I was about ready to make for the door at that time, declaring that this man was just a crazy old coot who somehow managed to hack my computer or something. Instead of doing that though, I just sat there, staring at him. I guess that there was just this part of me that wanted to believe him.
"So... I suppose you'd like a demonstration now, huh?" he said warmly.
"A... a what?" I asked.
"A demonstration! You know, to show you what I can do, hahaha," he said. "So tell me, I'm sure you've had dreams when you were a kid where you transformed into some kind of animal or whatever. Just tell me, one snap of my finger, and voila! Of course, I'll only make it temporary, hahaha. Wouldn't want people to worry!"
It was obvious that he was trying to make me feel more comfortable around him by adding those jokes, but they only managed to make me feel worse. Strangely though, I caught myself thinking of my childhood dreams. I was really thinking about this seriously? Nah, I thought I just wanted take him up on his bluff. "I... have dreamt of uh... being a cat once," I blurted out.
"Ah, a cat person, huh? Alright then! One cat-spell coming right up," he said with a smile. Sure enough, like he said, he snapped his finger. Up until that point, I was still under the impression that he was just trying to scare me but then, suddenly, it hit me.
I looked down at my hands and noticed that it was starting to get a bit... hairy. My whole arms started getting covered in fur. I looked up at him with wide eyes. He was being serious! I really was turning into a cat! I started to shrink in size too as my legs, too, got all furry. My clothes got way too big for me now, but seeing as I was quickly getting covered in fur, that didn't really matter anymore. I wanted to scream out in panic, but I soon found that all that would come out of my mouth were cute meows! I felt a strange nudging sensation coming from my behind then, and when I looked around (which I noticed I could do really well all of a sudden), I noticed I'd sprouted a cat's tail too! In a matter of mere seconds, I'd actually really gone from a normal human being to a cat. I wasn't dreaming this. This was real!
"Hahaha, I suppose you believe me now, eh miss Greane?" he said with a smile.
I managed to crawl out of my shirt and bra that I'd gotten entangled in and I just sat there, looking at Gregory, meowing in protest.
"I'll transform you back now then," he chuckled again. This man loved chuckling! Once again, he snapped his fingers and, before I knew it, I was a human again! I looked down at myself to confirm that and sure enough, I was back to normal, and, thankfully, wearing my clothes again!
I quickly stood up then. "What the actual fuck!" I shouted. "This is... how... I was really... "
"Please, miss Greane, sit down! There's no need to shout or get mad," Gregory said calmly.
"How can I sit down normally after this?! You turned me into a bloody cat!" I shouted.
"Ah, but you can't claim here that you didn't enjoy being a cat, huh?" He said.
"I... I..." I stammered. "That has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, but it does! And I assure you, there are many more people, like you, who enjoy transformations like that. Why do you think I made this shop in the first place?"
"But... wait, so people actually come here to be... transformed?"
"Yes, yes they do! Some of them temporarily, some of them permanently, but yes, they do come here for that! Well, that, and some of the other services we offer here."
I was speechless now. I had no idea what to do or say at this point.
"So now you're probably wondering why I sent this advertisement to you specifically. Well, there's a pretty good reason for that. I wonder, do you have a job by any chance?" he asked me.
"... Wait, what?" I asked baffled.
"You heard me. I'm looking to hire some people for this shop here, and you are just the kind of person I'm looking for!"
"... what?" I said again, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I did say you were special. Wouldn't you like to find out in what way? I can show you many things if you accept my offer! It pays quite handsomely too if you ask me," he said with another one of his chuckles. "If not, well, then we'll just pretend this meeting never happened. No problems and no questions asked. So, what say you?"