My body rested limply in the darkness. The buzz of adrenaline was making my limbs go numb. I was in Annie's hoodie pocket.

  Liz was driving; I didn't want to risk anyone seeing me or my car that day. We left early, so the girls could drop me off and get to school on time. When I heard the parking brake click, and the engine turn off, I knew we had arrived. Liz had performed the simple but essential task of getting us to our destination. I reminded myself to thank her, assuming everything turned out okay.

  We were in the parking lot of the adjacent building. When I felt Annie stir, I knew it was time. I heard Liz wish us "good luck" as Annie undid her seatbelt and opened the car door. She began to walk, and I was rocked gently in her pocket. I heard the crunch of gravel under her shoes. I heard the rustle of bushes and the clatter of metal as she snuck through the gap in the chain link fence. After pausing for a cautious survey of the area, she made her way to the back entrance. A co-worker of mine always came out for an early smoke. If we had timed it right, the door should have been unlocked. I heard the knob turn, and the sound of the door closing behind us. We were in. Annie mounted the staircase cautiously, and approached the door that led to the offices. She entered the hallway, and suddenly, I heard her gasp and start to run. Had she been seen? I was jostled about as she ran, until finally we came to a rest. A hand reached in and gently removed me from the pocket. Annie held me close to her face. She was huddled underneath my desk. She looked worried.

  "Annie, what happened?"
  As I sat in her palm, I could feel her rapid pulse.
  "Did someone see you?"
  She shook her head.
  "No..." she whispered. "Almost."
  "Who?"
  "A guy about your age... maybe younger."
  "What did he look like?"
  "He was skinny with dark hair."
  "Cory..." I said.

  I paused a moment. I looked down at her hand. I was probably about an inch tall.

  "Annie, I need to be smaller."
  "No!"
  I knew this might have upset her, but it was for the best.
  "Annie, the smaller I am, the better. I can't risk being seen. Please, Annie, I'll be careful, I promise."
  Her eyes pleaded with me. She wiped a tear from her cheek. She swallowed, and as I looked at the resigned face above me, I felt her hand expanding.
  "That's good!" I shouted, unsure if she could still hear me. I was about half an inch tall.
  "Please be careful, Will. Good luck."

  She lowered me to the floor, and watched painfully as I struggled to lower myself over the edge of her hand. Sure, the smaller size would slow me down, but I couldn't risk being spotted.

  "Good luck, Will," she said one last time, as she carefully crawled out from under the desk. She left the office in a hurry, as if she feared she'd change her mind. A trace of her perfume hung in the air, giving a sweet scent to the otherwise sterile office.

  I still had a few hours before Linda would be meeting with Cory. Should I wait here? No, I thought, I should head to Linda's office now. It was early, so there would be less hallway traffic, which meant less chance of being seen. Or squished. Plus, I needed time to plan. I needed to find a way to hitch a ride with them on their "lunch date". I walked out from under my desk and approached the office door. I had no trouble crawling under the door, and when I emerged in the hallway, I was greeted by a warm breeze from the heating vents. The hallway was intimidating in its expansiveness: a distant sky of ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights above, below, a vast carpet sea of tightly-knitted fabric.

  Not wanting to waste time, I began my trek down the hallway. The journey from my desk to the door took at least two minutes. I realized it would take me a while to reach Linda's office. I could see her office door far in the distance, but my steps didn't seem to be bringing it any closer.

  Suddenly, I noticed something moving behind me. I turned, and saw a female employee walking down the hall. Instinctively, I jolted, thinking I had to hide before remembering I was under an inch tall. I was hugging the wall, so I was out of harm's way. As she approached me, she grew to unbelievable proportions, giving me a startling sense of my puny scale. Her shiny black pumps marched across the carpet, carrying her immense form at an incredible speed. As her pump fell down, I saw her sole for a brief moment, before it smashed the carpet in front of me, the weight of her body bearing down on an area the size of a house. She seemed to shrink again as her gargantuan strides took her further down the hallway.

