Chapter 2: Building Tension
A day later, I was sitting in one of the small secluded office rooms in the upstairs front office, trying to get to the bottom of a list of email replies. I glanced up and saw Emma striding across the office with a grace I had never before noticed. Her long legs carried her towards me, and she slipped into the seat next to me with the confidence of a woman who knows her worth. I couldn't help but steal glances at her body as she pulled out a small velvet pouch from her purse and placed it gently on the desk between us.
"I have something to show you," she whispered, her voice low, throaty, and excited. My heart skipped a beat, and I leaned in, eager to hear what she had to say.
Emma untied the leather string around the velvet purse and unrolled it, revealing three small corked glass vials, each containing a thick light-Green liquid.
"Andrew, there's no easy way to explain this to you so I'll just say it... I'm a witch." Emma announced, locking eyes with me to gauge my reaction. I stared at her, trying to comprehend what I was hearing. "A witch?" I finally stammered, the words sounding ridiculous as they left my mouth. Yet, despite the absurdity, I couldn't shake the feeling that Emma was telling the truth. "Yes, I'm a witch who, among other things, can do magic, including reading thoughts and feelings." she said, a mischievous smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Although I have never believed in magic or anything fantastical, I believed every word that Emma said because of who said it. I suddenly tried to recall any dirty thoughts or emotions that I'd had near Emma over the last couple of years, worried that she could've read them. I felt a little flame flicker in the base of my abdomen as I realized that she probably had already seen the lust I'd had for our CFO emblazoned across my mind like a neon sign.
"Jesus, Emma," I stammered, before taking a deep breath and continuing, "are you telling me that all this time you've been some sort of magical being? And you've been keeping it to yourself?" Again, I wasn't sure if I completely believed her, but she looked so sincere.
Her eyes glinted with a mix of intensity and playfulness that I couldn't ignore. She continued, "Yes and yes. Without going into all of the details of my past, just know this: Andrew, I can give you what you crave; I can help you discover what Jody thinks about you."
My heart raced at the idea. I thought of all the times I had caught eyes with Jody, fantasized about her, dreamt of her. Now here I was, faced with the possibility of truth. "But how?" I asked, my voice low and uncertain.
Emma grinned.
She produced a single small, thin strand of light brown hair and dangled it over the first vial. "These cute little bottles contain potions that I mixed for you. With these potions someone can transform themself into anyone whose hair you add to it. And here I've got a strand of Jody's hair that I collected from her coat yesterday. Allow me to show you a small demonstration." Before I could respond, she uncorked the vial and tipped it upside down over her palm, allowing a couple drops to fall onto her skin. She carefully placed the end of the strand of hair into the drops and they immediately started fizzing, turning from their light green color to a deep red.
"That's really all there is to it," Emma said, as if she had done this a thousand times. The two red drops had bumped into each other and rolled into one larger drop. Without a second thought Emma stuck out her tongue and licked the drop off her palm. "Keep in mind that this tiny amount of the potion won't do much... I just wanted to prove to you that what I'm saying is true."
I swallowed and waited with bated breath, unsure what would happen next.
Suddenly, Emma’s eyes flickered and she cleared her throat and shifted her posture in her seat. "Look!" Emma held up her hands, and though it was barely noticeable, her light purple-gray painted nails were slowly darkening in color and becoming a very dark gray. The thought of Jody's black nails crossed through my mind as I witnessed the small magic at work.
Emma stood up, saying "I should stand so you can tell if anything else changes." Sure enough, as soon as she stood I noticed that her height had shortened by a couple inches to about 5'10". "Look, an instant tan!" Emma said, observing her arms as her ivory white skin turned slightly more tan, though still far lighter than Jody's olive skin. It was as if a little bit of Jody's body had been mixed into Emma's, and only enough to notice up close.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, my heart hammering in my chest as I tried to wrap my head around this sudden turn of events.
Emma smiled and nonchalantly concluded "like what you see? Anyway, now that you believe me, take these as a little gift from me. Have fun, but be careful... there's powerful magic inside them." Emma warned, as she closed the purse and pushed it towards me. I gingerly picked it up and held it in my hands, feeling the weight and significance of the three vials.
"What about side effects?" I asked, my mind racing with possibilities.
Emma shrugged. "There might be a few. It's hard to predict exactly what they'll be, as everyone's body reacts differently to magic. But don't worry, they'll wear off after a while."
I nodded, although I was far from convinced.
But the thrill of discovering Jody's true feelings was too strong to resist. I slid the velvet pouch into my pocket, my heart pounding with excitement.
"Thank you, Emma," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"No problem, Andrew," she replied, her eyes shining with excitement. "But just remember, you need to be careful with these potions. They're not toys, and they can be dangerous if used irresponsibly."
I nodded again, a shiver of anticipation running down my spine.
I already had a plan bobbing in my mind, one that would keep me safe while also letting me see if Jody could potentially be interested in me or not. I smiled reassuringly at Emma, and she smiled back, satisfied that I was taking her warning seriously.
Emma walked toward the door of the small office, saying "I'm off to set up a lunch meeting... catch you later Andrew." As she walked through the door and down the hallway to the stairs, I noticed that her frame was slightly fuller and her jeans were now a little tighter around her thighs and ass. If two drops of a potion could do that, what would be the effects of a full potion?
I itched to find out, but I needed two things first: a strand of hair from the person I wanted to transform into, and a safe space for my first transformation. After all, it would be hard to explain if someone walked in and I was turning into a woman... not to mention my plan would be ruined. It would be even harder to explain if I turned into someone and ran into them while walking around.
My first thought for a target was Katie White, a young woman that worked in our sales and marketing department and often worked closely with Jody. She tended to wear her long brown hair down but I had no idea how to get a strand of it without some luck.
I knew that I couldn't just ask for it, so I started thinking of ways to get it without her knowing.