While Trent was fiddling with the ring, he saw someone step out of Mr. Derby's office. It was Kirsty, a female co-worker of his in her late 20s. She has been at Zephyr Inc. for several years and knows in and outs of this corporate infrastructure. She was a hard-working yet easily approachable person to be with. In fact, she was the one who taught Trent the basics of dealing with clients and handling import/export contracts. Even though Trent had no special feelings for her, he did admit that Kirsty was quite the looker. She was a redhead with a slim figure and curves at just the right proportions. To be honest, this was expected because she keeps a very healthy vegetarian diet, a habit that she tried to persuade others to join. Today, she was wearing a black skirt suit with a navy blue blouse underneath. After closing the door, she headed out of the office space and into the hallway.
At first, Trent did not give much of a second thought of Kirsty, as he wasn't attracted to her the way he was with Mr. Derby. However, the more he thought about the merging ring, the more he thought that Kirsty could be an interesting test subject. He could certainly use Kirsty's experience in work to further his position in the company. Also, inheriting Kirsty's physical appeal could cause Mr. Derby to be more attracted in him. He would notice Mr. Derby stealing glances at Kirsty from his office during the work day and would find himself envious for Mr. Derby's attention. Perhaps Mr. Derby was more interested in females than males and that stating "that Trent's position in the power hierarchy" was a simple excuse for an answer to Trent's affections. Firmly deciding on testing the ring on Kirsty, Trent got up from his desk to follow her into the hallway.
Hoping not to lose her, Trent briskly walked down the hallway. Luckily, Kirsty was just a couple steps down at the moment. He caught up to call Kirsty. Kirsty turned back to look at Trent.
"Hey, Trent! What a surprise you came to talk to me today. How has work been?"
"Oh, it's been good so far. So..um.. listen, I happen to stumble across a tough decision about the contract with one of my clients, and I'm not sure if I handled it correctly. Could I talk to you for a few minutes in private?"
"Sure thing! I'll be happy to help! Let me check if the break room is open right now." Kirsty turned toward the room at the end of the hallway. The break room was essentially a small open space for people to enjoy a peaceful lunch or a short afternoon break for a quick coffee. The decor was built with feng shui in mind, as several Asian clients visit the office building for business errands. Kirsty peered into the room, and after confirming that no one else was in the room, she waved Trent into the room. After Trent stepped in, Kirsty closed the door behind her.
Walking over to the counter next to the fridge, Kirsty grabbed a plastic cup before opening the fridge to pull out a pitcher of kale juice. Kirsty would always prepare a fresh quart of juice every day to bring to work as part of her healthy diet. After pouring the juice into the cup, she glanced at Trent to ask, "Hey, want some?"
Trent respectfully declined, as he remembered that his first experience with kale juice was quite unpleasant. "It's ok. I'll just stick with coffee."
Returning to a seat at a table, Kirsty said with a somewhat disappointing tone, "I know it doesn't taste good, but it really has a lot of vitamins and minerals good to your health." She slowly drank the juice at the table. "So, what was the tough situation you faced?"
Trent initially froze at that question, as he didn't fabricate a phony problem in hand. He contemplated telling the truth, that he really was here to test the merging ring. But Kirsty was such a "down-to-earth" person that Trent doubts that she would believe him. It might just be easier to try it without informing her. Plus, it would save him the hassle of spending time to explain, as someone could enter the break room at any time...
Trent got up from his chair and said, "Let me get a coffee first. And then we'll discuss." As he made his way to the counter, he turned back to make sure that Kirsty wasn't watching what he was about to do. He slowly removed the silver ring from his pocket. Rubbing it, he secretly hoped that it would work, despite lingering doubts about it. Remembering the instructions from the Sri Lankan client, he quickly turned back to hug Kirsty tightly around the neck while issuing the command to the ring. The sudden touch led Kirsty to drop the cup of juice on the floor.
"Woah Trent, what are you doing?..." Kirsty exclaimed, before looking back only to barely recognize Trent's figure. Trent was slowly melting into a gel-like form, which is caressing Kirsty's neck. Kirsty could feel the area around her neck warming up. As for Trent, he felt a warm sensation pulsating through his form. His mind was filled with both shock and excitement, as he didn't expect his form to change like this but was excited for the possibilities that exist with the ring. Slowly, Trent felt his senses fading away as white pleasure enveloped him. For Kirsty, she was about to scream when she realized that her vocal cords, along with her neck, were beginning to melt as well. Her form slowly joins Trent's into a gelatin-like blob at the small round table.