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Saga of the Secretary Chapter 1: Horrible News and Slim Hopes For BigChris69 By Draconicon

Topaz stepped out of the clinic without knowing where she was going. The wolftaur's legs carried her down the sidewalk, mechanically, slowly. Everyone passing by bumped into her, but she was barely aware of it, one word ringing through her mind again and again with each step she took.

Cancer...

Her hands twitched, some instinct trying to draw them to her chest, where the tumors had been found. Tumors. More than one. So many more than one.

"We're sorry, but there's nothing we can do except give you the painkillers to make it through the last month or so. We're so sorry."

The first tear began running down the side of her cheek, and it was followed by many more. Topaz was vaguely aware that she looked like a cheetah with the stripes running down her cheeks, past her muzzle to drip off of her chin, but she couldn't bring herself to care. That one word, cancer, just kept hitting her, ringing through her mind like the blow of a hammer off of an anvil.

Her legs carried her by sheer habit from the clinic across the city. No steps down to the subway, no getting out of the way of the cars shooting down the streets. She felt like a zombie as she moved, almost shuffling rather than walking from the shock of it all.

Cancer...how...how could it get this far?

Earlier that day...

Topaz held her hands over her breasts as the nurses took away the exam robe she had been wearing. It was only partially for modesty; her breasts had been stinging for weeks before she could get an appointment at the clinic to get herself checked, and the only real relief she got was to hold them and support them in a way that bras didn't.

She shuffled her back legs as the nurse handed her the button-up shirt that she'd worn coming in, and waited until she had the room to herself to pull the shirt on.

"Ugh..."

Even letting go of her breasts for the short time it took to put the shirt on stung, feeling like they were somehow tugging on her spine, and not just out of weight. The wolftaur shook her head, buttoning the shirt as tightly as she could, and hoping that the support would take some of the pain away.

It didn't, but it was worth trying.

The doctor stepped in a few minutes later, and she sat her rear down on the floor, letting her lower body sit a bit like a dog would as she crossed her arms. Even that little bit of support did something.

"So..."

"Topaz, I'm afraid I have some very bad news."

"What - It's not -"

"You have breast cancer."

Her whole body shook, her front legs almost collapsing under her at the word nobody ever wanted to hear. She shook her head, trying to pull herself together.

"When can we start the chemo?"

"It's too late for that. It's spread -"

"Surgery, then?"

"...Topaz, I need you to calm down."

"Doctor, I need to -"

"There's nothing we can do."

She froze in mid-gesture, staring at the cheetah. The words felt like they took forever to actually be processed, and she slowly shook her head.

"What do you mean...nothing you can do? You're a doctor. You're supposed to help me."

He shook his head.

"The cancer must have been spreading for a while. Taurs are almost always more at risk for things like this, because their bodies don't show signs of the stress until it's already a severe danger. We would have had to catch this several months ago to have a chance of treating it."

"Then..."

"It's already spread from your breasts into your lymph nodes, and from there to most of your body. Even with the highest chemo we could risk, we'd end up destroying what's left of you before we actually got rid of the tumors and the other cancer cells."

Her front legs finally gave out as the ramifications came crashing down on her. The doctors had already given up. There would be no help from them, no hope for her. She...

"We're sorry, but there's nothing we can do except give you some painkillers to make it through the last month or so. We're so sorry..."

"Topaz?"

The wolftaur looked up at the familiar voice. A vixen, a...a friend. She nodded.

"Vivian. Just...just getting back to my desk."

"Are you okay? You look -"

"Back...back to work."

She stepped around the boss' secretary, making her way down the hall towards her own office. It wasn't much of a walk, for which she was thankful. The wolftaur didn't know how much longer she could stay on her feet.

As she walked through the specially made door, she took a moment to stare at what had been her life for the past decade. The desk, the cupboard, the walls; everything was pristine, tidy, made to look as clean and as straight laced as possible. Every painting was on the same level as everything else, the frames precisely measured so that nothing was out of place and nothing stood out too much.

Her papers on her desk were in perfectly square piles, no sheet sticking out more than another.

Her pencils were laid in a little row, each one sharpened, none longer than another.

Her computer was asleep, the black screen a simple blot that kept everything private.

In short, it was efficient, and quiet, and never something to get more attention than it needed. Topaz slowly walked around her desk, stepping onto her raised cushion-bed that worked for her chair, and let her legs bend beneath her.

"What am I going to do?"

