Office - Corporate Restructuring: Hostile Takeover

Mark paced around his office, furious. He knew it was the largest in the building, but now it seemed tiny, feeling more like an enclosure at the zoo than the luxurious centre of his business. The plush leather armchair, the multi monitor display, the floor to ceiling glass windows with a dazzling view over the city – all of it felt meaningless now that the reality of the situation had come rushing up to meet him.

As the boss, all rumours in the company eventually made their way to Mark’s desk. He had often (in his more immature moments) pictured himself as a king on his throne, his loyal advisers feeding him everything he needed to know. A conversation about pay by the water cooler would soon be a conversation that Mark had with the offending employee directly, or staff considering other positions elsewhere were swiftly made to feel like leaving would be the smarter option. It had always been delightful, until the news was bad.

Mark knew his business was failing, despite the reports that attempted to obscure the obvious he received from his employees. It was struggling to compete for the simplest of reasons: competition. Mia, an employee at one of his bitterest rivals, had swiftly risen through the ranks. Her success was put down to a variety of things: her own shadowy manager, Katherine, her distracting good looks, or even just that she brought a new perspective into the workplace that was undeniably attractive. Whatever the cause, Mark hated it, and envied her for the success that was rightfully his. He had even constructed an elaborate plan to infiltrate Mia’s company with a corporate spy, but everything crumbled when the spy had themselves been recruited, ignoring Mark’s calls as if they didn’t remember working for him at all.

The frustration that was weighing heaviest on Mark’s mind was from a single rumour. The board were unhappy, and his company was being merged into a wider conglomerate.  Nothing more had been mentioned, but Mark had been in the business long enough to know that mergers were often massacres. That morning, a meeting had appeared in his calendar, sent with the highest priority from the board. The attendees were anonymous, and as such Mark’s imagination was playing havoc with him. Anyone could be in the meeting, but Mark knew who he was expecting the most.

A soft knock on the door was enough to jolt Mark out of his stupor. He stopped pacing, the sudden lack of the rhythmic sound of his expensive shoes treading the floor yet another thing he found reason to get angry at.

“What?” He snarled, his voice ringing out in the spacious office. His colleagues in the adjoining suites were well used to his rants being heard through the walls, and given the circumstances Mark cared little for what they had to say. Sheepishly, the doorknob twisted, and a nervous figure emerged.

“I got your coffee, Sir”, a young man said, his voice trembling. The intern was thin, his suit struggling to fit his frame. No matter how much he clung to the tiny scrap of hair on his chin, his youthful, almost childish looks made it hard for anyone to view him as more than a boy dressing up as a professional.

Mark marched over to the man, towering above him. The intern tried to manage a polite smile but it did little to mask his fear.

“How long have you been an intern here?” Mark said, spitting out each word with venom. He knew that this poor employee had done nothing to deserve his ire, but in the absence of another outlet, he would be the emotional punching bag that he needed to destress before the fateful meeting.

“Just a month, Sir”, the intern said. Some of the coffee spilled over the lip of the cup from his shaking hand, but he was too terrified to wipe it away.

“Just a month?” Mark said, realising that he had no idea of the intern’s name despite his daily coffee deliveries. “You should have seen what I achieved in this place in a month. I wasn’t snivelling in front of my boss’ door with a coffee order that’s ten minutes late.”

“I’m sorry, Sir”, the intern babbled. “There was a queue in the café and I-“

“Get out of my sight!” Mark said, slamming the door in the man’s face. He could hear a half-mumbled apology on the other side of it, but it didn’t matter. If the intern wanted to survive in the harsh world of business that he inhabited, he would have to get used to this kind of abuse. It was all part of being in the industry. Checking the clock on the wall, Mark realised it was time to log in for the meeting. He took one last look at the city beneath his window, skilfully adjusting his tie in the reflection. Mark took a deep breath, as if he could suck it all in and stay in that moment forever. Turning back around to his computer, he sat down and logged in to the video call.

As the software began to connect, a rare wave of panic rose in him. He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind: this was it. This was what his career was coming down to. Years of hard work and he would be booted out as part of the ‘merger’, only to be replaced by a diversity hire.

Familiar faces began to appear on the screen: fellow managers that had moved from colleagues to friends. Mark stayed quiet as the other men exchanged pleasantries, discussing their upcoming golf trips and debating what the mysterious meeting was about. Mark knew it was redundant. All of them had inevitably worked out what was about to happen. The discussion was just a way of delaying it.

An uneasy silence crept over the call as the voices quieted one by one. Two more people were joining, and their names sent a bolt of fear through all of them: Katherine, and Mia.

“Hello!” Katherine said, her blonde hair enthusiastically bouncing with her cheerful, professional voice. “Thank you all for joining the call. I appreciate that it’s very last minute, but I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you all that things move fast in business.”

Mia nodded her head in agreement, but as Mark looked across the call, she was the only one responding positively. His colleague’s expressions were a mixture of disinterest and outright hostility. For Mark, there was something reassuring about it. No matter what was about to happen to him, at least he wasn’t alone.

