaces for witnesses to sign, which had already been filled with the names William Donoley and Cassandra Carmella. At the bottom of the page was a blank line with an 'X' beside it.

Shrugging to himself, he put the pen on the final line and tried to sign. Something was wrong. There was some sort of waxy coating to the paper and the pen wouldn't mark it. Movement in his peripheral vision caused him to look up and he saw the native man beside him holding up a pen.

"Try this one." he said in a deep voice.

It was a fountain pen made from a dried material of some sort. Robert wasn't about to complain about the style of pen. For a moment, he thought he was in some sort of horrible dream where he would miss out on a great deal because of something as stupid as a malfunctioning pen. He thankfully took the pen and signed his name. The fountain pen had no difficulties with the waxy coating on the paper. As he lifted the pen a sharp pain shot through his fingers.

Robert looked down at his hand to see thorns sticking out the sides of the pen. He could have sworn that they weren't there a moment ago. Robert glanced up at the pens owner in time to see a predatory grin. Suddenly, a bright purple light burst from the page he had signed. He looked down and saw that the spaces that had previously been blank were now filled with strange glowing purple runes. Even more disturbingly, Robert could see a spot of blood on his signature. The thorns on the pen had caused him to bleed on the page.

Robert dropped the pen in shock. There was no rational explanation for why those runes had suddenly appeared on the page. In fear, he scrambled to his feet. He didn't believe in magic, but he couldn't think of a rational explanation for what just happened. A sudden wave of vertigo struck him as a feeling of pressure filled his skull. It grew stronger and stronger until the room began to spin, and he collapsed back into the chair. Unconsciousness claimed him, but not before he noticed an eerie howling coming from the ventilation system.

*****

Consciousness slowly returned. As if awakening from a deep sleep, Robert began to become aware again. Someone was kissing him on the mouth. It felt good. He began to kiss back, only to feel the other person pull away. Opening his eyes he was greeted by the face of Melissa, his co-worker. She was wearing a malicious grin on her face. He found himself lying on his back on a fainting couch in the employee lounge. Melissa was lying on top of him with her lower body on top of his and the weight of her upper body supported by her arms. The only things he could see were her face and her hair, but he could tell from the sensation of how their bodies were pressing together that they were both naked.

Something was wrong, deeply wrong, but in his sleepy state he couldn't put his finger on it. Melissa leaned down for another kiss and Robert closed his eyes, basking in the sensation. Pleasure literally radiated from his mouth as her soft lips caressed his. His arms instinctively wrapped around her.

Robert was elated to have the beautiful Melissa naked, and in his arms, even if he was a bit confused as to how he had managed it. His memory of what happened earlier in the day was still a little fuzzy. Melissa's hungry kisses rapidly chased away his sleepiness, but as they did the voice in the back of his head telling him something was wrong became more insistent. Robert's lips felt swollen and sensitive, strangely so did his nipples. Her tongue teased his lips open, and they pressed against each other, but as they did the feeling that something was wrong became stronger and stronger. He was aroused, he could feel a raging and swollen need building up, but he couldn't actually feel his manhood. With their lower bodies pressed together he should have been able to feel his member pressed between them or better yet inside of her, but he couldn't.

Opening his eyes didn't help, it only added to the confusion. All he could see was Melissa's face pressed to his as they kissed. The angle was wrong. From what he had seen of her cleavage, Melissa had spectacular breasts, and he could feel them pressing up against him. The problem was that he shouldn't have been able to. She was too far away. Robert moved his hands from behind her back in order to push her off him, but Melissa had other ideas.

As soon as his hands began to move, she stopped kissing his mouth and began kissing the side of his neck. Tingly pleasure shivered down his spine and he arched his back moaning in enjoyment. The sound of his own moan froze him in place. It wasn't his normal moan of pleasure. It sounded distinctly feminine. A shifting sensation from his chest forced him to look down as Melissa lifted her weight off him. Two mounds topped by large puffy nipples extended from his chest. He had breasts.

"What the hell?" he cried out scrambling up the couch and away from Melissa.

