Kelsey and I stared at each other for a moment, dumbfounded. "Are you out of your mind?" I loudly proclaimed as I turned back to look at Addison. "Gender reassignment takes years. What are we supposed to do for money in that time?"
With a smug look on her face, Addison said, "What if I told you we could do it in less than a day? One injection, and you'll be biologically female, like me."
I don’t know what was more shocking; the fact they were suggesting I become a woman, or that I was actually desperate enough to consider it. "What do you say, Kelsey? Are you man enough to become a woman, just for a job?"
"Why not," Kelsey said with a shrug. "It's not like I'm fielding a ton of offers at the moment."
I don’t know how it happened, but we’d somehow ended up outside the Human Resources office during our conversation. Kelsey went inside the office while Addison held me back, "I’m sorry for roping you into this; I just wanted him taken down a peg or two. I’ll understand if you don’t want any part in this."
Looking Addison in the eyes, I said, "How much will the job pay?"
A smile crept across Addison’s face for a moment, " $43,000 per year, and the benefits package isn’t all that bad. So does this mean you’re in?"
"Sure, I survived pet-sitting an incontinent Great Dane; I can survive being a woman. Just promise me that this is reversible; I don’t want to be stuck this way if I leave and find a better job."
"I promise you that the procedure is 100% safe and reversible," Addison said as she pointed to the door. "Why don’t you come inside; I’ll explain everything to both of you."
Addison went on to explain that one of her company’s clients was a business called Radeon Scientific. Bridge Financial gives them a discount in exchange for Radeon letting them use their services. Which, according to Addison, involved turning people into other people using nanites. If not for the demonstration video she showed us, I wouldn’t have believed it: a middle-aged man turned into an infant girl in seconds. "What possible use could a company like Radeon be for a financial services company?"
"Our company isn’t immune to workplace harassment. However, we’d prefer not to lose a competent employee, so we send them to Radeon, where they’re given a one-year stint as a member of the same demographic as their victim. It’s been quite successful in decreasing the number of repeat offenses."
"So what happens now?" Kelsey asked, looking uncomfortable in his seat.
Typing away at her computer, Addison said, "Now you two will go to the Radeon facility on the other side of town. I’ve already sent them the basic parameters for your new bodies, based on the preferences provided by your new bosses."
Something about the way Addison said that gave me pause, "Wait a minute. Were you planning to do this all along?"
"Not entirely; the positions you came in for were open until yesterday." Looking at the two of us, she said, "I do have to fire my assistant, but her incompetence opened the door for this."
"So why go to all this trouble instead of hiring two women for the jobs?" Kelsey asked from his chair.
"Because you need a lesson in the impact of sexism." Looking at me, with a sympathetic look on her face, Addison said, "And I think you just need a break to come your way."
Sitting back in my chair, I said, "The pay better be worth it."
"It should be more in my opinion, but you’ll both come out of this with intimate knowledge of life as a woman." With a smile on her face, Addison added, "That’ll give you both a distinct advantage in the dating department."