3 Weeks before the Big Presentation

Richard Feels was not a small man by any means.  Six foot four inches tall, with broad shoulders, bulging biceps, and buns of steel, the man considered himself a titan of personal fitness, and with good reason.  It could therefore be considered ironic just how short he was on free time.

“Ronnie!” Richard called, hanging up the phone as his eyes fixed on his computer screen.  The faint tamps of footsteps could be heard from the hallway, before a short woman with a well-tamed bob of thick black hair leaned in through the doorway.

“Yes boss?  How can I help?”

Richard waved her over, marking four more emails read before clicking back to the one in question.  He slid his chair aside to give Ronnie plenty of room behind the large oak desk squeezed into his small corner office.  As his personal assistant moved closer, Richard ran his hand over the glistening skin of his bald head, his hazel eyes darting once more over the contents of the email as he tried to make sense of what he was reading.

“Ronnie, you’re more up to date than I am on email scams, and you talked to that Claire woman.  What am I looking at here?  Is this legit, or should I delete it?”

Ronnie moved closer, her steps light and surefooted.  She leaned towards the screen to get a better angle, and her hand reached out and settled on Richard’s knee.  He froze.  His eyes darted over her tight little body by reflex, and then locked onto the computer screen with the desperation of a man on the edge of a cliff.  He had a lot of respect for his assistant, and between his physicality and his position as her boss, he understood all too well that there was a very uneven power dynamic at play.  The last thing he wanted to do was anything that could be considered an advance.  He’d already lost Lynda and Shaina because he’d brought his habit of singing along to rap music into the office.  He couldn’t afford to lose Ronnie too.

“Well boss, I’m glad you asked,” Ronnie said, her tone even and professional.  “I’m pretty sure it’s not a scam, or at least that the email isn’t hiding anything phishy.  Claire mentioned most of this in our brief discussion.  If her story’s cap, well, then she might be worth knowing just for how straight she can shoot a truck of bull, but I’d bet my Nissan she at least believes she has what she says she’s selling.  Tell you what boss, you just let me take care of this.  You good if I pencil us in for their demo?  They’re paying for the flights both ways, for the hotel, and for dinner on Saturday.  I was just looking at your calendar, and if I reschedule this quarter’s factory tour and cancel our attendance at the meet and greet with that porn starlet that badmouthed your package, we can make these dates work.”  Ronnie patted his thigh as she stood back up.

Richard’s eyes darted from the computer screen to Ronnie’s tight little ass as if on instinct, and his vision caught her natural C-cups in profile as she turned to him, but he made sure to lock his eyes on her face before she made eye contact.  He stared into those gray eyes, their pale color so rare and enchanting, especially in contrast with her dark skin, that he missed what she said entirely.

“Sorry Ronnie.  I got lost in thought.  Say again?”

Ronnie turned to him fully with a hand on her hip, her pose unusually sassy for the diligent assistant.

“I said that they needed some input from us before the demo, and that I can free you up by handling the questionnaire.  You good, boss?  You look a little flushed.”

She reached for his forehead, and again Richard froze.  He had been so confident with the ladies, but that was always in pursuit.  He had thought he got along well with Lynda and Shaina too, but the way they stalked out of the office threatening to sue for emotional damage had shattered the foundation of his confidence.  He felt uncertain how to act anymore.

Ronnie’s cool hand was a welcome sensation on his forehead.  With his high metabolism Richard usually ran on the warm side, and with his heightened stress levels the past month, the soft feel of her smooth skin was a welcome balm.

“You feel a little warm, but I don’t think its anything to worry about.  You’ve got half a dozen scheduled calls, but most of them are progress reports.  I can take or reschedule those for you.  The only must on your list is the virtual meeting with the owners of the topless restaurant this afternoon, and you don’t have to be here for that.  Why don’t you go home, get your head on straight, and take the call in your home office?  Just a heads-up, I’m sure they have a half-hundred legal questions, so just refer them to a good lawyer.  Not Mike, he’s too high profile and expensive for their needs, but maybe the offices of Fawkes, Iscariot, and Brutus.  But that call’s not for two hours, and that’s two hours you could use to just breathe, so go home.  I got things here.”

Richard considered his options for a moment, then nodded.  “Alright Ronnie.  I have nothing but faith in you.  If you think this product demo is worth our time, go ahead and set it up.  If you need anything, you’ve got my cell and home numbers, so feel free to give me a ring.”

