Scene 5

Sitting at his desk Jackson watched his fingers drum across its surface. His fingers looked so different with the acrylic nails. Such a small change made them look so feminine, he hated them, but his sister insisted they would come off. Between Linc and his sister he was going to lose his job, sure he thought about letting them fire him more than once or quitting, but a black mark on his rather light employment history could be a **** knell for a decent career.

Shifting in his chair he could feel the cool air of the building flow across his nylon covered legs. He had been feeling it all day, but thinking how the way he was dressed was the cause of what was about to happen filled him with so much anger. Glaring at the empty seat where his friend should be sitting, the dick wasn’t even around for him to let him have it. He had anger for him, anger for his sister and anger for Mr. Dunn… Plenty of anger to go around for everyone.

For a few minutes Jackson glared at the empty chair, feeling the straps of his bra on his shoulders, the weight of the realistic breast forms his sister bought that were glued to his chest, the constricting feeling of the corset under his dress and the pinching of the heels on his feet. He considered slipping his feet free of them, but he really didn’t want to see his red painted toes through the stockings.

Eventually his phone rang, his stomach falling out as he heard his boss's deep voice on the other end. “My office, now.” He wasn’t a particularly happy man, but he sounded none too pleased. Jackson didn’t even have the chance to say he was on the way before the receiver went dead. So with a sigh and full of dread Jackson made his way down the cubicle hallway, passed the empty desk where a receptionist once sat and slowly opened his bosses door. “Mr. Dunn, if you would just let me explain.” He said as his heeled feet moved him to the center of the office.

It wasn’t a large room, a nice desk in the back corner of the room, a single monitor hooked up to an open laptop, a large comfortable looking leather chair behind it that Mr. Dunn sat in. A single chair in front of the desk, with a matching leather two person sofa against the wall to its right and a large bookshelf against the glass wall where Jackson came in, blocking the view of the office from anyone outside. “Take a seat.” Alexander motioned with one hand before moving it back to the steepled position as he took in his employee again.

His file said his name was Jackson Heart, he didn’t look like no Jackson or Jack for that matter, the name he had been using for some time now. This person didn’t appear to be male to him at all, making his attraction see all the more wrong knowing the truth. He wasn’t gay by any means, but the advice he was just given with if this person presented as a woman, than he was a woman. A woman with nice long legs and a tight butt. Really he would still rather get rid of Jackson then do this, but he had his marching orders.

“No need for that, I spoke with HR and I understand everything.”

“You do!?” Jackson let a breath, that seemed to hold most of the tension in his body. With it out he felt much more relaxed. Linc was not out at lunch, he had to have gone down to HR to straighten all this out.

“I do.” Alexander said in his normal gruff voice as he slid a folder across his desk. “That is why I wanted to offer you a full time position here at Mega Corp. Sign this and your days as an underpaid intern will be behind you.”

For the first real time that day Jackson felt a smile come to his face, not just a little one either. “That sounds incredible!” He had come into this office knowing he was going to be fired because his friend pranked him into making him dress up in woman’s clothes, to suddenly getting a promotion for that very thing.

Opening the folder he quickly looked over the employment contract, it was dated to start today a sign they were really serious about the change and not just stringing him along again. The compensation wasn’t the greatest, but fifty thousand a year was much better than the median income for Florida. Still the salesmen in him made him want to always negotiate for something better. “Says here you are offering fifty a year, how about sixty?”

“Sure that is fine.” Alexander motioned for the folder back, he made a slash mark through the form to cross out the salary, writing the requested salary in its place. He was told to get him… her to sign, so he wasn’t going to quibble about a little more pay like he might do with others.

Jackson’s smile only grew seeing the change, it was given so quickly though he knew he should have pushed for more. “What if I asked for sixty five?” The look in the man’s eyes made Jackson feel like he had stepped over a line. “Kidding, just kidding.” With the change in salary done he read on, stopping where it said what his new title would be. “Executive Administrative Assistant. I’m going to be a secretary?”

Running two fingers down his tight Alexander smiled, happy at the choice he made. He had three positions open under him at the moment, one for a structural engineer to analyze things they had coming in. A account auditor and the position for the receptionist that quit without notice or word why she left. He couldn’t put Jackson into two of the roles, and adding a little to the duties allowed him to have more leeway in giving a decent salary. “I think it will be a good fit with your new lifestyle.”

“What lifestyle?” Jackson said, confused.

The question made Alexander feel uncomfortable, like she was accusing him of something even though he was doing his best in the moment. “You coming out as transgender.”

“What!?”