“Just get this over with”, Mark said curtly, his voice feeling hoarse after the earlier yelling. “We all know what this is about”, he added, followed by a chorus of agreement from the other men.

“Straight to it! I like that!” Katherine said, smiling. Despite the woman’s politeness, Mark found it infuriating. He knew that he could hand out the most terrible insult to the woman and she’d turn it around into a preppy, cheerful compliment.

“Shall I get started?” Mia asked. Her voice was soft, but commanding. It was much like her appearance. Mark hated everything about it – the woman had done more damage to him than she could ever know.

“I think that’s a good idea”, Katherine responded, calmly shifting the focus of the meeting over to Mia.

“Once again, thank you all for coming”, Mia began, her voice clipped and professional. “I know you might have heard rumours of a merger – this isn’t anything to worry about, I can assure you.”

Mark scoffed, remembering the many times he had heard that before in his career. As Mia continued speaking, he found his mind wandering. He didn’t want to be in this meeting or listen to the woman. He found himself focusing on the blurred background of her video feed. The lighting was soft and welcoming, a sharp difference from the harsh lights that were dotted around his own office, making each meeting feel more like an interrogation.

“There’s a common criticism in our sector, one that I think is fairly raised, and it’s that the whole industry feels more like an ‘old boys club’ than a business sometimes”, Mia said, Katherine’s face thoughtful as if they hadn’t rehearsed the speech between them.

“Now hang on-“ Mark interrupted, soon followed by similar disagreements from the men in the call.

Mia smiled sweetly. Without an immediate response biting back at them, the men found no purchase.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen. I wasn’t finished speaking”, Mia said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Mia continued, and Mark felt scolded.

“As I was saying, the public perception of our industry is a negative one. You’d be mad to think it doesn’t impact sales. Public perception is everything, and I’ll be frank with you all: its needs to change if you want to stay afloat.”

“What do you mean?” Mark asked, more quietly than he was intending. Mia had cowed him slightly, and his words weren’t coming out how he wanted.

“I mean, you need to consider your workforce. Is it reflective of our customers? Would you buy from someone that doesn’t respect you? If it’s not reflecting, it’s not respecting”, Mia said. Katherine smiled at the catchy phrase; no doubt coined in a meeting together.

“Hey, if you’re trying to say we don’t respect women”, Mark began saying defensively, “You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Really?” Mia said, not expecting an answer other than bluster. “Because many of our new employees – and your customers, are saying the opposite.”

Mark wanted to stand up and walk away from the meeting, but he found that he couldn’t. Mia had him ensnared. To leave in front of his fellow men would be seen as cowardly, abandoning them to her. He wasn’t used to having someone stand up to him like Mia was, especially someone with the evidence to back up her claims.

“The point I’m trying to make, gentlemen, is that the economy has changed. Your business needs to change with it”, Mia continued. She began to outline the principles of the merger – each partner on the call would be equal, signing a collective workplace charter of equality and mutual respect. Mark wanted to ignore it, but as much as he hated admitting it, Mia was making some good points. What if the way to increase sales would be to go along with what she said, if only a little?

Across Mark’s body, his skin began to change. Across his legs, arms, and chest, his body hair began to soften. Each strand grew less noticeable, receding into his body until it was like they had never even been there. On his broad jawline, the stubble disappeared as he absent-mindedly scratched at his chin. Mark’s skin, mostly covered by his shirt, jacket, and suit trousers, followed the same pattern. Old scars faded, his skin becoming healthier and less worn. In his face, his skin looked tauter, a bright mocha hue now unmistakably showing on his video feed. The stress lines on his forehead vanished alongside the crows’ feet at the edges of his eyes, though not from a reduction in his age – Mark simply looked as though he was living a life with less stress, and his body was reflecting that.

His short, coarse hair began to lengthen. Mark felt something dangle at his wrist and reached for it, holding the hairband easily between his fingers. As if he had done it a thousand times beforehand, he brushed his hair back with one hand, deftly putting it into a smart, professional ponytail. He made himself a mental note to put it up before his meeting next time; he hated how it covered his face on the camera.

Mark stretched in his chair, listening excitedly to Mia. His shoulders buckled inward, painlessly thinning his torso. The opposite occurred in his waist as the seat’s well-worn groove adjusted to his wider hips. Mark had lost much of his masculine bulk, subtle curves now present on his body. He didn’t notice the changes, trying to focus on Mia’s speech. He noticed that his fellow attendees were similarly toying with their hair – some unthinkingly twirled their long locks with their fingertips, whereas others were in the process of carefully tying it up as Mark had just done. The strong jaw and heavy brow that had sometimes been enough to bully his way through first impressions was fading. His whole face grew rounder, his resting expression looking far more cheerful. He soon had a face that was used to smiles, not scowls. Mark glanced at his own video in the call, feeling as though something was off. He couldn’t place it, the androgynous appearance looking back at him being far less interesting than Mia and Katherine’s business plan.

