CHAPTER FIVE

The next day, Timothy only just managed to drive himself to work. He had made all the adjustments needed so that he could see the road, but he was realizing that he wouldn’t be able to drive for too much longer before his feet wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals. 

‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,’ he mused to himself as he pulled into the parking deck. He had lost another inch last night, a direct result of more of Beatrice’s dirty talk, and he now stood at just under 4’10, and weighed 93 pounds. His new girlfriend had been sure to weigh him in the morning, and she was absolutely gleeful over the fact that he had shrunk again. He was wearing some baggy jeans and an even baggier t-shirt. Beatrice had helped him go through his closet before they went to bed, and she had discovered a box of clothes that Timothy had stored from a relative. The clothes had belonged to one of his nephews, who had outgrown them once he turned 11. For Timothy, however, they were the only clothes that he had that fit him, and even then, they were definitely on the roomy side. He had no choice but to wear his old loafers, which now looked unquestionably like clown shoes as he clopped and stomped his way into his office. But what was he going to do? Show up at work barefoot? There was a professional dress code, after all. 

As he sat down at his desk, he thought of Beatrice back at home. She had been lounging on the sofa as he left, promising him that she’d be there when he got back. She had licked her lips at him hungrily and made hungry animal noises at him as he walked out the door, which caused him to have a full-on erection by the time he reached his car. Even now, sitting in his office, just thinking about Beatrice made him uncontrollably hard. He couldn’t believe his luck — Maia was indeed a goddess — she had come through for him in the most mind-blowing way possible…and that was only the first night he and Beatrice had spent together! Timothy sighed in pleasure, allowing himself to lapse into daydreams of the unimaginable things that awaited him when he returned home. 

A sudden crackle from the intercom had him start out of his daydreams as the unmistakable and business-like voice of Clare came through to him through the static. 

“Good morning, Springer,” her voice said. “You there? You better be there, Springer.”

“Y-yes!” he said excitedly, pushing down the intercom button. “Y-yes, Clare, I’m — I’m here!” 

“Good,” crackled the voice. “Because today’s gonna be a busy day. A really busy day…lots of items on the agenda…lots of things to cover.” Timothy’s heart sank a little as he heard the tell-tale signs of Clare’s authoritarian streak through her voice. He hated it when things got busy like this…it tended to exacerbate her overbearing demeanor. He hoped it didn’t mean that he was going to stay late again. But he quickly chased these thoughts out of his mind as he imagined a naked Beatrice, with her long dark hair, lounging her big, lithe body across his sofa, touching herself as she waited for him to come back home. 

“An emergency order came in from corporate last night,” continued Clare over the intercom. “They want us to come up with an entirely new drink — a totally new product. Fast.” 

‘Oh great, not corporate,’ thought Timothy, fumbling for a notepad. 

“The market’s veering toward healthier drink options, so corporate wants us to adapt with the times,” crackled Clare. “They want us to come up with something that’s still carbonated, still caffeinated, and still sweet-tasting, but that has no more than a quarter of the calories, added sugars, and carbs that are other options do. You’re taking all this down, right, Springer?”

“Yes…yes I am!” called Timothy into the intercom, scribbling down with his other hand. 

“Alright,” said Clare. “I need you on this, Springer. I’m putting my top talent on it, obviously — Ashley and Patricia and Katie will be handling most of the work — but I want to give you a chance to prove yourself, Springer. You had a good day yesterday. Let’s see what happens when I put you in with the A-team, alright?”

“A-alright!” said Timothy, actually excited to be part of the team. 

“Ok. Draw up some ideas. Meeting in Ashley’s office in one hour. Don’t be late.”

An hour later Timothy was plodding down the hallway in his oversized loafers, baggy pants, and baggier t-shirt, his heart fluttering in his chest, as he made his way to Ashley’s office. What were the girls going to say? How were they going to react?? He was positively awash in anticipation, and as he neared the partially-open door to Ashley’s office, he could hear female voices. He had a sudden urge to run. But he caught himself, laughing and shaking his head as he pushed the door open and went in. 

All four women were standing around Ashley’s desk, apparently already deep in discussion. Clare stood out from the rest of the group, since she rose up taller in her heels and was sporting a bright red dress that clung tightly to her curvy body, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. She had her hands on Ashley’s desk and was talking — Ashley, Patricia, and Katie were all standing around her, listening with rapt attention. 

At first, none of them realized that Timothy had walked in. Clare kept talking intently, reaching down to sketch something on a piece of paper, as the other three women all leaned in to get a closer look. In this time, Timothy was able to get a good view of all of them and was totally blown away — they all looked so huge! The first thing he noticed was that Patricia and Katie were obviously taller than him now, and even from across the room, he could see the swerve and weight of Katie’s backside winking at him. Good lord, it looked enormous! Timothy knew that Katie had always had a fat ass, but he could not escape the thought now that her rear end had grown, gotten even rounder, fatter…gotten sexier. Was this part of the beautification that Maia had promised him? 

A quick glance up at the faces of the women confirmed this suspicion. They all just looked…fresher, brighter…just…more alive. Clare had always dressed skimpily, and today was no exception, but Timothy noticed how the usually-modest Ashley was wearing a green form-fitting dress today that showed off some impressive hips. Katie’s cornflower-blue blouse went down to about her mid-ass and did little to hide its voluptuous volume. Even Patricia, who Timothy had never really been attracted to, seemed different today…he noticed how her kakis looked tighter than usual, and betrayed some indisputable shapeliness in her hips, ass, and thighs. Had she always been that thick…? 

