It's In the Air

Warning. This plot is ridiculous, but also a work of fiction, so there's that in its favor. It's not romance sexy and there actually isn't much hardcore sex in it. Nope, just a bit of sexy fun. Many of my stories contain victims of elaborate pranks. The ones here get their proper payback.

****

Alice, Betsy and Gina were sitting at the coffee table on break. All three had started working at the office of Alex Pilner Consulting back in early Spring, and Summer had only just arrived. The girls understood that APC offers solutions to other businesses for streamlining their processes. Though APC was a new enterprise itself, it was located in a very old building. The place was so old and musty, the boss installed an electric air freshener, leaving it running at all times. He told the ladies it might take months to get the odd smells out of the ancient walls.

Alice was the most experienced of the group; divorced, in her mid-thirties, while the other two were barely out of college. Having worked for a start-up company before, Alice was impressed how many contracts, reports, billing and paperwork in general, needed to be handled right out the gate. Alex Pilner apparently had a good reputation, along with many contacts. His workload kept the girls busy, but not overworked.

Betsy sighed, sipping her coffee. "I forget, why is it we can't wear bras?" Of the three, Betsy had the largest bosom, and she wasn't accustomed to going without a bra. When Alex had explained why they needed to go without one, the three had accommodated the request without question. It made sense at the time, but it had been almost three weeks since it was last discussed.

"I think it was something to do with the security alarms," said Alice. "The underwires of a bra make them go off, maybe?"

"I think it interfered with the alarm's wi-fi signal or something," Gina chimed in.

"Huh, maybe that was it," muttered Betsy. "But couldn't we wear bras without underwires?"

"I dunno," said Gina. "Hadn't thought about it."

"And the bit about the panties?" asked Betsy, touching her skirt, feeling once again that she was without undergarments. She'd been going without, almost since they first started the job. That, too, was at the recommendation of their boss, Alex Pilner.

Gina sighed, "Alex told us about that bug infestation, remember? Bugs that are attracted to cotton."

"Oh yeah, that's right," said Betsy. "He said most panties are made from cotton, so better safe, than sorry, and best not to wear any."

"Hmm, you think we should try finding underwear made of a different material?" asked Alice, taking a moment to consider the thought.

"What's it matter?" scoffed Gina. "I'm used to it now. Besides, Alex told me yesterday, we might not have air conditioning for a couple weeks. They're replacing the whole unit outside."

"When?"

"They were supposed to have started yesterday, but I never saw anyone show up. When they turn it off, can you imagine how hot it's gonna get in here? I'll be grateful that we don't have to wear panties." Gina took another sip from her iced coffee, while Alice and Betsy drank it as nature intended. Hot. They both realized they may switch to the iced version, too, if they wouldn't have air conditioning for a couple of weeks.

"Good point, Gina," said Alice. "I suppose it will be a bit cooler without the panties."

Just then, Alex stepped into the small room. "I was coming down the hall and heard you talking." The girls eyed each other, glad they hadn't said anything negative about their work conditions. They wouldn't have wanted Alex to think they were unhappy. Quite the contrary, they loved how he allowed them to work flexible schedules, and gave clear directions on assignment. "Gina's right," he said. "They're breaking down the old A/C today. I just saw the work crew pulling up, as I was coming in."

Alex Pilner Consulting is located on the top floor, which you get to by either the rickety elevator, or the staircase next to it. The girls usually took the stairs. The building once served more than a half dozen company offices, but it's age and depreciation had pushed other tenants out long ago. Alex told the girls that he agreed to rent space on the top floor, on the condition the landlord would make improvements to the building. Essentially, they all understood Alex's rent checks were paying for the upgrades, and the landlord hoped those improvements would draw new businesses in the future.

"Why is it gonna take two weeks to finish the work on the A/C?" groaned Gina.

Alex sighed, shrugging, "Removing the old one isn't easy. That enormous clunker will take two or three days, at least. They're also replacing all the outside duct work, patching up holes, etcetera. I was told next Friday would be best-case scenario."

"That's a week and a half," said Alice. "That wouldn't be too bad."

"I'm glad you brought it up, actually. I was talking to my wife about this a few days ago. Nancy suggested letting you all wear cooler attire, during this uncomfortable time."

"Really?" smiled Gina. "Like what?"

