He stayed late to do it.

It was surprisingly easy. The door to Paris Shaw's office was unlocked and her computer still logged in, the day’s Excel spreadsheets littering her desktop. Josh wondered bitterly what kind of trouble he would get in if he left his own documents unattended like this. She’s such a hypocrite.

The office was buried in the after-hours silence of a Friday night, and so he didn’t turn the lights on. It felt wrong to disturb the darkness.

Plus, what if someone saw the light from outside? The Senior Manager's office was on the corner with windows facing two streets. It was safer this way. He felt safer, like he could walk away from this and pretend it was all a dream. It was an immoral and most definitely illegal scheme, but in the dark, it hardly felt real.

The program took ten minutes to install.

It was a long ten minutes. Josh didn’t sit. He stood and watched the door with bristling nerves as the install ticked away.

What if it didn’t work? What if he was being scammed? He pictured Paris Shaw’s sneer as she fired him. She’d say something haughty like, “You insolent creep. You actually thought you could BRAINWASH me? You thought you could make me eat out of the palm of your hand? Kiss the floor where you walked? Get the fuck out of my sight, you pathetic worm.” Who was he kidding? Paris would say things much crueler than that.

When the install finished and it came time to type his desired commands into the console, his nerves only grew. The unassuming black box waited for his words with a flashing caret. He started with something simple.

“You got off on the wrong foot with Joshua Dutton. You want to treat Joshua Dutton to lunch.” 
        That was a good place to begin. She had been such a bitch to him on his first day. He added to the console, “You were a frigid bitch to Joshua Dutton. You need to be nicer. MUCH nicer.”

He felt like a fool. What could make a guy feel more vulnerable than typing this shit into his boss’ computer? And he was just scratching the surface. As much as Josh wanted to walk away right now, he had to program the whole cycle all at once. 
       “You are attracted to Joshua Dutton. Joshua Dutton is your favorite employee.”
        There could be no test run. He had to go from A to Z. The software needed every little behavior he wanted to build itself properly. The sales agent was very insistent about that. Every command was a building block for the next one, or some such nonsense.

He typed faster. His hands trembled, and he cursed under his breath with every typo that needed fixing. He had to keep going.

“Joshua Dutton is sofuckinghot. You want to suck Joshua Dutton’s cock.”

Not that he HAD to keep going. Josh knew, even then, that he was being greedy. But if he was going to brainwash the Senior Manager of Accounting into giving him unfettered access to the company books, he might as well have some fun with her too. In the spur of the moment, he added some other stuff. Stuff that he hadn't even planned on. Like... Would it kill her to dress a little more womanly at work? She always wore the most ugly of pantsuits. He could make her dress a little more…

“Sexy.” He typed. “Slutty.” 
        He was only human, and Paris Shaw was a fine specimen. Tall and blonde, with angular features and high cheekbones. In another world she could have been a supermodel. Instead she was an upper manager on a power trip. Josh couldn’t imagine the elegant woman debasing herself for anyone, which only made his impulses all the harder to resist.

“You worship the floor where Joshua Dutton walks. You are a whore for Joshua Dutton.”

He was getting carried away. But with how Paris treated him, he hardly felt bad. The woman needed humbling, and Josh desperately wanted to believe this software offered the power to do it. He could change the way she talked. The way she acted. The way she thought. He put it all down. Her language would be demure, effusive, coquettish. Less “l need this done NOW, Joshua.” And more “Ooh, please be a dear and help a girl out. I would be EVER so grateful.”

The program came with pre-built language modules. Josh wasn’t going to use one, but... What the Hell. He scrolled past “Valley Bimbo,” “Raunchy Mama,” and “Daddy’s Princess” and landed on “Sex Kitten.” That would do just fine.

The air conditioner kicked on, flooding the room with a loud hum that startled him. The noise was worse than the silence. It filled him with irrational dread. What if someone walked in right now with a window full of humiliating prompts displayed on Paris Shaw’s computer?

Josh clicked CONFIRM just to be rid of it. He couldn’t stomach spending a second longer there. And what was there to double-check? This wasn’t complicated. Make Paris trust him. Make Paris love him. Make Paris worship him. It was all laid out. The program would do the rest.

Hopefully. Otherwise, he’d be in jail within the month. It was ironic that Josh may have spent a small fortune on his own downfall.

The program confirmed his commands and the computer reset. His stomach dropped when he saw what the monitor looked like upon booting up. There was no way Paris Shaw would be okay with her computer looking like this. She’d know that he installed something. She’d SEE. Because the screen shimmered and rippled, distorted by colors and after-images. But the more damning part was that it ran like shit. The hypnotics slowed things down to an absurd degree, making the computer almost unusable.

But the sound of movement down the hall forced his hand. Someone rolled a cart his way. It squeaked along the floor, louder by the second, and there was whistling, too. A custodian. Shit. Fuck.

He slipped out the door and walked briskly out of sight, leaving Paris’ newly infected computer behind. That was it. It was done. His life was over. Clued in by the obnoxious colors of the program, AND the laggy performance, Paris would uncover the command console at the heart of it, where every single dirty thing he wrote for her would be laid bare. If he was LUCKY, she’d just get rid of the computer entirely and he’d have spent half his paycheck on nothing.

Or, maybe, just maybe, the shimmering screen was exactly how the program worked. Maybe she’d sit down, idly note the new behaviors of her computer, then resume work on her Excel doc, none the wiser of what would be implanted into her head.