Veronica Vale stepped back as Richard stood from his chair, taking the opportunity to marvel up at him from such a close vantage.  At four foot eleven inches, she barely came up to his chest.  That tanned hunk of man meat had caught her attention when she signed onto the company as a receptionist five years ago, and the longer she worked with him, the more she made it a personal goal to become his partner, both in the business, and in bed if she could.  Now his personal assistant, she was in the prime position to help him maneuver ever more prominently in the market, and with her salary and frugality, it was only a matter of time before she could buy in as a full partner.

Three years.  I’ll be his business partner in three years.  Though, if Claire’s claims are true, this Fab Four thing presents an opportunity for Dick to see me in a new light.  Considering how far he’s come, I need to show him I can come just as far, if not farther.

Dick Feels, or Richard as he had recently started encouraging people to call him, had started selling 3D character models from his double-wide trailer, using a higher-end set-up he had won in a contest.  At 19, he embraced the age-old adage that ‘sex sells,’ and swapped gears to selling 3D printer models of various dildos, running the gambit of human genitalia and even expanding into the more fanciful designs though that trend didn't pick up for several years.  He really made a name for himself in the adult entertainment industry when he introduced a new kind of dildo to the market.  

Yes the DickFeel dildo was one of the earliest dildos to incorporate the cum tube that is relatively common with dildos these days, but that wasn’t the selling point.  The DickFeel utilized a water pump and a network of watertight capillaries in the structure that allowed a softer, more natural-feeling material to be used to make a soft dildo that was hardened with water pressure.  More advanced versions included a hydraulic reservoir and a slow-bleed, one-way valve that could slowly increase hardness as the user diddled the dildo, and the top of the line models included built-in heaters.  With the fourth generation, the water reservoir and controls had been miniaturized and squeezed into the scrotum, creating the most realistic - and expensive - mass produced dildo on the market.

Okay, maybe it’s not the rags to riches story most parents would want to tell their kids, but he took an opportunity and made himself a success.  And I’m going to do the same.  I’m going to make this company a titan of the industry to match Dick's stature, and I’m going to do it with Dick at my side.  We just need to refocus and diversify if that’s going to happen, and hopefully this investment opportunity will give us some ideas for doing so.

These days they didn’t sell as many of the high end dildos; in the current pick-up culture the price point was just too high for most women to justify the expense when men generally just brought their own dick and condoms, and even paid for dinner too, at least most of the time.  Most of their profits today still stemmed from the company’s roots - selling modeling and printing data for a variety of unusual dildos to 3D printing enthusiasts. 

The weird and wacky designs did seem like they could be fun, but Veronica - or Ronnie as Dick had taken to calling her - only had two dildos at home, and both were DickFeel dildos modeled after Dick’s own ten inch package - or so it said on the box.  Her gaze angled down to the bulge in Dick’s slacks that sat around the height of her navel, and Veronica found herself wondering just how accurate her toys at home really were.  She only pondered their similarity for a moment, before her warming cheeks pushed her to promptly turn and walk back through the door of Dick’s office.

She stopped just outside the door, took a calming breath, and looked back at Dick.  Her gaze fixated on his face.  His eyes were shifting, and his expression was the brittle mask over the barely-concealed concern that had been his regular look of late.  He’d been like that ever since the bitches got mad at Dick for singing along to the very music they were listening to during their lunch break.  Hypocrites, she thought.  At least I don’t have to deal with their awkward fawning anymore.

The day they quit was the second best of her time at the company, only beat out by her promotion to personal assistant.  Dick didn’t have much time to date, and until the incident,  both of the bitches were trying to get into his bed, though Ronnie doubted either of them wanted anything long-term.  Now she had double the work, but none of the competition, and she was content with that.  Besides, she had placed a few adds for replacements.  She wouldn’t have this workload forever.

Ronnie shook her head and focused back on her somewhat fragile boss.

“Go home, get some rest, be fresh for that call.  Me and the guys?  We got this!”  Veronica curled her tiny bicep and kissed it.  She waited through his awkward smirk for a firm nod, and when she finally got it she skipped back to her desk.  He’s so goddamned independent, it feels nice when he relies on me.