His voice sounded high pitched and distinctly feminine. He also couldn't help but notice a liquid jiggling sensation from his chest as he moved. As soon as he was out from under Melissa, he looked down at himself. A pair of large and perky breasts hung from his surprisingly hairless chest. They were tipped with pink and puffy nipples that tingled with sensitivity. In shock, he noticed that his entire body looked different. Long hairless legs, a flat stomach, wide hips, and a tiny patch of hair between his legs greeted his eyes. With a shaking hand he reached between his legs and felt for his manhood. The anatomy his fingers encountered had nothing to do with being a man. It was moist and swollen and felt far too familiar to his fingers. Not only did he have breasts, but he had a pussy to match.

With that realization, Robert became fully awake. His memory of the meeting in Mister Donoley's office and the contract he had signed snapped into crystal clarity. Robert didn't believe in magic, but the blood on the contract and the purple light coming from the runes combined with his now very female body could only mean one thing. They cast some sort of spell on him. As soon as that realization hit him, Robert noticed something else that was weird. He wasn't freaking out nearly enough. He would have thought that waking up in the body of a woman would leave him crazy with shock and fear, but he was barely feeling surprised. Melissa watched him with a look of expectation on her face.

"What's going on?" he asked calmly, in his new high pitched female voice.

"I guess they finally got the acclimatization part working properly," Melissa said with a frown of disappointment, "Do you want the long or short explanation?"

The comment on acclimatization seemed familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. Shaking his head in frustration a waft of golden blond wavy hair fell across his eyes. With an instinctual movement he tucked it behind his ear. Then he froze, staring at his hand. He had never done that before, but it felt natural and normal.

"Let's start with the short version," he said with his new voice.

"It's pretty simple," Melissa said, shifting towards him on the couch, "After you signed the contract, one of the shamen transformed your body. I was chosen to initiate you into all of the details of your contract, and when I'm done, they change you back."

"Oh, thank god!" Robert exclaimed on hearing he wouldn't be permanently stuck as a woman. In his moment of relief, he missed the fact that Melissa was creeping closer to him. She took the opportunity to pounce.

Robert gasped in shock as Melissa's warm mouth latched onto his nipple. Pleasure radiated across his chest. He could feel his nipple hardening in her mouth as blood rushed into it. She began sucking on the tender flesh and Robert couldn't keep himself from squirming in pleasure. The hardening nipple felt good in her mouth, better than his nipples had ever felt before. Without thinking he brought his hand up to the back of her head, encouraging her to continue. The sight of his hand, however, cooled his ardour. Gone were his manly fingers. In their place, were delicate digits tipped with long nails painted red with white swirls of a decorative design.

"I think I'm going to need to hear the long version," he said releasing her head. With a popping sound Melissa released his nipple and sat up on the couch. This left Robert lying on his back with his legs across her lap.

"I don't really know where to start, but I'll give it a try," Melissa said, "M, B, and W has a staff of shamen who provide magical services for the company. The contract you signed was magical and your blood completed the ritual. At least that's how I've been told it works. I don't really know a lot about magic. It's..."

"But there's no such thing as magic," Robert interrupted plaintively. Melissa responded by flicking his nipple. With a yelp Robert covered his chest with his hands. Her point was obvious. If there was no such thing as magic, then why was he holding his breasts.

"Part of your contract was a suitable appearance clause. Did you notice that?" Melissa asked. He could vaguely remember a part of the contract that used that terminology, so he nodded. "By signing the contract, you agreed to allow them to dictate your appearance. Currently your appearance is female."

"But I thought that part of the contract meant they would dictate what kind of clothing I was wearing. I didn't think they would use it to turn me into a woman."

"You aren't a woman!" Melissa said angrily, "You're in a female body. There's a difference. There's more to being a woman than just having tits and a pussy. I used to be a woman. Now, I don't know what I am, other than a walking sex toy."