He reached into a long disused drawer of his desk, finding a small notebook and pen. He couldn’t remember the last time he had taken notes in a meeting, but now he couldn’t stop himself. He usually had a legion of interns and secretaries to assist him, but he wanted to make sure he was writing down the prospective future of his company in his own words.

Mark’s polished leather shoes began to shift. Their laces disintegrated, the tongue of the shoe becoming one integrated piece. The mirror shine remained, giving a glossy, professional sheen to his new workwear. The heel gradually lengthened into a professional inch – enough to raise himself up as an equal, but not to overpower someone. Covering his manhood, Mark’s underwear shifted, transforming into a soft silk, now properly proportioned to his new shape. Mark paid the sensation of the silk on his sensitive parts no mind, simply adjusting in his seat. The socks mark wore were lengthening, the fabric growing thinner until they were almost completely see-through. The fabric connected just below his groin, joining up into a pair of tights that slid up over his hips. Mark stretched out his legs beneath the table, not finding it strange that his legs now barely brushed the floor. The ankles of his trousers began to stitch together, the fabric joining up in one connected tube. Slowly, it climbed higher, stopping just as it crested his knees and leaving Mark with a smart, professional skirt, the shine of his legs visible beneath. Mark took a deep breath, suddenly finding his office too warm as his tolerance for temperature changed. He slipped off his jacket, hanging it over the side of his chair. Unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt no longer felt taboo, and Mark’s tie slipped down inside of it as the fabric shifted, the shirt becoming far more flattering for his increasingly female physique. Small white polka dots appeared equidistant across the blue fabric. Meanwhile, Mark’s tie was reforming, coming apart and restitching into a comfortable bra, the straps soon flying over his shoulders and connecting on his small back. It was a smart, professional outfit for an office worker, though one that invited a relaxed atmosphere, rather than the hostility and authority that Mark usually exuded.

“And so, I think ultimately the merger would be successful for all of our companies”, Mia said, slowly rounding her speech off to a close. Mark found it reassuring to see the bright smiles of the others on the call, their own outfits now lacking the formality of the suits they once wore, but didn’t remember.

“I totally agree!” Mark said, his voice now higher, shifting up into a gentle, kinder tone. Mia grinned, noticing how much he had changed.

“I’m so glad!” she responded, finding it hard to mask her excitement. “I think what we’re offering isn’t just a merger. It’s a new way of working – together. Our industry doesn’t have to be one full of constant competition and backstabbing. Why don’t we all try and make it a healthier, more cooperative place to work?”

The fat that remained on Mark’s thin body was making its way to its new home. A pert, athletic behind rose him up from his seat, stretching his skirt slightly as his rear and thighs thickened. His nipples went hard as fat built beneath them, with a pair of small breasts filling the waiting cups of the bra. Underneath his panties, Mark’s manhood quickly shifted up inside of him, opening into a feminine slit.

Mark didn’t notice. His eyes were glued to the screen. He glanced at the names beneath each other colleague. Something felt strange as he looked at them. A part of his mind was telling him that Andrea used to be called Andre, and Jess was once Jesse. He found it easy to put the thoughts aside. He had more important things to focus on.

Mia’s voice spoke to him, her kind eyes locking with his own through the screen.

“So, what do you say? Do you want to join and make your business the best it can be? Are you with us, Martha?”

“Absolutely!” Martha said, beaming. Soon, the others in the call had expressed their similar excitement, and the merger was settled.

“I’m so glad we worked this out so smoothly!” Katherine said after Mia was finished.

“Me too! It goes to show us ladies can be productive, when we want to be!” she replied, the others in the call laughing.

“You’re so funny, Mia!” Martha said. She quickly checked the clock on the wall. “I’ve got to go, but we need to catch up for longer next time! I’ll see you all later!”

With polite waves and a chorus of goodbyes, Martha left the call. After the buzz of the meeting, her office felt weirdly silent.

She stood up from her desk, her heels clicking against the floor. She had never felt so confident about her work before. It was amazing how much one meeting could change a woman. Looking out across the city, she made herself a promise that she wouldn’t just wait for change in her workplace – she would start to make it, now.

After a brief phone call, there was a series of shaky knocks on Martha’s door.

“Just a minute!” she called out, grabbing her jacket. She opened the door, finding the intern looking at her, this time without needing to look up.

“You wanted to see me?” he said.

“Yes!” Martha said cheerfully. “I wanted to apologise for earlier. I’ve had a stressful day and I took it out on you. That’s not okay, and it won’t happen again”, she said, trying to sound as honest as she could. She was embarrassed by her behaviour, but it was time to change. A respectful, candid attitude was the way forward.

“Really?” the intern replied.

“Really. Now, come with me!” she said, heading away from to the door of her office and towards the stairs. The intern followed behind, trying to keep up with her power walking.

“Where are we going?” he called after her.

“We’re going to get a coffee, together! And I’m going to make sure this internship is as productive for you as it can be!” Martha said, pressing the button for the ground floor with a smile.

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