All of this flashed through Timothy’s mind in a matter of moments as he walked slowly over to Ashley’s desk, the four women seeming to him to get taller and taller with each step he took towards them. When he was about ten feet away from the desk, Clare looked up and saw him and immediately stopped talking mid-sentence and stared. Ashley, Patricia, and Katie turned their heads in Timothy’s direction to see what Clare was looking at. Ashley took a sharp intake of breath and put her hand over her mouth in shock. Patricia’s mouth hung open. And Katie could not contain herself and let out a high-pitched squeal. 

“Oh my god!” squealed Katie, bringing up her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my god oh my god…Timmy!!” She quickly rounded Ashley’s desk and walked straight up to him, stopping when she was directly in front of him as she stood up to her full height, staring down at him in wonder. 

“You’ve shrunk again!” she practically yelled. 

“Y-yeah Katie…I uh…I have,” stammered Timothy, feeling totally overwhelmed by Katie’s larger presence. 

“Look at this!” she continued, as if he hadn’t even spoken, “your head barely even comes up to my chin!” She extended a flat palm out and placed in on top of his head, measuring his height to hers. There was no denying it — she was definitely a good deal taller now. And such close proximity to Katie’s big, heavy curves was beginning to have an effect of Timothy; he could feel himself growing in his pants. 

“I just…wow, Timothy,” came Ashley’s quiet cautious voice as she joined Katie in standing next to him, her hand still up by her mouth as she looked down on him. From this vantage point, Timothy could see quite clearly that his head did not come up to Ashley’s chin. In fact, staring straight at her, he found that he was looking straight into the tops of her breasts. It was obvious to him now — Ashley’s boobs looked fuller, bigger. Was it just that tight green dress she was wearing? Or was this Maia’s magic? 

“Are you feeling ok?” said Ashley in a worried tone, furrowing her brow down at him. 

“I’m…yeah! I’m fine — feeling fine!” he said enthusiastically, knowing that his happy tone had to sound suspicious to his co-workers. “Never better!” he added, smiling up at Ashley. God, the skin on her face was so…healthy and clear. He glanced right over at Katie and saw her face looking unusually illuminated and lively as well. Was it just the lighting in Ashley’s office? It couldn’t be…

“Have you seen a doctor yet, Springer?” came Clare’s clear and authoritarian voice. She hadn’t budged from her standing spot leaning down on Ashly’s desk as she continued to stare forward at Timothy, her hands splayed out supporting her weight. She didn’t look particularly pleased at this unplanned-for interruption. 

“Ummm…yes!” Timothy decided to lie, since otherwise he either had to tell the truth or pretend that nothing was odd or wrong. He thought that lying about seeing a doctor would shut down Clare’s probing questions and douse any suspicion. “Yes!” he continued, “and he, uh…the doctor said that…uh…that he wasn’t, uh, sure what was going on, but that…uh…that all of my, um, vitals were…were doing well, so that I had…umm…no reason…no reason to worry.” 

Clare narrowed her eyes down at him from across Ashley’s desk as she scrutinized his response, not seeming like she bought this explanation. 

“But…but you’re just shrinking, Timmy!” said Ashley, with some force in her voice. “Surely…surely the doctor would, like…you know…run some tests, or…or send you to a specialist or something, right?” She reached out and grabbed one of his upper arms, letting out a short gasp as she realized how thin it was. “I mean, look at this, Timothy — you’re not just getting shorter…you’re getting thinner…skinnier…”

“Wimpier!” put in Katie, shooting a toothy grin down at Timothy, cocking her hips sexily as she folded her arms across her ample chest. She seemed to be especially enjoying this. 

“Katie, come on!” came Patricia’s chastising voice. “Don’t play around; he could have some kind of serious condition!” Ashley nodded her head in kind, agreeing. Timothy suddenly noticed that the acne on Patricia’s face seemed to have disappeared. 

“But…but I don’t! The doctor said I’m fine,” he said, nervously noticing that Clare seemed to be getting more and more impatient. He really was looking forward to being part of the team today, and he didn’t want to waste more time with all of them gawking at him. “And…and, you know, he’s the one who went to medical school,” he continued, thinking up a couple more lies as he went along, “and anyway, he said that I could just come in to his office every week, just so he could…he could, uh…monitor me and everything…to make sure everything is ok. So there’s…there’s nothing to worry about, ok?” 

Katie’s eyes sparkled downward at him as the smile grew on her face. “See?” she said brightly, indicating to the rest of the group, “he’s fine! He’s just…turning into a little shrimp!” And she winked down at him and Timothy felt that little pull in his stomach, telling him that he had shrunk again, just a tiny little bit, due to Katie’s teasing. 

“You know, I’m as much for teasing and taunting Springer as the next gal,” came Clare’s exasperated voice, “but can we please get back to business? I’m under a lot of pressure from corporate for this new drink idea, and if we can come up with something great I know they’re gonna give me a huge-ass promotion.”

