Becoming the Perfect Wife Ch. 05

I walked to the car ahead of him so he could see the insert while I was in motion. He took the opportunity to squeeze my ass. Right about now even the g-string was feeling like too much fabric between me and Master, but going commando would - once again - have been suspicious.

I got into the car and checked my purse. Makeup. Phone. Repair kit. Charging cable. The feminine essentials. About then it started hitting me that this was my first time out of the house since I came home from Sunny Valley. My first time as a machine interacting in person with people outside of medical staff, my family and a delivery guy.

"Do you think this is smart?"

James kept his eyes on the road. "What do you mean? The party?"

I wanted to say 'what else could I mean', but I kept it inside. "Yeah. I should have done a lunch thing with just a few people first. Ease into this."

"Do you want me to turn around?"

I thought about it. It felt weird ordering James to do something. "No. I'm just worried I'm going to say something and blow our little secret."

James reached over to pat my thigh. I felt better immediately. Not good, just better. "If the kids don't suspect anything, we'll be fine mingling for a few hours."

"But the kids know you and wouldn't expect that you would reprogram me like this. My coworkers don't trust you." As soon as it was out, even if it was true, I felt bad at the way I had phrased that.

James didn't look too pleased either, "UX-49a4, enter maintenance mode."

I quickly confirmed the order to my chassis. I wasn't aware of any shutdown period. One moment I was staring at a traffic intersection, the next I was staring at Yves' house. I did a subtle self-check to figure out if Master had used me during the trip. My dress didn't seem out of place, and I couldn't taste any jism, so probably not.

I looked over at James checking his tie in the sun visor mirror, "Was I being annoying?" The reset had calmed me down.

"Hmm? No, I just thought you'd appreciate being shut down."

I felt so lucky to have such an amazingly sweet owner. I never properly appreciated how sweet he was when we were equals. I felt bad that I couldn't brag to everyone about what a great owner he was.

"Thank you, M-.. Honey." I realized mid-sentence that I hadn't done a check of who might be close enough to the car to hear us despite the soundproofing. I gave him a little kiss on the cheek, nothing strong enough to transfer my lipstick onto his face.

"I may have given you a few suggestions."

I squeezed my thighs together. I wished I could let my lube flow so he could see how soaked I could get at the idea of being mentally manipulated by him. "Do you want to keep them a secret?"

He smiled, "You really don't know what I said while you were in maintenance mode?"

I smiled back and shook my head 'no'. I could figure out what was new in my running list of orders, but I didn't know what he had done to me yet.

"Then I'll let you find out, my little sexbot."

God, it was going to be hard to get through this party without pulling him into an empty room and showing him what a good sexbot I could be. If only I wasn't the guest of honor...

"Do we need to go over anything else before we go inside?" I wasn't going to start this event by admonishing him for calling me something that might reveal how I was programmed.

"Not really. If I feel the need to excuse myself from a conversation you're having, don't follow me around the room."

"I understand." I thought about following him around wearing nothing but a collar and leash. But that would have to be one more unfulfilled fantasy. It was probably good to make it explicit. There was no one at this party I wanted to be with more than him.

I let James get out of the car first. It was still neat to walk in heels and feel as well-balanced as I did in bare feet. I think it was as much to show off as anything else when I sped up, turned, and started walking backwards to talk to him. "Remember to check your phone for any fault alerts."

"Yes, dear." He did it in a funny little voice, followed by a smile. I was smiling when I spun back around. I had intentionally gotten us here early, and we were one of the first few cars in the driveway, behind the catering truck. I also figured we'd be among the last to leave. It made for a short trip to the front door.

It took a minute, but Yves answered the door. I assumed that his jaw dropping at the sight of me was involuntary. Behind him a few men and women in black button up shirts and black pants were busying themselves setting up some small tables and chafing dishes.

"Liz?"

I tried not to laugh, and did a twirl on his doorstep. "In the silicone flesh. May I come in?"

"Of course!" He stepped out of the way and I walked in. I faced away from him for a little longer than I normally would, assuming he'd be taking a long look at my spine. I found myself examining the wait staff. It felt good to be hotter than those college students.