Josh clung to that hope all the way home. And by the time he climbed into bed, his heart rate settled and he realized that he was right about executing his scheme it in the dark. 
       The whole thing really did feel like a dream.

***

It was Elise’s first time in the Senior Manager of Accounting office. She didn't normally handle important IT tickets like this one, but the perpetually understaffed department was especially slammed today. Not even her boss Bridget, who was putting out a hundred tiny fires, could take this bullet for Elise.

The bullet’s name was Paris Shaw.

“It took you ages.” Paris Shaw snapped. “Come here. My computer is running terribly slow.”

Ms. Shaw intimidated Elise more than anyone else in the company. And that was saying something. The firm had no shortage of forceful and rude men. Yet none of them could freeze Elise’s veins like the grey-eyed, buttoned-up blonde that she was here to assist.

“IT is short-staffed.” Elise said.

Paying her no mind, Paris motioned at the computer. “All morning it’s been slow like this. You lot didn't update it, did you? I swear you always change things around at the worst possible times.”

“Sorry, Ms. Shaw. Uhm, no. We didn't. Let me take a look.” Elise leaned over Paris’ shoulder, but the woman then rose and swept out of the way.

“I’m off to lunch.” Paris adjusted the sleeves of her pantsuit and grabbed her purse from a coat rack. As always, she was the definition of poise. Not a hair was out of place in her tight bun, and her grey suit hung crisp off her tall, slender frame. In her presence, Elise felt underdressed in her khakis and sweater. That was an especially strange feeling, because in the IT Annex Elise dressed more formally than even her laid-back boss.

“I expect it to be fixed when I return in an hour.” Paris added at the door.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Elise promised herself that she would hold her own with Ms. Shaw. But her hopes were dashed the moment Paris slammed the door behind her. She was alone already, having forever cemented herself as a meek nobody.

“Shit.” Elise said.

Paris, at least, was correct about one thing. Her computer was sluggish as Hell. The cursor moved like molasses, and when Elise minimized windows, the taskbar sucked them down uncharacteristically slowly.

Before going any further, the IT girl did what any professional would do. She rebooted the computer.

It took awhile. The discs inside spun, clicked and sputtered in that foreboding way Elise knew too well. This computer was on its deathbed. It should be in hospice, not a Senior Manager’s office. When it finally lurched back to life, the monitor flickered into the boot-up screen.

“Huh.” Elise said.

The progress bar moved painfully slow. But it was something else that caught her eye. As the bar filled, it had colors washing through it. They swiped from left to right, turning the typically monochrome loading bar into an ever-moving rainbow. It progressed slowly. Too slowly. The office hardware may be out of date, but it didn't run this poorly. And though she could see why Paris thought there had been an update, Elise was certain that the OS was the same as ever. It said so at the bottom, v6.3.

So where did the colors come from?

After what felt like forever, the screen flipped to the user login. Elise blinked the dryness out of her eyes. Her neck was stiff from leaning over the desk, and her head had drifted way too close to the screen. Getting more comfortable, she sat in Ms. Shaw’s chair and entered the admin info.

A-D...

The letters came at a frustrating delay. And they, too, had colors moving through them.

M-I-N...

ENTER.

Thrust back onto an empty desktop, she experimentally waved the sluggish cursor around. Now that Elise had gotten a little more used to the strange visual artifacts, she noticed that the cursor left faint ghost trails behind it. And when she clicked, colors rippled outwards like she was disturbing the surface of an oily pool.

“Okay. What the fuck is going on?”

She opened the activity monitor. There at the top sat her culprit.

“Mndshpr.exe...”

For a program running in the background, it gobbled up an insane amount of RAM. Even worse, it wouldn't close.

“Okay.” She said. “Where is this thing installed?”

She searched the C: drive and... NO RESULTS.

“Ms. Shaw has fucking Spyware.” Elise sighed.

Between rebooting the computer and navigating its soupy load times, a half-hour had already passed. If Paris Shaw returned and Elise was still sitting there troubleshooting, she could kiss any semblance of a positive relationship with the woman goodbye. Running on a prayer, Elise triggered a routine RAM optimization. With the way things were going, she’d be lucky if it finished on time. And even then, it’d be a miracle if it did anything at all. All she could do was sit and watch the numbers tick away.

30%. 31%. 32.%.

Tick. Away.

33%. 34%. 35%.

They moved in time with the minutes. The screen’s white pixels had that same rainbow effect burned into them, and the longer Elise looked at it, the brighter and more present the colors became. It gave her a headache, and she realized again that her eyes were dry.

She blinked.

74%. 75%. 76%.

Time was running out. Paris would be back soon and the likelihood was high that Elise would have nothing to show for herself. She could bring in a replacement computer from the IT closet, but even then, it would be an unacceptable delay to the high-powered woman.

To make matters worse, Joshua Dutton would be incredibly disappointed in her.

Elise blinked the dryness out of her eyes again. Who?

98%. 99%.

I should really treat him to lunch. She thought. He’s such a good employee.

The screen refreshed. The RAM usage from mndshpr.exe dropped to 3%, and to Elise’s relief, the cursor now glided across the screen with invigorating ease. The ghost trails and the rainbow colors were still there, but at least the computer ran at a normal speed again.

“Thank God.” Elise whispered under her breath.

“You’re still here.” Paris remarked.

“I was just leaving!” Elise squeaked. “I fixed the slowdowns, but the uhm, the colors are still--”

“No matter.” Paris said. “I can live with the colors. Off with you. I have a meeting with one of my junior accountants.”

