OFFICE CHANGE: DREAMS FOR MORE GOTHS CHAPTER 3 Part 1

“Damien? He is quite a narcissist. Creepy? I think so. He’s an occult lover, a pervert, and a control freak. He can’t be more creepy. But I need to admit that Damien is highly skilled at his job. He is one of the few men who is able to stay as a permanent partner at this firm, considering how hard it is for a man to be hired by Agatha. The fact that Agatha hasn't yet kicked him out, despite how creepy he is, means that he hasn’t done anything out of the rules.” Christine answered.

Hearing Christine answer, Billy felt slightly relieved; at least Christine didn’t change into Damien’s enthusiastic fan like Kelly.

“So, how is your experiment going? Is your power working?” Christine asked him.

Billy nodded but then shook his head. “I’m not sure, maybe partially, but I still don’t know how to control my power and to what extent it can affect my surroundings.”

“Mind telling me more?”

Billy didn’t reply to Christine right away, though at first he believed that Christine wasn’t a Damien spy; Billy was still afraid that he was wrong. He still didn’t know how much his power changed Christine.

But who else can I share my findings with? Christine’s input is valuable. After weighing the pros and cons, Billy decided to tell Christine about his dream but didn’t tell him about the old coin he had that he suspected had been the thing that caused this.

“So, this time, instead of dreaming that all the women in the office become a goth, you are now dreaming about all the women in the office becoming corporate drones owned by Damien? And this Damien in the dream was trying to kill you. What a wild dream you have, so this is why you seem to be wary of Damien. I can understand why you think that. Because you feel that your dream has become real; you fear that Damien and Cassandra will try to kill you for real.”

Billy nodded his head to confirm Christine’s conjecture.

“Do you think your power works on him? While other men seemed absent from the office yesterday, Damien wasn’t.” Christine asked.

“Right, my power doesn't seem to work on Damien.”

“So, why are you so scared that Damien will come to kill you? We are in a society governed by law. Both you and Damien are lawyers, and know well that murdering people is wrong. We are the type of people who play by the rules. I just told you that Damien, despite him being a well-known creep, never went out of line. He won’t kill you; at most maybe he will try to send you to jail.” Christine said in a joking tone.

People who play by the rules. Yes. I think it is why he appears in my dream when all the girls here become corporate drones. But Billy felt that he had forgotten something.

Wait, how did Christine know that Damien dabbled in the occult and is a control freak? Billy realized something. Christine somehow knew Damien better than him.

“Uhm…How did you know that Damien is an occult enthusiast and a control freak?”

“Oh, the girls in the office have this chat group that talks about the man in this office, about their personalities, habits, and how to avoid them. Worry not, nobody has talked badly about you…yet. Some girl in the office has asked me about how I know you.” Christine replied.

“I see. Women and gossip, never change.”

“Now it's my turn to ask you something.” Christine’s expression turned serious.

“Ask away.”

“Last night I found myself wanting to change my hairstyle into this Mohawk Dutch braid style. Did the dream version of me always have this kind of hairstyle?”

“Not always. At first, your dream version had spiky Mohawk hair, with a clean-shaven side. It was only last night’s version that you have this Mohawk Dutch braid style.” Billy answered.

“Spiky Mohawk with clean-shaven side? Thank goodness that I don’t impulsively change my hairstyle to that; at least, with this kind of mohawk braid, I can undo them and get my long hair back.” The girl remarked.

“Another question: is the first dream version of me, the one with spiky mohawk hair, is she a big smoker?”

Billy nodded. “Yes, she is a big smoker, and quite foul-mouthed too.”

“I see. It seems only some portion of your dreams will affect the real world, and each dream affects people in this office to some different degree. This time, I only got some hairstyle changes, but I guess other girls may get worse.”

“Yes, I think Kelly now has a crush on Damien,” Billy said.

Christine showed some sympathetic expression on her face, “That sucks. I don’t want to wake up someday and suddenly find myself having a crush on some creep.”

Billy just smiled wryly at Christine’s remark. Despite accidentally making some women in the office head over heels for Damien, Billy’s ultimate goal was to let others lust over him instead of other men.

“We need to do something so you can control your power. Have you tried to meditate or have some good workout before sleep? Some say it helps to give you a soundless sleep without a dream. Well, It’s not like I can’t prevent you from dreaming. But there must be something we do that can influence the dream you have. So far, what have you done before you sleep these last two days?”

