Chapter 17

Later that day, Calvin sat at his small stable in his apartment, on the table in front of him was a small buck meant for cleaning now full of hot water and two wash clothes soaking inside. Pulling one out he crossed his smooth legs and wrapped the hot, wet cloth around his left foot, rubbing his sore foot through it. He wanted to relieve the pain, but he had no pain killers and a hot shower seemed like too much work. The long hair was a pain to dry and he really didn;t want to see his naked body with the tits he now had.Under the bucket was a newspaper he took from one of the rooms he cleaned, feeling like he desperately needed a source of entertainment.

It was about then the door to the apartment opened at the same time a knock game to the door, That is when Calvin found out Sydney had a key to the place. The tall man, still dressed in his suit from work, came walking in with a set of keys in hand, a tired expression on his face.

Stepping inside the apartment, Sid saw his boss… he saw Clara, who looked the furthest thing from the arrogant asshole he knew. Days of seeing him as Clara, the latina had not yet fully settled in. The day before they had sat around wearing only earring panties, sure the bulge in the underwear was easily seen but his eye still told his brain, “this is a female.” Today they sat with their legs crossed with what looked like a wet dripping cloth over one foot, while wearing a high waisted skirt that looked like it was built to give its own compression and had built in suspenders. Along with it was a long sleeve partially of the shoulders purple and white checkered almost plaid design blouse. “Clara.” He nodded as he closed the door, locking it behind him.

“Since when do you have a key!” It didn't really matter to Cal that the buffoon had a key to the place and really it made sense but it irked him that he wasn’t in the loop, let alone asked.

Pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment he counted to five, taking off his suit jacket and tossing it to the foot of the bed. It wasn’t hard, the flat wasn’t large.”Since, always. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I came to talk, but if you are going to bite my head off soon as I walk in the door, I can go.

Grumbling to himself, the irritated feminized man went back to rubbing his foot with the now warm cloth, losing some of its heat.”No, you can stay. Having a real conversation would be nice.”

Using his hands, Sydney cracked his stiff neck to one side, hearing it pop and feeling the release. “A real conversation, okay.. Having fake ones? Clara, do you have an imaginary friend?”

Dropping the cooling cloth into the water, Cal pulled out the next, uncrossing and recrossing his legs to begin on his next foot to get more relief. “Don;t do that.. I had a day and my feet are killing me.”

Rolling his neck, Sid took a few steps over to the table seeing the steam from the hot water rise from the bucket. He got an idea of what they were doing thanks to the context clues.Here, let me help and you just sit there and tell me about your day.”

When the large man sat down in the other chair and picked up his sore foot he had already been massaging through the cloth, Cal almost jumped out of his skin. “What are you doing!?”

“Shh, shhh. Relax Instead of teasing, I'm trying to be nice.” Massaging his bosses feet could have been incredibly demeaning a task he would never subject himself to but this hardly Calvin David Bennent. With her cute tainted toes, the only thing Clara Diane Bent really had in common with the man was their shared five foot seven height and their attitude but even that seemed a bad comparison when most of the time she wore high heels and was too bashful, at least publicly to talk much.

“Oh… Okay.” Calvin said, taken back by the gesture. Unlike most men he did like getting a pedicure, it was relaxing. This was not the same experience, but his callused, strong hands seemed more than capable at the job. “Mmmm, Yeah, mm, okay. My day. Getting ready in the morning is no picnic, do you have any idea what girls have to do to get ready? I do and I will never complain about them going out in sweets with no makeup and hair not done.”

Pressing his thumbs into the ball of the foot he applied light but firm pressure as he slid them down across the arch before moving back to do it again this time coming down to the heel of the foot to rub his left thumb along it it ever shrinking circles before starting again back at the ball running one them to the left and another to the right a few times before working his way down. He had done this for his last girlfriend and knew to warm his hands first. The hot water doing the trick made it feel better. He also knew getting the area right where the toes started, feeling the toes pop always made her smile or even swoon. While that was not the goal, he really couldn't imagine walking around in high heels all day. The sexist dick deserved to be tortured and done in a truly comic way but he needed Calvin to actually get to the bottom of the problem and being nice to Clara wasn't going to be the end of the world. “Yeah? Is this where I tell you that you look prettier when you smile?”

Closing his eyes, Cal groaned almost not audibly from the foot a=massage before popping one eye open to semi glare at the gorilla of a man. “This is where you shut up and keep doing what you're doing while I vent.”Leaning his head back, Cal felt his long hair spill down, he lifted his left hand intending to press it to the center of his his rib cage,, it still went there but for a brief second before he felt the soft flesh of the feminine breast on his chest he forgot about them and the straps of the bra digging into his shoulders. Annoying as that was, it did give relief outfits of to his back from the weight of the mounds, the now not so overly tight corset assisting with support for his lower back.

