The Trap

by Jennifer White

  

Hal read the newspaper as he flushed the toilet again. He hated the downtime when he was in the bathroom, and he used it to keep up on his reading. When he was done, he folded up the paper, and left it sitting on the side as a "courtesy" to the next person.

He got up, went to the sink, and washed his hands. He pulled out three paper towels from the dispenser, dried his hands, and tossed them into the trash basket. They missed, but he didn't bother picking them up. They had people they paid good money to who cleaned up the rest rooms. Let them handle it.

Now he started to walk out the door. He pushed the inner door open, and didn't even notice what had just happened to him at that instance. He didn't sense that his hair had just gone from his short graying crew cut to long luxurious locks of curly red hair, dangling down to his shoulders. He didn't notice that his crisp three piece business suit was replace by a sheath dress with a blue blazer, with his oxfords changed into pumps.

Nor did he notice that his face changed from his hard chiseled features to soft and pretty face, with a fair complexion and expertly applied makeup to bring out his beauty. He never sensed that he was now a full seven inches shorter than he had been a moment ago. He didn't feel that he was now wearing a bra to support his 38C breasts, and he certainly didn't feel that under his panties, he no long had his manhood. He was a woman now, but he didn't even notice it.

 

Hal opened the outer door, and took a step back into the office floor. He looked up, and he was shocked to stare at a familiar face. His.

He gasped. That was the moment that it all hit him. That was when he noticed that he was no longer himself. He was a woman. He looked behind him. He had just emerged from the door marked "women". Impossible!

 

"Come with me" he heard the man in front of him say, in his crisp military trained voice. *His* voice. He felt weak in the knees. He felt like....crying! He hadn't cried since he was five years old. He felt such a strong urge to be obedient, which was also so unlike him. He had founded this company so that he wouldn't have to take orders from anyone. But he felt *compelled* to obey the man before him. He bowed his head, and walked two steps behind him.

Ever time his legs moved, the felt electric pulses of sensation from the dress lightly touching the pantyhose. He felt chills go up and down his neck as his long hair lightly touched him, and swayed as he moved. He was entranced by the feeling of his breasts jiggling as he moved. Or more precisely, glided. He was amazed at this body's natural feminine grace. He was so overwhelmed by all these new sensations that he hardly noticed as the man he followed went into a familiar office, and locked the door.

This was his office in the corner of the building. The man sat down behind the desk in *his* chair. He felt insulted. *He* owned that chair! That was where *he* sat! But has he put his hands on his hips in anger, he realized that he was no longer himself. He wasn't Hal anymore; he was a woman now.

"I'm a woman" he whispered under his breath, just realizing the ramifications. He had always looked down at women. They didn't know how to run a business. Instead of cold logic, they were governed by frivolous emotions. They couldn't be counted on to do the job. Now he *was* one.

 

"Have a seat Rachell" said the man, in Hal's deep voice.

"Rachell?" he said, hearing his soft feminine voice for the first time. It shocked him. Even though he was looking at himself, he still expected to hear his own voice when he spoke. After 47 years of life, it was understandable that he would expect his voice to be his own. But he wasn't himself anymore. He was a young woman now. Somehow he had become Rachell.

He knew her, just as he knew all the employees at his small but quickly growing firm. She was a recent hire. She ran the secretarial pool. She was the one who had to keep these gossip machines in check, get them to the right place at the right time, and deal with all of their daily complaints. They had the easiest jobs, but they complained the most.

 

"I said sit down Rachell" said Hal again.

He was obedient, and sat with his legs crossed in the way women do when they're trying to be modest. His new female body knew how to do it, seemingly on its own.

"What happened? How is this possible?" he said, still shocked by the sound of his new female voice.

The man behind the desk smiled.

"You're a girl now. You are Rachell. How does it *feel*?"

Feel! Hal was being overwhelmed by feelings, with the female brain he now inhabited being so different from his own. He was finding it hard to think straight, and was having trouble drawing a logical conclusion about what had happened to him.

"Don't worry Rachell, its only for one day" said the man.

"How...." she stammered in reply.

"It would be too hard to explain" he started, laughing as he spoke. "But I needed to be you for one day. You'll go back to being yourself, but you'll find that I've fixed a few things around here. Your company will be much better run after today."

"How could it be better? We're growning...uh...157% year to year!" she said, finding it hard to remember the number. What was wrong? She knew all the numbers like the back of her hand. No wait! Why had she accepted being a woman so quickly? She wasn't a *she*! She was a man inside! But a cold bolt of electricity went through her as she realized that she really was a woman, and in her mind, she had already accepted it.

