The daughter I never had, Charlene

I walk into the lobby of my boss, Alexander’s condominium. The guard at the reception desk nods as I pass him by, though when my eyes are not on him, I immediately have the feeling that his eyes are on my female body. I’ve had some time for training. The benefits of YouTube at my disposal. How to walk in heels, how to put on bras, how to apply makeup, how to doll yourself up for your father’s boss. Right. I’m not here as Charles, I’m here as Charlene. I’ve already made up a story about why the names are so similar.

When me and my imaginary wife was going to have a baby, we left the gender a surprise, waiting until the actual birth to discover if my child was a boy or a girl. I secretly wanted a boy, but unfortunately, the baby’s gender was female. If it was a boy, I could give him my name and he would be Charles Jr. But since the actual gender was female, it naturally changed to the feminine version Charlene.

As luck would have it, even though I was in my mid-thirties, when I became Charlene through the use of X-Change, I became a beautiful woman with a youthful look. I am on the petite end of the spectrum, but I make up for it with my long, wavy hair, able to entice any onlookers. I make my way past the desk and to a waiting elevator. Once inside, I check myself in the mirror. I was about the same height as Alexander, but I’m at least a foot shorter than him as Charlene. My heels give me some verticality, but he would definitely still tower over me.

The elevator ride is long, given my boss has a penthouse condo. I’m able to psych myself up, giving my reflections some pep talks, making sure that my story is straight. I’m Charlene, the daughter of Charles. I’m 18 years old. I’m on summer break right now, but I’m looking forward to attending my first choice of universities. And my purpose here is to discuss with my father’s boss on a raise for this year. I’m hoping I can convince his boss that a raise will definitely help my father, to give myself something to fall back on if my college funds fall through. In helping him, I’m helping myself.

The eventual slow to the ascent of the lift and the subsequent ding as the floor numbers change to a digital P above the sliding doors signals my arrival. The doors open and I walk out into a long hallway. The sign right outside gives me the direction I need to walk to get to one of two penthouse condominiums of the building. When I reach the door to the condo, I press the doorbell mounted outside. It’s the kind that probably has a camera feed to a console inside. No one asks who may be behind the door, telling me that the owner is expecting me. The door opens after it is unlocked and there standing behind it is…