“Where wasI?”

“You were telling me about how much time you spend to look pretty as a picture.”

Gritting his teeth, Cal didn;t snap back not when the man;s hands found their way to the c=base of his toes. The feeling was like the man’s fingers were rubbing across the area like an inch worm, slow and steady. With so many nerve endings there, it was a cascading relief that melted away more tension then he knew he had there. “Yeah…” He said dreamily, his long lashed eyelids closing once more. “Then there is the city bus. I;m not saying I ride it like a peasant… I’m no noble lord but… I think I’m going to buy a new car when this is over and a driver. “At Ahuva Bahyeet… Beloved House my ass. I went to see Moriah. Do you know who I found?”

“Yes, but tell me anyway.”

“Some kid named Morris, a rep from Mega Corp. They are acting faster than we planed.I need to get into the offices now.Moriah then didn;t realize who I was… Or played it off like she did. Dismissing me like a servant!” Despite the tension melting away from his body, just talking about the fiasco in the morning had Cal staring up at the ceiling, his mind wandering slightly at a spot over the fridge that he wasn’t sure was there before.

Grasping the thick Achilles tendon at the back of Clara’s heel between his thumb and index finger. Sid used a slow, stroking motion downward toward the base of the heel a few times before changing tactics. He made gentle, but firm circular motions directly around the round, protruding bones on either side of their ankle. All while he held in a laugh at what the man…girl was describing. “Yeah, I heard about that. Moriah...” Sydney grimaced not wanting his personal feelings for the powerful, beautiful goddess of a woman to be so transparent. “Ms. Abrams… She talked to me about it over lunch today. Do you really think she didn;t know you? Clara, she was playing things up for the rep. That and she was miffed at you for coming in there."Cal's voice was faint, his eyes closed once more, starting to feel like he could fall asleep as he felt more and more… melty from the massage. “But…”

“Clara, no buts. There is no reason for you to be in there. I know exactly what you were doing and so did she. She trusts you to secure the future for the both of you. Don’t you think you should put the same trust in her to keep the present safe?”

‘Annoying prick…’ Cal thought moving his arm up so his wrist rested over his closed eyes. ‘I dislike it when he pretends to be wise, it's worse when he pulls it off.’ Not responding right away. Cal opened mouth and groaned in delight when the callus hands moved up to his calf. “Ohhh!” The sound came out of his puffy lips involuntarily as his toes curled. “Shee… Shhhhe was offering to give my phone number to that guy.”

Putting the foot down, Sydney picked up the other to begin on it. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I heard and I think you might be taking this wrong.”

“Mmm… Yeah? Do tell.”

“Two things to consider. First is if a gut gets hit on by a gay man, you could be insulted, since you're not gay. I know many guys like that. I served with men that would consider that the start to a fight. Small minded men witty oddly shallow, frail egos. When you could take it as a compliment. So the first point here is to take it as a positive..”

Not pulling his foot away, or opening his eyes, Cal harrumphed. “Great, you win. I’m happy, it's the best thing that the woman I love is trying to set me up with a kid old enough to drink but not old enough to rent a car.”

Chuckling, Sydney continued his efforts. “You sure don’t sound happy, you should though. Think about my second point. Beyond fucking with you, why would Ms. Abbrams do that?” Not waiting for an answer, he continued. “Smoke and mirrors. The initial review of things has already been done. She overloaded him with binders upon binders of data, then in comes a walking high heeled pretty distraction. You are already doing so much, would sitting down for a nice dinner and laughing at bad jokes be a line too far?”

Breathing in through his nose, Cal took in a slow long breath. A thing he hadn't been able to do when the corset had been overly tight. Pursing his lips he blew the air out even slower. ”Securing our future… While she protects our present. Yeah, I can do that… I really hope he doesn’t call, but new topic, the same as the first topic of my day.”

Trying to mentally get past the hurdle of being pimped out, he tried to console himself with the fact that in doing so he at least might be the most expensive strumpet in history. “Working today, you know cleaning work glamorous as it is, the role isn't exactly what I’m meant for. You know I have an MBA? A graduate degree, that set me up for leadership. This hotel would be nothing without me.”

Not stopping his task, though he considered it, Sid made a tisking sound before replying. “So I have heard Mr. Bennen say. You however, Ms. Bent have no such degree. Get what I’m saying?”

