Come Monday morning, our lead wakes up ready to resign himself to another week at the office. As he sits up in bed, he feels fidgety and like he can’t get comfortable. He grabs at the shoulder of his night shirt and feels something under it. Reaching under, he feels the soft and smooth object and something in his brain tells him what it is but he refuses to entertain the notion. Shuffling to the bathroom, he takes off his shirt and sure enough sees himself wearing the hypno bra. Unwilling to even try to explain it or justify it as something he put on as a gag while hungover, he grabs at it but it’s stuck fast. Letting go, the straps settle like normal and the material is loose once more. Grabbing at it again and it feels like it’s glued to his skin. His fingers fumble behind him but he’s unable to locate the hooks or straps or whatever is holding this thing on. He twists in the mirror to get a better look and the back is completely smooth.
Spending the start of his morning fighting to lift it over his head, twist it around, or snap it off, no matter how hard he pulls, the bra is still in place when he yanks open the kitchen drawer and grabs the scissors. With an angry snip, the blades just slide off the silky material. He tries again and again but the material always finds a way to slip through his fingers or the blades. He almost stabs himself when he’s startled by his phone ringing.
Answering, our lead is immediately hit by his boss’s angry tone. She gave him the benefit of the doubt on the first minute but he is now officially two minutes late. Preoccupied with more serious matters, he blurts out a line about needing to take a sick day and is about to hang up when he’s hit again by the boss’s shouting. The project is too important for him to be gone without notice. If he’s not at his desk in the hour, he’s in for a write-up as a no-show. Gritting his teeth and thinking back to the last HR meeting he suffered through when he was written up over his “too frequent water breaks”, he mumbles out an acceptance and angrily hangs up. Slamming the scissors down, he stomps over to his drawer and finds a thick undershirt he can wear under his normal button-up to hide any outlines from the bra.
At the office, his boss is waiting in his seat, angrily typing away on her laptop. On hearing him toss his briefcase on the floor, she glares up from her work and casts a sinister eye upon him. But then she slumps her shoulders and gets up. He made it on time, that’s good. Shocked, he makes some half-hearted agreement and she pats him on the shoulder before telling him not to make the staff worry about him like that. He slumps down in his chair in awe, that almost sounded like a human response from her.
Through the course of the day, his boss comes to see him several times in her overbearing way to look down upon his work, but she’s actually... pleasant. She thanks him for a report. A compliment on a presentation she dumped on him just last week. When she delivers a “that’s a good idea” during a team meeting, he starts to get fidgety and uncomfortable again. When the meeting ends, he bolts for the bathroom and locks himself in a stall. Practically ripping off his work shirt, he sees that his undershirt is now pushing outward. He puts a hand to his chest and feels the soft warmth underneath and grits his teeth. Our lead rapidly buttons his shirt back up and shuffles back to his desk, avoiding eye contact with the office. He’s stuffing papers into his briefcase when he hears his boss question if he’s leaving so soon. He blathers out some excuse about not feeling well and then feels a sudden burst from inside. His chest forces its way through his shirt and his pants practically tear themselves off as his hips expand. Fearing every sane reaction, he’s stunned when his boss comes over and gives him a hug. A healthy worker is a good worker so she recommends going home, resting, and not spreading disease to the others. He feels a warm surge in his chest as she holds him close and he can only muster a squeak in agreement. Quickly dressing again, he bolts out the door.