The moment her alarm began to sound, Carmen leapt out of bed and into her tiny shower. She had something to prove this morning, not to her boss but to herself. Yesterday she had acted erratically, left to her own devices and nervous from starting an important internship. Today was going to be normal, she had acclimated to Mrs. Grew's unique aroma and had more than sated her curiosity, so now she could just focus on doing her job. Rose was kind enough to invite her to work out together, how would it look if she snubbed her nose at that? Carmen wanted to make a better impression that she had the day before, she must have looked like a complete airhead standing in the corner covered in water, barely able to get her words out. 

She headed out in her gym clothes, a pair of shorts and a comfortable top, her blouse and skirt carried in a light blue messenger bag. Carmen hoped that Rose would let her use the shower too, she did promise that all her facilities would be available. The subway was dirty as always, Carmen wrinkling her nose at the usual unpleasant smells. A small, quiet voice in the back of the woman's head told her that she would much rather be breathing in that scent instead. It was a hard voice to argue with in this instance, but she did not have to admit she liked it just because it would be an improvement.

"Carmen, I'm so glad you decided to join me, I was just about to get started on some dumbbell curls." Rose greeted her intern with a welcoming smile as Carmen closed the door behind her, the younger woman taking a deep breath in and immediately getting used to the other's potent scent, it felt like it was caressing her, welcoming her back. "Here, you can use these, but let me know if they're too heavy." 

While she felt a little condescended, Carmen appreciated the woman's understanding and helpful nature. It was only her second day, but she admired the way Rose carried herself, how she always seemed to be in control of the situation. "Okay, thanks." She took the weights from her boss, staring a little at the black lycra vest and leggings which were formed to Rose's shape. 

The workout began innocently enough, Mrs. Grew playing a generic trance mix from her stereo as the two started to lift their arms into confident curls. It was clear pretty quickly which of the two had more stamina, Rose still going strong after several sets while Carmen began to lag behind. She was feeling the fatigue from her workout and began to pant, breathing more frequently and heavily than usual. It dawned on her that she was huffing in the thick air of her boss's workout more and more vigorously, Carmen once again losing focus and becoming distracted by the mystery of it all.

"Are you alright, Carmen? Do you need to take a break?" The intern's older, more athletic boss seemed amused at Carmen's slowed movements. She felt weaker already, the dumbbells so much heavier in her hands than they had been a couple sets ago. She just wanted to take a break but knew that it would be embarrassing to stop so soon.

"I'm okay... I just, I think I'll work my legs out." The young woman felt instantly relieved once the heavy weights were placed to the side, no longer pulling on her muscles. She knew she was stronger than this, but the more she breathed in the harder it became to push herself. 

"Sit yourself up on the bike, then, watch my squats to see if I'm keeping my back straight." 

Carmen gave a curt nod and a small smile, it was nice to have a partner, she usually went to the gym by herself. She considered herself a social girl but was never much of an extrovert in reality. Her friends had relationships to keep them occupied, not that they were the types to get up first thing for a workout.

"You look worn out already, did you get enough sleep last night? Have you eaten?" Rose spoke to her intern more like a concerned mother would than a typical employer. Carmen was not sure whether to be grateful or annoyed, she never asked to be coddled... but it was kind of nice. 

"I'm... hah... I'm fine." The intern was clearly haggard, barely even rotating the pedals of the exercise bike. Her eyes were hooded, fixated on her boss's back as instructed. A few beads of sweat rolling down the woman's back were enough to completely distract Carmen from her own exercise, legs seeming to lock up completely while her eyes were just as locked on that straight slab of marble filling her vision. Everything but Rose's back were fading out of sight and out of mind, Carmen folding her hands awkwardly in her lap and leaning closer on the bike, filling her lungs with compromised air that coaxed her mouth open and melted all the tension from her shoulders. The glistening bead reflected in her eyes would occasionally fall from Mrs. Grew's body, but would always be replaced with a new one to fixate on just as quickly. 

