The phone buzzed, demanding attention. Suzy stared at it, dreading yet another confrontation. The day had just begun, but it felt as though she had already been working for hours.

After four rings, she managed to overcome her reluctance, and picked up the phone. “Hello, this is PolyCorp, Suzy speaking. How may I help you?” She put on a cheery tone, hoping that this call wouldn’t end up like the last one.

“Hello, yes? This is Emma Drydon calling from SoftChange Incorporated. Please schedule me for an appointment with your boss.” The voice was curt, inviting no dissent.

Suzy frowned, pressing one hand against her forehead. SoftChange was a very minor client, and she knew that her boss wouldn’t enjoy being interrupted by another inconsequential meeting with them. How was she going to defuse this situation?

“Just a moment, I’ll check his calendar.” She put the lady on hold, and pulled up the schedule on her computer. Her boss was out on vacation, but there were several obvious free spots available the next day.

She didn’t need to tell Emma that, however. She picked the phone back up.

“I’m sorry, Emma, but his calendar is full. I could possibly fit you in next week?” She crossed her fingers, doubting that putting this client off would end well.

“I’m very disappointed to hear that,” the voice replied with irritation. “Well, then, since this is time critical, we’ll simply take our business elsewhere. Your service has been rotten, and we consider your business to be run by third rate citizens. Consider our account closed.” The phone disconnected abruptly.

Shaking her head, Suzy hung up the phone. It was the second tongue lashing she had gotten today. Hopefully she hadn’t ruined things too badly. Still, it was only a very small account. It couldn’t be that big a deal. Could it?

She turned to her computer, minimizing the schedule. There wasn’t anything she could do about it now. Might as well get back to working on the charts her boss had requested yesterday.

She opened the spreadsheet, starting to dig into the numbers. She had always enjoyed working with numbers more than people. They acted rationally, always balanced. They never had hurt feelings, or were rude or dismissive.

She smiled, sinking deeper into the patterns, trying to figure out the simplest way to present them to her boss.

She collated some data, creating a line graph. Something seemed strange about the shape - if the numbers were right, her company was somehow missing revenue.

This wasn’t adding up…maybe she needed to contact her boss. This might be serious enough to interrupt his vacation. She was about to reach for the phone again when the door to the office opened.

Dave stepped in, one of the regular stiffs who worked in Accounts Payable. She didn’t know Dave very well, but being both the office manager and executive assistant, she could recognize almost anyone who worked at PolyCorp.

Dave was a short, stout fellow who had obviously eaten well and exercised little over the years, but he was normally slow and dependable. Today, he was dressed conservatively, a buttoned up cardigan covering his semi-formal attire. She smiled wanly at him, hoping for some kind of acknowledgement. “Good morning.”

Normally, he would have made a muttered greeting, shuffling past her towards his cubicle. Instead, he sidled up and placed his arms on her desk. “Good morning,” he mumbled softly, blinking his eyes behind his thick glasses like a lobster.

His voice was thick, like warm syrup. “I hate to bother you, but I think that the elevators are broken again.”

Now that he was close, she noticed that he was wheezing. “I hope you can get someone in to fix them quickly, because an important client is supposed to be coming in tomorrow. Just thought you should know.”

Without another word, he slipped off her desk and trundled on into the office, considering his duty fulfilled. “Thanks,” Suzy said softly to his back as he disappeared.

Well, that was certainly curious. She didn’t remember hearing about any kind of client coming in tomorrow. She shrugged, hoping that her boss had simply forgotten to keep her in the loop.

Had they been invited by the head of a different department? Either way, the client wouldn’t be impressed with broken elevators.

This time, she reached for the phone with confidence, the number for the elevator repair company already springing to her fingertips. She dialed it in, sighing as she listened to the rings.

The elevators never seemed to work for more than a month before some minor issue caused them to malfunction. This time, it had only been a week.

“Yallow, this is Gus Grayson with Everlahsting Elevatah repaiyh soivoces. How can ah help yuh?”

Gus appeared to be one of those people who knew he was barely understandable under his thick accent, but didn’t care. The rest of the world would have to adapt to his peculiarities, rather than the other way around.

Suzy began politely, hoping to get through this conversation quickly. If she was verbose enough, perhaps she could prevent this Gus fellow from asking too many questions in his indecipherable dialect.

“Hello, Gus, this is Suzy from PolyCorp speaking. Your company was in last week to repair an elevator problem we’ve been having. There appears to be another issue, which is preventing both elevators from working properly.”

“Ah, yuh, PollyCorp. We fixed her up good! Should be no prahblums there, now!” He sounded cheery at this proclamation.

She decided to change tack. Maybe she just needed to be sterner with these people. “I’m sorry, but they’re broken now. I need someone to come out immediately, or we’ll start losing business.”