Eager for the interaction to end, Elise slipped quietly away. That was a close call. And it was great to know that Paris didn’t mind the colors that continued to plague her computer. After spending an hour with them herself, Elise was starting to see why.

They were kind of nice to look at.

***

“Mom, I do this for work. What makes you think I want to spend my free time fixing your computer, too?”

Sandra gave her daughter one of those smug looks that said ‘too bad.’ Elise hated that look. “I could be charging you rent, instead.” She said.

“Then maybe I’ll just move out.” Elise retorted.

Her Mom laughed. “If you can afford it! How much are they paying you for this IT stuff?”

That was also a low blow. Mom knew how despondent Elise was about moving back home after college. But on an IT salary, the new grad couldn’t afford anything else.

Elise relented. “Fine. What’s the problem?”

She listened to her Mother’s computer issues and, halfway through, had to laugh.

“Oh my God, Mom. I keep telling you, you need to delete stuff you don’t need anymore. Look at your Downloads folder! You’re out of space and your OS can’t fit an update.”

At home, the IT issues were simpler than the bullshit she had to deal with at work. And her Mom was a hell of a lot more appreciative than Paris Shaw.

“Thaaanks!” Her Mom sang. “My lovely, brilliant, daughter!”

“Yeah, yeah. Not brilliant enough to land a real job.” Elise said glumly. “I’m getting sick of this place. The only good thing about working there is—”

Elise was going to say, “Joshua Dutton.” But she had no idea why she would say that. She let her thought dangle there, trying to place where that name even came from.

I should really treat him to lunch. He’s such a good employee.

“What’s the difference between what you do, and what you’re trying to do, anyway?” Her Mom asked.

“Good Lord! I went to school for software engineering! I’m supposed to be a coder!”

Elise’s Mom, bless her heart, put her hands up in defeat. “Not sure I know the difference, but you just coded the shit out of this problem. I’d hire you in a heart beat.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Elise said glumly. She didn’t want to tell her Mom this, but she was suddenly motivated to send out more job applications.

***

“You again.” Paris said when Elise returned to her office the next day. “They couldn’t have sent anyone more experienced?”

“We’re short staffed.” Elise squeaked. “Is it running slow again?”

“Yes. I’m off to lunch. I expect a permanent fix this time.”

It already occurred to Elise that the Spyware slow-downs would likely occur again. Yesterday’s solution was, unfortunately, a band-aid. If the mndshpr program kept running, it would keep on eating RAM until the next optimization. At this rate, Elise would probably have to do it daily, an outcome that neither her nor Paris wanted.

“Of course, Ms. Shaw. I’ll take a look.” Elise traded places with the Senior Manager. Slipping by, she caught a whiff of the woman’s perfume. It was an oddly fruity aroma, and Elise was certain Paris hadn’t been wearing it yesterday. But before Elise could get another whiff, Paris slipped away. On her way out, her pumps tapped the floor briskly. Were those different, too? Or maybe it was her pants. The capri pants, a departure from Paris’ usual slacks, showed a daring amount of ankle.
        Paris left no time for examination, because she was already rounding the corner. “See that you do. I’ll be back in an hour.” From the hall, her voice called out. “Joshua! Are you ready to go?” 
        The computer rippled with its rainbow afterglows, and Elise’s heart fluttered with jealousy. Could Paris be treating Joshua Dutton to lunch? Elise wanted to do that. Joshua Dutton was such a good employee. He deserved it.

She rubbed her eyes. What was she thinking? She didn’t have employees. And she didn’t even know who Joshua Dutton was. She shook the thoughts loose and returned her attention to Paris’ computer. Sure enough, the RAM usage had shot back up, and it was running just as slow as it was yesterday. But Elise had new ideas.

First, she let her eyes adjust to the rainbow screen. It was really quite something how the colors radiated across the monitor in waves. Their paths and currents even interacted with the icons on the screen, washing and flowing around them as if they were stones in a river. As she got situated in this strange digital status quo, and played with it just a little bit, Elise wondered where Paris took Joshua for lunch. Steak, most likely. At least, that’s where Elise would have taken him. Joshua Dutton deserved a nice, big, juicy steak. He was such a good employee.

Joshua Dutton deserves nothing but the very best.

Elise’s eyes were dry again, but that could wait. She didn’t want to take them off the monitor for even a second. Given Paris Shaw’s strict schedule, she had no time to waste.

“Aha. There it is.” She said to herself.

It was no wonder the computer could barely handle mndshpr. The GPU drivers were woefully out of date. Elise got to work updating them. If she could get mndshpr working properly, Paris would be pleased. And so would Joshua Dutton, her favorite and cutest junior accountant. 
       Elise should be nicer to him. Much nicer. And would it kill me to dress a little more womanly at work?</>

Elise furrowed her brow. Where were those thoughts coming from? Elise didn't even know this man, so how could she know that he was her favorite and cutest junior accountant? And how could she be nicer to somebody she had never before interacted with? A pang of guilt stabbed at her that at some point, she had been a raging bitch to him. She really ought to treat him to a nice, big, juicy steak. He was such a good employee. And cute, too. A real looker.

I am attracted to Joshua Dutton.

The computer restarted. Elise hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but even the boot-up chime was different. It rang crystal clear, layered rich with synthetic harmonies that tickled the ear. The sound echoed through her skull like a choir in a cave, lingering there even after the restart finished.