“With you coming out I admit I may have overreacted a bit, you make a beautiful woman by the way. I went down to HR and because you are… well because you aren’t just some guy putting on a dress for laughs to disrupt the office I was able to talk HR into letting me hire you on full time. You are our newest diversity hire, isn’t that great? You get to be who you are and you get a career at the same time.”

Pressing his lips together Jackson could taste the lipstick on his lips. His body flush with new anxiety, feeling every inch of all the feminine garments he wore. “So… so are you saying if I wan’t transgendered I would be fired?”

The question was first replied with a hearty laugh. “Heavens yes, but don’t worry no one here can discrimiLinc against you because of who you used to be.”

“Umm out of curiosity if someone did do that in the office, what would happen?”

“I think something like that would be insensitive to…” Alexander waved his hand in his employees direction. “People like yourself, so they would be walked off the property and I can’t imagine they would get a decent position again, at least in this state. Or well any state that enjoyed their contracts with Mega Corp.” Alexander felt proud of himself, here he was bridging a gap from himself and this person's community. All while not feeling fully on board with any of it, who said he was too old to grow as a person.

“I see, I see, then where do I sign?”

When the paperwork was handed back to him, Alexander smiled noting she wrote Jackson Heart at the top. “What name do you go by now?”

“I haven't changed my name.”

“No? Well I’m sure HR can help with things like that, but you need a pretty name to match your new pretty look. Jackson… Jack… How about Jacqueline?” The suggestion reminded him how his sister kept calling him Jackie the entire weekend.

“Sure, sounds fine.” After this he was going to head down to HR, straightening this out wasn’t going to work. They would just fire him if they knew the truth, the thoughts about Linc going down and correcting this were wrong and he was thankful for that otherwise security would be escorting him out. No he was going to go with the lie, but change it up. Say how he was just trying this for a day, and how it was a slow transition and for now he still wanted everything to be normal till he was ready.

“It sounds more than fine, it is a beautiful name, must like you my dear. Now take this form and head on down to HR, they are expecting to see your smiling face.” In mostly a daze as he thought through what he was going to tell the people down stairs Jackson followed his boss out of his office. Catching sight of his best friend just a few paces away, looking worried as he felt a hand pat his butt twice.

“Have you finish up with HR how about the two of us go out to lunch together and get to know one another better?” Alexander said, feeling a desire not to really get to know her better. Nothing was going to change what was between her legs, but she did look pretty, pretty enough for other things. Plus no one could accuse him of discrimination if he asked Jacquiline out.

Lincoln had been pacing the floor just past the empty receptionist desk, taking a few hesitant steps towards his boss’s office to explain how it was all his fault before deciding against it and just waiting till they were done. This was supposed to be a joke, a prank, a bad one if it got his friend fired. He had come back from a long lunch, to find a post it note on his monitor saying ‘Thanks for getting me Fired.” After that he ran up only to hear the two talking inside, so he waited. Now they were coming out, and he was surprised to see Mr. Dunn smiling as he said something to Jackson that he couldn’t hear.

Jackson showing up to the office looking like this was a shock, the note on his monitor was another and now this, but what his friend said next threw him for a complete loop. “I’m sorry Mr. Dunn, I would love to go out with you, but I can’t. My boyfriend Linc and I were planning to go out to lunch together, but now we have something to truly celebrate.”

Not sure what was going on Lincoln just stood there as his boss looked him over, probably harder than he had in the entire year he had been with the company. “You are her boyfriend?”

Stepping up to his friend's side Jackson put one hand on his back and the other on his chest as he leaned in close like he was holding the man possessive, whispering in his ear before giving his friend’s stumbled cheek a light kiss. “He sure is, my Lincoln here was just confessing to me this morning how in love he was with me. It is just great to have someone so accepting of me.” Jackson flashed a brilliant smile that was now much whiter after the treatment his sister made him go through. He did not like being hit on by his boss and if he could get a little payback in the process of stopping that, then more the better.

“I see, I didn’t realize. Well you two enjoy lunch… in fact it is on me.” Alexander pulled out his wallet, handing over two twenty dollar bills as he wondered if he needed to find a position for the other intern now to still not get in trouble. He would go down to HR about it, but he didn’t want them thinking he couldn’t run his own department.

“Lincoln, I had been meaning to talk to you, but today is going to be full of getting your pretty girlfriend up and running with her new job. You seem to be doing great work, let's put on the books a time to speak about your future.” That would do for now, no commitments, but setting him up to think things would change, while he had time to consider what the future actually held.

“Sounds good Mr. Dunn.” Lincoln said before turning his head to his apparent girlfriend. “What is going on?” Jackson held the smile on his face already wishing he hadn't seen just the hint of lipstick on Linc's cheek, reminding him of what he had just done.