Unbalanced Ecosystem

Hanz had showed up with nearly a dozen of his old consulting partners. A necessary concession, to make sure they could personally meet with every family member over the course of a single night. It made sense, though I didn't understand why they couldn't have had some of us senior employees help out instead. For that matter, I noticed that Hanz and the other suits hadn't brought any of their family to the gathering. But still, I trusted them to know what they were doing.

"Do you know where?"

"They've been using the 200s block of conference rooms, but I'm not sure you should-"

"Thanks," I told her before heading off to find Susan. I wouldn't interrupt the meeting, of course. I knew how important those were. But at least I could catch her when she came out.

I made my way to them just as Dave's wife Linda was about to go in. She was nervous, eyes darting around the room, never resting in any one place for more than a moment, but the suit was doing his best to put her at ease. If anything, he was getting a little familiar with her, the way his hand slipped down her hip. Dave sure wouldn't like someone touching his wife like that, but I'm sure it was all perfectly innocent.

With the windows curtained over, I couldn't tell which room Susan was in. I didn't want to overhear anything private, but maybe if I listened in just a bit. Just so I could figure out where she was, mind you.

Coming from the room were the oddest sounds. A sort of rhythmic shuffling, like furniture being nudged just a tiny bit. There was a woman's voice, but though I couldn't make out the words, it sounded breathless. Almost like... but no, that was absurd, I must have been imagining things.

Except, the same sound came from the room next door. And the one after that, and the one after that. Except that the last one held Susan's voice. I could hear a man saying something, in between bumps. Susan's voice was sharp and gasping. Short, monosylabic. Almost like she was saying "Yes!" over and over in response to his words.

I was imagining things. Of course I was. I trusted them completely. They knew what was best for the company, and they would never abuse our trust like that. Still, there was no harm in checking. Just for my peace of mind, of course, I didn't actually suspect them of anything. I was just making sure.

"Did you need something?" A voice from behind me, Hanz.

"I was just looking for my wife"

"Yes, Anvi said you were. She's in the middle of her meeting right now, and you'd hate to disturb them, wouldn't you. As long as we're waiting, how about you and I go for a nice little walk?"

He'd placed his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. It put me at ease just a bit, that he thought everything was alright. I still had some concerns, but they could wait, couldn't they?

"Sure"

"Splendid," he told me, leading me away from the conference rooms. His hand slipped down as we walked, resting just above my lower back, but that was ok. Normally, I didn't like to be touched, but I didn't mind so much when he did it.

We talked then. About the direction the company was headed, of big changes to be made, and the importance of resolution in the face of uncertainty. That even when you didn't understand why something had to be done, that didn't mean it wasn't important, or that you shouldn't go along with it.

There were going to be big changes coming, he assured me, and that was why they had to get the families on board. He put my mind at ease about Susan. Of course, it was all just an innocent meeting, and an important one at that. Whatever happened, it was for the good of the company, and I trusted them completely.

How nice of Hanz, to explain everything to me.

We went home that night, and for once this week Susan wasn't pressuring me for sex. It was nice, considering the problems we'd had, to just cuddle together for a bit instead of dealing with the mounting pressure.

All weekend long, Susan kept hinting at some big surprise she had for me on Monday. She spent most of Saturday out shopping, and I was firmly not invited. For once, I was almost disappointed, even though shopping with her was usually a bit of a bore.

I kept trying to pry it out of her on Sunday, but all she'd tell me was "you'll see". The bags were hidden, and it was tough not to peek, but I managed to restrain myself. After all, what was one more day of waiting? Why not let her keep her surprise?

"Surprise!" she said as she woke me up early Monday morning.

"Hmmm?" I grumbled as I pried my eyes open. "You bought yourself a new outfit?"

She was holding up a shirt and blouse combo, grinning madly like she'd never seen a cute outfit before. Was this the big surprise? Some new work clothes? They were nice, but it was one heck of a letdown after an entire weekend of secrecy. I'd really been expecting something more.

"Not for me," she said, "for you!"

"Wha-?"