With those words, she cupped one of her breasts looking down at it with a sad expression on her face. Robert's eyes followed hers. Melissa had spectacular tits. They were large and perky, with the nipples pointing slightly upwards and perfectly centered. They hung from her chest as if immune to gravity. They didn't look natural in the slightest. Now that he knew what he was looking for, nothing about Melissa's appearance looked natural. Her wavy brown hair hung without a single strand out of place. Her delicate facial features contrasted artificially well with her full lips. Her tiny waist accentuated her wide hips and voluptuous ass just a little too precisely. Finally, her pale complexion was flawless. It wasn't the the flawlessness of someone who took care of her skin. It was the flawless look of an airbrushed model in a fashion magazine. Melissa was the living embodiment of a fantasy girl, beautiful, perfect, and completely impossible.

Deep down he knew he should be disgusted at what the company had done to her, but he couldn't raise the necessary mental ire. All he could feel was a growing sensation of warmth coming from his face, his neck, and from between his legs. The nipple Melissa had been sucking on ached with sensitivity. He could feel a moist and swollen sensation coming from between his legs. As he stared at her naked body a tingling feeling came from his other nipple. He looked down to see it harden to match its twin. He had never felt these sensations before, but he knew what they meant His new female body was aroused.

"You're certain they'll change me back?" Robert asked.

"Trust me," Melissa said, giving him a sad smile, "I know exactly what's going to happen. They've got time to be patient. M, B and W has you in a permanent contract. They aren't going to push too hard or too fast. Just a quick demonstration of how much power they have over you, and then they'll take it nice and slow. By the time the firm is done, you'll wear whatever body they want without complaint."

He couldn't keep the look of scepticism off his face. Melissa just shook her head and put one of her hands on his knee.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, "You don't think they'll be able to wear you down. Let me tell you, if you don't cooperate, they'll punish you. I once spent a month as a paraplegic for refusing to wear high heels. You had better believe that four-inch stilettos are a lot less inconvenient than a wheelchair. If you do cooperate however, the firm will make it worth your while."

With those words the hand that she had been resting on his knee snaked between his thighs and gently cupped the moist cleft between his legs. Soft fingers began to explore his new anatomy eliciting a moan of pleasure from his lips. Her fingers felt wonderful on his brand-new genitals and he found himself grinding his hips into her hand. Moist flesh parted and Robert gasped at the sensation of having fingers stroking up and down the inside of his slit. The soft fingers worked their way upwards and rubbed across a bud of flesh that made him cry out in pleasure. It felt as if the head of his penis had been shrunk down into a little bud and her finger was simultaneously stroking the entire thing. The sensation was incredibly intense, and Robert found himself spasming with pleasure as she stroked his clit.

Robert ground his hips into the invading hand. He arched his back in pleasure and the moans that were escaping his lips sounded like they were coming from a porn actress. The moaning and squirming didn't feel right. It was almost as if his body was reacting without bothering to check with his mind first. He was definitely feeling a lot of pleasure, but he had never moaned and squirmed like this in his life. With a shaking hand he reached down and stopped Melissa's fingers.

"Wait! Stop!" he said in a throaty whisper, "Why am I acting like this? Why aren't I scared and angry about what's been done to me? It's almost as if someone's been messing with my head."

"Oh, they have." Melissa said. Her fingers stopped stroking him, but she didn't remove her hand from his genitals. Robert didn't move away from the intimate contact either as she continued to explain. "It's the deference, etiquette, compliance and acclimatization training part of your contract."

"But I thought that was just going to be some sort of lame company loyalty course."

"No," she said tracing her damp fingers across his inner thighs. "They magically rewired your mind to change your instincts. You're still in conscious control of your body, but they've made it so that being slutty and feminine is normal for you. That part of the contract makes it so they can change your instincts to whatever they want them to be. Which should scare the crap out of you, but it doesn't, does it?"

She was right, he knew that he should be pissing himself with fear, but he wasn't afraid at all. He shook his head.

"Compliance and acclimatization," was her only reply. Her fingers began to stroke teasingly against his hairless outer folds. He shuddered with need, but one last question was bothering him.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because you're like me," she replied. "You have no family, no deep connections to anyone or anything outside of the firm. Thus, there are no complications. No one is going to ask any troubling questions."

Her fingers slid between his labia stroking across the swollen flesh and once again rubbing his clit. Through a haze of pleasure, he heard her continue.

"You have no-one to turn to, no-one to run to. You have no choice but to let them use you in whatever way they want."