Timothy inwardly rolled his eyes. Of course that was why Clare was so insistent about them staying on-task…of course it had to do with her own personal promotion. Ashley and Katie retuned to their standing places around Ashley’s desk, and Timothy followed them. But as he took his spot in the circle, he saw that Ashley’s desk, which came up to the waist of most of the other women (and a little lower for Clare), came all the way up to the middle of his chest. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see what Clare had drawn on her piece of paper. 

“Ummm…” he said awkwardly, glancing up at Clare for help, “I can’t…uh…I can’t see.” 

“Why are you telling me, Springer?” she answered quickly. “Do you really need me to tell you what to do?” She turned to Ashley. “Ash, is there anything in here for him to stand on?” 

Ashley glanced around her office for a moment and then nodded. “I just emptied my trash yesterday,” she said, walking over to the small trash can in the corner, fetching it, and turning it upside down. “You can stand on this, Timmy.” She placed it upside down on the floor next to him and indicated for him to stand on it. “Just…be careful, ok?” 

“Ok,” he said, feeling slightly ridiculous as he grabbed onto the desk and used it to help him stand up. He felt the energy and intensity of all four women staring at him as he helped himself up. The trash can was around 8 inches high, and looking around at everyone once he was up, he realized that Clare was still a little taller than him. He was about the same height as Ashley…maybe just a smidgen taller…and a couple inches taller than Patricia and Katie. 

“Are you all set, Springer?” said Clare, not bothering at all to hide the irritation in her voice. “Can you see everything clearly now?” 

“Y-yes…yes I can.”

“Ok everyone,” said Clare, breathing out an exaggerated breath of relief, “now that Springer is on our level, we can continue.” She lowered her head back to what she had drawn, which was a series of pie charts. “Ok, now remember ladies…and Timmy…corporate wants low calorie above all other options. Understand? That’s the most important bit — low calorie and low-sugar. That’s where the market’s going, and that’s where we’ve gotta go. Ok?” 

The three women and Timothy nodded their heads. Despite all of his excitement around all his fantasies coming true, Timothy couldn’t deny that he was just…just enjoying this normal, everyday meeting as part of the A-team. He just wanted to feel like he was a part of something at work…like he mattered…like he was making important contributions. 

“And that brings us to the real challenge,” continued Clare, indicating to one of her pie-charts. Timothy took pleasure in leaning in with the other women to scrutinize it. “Anyone can take the sugar and calories out of a soda,” said Clare, “but what we need to find out is how to take out all the sweet stuff…all the calories, and still have a soda that tastes sweet — and not that artificial kind of sweet that you get from all those shitty artificial sweeteners.” She stood up to her full height, looking around at the group. “That’s what Bubble Town did with their new brands, trying to get ahead of the curve…and guess what? No one’s buying them, because they taste like what?” 

“Like ostrich poop,” laughed Katie.

“Exactly,” said Clare. “And so we’ve gotta find a different way to make our drinks taste sweet. And that’s — ” and here she pointed a finger as she scanned over the group, “—where you all come in. I need you three…you four…to get to work on this. It’s our major task now. Are you up to it?” 

“Of course!” said Ashley energetically.

“Yeah!” said Patricia, smiling excitedly.

“Yep!” said Katie with gusto.

Timothy nodded silently, feeling suddenly self-conscious hearing the full and dynamic voices of his co-workers. He felt the reality of their size disparity, and couldn’t help but feel like his voice would sound weak and tiny in comparison. 

“How about it, Springer?” said Clare aggressively, turning on him. “Are you up for it?” 

“Y-yes, yes I am,” he said, stuttering a little bit as he inwardly winced at how small his voice sounded in comparison with everyone else’s. 

“A ringing and confident endorsement from our newest and smallest member!” called out Clare sarcastically, looking down at Timothy across Ashely’s desk as she shook her head. “Make sure he stays on task, please,” she said, turning to Ashley. “And I want a specific report before you leave today about how he did. Ok, Ash?” 

“Sure, Clare,” said Ashley, turning to Timothy and smiling as she extended out a large hand to pat him on the head. “I’m sure our little guy here will do just fine.” Timothy heard Katie exchanging little laughs as Ashley pet him on the head, and he almost couldn’t believe how big her hand felt…it seemed like she could nearly palm his head right now if she wanted to. 

“Well alright,” said Clare, rounding the desk as she headed out the door, “I’ll leave you all to it.” She gave Timothy one more stern look, like she was making sure he knew that she had her eye on him, and then she was gone. A few silent seconds passed by, and Timothy suddenly realized that all three of the remaining women were looking at him…studying him. 

“Ok then!” said Ashley, clapping her hands as she went around to her chair and plopped herself down in it. “Let’s get started! Pull up chairs, everyone!” Patricia and Katie moved to do as they were bid, and Timothy started to step down from the trash can. 

“Not you, Timmy,” said Ashley, seeing him start to move. “I think it’d be easier if you just…uh, if you just sat on the desk here next to me.”

“But…but, uh — I’m sure…I’m sure I could find some chair high enough,” he began to protest, not wanting to feel like the odd man out, so to speak. 

“I don’t think there’s a chair in this building that’s high enough,” laughed Katie as she pulled her chair up to the desk, “unless you’re talking about one of those high chairs in the nursery downstairs.” Patricia joined Katie in giggling at her joke. Ashley rolled her eyes.

