To clear his schedule

“Oh, Camila, I think I shall leave early using the fire exit too. Just been an exhausting day, yes? Clear my schedule for the day.”

He feigned a tired sigh. Camila nodded once more and pulled the door shut behind her.

The moment the latch clicked, Callum let out a long breath of real relief. He stood, walked over to the corner and yanked the sheet off his mother. The plastic-skinned body was still kneeling exactly as he had left it, mouth open, eyes staring straight ahead. The glossy sheen on her skin made her look almost like a life-sized doll that happened to have his mother’s exact face and figure.

“A good performance, eh, Mom? Funny how a good employee can save you in a bad situation. That reminds me, I do need a good employee right now.”

He fished the remote out of his pocket, pointed it at her and pressed the unaware button.

“Loyal obedient servant.”

For a split second he almost saw her eyes go wide. Then the light hit. Her body jerked hard. The plastic sheen vanished. Her skin returning to normal. The professional white blouse and black pencil skirt reappeared as if they had never left. When the light faded she was human again, fully dressed, hair back in its usual neat style, but something in her posture and expression was completely different.

“Oh gosh! What am I doing down here!”

The voice was higher, brighter, almost exaggeratedly cheerful. She scrambled to her feet, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt, then straightened and smiled at him with both hands clasped behind her back.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Mr Drake?”

The sweet, eager tone made it clear the old Margot was still locked somewhere underneath but unaware of how she was being forced to play the part of the perfect, deferential servant.

Callum smiled.

“Let’s get out of here, Margot. We have some things we need to work on.”

“Yes sir!”

She followed him without hesitation to the private fire-exit door at the back of the office. They moved quickly down the stairwell, footsteps echoing off the concrete, then pushed out into the late-afternoon light of the parking lot. Margot stayed half a step behind him the entire way, the picture of an attentive employee.

They reached her car. Callum opened the passenger door and dropped into the seat. Margot slid behind the wheel, started the engine and pulled out of the space with smooth, careful movements.

“To your residence, sir?” she asked, eyes on the road, voice still bright with that new reverence.

“No. Let’s visit the mall. I have something I need to purchase.”

Callum was already turning the next part of the plan over in his head.

“Yes sir, as you wish!”

Margot spoke the words with complete sincerity and kept driving.

Two hours later:

Callum sat on the living-room couch with a mug of coffee in one hand, the remote resting on the cushion beside him. The house was quiet except for the soft sounds of cleaning coming from the kitchen. Margot moved through the rooms in the black-and-white maid outfit he had bought with her credit card at the mall. The short skirt barely covered the curve of her ass. The frilly apron sat tight across her heavy tits. He had told her to change and clean, and she had obeyed without a single question, humming quietly while she worked like the whole situation was perfectly normal.

Callum watched her for a while, drinking his coffee, enjoying the sight of the woman who used to bark orders at him now dusting baseboards in a costume that left most of her thighs bare. When the mug was empty he decided he wanted a little more entertainment.

He picked up the remote, pointed it at her back, and pressed the aware-but-obedient button.

“Keep cleaning, but stay fully aware of everything.”

The light hit her. Margot’s body jerked once. The cheerful emptiness left her eyes and the real woman looked out again, trapped inside the still-obedient body. She kept scrubbing the counter, but her jaw tightened and her movements turned stiff with barely contained fury.

Callum grinned.

“There she is. Miss Drake herself. How’s it feel knowing you’re stuck in that little outfit, scrubbing my floors while you know exactly what’s happening?”

She didn’t answer. The programming wouldn’t let her stop working, but the glare she shot him over her shoulder was pure hatred.

He laughed, set the remote down and headed for the bathroom.

“Don’t stop until the place is spotless.”

He said to her as he left.

He locked the door, turned the shower on hot, and stepped under the spray. The water washed away the last of the office stress. He stayed under it longer than he needed to, thinking about how easy everything had become. By the time he shut the water off and toweled dry, the house had gone silent.