"Here's the best part of her suggestion. Nancy ran a boutique for years, and we still have inventory in storage. She said she could pull out some summer blouses that would be practical for the hot conditions. She also suggested I put fans in the office, so I'm having a crew install some this morning."

"That's terrific," smiled Alice. "Very thoughtful."

"You want me to have Nancy pull those clothes out for you? I can call and have her swing by."

"Free threads?" beamed Gina. "Absolutely!"

Betsy giggled. "Good luck finding something my size." Betsy's thin frame, mixed with her ample bosom, made it difficult to find blouses that fit well, especially now that she went braless.

"No worries, Bets. Nancy really understands style," said Alex. "Hopefully, this will work out. Anything to make it more tolerable for you."

Sure enough, two guys showed up an hour later, installing stand-up fans in every corner, in Alex's office and the conference room. They were just in time, because the air conditioning cut out shortly after the men left. By lunchtime, even with the fans running, the ladies found themselves wiping beads of sweat from their brows. Gina called over to Betsy. "Hey, Bets. How are we supposed to put up with this until next Friday?"

"I have no idea," Betsy replied, grabbing a tissue from her top desk drawer. The blouse she wore was thicker than Gina's, and now she wished she hadn't dressed so conservatively. Betsy huffed and patted her neckline with the tissue, absorbing more sweat, when Alex stepped out of his office onto the main floor, and called attention to everyone.

"Nancy just texted. She's coming up. Pause your work a minute and meet in the conference room." The conference room had a lower ceiling, and with three fans running full blast, it was somewhat more tolerable than the open office floor. Everyone found their place at the conference table just as Alex's wife appeared, introducing herself to the group. "Thanks for helping, Nance," said Alex, kissing her on her left cheek. "You can leave the box. I'll bring it back tonight. Should be home by six."

Nancy smiled at the girls, assuring them before she left, "I brought plenty of clothes for all of you. They're from my favorite supplier, too. Great quality stuff. Bye bye, now!" she said, waving.

"Your wife is cheery," said Alice. "She could have stuck around, ya know."

"Nancy is already late for an appointment at the spa," said Alex. "But she filled me in on all the details. She said these blouses 'breathe' more than traditional work blouses. She also said they're timeless in style."

"Awesome," clapped Gina, rushing to open the box, but as she began pulling the clothes out, she looked perplexed. "Uh... Alex. These are like... transparent..." She held one up, white, with perhaps a slight tint of blue. "You can see right through it."

"Can you?" asked Alex, reaching over to feel the material. "It isn't made from cotton, I can tell that much. That's good. Do you really think they'll look transparent, when wearing them?"

"Why wouldn't they?" gasped Betsy. "Hell, the damn thing almost looks invisible from here." Betsy was sitting on the opposite side of the table from Gina, looking straight at her through the shirt she was holding up.

"Perhaps the light in the room is causing that effect," said Alex. "The light behind Gina, ya know."

"Are those... practical to wear?" asked Alice, to her boss.

"I don't see why Nancy would have brought them, if they weren't."

"That makes sense," said Betsy, nodding. "Your wife would know, after all, right?"

"I should think so. She ran that boutique for over a decade." Alex was lying, but they didn't know it.

Gina dug through the box some more, finding more blouses that had the same transparent effect. Many seemed low-cut, to boot. "Hey, your wife also packed some skirts." Gina pulled one from the bottom, and tried to figure out which way it went on. It seemed as long as it was wide. "This is barely going to cover my ass," she muttered softly.

"It'll definitely keep your legs cool, won't it?" asked Alex. "Nancy assured me they would."

"I should say so," sighed Alice, scratching her head. "But that might display a bit more flesh than I am comfortable showing."

"Tell me about comfort," laughed Alex, loudly. "I'm so sweaty, I'm changing into my shorts after lunch. And a t-shirt, if you won't find it too unprofessional."

"We don't care what you wear, Alex," said Betsy, "but a skirt like that is too short for the night club, much less at work."

Alex waved them off. "If my wife brought it, I assume it's acceptable. She knows what she's doing. Wear whatever you are comfortable wearing, but wouldn't you be MOST comfortable wearing as little as possible, in this ridiculous heat?"

"I'd be more comfortable naked," whispered Gina, shifting her eyes out of the conversation.