“Enough of that, Katie,” she said (even thought she was smiling). “But she’s right, Timmy…just…just come on over here and sit down, ok? We don’t have much time for dilly-dallying.” Timothy sighed and started to do what Ashley said, until he realized that she was actually asking him to crawl across her desk to sit on the edge next to her. He moved to step down off the trash can. He’d walk around the desk and use the trash can to help himself up. 

“What are you doing, Timmy?” came Ashley’s voice, a little exasperated. “Come on — just come over here, ok? We need to get started.” 

“You mean…uh…just…you want me to…uh…”

“Yes, Timmy, come on! Just crawl over here, please,” said Ashley, patting the spot on her desk next to her chair with her hand. “Let’s go!” Timothy obeyed the slightly irritated authority in her voice and got down on his hands and knees and started crawling over across the desk to where Ashley was sitting. It felt absolutely humiliating, crawling like this across her desk, and he could feel his face start to burn red as he heard Patricia and Katie whispering and giggling. 

“Ok!” said Ashley once he was sitting on the desk next to her, his legs dangling off the edge, “let’s spitball some ideas, why don’t we? Go!” 

“Agave!” came Katie’s chipper voice immediately. “We render down agave syrup and add it in small increments to the batch. Keeps the sweetness, but cuts down on the calories.” 

“Hmmm, agave is packed with sugar,” said Ashley, “so I don’t think we can get it down to where the drink retains the sweetness without using too much of an already-sugary ingredient. But I like the idea of rendering it down and reducing it to a concentrate — nice, Katie! Next!” 

“Sugarcane flavor!” piped up Patricia. “Consumers will taste the sugarcane in the drink and their brains will associate the flavor with sugar, even though it’s not actual sugar…just the flavor. That way the drink will taste sweet, but without the calories!” 

“Intriguing!” said Ashley, nodding her head as Katie “oooed,” showing that she was also impressed with Patricia’s idea. “That would involve us getting shipments of raw sugarcane made directly to this plant, though,” continued Ashley thoughtfully as she mused out-loud. “Where is our crop grown right now?” 

“Trinidad and Tobago,” said Katie. 

“Hmmm…Trinidad, huh?” said Ashley, biting her pen as she whipped out her phone and did some calculations. “That’s…what…500, 600 miles away?” 

“But what about from the nearest port?” asked Patricia. 

“200, 300?” said Katie, who also had her phone out, doing calculations. 

“Hmmm, not too far,” said Ashley, jotting down some numbers. 

“But,” said Patricia, “remember that if we’re just shipping the raw sugarcane, it’s gonna weigh a whole lot less than our current shipments of pure cane sugar.” 

“Ooohhh, that’s right!” said Ashley excitedly. “Good point, Trish!” 

Timothy’s head was already spinning. It was all he could do to keep up with how fast the conversation was going. He was stunned by how quick and snappy his co-workers were…how fast they thought on their feet, how immediate and crisp their ideas were, and how effortlessly they played off each other. With each passing moment he felt increasingly desperate to get some kind of word in. After Patricia’s point, he saw his chance. 

“Uh…how are we…ummm,” and he felt the red deepening in his face as he felt three pairs of eyes on him as he stammered around. He felt that as soon as he opened his mouth, it had become abundantly clear who the low-level employee was. But he pressed on: “Are we…uh…wouldn’t…umm…the sugarcane actually weigh…uh…more than the sugar?” 

There was silence for a moment as the three women stared at him blankly. For a moment, Timothy felt like he had raised an important point, and some hope rose up in his chest that he was making a positive contribution. 

“Uh, no Timmy,” said Ashley, seeming a little perturbed at his question. “We’d just be extracting the flavor from the sugarcane, which means we wouldn’t need that much of it shipped here.” 

“Oh, we…we wouldn’t?” he asked, feeling increasingly stupid. 

“Uh…no,” said Ashley matter-of-factly. “No we wouldn’t.” A few more seconds of silence passed, with Timothy looking totally bemused. 

“One of you wanna tell him why?” said Ashley to the other two women, not bothering to hide her annoyance now. 

“Flavor extraction means we get “concentrated” product,” said Patricia quickly, turning to Timothy and speaking in an exaggeratedly slow manner. 

“And “concentrated” means that a little goes a long way,” added Katie, speaking just like Patricia in that condescending tone. 

“I know what “concentrated” means!” snapped Timothy, not being able to help his almost childish response. 

“No need to get snippy now,” said Ashley, turning to him and narrowing her eyes. “You’re the one who needed us to explain something that should be common knowledge to you at this point, even if you’re just a batch mixer.” That dull ache in the bottom of his stomach made Timothy realize that he was shrinking again, ever so slightly…which annoyed him. He felt like it was getting out of control. Ashley stopped speaking and seemed for a moment to realize how her tone of voice sounded to him, and what she had actually said…it seemed like she might backtrack and apologize for her condescension, but instead she just breathed in thought her nose, collecting herself as she turned back to Patricia and Katie.

“So…anyway…what were we saying before all that?” she said. 

“Trish was pointing out that we could cut down on our shipping weight if we just get the raw cane shipped here,” said Katie. 

“Oh right! Yeah, that’s right,” said Ashley, swinging back into the saddle. “And that’s definitely one positive…a big positive to Trish’s idea. At this point the only question I have is…well…will it work?” 