“Wow.”

The drivers update did the trick.

If the surface of the monitor sat over a pool of rainbow, that pool was now deeper and more vibrant. The cursor’s ghost trails exploded with particles that settled at the bottom of the screen in glistening piles. And the ripples of color in the background, once a subtle iridescent shimmer, were now eye-catching and bright.

“Is this... real time physics...?” Elise gasped. Every element on the screen seemed to interact with the next, so that simply moving the cursor set off a brilliant reaction of ripples and colors.

Joshua Dutton is my favorite and cutest employee. Elise thought idly.

These thoughts, wherever they came from, were becoming a strange comfort. It was like inventing a fantasy guy. That wasn’t so weird, was it? Given the slim pickings in her personal life, Elise was surprised she hadn’t done something like this sooner. It’s not like Elise had any REAL prospects. Why not fixate on an imaginary one? He could be anything Elise wanted.

For now he remained a faceless, dark and handsome blur. It didn’t really matter what he looked like. All Elise cared about at this moment was giving him a name, and the name was Joshua Dutton.

I should be nicer to him. MUCH nicer.

Elise admired her handiwork. The more she explored the program, the more flourishes she found to fall in love with. I could use this computer forever, Elise thought. But she didn’t have forever. She only had… how many more minutes?

“Don’t tell me it’s not fixed.” Paris snapped.

“Huh..?”

Elise’s head pounded with pressure. How long had she been staring at the new and improved images? Had it been an hour already? Her eyes were terribly dry, like she hadn’t blinked in ages. With great effort, she closed them, but in the darkness saw the afterglow of shimmering colors.

And a faceless, dark blur.

“Oh. Uhm. No. All fixed.”

Paris Shaw hung her blazer on the coat rack. Elise wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Paris remove it before. She’d certainly never seen the woman’s blouse undone boldly to the third button like it was now. Who knew Paris had cleavage like that?

Would it kill me to dress more womanly at work?

Paris stepped by. She carried with her another tempting trail of perfume.

If Paris Shaw of all people is doing it…

“Fixed? I’ll see about that.” Paris said at her desk. “Let me—”

Paris Shaw’s cold blue eyes widened.

“Oh. Wow. That’s… Yes. That’s much better.”

Elise braced herself, but Paris’ usual rude dismissal never came. Instead, the tall blonde fixated on her computer. With Elise still at her desk, Paris fell back into the rhythm of her work with unblinking eyes.

“Uhm. Ms. Shaw, before I go, I have a quick question.”

Paris hardly reacted. She mumbled into her monitor as she clicked away. “Yes… Sure…”

Elise had to get this off her chest. She had to know about the man Paris had taken to lunch. “Who is Joshua Dutton?” 
        At that, Paris’ body language changed. Her shoulders slackened, and the smallest of a smile broke through her hardened exterior. “Oh, Joshua? He’s a junior accountant on my team.” Paris said softly between steady mouse clicks. “A new hire, but proving to be a good employee. Actually, I just treated him to lunch. It was only right, given how we got off on the wrong foot.” Paris’ voice fell into a low, excited hush. “Joshua Dutton is quickly becoming my… my favorite employee.”

Joshua Dutton is my favorite and cutest employee. I’m so attracted to Joshua Dutton.

“Is he… is he cute…?” Elise asked, unable to stop the question from escaping her lips. But somehow, she already knew the answer. Joshua Dutton was incredibly cute. A real looker.

Paris looked up with those cold, piercing eyes of hers, and for a moment, Elise worried that she pushed things too far. She braced for a sharp scolding that would leave her feeling humiliated for days to come. What was I thinking? I can’t believe I asked PARIS SHAW if someone at the company was cute.

But then Paris’ eyes softened. She smiled wider, as if falling into a daydream. Her sharp high cheeks turned pink. “Yes. Now that you mention it, he is quite cute, isn’t he? A real looker.”

She straightened her posture and furrowed her brow as if she just realized what she was saying out loud. “But that’s… That’s not to leave this room. Off you go now.”

“Of course, Ms. Shaw.” Elise said.

Her sudden dismissal didn’t bother Elise at all. It occurred to her that, though she couldn’t explain how it happened, she and Paris Shaw may have just done something that resembled bonding. Thank you, Joshua Dutton, she thought. I owe you for that. She didn’t even know the guy, yet her fondness for him had only grown deeper and more genuine.

As she strolled back to the cluster of computers that made up the IT Department, her long pants heavy and warm on her legs, one last thought occurred to her.

And would it kill me to dress more womanly at work?

***

It was going well. Suspiciously well.

Contrary to Josh’s worst fears, when Paris called him to her office, it WASN’T to confront him about sabotaging her computer with a mind control program. It wasn't even to berate him for some simple mistake like last time.

No. It was to invite him out to lunch.

Which was exactly what he commanded her to do through the program. Somehow, it was working. And somehow, Paris wasn't noticing.

“I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot.” Paris said when the waiter delivered a big, juicy steak to his side of the table. “I was terribly rude to you, wasn’t I? I don’t want to use the word for what I was, but— Well. It starts with a B. I'm so sorry about that. It was unbecoming.”

The real Paris never apologized to anyone. Ever. The real Paris didn't buy $120 steaks for her employees, either. So something was definitely going right.

She looked prettier. Maybe it was the rose colored blush warming her cheeks? Or the airy blouse with the rippled sleeves? Or the summery white capris that stopped high on her ankles? And... Was that a whiff of floral perfume that just came his way?