Alex chuckled. "That may be taking things too far, wouldn't you say? Why don't you just try on the outfits? See if Nancy's right about these being best to wear, considering this unique situation. What harm can it do?"

All three girls nodded, grumbling affirmation sounds, but something nagged in the back of Betsy's mind. She concentrated hard, thinking to herself, 'We first started going without panties, then no bra... now this? Is this normal?' Her mind barely made sense of it, but with each request to dress down, the reasons seemed sound at the time. Like now. 'What harm could it do to try on these clothes?' she asked herself, before asking another one, but out loud, "If we decide we don't like them, can we put our other clothes back on?"

"I don't see why not," said Alex. "So what's the harm in trying them on?"

"Okay, what the hell!" said Alice, snatching a blouse with a pinkish hue. It appeared to be more transparent than the one Gina had first examined. The girls paused, turning to their boss, who was smiling back at them, waiting. "Um, we were thinking we'd change in here, Alex."

"Makes sense to me," he said.

"Would you like to give us a moment?" Alice asked, motioning to the door.

"Oh," Alex said, scoffing a bit. "Whatever you don't keep, I was going to take back to my car. Why don't you pull everything out that you want to keep, and give me what's left?"

"We don't know what we're keeping yet," said Gina. "Not until we try them on."

"I can wait a few moments."

"You want us to change in front of you?"

"I don't mind," said Alex. "But I need to be leaving soon and was going to take the box with me, so I wouldn't forget it later. "

"You could get the box after lunch."

"I'm trying to be efficient, Alice. Kill two birds with one stone. I'm here. The box is here. I'm headed to the car soon. It makes sense, right? So hurry up, ladies. Pick out what you want, and give me the box."

"But we want to try them on first," insisted Betsy.

"And I said I'm okay with that. Go ahead!"

The girls seemed a bit confused, but quickly got up and began disrobing. Betsy, more than the others, thought it was most strange. She had never been naked in front of a boss before, or anyone other than a boyfriend, yet here she was doing it. She understood Alex was in a hurry, and it made sense to rush things forward, but it still seemed weird. Something was off. After all, she had first been concerned about the see-through blouse, yet now she was getting completely naked in front of him. She hurried to put the skimpy blouse on as quickly as possible, looking over to Alex while she struggled to button it. He didn't seem to mind looking at her this way. In fact, to Betsy, Alex didn't appear offended in any way, just genuinely patient and helpful. That reassured her a bit, considering he saw every inch of her naked flesh. She finally managed to get situated in the blouse, making it stretch considerably. Betsy adjusted the third button, and saw that her areolas were still a bit visible, riding above the thin material. "I'm not sure this is going to fit," she groaned.

"Does it feel cooler than what you had on before?" asked Alex.

"Definitely cooler," laughed Betsy, nervously. "But kinda tight..."

Alice and Gina now had their tops on, too, but were still bottomless, just like Betsy. Gina examined herself, saying, "It does feel much better in this heat. However, we were right. You can plainly see our nipples through this."

Alice chuckled, pointing her thumb at the boss, who was standing to her right. "Alex already saw us completely naked, Gina. If he doesn't mind that, he can manage seeing us in this."

Gina nodded, agreeing and said, "Hope you enjoyed the view, boss."

"Go ahead, try on the skirts, too," Alex insisted.

Each girl wrangled themselves into an obviously too-tight, too-short skirt. Betsy, once again, felt she looked the most ridiculous. Her blouse was stretched tight, with mounds of flesh pouring out the top, while also being so transparent, it was almost invisible. And because of her wider hips, the skirt pulled up high on her body. She was showing perhaps half an inch or more of her bare muff.

Alex flicked his chin with his thumb. "I suppose... if you don't bend over, those may work..." This made all three girls snicker, if a bit nervously, but Alex waved them down. "So what do you think? You MIGHT be right. Perhaps this is impractical under normal circumstances, but if you feel more comfortable, and are going to be cooler, it seems like appropriate attire to me. For now, anyway."

"What if someone stops by the office?" asked Betsy, a bit scared at the idea.

"How often does that happen? A delivery here and there? A quick visitor now and then?"

Alice seemed to agree. "He's right. Hardly anyone stops by, and I'm stuck at my desk all day. This actually feels pretty good, especially with that fan blowing on me."