With gentle pressure Melissa parted his thighs, shifting her body so that she was between his legs. Lying on his back, Robert squirmed invitingly as she lowered her head to the swollen valley between his legs. Soft fingers spread him as she opened her mouth and extended her tongue. With surgical precision, she speared his clit. Her soft wet tongue started driving him to new heights of passion. He found himself moaning shamelessly and grasping at the air.

With her free hand Melissa reached across his straining belly and roughly grabbed his left breast, squeezing it hard. Both pleasure and pain flowed from the sensitive flesh, somehow magnifying the pleasure between his legs and leaving him gasping for air. The pleasure he was feeling seemed to be rising and increasing. Without conscious thought, he grabbed hold of his own breasts and started squeezing and pinching them alongside her.

Suddenly, Melissa stopped licking him, causing him to moue with disappointment. She shifted off the couch into a kneeling position facing towards him. In the process Robert caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the right-hand side of her voluptuous ass. It was the M, B and W company logo. It was identical to the one outside the building, on the company cars, and on company letter head. The meaning was obvious. She was company property. Without needing to check, Robert knew that a similar tattoo adorned his own ass. He too was company property.

Robert was too horny to let something as minor as a tattoo slow him down. He sat up on the couch and spread his legs such that he was sitting on the very edge of the couch with Melissa kneeling between his thighs. With a mischievous grin she leaned forward, spread his labia with her fingers and began to once again lick his clit. Robert's entire body shivered with pleasure. He ground his hips into her face while squeezing his breasts and moaning shamelessly.

After several minutes of this, a whim of an idea wandered through his pleasure addled mind. He released his breasts and grabbed the back of her head, closing his eyes. He then began to rhythmically pull her head into his groin while imagining she was sucking his dick. The illusion wasn't perfect, but it was close enough, and he felt himself building to the cusp of an orgasm. With a pleasure filled spasm, he felt a dainty finger force itself inside of him and start stroking in and out while Melissa continued to lick his clit. The sensation was like nothing he had ever felt before, and it shattered the illusion he had created. In the process, it drove him over the edge into a gasping orgasm. His new anatomy clenched at the invading finger as his entire body shuddered and he vocalized involuntarily in a very female voice. She had given him his first female orgasm.

With a sigh, he released Melissa's hair and relaxed into the couch. The spasms of pleasure were gone, leaving a spent and tranquil feeling in their place. Looking up from between his legs, Melissa smiled moistly at him. Fluids from Robert's vagina coating her mouth in a shiny film. Melissa wiped her face with her hand and stood up. Robert sat in a boneless heap, happy to enjoy the sight of Melissa's perfect body and to bask in the afterglow.

"I'm sorry Robert," Melissa said stepping around to the far side of the couch.

The apology confused him. He didn't know what she was sorry for. It certainly couldn't have been for the orgasm. That was spectacular. He sat up to look at her and, in the process, shifted his weight forward. He felt a sensation of movement from his chest as his posture brought the full weight of his breasts hanging from his chest to his attention. He had momentarily forgotten about the horrible contract. There was no need for Melissa to apologize though.

"It's okay Melissa. It isn't your fault," he replied. She knelt down and picked something up off the floor from behind the couch. Standing up, she brought it into view. A compact black pistol glinted wickedly in the fluorescent lighting.

"No, you don't understand," she said, raising the pistol and pointing it at his face. He tried to cringe away, to escape the threatening weapon, but there was nowhere to go. Her finger tightened on the trigger. The last thing he saw was Melissa looking at him emotionlessly through the sights of the pistol. The world went black in a flash of light.

*****

The darkness was absolute. No light, no candle, not even a glint interrupted the pure blackness. Robert couldn't see or hear anything. There were no sensations whatsoever. The terror he had felt at the sight of the gun was gone, replaced by an absence of emotions. Everything was gone. He was surrounded by nothingness. As he became accustomed to the timeless emptiness around him, Robert started to sense a pull, as if he should be sinking. The sinking sensation felt right to him. He should be sinking, but there was a problem. He was tethered somehow. It felt like something was keeping him from sinking into the senseless emptiness around him.