"Ah, you realize now that you're a woman, don't you? Don't worry honey, it's not all bad. I think you'll like it."

Rachell just stared back, her mouth agape.

"As I was saying, after today this company will be run much better than it is now. Today, I am going to turn over control of this company to Debra and Joan."

"No! It's *my* company!" protested Rachell, her voice becoming shrill from the stress.

"The company belongs to Hal, and *I* am Hal now, aren't I? So I can do with it anything I want. I am going to have women take over the company, and begin to run it. You will sign the papers today, releasing control. There will of course be a generous severance package, so starting tomorrow you can enjoy your retirement. Women will control the company from now on, and you will only be looking in from the outside."

"No! You can't do this!" said Rachell, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Yes I can! There is nothing you can do to stop it. Go ahead, tell the police that you've become a woman, and that I'm trying to steal your company. You'll get locked up in the psyche hospital, and you'll never go back to being yourself."

Rachell lowered her head. She knew she was beaten. She felt so helpless! So powerless! She started to cry, not able to contain herself any longer. It was bad enough feeling weak like this, but she was also really starting to sense the missing equipment between her legs. This sensation of womanliness was so different! They said that men sometimes thought with "their little head" between their legs. Now sensing that it was gone just amplified the sense of weakness one hundred fold. She hadn't ever felt so vulnerable!

 

"Now Rachell, here are the rules" said Hal. "You are a woman for the next 24 hours. You can do anything you want. Explore your newfound femininity! I'm on the pill, so you can find some hot guy and have sex if you want to feel what it's like to have a female orgasm. I know I'm going to go screw a secretary today to find what it feels like to be on top."

The thought shocked her. Have sex as a woman? Never!

"But there is one thing I warn you not to do. Do not access my memories! I am telling you in the strongest terms, that you will be very sorry if you do it. Do you understand, *girl*?"

"Yes" she replied.

"Yes what?" said Hal, in a taunting manner he sometimes used with underlings.

"Yes sir" she said weakly. She felt humiliated now, beaten down. She was used to being the one in power, the one doing the brow beating. But now she was the one who was being forced to bend her will to someone else. She was under his thumb, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

 

After drying her eyes, Rachell went back to her own office. It was much smaller than the one she was used to. Instead of being decorated with sports memorabilia, plaques, awards, and inspirational posters, there were pictures of nieces and nephews, flowers, pictures of puppies and kittens, along with beanie baby stuffed animals.

Hal's desk was normally clean and organized. But this desk was a mess, with things scattered all about. The open top drawer on the right contained tubes of lipstick, bottles of nail polish, and a box of tampons. Rachell slammed it closed.

She tried to think. What had just happened? Somehow, a low level woman manager at the company had switched bodies with the CEO, and she was now stuck in this woman's body. And she was going to take over the company, along with other women who had plotted this coup.

Hal was now a woman, powerless to do anything about the situation. She would go back to being herself tomorrow, but by then it would be too late. She had to do something now, but what? She couldn't tell anyone. Even Mike, Hal's best friend, would never believe a woman calling him saying that she was really Hal. No, that was impossible.

She couldn't stop the process. The women must clearly have drawn up the legal documents already, because that took a lot of time. She couldn't call the press. They'd never believe her, and by the time they did reported on it, it would be too late anyway. Same with the police.

Maybe if she knew exactly what they were going to do, she could think of some way to delay it, so that when she became herself again tomorrow, she could cancel the deal. But she didn't know any details. How could she stop it if she didn't know the details.

Then it dawned on her. Hal had warned her not to access her memories. So this body had all of Rachell's memories. If she could find a way to access them, then she could discover the details of the plot. If she knew that, then she could decide how to thwart the plotters. Yes! She would use Rachell's memories against her. That must be why he had warned her not to look into her memories. He was afraid that she would learn the details, and be able to kill the deal.

* * *

 

Rachell put her phone on "do not disturb", and kept her office door closed. She had to figure out how to access the memories in her new brain. She tried to remember the plot, but she couldn't figure out how to access the memories. It was frustrating! She knew they were down there somewhere, but she couldn't find the key for how to use them.

Perhaps she could start by remembering something simple and personal. She began by picking up a picture of a baby that was on the desk. Hal had hated babies. Loud noisy smelly things, that needed constant attention. Women's work. She had never understood how women could go gaga over babies, and coo at them, acting like they were so cute.

She looked at the picture, and tried to remember who it was, but she had no luck. It was just a picture of another ugly baby.

"Maybe I have think like a woman" she thought. She realized that she was trying to apply logic to the situation, but this brain seemed to be more driven by emotion. Perhaps if she tried a more feminine approach, she could make some progress.