“Yuh, I getcha. Elevatuhs work great!”

With that noncommittal statement, the phone disconnected. Suzy did a double take. Was that a yes or a no answer?

She slowly set the phone back down, wondering whether anything would go right today. She would have to do a follow up later to make sure that they were on the job, since right now she simply had too much work to get through before her boss returned.

She unlocked her machine, ready to look through her numbers again. There had to be an answer in there - maybe she was just missing something? Perhaps she had put the wrong formula in one of the cells. She started going back over her figures, trying to diagnose where the problem might be.

“Sizzlin’ Suzy!” a voice loudly proclaimed, making her jump.

She had been so deep in concentration that she hadn’t noticed Larry sneaking up behind her desk. Not even the slight motion on the convex mirror she had mounted at the side of her monitor had been enough to warn her in time. She locked her computer to hide her work, then turned her chair to face Larry.

She kept her face neutral, but inside exasperation was building. Larry, or ‘Lewd’ Larry as she thought of him, was clearly an ass. He styled himself as some kind of playboy, and was constantly trying to hit on women at the office. The guy didn’t seem to know how to turn it off, to the point that he would probably try to make love to the conference room desk if it had boobs.

Larry was a careful predator, never quite crossing the boundary that would cause HR to take notice or give his victims enough proof to get him in trouble. Despite the fact that he was creating a hostile work environment, he hadn’t yet been called on the carpet for it.

This situation wasn’t helped by the fact that he was the head of operations, only a step or two below her boss, the CEO. This made for a toxic atmosphere, nobody willing to do anything that might get them fired unless they had solid proof of his malfeasance. It was a sad state of affairs, but with the economy the way it was, employees didn’t want to rock the boat.

The way he was undressing her with his eyes made her uncomfortable, but there was nothing she could do. She pretended not to notice, but she felt slimy inside. “Yes, Larry? How can I help you?” She tried for a fake smile, being as polite as possible.

His lips curled into an unctuous grin, leaning over to try and get a peek down the front of her shirt. She wanted to punch the smile off his face, but determinedly sat still, refusing to rise to his bait.

“I hope you’re having a great day!” He announced broadly, stroking his loud, orange tie with one hand while he spoke. “Did you get the memo?”

Memo? What memo? “No, I can’t say that I have.”

“You should really keep up with your email! We’re having an important client come in tomorrow, and we need to get the status reports up to date before they arrive! I’ve taken the liberty of sending you the relevant materials.”

He stated this as though he was doing her a huge favor. “I’ll need them for the big meeting tomorrow, so no dilly-dallying! These reports take precedence over anything you’re currently working on!” He snapped a suspender to illustrate his point while leering at her breasts.

Internally, she was sweating. She was already behind on the number crunching, and now she’d have to spend the rest of the day on his stupid reports to get them done on time!

She knew better than to make an inconsiderate reply, but was sorely tempted. “I will get right on it, thank you.”

Turning back to her computer, she unlocked it, ignoring his presence. From past experience, it was the only way to make him go away without insulting him to his face.

“Great!” he said brightly. “I’m glad I could be of assistance!” It was hard to tell if he was being serious or facetious.

Suzy watched him depart in her mirror, relieved that his ego had been stroked enough to leave her alone. She was less happy when she saw him stop again down the hall at Nancy’s cube.

Nancy had been her best friend and confidant at the office for years, and she didn’t want her to be pushed to leave by Larry the asshole. Hopefully, she’d be able to catch up with Nancy at lunchtime and convince her to stay.

She doubted that she’d hold much sway over Nancy’s decision if Larry really was trying to put the moves on her, but if Nancy left she’d probably have to start job hunting too.

It was all so unfair! It was hard to find a job that fit an intelligent financial graduate, and she had thought that she had finally found a position where she would be able to utilize her talents without having to work too much overtime.

Instead, she had ended up in a backbiting, political institution that was grinding her into sawdust. Things needed to change, she knew that, but she didn’t know what to do.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Larry move on from Nancy’s cube, back towards his office. She definitely didn’t need that worry on her mind at this point.

Checking the time, she saw that she’d only have a short while to see what Larry had been babbling about before lunch.

She sighed, shelving the mysterious issue with the numbers, bringing up her email. She needed to find out what was going on with those reports!

As soon as she saw the message subject, she put a hand over her mouth, her body wracked with uncontrollable laughter. Larry had managed to shorten ‘Trial Project System Reports’ to the acronym ‘TPS.’

***

“Really? It really said that?” Nancy started giggling.

“I knew he was an ass, but an idiot, too? Has he really never seen that movie? It’s like a primer for every terrible management practice ever!” She looked at Suzy with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Is he going to demand a cover sheet?”