Billy’s face blushed red when Christine asked him the question. He couldn’t say that he had masturbated using her as his jerking-off material.

“Well, from how you aren’t answering, I bet you do something that adolescent boys love to do. Am I right?”

“Yes…” Billy said weakly.

“Just try to go to sleep right away today; no jerking off, no watching porn. Let’s see what dream you get. You get it, Billy?” The purple-haired girl advised.

Billy nodded, but it was still his choice whether he would follow her advice or not.

It was an ‘ordinary’ workday for Billy. Despite the change of appearance and some even changed in personalities, most of the women in the office still did their work professionally. Nothing changed from their routine except they became grumpier or gossipy. Billy thought that after Damien failed to ask Christine for information about him, the man would try to target him. Damien had the position to make his day full of inconvenience, but the senior associates seemed to do nothing to him as far as he could see and only checked him from afar. It seemed that what Christine said about Damien was right: Damien was someone who played by the rules. Damien wouldn’t try to harm him, at least in the office. But people like Damien were like silent predators who lurk in the shadows, waiting for their prey to be careless and make mistakes before pouncing on them.

When the office hours ended. Billy saw Damien talking with Brianne and gave her something before he walked away. Billy then approached his supervisor to greet her. Appearance-wise, Brianne wasn’t too much different than her previous day. Her hair was still in her previous bob style, instead of twintail like in his dream, but the color matched his dream. Her hair was now dyed full white like in his recent dream. Her breasts were still only 32C instead of humongous cantaloupe bolted on her chest.

Brianne was wearing something similar to her attire yesterday, a short mini-skirt plus a black flimsy V-neck blouse top with a very low neckline. Additionally, she wore a dark red blazer jacket. The black fishnet stockings she wore yesterday were replaced with nylon stockings. Overall, she was still sexy but less scandalous than before. If before she looked like a porn parody of an office lady, the current Brianne was an office lady who pushed her limit of sexiness.

“Good evening, Mrs. McKnight.”

“Good evening to you too, Billy. Oh, don’t call me Mrs. McKnight; I’m not that old. Call me Brianne.” Brianne corrected. Brianne seemed to be more loose and easygoing than before.

“Sorry…good evening, Brianne.”

“So, what’s up, hotshot? Do you want to report something to me, or just want to greet me?”

“Hotshot? Me? I don’t think I am doing anything to earn the right to be called a hotshot.” Billy was quite surprised and confused when Brianne called him a hotshot.

“Some girls have been so enthusiastic about you in the office’s group chat. They then start to call you a Hotshot. I just followed the trend.” Brianne explained the origin of Billy’s new nickname. “Anyway, my hunch told me that you want to ask me something, so ask away while I’m still in a good mood.”

“Thank you. Actually, I’m just curious about you and Damien; I don’t know that you two are close.”

“—Oh no, I wasn't close to him. At least before today. Actually, I’m not too fond of him; he isn’t the worst man in the office per se, but I don’t like how his eyes ogle the girls in the office. But today I see him in a new light after some journey of reinventing myself. I still feel a bit uncomfortable with how he ogled me, but it's less than before. Instead of feeling disgusted, I feel appreciated. I want to be more like Cassandra, and who else other than Damien knows better about goth style which Cassandra likes in this office now that Cassandra is no longer here aside from him?

Billy noted Brianne’s shift in attitude regarding Damien. She didn’t outright turn into Damien’s fangirl like Kelly, but she wasn’t far from that. She unintentionally began to orbit around Damien because of Cassandra’s fixation.

“I saw that Damien was giving you something. May I ask you what he has given you?” Billy asked Brianne again.

“It’s quite rude to ask what someone gives to others, Billy. Fortunately, I’m in a good mood, and want to share my happiness.” Brianne berated Billy, but she then took out a piece of paper from her pocket.

“A business card?”

“Yes, it’s an address to an occult store. The store sells not only some occult stuff but also goth costumes and accessories. I asked Damien to tell me about where Cassandra often shops for her stuff, and he gave me that business card.”

“May I take a photo of the business card? I'm interested in checking the place too. I may not look like it, but I am also quite interested in goth culture.”

“Ah, you love Goth culture too? Good. The more people who love good cultures in the office, the better it is. I won’t prevent you from taking a picture of the business card.” Brianne gave Billy a nod of approval.