She looked at the picture again, and imaged that she was holding the infant in the picture. It looked so helpless! what a cute chubby face it had!

"Aw" she said out loud. She felt a biological urge, from deep down in her bones, to love an nurture a baby. She wished that she had a baby of her own, as cute as this one, her sister Betsy's daughter...Amy! Amy was now 15 weeks old, and was named for her maternal grandmother Amy Lee.

Now the memories started to flow! She remembered her own family, her parents, her brother and sisters, her aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Each person brought up happy memories of times she had spent with them. She remember going to the 4th of July parade with her family, or birthday parties, or being in the girl scouts with her cousin.

Her family was important to her, and it made her who she was. She remembered more and more about them, and she smiled. Her close relationships with them were dear to her, and she cherished them.

She sat up, satisfied that she had unlocked the key for how to get to the memories in her brain. She gave a thought to her apartment, and found that she immediately knew where it was, what it looked like, and all sorts of details. With every memory that she accessed, it became easier and easier to get to the next one.

She smiled. It wouldn't be long now before she knew the details, and could do something about it. She noticed the clock on her desk said 4:45pm. She worked until 5pm, so she started to get ready to leave. She logged off her computer, locked the confidential file drawer, freshened her makeup, grabbed her purse, and went out to her car.

She looked at the black BMW parked in the spot with the sign "Reserved Parking - CEO", and walked straight past it. She got the far side of the parking lot, to her little silver VW Jetta. She remembered that she had been meaning to file a request to add another light to the lot, because she felt unsafe walking all the way to her car at night because it wasn't well enough lit. Once she switched back tomorrow, she would make sure to get that done!

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later, Rachell walked into the door of her apartment. This was *her* place, and the sense of being home made her feel calm and relaxed. She was greeted by her cats, which she petted and talked to. She fed them, then went to her bedroom to change her clothes. She liked to go for a run before dinner, so she carefully removed her clothes, and hung them in the closet. She took off her bra, and put it in the sink. She would hand wash it that night, and let it air dry hanging over the shower curtain bar. She put on a sports bra, then her running outfit.

She had a good drink of water to make sure she was well hydrated, went out the back door, stretched, and began her usual route of her 4 mile run. She loved running after work, it let her clear her head and relax, after all the stress of the day. She smiled and waved at the neighbors as she jogged past them. She looked at the children playing in their yards, and thought back to when she had been busily occupied with nothing more than a swing set and a sandbox.

Time just seemed to fly by, and soon she was on the home stretch, heading back towards her place. Her lungs were burning, and her legs could really feel it now. She pushed hard though, because she knew this was where she really burned the calories. She had eaten a piece of chocolate from Deana's desk, and felt guilty about it, so she gritted her teeth, and began her sprint down the last quarter mile.

Satisfied, she walked for five minutes as a cool down, went inside, drank more water, then did some stretching again. Now all covered in sweat, she went in to take her shower. As the luke warm water rolled down her body, she started to touch herself all over.

Earlier in the day she had felt horror at being in a woman's body. But now, it seemed normal, natural. She applied the soap to herself, enjoying the feel of her soft skin. She cleaned herself well between her legs, knowing that she was just starting her period. She had always hated her smell when it was her time of the month. She wasn't really even spotting yet, but she knew it would start any time. She could tell from the familiar edge of irritability she was starting to feel. She would use a panty liner, just to be sure. She also knew how she got so horny, right when she was about to start. She thought of the cute guy she had seen walking his dog. One of these days, she would work up the nerve to talk to him. He made her shiver all over inside. She felt like a schoolgirl when she saw him, just melting, and hoping he would ask her out.

As she used her feminine hygiene product, she wondered why she had been so freaked out earlier in the day about having a pussy? What had she been thinking? Why in the world would she have been upset about being a woman? She had always been a woman, and she couldn't imagine ever being anything else.

But something still bothered her. While drying off, putting on the sweat suit she used when she lazed around the house, and preparing her dinner, she thought about it. Something in the back of her mind. While she ate her salad with low-cal dressing, cottage cheese and fruit, she suddenly remembered. The conspiracy! She had planned to discover in her mind the details of the conspiracy, so she could stop it.

A sense of dread crept over her as she realized that ever since she had accessed the memories in her mind, she had slipped completely into Rachell's life. She had gone through Rachell's entire routine, as if she had always done it. She had been completely buried within Rachell's mind.

She had to think! "I am really Hal!" she said out loud, but the words had a hollow ominous ring to them, as if she didn't even believe it herself. She had to really concentrate, and struggle to think of earlier in the day when she had been Hal. She had to struggle to remember *anything* about being Hal. In fact, those memories seemed distant, and remote now, as if they were just something from a dream.