“You mean will it actually taste good?” asked Patricia. 

“Yeah!” said Ashley. “I mean, what does raw sugarcane taste like, anyway?” 

“Not like that much, actually,” said Katie. “It tastes like sugar, but like…watered down.” 

“Kind of like slightly sugared water?” asked Ashley. 

“Yeah, exactly,” said Katie. 

“Hmmm, well customers probably won’t care too much for that,” said Ashley, jotting down more notes. 

“No, but we could just up the flavor concentrate,” said Patricia. “That way we intensify the flavor.” 

“But how much cane juice concentrate would we be adding?” asked Ashley. “The more concentrate, however small, the more calories. And you heard Clare — we’ve gotta keep it to a minimum.” 

“Mint!” came Katie’s excited voice. They all turned to look at her, and she beamed back. “We don’t have to up the sugar cane concentrate!” she said enthusiastically, “We just need to add the right compliment that accentuates the flavor of sugar and amplifies it — brings it out!” 

“Aha!” said Ashley, nodding her head in approval as her hand moved quickly to write down these ideas. “Mint definitely compliments sugar really well — good start! What else?” 

“Ginger!” chirped Patricia.

“Oh hell yeah!” said Katie, “those sugared ginger drops from the farmer’s market are to die for! Imagine drinking a fizzy drink that tasted like that!” 

“I love it, I love it,” said Ashley with energy, her writing hand going over and over the page. 

“Grapefruit!” enjoined Katie. “Especially for the hotter summer months we’re in right now.” 

“Sweet and sour — I’m all about it!” said Ashley, nodding her head vigorously. 

“Mango!” called out Patricia. “To add a heartier fruit flavor, you know?”

“Mango and grapefruit for the summer — it’s great, guys!” said Ashley enthusiastically. 

Timothy had been racking his brain, trying to come up with a flavor that he could call out that would contribute to the conversation. He was going to say “lime,” but that sounded too easy, too generic. He had to think of something that none of the other girls would think of…something that only he would say. After Patricia said “mango,” he suddenly got it. 

“Papaya!” he called out. The three women turned to look at him again, and he immediately felt the crushing weight of their eyes. His idea had not been well-received, and once again, he had derailed the conversation. 

“Too close to mango,” said Ashley with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Heavy fruit flavor, but not as naturally sweet…mango’s better. What else, girls, what else?” Ashley had turned back to Patricia and Katie, as if she was now convinced that she was only going to get acceptable ideas from them. Timothy felt the burn of humiliation in his cheeks accompany a twinge of anger as he felt himself shrinking a little again. This wasn’t right — his ideas were just as good as theirs! He just wasn’t as quick with them. He had to say something else…he had to. 

“Kiwi!” he blurted out. Ashley turned to him, now clearly annoyed; Katie sighed in vexation as Patricia just stared at him. 

“The US supply of kiwi comes from California,” said Ashley. “Do you really think we have room in our budget to ship kiwi in some tractor trailer all the way across the country?” Timothy felt his mouth go dry as he sat there stupidly, his legs dangling off the desk, as the other women stared at him. In that moment, he felt the intense professionalism of the three women, and felt positively blown away by how on top of everything they were, and how adult and competent they all looked. He felt like some kind of child around them…an ignorant, incapable, untalented, and clumsy child who was smaller than them in every way. And it was true. 

“You know, Timmy,” said Ashley after a few moments of silence, “if you don’t have anything useful to contribute, please don’t say anything at all instead of trying to impress us. It just comes off as silly and immature, and we really don’t have time for it, ok?” 

“O-ok…” said Timothy, his face now really burning in shame. Another stomach twinge…he was shrinking again. 

“Ok, two more flavors, please,” said Ashley, returning to Patricia and Katie, “and make them something other than fruit, alright? We need variety.” 

The women thought for a few moments, as Timothy’s mind had been wiped blank with the humiliation of the previous exchange. His clothes hung on him looser, and his loafers were now almost dangling off his feet. 

“Vanilla,” said Katie quietly. 

“Vanilla…” said Patricia thoughtfully, as if pondering the idea. 

“Vanilla!” yelled Ashley excitedly after a few more seconds of thought. “And we could add some cinnamon and licorice root in with it and we’d get something close to a root beer flavor, except with our own little twist!” 

“Brilliant, Ashley!” said Katie, clapping her hands. 

“Ok, now one more…one more,” said Ashley, breathing in and out enthusiastically. “Isn’t this awesome, ladies?” she suddenly added, looking up from her notepad to Patricia and Katie, positively beaming. “We’re just nailing all these ideas, ya’ll! Clare’s putting a lot of faith in us here, and we’re delivering for her!” She laughed out loud as Patricia and Katie assented their approval. “I mean, we’re doing it, girls! We’re cooking up these flavors that we’re gonna see on TV and supermarket shelves in no time. That’s us! How cool is that?!” 

“Super cool, Ashley,” said Patricia, smiling. 