"They explained everything to me. I think it's SO sweet the way you guys are trying to develop an understanding of what women go through. And what could be better for that than wearing a skirt for a change."

"I don't know," I said, but she wore me down until I finally agreed, which called for a celebratory trip to the shower so she could help shave my body clean. It was all worth it when I felt the strange, smooth pantyhose slide up my legs. Of course, Susan absolutely insisted that I sit down with her to do my makeup.

"I should have gotten you heels," she said as I slipped on my dress shoes, "but that can wait for later."

The wig came last, and was actually a little tough to put on. My hair kept getting in the way, even though I had cut it not that long ago. Perhaps another trip to the barber was in order.

"Another couple weeks, and we won't even need the wig," Susan told me.

Couple weeks? How long did she think this program was going to last? Sure, big changes don't happen overnight, but this was always supposed to be a temporary thing. Right?

"I feel ridiculous"

"Nonsense, you look lovely."

To be honest, neither of us were really right. The proportions were all wrong, for one thing. Too wide at the shoulders, too narrow at the hips, and my face was a bit butch. But with all that said, what I looked like was a girl. A butch girl, sure, but not a man. Even if we both knew that the chest volume came from a stuffed bra.

It was only my promise to Susan that kept me coming in to the office. I couldn't believe I was going out like this in front of my friends and coworkers. Even worse, the first person I saw that morning was Anvi.

"You look wonderful," she said upon seeing me.

"I can't believe I actually agreed to do this,"

"Hanz told me all about it, and I think it's Such a wonderful idea. You can't imagine how nice it is for everyone to understand the struggle I go through getting ready every morning."

"But..." I scrunched my face, "but you never used to dress like this. Not before."

She looked confused, lost for a moment, but then she shook her head.

"Well, I do now," she said, as though that answered everything.

As it turned out, I was far from the only guy to come in dressed like this. In fact, the only people who didn't at least come in wearing a skirt were the ones who were either single, or whose significant others hadn't come to the open house.

I got to work, but it was far from the most productive day I'd ever had. Hanz kept finding excuses to show up and micromanage my group, always finding some small thing where his input was suddenly oh so critical. At first, it annoyed me, but by the third or forth time I had grown used to his constant interruptions, and even the way he had suddenly become so touchy with me.

"All part of understanding the feminine dynamic," he'd told me after his hand slipped onto my arm. It was a good point, the attention made me feel even more girly, and I definitely felt like I understood them better, but it was still a little distracting how he kept slowly rubbing my bare arm.

Somewhere along the line, Susan and I became less like husband and wife, and more like a pair of close girlfriends who just happened to sleep in the same bed. A lot of it was the sex. Namely, that we weren't having any. I was still horny as ever, but do anything about it. Even when I tried on my own.

On a brighter note, Susan had been totally right about my hair. Pretty soon, I didn't even need the wig to keep myself stylish. We even found a way to make it look like I had boobs, though it did make my chest start to become puffy and sore. But as Hanz pointed out when I asked him about it, I didn't need to pay attention to things like that so long as I was looking and feeling great.

The whole office had begun dressing girly. Except the suits, of course, that would just be silly. There were times when I could hardly tell which ones were girls to begin with, except that Anvi had way better cleavage than me. I had to buy a bunch of new skirts, which is sad because the first one didn't fit me all that well anymore. Too bad, because it will always have a special place in my heart, but at least I can wear all sorts of cute smaller ones.

Chapter 3

"You're replacing me?"

"Of course not," Hanz said, his hand gently patting my rear as we spoke. "I just think it's time we brought in someone else to help provide additional insight and oversight for your group."

"So," I began to ask, more than a little confused by this all. The way he was rubbing my hand was distracting, but also a bit reassuring.

"So you're telling me that I'm still the project manager. It's just that Adam is making all the decisions, and my team members are going to be reporting direction to him from now on?"

"Exactly," Hanz smiled at me. He had a really nice smile.

"If you really think it's a good idea..."

"Absolutely! don't you agree?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Wonderful, I'm glad that's settled. Now, he doesn't start fulltime until tomorrow, but I've taken the liberty of arranging a meeting for you tonight. Dinner at his condo sound ok? I wanted to keep this informal."