Did somebody just say something?

Yeah, there's definitely a voice coming from somewhere. So distant, hard to hear... 

"Carmen!" 

The intern snapped out of her reverie and closed her dry lips, eyes flitting around the room which slowly emerged from the haze. Her eyes soon met those of her boss, who seemed concerned. Carmen frowned, pulling herself from the slick bike seat and taking a single step towards the woman before her legs gave way beneath her. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was falling into Rose Grew's embrace. 

Carmen awoke with her cheek pressed against something warm and smooth, a thin line of drool trailing down from the corner of her parted lips. Clutching her head and sitting up, the young woman found that she had been resting in the armchair against the wall of Mrs. Grew's office. After quickly wiping the armrest to a fine polish to hide her embarrassment, Carmen soon realised that was the least of her concerns. She had just passed out at work on her second day, before she had even clocked in... the guilty peek up at the ticking clock ahead of her was enough to tell Carmen just how much she messed up. Already half way through the work day, what had gotten into her? Did she push herself too hard trying to impress her boss? It can't be that, those were actually lighter weights than she was used to. Her internal musings were cut short by the sound of tapping at Mrs. Grew's desk, the unmistakable clacks of keyboard keys as practised fingers descended upon them. 

"I see you're awake now, hm?" Rose spoke plainly, a professional neutrality in her tone that immediately had the intern sit up straight. Was she in trouble? Well, not that she could contest the reason... "I'm so glad you're okay." Were her next words, Carmen's heart skipping. "Clearly the weights were too much for you to handle, I feel personally responsible for pushing them onto you. Next time, I'll see if I can't find some neoprene dumbbells for you, I think I have some in the attic from when I was little!"

The intern shifted up in her seat, her heart racing from the humility. Her mouth opened and closed several times, wanting to explain that she was usually much stronger than she was today. Every time she tried to tell her boss the truth, clear things up, she pictured the same expression on the woman's face. A kind, knowing smile. Patronising, like appeasing a kid who didn't know their own limits. Carmen felt ashamed, weak, because she was unable to protest the woman's gnawing words.

"Th... Um..." Taking a shaky breath and swallowing drily, Carmen stood up and tried again. "Th-ank you." A voice crack had ruined her composure again immediately, but thankfully Rose was ready to alleviate her nerves again. 

"You're a sweaty mess, so take a shower, get dressed and do something with your hair. If you can do that in twenty minutes I'll see to it you're paid for today, you can make coffees for the office as penance." Rose smirked, tapping her watch with clear amusement. 

With more meek words of gratitude, Carmen rushed into the ensuite with haste and began to run the shower. It only dawned on her after stepping into a more ventilated part of the office, extraction fan above her head, that since waking up the distinctive scent of Mrs. Grew had seemed the new normal. After sleeping on that sofa, she had acclimated to the heady aroma that seemed an unavoidable distraction the day before. For some reason, the thought of that made Carmen feel strange. Heat from deep inside her began to bubble to the surface, which was only worsened once the shower door was swung closed. Rose probably used the shower daily, fan or not Carmen was beginning to place her scent all over again. Her eyes darted to the bar of soap sitting innocently in a tray hanging from the shower door. With the hot water jets running down her back, the intern cautiously wrapped her fingers around the half worn bar, raising it to her face and taking a deep breath in. 

At first, it smelled like any other bar of soap. A delicate and pleasant aroma which was notably floral, lavender perhaps? Before she could take any further guesses, she was hit by another scent which was much to be expected yet overwhelmed her all the same. The heat bubbled up further, pooling between her legs in a familiar itch which still felt foreign in such an inappropriate context. Carmen knew she was turned on, but wanted to deny it. She wanted to deny it so badly, yet after a painful minute of desperately grasping at reason, she could not deny herself relief. A finger traced itself lazily down towards the strange, familiar heat. It must have been her finger, she thought as her eyes closed, but it was no longer under her control. Carmen's delinquent digit wormed its way over her vulnerable folds and pressed deep past her labia, pushing into the core of the warmth. "Stop... stop stop stop..." After a heavy exhale, Carmen slid her finger out and tried to focus instead on the sound of the shower, the water cascading from her back onto the floor by her feet. Her eyes flickered open to the same shameful sight she had witnessed on the subway the day before. 