Her fingers flew across her ergonomic keyboard, and in under two seconds her credentials were entered and she was pulling up the email from Claire.  The body of the email covered the details she’d touched on with Dick, and then-some.  Claire’s crew, apparently going by Fab Four Fantasy Co, were offering travel and accommodations for Dick and a plus one to come participate in their group demonstration, as well as providing a two hour window to explore the equipment on the second day with just the two of them, plus as many or as few members of the Fab Four as they chose to provide supervision and safety.  It wasn’t clear exactly what Claire was getting at until she opened the questionnaire, and her jaw practically hit the floor.

Veronica glanced over all the options listed, processing maybe half of what she saw.  Her first impression was that she should feel scandalized.  Thinking it over, however, she realized what she felt was... excitement?  Anticipation?  Some combination of the two?

Horny.  She realized she was horny on a level she had rarely experienced, and with less of a dry sp-- reason.  With less reason than usual.

The very first question asked if Dick was bringing a partner with whom he mutually consented to engage in acts of a sexual nature.  Judging from Dick’s behavior before the bitches quit, she would assume that was a yes.  After all, Dick said he trusted her to handle everything.  That should include handling him, no?

The second question asked if they would have any compunctions regarding the witnessing of or the participation in sexual encounters with others present in the room.  Victoria was a little less sure about that.  This is my chance to bond with Dick on a whole new level.  I’m not passing this up.

The next questions asked a hypothetical; if the recipient and their plus one could be shrunken to engage with another person sexually, what size would they each like to be?  Victoria looked over the options available, and a confident grin blossomed on her face.  By the time she finished answering all the questions and returned the questionnaire to Claire, she knew without a doubt that tonight would be a double DickFeel night.

“Thank you StR4ng3rD4NG3r for the sub, and welcome to the Lotus Pod!  For those of you just joining, I’m LotusS33d, and I’m streaming with my dear friend xx_Gale_Farce_xx.  I’m also sorry to say that we’re just finishing up our cooperative dungeon run, and will be signing off momentarily.  If you missed any of our epic quest, or just want to relive our campy hi-jinx and this game’s top tier dungeon design, be sure to check out our video on ye olde popular video streaming service.  Expect it to be available for viewing tomorrow by 2 pm, and remember to like and subscribe!   Gale and I will be streaming again tomorrow at 5 as usual. Thanks again for tuning in!  Now go forth and blossom, pod people!”

Kim smiled into her camera for a few seconds longer, then ended the stream.  Once she confirmed the stream had come to a full and complete stop, she exhaled in a deep, frustrated sigh.  Sometimes I think it’s past time to get off this ride.  She ran her hands through her bountiful brown hair, the frustrated gesture leaving it in disarray.  Kim quickly turned off the lights and streaming peripherals with a practiced hand, then stalked away from her top-of-the-line streaming setup, and out to her kitchen table.

Her laptop was waiting for her, so Kim powered it up, and stepped away to throw some leftover pasta and some thawed meatballs into a bowl.  She poured some store-bought garlic and basil pasta sauce over the bowl, and slipped it in the microwave to heat up.  While that bowl was heating, she pulled out a second and loaded it like the first, except with a meat sauce instead of the garlic and basil.  The microwave beeped and Kim swapped out the bowls, taking a seat at the laptop and opening her emails.

Kim heard the door handle to her condo start fiddling, but paid it no mind.  She dug into her pasta, briefly appreciating the taste before the actions of eating became mechanical, her attention focused on her emails.  Fan mail after insult after death threat after auto-pay statement scrolled across her screen.  There was a notification about some minimum benchmark being met for the shoe line Kim had invested in, and another saying the failing, nutrition-focused meal delivery service had a sudden windfall when half their stock of yogurt had been purchased.  That lifted a small weight from Kim’s shoulders.  She should have known better than to buy in when her unappetizing sponsor offered her an ‘investment opportunity.’  Now no small amount of her wealth was invested in that sinking ship as well.

The microwave beeped, and a young woman of Japanese descent and wearing an anime-style sailor uniform walked into the kitchen with a subdued nod.  She opened the microwave, grabbed the food and a fork from the dish drain, and sat softly at the table across from Kim.  She dug into the pasta with fervor, only to moments later set aside the empty bowl with a content sigh.

“You seem in a good mood,” Kim said.  “Did you meet your sub goals?”

Jen shook her head.  “It was close, though.  Only two off.  We had a pretty good dungeon run, and that thing where I shrieked and almost jumped out of my seat when the tentacle monster got a hold of my character?  That brought in a few extra subs.  Just, not as many as I’d hoped.”  Jen brushed her shoulder-length black hair behind her ear, and glanced sideways with upturned eyes at Kim.  “Someone sent me a gift card to Heroine’s Heels, though, so I have some shoe shopping to do.”

