Priyanka was having a strange day, and part of the strangeness of it was that it was also a good day. For Priyanka, strange days were always bad days. She didn’t want strange days. She wanted nice, quiet, normal days. Days where she could slip by, unnoticed, from the start of her work day to the end. That kind of life suited her; she was resigned to it. But today was different. She’d woken up feeling like she’d slept for days. The miasma of perpetual exhaustion that normally hung about her was gone, leaving her clear-headed and calm. Full nights of restful sleep usually evaded her no matter what she did. This one was especially unusual given that she’d spent the previous evening stewing in guilt over her trip to the Omdanne bakery with the others. She couldn’t believe how much she’d eaten. Why did Sasha have to have given her the biggest, most indulgent treat out of all of them? And why did it have to have been so delicious, she couldn’t help but wolf down every last bite? She’d carried a bloated feeling around with her all day, a guilt-ridden reminder of how badly she’d failed her dieting promises to herself. Just as she always did. But upon waking up in the morning, she’d found that feeling totally replaced with one of warmth and comfort. For perhaps the first time in her life, she’d practically danced out of bed.

  Her newfound energy had filled Priyanka with the spirit of adventure. On a work day there was only so much adventuring she could do, but she nonetheless felt like doing something special to mark the occasion. Her wardrobe was the most obvious choice. Normally, Priyanka’s outfits were always subdued, in both color and form: oversized jumpers, comfortable dresses, modest blouses and cardigans. Nothing to attract attention to herself.  But that morning, all of that had felt smothering and dull. So instead, she’d chosen to wear one of the outfits she kept for special occasions, or for when she wanted to feel good about herself at home. It was nothing terribly special, simply a floral-print dress, but it was daring by her standards: it was low-cut and more colorful than her usual clothes, and more conforming. Between the cut and the fit, it accentuated her chest magnificently. Normally, such a thought would have mortified her, but today she figured that she might as well flaunt the assets she had. Normally, the thing that held her back from wearing it was the way it hugged her round belly, but that morning that hadn’t bothered her either.
    
    But, while it meant a great deal to her personally, besides her bold outfit and the fresh spring in her step, nothing had seemed too radically amiss to Priyanka. She’d made her way to work, just as usual, and now she was sitting at her desk and getting on with some coding work, just as usual. Her outfit hadn’t attracted any comments from any of her co-workers, but it had attracted a few looks. To her great surprise, Priyanka had been enjoying that. The looks weren’t scornful or judgemental. They were surprised, but not just surprised. Impressed. And something else too, something that made her spine shiver deliciously. All in all, she couldn’t help but work with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, her friends didn’t seem to be having such a good morning. She’d seen Zel arrive at work with a stormy look on their face, she’d seen Misty looking like she wanted the ground to swallow her up, and weirdest of all, she’d seen Andrea arrive late, looking like a complete mess. Priyanka felt a little worried for them, but even that couldn’t dampen her mood. Not today.

  “Hey, Pri?” Priyanka instinctively shrank away from the inquiring voice. Not even her sudden upswell of confidence was enough to break a lifetime of timid habits. As always, she was irked by the unwelcome contraction of her name, but as always, she raised no protest.

  “Y-yeah?” Priyanka turned from her desk. It was Ted, looking tired, as usual.

  “Have you got that updated security patch on the IXO project finalized yet?” he asked. “We need to deliver it.”

  “Um…” Priyanka scrambled to look at her project notes. “Well, um, I’ve finished my part, but I’m still waiting on Suzi to give me her code so I can compile it.”

  “So, it’s not finished?” Ted surmised, sounding irritable.
    
    “My part is,” Priyanka muttered quietly.

  “Look, just get it done,”Ted said, rubbing his temples. “I need the finalized patch so I can deliver it to the client. Andrea has been riding my ass for days.”

  “But it’s Suzi…” Priyanka began.

  “I don’t care,” Ted snapped. Then, he sighed remorsefully. “I’m sorry, Pri. I’m just stressed. But I really need that patch finished. Talk to Suzi, OK? And see if you can get it to me by the end of the day. I’d really appreciate it.”

  “OK,” Priyanka acceded meekly. Despite Ted’s immediate apology, his sudden harshness had her heart pounding. Priyanka didn’t know how to argue back against something like that. She didn’t want to argue. She just wanted to sit and work quietly, and make her way through the day. But now, she had to deal with Suzi - never an attractive prospect. Suzi was a perfectly nice and friendly person, but getting her to work to a deadline was something akin to pulling teeth, and Priyanka was the last person who knew how to motivate her.

