“Laugh at their jokes,” Malcolm whispered in my ear threateningly, squeezing my waist for emphasis.
I giggled and he relaxed his grip. He began telling his own story of some business conquest he made in Taiwan through brilliant negotiation skills. I knew how he REALLY got these things, and it sure wasn’t his cunning charm.
“Seraphina here is actually an expert flutist, she specializes in the sounds of her native land. They say her people began imitating the sounds of the falling snow, strictly by ear. Isn’t that amazing?”
I wanted to roll my eyes at the over-the-top name, but I knew better than to do that. I just smiled politely at the old white man across from us with an equally attractive woman on his arm. For now, I was Seraphina, at least I hoped it was only for now.
I had been paraded around the yacht for what seemed like an hour, and it was to my horror to learn we hadn’t even set sail yet. I didn’t know how much more my feet could take; they were squeezed into impossibly small heels at an impossible angle. I didn’t want to let Malcolm know how much pain I was in, but I’m sure he knew. We hadn’t sat down once; that had to be on purpose.
Just yesterday, I was on this same yacht ready to sign a deal with Malcolm’s father. A deal that would set my company up for decades; my children’s children would be eating from this partnership. When I arrived, the conditions of the deal changed completely, and if I didn’t agree to the preposterous terms, I’d be killed. When I said no and blacked out, I really didn’t expect to wake up.
I woke, still on the yacht, to Malcolm and my own body having a photo op with a signed contract. I looked down to see a gorgeous womanly body wearing nothing. In an instant, I had lost my company, my dignity, and found myself in the body of a model. For weeks now, they’ve kept me here while they steal everything that I’ve built. Malcolm enjoys getting to use his ‘little minx,’ as he calls me, for public outings, especially if they involve my former company.
I was dragged to the next couple but I couldn’t keep up the fake smile when I saw my own face in a very expensive suit. My wife was smiling ear to ear in a dress she used to only be able to dream of. I stood wide-eyed in my matching flowery dress as Malcolm carried the conversation. I didn’t even know what I felt, humiliation, anger, sadness, most of all I felt fear for what else Malcolm could devise to torment me.