Josh played it cool. He cut a large piece of steak and shoved it in his mouth. “Totally fine. Water under the bridge.” Then, he tested his luck. “You look nice, by the way.”

Paris reacted in micro-expressions. Raised eyebrows in surprise. A brief break in eye-contact. A dry swallow from nerves.

And the corners of the mouth twitching towards a smile. “Why thank you, Joshua.” She fiddled with the top button of her blouse. “This is a nice restaurant, after all. I wanted to look... My best.”

“You look pretty.”

The smile grew. Only for a second, before she caught herself.

“That's quite enough. How are you enjoying your steak?”

But even after changing the subject, she slipped off the top button of her shirt without even realizing it. Her fingers dropped to the next one.

Josh watched her fingers linger there. He didn’t even bother to avert his eyes, as dangerously close they were to Paris’ chest. “The steak is delicious.”

“Ah. Good. Good. I’m ever so tickled to hear that.” In an instant, Paris caught her tongue. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said it like that. I’m feeling a bit off. It is hot in here, isn’t it?”

At once, Paris slipped off the next two buttons. Her blouse fell apart a little looser around her flushing chest. Josh looked at it for just a moment before moving back to her eyes.

“That’s better.” She said. “Say Joshua. Did you want another drink?”

Like he said. It was going well. Suspiciously well.

***

“What’s the occasion?” Sandra asked on Elise’s morning stop by the kitchen for coffee and toast.

Elise shrugged. “None.”

Sandra raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“None, Mom!” Elise groaned. She knew this would happen. She knew she wouldn’t get out the door without her Mom commenting on her outfit. “I’m just changing it up.”

And why should she need an occasion to dress up for work? Beyond giving more attention to her make-up and throwing on some perfume, Elise hadn’t strayed too far out of the office bounds. Sure, her form-fitting dress was a drastic change next to her usual khakis and tees, and Elise couldn’t remember the last time she wore earrings and a necklace. But was dressing formally for work so strange?

Would it kill me to make myself look pretty? I want to look pretty.

The dress, a pencil style with sleeves to her elbows and a hemline to her knees, did just the trick. It was especially tight on her rear, and in it, Elise boasted an elegant hourglass figure.

“Just because I’m in IT doesn’t mean I need to look like a slob every day.” Elise added.

Okay, and she was wearing tights too. A black practical pair that turned her legs into shapely silhouettes. And she’d straightened her hair, which was normally a frizzy mess, into something shiny and sleek down her back.

“Sure.” Sandra said. But her Mom’s thinly veiled smile suggested that she had more to say.

“What.” Elise said dryly. “Spit it.”

“Nothing!”

“Nothing my ass, Mom! Come on, say it.”

“There’s a guy, isn’t there?” Sandra said coyly.

Elise turned beet red before she could muster a poker face. “No!”

It wasn’t a lie, but it felt like one. There was no guy.

Joshua Dutton is the cutest guy in the office. I have a crush on Joshua Dutton. I need Joshua Dutton to like me.

“Uh huh.” Her Mom said. “Honey, you’re wearing perfume.”

“The other women at the office do it.” Elise said defensively. “Anyway, you work from home. You don’t know how it is out there! People are judgey. Not all of us are so lucky that we can wear pajamas all day.”

Sandra looked down to her own shabby state of dress. As an older mirror to her youthful daughter, she WAS pretty. Both women had the same diamond face and narrow lips, the same beige complexion, and the same sandy blonde hair in need of taming.

Sandra frowned at the coffee stains on her white sleeping shirt. She wove the white flag. “Point taken. Speaking of, my computer—”

“Not now!” Elise scolded, putting her empty mug in the sink. “I’m gonna be late. I’ll deal with it tonight. God Mom, I just fixed it!”

Truthfully, with how simple her Mom’s computer problems often were, Elise probably could have handled it then and there. But her mind was already at work. There was another computer waiting there, one with glistening and shimmering colors, that she would much rather play with.

***

“What's the occasion?” Bridget asked when Elise arrived to the dungeon-like annex that constituted the IT Department.

“Come on, not you too. I get enough of that from my mother.”

Elise liked her boss. Unlike Paris, Bridget was always open and friendly. She was a real one, and had been a great mentor to Elise during her time at the company.

“You look nice. Someone's gotta class up this place.” Bridget gestured to her own Ramones tee and jeans.

Elise’s boss was painfully cool. The thirty-nine year old wore a small stud in her nose and sported pink highlights in her pixie cut. And she could get along with anyone. During Elise’s interview, they’d bonded over Bridget’s The Dark Crystal necklace, but Bridget could just as well hold her own in conversations about anybody’s interests, whether it be sports, politics, or music.

Bridget slapped her legs and stood. “I have to go do some installs and updates. Can you man the support tickets again?”

“Sure thing.”

“Thankfully, none from the Queen today.” Bridget added.

“Hm. Guess so...”

It occurred to Elise that Paris Shaw’s computer troubles might be over. She was weirdly forlorn about it. It meant she may never get to interact with mndshpr.exe again. She’d kind of wanted to play with it one more time, even if it meant subjecting herself to Paris’ foul mood. But then, later in the afternoon, the ticket came through. The alert made her jump, and she surprised even herself at the speed of which she bolted to Ms. Shaw’s office.

She sped so fast that she nearly bumped into a man in the hall. He was tall and lanky, but skinny enough that at the last moment was able to turn sideways and slip by him. “Excuse me!!”