“I know, right?” Suzy sighed, depressed about how much her workplace mirrored Hollywood. “You know, I’ve been thinking…about how I need a change. I feel like I’m living in a perpetual joke right now.” She looked uncertainly at Nancy. “What are your thoughts?”

Nancy shifted in her seat. “Well… I was going to save this news for later, but… I’ve decided to quit. Today will be my last day.” She looked at Suzy with pleading eyes. “Please don’t blame me for not telling you sooner! I only just found out!”

Suzy’s heart plunged. “Found out what?” This was not the kind of news she was hoping for.

“That I’ve been offered a job at Rankotech! Not only will they pay me better than PolyCorp, but I’ll finally be able to move out of a data entry position! It’s more than a lateral move - it’s a clear promotion!” Excitement danced in Nancy’s eyes.

Suzy was conflicted. Clearly, it was the right choice for Nancy to make, but now she felt worse than ever. The fact that her best friend was leaving for greener pastures while she still had to put up with the utter drudgery of PolyCorp was almost unbearable.

She didn’t understand, though. How had Nancy found a better job with Rankotech when she hadn’t displayed any feats of brilliance at PolyCorp? She had always thought of Nancy as barely competent, able to get things done, but not in the most efficient way possible.

It wasn’t laziness, per se, but she would only expend the minimum amount of effort necessary to get the job done. How could Nancy get a better job than Suzy when she was the one constantly working overtime to clean up everyone else’s messes? And what kind of a name was Rankotech, anyway?

She hated thinking such uncharitable thoughts about her friend, but it was hard to suppress the bitterness that she felt.

Suzy opened and closed her mouth once without saying anything, trying with all her might to suppress the vitriol that burned just below the surface. “That’s…great…” she said, unenthusiastically.

She tried to produce a smile, but it was so very hard to mask her true feelings. “It really is! I’m so proud and happy for you!”

Nancy looked concerned. “I know you’re jealous, but don’t worry, I understand. They simply made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

She smiled briefly, her eyes staring off into the distance. “They understand my talents there, and I will finally be able to reach my full potential.”

Suzy shuddered at the strange phrasing. Was that a glimmer of purple in Nancy’s eyes?

Before she could question her friend’s remark, she seemed to snap out of it. “There’s just so much more for me out there! I’ll be able to do things I never would be capable of at boring old PolyCorp.”

Suzy chased the salad around on her plate, trying to buy some time so that she wouldn’t blurt out something angry. The bald truth was that she hated her job, and all the stupid, stressful work that was associated with it.

She set her fork down. “I know,” she said carefully, “but I just feel horrible. Now I’ll have to deal with ‘Lewd’ Larry all by myself, and he’ll be twice as infuriating. It won’t be the same without you.”

Nancy leaned forward, a speculative look in her eyes. “You know, you don’t have to put up with it. You’re twice as smart as any of those troglodytes. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to get you an interview at Rankotech… they’re always looking for more recruits.”

Suzy was taken aback. Was this really her opportunity to get out of this hell hole? The decision should have been a no-brainer, but it was giving her trouble. “It’s a steady job… I don’t know, I’d have to think about it.” She was waffling.

“Alright, then, but if you change your mind, I have their number right here. I’ll put in a good word for you!”

Nancy pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Suzy. “You really should reconsider - it’ll be a step up from what you’re doing now!”

Suzy glanced at the card before stuffing it into her pocket. ‘Rankotech Solutions Inc.’ it declared in bold type. ‘Business process solutions for busy companies,’ was the suitably vague tag line in italics.

Below was a simple phone number, no names or other identification. “Say Nancy… now you have me curious. What does Rankotech actually do?”

Nancy’s smile was a little too bright. “I can’t say. They’re a very secretive company, and I’ve already signed a non-disclosure agreement. What I can tell you is that it will be so much more fulfilling than those ghastly reports you have to make today!”

Suzy was suspicious, but a thick layer of depression had already started to overlay her thoughts, so she decided that she just wasn’t interested in digging deeper. “Alright, then,” she said sadly. “I hope you do well.” She hugged herself, feeling alone.

Nancy stood up, moving over to Suzy and embracing her in a bear hug. “Don’t worry!” she said, happiness in her voice. “Everything will work out for the best! Trust me!”

***

The day after that dragged on longer than ever. The elevator guy hadn’t shown up, and she had fielded several requests for other fixes around the office.

A fluorescent light had gone out, and the HVAC system was making strange noises. It was about mid-afternoon when she got a break from the interruptions and realized that she was starting to fall behind on the so-called TPS reports.

It was just so blasted unfair! She was doing stupid reports that a brain dead five year old could complete, while Nancy was going to be able to do - whatever it was that Rankotech did.

