Janine took the vial of serum and stared at it for a moment, transfixed by the thoughts of a dream come true. She snapped back to reality at the sound of her boss' voice.
"What brought you into my office after normal closing time anyway?" wondered Cleo, still watching from the edge of the pool.
"I don't even remember now." She closed the safe. "Thank you, Ms. Delfine. Your secret is safe with me. I'll leave you to your pool. Have a wonderful weekend."
Janine hurried out of the office.
"Be sure to lock the door behind you" she heard Cleo say and Janine complied.
With the door shut and locked again, Cleo let out a deep breath and let herself sink back into the water of her office pool. Cleo hoped she could trust her assistant with the secret she had kept for so long. What had kept Janine late and brought her into Cleo's locked office: just concern for her boss, an important report, or something nefarious? There was nothing to do now that she was in mermaid form; she would worry about her assistant more when she was human again after the full moon.
---
On a Friday after 5, the office was empty now except for Janine. She hurried to her desk and put the vial into her purse. After scribbling a few quick notes for Monday's work, she shut down her office computer and hurried for the door.
The drive home was agonizingly long. As soon as the front door was shut behind her, she kicked off her heels, pulled out the vial out of her purse, and drank the serum.
It tasted not unlike seawater. Janine stood there for a moment holding the vial and nothing seemed to happen. Then suddenly she doubled over, her insides feeling like they were twisting. After less than a minute, her legs buckled underneath her and she fell on her living room floor. The gutwrenching sensation seemed to pass and she tried to stand, but failed as her legs would no longer support her weight. Her pants began to rip and she cursed her impulsiveness that was costing her a good business suit. She could feel her legs drawing together. Her feet burst through her pantyhose, revealing toes that had fused together and green scaley splotches beginning to appear all over her feet. She writhed on the ground, legs spasming uncontrollably as they merged. Janine felt pressure on her chest and soon her bra snapped as the transformation grew her breasts by what she guesssed was a cup size.
Finally the changes finished, leaving her gasping for air in exhaustion. Laying there in her ripped blouse and shredded pants, Janine caught sight of a green fish tail where her feet had been. She was a classic mermaid. Now to get somewhere better than her living room floor...