"Sure, whatever you think is best."

"Perfect. I'm sure you two will get along splendidly."

Susan wasn't going to like the idea of me going out again, nevermind a dinner meeting. Or at least, she hadn't in the past. Somehow, I didn't think she'd mind this time. Just so long as I told her that Hanz had set the whole thing up. Ever since their talk, she'd become one of his biggest supporters.

"Are they seriously replacing you?" demanded Liz, formerly known as Larry. In fact, many of the guys had gone ahead and picked out a female name to use around the office, although I wasn't one of them. Something about the idea just felt wrong to me, like it was just that one step too far. Surrendering something precious that I didn't want to relinquish. Hadn't this all been a temporary program to help foster understanding? Now we were a couple months in and people were changing their names. Hadn't it gone just a little too far?

"I know they're only doing what's best," Liz said, "but that's too much, even for them."

"I'm not being replaced," I assured her, him, I wasn't sure what to call them. The ones who weren't really girls, even if it was hard to tell the difference sometimes. Except the ones getting morning sickness or whose bellies had begun to swell from pregnancy. Which was pretty much all of the real women, come to think of it.

"They're just doing some restructuring. Making changes to how things run. I talked to Hanz, and he explained everything to me. I'm meeting the new guy tonight, but I'm sure that everything will be ok."

"Well, if Hanz says it's ok, and you're fine with it."

"Trust me, just give it a chance, and I'm sure everything will work out for the best."

Just like I'd suspected, Susan was on board the moment she heard that it had been Hanz's idea. What I hadn't expected was how excited she'd become at the idea of getting me dolled up for my "date" that night. No matter how many times I told her that it was a business meeting, not a date, it didn't deter her in the slightest.

"You do remember that I'm your husband, right? Shouldn't the idea of me going on a date bother you? Not that this is one, mind you, but why is it ok with you if it is?"

That, finally was enough to earn a short pause. Her eyes went blank for just a second, a distant stare that meant she was stopping to rethink something. Then she shook her head, and the dopey grin was back.

"Because it's so cute," she said, "I love seeing you all dressed up and girly. Don't you love it?"

"Yes," I said automatically, "I love how soft and feminine it makes me feel."

It did, I loved wearing those smooth, tight clothes that showed off my body. But, since when did I like it? This wasn't how I used to act.

"See, I told you. Now try on the slinky black dress. It'll look great on you."

A couple hours later, I stood nervously in front of the doorman at a fancy uptown condo. One of those awkward moments where you didn't have anything to talk about, but there you were, stuck together just long enough to make things awkward. Like being in a slow moving line at the store, except that it was only the two of us stuck in a cramped room.

I clutched my purse, staring down at my shiny black high heeled shoes so that I didn't have to look at him. He seemed so big. I mean, I knew you didn't usually hire someone to work security because they were scrawny, but I wasn't used to how tiny he made me feel. So many things did, these days. Even Susan. Hadn't she always been shorter than me? When we went to hug, the only reason I had so much as an inch on her was because I was wearing heels.

As I walked over to the elevator, I could all but feel the doorman's eyes on my rear. There'd been a lot of that, recently. It had been over a month since the last time anyone had called me out for being a guy. The weird thing was, the woman had actually apologized once she got a closer look at me. Catcalls and stares, sure, but no one accusing me of being mannish.

There was an art to moving in high heels, that when combined with a tight, constricting dress made my ass wiggle so deliciously. I could remember myself staring at those sorts of women, and especially liking it when Susan dressed up, but all that was nothing compared to the sensation of feeling my own hips sway with each step.

I'd worn the black dress that Susan had picked out. My legs were bare, smooth and uncovered except for the top third or so of my thighs, with just a thin, semitransparent pair of black lace panties underneath. The necklace I'd borrowed from Susan hung nestled in my cleavage. At Susan's insistence, I'd gone braless tonight. She said I filled out the top of the dress better that way.

This place was all sorts of swanky. The type of building that didn't need to advertise. It just had its PR rep contact the paper and let them run a story about the latest luxury development in town. How had he been able to afford this, on a project manager's salary?