Did it really matter? Whatever it was, it had to be more interesting than what was waiting for her here. She pulled the Rankotech card from her pocket and looked it over speculatively. Maybe now was the time to reach out for a better future?

She glanced around. Nobody had stepped through the main doors for an hour now, the regular employees most likely preferring to take alternate entrances and exits.

She picked up the phone and dialed. If she acted like everything was normal, nobody should be able to tell what she was doing.

“Hello? You have reached the Rankotech recruitment hotline. What is your name?” The voice sounded breezy, soothing to Suzy’s mind.

“Suzy Willis,” she said hesitantly. “I was given this number by my friend, Nancy. She said that you might have open positions?”

She trailed off, unsure as to what the open positions might be. She was starting to second guess herself - she didn’t even know what she was applying for, for heaven’s sake!

“Suzy, yes, we have you on our list.”

The answer was smooth, confident. It was strange that there was no pause before the reply. Didn’t they have to look her name up in their computer system?

“We do have several open positions. Would you like to interview for one of them?”

She’d gotten this far - might as well go the distance. “Yes, please.” She hesitated. “Can you describe what the job would entail?”

This time, she detected a brief pause before the person on the other end continued. “The work requires basic computer skills and consists of processing data for our clients.”

The description was vague enough to mean practically anything. “Before we can go into the specifics, we would need you to come in and sign a non-disclosure agreement. We don’t want to reveal our secret processes or confidential client work to competitors.”

That seemed reasonable. Maybe they were doing classified government work?

“Would you be available to come in today?” the voice continued. “I could schedule you for an appointment this evening. That would be after our normal working hours and we would be able to process your interview at a more relaxed pace.”

When she said the word ‘relaxed,’ her voice sounded almost dreamy.

At that moment, the main office door opened and Suzy’s boss John sauntered in. Thinking quickly, she murmured “Can you hold, please? Thanks,” into the phone and hit the hold button.

Well, this was awkward - arranging an interview for another job at the same time your current boss is in the room? That was just not done.

She looked at him in askance. “Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?” He wasn’t scheduled to be around the office until tomorrow, and usually he would need to be chained to wild horses before he would cut short his free time.

“No time to chat!” he exclaimed broadly. “I got word that a huge client is considering contracting with us, and I’ve got to put together a presentation. This could be a big deal, a make it or break it event for our business! Fortunately, it’s going well so far. We just need those reports tomorrow. You’ll have them ready?” His stern gaze was enough to make her wither, even though she hadn’t yet done anything wrong.

“Yes, I’m in the middle of working on them right now. They’re going well!” She lied through her teeth.

They were taking forever to put together, and she’d rather be self-flagellating herself. That’s not what the boss wanted to hear, however, and she’d learned quickly enough that he’d much rather be placated, even if the project was aflame and falling down a flight of stairs.

“Great!” he said cheerily. “I expect them on my desk by eight AM sharp tomorrow!” He waved a hand imperiously, then strode into the office, humming a jaunty tune under his breath.

She rolled her eyes at his behavior and picked the phone back up. “Hello? Are you still there? Yes, I believe I would like to interview for that position today.” She couldn’t imagine surviving another two years at this dysfunctional company.

***

Rankotech was housed in a nondescript building in an office tower that didn’t scream wealth. Suzy strolled up to the doors, getting mentally ready to tackle any crazy interview questions that might be thrown her way.

On the door under the company name was a logo that looked like some kind of musical notation, followed by a short motto: “Prosperity through productivity.”

Suzy dismissed it out of hand - typical corporate hogwash, standard boilerplate that every company was required to have. She was far more interested in seeing if the work she’d be doing would actually be intellectually stimulating. There was also some latent anxiety about being able to measure up for a job she didn’t even have a job description for.

The reception area she entered was eerily reminiscent of the one she had just exited a few short minutes earlier at PolyCorp, except this one had ‘Rankotech’ in big, bold letters inscribed behind the desk. Otherwise, the gray tones of the environs matched any other office she had ever worked in.

Behind the desk sat a short woman dressed in severe looking clothing, staring intently at her computer screen. The amount of concentration being displayed was admirable, and Suzy felt a little bad about interrupting her.

“Ahem?” She said nervously, trying to attract the worker’s attention. The receptionist didn’t appear to notice her presence, the keyboard clacking away.

“Excuse me?” Suzy ventured further, trying to make her voice sound more confident. “I have an appointment today to interview here?”

Suzy leaned over, curious about what was so interesting to the receptionist. She caught a glimpse of a colorful display, intriguing patterns dancing around the corner of the screen. It was very pretty, but not something one would expect to see on an office worker’s computer.

The receptionist clicked a key on the keyboard and the display blanked. She turned abruptly towards Suzy and a thousand watt smile lit up her face. “Hello, this is Rankotech. How may I assist you?”