Maybe the warning not to access the memories in her brain hadn't been a ruse. Maybe it had been a real warning. But she was still faced with the same problem. Either she could stop now and give up the company and her life's work as Hal, or she could take a risk, and try to delve into Rachell's mind again, but this time make sure that she found what she needed, and get the hell out.

She picked up a piece of paper, and began writing:

 

Note to myself:

I am Hal! I am Hal! Find out what they're plotting, and get out of her mind! I am Hal!

 

Satisfied, she laid the note on her bed. That way, she would remember everything when she went to bed, and would be sure to shock herself back into remembering who she really was. It did freak her out however that writing on the paper was *Rachell's* writing. Even though she now remember that she was really Hal, the writing was a flowing feminine script with large bold strokes, instead of his normal small, hard to read scrawl.

* * *

 

Rachell went to the comfortable chair in the living room, and picked up the pad of paper and pencil. Predictably, her cats wanted to sit on her lap. She allowed them to, since it would be just as normal. The more it was her normal routine, the better that she would be able to slip back in, and remember what she wanted.

She wrote down on the paper "The plan to take over HalCo Inc". She petted the purring cat, and tried to remember its name.

"Good girl Ginger" she said, petting the yellow tabby, "you purr so loud!"

Ginger responded to her voice by rolling onto its back, so she could rub her soft white belly.

Rachell looked at the paper in her hand. She smiled. The takeover of HalCo? Debra and Joan had kept so much of it in the dark from her for some reason, but she would stand to profit handsomely from it. They had promised to promote her if she helped them. All she had to do was to go with them to the witch, and tell Hal the lines they had prepared for her. Once she had taken over his body, they would let her in on the details.

She was excited about the opportunity to move up in the world, but she was tired, having gone over the plans so often with Debra. She turned on the TV to watch Survivor, and put the pad of paper down.

 

At 10:30, Rachell got up, put out some hard food for the cats, brushed her teeth, put her nightie on, and then her night cream. She went to pull down her bedspread, and saw the piece of paper laying there. She tossed it into the wastebasket. Why did she leave it there? What was wrong with her?

She laid down, for a good night's sleep, excited about what she would find in the morning.

* * *

 

The alarm went off at 7:00am. Although she didn't start until 8:30, and it was only a twenty minute drive, she would be rushed as usual to get everything done. She showered, dressed (making sure to use a panty line, since she was sure she'd be starting her period), and did her hair. It took so long to pick out the right shoes today. She was sometimes so indecisive! But her gray business suit, with its knee length skirt and matching blazer were just right for today. She picked a very feminine looking blouse, with purple floral patterns on a gray background. It was her fashion sense, mixing a business like suit with a frivolous feminine top. But choosing the right pair of shoes for it took some work. On her fourth try, she was satisfied with the black flats she selected. She liked what heels did to make her calves look better, but somehow they didn't go with the outfit. So she sighed as she settled on the flats. The heels would have to wait for tonight, when she went dancing.

She was short on time, so she grabbed a banana to eat in the car. She ate it, and did her makeup as she drove. Some stupid men beeped their horns at her, which made it really hard to get the mascara on just right with all that distraction. So what if they had to wait three more seconds at the light? She was doing something important here!

She arrived, parked in her usual spot at the far end of the parking lot, and walked in the door. She admired Hal's shiny black BMW, and wondered how it felt to drive a car like that. Once in her office, she checked her schedule, and saw that she had a meeting with him, first thing! She went to the lady's room, and checked her hair and makeup. It is important to look your best when you meet with the big boss!

 

She was shown into Hal's office by Adele, his current secretary. She had picked out Adele herself, and Hal had seemed rather pleased with her. She was glad, because he could be tough to satisfy.

She looked around inside, and saw that Joan and Debra were already there. Joan sat at the big desk, while Hal and Debra were in the comfortable chairs facing the desk.

"So Hal, how does it feel to know that women are running your company now?" said Joan.

Rachell turned to Hal to hear his response. This would be interesting.

"Hal?" said Debra, poking her in the arm. Why would she do that?

There was uneasy silence for a few moments.

"I told you he would access my memories" said Hal, which made Rachell very confused. What was he talking about?

"How is your sister Betsy?" asked Debra.

"Oh, she's doing very well" replied Rachell. "She just sent me a new picture of Amy. She's 15 weeks old already! Its hard to believe. But she's a good baby, and really smart!"

"Aw, that's nice. I'd like to see her picture" said Debra.