Then again, he wasn't a project manager, was he? He was just taking over for one and telling everyone what to do.

His place was high up, on the far end of the building where the doors are spaced far apart. I knocked softly, feeling increasingly shy and out of place. What was I doing here? Yeah, I'd told Hanz I'd go to the meeting, but this was so far above me it was absurd, and I was far from poor to begin with.

The Adam Randolf that opened the door was as sharply dressed as I'd ever seen him. Just like the others, he fit the type perfectly. The suits may have come from different races and ethnicities, but there was a certain sameness to them. Reskinned variations pressed from the same model.

"Ah," he said, "the project manager. What a delight, to finally meet one on one like this."

He took my hand, not in a firm handshake, but a gently, enveloping grip that encircled my entire hand. His thumb caressed the back of my palm as he slowly lifted it up to kiss the back.

"Enchanted," he told me, lowering my hand but not relinquishing his grip. I felt giddy, floating on air. No one had ever treated me like that before, like a real lady.

"Come, we have much to discuss."

He led me across the condo, a massive corner suite filled with designer furniture. Art hung on the walls, and something told me these were not reproductions. There was a table for two laid out on the far side of the room. Chairs pushed slightly together to offer a view of the city skyline and the deepening sunset.

At his sharp clap, a woman appeared, bottle of wine in her hand.

"My maid, Josephine," he explained, as I looked over at her. She was wearing a classic French maid outfit. Complete with short poofy skirt and white apron, to her absurdly plunging lace-edged neckline. Not to mention the distinctive cap nestled in her curly brunette hair.

It was unbelievable. Like something out of a movie studio or fetish film. Real maids didn't actually wear things like this. Did they?

Somehow, it didn't surprise me to see her here. If anyone could talk a girl into that, it was one of the suits. They could sure be persuasive, when they wanted to be. I'd have to be on my guard tonight.

The wine was delicious. Probably expensive, considering the rest of our surroundings, but I didn't know enough to tell one way or another. Wine in hand, we began to speak, as he asked me all about the group he was about to take over. From the smallest details about Jason's favorite foods, to the way Elizabeth had picked out her new name. Always about the people, though, not about the product or the market, just the people in our company. It should have bothered me, but there was something about him that put me at ease.

More than at ease. I was feeling positively dreamy. The way he looked at me, the touch of his hand on my arm, it made everything feel so warm and fuzzy. At some point, the maid had turned the lights low, leaving just the candlelight and waning sunset to illuminate.

"And what about you," he said. His hand was resting on my knee, his long fingers just barely reaching up to tease the bottom of my thighs. I squirmed, distracted by his touch.

"Have you chosen a name yet?"

"No," I whispered. Barely able to part my lips to mouth the word.

"Mary," he said in a firm, resolute tone that brooked no denial. "That's a pretty name, isn't it, Mary?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. His hand had trailed lightly up my thigh, just barely pushing aside the thin fabric of my dress. His other hand rested on my shoulders. When had we moved so close to one another?

"You make a very beautiful girl, Mary. I can't wait until you are complete."

What did he mean by that? When what was complete?

I wasn't sure. I was to distracted by the way my heart sang at hearing this man call me beautiful.

My eyes closed, and I didn't even realize I had been leaning forwards until our lips touched. It was electric. I gasped in shock and delight.

I realized that there was something warm and hard under my hand. I broke the kiss, jerking back in shock as I realized my hands had wound up in his lap.

"It's ok," he reassured me, "you can touch it."

I reached out, slowly, haltingly until my fingers made contact with his bulge. It felt so huge, so powerful. I could feel the thing twitch as my hands ran over it. My fingers found the zipper, and he nodded. It sprang free. Tall and proud now that it was released.

The thing was a monster, far larger than I had ever been. Yet as my fingers ran over it, something told me that I didn't need to feel inadequate. That I didn't need to compete with this man, or measure myself against him. I was no longer competition. All I had to do was please it, and everything would be ok.

Curiosity drove me forwards. I bent closer, fascinated by the thing. Enthralled, I wanted to take in every line and vein on the shaft.