Suzy jumped back, startled at the sudden change of demeanor. She was discombobulated, seized with a sudden desire to see more of what had been on the receptionist’s screen.

The smile being beamed at her was disconcerting, as it didn’t appear to reach the receptionist’s eyes. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to come here?

“Yes, my name is Suzy,” she said slowly, gathering her scattered thoughts. “I’m scheduled for an interview today?”

“Ah yes, the new recruit,” the receptionist replied in a steady voice. “You’re not too late - simply follow the signs over there, they will direct you to our candidate testing center. Good luck!” The fake smile faded from her face as she turned back towards her computer screen, Suzy’s presence already forgotten.

The whole situation seemed weird, but Suzy was determined to at least complete the interview. “Great, thanks!” she said to be polite, though the receptionist was clearly no longer paying her any attention.

She looked around, spotting the ‘Candidate Testing’ sign she needed to follow. Pushing open the indicated glass door, she proceeded down the hallway. The interior of Rankotech looked like a typical office, though the hallway was buttressed with a series of locked doors instead of cubicles.

The corridor made a turn at the end of the hall, but a sign dangling from the ceiling indicated that she was to enter the door to her left. She opened it, entering a room containing rows of desks with computers and monitors. Most of the seats were already taken by a mix of young people, but near the back she noticed some open spots.

“Ah!” exclaimed a tart sounding voice. “We were told to expect a latecomer.”

At the front of the room stood an older woman dressed in a beige pant suit. In one hand she loosely held a pointer which she had been using on the white board behind her.

“Please, take a seat.” The woman turned and continued her lecture in a monotone. “You are all here today to interview for a position at Rankotech.”

Suzy worked her way to the second to last row and sat down, listening to the lecturer with only half her attention. Before she could make herself comfortable, an outstretched hand thrust itself into her field of view.

Turning to her right, she saw that the hand belonged to a young woman, younger than her, dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt. The lady was plump and well endowed, her stature such that she almost looked like a stout dwarf out of a fairy tale.

“Hi!” the owner of the hand said vivaciously. “My name is Lainey, how are you?”

Attempting to retain a sense of decorum, Suzy took the hand, allowing Lainey to pump it vigorously. “Hello,” she said quietly. “I’m Suzy. How late am I?”

Lainey didn’t seem to catch on, continuing in her normal, bubbly voice. “Oh, you’re not late. We just started. I can’t wait to take the test and see where I might fit in!”

Before Suzy could reply, the instructor’s pointer rapped on the desk in front of her. Belatedly, Suzy realized that the instructor’s voice had trailed off while she had been distracted with Lainey’s greeting.

“I realize that you’re all new here, but we need to get started,” the instructor growled, giving them both the evil eye. “If you’d like to pay attention, we’ll begin.”

“Sorry!” said Suzy, settling down into her chair, feeling chastised.

So far this interview hadn’t been going well, and she hoped that she wouldn’t be summarily dismissed. She blushed as the murmuring in the room increased slightly. She could already sense the others mocking her.

The instructor harrumphed, back at the board as if nothing had happened. “As I was saying, my name is Erin, and I will be your instructor today. All of you are here to interview for a job with Rankotech. Some of you might be wondering what Rankotech actually does. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you until you have become an employee, as that information is confidential.”

There was a susurrus, speculation about the company spreading. The instructor waited patiently for the noise to subside.

“It is my job to administer the Rankotech Aptitude Test.” She smiled briefly as nervous chuckles echoed around the room. “Yes, it’s known affectionately as the RAT. Over the years, Rankotech has learned how to best use the resources it is given. The RAT uses a highly efficient algorithm to rank and categorize all participants to determine where each person might excel in our organization. Now, please put on your headphones and turn on your monitors. Follow the instructions on screen to proceed.”

Suzy shrugged and picked up the headphones lying on the desk in front of her. They were some kind of futuristic design that she’d never seen before. Two clam shell shaped speakers were connected together with a strip of flexible hard material that felt like a spongy piece of amber.

Each speaker had a stylized ‘R’ embossed on the side. She wondered idly if Rankotech had special ordered them. That probably would have been a pain to put together.

She pulled the device over the top of her head, surprised when it clamped firmly to her skull. All exterior sounds were sealed off, making her feel like she was in a separate room from everyone else.

It was more comfortable than any headset she had ever worn in the past. She clicked on the monitor, wondering why Rankotech wasn’t selling these in retail - she had certainly never worn anything quite like this before!

The screen lit up, fading to white. “Welcome to the Rankotech Aptitude Test!” the screen announced. An animated green arrow pointed to a button that read ‘click here to begin!’

When Suzy clicked on the button, the screen cleared and the greeting was replaced with a multiple choice question. Classical music clicked on in her headset, something by Brahms, though there was an unusual undertone threading through the background of the piece that she didn’t recognize. She tuned it out, refusing to let it distract her from doing a good job answering the questions.