"Does that hurt?" I had to give Yves the same explanation about my spine window I gave Melody. And I could tell he was having trouble speaking to me and not letting his eyes wander down my body.

"Do you need me to change the temperature?"

"Nope, I'm fine. Or 'well within operating limits'" I smiled at him. Yves smiled a little less than I did.

We walked past and beneath the grand staircase to the big event room on the ground floor. The room extended upward to both stories of the main house, with big glass windows looking out onto the pool area and the additional buildings beyond. The couches, chairs, and other tables that populated the room when I visited Yves casually must have all been moved elsewhere.

"Do you need to be near an outlet?"

"I'll be fine. James can get the jumpstarter from the car if the need arises."

"Seriously?"

I sighed a bit, "No, I've got 7 hours of charge left. Unless you want me to do windsprints or cartwheels tonight, I'll be fine. And I'll probably be showing people my charging port all night and getting a few watts here or there that way." I emphasized the point by lifting my left arm and showing Yves the open slit in my armpit.

He visibly flinched before offering to get me some wine. I had him get both James and I a glass. It would at least give me something to do with my hands.

James leaned into my ear "I don't think Yves realized I was here."

I snorted as Yves came back with the wine. The break left him more composed and he started asking questions about what I'd need to work in the office. That led to a conversation about scheduling, and a conversation about equipment the firm would purchase and a conversation about if we should plan on more associates with machine bodies and if we should actively recruit androids and gynoids.

It was a long enough conversation that guests started arriving and circling me. I probably should have made a sign with Frequently asked questions and answers.

"Yes, I feel great."

"No, the insert in my back doesn't hurt."

"Yes, you can touch it."

"No, you can't remove it."

"Yes, I did have some psychiatric changes made during the transfer."

"No, I won't go into details."

"Yes, I did pick a taller body, it's not just the heels."

"No, I can't bend steel with my bare hands or run 100 kph."

"Yes, I'd recommend Sunny Valley for 'your friend's' conversion."

"No, I can't get you a discount."

"Yes, I am happy with how it turned out."

"No, I'm not worried about my new 'brain' degrading."

On and on like that. I think everyone there asked me at least a few questions and mingled with me for a little while. A few people did make comments on my dress, but I think they just wanted to look at my body. I didn't mind the stares.

About the only person who didn't come up to me was Ida. She joined some conversations close to me, but never actually inserted herself into the circle of folks talking with me. I almost called her over, especially when one of the junior partners asked a question about how mandatory retirement ages in contracts would apply to machine-uploaded individuals like me. Maybe I should have been offended that he thought I had been close to that age range before, but I took it in the spirit of curiosity with which it was presented.

James lasted through about 30 minutes of the repetitive questions before excusing himself. I don't know if it was the order, or just the stimulation of having so many people around me, but I didn't find myself missing him as much as I did when I was at home. It was a positive sign for when I had to go into the office.

The caterers revealed the more substantial food was now available, and I took the opportunity to visit the powder room. I shouldn't have been surprised by the big smile welcoming me in the mirror, but I was just a little bit. I did a little touchup work to my face and checked my dress. That's when I realized I was seriously nipping out.

I had been fine at home, but now there were two obvious little tents on the dress at the tips of my breasts. I tried tugging on the dress, and it didn't help. I reached into the dress and confirmed that my nipple was really hard and erect, about as stiff as it could get. And it also felt really nice to touch.

I thought about resolving the issue and came to a few conclusions. First, this was very likely something Master had ordered. Second, based on the dress I was obviously not wearing a bra, so the outline of my nipples wasn't providing any new information there. Third, who cared? It wasn't like the dress was sheer or anything. There weren't any old ladies or little kids out there to scandalize.

So I didn't fix it. I walked back out to the party and checked on how James was doing without me. He was discussing electricity prices with someone and I made a comment about whether it was going to be cheaper in the long run to charge me or feed me. That got a small laugh and people started to surround me again to ask about my conversion.