“Ok, ok, one more, one more,” said Ashley again, careful not to get too caught up in the moment, and the three women lowered their heads to their notepads, and the sound of pens hurriedly moving across paper filled the room. Timothy sat there on Ashley’s desk, feeling totally left out. This meeting had really hit home the reality to him — he just wasn’t up to speed. He wasn’t on their level. They knew more than him, thought faster than him, were more creative than him, and were therefore more confident in their ideas than him. They were all just…better than him. It had never been more clear to Timothy why these three had received promotions and he had remained a batch mixer. As they all three jotted down their ideas and continued to talk amongst themselves, Timothy found himself noticing more and more how their outfits and bodies fit their positions. Here were three hard-working professional women, loving every minute of their job as they lived and breathed vigorous life and creativity into their work. They all looked so established and adult…so much…older and grown…so much more…developed. And he looked down at himself and his over-big clothes, at his baggy pants and loose t-shirt, at his tiny wrists that were looking more and more child-like, and at his thin little thighs that were absolutely swallowed up by his jeans. 

He glanced down at Ashley’s lap and saw her thick, developed thighs straining through her tight green dress. He felt his cock getting hard and thanked the stars that his jeans were baggy enough to hide it. His eyes moved over to Katie, who had pulled up the sleeves of her cornflower-blue blouse and was leaning on her bare arms as she hunched down in concentration. Her white arms looked so plump and full…so…developed and womanly. Timothy gave his own arms another glance and couldn’t stifle a little exhale of arousal — her arms had to be at least twice as thick as his now…to say nothing of her thighs and her…huge ass. Another little disturbance gurgled about in the bottom of his stomach, and he suddenly felt one of his loafers, which had been dangling from his foot, drop off and fall to the floor. 

All three women looked up to see what the noise was, and Timothy attempted to rally an apology. 

“S-sorry,” he said, hoisting himself down off the desk with difficulty to retrieve his fallen shoe. “My, uh…my shoe just slipped off.” He got down to retrieve it and tried to put it back on. He discovered with anxiety that his foot fit so loosely into it that he realized that he was going to have to hold both his feet up a certain way to keep his shoes from slipping off again. Looking up, he also realized that Ashley’s desk was just about even with his shoulders. He had shrunk another few inches. 

“You got smaller,” said Ashley suddenly, her eyes still fixed on him.

“W-what’s that?” he asked, hoping that she would get back to her work without belaboring the point. He was definitely aroused by his shrinking, but he was getting the uncomfortable and increasingly desperate feeling that it was getting out of control. 

“My desk was chest-high to you when you walked in here this morning,” said Ashley, looking straight at him and speaking seriously. “Now it’s as high as your shoulders. You shrunk again.” Katie let out a little cry of excitement and she rushed over to compare herself with him, standing up next to him and stretching herself up to her full height. It was inescapably true — he had shrunk. 

“Oh my god,” she said quietly, almost unable to contain her excitement and wonder, “look at this! He doesn’t even come up to my shoulders now!” Timothy felt the heavy weight of Katie’s hand on the top of his head measuring it according to her height. She turned him around, easily maneuvering his body with her hands, so that he was looking straight at her. He was greeted by the sight of her impressive tits bulging out of her blouse…Katie had always had a nice buxom rack to go along with her fat ass, but Timothy had never remembered her looking quite this voluptuous. 

“Holy shit he’s looking straight into my tits,” said Katie, bunching them up in his face. She put her large hand to the back of his head, and was about to shove his head straight into her breasts, when she apparently thought better of it and let him go, laughing and giggling as she returned to her seat. 

“Well, this is certainly curious,” said Ashley, eying Timothy intensely. “Do you feel alright, Timmy?” 

“Y-yeah, yeah I’m fine!” he said, fetching the trash can and using it to help himself back onto the desk. “I’m fine! Let’s go…let’s do this.” 

“Uh…then maybe you’d like a notepad?” ventured Ashley. “You haven’t taken any notes this whole meeting, Timmy.” 

“That’s because he doesn’t have any ideas,” giggled Katie, her eyes dancing at him. She was clearly getting the biggest kick out of him shrinking. 

“Well, let’s see if he can come up with something,” said Ashley, pushing a notepad in his direction. “One flavor, Timothy. Go! Ladies, let’s leave our little Timmy to it and move onto logistics.” 

For the next hour or so, Ashley, Patricia, and Katie were deep in discussions of how this new idea was going to work, how they were going to implement it, and what its implications were for the future direction of the company. Timothy sat on a corner of Ashley’s desk, with his back to them, as he tried and tried to come up with some kind of flavor that would earn their praise. Both of his shoes had now fallen off for the third time, and he hadn’t even bothered to retrieve them. He hunched himself down, trying to concentrate, even though the rich voices of the other women were getting more and more distracting. Their discussion certainly sounded complicated — far too complicated for him to really understand or appreciate, but he wasn’t distracted by the content of their conversation. Instead, he was distracted by the deep, vibrant, and resonant tones that their voices had taken on. All four of them sounded so…so elegant and savory…luscious, even. Surely they hadn’t all sounded like this before…? Timothy wasn’t completely sure, but he strongly suspected that the increased richness of their voices had something to do with Maia. When he had said “beautification,” he hadn’t really thought about the richness of women’s voice tone, but there it was, in his very ears…the dulcet sounds of full, confident, feminine voices going on and on, talking to each other. He shut his eyes and sighed a little in pleasure. 

“Timmy?” came Ashley’s voice suddenly, with a bit of an edge to it, “I really hope, for your own sake, that you’re working over there.” 