  Still, she decided, she had to try. At least then, Ted couldn’t get mad at her. Priyanka stood up and made her way across the office to Suzi’s desk. Once she was on her feet, she noticed the way her dress pulled tight against her form, especially around her stomach. Had she gained weight? It certainly looked that way. Perhaps it was just that her dress was accentuating her stomach, whereas she was normally at pains to disguise it. Whatever the case, she found it didn’t bother her. She wasn’t preoccupied wondering what other people thought when they saw her, the way she usually was. She’d seen the way people looked at her. It wasn’t bad at all.

  Suzi was at her desk, and unsurprisingly, she was kicked back with her feet up, and all her attention was on her phone. When she sensed someone approaching she burst into motion, throwing her phone down on her desk and trying to look like she was working at her computer. But when she saw it was Priyanka, she relaxed again. “Oh hey Pri, what’s up?”

  “Um, hey Suzi,” Priyanka began awkwardly. “I was just wondering if you’d finished your IXO work, because um, Ted was just…”

  “Oh, no, sorry,” Suzi interrupted. The small Asian girl sounded fawningly apologetic. “I’ve been working on it, but you know how it goes. It’s a pretty tough one. I’m gonna need a little more time.”

  “Oh.” That was all it took to completely deflate Priyanka. She doubted Suzi had taken more than a few cursory looks at her share of the project, but she couldn’t possibly just say that.

  “Yeah. Sorry!”

  Mustering her confidence, Priyanka tried again. “Well, um, do you know when you might be able to finish it? Ted was hoping for end of day…”

  Suzi grimaced, and made a pessimistic hissing sound. “I dunno, Pri. I’m actually really busy today, so…”

  Priyanka glanced at Suzi’s computer screen. She didn’t have any work open at all. Inwardly she was burning with frustration, but outwardly she just sighed. “OK. Just, maybe look at it the first chance you get, OK?”

  “Sure.” Suzi waved a dismissive hand, and picked up her phone again.

  Priyanka sighed once more, and turned away. What was she going to do? According to Ted, it was clearly her responsibility to make sure the IXO patch was delivered on time, but there was no way she could get Suzi to put her ass in gear in time. There was only one person who could: Andrea. Priyanka hated to be a tattle-tale, but she really needed to make sure Suzi was keeping up with her end of the project. Suzi was a very quick and proficient programmer, when she was motivated to be, and hopefully she’d done a little more work than she was letting on. If so, it might still be possible to avoid disaster. With that in mind, Priyanka approached the door to Andrea’s office, and paused to take a few deep breaths. She always hated going to see Andrea. She hated standing there out in the open, instead of sequestered in the comfort of her little corner of the office. She knocked

  No answer. That was strange. Priyanka was sure she’d seen Andrea go in there, and she was equally sure she hadn’t seen her project manager leave. She knocked again. Still, no answer. That had never happened before. Priyanka was puzzled. Maybe Andrea was taking a call, but even then, it was unusual not to receive any response at all, not even one telling her to go away. Priyanka put her head close to the door, trying to see if she could hear any signs of life. There was no typing or talking. At first, it seemed totally silent, but then Priyanka thought she heard a strange, low, purring sound. It almost sounded like some kind of contented animal. She shook her head, mystified. Perhaps her ears were playing tricks on her. In any case, she decided she couldn’t bring herself to simply barge in. Andrea would be furious, especially if it proved to be an inopportune moment. Priyanka started to drift despairingly back over to her desk. What was she going to do? Suzi wouldn’t help, Andrea was busy or gone, and if she didn’t get the finished product compiled by the end of the day, it was going to cause problems and Ted might get mad at her. She felt stuck.

  But then a realization popped into Priyanka’s head, fully formed: if she didn’t do it, it wasn’t going to get done, and so she’d better find a way to take care of it. She had to do something. She needed to make Suzi see that this wasn’t optional. She needed to be forceful. Forceful? Priyanka wasn’t used to thinking in those kinds of terms. But maybe that was why things never seemed to go her way. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe a little change wasn’t such a bad thing. Normally, she would have instinctively rejected the idea that someone like her could be commanding, but today something was different. She wasn’t burdened by her usual doubts. She didn’t know why, but she decided to just accept it for once. Today was different. Today was her day. With that thought blazing in her mind, Priyanka marched over towards Suzi’s desk again. She walked with purpose and confidence. As she walked, she let her voluminous hips swing, sending the skirt of her dress cascading back and forth around her body with each step. For once in her life, she didn’t care who saw her. Quite the opposite, in fact. She felt empowered by it. Let them see her. This was her day.

  “Suzi,” Priyanka began, her voice a little louder and a little lower than it had been before.

  “Um, yeah?” Suzi turned to face her. She was on her phone again. “What is it this time?” She didn’t bother to hide the fact that she was a little annoyed at Priyanka’s interruption.