  I could feel my heart pounding. At that moment it struck me that I was truly on my own now, that Annie wasn't there to look out for me. I thought back to the sleepover, when I had snuck down to the kitchen. God, I thought. If Liz hadn't come down and found me... But now, I couldn't let anyone find me. I would attract way too much attention, and my co-workers would undoubtedly alert Linda. I didn't want that to happen.

  I looked back at my office door. I was moving slowly, but making progress. I inched my way determinedly down the hallway. Feet continued to pass me in the hallway, as I gained an unlikely confidence around my giant co-workers. I was almost there. The familiar office plant outside Linda's office was drawing nearer.

  My confidence went unabated for the remainder of the trip. It was only when I reached Linda's door that an unsettling feeling began to come over me. The door stretched up endlessly, like the drawbridge of some ominous castle. I was about to place myself, as vulnerable as I had ever been, in front of the most formidable authority figure in my life. Here goes nothing.

  Laying down on the hard carpet, I inched my way through the space under the door. I stood up and dusted myself off. Then I looked up and saw Linda, far in the distance, seated at her desk. Her desk rose from the floor, like a solitary monument in the sparse office landscape. Above, I could see her face, stony, but beautiful, concentrating on some task. Below, two feet rested under her desk. Ever the perfectionist, her office was as neat and organized as any you would ever see. The carpet was immaculately clean. I felt uncomfortably visible, like a stain or piece of dust as I stood there. I stared at Linda's eyes. I got the feeling they could snap up in my direction at any moment, and decided I had to find some cover.

  My eyes darted around the room for a possible hiding place. I ran towards a filing cabinet, and placed my back against the cold metal wall. I could see Linda from there, but I still felt exposed. Tentatively, I walked out into the open again, looking for a better hiding spot, but my wife's minimally furnished office didn't present many options. I thought of my wife's business savvy - the way she always seemed to stay two steps ahead of the competition. It was as if she knew one day her shrunken husband would be wandering around her office, and had carefully eliminated all hiding spaces. Come on, that's ridiculous. I repeated this phrase in my head a few times as I tried to collect myself.

  Still searching for a hiding spot, my eyes fell upon the area below the desk. I made my way toward the large rectangular structure. I walked into the space under her drawers. Her feet rested mere inches from where I hid. The smooth, dark leather of her pumps emitted a dull shine. They looked like two black limousines.

  I stepped forward carefully, trying to get a better glimpse of my wife. Her smooth, tan legs hung down from the seat of her expensive leather office chair. Her business blouse and posture exuded authority, but her womanly curves, the curves it had always seemed such a privilege to caress, were alluring. Her face was only two piercing eyes, and full, soft, hungry lips coated in dark lipstick. As much as I knew she was wrong for me, she was a powerful, beautiful goddess. As I gazed up at her, I couldn't help but feel respect for the cunning with which she had controlled her company, and had controlled me.

  Then I reminded myself why I was there: to prove to myself that what she felt for me was not love. To accept it and move on. I think I knew then what was going on between her and Cory. I had been standing up for myself, and she needed someone to fill the void, someone for her to belittle and control in my stead. Who better than her timid, lapdog assistant? I realized that I might see something that day that I didn't want to see, but I didn't care. I knew that I needed to see it.

  Suddenly, I heard a knock. "Come in," I heard Linda say, as I saw Cory enter the room. I listened attentively to their conversation. Linda rattled off a list of things for him to do during the day. She mentioned a project I was working on.

  "...and remember to tell Will I need that done ASAP, okay?"
  "Um, actually, Will called in sick today."
  There was a pause.
  "Hm. It's not like Will to miss work."
  My heartbeat picked up. Shit. Linda knew something was up.
  "Do you think you should call to check on him?" asked Cory.
  Another pause.
  "No, I'm sure it's nothing."