It got later and the party began to wind down. I honestly couldn't remember the last time it was so late and I wasn't the one trying to get home. I wouldn't have minded going home and fucking Master, but I was also fine being the center of attention.

For the first time that night, Ida approached me. I smiled at her and she didn't smile back.

"Can we talk in private?" Ida motioned her head toward the stairs and the bedrooms on the second floor. I excused myself and followed her up. We found an unoccupied room and Ida made sure to close the door behind us.

I positioned myself in the center of the room, near the bed, and turned to speak, "So what's up?"

Ida reached into her purse and pulled out several folded sheets of legal-sized paper with a blue cover sheet. She held them out to me. "Take a look."

I grabbed it and unfolded it. It was an order to appear for a psychological evaluation. And my name was on it.

My smile was immediately gone. "What the fuck is this?"

"I want someone to check your programming, and I didn't think you'd agree to it on your own."

I felt dissociated for just a moment. I wasn't sure if I was afraid of what someone might find, or just furious at Ida. Probably both.

"You've got no right to have someone poke around in my head."

"According to our partnership agreement I do."

"If I'm behaving erratically, sure. But I'm not. I haven't even gone into the office yet."

"You're definitely behaving differently." Ida stared me down like she stared down deadbeat dads.

"Oh, fuck you. I'm happy. That's not a reason for a psychological evaluation."

"Maybe not, but your husband holding the keys to your brain definitely is."

Now I was getting more worried. "What do you mean?" I didn't want to give Ida any additional information unless it was necessary.

"James has full authority over the software simulating the old Elizabeth Cochrane."

I felt myself sneer just a bit. The insinuation that I was just a copy was crystal clear. "So?"

"Don't play dumb, he can change whatever he wants about you."

"It's an emergency thing, a safety measure, in case I have a glitch." I hoped she would buy the line of thinking like I had. I was too upset to fantasize about being reprogrammed. That was probably a good thing at the moment.

"It doesn't have to be. James doesn't need to prove you're incapacitated to make changes."

"We're not starting down this road, Ida. I'm not going to go through this every week because you don't trust James. Or go through this every time we have a disagreement. Trust me. I'm just the happy version of Liz."

"Are you hiding something?"

"Save it. That's barely any different from the old 'if you've got nothing to hide, you don't need privacy' excuse."

"Yves and I have a right to know if you're James' puppet."

I started shouting, "For fuck's sake, Ida! Do you have any idea what you sound like? I spend less than a week not obsessing over work and you think I'm a brainwashed puppet?"

"You're getting awfully defensive."

"You are fucking infuriating right now. All this is in your head."

Ida kept her calm. "The order is still valid. If you don't go through with it, it's a breach of the partnership agreement."

"You'd really kick me out of my own firm - our own firm - because of this."

"I think I'd have to."

I emitted an exasperated sigh that turned into a growl. "Weren't you the one excited about getting gynoids as clients? You think they're going to like being treated like this?"

"That's clients. I'm not personally liable for their actions the way I am with a law partner."

I don't think I was actually getting a headache, but I was feeling emotions that normally gave me a headache. It was enough to make me rub my temples. A plan was forming in my head.

"How about we talk about it instead of getting psychiatrists and subpoenas involved?"

Ida adjusted her posture, but didn't say anything further.

"That idea of programming, you've got it wrong. Understandably wrong, but wrong."

"Do I?"

I didn't know if this next part was true, I hoped it was close enough that Ida couldn't prove it false, "There are limits to what James - or anyone - can program into my brain. The new stuff has to work with the old. What exactly do you think he's programming into me?"

"I don't know, that's why I need to find out."

"Alright, what things do you think he might program into me that would be a problem for the firm?"

"He could tell you to lose a case intentionally."

"He could tell me that now." I took a step closer to her. In these heels I could force her to look up at me.

"He could force you to throw a case."

"Why would he do that?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter? You want to invade my mind. That's not something you should do for shits and giggles. If you can't conceive of a reason for him to do it, even in the abstract, it's highly highly unlikely he'll do it. You've known James for what, 20 years? Does he strike you as a man who does something on a whim?" I didn't want to think about how quickly Master may have made the decision to make me his property. It didn't help my case.