Kim groaned.  “I thank you for encouraging business my way, but I can’t believe you wear those things.”

Jen smiled proudly, her teeth on full display.  “I get to walk around on the backs of the most powerful and prominent game characters in the industry.  It makes me feel good, feel powerful, even if they are a little wobbly.”

“And they pinch something awful,” Kim agreed.  “How many pairs will this make?”

Jen thought a moment.  “I think I last counted two full dozen, so with the card I should be able to push it to twenty six. Now I can say I have two baker’s dozen!  No, that just sounds weird.”

“But you’re weird, so feel free to say it anyway,” Kim said with a chuckle.  “Who are you going to get?”

“I’ve gotten most of the human characters, including the four versions of the Hero in Green, and the Plumber Brother combos.  There’s a special edition coming out for that super tough sword and sorcery game that got ported to the hand-held console, and I wouldn’t mind stepping on a knight in battle-tested armor, so that’s a possibility.  Hey, any word back on getting some girls in on the action?  A Toadstool Duchess line would go over well, no?”

Kim sighed.  “They credit my advice even less than they credit my bank account.  I never should have invested in them.  I really need something new.”

Jen scooted her chair to the side of the table.  “You need to relax, and I know just how to help.  Foot rub?”

Kim paused, and gave Jen a side-eyed stare.  “Just a foot rub, right? No sniffing or licking my feet this time?”

Jen pouted.  “It was the one time.  You were fresh out of the shower, and you let me rub that oil into your soles.  They looked and smelled divine.  A-and only half an hour earlier y-you, uh, you had your fingers, y’know, in me, a-a-and you were tonguing my a-”

“I get it!” Kim interrupted.  “It was just out of the blue, and it’s like every time you give me a foot rub anymore, you look almost hungry.”

“N-no I don’t,” Jen muttered like a petulant schoolgirl.  “Horny, maybe.  Not hungry.”

Kim’s gaze was flat.  “Uh huh.  Whatever.  I will admit you do give good foot rubs.“  She slipped her feet out of her slippers, and lay them gently in Jennifer’s lap.  Kim liked to add lavender oil to her slippers to keep them smelling fresh, and the floral scent drifted out to suffuse the area around the dining table with its gentle presence.  

She lost herself to the feel of Jen’s dainty fingers caressing the sole of her foot, winding their way across her sensitive arch, and cradling and pressuring her heel and ankle.  One by one, Jen worked Kim’s long, slender toes, working out the joints and helping to relieve the tension that Kim had felt building all week.  Kim closed her eyes and sagged into her chair, relishing the sensation.

Then she felt a warm, wet sensation on the tip of her big toe, and her eyes shot open.  Jen had on the guiltiest excuse for an innocent smile Kim had ever seen.  “You’re pushing your luck, little girl.”  Kim lifted her foot out of Jen’s hand, and booped her on the nose with her big toe.  A glistening dot of saliva was left behind.  “Don’t make me throw you over my knee and spank you.”

Jen giggled and quickly grabbed Kim’s foot, resuming the foot rub.  “I know you think it’s weird, but it makes me happy.  And I know these foot rubs make you happy, or at least less stressed.”

“Speaking of happy,” Kim cut in, “What happened with that Scott you went out to lunch with yesterday?  Is he a keeper?”

Jen’s fingers slowed their efforts.  “No,” she said sullenly.  “He’s kind of a momma’s boy, and still fairly reliant on his parents.”  Her fingers sped back up with a determined strength.  “I’m looking for someone more self-sufficient.  Someone who can support me through the tough times, as I mean to support them. He was nice, don’t get me wrong, but I think he saw our streams, and was expecting more ‘innocent Japanese schoolgirl’ than ‘experienced woman,’ if you know what I mean.”

Kim laughed.  “Jennifer Shimizu, you are twenty two, not some world-weary crone.  Get off your high horse and find a nice guy or gal to settle down with.”

Jen stuck out her tongue.  “You’re three years my senior.  You’re already turning into an old hag.  At least you have some money, so you might still have a shot- hey!”

Kim had pulled her foot back and jumped to her feet, wrapping Jen in a tackle-hug and carrying her to the ground.  They landed in a tangle of limbs, before Kim rolled herself back on top, and started tickling Jen’s ribs.