She was surprised to already have an answer. Efficiency for the company had to be preserved, of course. Mr. Jak deserved nothing less than that, and she had always been a loyal employee. He would need another personal assistant, of course, and with her having perhaps a month to live, she would need to start finding one quickly.

Her fingers were already at the board, her tears squelched as she unlocked her computer and started searching the different temp agencies. Resumes flashed before her eyes as she checked out the qualifications of those looking for a job, put some down, and pulled others up for more detail.

As she saved those that looked promising, she opened up a word program, beginning to type out her resignation letter. It was something she'd need to file with Mr. Jak, just so that he had the paperwork on file to make sure that the job didn't get double booked, in case she died in the middle of a pay period. It was better to be efficient. Better to be...to be...

The tears were coming back, and she had to stop halfway through the letter. Turning to her desk, she laid her head down in her arms, soft sobs getting past whatever she tried to muffle them.

I'm going to die...I'm going to die and nothing I can do can stop it...

The thought didn't scare her, but it did make her cry more. Admitting it, rather than hearing it, made it a little bit better. She was still terrified, but it meant that it was sinking in. Shock was passing.

Topaz had always been good about making decisions under stress. Working for Mr. Jak and keeping things from getting out of control with the public necessitated it. She had to make snap decisions about what the lawyers needed to be told, what the public needed to hear to keep the business flowing, what people were given by the company to keep up good will; all of it depended on her.

She was on autopilot, she knew, but it wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, she'd crash. Before she did...

I should tell him in person, Topaz thought. I should tell Mr. Jak in person about this. He deserves that much, rather than a letter.

But in a few minutes. After she'd cried her eyes out for a little bit longer. She deserved that much after working for him this long.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

The calm voice was the same as it always was. Topaz tried to take what strength she could from the sound of it, and stepped through the doorway.

"Sir, I have something...something important to talk about."

"Alright, Topaz. Come in and close the door."

She did, and wobbled a bit in the process. The motion bounced her around, and she hissed from the pain, from the reminder of how much support and help she would need before too much longer. How long before she couldn't come in to work? How long before she was completely useless, bedridden?

"Topaz?"

"One...one second, sir."

Taking a deep breath, Topaz slowly turned around. The blue and white lizard sat at his desk, wearing a white suit. Several reports were scattered about in front of him, but as she walked over, they seemed forgotten, all of his attention on her.

"Do you need -"

"I'm fine standing, sir."

"Alright."

He looked over his hands at her, and she felt him measuring, analyzing her. He had that same look whenever he was looking at one of the products of the company, determining if it would be of use or not, if he wanted it or not. As his mouth twitched, she had a feeling that she'd come up wanting.

"You're sick."

"That's...something of an understatement, sir."

"I imagine. How bad?"

"Cancer, sir...terminal."

"I...see."

Mr. Jak stood up and walked over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. Even though she was used to standing over almost everyone else at the company, Mr. Jak stood at least six inches taller than her, the powerful male able to give her a squeeze without having to stand on his tiptoes or even reach that high.

"Can you give me any more details?"

"It's...breast cancer, but it's already spread -"

"Your breasts? Someone has a horrible sense of humor."

She nodded slightly. Admittedly, they were more than a little large, something that a number of the men at the company stared at during most work days. It didn't bother her, but she knew that there'd be an outcry among them about the loss of them, if not at the loss of her.

"It's terminal, though. I...they said I should have come in months ago, and that it was too late for anything but painkillers now."

"Are you in pain?"

"A little. When I move, it feels like things are being...pulled."

Nodding, the lizard walked back to his desk, pulling out a little black book from one of his drawers. Topaz cleared her throat.

"I'm looking for a replacement for you now. I just wanted to let you know that you'll need a new assistant -"

"Don't make me laugh."

"...Sir?"

"There's always a way to fix these things. I'm not losing the best assistant that I've ever had."

"But...sir, they said it's terminal."

"You can listen to the doctors, if you want."

The lizard pulled out a business card from deep in the little black notebook, putting it down on the table. She only saw two letters on it. F.I.

"I prefer to listen to the best."

"Who is the best, sir?"

"The people I'm about to call. They're expensive, but...if anyone can save you, it's them. If you're willing to give it a shot."

She stared at the card, considering it more fully than she wanted to admit. There was no way that someone could actually save her now, she was sure. The clinic might have been a bit on the cheap side, but she'd been going to see that doctor for over two decades now. He'd seen her since she left her childhood behind, and knew everything there was to know about her body. There was no way that he'd get a diagnosis like this wrong.

