Finally satisfied with his makeshift timepiece, Tyler quickly drove off to work in order to rendezvous with the rest of his traveling team. It seemed that he took more time than he expected in getting his watch, so he hastily parked his car and hurriedly ascended the steps to his office building.
Waiting in front of the elevators, Tyler was secretly begging for them to arrive sooner when he heard a familiar voice rom behind. A glance back revealed one of his close colleagues, Rebecca. Despite being almost a decade younger, Rebecca quickly rose the ranks to be a regional supervisor, overseeing some of the main operations of the firm. Sometimes, Tyler would feel a tinge of jealousy whether he was reminded of her success, but one cute smile from the beautiful brunette was enough to melt his ill-mannered thoughts away. Today, she had let her silky hair down, presenting an even more youthful appearance. Coupled with her stylish blue blazer and light brown skirt, she could easily be mistaken as a run-of-the-mill low-ranking secretary.
"Good morning, Tyler! How are you today?" Rebecca asked in her typical cheery tone.
"I'm good. Just getting to work as usual," Tyler replied, hiding his impatience for the time being. Even though he was already in his 30s, he would still feel bashful around her, always wanting to present his best.
Rebecca gave one of her iconic smiles before the elevator ding finally arrived. Tyler took this opportunity to quickly turn away and hide his soft blush, as he allowed Rebecca to enter the elevator first.
"Fifth floor, right?" Rebecca asked as she operated the buttons.
"Ye..yes," he answered, still trying to hide his blush.
"Oh right... isn't today the day you go visit that firm again? Man, they sure are a handful," she said with a slight chuckle.
"Yes. They can be very stringent at times," Tyler laughed along, glad that he could occupy his mind with something else for the time being.
"But if that's the case, how come you're coming here today? I thought you guys should be flying."
"We still have to finish preparing the paperwork. Apparently, one of the interns messed up one of the tables."
"I see. Well, good luck today! We are all depending on you guys!" Rebecca beamed.
Just then, a low-pitched rumble vibrated from Rebecca's direction. Tyler faced her only to notice that she tightly hugged her handbag across her midsection in a shy manner. She replied softly, "Oh...it must have been my alarm uh... from my meeting yesterday. I must have forgotten to turn it or something. Haha..."
Tyler stared at her quizzically. It was rare to see Rebecca so sheepish like that. Was she hiding something? "Well, not that it really matters to me," Tyler thought as he casually looked at his watch to diffuse the awkward silence. Of course, he immediately noticed that the hands were not moving. With an annoyed look, he adjusted the crown to match the current time. "7:59..., that should be right." With a final confirmation, he pressed down the crown. What ensued was a huge flood of light emanating throughout the elevator as Tyler was quickly blinded for a moment.
When his vision returned, Tyler found himself back in the elevator. The elevator door opened, and the person who walked past him was...himself?! Tyler instinctively grabbed the arm of his "double" out of surprise. The person looked back, saying "What do you need?" No doubt that was his face, his voice, his mannerism. Tyler found himself dumbstruck as he stood in silence. The man released the grip an replied, "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I really have to hurry. See you later!" He waved and walked off as the elevator doors shut.
"Wait...was that...me?" Tyler spoke for the first time, equally shocked that his voice was higher-pitched than he expected. "Am I hallucinating?" He placed his hands on his head only to notice that he was grasping a lot more hair than usual. Unlike his coarse hair, this hair was smoother...and smells nicer, like a vanilla scent. Even his hands felt smaller and sleeker. His fingernails were long and painted salmon pink. The sleeves on his arms were no longer the grey he wore this morning. Instead, they were a more vibrant blue, slightly rolled up to reveal some of his pearl smooth skin. The yellow collared shirt was now replaced with a low-cut white blouse that could barely contain the large lumps on his chest. Tyler gave a couple caresses to those globs of tissue that looked foreign but felt personal. Actually, it felt sensual, erotic even. Unexpectedly, Tyler felt something pooling between his legs, which were now encased in soft nylons with a darker shade of brown. His buttocks and thighs were bounded by a light brown skirt that likewise, could barely contain its contents. His ankles were arched higher due to black heels he now wore. Tyler could only come to one conclusion.
"Am I...Rebecca?" There was no verbal response, but his high-pitched timbre seemed to answer his suspicions. That, and the name tag hanging from his lanyard displayed Rebecca's portrait and information. Giving another scan of his new body, he noticed that on his slim wrist lie not only a small black bracelet but also the watch he bought this morning. The watch hands remained stuck at 7:59. "Could it be that this watch...is magical?" Tyler thought. "I remember that the bright light happened right after I adjusted the watch, and I ended up here, with my watch on this wrist."
The elevator doors opened once more, revealing an elegantly decorated hallway. Of course, that was to be expected, as it was exclusive to the supervisors and managers. As soon as Tyler stepped out, almost stumbling in his heels, he heard the same rumble from before. This time though, Tyler knew exactly what it was, as he quickly addressed it.