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, Cory left the office to begin carrying out Linda's bidding. I peeked at Linda's wall clock. It was only about 9:30, still a while before noon. I decided there was nothing left to do but wait.

  Slowly, the minutes ticked by. I heard Linda rustling papers on her desk. Occasionally, her feet shifted. Once, she took her left foot out of the shoe and rubbed it on her other leg. I watched as the tremendous sole moved up and down, the sole that I had rubbed, kissed, and even licked. There were slight wrinkles of flesh visible beneath the nylon. During the course of our marriage, I had gotten to know, quite intimately, every detail of her feet. Now, however, I made sure to stay safely out of their way.

  At one point, Linda had a meeting with one of my co-workers, Alice, an attractive red-headed girl. She took a seat in front of Linda's desk. She had made some kind of mistake and Linda was grilling her over it. She didn't yell, but merely spoke sternly and authoritatively. Alice started to cry a bit. I felt bad for her. The way it was going, I thought she was going to lose her job, but finally, Linda seemed to come around, offering her "another chance." Alice seemed much relieved as she left Linda's office. I got the feeling that Linda had no intention of firing the poor girl, but was merely playing some cruel game with her.

 Noon was drawing closer, and I knew I had to find a way to hitch a ride with Linda. Luckily, she had left her purse by the foot of the desk. She never went anywhere without it, so it was probably my safest bet. I approached the expensive Louis Vuitton bag, which I had bought her. There was a single strap that hung down low enough for me to grab onto. I carefully made my way up to the top of the bag, and stared down into the opening at my wife's personal items below. That wouldn't do. There would be no way for me to climb out. I looked around a bit, and noticed a pocket on the side of the bag. Carefully, I slid down the side of the bag and landed safely in the pocket. It was a tight space, so I was sure I could shimmy my way out. Just to be sure, I inched my way up the side of the pocket and poked my head out. Good, I thought. This spot was perfect. It was safe for travel, and I could get out easily. I could keep an eye on Linda from there as well.

  I sat and waited in Linda's purse pocket, climbing up to take a look at the clock every once in a while. Finally, both hands reached the twelve, and, as if on cue, Cory knocked on the door and entered.

  "All set for lunch?" I heard my wife ask.
  "Sure. Uh, would you like me to drive?"
  "No, that's okay. I prefer to drive."

  Cory walked out of the office, and I felt the purse lift off the ground as Linda followed him. They walked down the hallway. As the purse rocked gently, I thought of Annie for a moment. I heard my wife tell the receptionist that she'd be back in an hour. I heard the ambient, outdoor noise of the parking lot, then the sound of the car door, before the purse fell on the floor of the car with a quake, which startled me.

  Once they had both gotten in the car, Linda started to drive. I sat in the purse pocket, listening carefully. The car ride was pretty uneventful, the monotony being broken only by the steady hum of the engine, and the occasional bump in the road. Linda and Cory remained oddly silent.

  Suddenly, the car stopped. Had we arrived? I heard Cory's voice.

  "Okay, I'll be right back."

  I heard the car door open and close. I wasn't exactly sure of what was going on. I felt the purse being lifted up and set down again. I stuck my head out of the pocket. Linda had placed the purse on the passenger seat. Looking up, I could see her rummaging through its contents. I ducked down cautiously. She removed her pocket mirror, unfolded it, and touched up her lipstick. She pursed her lips and then pouted. I looked up out the windshield, and I could see part of a sign on a building that read "Thai." Cory must have gone to pick up the food. Linda must have seen him coming, because she quickly picked up the purse, setting it and me roughly on the floor again.

  Cory had indeed returned with the Thai food, and we started driving again. The scent of spicy chicken curry made its way into the purse pocket. I found it hard to bear, given that I was starving and it would surely be quite a while before I could eat.

  When the engine turned off, I knew we were there. I peeked out to see what was happening. Linda picked up her purse, and carried me out of the car, and towards the front door. My heart started beating heavily as she turned the doorknob, and I watched as my wife lead the way into the house.