“You’re working on a complicated task,” the screen said. “You promised the boss that it would be completed within the hour, but it’s become clear that it will take several more. What do you do? A) Continue the work and pretend that you never gave the boss the original estimate. B) Tell the boss what has happened and ask for more time. C) Recruit others from your team to help you finish the task on time. D) Work quickly to finish the job on time.”

Below the question, at the bottom of the screen, a small text box proclaimed “Remember, there are no wrong answers. Please answer to the best of your ability so that we may evaluate where you might best fit into our organization.”

Suzy considered the question for a moment. She didn’t like the idea of ‘A’ because that would qualify as misleading the boss. ‘D’ was distasteful because she might make errors that would have otherwise been avoided if she had worked at a steady pace.

Choosing ‘C’ might take her co-workers off of critical tasks. She’d have to choose ‘B’ - at least she could tell the boss what was going on, and then it would be up to them to decide if the business could afford to shift more workers onto the project.

She clicked the appropriate choice, then the ‘OK’ button to continue. The question was replaced with a new one, a sliver of green appearing in the small bar below the text.

So little - how many questions were there? She concluded that she couldn’t let that bother her, moving on to the next question.

There wasn’t any apparent timer, but if she took too long, they might end the test before she was completed, and that would be a calamity.

The next question was much like the first, describing another morally ambiguous situation. This felt more like an ethics test than a skill test, trying to probe her personality. She vaguely wondered how accurate it might be, and how it might take into account those persons who were less apt to answer in an honest fashion.

Settling in, she became more comfortable at answering the questions. As time went on, she started to feel that she was getting better at choosing the answer that was right for her. Her eyes glazed, motions unknowingly becoming more mechanical.

The proctor stepped up to her table, looking Suzy over with an expert eye. She made several notes on her clipboard, satisfied that Suzy was sufficiently occupied. She set the clipboard down on the desk and took a tape measure out of her pocket.

She then proceeded to take various measurements of Suzy’s body in an efficient manner, working around her robotic mouse clicks. They had long ago learned at Rankotech that ‘one size fits all’ simply wasn’t going to cut it, so they needed at least rough estimates before they could proceed.

It took a few minutes for Erin to finish the measurements. Glancing into Suzy’s eyes, she grinned, making another note on the clipboard. Gauging her distraction to be sufficient, the proctor moved behind Suzy’s chair and cupped her breasts in a clinical manner, estimating the size.

Suzy blinked stupidly, turning her head. She was so focused on the test that she hadn’t even noticed the proctor’s presence, but the groping was almost enough to make her surface.

All she saw now, however, was Erin primly making more notes. The proctor glanced up, her brows arching at Suzy. She pointed at the screen, her expression one of disapproval. Suzy quailed, hastily moving her attention back to the exam, hoping that her lack of concentration wouldn’t lose her points.

Suzy started to feel a warm sense of approval as she worked, her eyes moving mechanically over the screen. The classical melody faded away and the undertone increased in volume until it dominated her hearing.

She knew what it wanted, what it needed her to do, and answered the questions accordingly. It was easy to fade away and let it carry her along in its crescendos and pauses, her heart synchronizing to its dominant rhythm.

It wasn’t necessary to concentrate, the overwhelming song carrying her along in its wake, whispering submission to her. She smiled, wishing she could stay like this forever, submerging herself in the timbre of obedience.

She jerked, the song in her headset suddenly gone. The world became a dull gray, a sense of loss and longing seizing her. She wanted to cry in the absence of such beauty.

Another question appeared on the screen in black and white, a simple text entry box instead of choices. “How do you feel?”

Suzy sat and stared at the screen for a minute or two, unsure of how to answer. Finally, she came up with the word she was looking for.

She typed it into the box and hit enter, feeling bereft when it disappeared. Reaching up, she removed the headphones with a simple twist, her ears popping at the difference in air pressure.

Looking around the room, she felt dazed. Everyone else was in similar shape, so she felt a little better. At least nobody was crowing about acing the exam.

“So, how did you do?” interrupted Lainey, her expression still cheerful. “Look at mine - it says that I’ll be an Office Expansion Assistant, whatever that means!”

Suzy peered at her screen, surprised that she hadn’t noticed it changing. Sure enough, it had cleared and was now displaying a new paragraph of text. “Congratulations!” Suzy read verbatim. “Given your previous experience and test results, we are proud to offer you the position of ‘Data Analyst I.’ Please follow the directions of the proctor.”

She felt pleased, happy that she hadn’t completely flunked, but she didn’t like the idea of working at Rankotech as a glorified data flunky.