More than that, she didn't dare hope. She had only begun accepting that she was going to die, and Topaz knew herself well enough that trying to hope for something, and then getting it dashed to pieces, would leave her unable to recover. There'd be no second chance to pull herself together.

At the same time...

There was something familiar about the initials. F.I. She had heard of it, a long time ago. It was involved with one of Mr. Jak's projects, though she couldn't remember which one. It had been one of the one-letter ideas, something like Project V or along those lines.

Whatever it had been, it had been a success, she remembered that much.

"I..."

Topaz swallowed. If there was any chance...

"I'm willing."

"Then I'll call them. Go home, and get yourself packed. I want to make sure that everything is ready for this."

Nodding, she walked back out the door, and started making her way to the elevator. Vivian looked up at her from the reception desk for the floor, and Topaz paused at her side.

"I'm...I'm not okay."

"What's wrong, Topaz? You can tell me."

"I..."

She bit her lip. Vivian was a newer employee, perhaps only here for six months. There was no need to get into the whole thing. Particularly as Mr. Jak had never mentioned F.I. to any of the other employees. Perhaps there was a reason for that. If so, she wouldn't break the secret.

"It's something that's being handled. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Are you sure? I just -"

"Take care, Vivian. Take care."

Topaz padded to the elevator and took it down. The walk through the lobby, the taxi ride back to her apartment, went by in a blur. She was halfway through packing her suitcase with what shirts, bras, and cloaks she had when she heard the beeping from down on the street level. The wolftaur walked over to the window, and looked out.

The limo was already there. Mr. Jak was as quick as ever.

"Come on, you don't want to be late, do you?"

"I'm coming, sir."

She made sure that the suitcase clicked together tightly before she went down the stairs again, walking through the front door. Despite the whole point of their trip, she felt...she felt like she might be leaving her home forever. Glancing over her shoulder, she took in the shape of her apartment building again. The towering brick building, the dozens of floors, the hanging laundry on the different balconies; all of it had meant home for a while.

I'll be back. Mr. Jak said that this will work. I WILL be back.

Her boss opened the door for her, and she stumbled her way in, laying her lower body out on one of the seats as he sat across from her. As soon as their seatbelts were on, they were off.

Fidgeting, she looked out the window for some way to distract herself from the very thing that she was going to get treatment for. Whatever F.I. was, it had to be something very secret to only pass out cards with the initials and the number. That meant that whoever had their number already knew precisely the services that they provided, and she would imagine a simple google search would yield very little in the way of information. Companies like that would frequently have a single page for a website, showing the same thing that was on their business card.

It didn't take her long to wish that she knew more. A personal assistant should respect her employer's privacy, and that kept her from asking any questions. However, she knew that it was important for her to act appropriately for where they were going, as well. The instincts warred in her as they drove further and further through the city, and then out of it.

When they started passing through a more rural area, Topaz turned her head.

"Where are we going? I thought -"

"Don't worry about thinking for right now. I'm running this little show, and I know what I'm doing."

"But...yes, sir."

"Heh. Don't worry. F.I. just likes to keep their privacy, and they think that they get more of it outside the city than in it. I personally agree; the one time that I used their services before, it was much more successful than I imagined."

"That was...Project V, yes?"

"You remember?"

"Only the name."

"It's enough. Just remember that they managed to do the impossible for that job, and today, they're going to start doing something just as amazing with you."

She wanted to ask what Project V had been. There was something about it that told her that she should be able to work it out. It had been...what, six months ago? Maybe slightly more than that. It coincided with something...

It was out of her reach. As much as she strained for it, as much as she tried to puzzle it out, it wouldn't come to her.

I'll figure it out another time, if it is truly important.

They drove, and drove, passing the time by measures of hours rather than minutes. The sun went past the high noon point, and was on the verge of setting when the glimmer of a far-off building caught her eye. Topaz shaded her face to get past the glare, and stared.

The building was...immense, to put it mildly. It stood out in the middle of a fenced-off set of grounds, with walls of glass and chrome that reflected the light from all directions. The top of the building was capped with a massive F and I, still not giving up the secret of what the letters actually meant, even for people passing by.

The limo drove up to the gates, which opened as soon as they were spotted by one of the cameras above it. In they went, with the gates clattering shut with a note of finality. Topaz looked over her shoulder at them, only to be nudged back to the present by a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. They just like their privacy."