“Stop- hahaha, hey, haha, stop it!”

Kim relented, still sitting on Jen’s waist, and she leaned forward and kissed the younger woman on the forehead.  “We’ll both find someone, one of these days.  I’m just happy to know we still have a friend in each other while we’re looking.”

Jen wrapped her arms around Kim and pulled her down into a hug, then rolled them over, this time taking the chance to tickle Kim.

“Exactly right!  Even if you’re a broke old woman with saggy tits and no respect for my fetish, I’ll still be your friend.  And don’t you forget it!”

Kim just laughed and laughed until Jen grew tired of the tickling, and got to her feet.  She helped Kim up, and they resumed their original seats at the table, Jen pulling out her phone as Kim went back to checking her emails.  

The room descended into a comfortable quiet for a time, before Jen asked, “Are you doing okay?  Financially, I mean? I’m well aware these condos are pretty expensive.  It’s been a while since you hit your sub goals, and they haven’t been as ambitious as mine.  And I’m pretty sure you were griping the other day that your investments haven’t been great.”

Kim sighed and nodded.  “Yeah, I’m doing alright.  Even if one of my investments goes under tomorrow, I have enough saved I could make it another year here without worry, but if two go under, I might be in trouble.”

Jen got a quizzical look on her face.  “I thought you were saving up for another investment opportunity?”

Kim laughed.  “Oh, I am, but I wasn’t counting that amount in my savings.  No, the investment will be spent once I commit to something, and most start-ups lose money for the first few years, so I’m considering that more like my retirement fund than savings.”

“Do you have any investments in mind?”

“Not really.  It’s a volatile market with a ton of inflation; who knows how things will look in three years, which is the earliest I’d expect to see any return on investment.”

Jen looked thoughtful.  “What about that adult entertainment thing you mentioned?  You said some college chick called you, what was her name?  Carley or Clarisse or whatever?  You said she had a business opportunity that was gonna be big!”

Kim rolled her eyes.  “She said her name was Claire, and I said if she was even half truthful, her business was going to blow up almost overnight.  If!  But it was pretty clear up front she was talking out her ass.  There’s no way any of that was real.  Which is a shame.  It actually all sounded pretty... interesting... huh.”

Jen leaned in over the table, as if to get a better look at the back side of the screen that had caught Kim’s attention.  “What’s up?”

Kim scrolled the mouse wheel a couple times, then sat back, her expression nonplussed.  “It’s an email from Claire, that college professor you were just talking about.”

“You know what they say about speaking of the devil,“ Jen giggled.

“‘Speak of her and she shall appear?’  So it would seem.  Her email here says they did what they set out to do.  All their tests played out, and they’re ready to impress investors at a product demonstration.”

Jen threw an arm in the air.  “Yata!  That sounds great!  So, when are we going?”

Kim blinked.  “Going?  Why would we go?  I just said it was all smoke and mirrors.  She’s talking about impossible things, like shrinking people.  There’s no way that’s real.”

Jen got up and walked behind Kim.  She placed her chin on Kim’s head and leaned on her shoulders to look at the email.  “Kim, you’re my best friend in the whole wide world, and as your best friend, I’m telling you, you need a break.  A few days away from your computer, a few days out of your apartment, and a few days in... Middleton?  Sure, that works.  Here, look, they’re even paying for transit and lodging, and shelling out for some food.  There’s enough time we can crunch some extra content that we can post on a delay, and...” Jen leaned forward, clicking on the attachment to the email.  “They’re even willing to tailor our experie-oh.  Oh, my.”

Kim felt Jen stagger back a step or two, and turned to find the younger girl blushing furiously.  “You gonna be okay?  I haven't seen you that embarrassed since you asked if I wanted to eat something fishy for dessert.”

Jen just pointed at the screen, and said, “R-read.  A-and know I-I’m in if you are.”

The next half hour was spent finalizing their responses to the questionnaire.  

The rest of the evening was spent wrapped in each other’s arms in Kim’s bed, getting reacquainted and brainstorming how the crazy new tech could fit with their own fantasies, assuming any of it really worked.

The next three weeks were spent in a near-constant state of anticipation or arousal, as LotusS33d and xx_Gale_Farce_xx bantered and came onto each other, both on and off stream as they fantasized what it would be like to be small, and at the other’s mercy.  This behavior lasted right up through their departure.