If Billy was able to control his power successfully, the amount of goths and punks in the office would not just be a handful, but all of them would be goths and punks. For Billy, the women in the office weren't goth enough yet. They might have colored hair and dressed in black-colored dresses, but that didn’t mean they were goth. Their appearance might look goth, but in essence they weren’t goth.

Billy finished taking the photo and gave the business card back to Brianne. “Thank you, Brianne. I will not bother you any further.”

Billy made a stop at the occult store before he went back to his place. The store was named Deborah Daedric Store. The store was hidden in the alleyway. Without the address from the business card, it would be hard to find the store.

Billy entered the store and saw an elderly woman with graying hair sitting on the storekeeper’s desk. Billy was actually expecting that a younger goth girl or boy would be the one who would be the one who would be the keeper of this place, but he found a stereotypical ‘old witch’ instead.

“Welcome, young man. My name is Deborah. I’m the owner of the store here. Do you have anything you want to find in my occult store?” The old woman greeted Billy.

“Uhm…what do you have?”

“I have a lot of goth trinkets, accessories, and curios. This store also sells some goth costumes. We are the hidden gem for your goth needs.” Deborah said her marketing pitch.

“Do you have any magical stuff or spellbooks?” Billy asked the woman on a whim. He was trying his luck. There must be a reason that Damien recommended this store to Brianne instead of another store. Billy then remembered that Damien seemed to have some interest in magical stuff. After he got his coin, Billy now believed that magic or power beyond human comprehension was real.

Deborah chuckled, “Magical stuff? Well, you may find ones that are truly magical among those trinkets and curios if you are lucky and destined for it. As for spellbooks? I don’t sell one. Anyway, I think you shouldn’t seek for more magical stuff; I can feel some great power in you already. Don’t chew more than you can handle.”

“You can feel that I possess some magical item?” Billy was shocked and became wary of the woman.

“Don’t worry, I will not do anything to you. I’m just a feeble old woman with a bit of experience. I have some contacts with magical things in my youth, so I can recognize if some people own one.” Said Deborah.

“Do you know what kind of magic item can make what I dreamed gradually affect the real world?”

“From dream to reality…you must possess some powerful item, but that type of item often is very hard to control. You want to know if I know some way to control it so you can harness its power, am I right?”

Billy nodded.

“I have heard of some powerful item that has that kind of power, but without more information, I can’t tell you a lot. But for a thing that affects dreams, usually, you only need to control your dream instead of the item. Lucky you, I have some items that will help you with your dream,” Deborah replied. The elderly woman then walked to one of the store’s item bins and rummaged through it for a few minutes until she fetched a thing from the bin.

“This is a dreamcatcher; some natives on this land use it as a protective charm against evil spirits. This one is more special than your ordinary dreamcatcher. I can’t tell you how it works specifically because it is hard to put into words, but you will understand its function when you fall asleep tonight. Just hang this thing in your room. You can get this thing for only $250.”

“Wait, that thing is $250? Are you trying to rip me off?”

“Take it or don’t take it. $250 is cheap for a magic tool. I can sell it even higher to some collectors. So, do you want it?”

“Yes, I will buy it.” Billy took out $250 bills from his wallet and gave them to the elderly storekeeper. He still felt that he was being ripped off, but he didn’t want to miss any chance that could help him control the power of the coin. He only hoped that he didn’t get tricked with a fake thing.

“Let me put this in a box for you.”

Deborah then gave the box with the Dreamcatcher to Billy. “Do you have anything else you want to buy, young man?”

Billy shook his head; the $250 he just gave her was the last money in his wallet.

“No, I think this is enough,” Billy replied, but before he left, he wanted to confirm something with Deborah. “Ma’am, do you have regular customers named Cassandra and Damien?”

“Yes, I know them. Cassandra often came here to buy some costumes and accessories. And Damien, well, his mother is my old friend. Little Damien has been interested in occult things since he was a teenage boy. Are you their friend?”

Shit! Should have expected it. Damien recommended this store because it is still related to him.

“Uhm…we are not exactly friends. We're just from the same office. Ma’am, please don’t tell them about what we talked about here.”

“Worry not. I respect my customers' privacy. I know some people don’t want others to know that they like goth culture or occult stuff and want to keep their hobby to themselves. Your secret will be safe with me.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

As Billy left the store, Deborah looked at Billy’s back with a hint of slyness.

Continued in the next part >>>

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