"I'll take your word for that, sir."

They drove up to the front door, the limo turning to present its side to it. Mr. Jak stepped out first, and she followed, the two of them walking up the stairs. Even those seemed to be made of strangely expensive materials, somewhere between glass and chrome, reflecting everything from beneath with an accuracy that left Topaz blushing.

Hurrying on before she could be made to look back between her legs, they reached the front door, and Mr. Jak opened it.

As soon as they stepped inside, Topaz realized that the glass had been tinted, and heavily so. The lobby was a pristine white, compared to the dark and chrome look outside, and it led to an elevator at the far end, and two hallways off to the sides. A mouse sat at the reception desk, leaning back on a chair so far that the wolftaur was surprised that she didn't fall off.

She followed the lizard to the desk, and waited for the mouse to greet them. It took almost a minute, during which time she was tempted to tap the desk to get attention. However, if Mr. Jak wasn't about to do that, then neither was she.

Eventually, the mouse leaned forward, and Topaz's eyes almost popped out of her skull. The rodent's breasts were almost as big as hers, and that was saying something. They looked like they should have rolled her right out of her chair from the sheer physical pressure of them, let alone what they must have done to the mouse's center of gravity. Her jaw almost - almost, but didn't - drop.

Mr. Jak smiled.

"We're here for an appointment with the exam team. Filed under Jak."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Mr. Jak. I remember you. Project V, right? That was a really good project, one that -"

"Yes. Is the team ready?"

"Of course. They started getting prepped as soon as we heard that you were coming. It's not like we're going to turn down more business from someone as generous as you, right?"

This is the place that's supposed to cure me?

She had her doubts, suddenly. The place seemed more pristine and futuristic than any doctor's office that she had ever been in, but she doubted that the people here were professional enough to do anything that a real doctor couldn't. If she had come here on her own, this would have been the point she would have decided to save her money and walk out again.

However, Mr. Jak was putting his own money on the line here, and she wouldn't disgrace him.

The mouse started tapping her fingers on her desk, and Topaz realized that the small piece of furniture didn't have a computer or machines ON it. They were built into the desk instead.

How much money does this place make, to put that sort of investment on the front desk?

"Everyone is informed of your arrival, Mr. Jak. You can use the elevator now, Subfloor 3."

"Thank you."

As the mouse offered a keycard, he took it and gestured for the wolftaur to follow him. She did, wordlessly, as she tried to puzzle out how this sort of place was possible.

The elevator itself seemed utterly bizarre, as well. There was no keypad, no card reader. Instead, there was a gel pad on the side of the wall. She blinked at it, trying to puzzle out how it worked.

There was no time for it, as Mr. Jak pushed the card into the gel, and held his fingers to the outside. Topaz's eyes went wider still as several lights came on, showing a map of the building, from the top floor down the third subfloor. Several grayed out areas seemed to mark places that they couldn't go, at least with this keycard.

"What...what is this place?"

"This is F.I., and they have technology that none of the rest of us can dream of. I imagine that if the government could, they'd seize this place in a second."

"Then why don't they?"

"Reasons. Very good reasons. Mostly the same reasons why I don't."

Topaz shook her head. Those would be good reasons, particularly if Mr. Jak honestly did want this place, and she could see no reason why he wouldn't. The tech here was amazing, and she could imagine a number of things he could incorporate in his various lines of work, from the new sex line to some of the more normal appliances that they sold to new couples...which were probably converted in the same way.

The elevator descended as her boss dragged his finger down the lights in the gel, and she was again stunned that it was able to follow his directions so precisely.

"May I try?"

"Sorry, but it's biologically coded. Some of their 'clients' don't always want to be here, so they make sure that only people in the system and with a keycard can actually manipulate this."

"How did you get into the system?"

"About $3,000,000."

She shook her head. That was almost a full month of earnings, four years ago. About two weeks, these days, but it was still a substantial sum of money to sink into a place to only use once. She wondered just what Project V had been.

The doors of the elevator opened as they reached Subfloor 3, and Topaz stared at what was revealed.

A series of exam rooms stretched out as far as the eye could see, running further and further and further until it seemed to run on into infinity, like standing between two mirrors and trying to see the endpoint. It just wasn't possible.

She wobbled and shook as she stepped out of the elevator, making her way to the first window. Looking down, she could see a naked fox on the table, being examined by a number of different doctors as she was kept asleep. A helmet was over her head, blinking with lights.

