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It was his fourth day on the job, and Joe was running at full-speed into the building. His belongings were checked, and he raced into the elevator, impatiently tapping the buttons. Seconds later, they chimed, and Joe sped to his seat, typing his log-in information in record time.

“Noon exactly.” Joe said to himself, as he caught his breath. While he was relieved mentally, it would take a minute for the rest of his body to catch up, and he needed a seat.

A feeling of defeat him like a truck when he saw his chair. He'd completely forgotten that Ann had kicked the lever on his seat yesterday, which in turn raised the height, and put his head straight into...

Shaking his head, Joe tried to clear his thoughts, and set about the task of fixing his chair's height. While he desperately needed a seat, the extra effort of climbing into a chair that high would be too much of a hassle. Couple that with the now-fixed light above him generating extra heat, and he knew he'd need all the comfort he could manage.

After a moment of adjusting the chair's height, he finally got it back to a reasonable height, and nearly jumped into it, sighing deeply as he did so. The chair reclined as he leaned back, and he placed his shoes on the lip of the table, enjoying the comfort while his computer prepared itself for work.

Looking at his own feet on the desk was an amazing sight. He remembered the sheer size of Ann's feet as they trod around his workstation, and he compared his memory with the size of his own two feet now that they were on the desk themselves. There was no real comparison, maybe one of his legs compared to one of Ann's feet would be a better comparison.

Stopping to slap himself on both cheeks, Joe tried desperately to clear his mind again. Working here was doing strange things to him, and he was afraid of the dark places his mind kept going. He knew his idolization of his boss wasn't healthy, but he hadn't acted on it yet! It wasn't like he hadn't gotten the chance either! Just yesterday he probably could have planted a kiss on those feet with all the attention she paid him!

A chime signaled his log-in had completed, and Joe removed his feet from his desk. Scooting forward, he quickly began working, trying to forget the unwanted directions his mind went again.

While the sweat from Joe's run began to cool off, he found himself far, far colder than normal today. Every day Joe had noticed the perpetual state of cold that the floor was kept under, but it was far more apparent today than any other. The fixed light generated a slight bit of heat, but it was only a taste, and he was feeling desperate for some warmth.

Time ticked by slowly, and Joe continued to shiver violently. The frigid air was getting to him, and affecting his very well being. His shaking fingers caused constant typos, and he began wishing he'd dressed far heavier than he had.

“No. More.” Joe said to himself, teeth chattering. How could the temperature inside a building have dropped so much over a single day? Surely they didn't have cool air circulating the building, right? Did anyone else mind, or was he really just that weak? He didn't know the answer, but minimizing his work, he turned in his chair, planning to leave the floor and find something to warm himself.

The plan was cut short though, as the door to Ann's office opened at that very moment, a powerful blast of hot wind slamming into his body, and nearly throwing him to the ground.

“No leaving the floor, Joe. We'll have a talk about this in a minute.” She said, tapping Joe's head with a rolled up newspaper as she walked past. Continuing to the elevator, she left the floor, and left the door to her office wide open.

Joe simply sat there, enjoying the arid wind blowing on him for a minute, before he could feel beads of sweat form on his forehead. It was always one problem after another, but as he wiped the sweat, he figured it was a better alternative to freezing.

Trying to get back to work was far more difficult than Joe had anticipated, with his now-sweaty fingers constantly slipping on the keys. Sweat stinging his eyes didn't exactly help either, and he was beginning to think that maybe freezing to death wasn't such a bad alternative.

“Good to see you're hard at work.” Ann stated, having reappeared out of nowhere.

Joe silently thanked Ann's reappearance, knowing it would lead to the door closing, and less overwhelming heat.

“Now, Joe, I'm doing what's known as a “Side-By-Side”. I'll be observing your work while sitting next to you, and taking notes on things you need to improve. Assuming I brought enough paper, it'll all be over soon. Understand?” Ann explained.

Then, she frowned. She expected an immediate response, and Joe was frozen in place, not making any movements.

Like the day before, a swift kick to the bottom of Joe's chair, and it was launched upward, ruining the time he'd spent lowering its height at the start of his shift. Unlike the day before, there was no soft, ample ceiling to catch Joe, and the speed at which he accelerated shot him a few inches upward once his seat had reached its maximum height.

Had he seen it coming, Joe would have asked her not to, but she was too fast for him to properly get a handle on the situation. That and, truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure she'd have listened anyway.

“Now.” Ann began, clearing her throat. “I SAID, Do. You. Understand. Little. Boy?” She asked again, a pronounced venom in her tone.

“Y-Yes ma'am!” Joe squeaked, the fear in his voice plainly evident. Being around her in a work scenario was stressful enough, but how was he going to deal with her scrutiny over every single action he took? He'd need to do all he could in his meager power to shift her into a good mood. Preferably sooner, rather than later.