He looked at Elise quizzically. Though she had just nearly collided with him, his attention was clearly on her outfit rather than her manners. As she swiveled by, his head turned with her, and it wasn’t pointed towards her face. He’s looking at my ass, isn’t he? Who even was he? The office was fairly small, and though Elise didn’t know everyone’s name, she was at least familiar with most people’s faces. This face, though wholly unremarkable, seemed new.

Unfortunately for him, he’d given her a bad first impression. She wasn’t likely to forget him again.

Once she was out of his sight, she straightened her dress behind her. Maybe it was a little too form-fitting. And though her tights felt like a modest choice at the time, their stark black color made her legs stand out from her lemon yellow dress. The ensemble was, all things considered, a bit of an attention grabber.

“It hasn’t slowed down again, has it?” Elise asked, entering Paris’ office.

“No.” Paris said. “It’s never been running better. It’s my laptop that’s the problem. See?” She flipped the laptop 180 degrees towards Elise. “It doesn’t look right at all. It’s all flat and dull and colorless.”

Compared to the vibrancy of Ms. Shaw’s desktop computer, the laptop looked terribly drab.

“Can you fix it?” She asked.

Elise didn’t know how to explain that the laptop wasn’t broken. Had Paris become so used to the iridescent coloring of her desktop computer that she expected all screens to look that way?

“I can try.” Elise said, not really knowing what she could do about it.

“Good.” Paris stood, revealing that her white top was actually a shapely dress tied tightly around her waist by a dark grey belt. She, too wore tights. Not tights, but stockings that were thinner and half-translucent, looking oh-so elegant on her legs.

“I’ll be back in ninety minutes after my appointment. I trust that is ample time to see it done?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Elise promised.

Paris’ pumps clicked across the floor. She grabbed her purse and gave Elise one last glance. “You look different.” She said quizzically. “Good, I mean. That’s a nice dress. And you’ve done something with your hair.”

“Thanks.” Elise croaked. The compliment, especially from Paris, brought an unexpected surge of validation. After her uncomfortable encounter with the creep in the hallway, she needed a positive experience to wash out the taste. “I just thought… Could it kill me to dress more womanly at work?”

I want to look pretty.

Paris smiled. “Yes. Yes, exactly. It’s so nice to hear you say that!” She hovered there. Elise felt the woman reconsider her in real time. “What was your name again?”

“Elise.” She croaked. “Blake. Elise Blake, I mean.”

“Yes, that’s right. Elise.” Paris pulled the same dress adjustment maneuver that Elise had moments ago. Though it was just as tight, it was shorter than Elise’s, ending at her mid-thigh just below the height of her stockings. “Thank you for your help, Elise. I’m just ever-so grateful. I mean, I appreciate it. I’m off to my— my appointment.”

Paris turned around. Her dress was so tight, in fact, that Elise made out the panty lines on her rear. From the looks of things she was wearing a cheeky pair, with the lines sweeping quite closely to the center of her ass. Elise wondered if maybe the shape of her own panties wasn't visible too. She hoped not. They were a horribly boring pair that formed a broad triangle on her butt. The indications of such a pair would completely ruin the womanly look Elise was going for. 

Paris closed the door gently behind her and left Elise alone once again in her office. She took her place in the warm office chair, and—

“Aah…” She sighed in relief. The iridescent colors felt like home.

She took some time making them dance around her cursor, indulging in the satisfaction of it. Paris’ compliment had left her buzzing. Elise was so glad she dressed more womanly today. And why not? She was a woman. She shouldn’t be hiding herself in stuffy pantsuits.

Well, Elise didn’t wear pantsuits like Paris did. But the sentiment stood. She should want to look nice. The colors danced in agreement as Elise entered admin mode and searched for mndshpr.exe’s install location.

I want to look nice. I want to look pretty.

No, more than that, she should want to look attractive. Sexy, even. She hadn’t gone far enough today. Like her underwear. How could she have overlooked that? With someone as cute as Joshua Dutton in the office, she needed to look her best. God, he was hot. Elise was starting to develop a bit of a crush on the man, which was so wrong, because he was her employee, but also—

She’d never met him. She didn’t know him. And he wasn’t her employee. She was just an IT girl, not the Senior Manager of Accounting. Plus, if Elise really did have a crush, then that would mean her mother was right, which was one outcome that Elise could not abide. She most certainly, definitely, did not—

Have a big, huge, CRUSH on Joshua Dutton.

Elise scoured through hidden folders, roaming app data locations, and nested families at the computer’s root. Each click sent explosions of particles and ripples throughout the windows, and there were sound effects, too. Twinkling chimes and swirling synths accompanied each click with precise timing.

The computer’s fan whirled. No wonder it was so hot in here. The thing was working at maximum capacity. Elise worried that she’d crash the whole machine if she opened any more tabs. But that didn’t stop her. She fell deeper and deeper into the folders, thinking all the while about how she could attract Joshua Dutton.

I really ought to get my nails done. She thought. When was the last time I had a mani/pedi? Okay. So maybe she had a little crush. But who could blame her? Joshua Dutton was sofuckinghot.

Elise found the install location for mndshpr. The esoteric collection of folders held endless file types and data that Elise didn’t recognize. Miraculously, however, it was only a few gigabytes large. And Elise didn’t really need to know how it worked. She just needed to get it onto another computer. She copied all of it to a flash drive and plugged it to the laptop.