"What is - Is that a brainwave monitor?"

"Close, dear lady."

Topaz blinked, turning around at the sound of a deeper voice. A black dragon stepped across the floor, dressed in a lab coat and a pair of thick boots that made a click with every step that he made. The dragon offered his hand.

"I'm Dr. Nocinocard. I'm one of the supervisors of the place. And the one that worked with Jak here on Project V."

"Nice to...meet you."

Taking his hand hesitantly, she gestured back down to the room below.

"You said it's close to a brainwave monitor?"

"That's correct. It's more advanced than simple brainwaves. Instead, it goes deeper, able to interpret them more accurately than anything else on the market. It's essentially capable of reading and storing memories, even thoughts."

"...That...that's impossible."

"No, Topaz. It's very, very possible. And it's the whole reason why we're here."

Mr. Jak. She turned to him, and he smiled.

"Why do you think we came here? I told you, they do the impossible, and they do it on a daily basis."

"More like an hourly one, Jak. But that's fair enough. Ma'am, if you'd come with me? We need to do an initial examination to determine treatment."

"I...But..."

"Do it, Topaz."

"Yes, sir."

The wolftaur laid back, as much as she could with her more animalistic lower half, on one of the exam tables. Her shirt, bra, and cloak - the only clothes she could wear on her lower half - had been taken from her as soon as she stripped down, and instead of an exam robe to wear, she'd been left naked. At least the windows of this exam room looked like they were blacked out; she didn't want anyone but a medical professional to see her this way.

Soon enough, the door to the large, square room opened up, and a raccoon doctor stepped in. At least, she assumed he was a doctor; he was dressed like one, with an open white coat, a stethoscope, and a number of different pens and charts hanging from his coat. She covered her breasts and crossed her back legs a bit.

"So...you guys are going to help me, right?"

"That is the plan, Ms. Topaz. Now, please relax. It's hard to get accurate information when we have to deal with too much tension."

"I will try, but you know what I have."

"Think of whatever you need to relax. I just need you to not be so tense, so we can get the proper samples."

Slowly nodding, she closed her eyes and brought her thoughts around to the regularity of her work. The slow adding of numbers, the shuffling of appointments for clear time, the way that she had always brought a smile to Mr. Jak's face when he was pleased with her work -

"Ow!"

"Please, just keep relaxing, and ignore the little needles going in."

She grumbled, but nodded her head, closing her eyes again. The first one was by far the worst, a big needle heading right into her lower arm. It was probably an IV of some sort, if this was going to be a long term thing. Her breathing sped up for a moment as she realized that Mr. Jak would be without an assistant for a little while if that was the case, but she pulled herself back, trying to go along with what they said.

Two or three - she wasn't sure how many - other needles poked at her, but they were withdrawn almost as soon as they were inserted. Probably blood tests or something along those lines. She took another deep breath -

And as soon as she did, she felt something cold against her nipple. She opened her eyes, only to see a massive camera-like contraption pointed at her chest.

"What...is that?"

"It's a scanning device developed by us. It takes deeper, clearer pictures than MRIs and other such devices, and we want to get a good look at the source of your tumors."

"I...I assume you need me to move my hands?"

"If you would."

It's just an exam, it's just an exam, she told herself as she slowly, hesitantly pulled her hands away. Almost instantly, the scanner was right up against her chest, the cold tip pressed between her breasts. She bit her lips at the cold, hardly believing how chilling the metal actually was, and had to really focus to keep from squirming as it whirred softly.

It pulled back a few inches, and whirred again, and then again. Each time a little higher, each time a bit further from her breasts. Topaz knew that it was probably just getting a better view of the spread of her disease, but she blushed anyway, feeling almost like she was being photographed for a pornographic centerfold.

The scanner was pushed away after a few more shots, and the raccoon pulled out a small rod. She blinked a bit at it, only to squirm as he walked back between her hind legs.

"If you are thinking of sticking that ANYWHERE in me -"

"Ma'am, it's nothing to worry about. It's a simple means of collecting waste while you're here. It will also ensure that you stay relaxed."

"Relaxed? You want to..."

"It will be placed inside of your rectum, yes."

"And you think that will help me relax? I thought you were some sort of advanced hospital, not something using outdated sex toys..."

The raccoon sighed, standing up.

"Ma'am, our scanning and your treatment will take some time. You are obviously stressed out, and it's completely understandable, too. You were told that you were going to die, today, and that's something that nobody takes easily.