"Then it's settled," clapped Alex, grabbing the box. "Why don't I leave the rest of these clothes on the table and you can divide them up?" He began shoving the garments they had brought with them, inside the box. "I suppose you won't be needing these now."

"But..." Betsy began to protest, yet the thought escaped her, because Gina interrupted, reaffirming she was much more comfortable in the new clothes. Alex said he was off to an early lunch and bolted out of the room, leaving the girls to sort through the rest of the garments. "Wait a minute," claimed Betsy. "Look at us. We look more suited for working a street corner, than as office assistants."

"Does it matter?" asked Gina. "This might be... risque... but it is quite fashionable, isn't it? And who cares? We're the only ones who see each other, right? I mean, for most of the day, anyway."

"And what about Alex?"

"You already pointed out, he saw us naked. This isn't going THAT far, right? We won't be changing in front of him again, will we?"

"Yeah!" said Betsy. "Why did we agree to do that?"

"Because he needed that box," reminded Alice. "Look, let's just go to lunch and we'll figure this out later."

"Where do you want to go?" asked Betsy.

"How about Louis'. They have the best chicken subs."

"I'll grab my purse."

***

As Alex pulled out of the parking lot, Nancy called. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"It's working."

"You're not pushing them too fast?"

"Hell, Nance. They went without panties after the first week. That 'air freshener' appears to be everything I said it could be. It might work better than I expected."

"No change in their behaviors, otherwise?"

"Not that I can tell. It just makes them agreeable to anything."

"And you're taking the pill?"

Alex pulled a small vial out of his shirt pocket, popping off the lid and swigging one of the small, white pills. "Every day," he said.

"Good, we don't want you getting affected and influenced by that chemical spray."

"I think it's safe to say it's a complete success, Nancy. It really works."

"I'm so proud of you."

"Think of all the good we can with this. We could change governments, make the world a better place."

"Just by making people more agreeable to ideas," Nancy chuckled.

"You simply plant the seed, and let the rest do the work. It makes people open-minded, Nance. It really does."

"Open minded, but without much critical thinking."

"I admit, it affects the frontal lobe more than I expected, but in the right hands, this could change the world."

"In the wrong hands, it could change the world."

"The point is, we proved it works."

"How long will it last?"

"I can't say for sure. I guess I could turn it off and count the days. See how long it takes for the girls to revert back to their normal behavior. We'll see."

"And you're sure they will get their senses back? Those girls deserve to know everything."

"They will, they will. They were specifically hand picked for this, remember? Once we tell them about this experiment, I am confident every one of them will be okay with it. They'll understand."

"I hope you're right."

***

Alex got back in time to shut off the air fresheners, before the others got back. He unloaded the canisters containing his proprietary chemical agents, and moved them to a closet in his office. The truth of it was, Alex was a biochemical engineer and XB-18 was his ticket to fame and fortune. He needed an unsuspecting control group to discover if the effects would be effective in an aerosol. The subjects of his study - Alice, Gina and Betsy - proved what he set out to do: influence the decisions of strong-willed individuals.

It was his wife who came up with the idea on testing. Pretend to open a business, hire a crew who would serve as the unsuspecting subjects, expose them to XB-18, and see if they would do things antithetical to their nature. In keeping with appearances, Alex made up fake work assignments. This charade had cost Alex a good portion of his inheritance from his father's estate. He paid the girls a weekly wage, and covered the overhead and maintenance for the building. Alex was gambling that XB-18 would be worth the investment.

Alex had two more months budgeted for the experiment, so he figured it was a good time to pull them off XB-18, anyway. By convincing the girls to wear such ridiculous clothes - going against any rational adult's behavior - Alex had all the proof he needed to bring this market. Now, he needed to see how they would behave coming off of the chemical.

The three girls arrived back in the office at five to one, having carpooled to the restaurant. "Can you believe the look at that cashier's face?" laughed Gina, walking ahead of the other two. "Maybe we ought not to wear these clothes outside the office."

"Oh, hey girls," said Alex, catching their attention. "You may notice I took out the air fresheners. That's because, without the air conditioning circulating, it'll just soak the floor." Alex didn't enjoy lying, but knew it was necessary for the time being. HIs lie didn't even make sense, considering the fans they had running, but he knew the girls wouldn't bother thinking it through too much.