“I…I am, Ashley!” he said, fumbling with his notepad, which was seeming bigger and bigger in his hands. 

“Well, I don’t see anything written down on that notepad of yours,” said Ashley. “Come on, Timmy — don’t make me role-play Clare here.” 

“I’m…I’m working, I promise!” he called out, noticing that his own voice sounded smaller and higher-pitched than it had before. “I just like to…uh…brainstorm in my head for a while before I write anything down.” 

“Uh huh,” said Ashley, sounding unconvinced. “Just…just please come up with something reasonable, ok, Timmy? We don’t even have to use it as a final flavor. Just…something that I can show to Clare that proves that you’ve made at least some kind of contribution today, ok?”

“O-ok,” he said in a small voice. 

“She’s trying to help you, Timmy — you know that don’t you?” said Katie.

“Yes…yes, I know,” he said in a slightly huffy voice, lowering his head down his his notepad. He tried to block out the rest of what Katie said in reply…she was saying something that included the words “wimpy” and “batch-mixer,” followed by a couple of giggles, but he succeeded in shutting the rest out as he felt the hotness linger in his face. 

By the end of the day, the three women had drawn up some impressive plans for the new drink recipes, complete with a detailed design of the supply and distribution logistics. Clare was overjoyed as Ashley led her step-by-step through each aspect of the prospective plan, and she uttered plenty of “ooohs” and “aaahs” as Katie and Patricia chimed in with their complimentary points and analysis. 

Timothy was still sitting on the edge of Ashley’s desk, a few little perfunctory notes scribbled down on his notepad, feeling very much left out of the dynamic four-women circle that was going back and forth, point after point, like currents of electricity in a glass ball that were making connections and attachments every which way. He felt dumb, slow, unintelligent, and small in every way. Though he was still conscious of his erect cock through much of the day, he couldn’t say that he was exactly enjoying it. 

“And now to our little Timmy,” came Clare’s voice suddenly as she turned to face him. The other three women all turned in kind, and Timothy suddenly felt the overwhelming energy of four pairs of intense, piercing eyes on his shrunken body. “Holy shit he’s gotten even smaller,” said Clare quietly, as if she could hardly believe it. She reached out and grabbed a baggy bit of his t-shirt and shook it. “He’s literally shrinking out of his clothes!” Katie and Patricia giggled softly behind her while Ashley kept staring at him with an expressionless face. 

“Which, speaking of clothes,” said Clare seriously, releasing hr grip of his t-shirt, “I know you’re just wearing what you can right now, Timmy, but no matter what’s happening to that little body of yours, I still expect you to dress for work appropriately. And this…well, this doesn’t cut it, you understand?” 

“Uhh..y-yeah, yeah, of course,” he stammered. “I’ll…uh…I’ll go shopping later today.” 

“Good,” said Clare, nodding her head smartly. “Now tell me, what do you have for me today, huh? How did you contribute?” Ashley, Patricia, and Katie all exchanged knowing glances. Timothy was all of a sudden unable to speak, and he was only able to manage a dry cough or two. 

After a few more seconds, Ashley came to his rescue. 

“Timmy came up with a new flavor to go along with all the others,” she said. 

“Oh did he?” said Clare, cocking her head as she raised an eyebrow. Timothy couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. “Well, let’s have it from the horse’s mouth. What’s the new flavor, Timmy?” 

He swallowed nervously a couple of times before he was able to say, in a tiny voice, “C-curry.”

The silence in the room was deafening. Ashley, Katie, and Patricia were all exchanging their respective glances again, and they looked again to Clare, anticipating her reaction. 

“Curry,” said Clare in a dead-pan voice. She narrowed her eyes down at Timothy. He was unable to meet her eyes and looked quickly down at his hands. 

“Curry!?” asked Clare again, but this time for forcefully and shrilly, as if she could not believe her ears. 

“Y-yes,” said Timothy, looking back up at her incredulous expression, desperate to explain himself. “Y-you see, it’s a…it’s a…a bold, um, attempt to…to give the consumer something, uh, s-something that they haven’t uh, haven’t experienced b-before in a soda,” he sputtered, knowing how pathetic and timid he sounded, but trying to power through his explanation nonetheless. “It’s a…a new and r-r-revolutionary way of seeing soda. N-not only as something…as something sweet, but, uh, savory too. Sweet and s-savory…like, uh…like a meal.” 

Clare’s silent piercing stare told him everything he needed to know, and he was not surprised by what came next.

“So that’s what he came up with?” she asked, turning to the other women. “That’s what Timmy has to show for a full day’s work?”

“Mmmhmmm,” said Ashley, arching her eyebrows as she nodded. 

“Curry,” said Katie, nodding in kind as she grinned. 

“You do realize,” said Clare, turning back to Timothy, her voice dripping with haughtiness, “that we live in the United States, don’t you, Timmy?” 

“Y-yes,” he squeaked. 

“And I’ve got nothing against India — great country for all I can tell,” said Clare loftily, “but do you actually think that American consumers — who, if you’ll recall, have soundly rejected Bubble Town’s idea of chicory root soda — are ready for a…a curry flavored soda??” 

“Th-that’s all I had!” said Timothy desperately, throwing up his hands. “I thought you’d appreciate the…the boldness of the idea!” He couldn’t hide the disappointment and hurt in his voice, and it came out, without his intent, in a kind of whine. 

