James blinked. Meredith was playing with... a dog. Yeah, that made sense. What had he been thinking about before hand? It didn't matter.
"That's a cute dog you've got there. What's its name?"
"Oh, her name's Nikki. Do you want to play with her?" Meredith said with a smirk.
"Absolutely. Here Nikki, here Nikki." he patted his knees, enticing his hypnotized coworker.
He had completely forgotten that he had come here with Nicola and although Nicola hadn't actually transformed, he only saw a large brown dog. Nicola, now going by Nikki, happily trotted up to him, and gave him some dog kisses.
Meredith couldn't figure something out. Why was Nicola acting like a dog? The suggestions she had received from James were barely related to dogs, but Nicola had adopted the role completely. Meredith enjoyed the humiliation aspects, but it was clear that something unusual had happened. Still, that gave her several ideas. She let the coworkers play for an almost an hour, while she prepared some devilish new torments for Nicola.
After her preparations, she needed to remove the source of magic.
"James, don't you think you should take off that costume?" James looked at his clothes. He had forgotten all about being her model, so he apologized and headed to the changing rooms.
Now it was time for the fun part. "Nicola. Heel." Meredith snapped her fingers, bringing Nicola back into her hypnotic trance.
"You like being a dog, don't you?" Meredith still wasn't sure why this was the case, but she knew she could exploit it.
Meanwhile, the Nikki side of her personality had taken over Nicola.
"Yes, I love being a dog." droned Nicola, blissfully unaware of what she was saying.
"But you're a human woman, aren't you?" Meredith wondered if anything of Nicola was left.
"Y-yes, I'm... I'm human." Her normal personality was struggling to resurface.
"But you love being a dog." Meredith wanted to make sure that command was enforced.
"I love being a dog." Her previous words were iron logic in this hypnotized state.
"Are you embarrassed by that desire?" Meredith queried.
"Y-yes. I'm embarrassed by it." Once again, Nicola's original personality was trying to resurface. She wasn't supposed to be a dog. She was...
"But you want to be one anyway." Meredith interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes. I want to be a dog." Nicola's words continued to haunt her. She wasn't supposed to be a dog, but she loved being one. What was wrong with her?
Meredith had her in the palm of her hand. "That's why I'm here to help."
Nicola's thoughts were raging. She wasn't a dog, then why did she want to be a dog. Her mind felt like it might explode.
"You have so many thoughts running through your head. So many dog thoughts that you can't act on."
They entered her brain, one after another. Pissing on fire hydrants. Barking at mailmen. Chasing after cats. So many things she couldn't do. She would die of embarrassment if she did them.
"You desperately need to act on them."
"Yes." It was driving her insane. She desperately wanted to give in, but she couldn't.
"That's why you will buy this." Meredith held up a dog collar.
The tag glistened in the light, and Nicola instantly wanted to wear it. But no, she couldn't wear something like that.
"This is a magic collar. When you wear it, everyone will believe you are a dog."
Somehow, Nicola could sense it was true.
"While you wear it, all your embarrassment will vanish. It will be incredibly easy to be a dog."
She desperately imagined that. It was too good to be true. What if she never turned human again?
"When you take the collar off, everyone will see you as human."
That was some relief, but Nicola feared the power would be intoxicating. She worried that if she ever took the collar off, she would put it right back on again.
"Wearing the collar will help you relax. Giving in to your instincts on occasion will help you control them. Bottling them up will only make them more powerful."
Nicola knew the witch's words were true. She had to learn to control her instincts. The collar would help her do that.
"Do you want to be a good dog?"
"Yes." Nicola said the words, nearly climaxing at the thought.
"A good dog needs a master. It needs someone to take care of it."
She imagined herself going on a walk, leash attached to her collar, not a care in the world. It would be a dream come true.
"Your coworker, James, wants a dog. Do you want to be James' dog?"
She imagined him playing with her, not realizing that they had been doing just that this past hour. "Yes"
"I've made it so that he won't be concerned that his dog vanishes frequently. When you put on the collar, everyone will see you as his dog."
Nicola merely nodded, amazed at the witch's power.
"Now, as for your payment, it will be in 3 parts. I have already taken the cost of the orb you carelessly broke, and of the pet supplies James is buying from your bank account. In addition, the monetary cost of this magic collar will not be cheap. However, I'm sure you can afford it."
Nicola nodded. Her parents had a fair amount of money.
"Second, I must have control over you. If your instincts over power you, I must be your line of last resort. I will be your master. Do you understand?"
"Yes, master." She would do practically anything for this power.
"As your master, I order you to come back here after one week, and tell me all about your life as a dog."
"Of course, master."
"But most importantly, you must accept your new life. Do you want a new life as a dog?"
"Yes, master."
"Do dogs wear clothes?"
Without a word, Nicola stripped buck naked.
"Do you see what is written on your collar's tag?" Meredith held the tag up to the woman's face.
"Nikki, property of James."
"Who are you?" the witch demanded.
"Nikki, property of James."
"Are you a human woman named Nicola?" It was Nicola's last chance to back out.
"No. I am a dog named Nikki." Nikki responded.
"Very well Nikki. Put on your collar."
Nikki put it on, falling to all fours.
"Your new life begins once you speak. Now Nikki, Speak!"
"Woof!"