“As you may notice, your test results are immediately available at your stations.” The proctor raised her voice, breaking off any conversations in progress. “Those of you who have been offered a position here at Rankotech may immediately go into room 2B down the hall to receive a welcome package and introduction letter, both of which you may keep regardless of whether you decide to work here. All others should retrace their steps to main reception. Thank you.”

“Are you excited? I’m so excited!” squealed Lainey. “I can’t wait to start working here! Let’s go get our packages together!”

“Okay!” said Suzy less enthusiastically, unable to handle Lainey’s personality and her vague feeling of loss at the same time.

Lainey seized her by the wrist and pulled her towards the exit, her bubbliness pushing them forward. “Slow down there, they won’t run out of packets!” exclaimed Suzy, surprised at Lainey’s forcefulness.

She carefully retrieved her arm from Lainey and slowed her pace, looking around after they had exited the classroom. “Over there!” exclaimed Lainey, pointing at another sign which indicated that ‘2B’ was only a few more doors down. “What do you think we’re going to do when we start working here?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” replied Suzy. “They’re being very mysterious. Perhaps they work for the government? They haven’t stated that we need clearance, though.”

She felt uncertain, pretty sure that her guess wasn’t even close. “We’ll just have to wait. Let’s see what we get here.”

They ended up in front of another door, this one with a placard that said ‘Candidate Processing.’

Lainey smiled and pushed through, eager to see what was coming next. Less sure of the situation, Suzy moved in more slowly.

Behind a fold out desk sat Erin, piles of boxes stacked behind her to shoulder height, grouped together under signs which contained the letters of the alphabet. The piles were stacked neatly, corners matched up so that no stack touched the one next to it.

Someone who worked at Rankotech must have OCD. Suzy vaguely thought in passing that it was odd that the stack under the letter ‘X’ was as high as most of the others.

Erin smiled politely at Lainey, who had already run up to the desk. “Name, please?”

“Lainey Summers,” she exclaimed ardently. “I’m here to get my package!”

“Ah, yes, the new expansion assistant.” Erin turned with precision and pulled a package from the bottom of the pile. “This is for you,” she said, handing the package to Lainey while sliding a piece of paper from a stack on her desk on top of it.

“Read this letter thoroughly, then give us a call when you accept our offer. Our call center is open twenty four seven. We look forward to seeing you soon!” She said the spiel without any particular warmth, probably because she had said it many times before.

“Great!” exclaimed Lainey. She rushed over to Suzy and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Nice to meet you, Suzy! I hope we’ll be working together with each other!” She burst out of the room and trotted down the hall, the door banging shut behind her.

Suzy stepped up to the desk, noticing Erin’s blank, nonchalant expression. “My name is Suzy Willis.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve been waiting for you. Your package is here.” Instead of reaching for the piles behind her, she retrieved one from under the desk. “You’ve already heard the speech. Let us know if you wish to pursue an opportunity with us. Just remember, if you do, you’ll never be alone again.”

Suzy frowned at the flash of purple she spotted in Erin’s eyes. “Ok, thanks.”

She wasn’t sure what to make of that last line, though she almost felt like she understood it for some reason. Turning, she left, barely registering that all of the other people starting to filter into the room were female.

***

The trip home was uneventful, though recent events had given Suzy a lot to think about. She still hadn’t decided whether to quit her current job, but it was becoming more attractive by the minute.

She continued to move on autopilot as she parked her car and entered her apartment, the package given to her at Rankotech nestled under her arm.

She set the package down on the kitchen table, curious about its contents. It was brown cardboard, about the size of a shoebox with no markings except for her name inked in sharpie on the top. What could they possibly be giving to prospective workers?

She glanced over the sheet, confirming that it was merely a standard introductory letter, including instructions and a telephone number to call if she wished to join the company. She was about to put it back down when the last sentence caught her eye.

“Please find included a small incentive package to help you make your decision, on us. We look forward to having you join our team at Rankotech!”

Standard boilerplate, but she had never been given an offer from a company that gave away freebies. She opened a drawer and shuffled around the unorganized contents, finally locating a box cutter.

Slitting open the package, she set the knife aside. Bubble wrap filled the interior, wrapped tightly around an object, a hint of color visible beneath the layers.

It unrolled easily, revealing some kind of shiny, tacky material that was colored a bright yellow. Unsure what to make of it, she rearranged it a few times, lifting it into the air to get a sense for what she was dealing with.

As the object unfolded, it seemed pretty clear that Rankotech had sent her some kind of bra, for unknown purposes. “Curiouser and curiouser,” Suzy murmured to herself.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like a sports bra, made entirely out of yellow latex. Two thick straps looped over the back, a thicker strip of material delineating the bottom where it would fit around her chest.