"What the fuck is wrong with me?"

Carmen placed one foot in front of the other, taking deep breaths with each step. The main office was refreshingly safe from Rose's 'pheromones'. Left foot, Carmen inhaled. Right foot, she exhaled. It was like training herself to think clearly again, her normal brain had been weakened by a sweaty room and a clump of soap... As she gently placed a coffee down on each of her colleagues desks, Carmen tried to ignore their glances. None of them had thanked her. Even if this was a punishment of sorts, the energy in this office was even stranger than Mrs. Grew's. It's like they knew. Like they somehow saw what she had done in the shower. Like they were gossiping and giggling about the whole mess behind her back. The mess that was her, who could apparently no longer lift weights past those found in schools. 

The intern returned to Rose's office with her ego in tatters, no longer having the strength to ask what the deal was with their co-workers, or why her boss's natural musk seemed to have such a pronounced effect on her. Carmen was simply too lethargic to do anything save what she was told, getting into the rhythm of serving Rose's every need and whim for the rest of her shift. Serving her drinks, shredding paperwork, cleaning the gym equipment, sorting her emails. It was almost like a trancelike state that the intern found herself in, so engrossed in her endless list of duties that she never stopped to question any of the orders that spilled like honey from Rose's heart shaped lips.

"Shine my shoes."

Carmen sunk to her knees and obeyed.

"Tell me, do you enjoy working for me so far?" 

The kneeling intern pondered the question as she ran the cloth over the toe of her boss's high heel. 

"Oh, yes of course." Her voice came out calmer than she had expected, usually stuttering over her words when caught off guard by such questions from authority figures. 

"That's good, Carmen. People should love their jobs, don't you think?"

"Mhm." Carmen was too focused on her job to pay too much thought to Rose's words, she could almost see herself in the woman's shoe.

"In order to love you job, you probably have to love your boss..."

"Yeah, I guess." The intern sighed, moving onto the other shoe without thinking.

Rose gave Carmen another duty for the day, which the intern had gotten so into the habit of obeying without much thought or hesitation. 

"Then tell me you love me."

The fog eventually lifted as Carmen reached the half way stop on her subway ride home. That serene calmness subsided, leaving the foul subway car to assault her senses in its place. Without any resistance, Carmen yearned to return to work, it was much more pleasant than sitting in a packed tin of tired people on their way to marinate at home. Carmen looked over at a couple on the row of seats opposite her, at least they wouldn't be alone at home. 

"I love you, Honey."

"I love you too, sweetie."

Carmen narrowed her eyes, mouthing the words to herself idly. 

I love you... 

I love you?

Mrs. Grew's amused expression staring down at her, heeled shoe sat comfortably against her intern's thighs. The woman's lips move as sound pours out, spilling commands into Carmen's ears which she helplessly absorbs like sponge. Powerless, malleable and obedient. 

"I love you Mrs. Grew." 

...

...

...

Carmen's face turned a deep crimson hue in the crowded public transport, remembering things more clearly now that she was far from her boss's influence. When at work, she was not herself. This much was clear, it was just as obvious that somehow, Rose's scent had some sort of sway on her.

Wait, no. Carmen was just tired. All of this was so far fetched, it couldn't possibly be true. She told herself that Rose was just a very teasing person who took advantage of Carmen's focus and drowsiness to poke a little fun. Making up conspiracy theories to excuse herself for sleeping on the job and embarrassing herself further was just sad... she needed to go to work tomorrow at her very best, nothing but the utmost professionalism. Her third day would make or break her career, Carmen told herself stoically.