It was ironic. If she had found these files on her first visit to Paris’ office, Elise would have deleted them entirely. What a mistake that would have been!

When she copied the files onto the laptop, an official looking pop-up appeared on its dim screen. “Your license of Mindshaper is active on (1) other device. Would you like to switch locations?”

“Shit.” Elise muttered. This was a paid service? What the fuck?

She clicked, out of curiosity, the “UPGRADE LICENSE” button.

“Yikes.” That was a lot of money for one license. And the next tier up, for a total of three licenses, was even more exorbitant.

Elise noted the old looking logo at the bottom of the page, a white silhouette of an eyeball against a beige background. “These Wheaten Dynamics people are charging out the ass.” She muttered to herself.

She hesitated on the window. The licensee’s name was listed as Joshua Dutton. What did he have to do with this? Why was he paying to run mysterious software on Paris Shaw’s computer?

Joshua Dutton is my favorite employee. I trust him implicitly. Elise reminded herself. Right. Whatever his reason was, Joshua Dutton had good intentions. The software, after all, was a delightful upgrade to any computer. 
       Elise scolded herself for her initial suspicion. I really ought to be nicer to him. She licked her lips. MUCH nicer.

Elise reconsidered buying more licenses. Joshua Dutton’s payment info was not saved, but even if it was, the thought of using his money behind his back made her sick. I could never betray his trust like that. On the other hand, Elise did have the IT Department’s credit card info, though she wasn’t technically authorized to use it. However, Paris, a Senior member of the company, ordered Elise to get Mindshaper on her laptop no matter what…

Staring at this stupid, dull laptop screen was starting to give Elise a splitting headache. “Fuck it.” She said, and typed in the company’s credit card numbers to upgrade.

“(1) license activated on [SHAW PERSONAL LAPTOP]. You are now using (2) of (3) licenses. Would you like to transfer all Command Settings from [SHAW OFFICE DESKTOP]?”

Elise didn’t know what that meant. But it didn’t matter. As long as Mindshaper ran exactly the same as it did on the desktop, she would have done her job. Elise clicked yes, and the laptop screen exploded in precious color.

***

“You’re still here.”

Paris Shaw’s voice brought Elise back to Earth. The woman took sharp, tapping steps into her office and hung her purse on the hook. Her nails popped with a fresh, shiny coat of red polish.

Elise blinked. “Huh..? Oh. Sorry. I was just—”

Staring at your computer. Playing with the colors and listening to the sounds. Daydreaming about making myself look sexier. Thinking about Joshua Dutton, my favorite and most trusted employee. God, he’s sofuckinghot. I really ought to be nicer to him. MUCH nicer.

“No matter. It appears you fixed it.” Paris leaned over Elise’s shoulder. “Yes. That’s nice. That’s veeerryy nice.” Paris said when she saw the results for herself. It ran a little slower than the PC, but Elise managed to get things working well enough that she had been totally absorbed in its glow for… How long was it?

Elise stood with stiff legs and let Paris take her place in the seat.

The USB drive that contained the program was still sitting on the desk. Now that they’d upgraded the Mindshaper account courtesy of the IT Department, there was one more license going unused.

“Your nails look lovely.” Elise noted. After Ms. Shaw’s compliment to her earlier, it was only polite to return the sentiment.

Paris smiled. “Thank you. I just thought… I don’t know. I want to look nice.”

“It looks sexy.” Elise offered, and Paris’ smile got bigger.

“You think so?” She asked. “I was afraid it was too much. I’m not feeling quite like myself. I must admit. I have… a small crush. On someone at the company. Is that terrible to say?”

Joshua Dutton is sofuckinghot, I’m obsessed with him.

“Of course not!” Elise assured. “Work crushes are natural. I have one too, so I totally understand.”

Except she didn’t totally understand. She didn’t even know who it was she was crushing on. For Elise, Joshua Dutton was simply a name and a dark blur that she could impose all of her fantasies on.

“In all fairness, he’s my favorite and most trusted employee.” Paris said, as if that explained everything.

Elise nodded eagerly. Joshua Dutton was the most trustworthy man in Accounting. Though he was freshly hired, she felt like she could trust him with everything. All the accounts. All the books.

She really ought to give him access…

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m being so open about these things with you.” Paris uttered. “For some reason I feel like… you get it.”

“I do get it.” Elise insisted.

Ms. Shaw’s eyes flirted with the iridescent screen, betraying her eagerness to lose herself again in its colors and sounds. “Though I really need to get back to… uhm… work.”

“Yes. Of course. Have a good day, Ms. Shaw.” On her way out, Elise snatched the USB drive from the desk and closed her fist around it. What was the harm? There was one more license going unused. It’s not like Paris knew how to get it working. It would be an utter waste to leave it behind.

As Elise closed the door behind her, Paris sank further into her chair, and she clicked at the trackpad of her personal laptop with shiny new nails. Elise was pretty sure Ms. Shaw wouldn’t be doing much work on it.

***

“Elise! Come grab a bite, it’s getting cold!” Mom yelled from the other room.

“Uh huh!” Elise’s mouth was dry. Her Mom’s voice had pulled her out of her head. Was it dinner already? Or even later? The light was gone from her Mom’s office. Somewhere along the way the sun set, so the room was lit only by the colorful glow of the computer monitor.

But that light was plenty. Because it was the colorful, heavenly light of Mindshaper. Elise had been lost in it for… how long now?