  At that moment, Priyanka realized she had absolutely no idea what to say or do. She didn’t know how to be forceful or commanding. For an instant, her confidence cracked. But then, a strange inner calm washed over her. She felt something insider her she’d never felt before. A reservoir of peace and strength. It felt alien and comforting at the same time. Priyanka somehow knew that if she just reached out and took hold of it, everything would be OK. And so, without hesitation, she did.

  “Pri?” Suzi prompted uncertainly. “You in there?”

  Priyanka didn’t answer. Instead, she took a step forward, putting herself intimately close to her co-worker. As she did, she straightened her back and stood a little taller, pulling her shoulders back so that, instead of hunching the way she normally did, she was presenting her chest and the rest of her body forward. In a seemingly nonchalant gesture, she drew one of her hands up her body, slightly lifting her dress and then tracing a line up over the curve of her stomach and to her breasts. It worked exactly as she hoped. Suzi’s eyes caught onto the movement, and then she couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized, as Priyanka’s hand guided her gaze. It was like she’d never seen Priyanka before. In a way, Priyanka thought to herself, she hadn’t. Not this Priyanka. She allowed Suzi to stare at her, untroubled by the fact that she was wearing a tight dress and that, if anything, she was looking a little bigger today compared to usual.

  “Uh,” Suzi muttered. She clearly didn’t know what was going on. Her mouth was just opened and closing over and over again. It was like watching a computer program trapped in a loop. Priyanka smirked. It was kind of cute. “Uh…”

  “I was thinking about what you said,” Priyanka told her, her voice husky. “And I was wondering if you really couldn’t find a way to get this done for me by the end of the day.” She reached out delicately and plucked Suzi’s phone out of her hand, and set it down on the desk. She didn’t even seem to notice. “You can do that, can’t you? For me?”

  “Um, well, I…” Suzi babbled. She sounded like her mouth was suddenly dry. Perfect. Priyanka licked her lips.

  “I’m sure you can. You can be so good like that. So good.” Priyanka made her voice even softer and huskier. Suzi’s reaction was palpable. The poor girl was practically panting. She was defenseless. “And, you know, I’d be so grateful. And so pleased.” She reached out to place a hand on Suzi’s shoulder. It was nothing more than a simple touch, but alongside the way she was putting sensual emphasis on certain suggestive words it was enough to make Suzi gasp. “You can do that for me, can’t you Suzi?”

  “Y-yeah. Um. Yeah. Sure.” It was clear Suzi was barely capable of thinking about what she was agreeing to. That was fine with Priyanka. She didn’t need Suzi to be thinking - not at that moment, at least.

  “Good girl.” Suzi shivered. Priyanka’s heart soared, sensing victory. “Remember. End of the day. I’ll be so grateful.”

  She didn’t let Suzi get out another word. Instead, Priyanka just turned on her heels and started striding confidently away. She didn’t need to look back to know that Suzi was staring after her. Good. Let her stare. It only made Priyanka feel more powerful. That sense of power and control lasted for about thirty seconds, before she started feeling deathly shocked and embarrassed at what she’d just done. Priyanka blushed. Had that really been her? It didn’t seem possible. It felt like some kind of demon had taken over her body. No, not a demon, she mused. A goddess. That prospect was terrifying, and more terrifying still was the fact that she could still feel it inside her. That sureness. That assertiveness. That power. But as well as being scary, it was also just a little bit exciting. Tapping into that power a little bit had certainly gotten results. What more could she achieve, if she indulged just a little bit more? Priyanka felt hesitant to do that. Who could know what kind of trouble that might get her in? But, as she returned to desk and tried to focus on her work, she couldn’t help hoping there would be another fitting opportunity.

  ***

  Zel was pissed. That wasn’t entirely unusual, but they’d never felt it quite like that before. The way Andrea and others constantly piled work on them often annoyed them, but mostly it just made them weary. It felt like there was simply nothing they could do about it, and besides, as much as it sucked they didn’t want to let the rest of the team down. Now, they felt truly bitter. So much so that they didn’t really regret the way they’d snapped at Andrea. In fact, they wished they’d gone further. They easily could have. The only reason Zel had held back was because of the way Andrea had looked her. She’d been whimpering like a sad puppy. It was so incredibly out of character that it had thrown Zel through a complete loop, and they’d ended up agreeing to the very thing they’d been trying to stand up to her over. It was enough to make them grate their teeth. At least they’d vowed to make it the last time - and they really meant it. They weren’t going to let people walk all over them anymore. Zel wasn’t quite sure what had possessed them, but they gladly welcomed it. Anything to break up the exhausting monotony of overworking themselves day in and day out, not knowing how to do anything else. There were other intrusive thoughts too, equally sharp and prickly. They felt the sudden urge to change their clothes, cut their hair, maybe even get a few piercings. That was the reason they’d chosen to wear a simple black shirt to work that day, instead of a big, cute sweater. They didn’t feel like being cute anymore. Zel laughed ruefully to themself. Maybe they were finally hitting their rebellious phase. As if coming out as non-binary hadn’t been enough of a rebellion.