"He could disagree morally with our client and want them to lose."

"We do almost entirely divorces and probate, Ida. We aren't arguing in front of the Supreme Court. When was the last time you and Louis got into an argument about taking a case? And both of you are lawyers so you know what you're talking about. James doesn't know squat about these things."

"Someone could threaten him or pay him off."

"They could do that now. Wouldn't you think twice about taking a case if they threatened your husband?" I smirked, "And If it's a bribe big enough for James to risk my career it's probably a bribe big enough for me to risk my career."

Ida's lower lip was getting tight. It was the face she made when she was losing an argument. "I don't trust him the way I trust you. He could make you embezzle money from the firm."

"He helped design our financial controls, Ida. Robot or not, I'd get caught. Can you at least accept that I trust him? I wouldn't have stayed married to him for so long if he wasn't trustworthy." Yes, he had betrayed my trust by turning me into property, but it was for my own good. I could trust that he loved me.

I handed the court order back to Ida. She took it. "I can't understand how you could do it- How you could agree to have someone wield that much power over you."

I let myself blush and tactfully ignored the 'agree' part of her statement. "I'll be honest, I find it pretty hot. In a bedroom sort of way." I found it hot everywhere, but it was better to leave the breadcrumbs for a plausible alternative explanation for my behavior.

Ida blushed too, "I.. I didn't think you and James were into that sort of thing."

I shrugged, "I think it's pretty common for type A people to enjoy submission in private. A break from reality, you know?" No sense in telling her I didn't enjoy it before. It was plausible and that was enough.

Ida was suddenly struggling to keep eye contact. "Sure."

"Just between us girls, I think I was programmed to like giving head just as much as regular sex."

"TMI, Liz. TMI." We both chuckled. "I think that's the first time you ever mentioned sex to me. I mean, you having sex."

Crap, I might have gone too far. "It must be the body. Now I actually look like someone that has had sex."

"I think the four kids were a dead giveaway."

I smiled. "So are we good?"

Ida looked at the paper, "I'm keeping this handy. If I see anything suspicious, you're getting this order."

This was probably the best I could have hoped for. "Understood. Not much different than if I was having a nervous breakdown. Or continuing my previously scheduled one."

"Was it really that bad?" Ida flipped the court order in her hands.

"I dunno. It's hard to have perspective. I know I'm just infinitely better now. Did you think some more about doing this yourself?" I struck a little pose.

"Me? I think I'm still going to wait for the tech to get better and cheaper. Louis is thinking about it though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he has that heart condition. It's not serious, but you never know."

"Well let me know if you want me to set you up with my conversion neurologist, she's an absolute delight."

Ida nodded along. "Sounds good."

I put my arm on her shoulder. "If anyone deserves to have a perfect husband, it's you."

I probably got carried away again. Ida gave me a strange look, but didn't ask any more questions. All in all, I felt good. It was a different sort of good from when I served Master. It felt a lot more like the pride I felt when I was human. I had used my smarts to defuse a tricky situation with someone who was no dummy herself. Aside from some motivations, my additional programming never really entered into it. For maybe the first time since I first activated, I felt like I was wholly Elizabeth Cochrane and not UX-49a4, the copy of her.

And that's when I got the low battery warning. It wasn't at an urgent level, but it was now a nagging feeling in the back of my head. I resented the intrusion into my happy thoughts and the resentment didn't immediately fade.

I pondered that and loitered a bit so Ida could go downstairs first. She must have gone straight to her car, since she wasn't there when I rejoined James. I wrapped my arm around his and snuggled up against him while he was talking to Yves about lithium mining. I didn't really give a shit about that, so I rested my head on my husband's shoulder. I couldn't tell if Yves was amused at the action or just a bit jealous.

I told James about the low battery once there was a break in the conversation. It was a good excuse to thank Yves for hosting the event and get out of there.

Once we were in the car and on the road, we felt more comfortable talking.