Not replying to the barb disguised as a question. Cal continued his story about his day. “Vacummomng, vacuuming and more vacuuming. I would move on and say when that is done and move on to explaining another task, but wouldn’t you believe I get the privilege of doing more vacuuming. Then I get to change bed sheets before scrubbing one thing and then the next before scrubbing more and wouldn’t you know it, surprise more vacuuming. Thrilling as that is, I at least get to spend some time with Ana, Svetlanna, Valentina, Elena and some of the front desk staff at times like Lauren but… that girl can talk. Stories about her little boy, gross. Her husband who sounds like a pos and now a jailbird. Honestly though Ana is the best of them, hot and spicy. She makes the tasks more bearable.

“You made a friend, that is nice to hear.”

“Fuck you Sydney.” Calvin snapped before feeling two light taps on his calf before he felt a pinch. Opening his eyes and sitting forward, Cal jerked his body, yanking back his leg from the man.

“Now now. Clara that is fuck you Mr. Larson.”

Sulking like a petulant child, Cal crossed his arms and with him still not fully used to his feminine chest his actions only pushed his bosom up. ”Laugh it up, but I can’t help but notice a lack of food in your hands when you walked in.”

“You are hungry? Why didn't you say so Clara?” Getting up Sydney took a lean cuisine out of the freezer, peeling the back the top before putting on a tray and placing it in the oven. He didn't bother to preheat the oven, just setting it after singing a song as he worked.

“Ladies and gentlemen this is Mambo Number Five. One two three four five everybody in the car so come on let's ride. To the liquor store around the corner the boys say they want some gin and juice but I really don't wanna, Beer burst like I had last week I must stay deep cos talk is cheap I like Ana,Svetlanna, Valentina, Elena and Clara as I continue you know they're getting sweeter. So what can I do?” He sang using the names his feminine looking boss said, adding their pseudonym.Tonight your dinner is Ricotta Cheese & Spinach Ravioli. Hope you like it. Now tell me any progress on the investigation?”

Purposefully looking the other way, Cal gave the man the middle finger. “Cabrón,” He said as his reply at first using one of the words Ana taught him, with her insistence on Clara needing to speak her true tongue. “You know I haven’t. No guest is embezzling from us and the cleaning staff is a non-starter. I need access to the office staff. That is why I went to Moriah, and I needed my credit cards. Now I have the next two days off, I'm working the weekend. Tomorrow, take care of that for me.”

“You are welcome for heating up your food and no, I will not be that. Mr. Bennen is out of town. It would look like you stole his wallet if you had his cards. The girl I got hired with no interview or background check, that would not look good. Far as cleaning assignments… that is Beth's domain. Talk to your boss.”

Pushing his hand forward, his muscles straining, Calvin really wanted the hand gesture to really drive home the point that he should gp fuck himself. “She is not my boss, I’m hers and she says I have to earn that.”

Clapping his hands, Sid nodded. “Sure, you are the boss having to do what she says. Sounds like your supervisor already told you what to do. You could tackle two birds here with one stone” Seeing Clara raise one of her perfectly arched eyebrows, he continued. “I recall Beth and I’s boss, Mr. Bennent complained… he does that a lot. That there are always too many call outs for shifts. Beth has told me more than once she wanted a higher head count to fill in the gaps. While Bennent never gave the approval Ms. Abrams did. With him out, that is how I got you hired. Offer to your supervisor to fill in gaps to get some over time. Bigger paycheck, solves one problem or at least helps and will make you look good to Beth. Bonus, when Bennent comes back you will look like a reliable hire.”

Slowly shaking his head the fucker pushing his buttons, Cal went from giving Sydney the bird to pointing at him with a long nailed finger. “Said in the most patronizing way possible, but you have a point. I get you, you have limitations. The heavens know you have many. At some point you traded as many brain cells as you could for extra muscle and now as you get older a third of them have turned to fat, leaving you worse off for the trade. The least you could do is help me some more. Get me access to the petty cash. How much do you have on you? Give me a few hundred.”

Rubbing his jaw, feeling the stubble that grew over the day, Sid nodded before racing for his wallet. Pulling it out and opening it, “Yeah, I could do that. I’m too dumb to know better, but I could help you find the embezzler by helping you embezzle. Wait... No, I won’t be doing that, I will though help you out. Because of you, everyone thinks we are a couple. So tomorrow I’m going to send you a text of a nail salon to go to. I noticed you have a chipped nail and a few scratches in your nail polish.I will take care of the bill. You need to look put together, I suggest you learn how to take care of your own nails or this will start coming out of your own paycheck. My girl…ick, you get yourself pampered on your first day off.Take this.” The large man added putting a pair of twenties on the table before heading out.

When Cal was alone once more in the apartment he looked at the nails, he hadn't really paid close attention to them, but now that it was pointed out it was clear as day. He had no desire to look pretty, but the perfectionist in him hated the sight. “Great, so much for this being a quick job.”