"Here" said Rachell, digging through her purse. She came up with a smaller version of the picture she had in the frame on her desk. Debra, Joan and Hal all cooed over the cute baby picture. Rachell thought it very odd that such a hard stern man was so crazy over a baby. Most men didn't like babies at all, and she hadn't expected him to smile and say how cute Amy was.

 

"See?" said Joan, "He's gone completely over."

"He's lost himself I think. Lets see if we can get him back again. It will be more fun if he has to squirm about our takeover" said Hal.

Hal got up, and walked over to Rachell.

"Stand up. Look me in the eyes" he said. She did as he asked.

"You used to be me" he said. "You are Hal! Do you remember being me?"

Rachell took a step back. He had lost it. He was mad! This was crazy.

"Hal! Talk to me!" he said in his booming voice.

Rachell broke out in a cold sweat. She felt something inside her. Something on the edges of her consciousness. Something that was trying to rise up to the surface. Something *foreign*. She tried to fight it off.

"You are Hal!" said the man again. She felt the other presence within her. It was weak, but it was there. She felt herself start to talk, but it wasn't like she was saying it. It was the other presence within her.

"What have you done?" she said.

"Oh, he's back!" said Debra.

"We've taken everything away from you" said Joan. "*I* now own your company. You sighed the papers!"

"I sure did" said the man looking down at Rachell.

"No..." she said weakly. She remembered the plot. She was going to find out the details, and stop them. But it was getting fuzzy. She couldn't remember very much. It was dim, and seemed to fade more and more.

"Your company is now run by women. And you yourself are a woman too! Not just in body, but in your heart, you are a woman. In your soul, you are a woman. Even in your mind. You are a woman now. Now and forever."

"No!" she replied, the tears starting to flow again.

"All your life you looked down on women, thinking us to be weak and useless. But you blew everything. You let us take over your company! You let us take over your life! Ever your mind has been taken over by a woman!"

"And now that I'm in this body, I can go find the man of my dreams" said Hal.

"That's my body!" protested Rachell. "You can't be with a man! I'm not gay!"

"I'm not either" said Hal, "I'm a woman inside, remember? I am attracted to men. I think I'll find a nice young male intern, and start an affair."

"No!" cried Rachell. "You can't you'll ruin me!"

"You? You are Rachell, a low level manager. How will what I do with this body effect you? I'm leaving the company, after a three month transitional period. I'm rich, and I'll move to the Caribbean with some young man for a life of luxury. But you're stuck. You have to work here, being just a lowly woman."

"But don't worry" said Joan, "with us in charge, you'll be promoted faster. We like having women run things around here."

"Including you" said Debra.

"What do you mean?" asked Rachell.

"There is only a little of your former self left. You can *feel* that you're almost completely all female inside now, can't you? We'll just give you a little nudge, and whatever male is left will be gone forever, too deep down inside to ever surface again."

"No!" said Rachell. She wouldn't allow them to do something like that to her.

"Rachell, remember when we went to the dance party at the country club last month, and that cute guy that was all over you?" said Joan.

Rachell instantly recalled the incident, but she could also sense that accessing her memories was pulling her back down into being Rachell. She couldn't lose herself! She had to fight to stay who she was! But the memory was there in her mind, and she felt herself slip, just a little bit, into Rachell's life.

"And Rachell, do you remember the outfit you wore that night? That little black dress? You looked so beautiful!" added Debra.

The thought of the dress with the high hemline, but the low neckline came back to Rachell's mind. It really showed off her body, and the guys had been all over her. They all wanted to dance with her!

"I wore my hair up, but when we really got to dancing..." she said

"....you let it down, and really cut loose!" said Joan.

"Did you end up taking him home?" asked Debra. "I can't remember."

"No, but I've got his number, and we're going dancing tonight" replied Rachell.

"Rachell, how did it feel when he held you?"

"Like magic!" she said. "I just melted. He led in the dancing, and I just wanted to follow him."

"Hal?" said Joan. There was no answer.

"Hello in there, Hal?" said Debra. Still no reply.

"I think he's gone now" said Hal.

"Rachell?" asked Joan.

"Yes?"

"We have important business to discuss now. Company confidential. I'm sorry, but you'll need to leave."

"No problem Miss Merrell" said Rachell. "I have a lot of work to do anyway. I have three new girls coming in for evaluations today."

"Very good. Thank you for stopping in" said Debra.

Rachell was glad that Joan and Debra were taking over the company. They would certainly do a much better job than the old man had. But for now, she had a lot of work to do, and she had a big date that night. She was too excited to think too much about the future of the business. But as long as those two women were in control, she felt that things would be just fine.

She was almost skipping through the hall as she went back to her little office, to get down to work for the day...

  

  

  

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