She could afford a few more minutes. She needed to close out of all this stuff, at least. Windows cluttered the screen. It would be rude to leave her Mother’s home office computer with so many webpages piled on top of each other. Apparently, Elise had been browsing clothes and filling shopping carts with items she couldn’t afford. She definitely didn’t want her Mom to see that.</i?

I need to look my sexiest for Joshua Dutton.

With a heavy heart, Elise cancelled them. Thankfully, closing windows was as satisfying as opening them. It was like popping glittery bubble wrap. Clicky, clicky, shimmer, boom.

Installing Mindshaper onto her Mom’s computer, she decided, was a really good idea. Elise had of course wanted to use the final license on her own laptop, but there was no way that old hunk of junk could handle the resource intensive software. Mom’s, then, was the next best thing. And the computer worked better than ever now. It handled the software surprisingly well, because as Elise learned, the machine’s graphics card was even better than the one at work. She was excited to push the limits of what Mindshaper could do, which maybe explained why she’d been using the computer for so long.

“Elise! What are you doing in there? Come eat!”

“I’m COMING!” Elise yelled back.

Didn’t Sandra know Elise was doing her a favor? Her home office computer now had very expensive, very pretty software on it at no cost to her.

Click. Ripple. Shimmer. Clicky, click, click.

I’m obsessed with Joshua Dutton. Joshua Dutton turns me on.

Elise hovered over one of her carts. It had only one item in it, a black lace thong. It was such a shame to cancel ALL of these purchases. She really ought to buy something. And wouldn’t it be nice to sneak in something slutty to work?

Nobody needs to know about my slutty secrets.

Her heart pounded when she clicked check-out. A purchase like this was so not like her. But now that she pulled the trigger, all she could think about was wearing it next time she treated Joshua Dutton to lunch.

He’s sofuckinghot.

This crush was getting a little out of control. It’s like she couldn’t go ten minutes without thinking about him. And all of this shopping and playing with the colors on Mindshaper…

I can’t handle my job on my own. My job is too much responsibility. I should rely on Joshua Dutton more. He’s dependable, trustworthy, and sofuckinghot. He should have access to EVERYTHING.

“Elise! It’s been a half hour, what are you DOING!”

Mom was behind her.

“H-uh?” Elise muttered.

“Is my computer that broken?” Sandra said.

Elise blinked and rubbed her eyes. “No— I… Fixed it….”

“Then what are you doing? You must be starving. The leftovers are in the fridge. Do you want me to heat them up for you?”

“Uhm, no. I can do it. Thanks, Mom. And uh, I installed something on your computer, so it should run much better now. I’ve been testing, see?”

To demonstrate, Elise waggled the cursor across the screen. Rainbow ghost trails exploded, then faded into the background. The room filled with tinkling chimes.
        “Oh. Wow. That’s… a lot of colors." Sandra said. "It’s kind of distracting, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s good. Try it.” Elise vacated the chair and allowed her mother to take her place. Sandra, still gazing into the screen suspiciously, tepidly took the mouse.

“Woah…” She said, moving it. The colors reflected from her amazed face, and she sunk a little deeper in the chair. “So what is this?”

“It’s a thing from work. It’s good. It makes your computer better.” Elise explained. “Trust me, Mom. You want to have this.”

Mom clicked around some more.

Clicky. Shimmer. Ripple.

“It’s even in my e-mail.” Sandra said. She scrolled through her inbox, and the subject lines blurred into an iridescent waterfall.

“It’s not just the e-mail, Mom. It’s on the whole computer.”

Clicky. Clicky. Scroll. Shimmer.

Sandra fell quiet. She was deep in the chair now, and Elise realized sadly that her own time on the computer had reached its end. But now that she stood away from the screen, her other senses returned to her. Her stomach grumbled. And there was something else, more than the hunger, that dawned on Elise. She was wet down there. At least she had been. Her moist panties clung coldly to her and a dull throbbing emanated from her sex.

Joshua Dutton makes me horny. Joshua Dutton makes my pussy wet.

Nobody at work needed to know about that. A crush was one thing, but getting turned on by one of her employees? What a scandal. A hot, sexy, scandal. It would just have to be another one of Elise’s slutty little secrets, like the skimpy thong that was now in the mail.

It was a good thing Joshua Dutton wasn’t actually one of her employees. She didn’t even know him. This was just some weird fantasy. A name that she pulled arbitrarily out of the air. It was only a coincidence that he worked at the same company as her. Maybe she heard his name somewhere without realizing it.

Either way, it HAD to be Joshua Dutton. Because...

My kitty ONLY purrs for Joshua Dutton.

“Hooly shit.” Her Mom said.

She’d been making loops with the cursor which somehow triggered a tempest on the screen. They swirled in a cyclone that threatened to suck even the hungry and stiff Elise back into its maw.

“I’ll leave you to it, Mom.” Elise made note of how she did the whirlpool thing. Those spirals were really pretty. Elise wanted to stare at them more. Wanted to stare at the spirals. Stare at the spirals and learn all about how she was supposed to feel about her favorite employee, Joshua Dutton.

“Uh huh.” Sandra mumbled.

Elise peeled her eyes away and left her Mom in the dark of the office. She was hungry, and she needed a cold shower even more. Thinking about Joshua was heating her up again down there. 
She didn’t see her Mom for the rest of the evening. But while Elise picked out the next day’s outfit, weighing whether or not she could get away with a shorter skirt and taller heels, she heard the clicky, clicky, clickies coming ceaseless from Mom’s office.

They went late, late, late into the night.