Folding her hands over her prodigious chest, Ann turned and walked back into her office. Before Joe could breathe a sigh of relief though, she returned, wheeling along a large, leather chair. Setting it next to Joe's own seat, she sat down, and made the first notes on her clipboard.

“Now, Joey. It is Joey, right?”

“Y-Yes ma'am.” he answered, astonished that there was a hint of questioning to her tone.

“Okay. Now, Joey. Call me old fashioned, but I like to look people in the eye when I'm speaking with them. So, how about you quit playing around, and raise your seat up further.” Ann said, her eyes peeking down over the clipboard.

“My chair is raised...” Joe almost whispered, worried that the side-by-side was off to a bad start already.

“Hm? What was that?” Ann asked, lowering her clipboard and not looking pleased.

“M-My chair is... is as high as it will g-go.” Joe stuttered apologetically.

Ann frowned. Then, sighing heavily, she leaned to the side, and felt around for a lever on her own chair. Upon finding it, she lifted it, and lowered her own chair's height. The difference in their statures was still present, with Ann being a full head taller than Joe, but it was at least an improvement.

“I'm sorry.” Joe said sadly. He felt like a failure, seeing how low her chair was and still being unable to make eye contact without craning his neck up.

“So,” Ann began again, ignoring Joe's apology while she leaned back in her seat. “Let's begin with what's important. Your output stinks. Have you been having any issues with the work, systems, or anything like that?” She asked, sucking on the end of her pen.

“N-No ma'am! Everythin-”

“Joe, do you consider me a friend?” Ann asked, interrupting Joe.

Remembering back to his first day of work, the answer came to Joe quickly.

“N-No! You're my employer! Not my friend!” Joe nearly shouted.

“And you'll do anything I say?” Ann said, her stern expression softening.

“Yes!” Joe replied dutifully.

“Good. Now relax, and feel free to call me Ann.” She said, pointing her pen at Joe.

“R-Right! Everything's okay here, Mrs. Ann!” Joe said, panicking as he said her name aloud.

“It's Miss.” Ann said, writing on her clipboard for a moment. “Still, that's good to hear. You saw your business collapse, and get purchased by us. I assume you're aware of what actions may be taken if your output doesn't improve?” Ann asked, sticking the pen back between her lips.

Joe nodded his head slowly, watching as Ann stretched her long legs up, placing them on the lip of the desk. He could tell that inches away, her feet were swaying back and forth, but he forced his eyes to stay focused on Ann and her clipboard.

“I understand.” Joe almost whispered, his will faltering as he darted his eyes in the direction of her feet. For the first time since he'd started working here, Ann was wearing shoes, disappointing him greatly. Compounding that disappointment, they weren't even open-toed, though the shoes were at least low cut, offering him an eyeful of toe cleavage.

It was all he had, and he couldn't turn away.

“Glad you understand. Though, I must say, the temperature of the floor is much cooler than my office, and I feel like my feet could use some air. Would you mind?” Ann asked, lifting a shoe even closer to Joe's face.

Joe's heart stopped, if only for a moment. He replayed the request over and over in his mind, not sure how to handle it. Her long, thick legs were crossed, and those huge feet were bouncing in place hypnotically.

“Don't tell me your incompetence runs that deep.” Ann stated, annoyed. “The shoes, Joe. Take my shoes off for me, I would appreciate some air.”

Gulping hard, Joe gripped the seat of his chair tightly, bouncing it closer to the edge of the desk.

“I'm waiting...” Ann said impatiently.

Finding it difficult to breathe again, Joe brought his hands to the solitary strap around Ann's ankle and paused. Her smooth, tanned skin contrasted with his own tiny, pale extremities, affecting Joe's grip on his sanity. A quick mental comparison made it look like both of his hands combined couldn't wrap around one of her strong, thick ankles. Yet he, this small, pathetic man, was being tasked with removing the footwear of a Goddess.

Joe's heart pounded. Moving both of his hands to the rather sizable leather clasp on the shoe, he dug his fingers into the leather strap. Seconds passed before he finally felt it budge just an inch. Though overjoyed with finally making progress, he removed his hands and blew on his sore fingers. The clasp was thick and strong, probably to keep such a huge, beautiful foot in place. However, it wasn't entirely unshakable.

Cracking his knuckles, Joe prepared to give it another shot. One hand held down the clasp while the other pulled at the strap, loosening it slowly. It was rough work, but the quiet squeaking of leather sliding on leather was proof he was making progress. The difficult task served as a reminder to the reason Joe worked here at all, with his inability to perform manual labor.

