Voluntary Beauty

Renton put his hand on the door handle, then pulled it away. He stepped back, shaking his head again. Did he really want to do this? He looked back up at the sign, glowing in classic neon. 'Voluntary Beauty' it blazed through the slight fog that drifted into the harbor district at night.

The cool night air bit into him. He didn't even have a jacket. His damnable landlord hadn't even seen fit to let him get anything before locking him out. Sure, his rent was two months late, but there used to be such a thing as common decency. Renton had learned that the notion had long since expired in the modern world since he'd lost his job.

But did it really have to come to this? He shivered as a cool bay breeze caught him. He could take a night on the street, tomorrow he could get an officer to help him get a couple things from his apartment, but he'd still be homeless after that. He didn't have any friends left to turn to in the city, and no money left to leave.

He took a deep breath and pulled open the door. There simply weren't any choices left. Renton strode into the reception area. The bright lights forced him to blink before his eyes adjusted. The room was not unlike the lobby of a doctor's office. A few leather couches and a stack of old magazines sat on a coffee table. What grabbed his attention was the striking young woman sitting behind the counter in front of him.

"Hello, welcome to Voluntary Beauty, how may I help you?" She smiled warmly as he wavered just inside the door. She was the mark of refined perfection. Her long brown hair was skillfully coifed around her classically delicate face. Renton nearly melted just from seeing the sparkle in her blue eyes and the way her thin red lips curved. Even the tone of her voice was angelic. It was almost too much for him to take.

"Yes, I... uh..." Renton stammered. It was hard to even find the words. Standing in front of such a lovely young woman didn't help any either.

"I see. You'd like to do an intake interview? I know just how nerve wracking it can be." The woman smiled and then typed a few notes onto her interface.

"You know..." Renton looked at her again. He stood speechless as he realized just how impossibly perfect she truly was. Certainly, there were lucky women who could match her flawless skin, regal nose and bright eyes, but it wasn't likely they would be sitting behind a reception desk, especially in this office.

"Certainly, the company naturally wants to put the quality of the process on display. I know you're probably worried and all, but it's the best thing I ever did. Now, just relax. The intake coordinator will be here in a moment and she'll answer all your questions." The young woman smiled and turned back to her screen.

Before Renton could make another jumbled attempt at sentence formation a side door opened, and he was forced to clamp his jaw shut, lest it start dragging on the floor. The blonde woman that strutted out had every bit of the beauty as the receptionist, and she was stacked to boot. She had the classic curves that real men drooled over and they were wrapped in almost inappropriately tight suit and skirt combo that accentuated her generous bust, round ass and ample cleavage yet stayed just inside the lines of professional.

"Good evening, sir, I'm Marigold Rollins. Gwendolyn told me that you were interested in conducting an intake interview. If you'd like to follow me, we can get started." She turned back towards the door she'd just stepped out of. Her blond hair flowed around her for a moment, sparkling in the office lights and just for a moment Renton thought she must have been sent straight from heaven.

Still, he stood, wavering just inside the lobby. His eyes were locked on the perfect sway of Marigold's round bottom. His brain hadn't yet managed to connect all the dots again.

"I have it on good authority that she doesn't bite, unless that's your thing." Gwendolyn chirped from her desk. That final nudge was enough to get him moving. After a few tentative steps he managed to regain some confidence and bounded after Marigold.

She stopped suddenly at one of the doors along the long hallway and turned back to him while she opened it up. "Please, take a seat, and we can get started."

Renton stepped into the room and took a moment to survey it. It was surprisingly relaxed. Two of the walls held rather suggestive abstract paintings above some potted plants. The third wall had been converted into a wall screen, and was currently showing a real-depth view of the city that was so immersive it was as if they were sitting in a penthouse suite. The center of the room was simply a pair of comfortable leather chairs with a small table sitting between them but offset. The atmosphere was perfectly tuned to be calming.

Renton slid into one of the chairs and tried to keep from getting too comfortable as he watched Marigold lower herself into the other chair with the grace of a dancer.

"If you don't mind, shall we start with a name?" Marigold smiled at him warmly. Renton hadn't been near a woman this refined in some time and it took a moment for him to engage his brain enough to recognize the question and then pull together the answer.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I'm Renton Warren." He finally managed to get out a complete, if short, sentence.

"Good to meet you, Renton," She held out her hand and gave him a surprising firm handshake with her delicate fingers. "My job here is to introduce you to Voluntary Beauty and if you are interested then I'll start on your assessments to see if you'll be a good fit. Can I assume that you've seen our ads?"