  But all of that would have to come later. For now, Zel was stuck at work, trying to catch up with their own project while also figuring out how they were going to chip in and assist on someone else’s. Unusually, they were finding it difficult to concentrate. All they could think about was how unfair it was that so much work had been dumped on them last-minute, and each line of code they looked at or tried to write served as a frustrating reminder of that. Ultimately, Zel let more than an hour pass without making any real progress at all, sulking mutinously and thinking about all the things they should have said to Andrea to put her in her proper place. Earlier, they’d felt a modicum of pity for Andrea’s overwrought sadness at being refused, but now, they felt more than a little sadistic and vengeful. She didn’t know what had Andrea behaving so mousy and meek, but the idea of taking advantage of that sounded deeply, deeply satisfying.

  For now, though, that was all just a fantasy. Zel wanted nothing more than to make it through the day and go home and relax. That seemed like it was going to be a struggle, however. They had a lot of work to do, and no inclination to do it. They glanced around the office. Ted and Priyanka both seemed a little agitated about something. Great. The last thing Zel needed was anyone else trying to pile even more shit on them. Grabbing their phone, Zel stood up from their desk and headed for the bathroom. At least there, they could kill some time without getting disturbed by anyone. Once in the bathroom, they slipped into a stall, locked it, sat down, and started browsing on their phone. Sure, if the work didn’t get done it would cause problems, but just for once Zel decided to let someone else deal with that. Not them. Not today. They’d more than earned a little selfishness.

  After a few minutes, it became obvious to Zel that there was someone else in the stall next to theirs. That wasn’t really a problem, although in the mood they were in, Zel would have preferred complete solitude. It quickly became a problem, however, once they started to take notice of the kinds of noises they were making: strange, feminine groans and moans that echoed uncomfortably around the entire bathroom. At first, Zel was worried it was someone in pain, but after a few more moments they realized it was quite the opposite. Zel’s eyebrow twitched. Great. Just great. Even here, they couldn’t get any peace. Their first instinct was to leave and let their colleague finish pleasuring themselves in peace, but Zel immediately rejected that. They weren’t going to be that kind of doormat anymore. So, instead, they raised a fist and knocked loudly on the adjoining wall.

  “Hey, keep it down,” Zel called out.

  To their immense frustration, not only did the moaning not stop, it actually seemed to become louder.

  Zel banged on the wall of the stall again. “Come on,” they jeered, “save it for your own damn bedroom.”

  Once again, the moaning rose, reaching yet another crescendo. They sounded a little muffled now, as if whoever it was was trying to stifle themselves, but the effort was clearly utterly in vain. They went on moaning. Zel made an irritated ‘tsk’ sound. Didn’t this person have any self-control at all? Zel decided they’d had enough. They weren’t going to take any more weirdness or bullshit today, not after how Andrea had treated them. They stood up, went out of the stall, and stood in front of the one with the moaning pervert inside. Zel raised their hand to knock again, but then they noticed something: the stall wasn’t locked. They were amazed at the carelessness, given what this person was doing. Zel decided they weren’t going to back down now. They were going to give this mysterious weirdo a piece of their mind. They pushed the door open.

  “Misty?!”

  Sure enough, right inside was her friend Misty, with breasts exposed and her dick out. The trans girl’s bra was discarded on the floor, and she’d lifted her top both so that she could stuff it in her mouth and gag herself, and so that she could grope her seemingly-swollen tits. She started at Zel with shocked, fearful eyes, but she was still making faint moans, and worst of all, her other hand was still making small stroking motions up along the shaft of her cock. She looked utterly paralyzed, torn between absolute shame and irrepressible lust. For their part, Zel was equally shocked. Of all the people she might have suspected, Misty was the absolute last on the list. Misty was always so shy and timid, and so cautious. She’d never do anything like this. But the evidence of her own eyes couldn’t be disbelieved, and now they needed to decide what they were going to do. They wanted to give Misty a stern warning about what she was doing, but their friend was clearly in need of comfort too. But as they stared at each other, all kinds of other, more wicked ideas started to blossom in Zel’s mind. She’d been looking for someone to take her frustration out on. Maybe Misty was the perfect target. It wasn’t like she was going to be able to resist, not after Zel had caught her red-handed masturbating in the bathroom. Besides, maybe it would teach Misty a lesson. The girl needed to learn to be more cautious. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. As Zel settled on that course of action, with increasing eagerness, a wicked, sadistic grin spread across their face.

  This was going to be fun.