Sitting up straight in his seat, Joe leaned forward, and, using all the leverage he had, finally managed to pull the strap free of its prison, loosening the shoe. He wanted to celebrate over a job well done, before remembering he was only halfway through. The idea that his prize would be revealed in a matter of seconds was enough for him to push the thoughts of celebration away and refocus his attention.

Moving one hand to the shoe's toe, and the other to the short, chunky heel, Joe pulled back with all his might, smiling as he felt the satisfying pop of the heel coming loose. The urge to simply drop the shoe and slather her with praise was steadily rising, but he'd have to finish the job first. A moment later, he successfully slipped the toes free from their shiny, black, leather prison, and they scrunched and stretched in satisfaction, like an animal released from captivity.

“Place that shoe in the corner of your desk, will you?” Ann asked, waving her foot in the crisp, chilled air while Joe did as he was told. “However, that took far too long. I'll handle the other, to spare you the embarrassment you'd bring upon yourself if you did it.” She added, making a note on the clipboard, before resting it in her lap.

Joe watched in disappointment as Ann leaned forward, and, using only one hand, quickly loosened the other shoe's strap. Only a second later, the shoe was kicked from her foot in Joe's general direction.

Joe knew he wasn't strong. He knew he was small, and easily taken advantage of. He knew of his place in the world, and had come to accept it over his life. Still, he had never felt smaller and weaker than he did when Ann so effortlessly slipped her other shoe off. He'd spent upwards of a minute removing the first one, and even had to stop for a break partway through.

Two fingers and a couple of seconds were all it took for her to loosen that strap and slip the shoe from her foot. While dumbfounded by the entire thing, he did as was expected of him, moving the discarded shoe into the corner of the desk.

Then, Joe spotted something.

A tiny black sugar ant was crawling along his desk. Could it have been the same one from the day before? The one he released in the carpet? It seemed like an awfully big leap of logic, but it was still only a single ant, and not a small group. What was it doing here again now? Was it making a move for his lunch? That could be a problem, as there was a major obstacle in between the tiny ant and his food, and it consisted of ten eagerly wiggling toes.

“Excuse me while I get a bit more comfortable, Joe.” Ann said, setting her bare feet on the desk flat and pulling herself closer to the edge. Her movements pushed Joe aside, but he was solely focused on the tiny life directly in Ann's path.

He thought of how he looked to the ant. A huge, powerful being that could end the ants life simply. The ant couldn't stop him even if it desperately wanted to. However, Joe, with all his comparable might was but a drop in the ocean of power wielded by Ann.

He watched the ant scurry along the desk, imagining himself in that position. The desk was wide, and musky from the scent of Ann's feet, which hovered overhead like the sword of Damocles. A humiliating death beneath those huge, beautiful, powerful, perfect feet was imminent, but still the ant scurried. Stopping in its tracks, it had seemingly become aware that it could no longer cover the necessary distance to escape. Scuttling in a new direction was no use, as the feet were were beginning to lower, and press into the ant's frail body. The toes completely covered the ant, concealing its fate, though it was obvious there was no way out.

The ten toes splayed on Joe's desk for a moment before tensing up, and bringing the rest of Ann's huge body closer. It had literally just happened, but the scene was already replaying in his mind.

Did ants have feelings? What sort of tortures had she submitted the ant to with so careless a move? He imagined the soles of Ann's feet like a tremendous graveyard, littered with thousands of bugs whose lives she had so casually ended while living her own. Friends, family members, everyone he'd ever known was nothing before Ann's warm feet. They were all meaningless, existing only to be crushed under those feet. Unnoticed, as she made the slightest movements.

Blinking suddenly, Joe realized he had seriously been drawing parallels between himself and the ant. He sheepishly looked at Ann, who appeared even bigger and more intimidating than she ever had before. It was all in his head though, right? There was no way she could have actually gotten bigger, could she? People don't just grow on a whim. It takes time, months, years. That's the only way, right? Then why did she look so much bigger? Maybe he was shrin-

“Now, Joe, as I stated earlier, you've been performing quite poor.” Ann said, releasing Joe from his maddening thoughts as she lifted her feet vertically again. “So, I have a serious question to ask. What exactly are your goals in this company?” She asked, putting down her clipboard, and sucking on the pen again.

“I... I want to... have... career.” Joe gasped, his mind frayed as he noticed a change in Ann's feet.

Stuck to the huge, wrinkled surfaces was a tiny, almost unnoticeable passenger. Like a man stranded in the middle of a desert, the ant had stuck to Ann's foot, crushed into a small ball. The only thing the ant had amounted to was a temporary decoration, adorning the monolithic foot of the Goddess that had ended its life. Again Joe's thoughts went off the deep end, and found himself actively afraid of Ann's gigantic presence all over again.