It certainly appeared as though it would cling tightly, giving her plenty of support. A very odd gift to give to potential applicants, she mused. She wasn’t at all certain that she’d ever wear it.

She put the bra back on the table, remembering that she had turned off her phone before going to interview at Rankotech. It was surprising at the time that Rankotech hadn’t asked her any direct questions, but now it felt perfectly natural that they had used an automated test to grade all participants.

Her phone lit up with bright colors, announcing the phone’s manufacturer. The boot-up sequence completed and a little icon appeared, notifying her that she had new messages. She sighed and dialed the voice mail service, annoyed that she couldn’t get even a little rest and relaxation.

“You have two new messages,” the system said in its synthetic voice. “Press ‘seven’ to hear your messages.” Beep! “First new message.”

The voice changed to that of ‘Lewd’ Larry. “Hey-a sugar, I didn’t get an update on those TPS reports. Let me know if I can do anything for you.” Yeah, he’d just want to help himself into her pants. She rolled her eyes.

Beep! “Second new message.” Now it was her boss’ voice.

“Hi Suzy, it’s John here. Remember to get those reports done for tomorrow, we have a big day ahead of us!” She could feel the familiar stress layering back in again, tension building.

Beep! “No new messages.”

Sighing, she shoved the phone back into her pocket. She could see the future arrayed in front of her, years upon years of working on worthless reports and kowtowing to lecherous men.

She sat down, putting her head in her hands. It was all too much for her to handle. Maybe it was time to make the change and go to Rankotech instead. At least it would be a change of scenery, if nothing else. And she had been so much happier while she was there, too!

She flashed back to the test and the feeling of oneness and belonging that she had received while just sitting, tapping in her answers. Filling out the endless questions, music floating through her ears, cares and worries simply floating away.

She realized that she had never felt more content, more relaxed than when she had been there. It was odd, though - she couldn’t seem to remember any of the questions that were asked except for the first and last ones. This brought to mind the answer she had typed in at the end - ‘lonely.’

Coming out of her reverie, she started. While she had been deep in thought, her body had acted on its own. Her shirt had been set aside and the old bra unclasped, letting her breasts swing out openly.

She felt out of control, a passenger in her own body, watching her fingertips lazily draw shapes on her skin. She caressed her spherical curves, seeing them swell with arousal. Nice!

The end goal soon became clear, the yellow bra on the table being lifted up and pulled onto her body, first one shoulder, then the other. The material stretched tightly, a large, black ‘R’ stamped in the center of her chest, the sides of it deformed by the swell of both breasts.

Each cup gripped her, pulling her flesh firmly upwards. Her fingers circled each nipple, illustrating the little nubs on the interior that were teasing her mercilessly. The bra conformed to her body, looking like it belonged. Her hands cupped and stroked at her skin, emphasizing how well the bra confined and defined each swollen breast.

Suzy was starting to get helplessly aroused, and hardly noticed when control transferred back. She wanted this, wanted to be an erotic being, to wear sexy clothing and be carefree. She continued to caress herself, her eyes shining purple with lust. It felt so hot to let go and be taken to a new plane of existence.

She pressed the cups of the bra, letting the nubs caress her tender points. She had never orgasmed from self-stimulation of her breasts before, but now she believed that it might be possible.

Pushing up and down in time to the waves of pleasure coming from her chest, she slid her hands over the sticky surface of the latex, yellow orbs bouncing wantonly. A pulse of pleasure brought her to the limit, her cleft pulsing in and out as she rode the orgasm that bounced rapidly between her chest and thighs. Letting out a soft moan, a dumb smile spread over her face. If only she could feel like this every day!

Play time was over now, however, and she needed to change back into more typical attire. The problem was that she found that she was unable to. She tried to get her hands to move up to one of the shoulder straps, but something was preventing her from doing so.

It was almost as though there was a block in her mind, a solid wall between her will and reality. She found herself nonchalantly slipping her shirt back over the yellow latex, hiding the naughty secret from view.

Nobody would be able to see it anyway, she rationalized, even though the color is bright - it will be completely hidden from view!

Throughout the rest of the evening, she ignored its presence, though she did enjoy the low grade arousal caused by the slight nipple stimulation. She liked feeling good, she concluded, so why bother taking it off?

It made her feel more relaxed, more able to face the next day. She found herself playing with her breasts every so often, and was already looking forward to having another orgasm. This was completely wrong, but she couldn’t help herself!

She was still horny when she turned out the lights, tracing Rankotech’s ‘R’ on her chest. Her fantasies were enhanced by imagining that Rankotech owned her, the bra a visible sign of her servitude.

She almost grabbed the dildo out of the nightstand, but the day’s activities had made her more tired than she had originally thought. Her mind dropped into a deep slumber, where she dreamed of slaving away, a purple gleam in her eyes.