A sound intruded upon the timeless darkness. As if from far away, he could hear howling. Moments passed, or it could have been an eternity, Robert couldn't tell in the timeless darkness. The howling returned, but this time it was closer. It was a mournful sound, and it seemed to be coming from multiple sources. A flash of movement in the nothingness caught his attention. Wolves suddenly surrounded him. Black on black in the abruptly crowded nothingness. The howling sound was coming from a pack of wolves. They were graceful in the darkness, and he was one of them. Feeling sensation for the first time in what felt like eternity, he arched his back and lifted his muzzle giving voice to a mournful howl, joining the choir of voices around him.

Robert tried to take a deep breath in order to howl for a second time but instead found himself gasping his way into consciousness. Sensations exploded through his mind as he filled his lungs. The very act of breathing felt wonderful, as if he had been holding his breath for a long time. Opening his eyes and breathing shakily, Robert found himself in the employee lounge, sitting in a chair. A young native man in a suit and beaded necklace smiled at him from across the room. It was not a friendly smile. Before Robert could say a word, the man turned and walked out of the room. With a shiver, Robert realized he was naked. Looking down at himself he was pleasantly surprised to see his normal body. There were no breasts, no puffy nipples, just his naked body, manhood and all.

It must have been a dream, he thought to himself, sitting up. As he tried to figure out how he became naked in the employee lounge, a swishing sound interrupted his bleary thinking. Looking over, he saw Melissa no more than ten feet away. She was dressed in her customary short skirt, blouse, and high heels. She was swabbing a mop back and forth in front of a fainting couch that looked eerily familiar. The strong coppery odour of blood reached his nostrils as a careless flick of the mop splashed crimson across the room. She was mopping up blood. With a strangled gasp he realized she was mopping up his blood.

"What the fuck is going on?" Robert cried out.

"Oh, you're awake," Melissa said, turning towards him. She smiled happily.

"Awake? I should be dead! You shot me!" He yelled at her.

"Well, I tried to apologize," she said with a frown.

"For what? Shooting me?" He demanded.

"No, for killing you. Dying is always hardest the first time. Nobody believes that they can't die until you prove it to them the hard way," she replied. There was a tone of resignation to her voice, as if this wasn't her first time having this conversation.

"I still don't understand what's going on."

"I know. It takes a while." She said returning to her mopping. The sadness in her voice cut through his anger. She was in the same boat as he was. She was stuck in a contract, just like him. Despite the fact that she wielded the gun, she was probably as much of a victim as he was.

"You signed a permanent contract," she said without looking up from her work. "You can't get out of it by dying. The shamen can magically repair just about any injury to your body and the contract keeps your soul from moving on. They have you until they decide to let you go, and that isn't going to happen. Trust me, they have plans for you."

"What do you mean? What do they have planned for me?" he asked.

"I don't know, but they wouldn't have roped you into a permanent contract if they didn't have something planned. Whatever it is, you can be sure it won't be pleasant. When I'm not doing research, they've got me entertaining clients. M, B and W defends some real monsters. Without me, the body count would be too high for the senior partners to cover up."

There was a deep sadness in her voice. Robert was horrified. She was implying that she was a plaything for every serial killer or rapist who walked through the door. Worse yet, he had signed a similar contract. He could be sharing in her fate.

With a squishing sound Melissa put her mop into its pail. Robert looked up to see that she had finished cleaning the floor. The crimson water in her bucket was the only evidence left of her shooting him. She walked over to him with an understanding look on her face and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

"Your clothes are back there," she said, pointing behind the chair.

Looking over, Robert could see his clothing piled neatly on the floor. On top of the pile was a sheaf of papers that looked like a photocopy of the contract he had signed. On top of the papers was Melissa's gun.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" he asked.

"I don't know" she answered, walking away from him. "Maybe keep it as a souvenir. Your first time is worth remembering. Go home Robert. Tomorrow is another day."

End!

Author's note: If you need to contract with M, B and W for their specialised legal services, then please leave a comment. As for our human resources department, drop us a comment, you never know when we're hiring. Anonymous comments are welcome - we know who you are.