“A career? Here? Well, even though you're not doing too well, I like that attitude my little Joey.” Ann said, smiling. “But, there are a few things you should know.” Ann explained, leaning back in her seat, and flexing her feet on the desk.

“O-Oh?” Joe squeaked out, watching the ant's body disappear into a wrinkle of the sole, before reappearing when Ann stopped clenching her toes.

“Right now, you're new to this company.” Ann began, ruffling Joe's hair. “That means you're at the bottom of the ladder, and the food chain. You're a small, tiny, pathetic, speck of an ant. All alone in this great big world.”

Joe's heart skipped a beat. She'd mentioned an ant. Had she seen it? Was it just coincidence? What if she kn-

“You've got to put time and dedication into this job, if you're going to move up.” Ann said, punctuating each point with a wave of her feet, making a mockery of the ant's final resting place. “Who knows, maybe one day you'll be like me, Joe. You'll command respect wherever you go... though I suppose in your case it would be for position only, and not, well, you know.” Ann said, offering what looked to be a genuine smile.

Silence. Joe couldn't bring himself to respond, wondering where Ann was going with her speech while simultaneously being fascinated by her foots movements.

“Joey, how tall are you?” Ann asked, tilting her head to look down at the man.

“F-Four foot six...” Joe said, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Was she trying to be friendly with him? Or was she going to use it to make fun of him? He just didn't know anymore.

“Seven foot eight.” Ann stated, crossing her legs. “The two of us, sitting here... We're quite the pair, aren't we?” Ann said softly, lowering a hand to ruffle Joe's hair. After a long pause, she continued, “Anyway, make sure to improve your work, Joe. Keep working hard, and who knows, maybe you won't always be the tiny vulnerable ant you are now. Maybe one day you'll escape your inevitable fate of being trod on by your superiors! It all depends on how much work you're willing to put into it. Understand?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. I'm glad we had this talk Joey, we can speak again tomorrow during your first week's evaluation.” Ann said, before opening her mouth wide and licking her palm. “Let me fix your hair.” She added, using her wet palm to slick back Joe's ruffled hair.

With that, Ann stood, stretching, and providing Joe with quite the eyeful as her tremendous body seemed to expand in place. Then, picking up her clipboard, and dragging her chair behind her, she walked back into her office, closing the door behind her.

Joe sat in silence, his heart pounding. He could feel the moisture in his hair drying already, but his mind was on other matters. She had to have noticed the ant. Had she crushed it only to make a point? He was sure he'd seen the ant twitch too. Was that on purpose? The image of the ant embedded in her sole was one he was sure he'd never forget, and she'd just walked off like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

A cold sweat formed on Joe's forehead.

Turning back to his desk, Joe saw both of her shoes laying there in the corner. She'd not bothered to pick them up when she left, and now they were in his possession.

Slowly, carefully, he reached a hand out, and tipped a shoe to the side. Embedded in the insole, five thick toes, leading smoothly into a large sole. The number “22” was emblazoned in the center, shocking Joe. The shoes had to be custom made, surely women's shoe sizes didn't come that big?

On top of all that, they definitely carried a bit of her scent too. Joe wanted nothing more than to strap the shoe to his face like a mask and breathe in deeply. His rational side won out though, and as he moved his hands back to the keyboard, he forcibly reminded himself over and over of the simple reason he couldn't.

“It's too much of a risk...” Joe said to himself, displaying more willpower than someone as weak as him should have.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Ann never returned for her shoes, but the thought that she could at any moment, was enough to stay Joe's hand. Still, the slight bit of her scent he could gleam from his distance was more than enough for him, and he spent the entire day taking deep, long-lasting breaths, and constantly adjusting his pants, to avoid any awkward questions.

At 8:00 P.M., Joe gathered his belongings, almost forgetting to stop his hand when he'd reached for one of Ann's shoes. As he walked out the door, his mind replayed the things he'd seen today. He'd seen firsthand just how powerful Ann was over both himself and an innocent insect. However, she also seemed far friendlier at the end of their meeting. Maybe she was going to stop the intimidating giantess act, and extend the olive branch of friendship.

Or maybe she was just setting him up for an even greater failure?

“Seven feet. Eight inches. Wow.” Joe said to himself as he reached his blue sedan.

Despite, or maybe because of all this, Joe's infatuation grew deeper still. Tomorrow would be Friday, and his last work day for the week. While two days off of work were always a good thing, it also meant he'd be without Ann for two days straight.

Closing his eyes, Joe meditated a moment, clearing his mind. He reminded himself that he had family awaiting him at home, and he could spend time with them over the weekend.

Still, spending time around Ann would have been vastly preferable.

Finally starting his vehicle, Joe left the parking lot, going home.
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