“I only said that to get you into bed,” Richard said, taking a leap that perhaps they had slept together before getting married. “Besides, yesterday upon hearing the news about us, she showed class and grace in a way I had never seen before.”
Margaret’s face reddened, and her eyes darkened.
“Richard, I am not sure what has come over you, but you are not acting like the man I married.”
Richard worried for a moment that Margaret suspected the magic he possessed and hoped that she meant it as a figure of speech. She stood with such force that the dining chair tipped over and banged against the floor.
Richard stood slowly and picked the chair up. He gently placed it on its feet. Margaret faced the table, looking anywhere but at him. He leaned in close and whispered.
“Well, the damage has been done with Theresa. I want us to make amends with her, particularly you.” She stiffened at his words.
“So,” he continued, “you will spend time with her again, and you are to help make sure she finds a suitable match. I want her to have the life she deserves. Once she is happily married, you and I can work to regain our happiness together. Until then, I will only see our treachery and therefore cannot pretend our marriage is fine,” he said and stood back upright.
Margaret’s lips quivered, and new tears filled her eyes. She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it just as quickly and hung her head low.
Richard made his way to leave the room. “One more thing: you are not to spend a dime of my money until Theresa is married to an acceptable prospect.” Gloating, he closed the door, but not before he was able to catch her expression of pure shock.
Richard pinchedthe bridge of his nose. The room was dim and quiet, except for the ceiling fan that whirred rhythmically above the table. His other hand rested as a closed fist against the cherry wood grain of the tabletop.
The other six men, who gathered last minute, kept quiet and watched as Richard processed all the news they delivered. What they didn’t know was that when he went to cross his legs, he pinched himself again, and the pain that coursed through him was debilitating.
“Sir, did you understand all that we told you? We know it is a lot of information, but most of it is time-sensitive, and we need to take action one way or another. And soon.” A man called Gregorson was the first to break the awkward silence. His grey striped suit looked expensive and polished. The combed-over thin hair gave away his true age, however.
“Yes, I heard you.” Richard sat up straight and pushed through the dull pain emanating from between his legs.
I don’t know if I will ever get used to them.He glanced around the room at the curious expressions, all waiting on him to give them the answers.
“So, just so I am clear, last quarter we reported a loss. We have several lucrative government military contracts that you advise I reject. And there is another business who is waiting for my response on if I want to sell, which you are also advising that I do.”
Murmurs filled the space as the men talked all at once. Richard raised his hand to silence them.
I thought squabbling women were bad.The decision was ultimately his. He owned the company. On the one hand, he wanted to punish the old Richard, and destroying his legacy would be the ultimate way to carry out that plan. On the other hand, being a man and having access to a fortune was something that he wanted to experience.
Maybe I can try and salvage the company—make it better. No one else would know it, but I would know that he was a failure as a businessman and that a woman in his body came along and fixed it.
“Here is what we are going to do.” Richard stood and slowly walked around the seated men. “I’m not going to sell the company. Rather, I’m going to sign the contracts.” He raised his hand again to squash the eruptions of protests. “Obviously, theway things have run in the past just can’t continue unless you want to see more quarters reporting loss after loss.”
The words flowed easily even though most of them made no sense to him.
“These contracts seem to be important, or else the government would have gone elsewhere. If anyone disagrees with these decisions, then there is the door.” He paused at Gregorson’s chair and put both hands on the back, nodding his head in the direction of the door.
The other six men looked between each other, their eyes having silent conversations. Richard mustered the energy to hide his shaking hands.I’ve no clue what I’m saying or doing. I wonder if they know I’m a fraud.
Gregorson stood first. Richard stepped back away from his chair. The mood shifted, and everyone stared at the two men. After a few moments, Gregorson held out his wrinkled hand. Richard looked down at it, then followed suit with his own hand.
The rest of the men gathered around to shake Richard’s hand. It confirmed he had won this round, but he would need to work hard to prove this was the right decision.
Left alone with his thoughts afterwards, Richard considered his next steps. Being in a man’s body was almost too much to bear, and he felt desperate to get back into a woman’s body.
He left the building and looked around for his escort. Kyle had come to the meeting with him, but now he found himself alone on the streets in a new town.
A couple of men meandered together across the street, and he gripped the fabric wrapped around his throat. A button-up with a colorful ascot met his fingers, and he was reminded that he wasn’t wearing a high collar dress and corset.
The fear glued him in place, and he watched suspiciously as the men continued on their way, giving him no attention.The difference from the looks and hungry gazes when he was a woman was worlds apart to the attention he received now.
When he spoke, people listened and respected him. There were no follow-up questions, no critiques, just immediate acceptance.
The streetlights were lit as the dark of night covered the streets. He began walking in the same direction as the men, and even though they kept their faces from him, it was he who watched them carefully.