"But this tension, this stress, is messing with your heart rate, your blood pressure, and our ability to get accurate readings from you. What I'd like to do is put you out for a while, for a day or two while we get this done, and then wake you up when the treatment can begin. You'll feel no pain, no worries, and we'll make sure that nobody but professional doctors are around at any time of day."

Topaz shuddered at the idea. It was embarrassing enough that she was naked on a table, her sex and her rump on perfect display to the doctor now. She was humiliated at the idea of having anyone look at her for longer than necessary, and now they wanted to put her out for a few days?!

"I...I can't..."

"Topaz."

She almost jumpd out of her skin at the sound of her employer's voice. It must have been coming over the intercom. Which meant -

"Those...those aren't blacked out windows, are they?"

"No, I can see you quite clearly, Topaz. And I wish you weren't so embarrassed, so easily. There's nothing on you to be embarrassed about."

If it weren't for the sudden tightness on the IV line, she would have reached up to cover herself at that. Not that she minded some staring while she was clothed, but this, this was ridiculous.

"But..."

"Topaz, this is the only way that we can get you treated. Now, allow the doctor to do what he needs to do, and if he really oversteps, I'll sue him to oblivion and back."

She couldn't quite fight the smile at that particular threat. There were a few people that Mr. Jak had threatened to do that with in the past, and whenever he followed through, it was...devastating to the individual involved. Several companies had gone under when they had tried to push him, and she doubted that F.I. would be any different, regardless of how much tech it had.

Nodding, she let her hind legs be spread. A squirt of cool goo over her puckered hole left her shivering, and she had to bite her lips to keep from growling as the rod was slowly slid inside of her. She felt it warming up almost as soon as it slipped past her rim, and she reluctantly admitted that it didn't feel quite as bad as she had expected.

As it settled in, she felt it start buzzing a bit. Not like a vibrator, but more like -

"Oh!"

"Sorry, that's the cleaning setting. It will keep you clean back there. Once you're unconscious, we'll do something with your urethra, as well."

"You couldn't have done that one after knocking me out as well?"

"It completes a circuit with the helmet."

"Helmet -"

The raccoon was faster than she thought. Like the scanner, the helmet was mounted to a flexible arm, and it came down over her head in less than a second. The padded interior inflated, trapping her skull inside as a screen came down over her eyes. By the time she even thought to struggle, the screen was filled with color, and a soft hiss filled her ears.

Gas?

Whatever it was, it relaxed her in a couple of breaths, and soon she was completely limp, staring up at the colors passing over the screen, her eyes half closed and her mouth hanging open.

Jak shook his head at how quickly she went under. Whatever it was that the Fetish Institute used to knock people out, it was effective, and he almost wished that he could get his hands on the chemical recipe.

Almost. He doubted that he'd get away with using any of the stuff that they had without some payback.

As the raccoon doctor started fondling his assistant in the room below, he turned to the black dragon.

"This better go according to plan."

"With the money that you're paying, I will personally make sure that it will."

"You'd better, or..."

"Or what?"

The lizard shook his head, turning back to the viewing window. It was pointless to make any sort of threat towards the Institute. They had the tech and the sleeper commands in so many people that they could get away with murder, and he wouldn't be surprised if they already had.

But it was worth it, for this. He'd wanted Topaz ever since she'd first started working for him; her body was one of the few that he had lusted after that he couldn't have. Labor laws and other protections were hardly a shield for the lower level employees of his company, but for someone like her, who studied it inside and out - and had many respectable commendations and certifications - it could be used against him.

More to the point, she had little in the way of desire. He had never seen her lust for anyone, and almost believed that she must have been asexual or something along those lines. She wouldn't have gone with any offer he had made.

With the Fetish Institute brainwashing her mind and body, though...

"You have the new body ready, right?"

"Almost," the dragon said. "You did only give us notice this morning, after all. But it will be ready by tomorrow, and we can begin the transfer then. Do you want to keep the old body?"

"If you can get rid of all the tumors -"

"Easily done."

"- then you can keep it for a while. But I want it back at my office in a few weeks, with plenty of training in how it can serve everyone that wants it."

"An interesting idea. But I think we can accommodate that. After all, the Fetish Institute is all about creating the world that the customer wants."

Yes...yes. And what a world it would be, with his assistant properly modified. Just as Vivian had been, all those months ago. Project V had hooked him, and this, if it went well, could be the start of a very long series of projects.

The End