Clare’s mouth curled into a calm superior smile that was almost nasty. “Boldness is one thing,” she said, indicating to Patricia. “Ginger is bold.” She indicated to Ashley and Katie. “Vanilla, cinnamon, licorice root — that’s bold.” She turned back to him. But curry? Come on, Timothy.” Katie and Patricia giggled again as Ashley just shook her head. “Boldness is one thing, Timmy,” said Clare, “but recklessness…and ignorance, really…is another.” 

Timothy hung his head and was not able to say any more. Clare stared at him hard for a few more moments, almost not believing how little he had contributed, before she turned back to the other women. “Ok, anyway, getting past all that nonsense…I think we really have something here, girls! Sugarcane complimented by a whole host of new and exciting flavors. And, as Ashley has pointed out, a new soda that potentially can be targeted directly to diabetics, since the natural sugar in sugarcane has a low glycemic index. All in all, despite a few impediments in the way (and she indicated to Timothy), a wonderfully productive day’s work, ladies! I’ll be sure to mention all the hard work you’ve put in to the boss, and don’t be surprised if the three of you see raises on the horizon.” Ashley, Patricia, and Katie all responded enthusiastically, congratulating each other. Clare moved to leave. 

“Timmy?” she said, a bit of harshness edging her voice.

He looked up at her. “Y-yes?” 

“It goes without saying that you’ll be back in batch mixing tomorrow. I’m sorry, sir, but “curry flavor” just doesn’t cut it in this department. I hope you’ve at least seen up close how your superiors operate every day. Maybe it’ll give you some inspiration and encouragement to do better.” 

A little while later, Timothy felt like he was literally dragging his feet to his car. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. The shrinking had taken it out of him, and just being in the proximity of his female colleagues’ fast-paced work rate had been enough to mentally drain him. He thought about taking the stairs to the fourth floor of the parking deck, but quickly decided on the elevator instead. He was just…so tired. But as he walked into the elevator and the doors shut, he had to smile to himself. No one knew what…or rather “who”… was waiting for him at home. He wondered what Beatrice had been doing all day, and the elevator started going up he closed his eyes and sighed, imagining how happy she would be to see that he had shrunk down even more. 

A sudden breeze danced through his hair. He was puzzled for a moment — he was in side the elevator…how was there a breeze? But then he smelled the unmistakable aroma of roses, and his heart quickened in his chest. 

“Well?” came Maia’s deep and magical voice from behind him. “How’s it going, little man?” 

He turned around and saw the goddess standing directly behind him, with her long elegant hands on her thick and persuasive hips. She had grown — her head was just at the top of the elevator ceiling, and Timothy saw that he was staring directly into the middle of her hips…into her crotch. Her long fingernails looked like sharpened talons, and her thighs were huge pillars of voluptuous flesh directly under his eyes. He looked up into her face and saw her dark eyes boring into his own…her red mouth was curved upward in a smile, and he was forced to exhale drily, blown away by her beauty. 

“Ahh…ah…g-good,” he said, trying as best he could to maintain eye contact. “Good!”

“Everything going just like you imagined?” she said, smiling down on him. 

“N-not…not exactly like I imagined,” he said, thinking back to his unwilling shame and humiliation at work. “B-but…but I don’t mind,” he said quickly, not wanting to sound ungrateful. His mind shot to Beatrice. “It’s…it’s just incredible!” he said truthfully, his face lighting up as he remembered how miraculous it all was. 

“Mmm I can see that you’re appreciating it,” said Maia warmly.

“I don’t…I don’t know what to say!” said Timothy, feeling an emotional surge within him. “You’ve…you’ve given me everything I wanted!” 

“Everything,” she said, arching her eyebrow from high above, “and more.” 

“Y-yes,” he said, nodding. A moment passed, and then he blurted out. “I don’t know how I can repay you, goddess! I don’t…I don’t know how to — ”

“Shhhh,” interrupted Maia, bending her gorgeous, hulking frame down and putting a long finger to his mouth. Timothy shuddered in ecstasy at her touch. It truly felt, from the buzzing warmth that went to his toes, that he was being touched by a goddess. 

“You don’t have to repay me, little man,” she breathed softly into his face. “You only have to remember what you’ve agreed to…and reap the consequences.” A shot of deep crimson sparkled in her eyes and was gone and soon as it had arrived. 

“Oh I do! I do remember!” he said enthusiastically. “And I won’t, won’t forget!” 

“That’s good,” she said, smiling at him again as she stood back up to her full height.

“Y-you’re taller!” he blurted out, wanting to speak with this divinity longer. “And…and bigger!” 

“Of course I am,” she laughed, filling the elevator with the music of her voice. “I’m taking it from you.” 

“From…from me?” 

“Every time you get smaller,” she said, holding out her huge hands to display herself, “I get bigger.” 

Timothy actually laughed out loud. “Of course!” he said. “Of course! That, uh…that makes so much sense!” 

The elevator suddenly dinged, causing Timothy to turn around for an instant, surprised by how much the worldly sound contrasted with Maia’s otherworldly voice. He turned back around and was stunned to see that he was looking at the bare elevator wall. The goddess had gone. Timothy could still, however, smell the unmistakable hint of roses.