"Yeah, I mean it's kind of hard to miss them." Renton nodded. There was truth in that. Voluntary Beauty had gained a reputation for blanket advertising. If you could stick an ad on it, there was a good chance there was a Voluntary Beauty spot in the rotation.

"They are a bit aggressive down in marketing. Anyway, I need just one more thing before we begin. Do you consent to being recorded for the duration of this interview? If either of us decide not to pursue a contract the record will be destroyed after ninety days." Marigold motioned towards three cameras that ringed the room. "This is for our protection as well as yours and allows our psychologists to better determine if you can handle the job."

"Yeah, sure, you can record." Renton agreed. He'd gotten used to that in all the interviews he'd been on over the last year. It was always a bit creepy, but given how many crazy or desperate people there were lately, it made sense. It also protected again a slew of harassment lawsuits.

"Wonderful, now would you like anything to drink before we get started?" Marigold asked.

"Some tea would be good." Renton relaxed a bit more as she smiled and tapped on a small tablet. It was barely a moment later when the door opened up and Renton was sent reeling again.

The fact that the woman who walked in carrying a silver serving tray was exceedingly lovely wasn't much of a surprise. That she was nearly busting out of an indecently sized French maid costume instantly drew his attention. The black dress was brimming with bright pink lace along every edge, from the flared skirt that did nothing to hide her thong covered mound, to an elaborate pattern that traced the lewd curves of her massive breasts. Long black stocking ran up to her athletic thighs as she balanced on a pair of heels. Her arms were encased in long black gloves that ran past her elbows. The black lace collar with a tiny silver bell completed her costume. She moved with perfect grace, and skillful allure as she crossed the room and set the tray down.

Renton simply sat speechless as she bent over to stir his tea and gave him a full show of her bare bottom. Then she turned around as she held up the porcelain cup and plate to him. It took him a moment to pull his eyes off her cleavage and take the offered cup. Then, without a word she turned and walked back out.

"Is she..." He managed to stammer out as the door clicked shut.

"Of course, all the women here are under contract with us, myself included. I know it can be a bit shocking, but we like to get that out of the way right at the beginning." Marigold reached down and grabbed the other cup that had been left for her.

"So she..." Renton turned his eyes back to her as her words finally sank in. "And you..."

"Yes, I was a man. That is what we do here after all. Now, I'm sure you have questions and then you can decide if you want to continue." Marigold took a poised sip of her tea and sat back. She remained attentive, but relaxed, hoping to help put him at ease.

"Wow, I know the ads and all, but I... I just never imagined it would be so complete. I mean you're beautiful, and she was just..." Renton let the reality of it sink in. Sure, body mod tech had come a long way in the last couple of decades. What had started as cures for serious diseases had long since been exploited for purely appearance improvements. First, it was the cure for baldness, then a special treatment for breast enlargement that simply caused them to grow larger. Full body modifications were still rather rare, and as far as he'd known, they were still not this effective.

"Stunning, and I'll tell you that she loves dressing up like that. It's all part of the program." Marigold replied. In fact, she knew just how much Randi liked the costume and the attention that went with it. She'd shared more than a few late night sessions with the spunky maid and after that kind of intimacy, it was easy to share just about anything.

"How does it work exactly, the program that is?" Renton asked. As much as he'd learned the basics from advertising, there were a lot of details that we left out.

"In basic terms, we employ a custom set of nanites that are injected into the bloodstream and then over the course of about one week, they rewrite and activate different portions of DNA to transform the contract holder into the desired shape. We normally keep the contract holder unconscious for this phase and the next one. It takes about a week for the accelerated growth hormones to have their effect. When you wake up, you are one hundred percent female, and the physical transformation will be complete." Marigold explained. "And I have to admit it feels pretty strange to wake up with breasts, and empty crotch and several inches shorter. That feeling fades pretty quickly though."

"Is that all. I mean, I've seen the ads and you women tonight, I mean I don't think I could um..." Renton wasn't quite sure exactly how to say what he wanted. The whole notion here was hard to truly wrap his head around. It wasn't so much the notion that bothered him as the fact that he was here to sign on here as well.

"Act feminine? Yes, of course, that was a problem when the company started and I assure you that it has been addressed. Part of the transformation includes a special reconditioning program that will give you the proper instincts and skills for the role you contract for." Marigold smiled.

"So you're going to mess with my head too? It isn't permanent is it?" Renton sat up a bit straighter as he thought about that. Having his body changed was one thing, he could accept that, but having his brain modified was something altogether more frightening.

"Oh, certainly not. All of the procedures are reversible, and we take great pains to make an initial copy of your body and mind before we begin so that we can restore you to your original condition at the end of the contract. The only things that will not change will be your memories of your time with us. I don't want you to worry about that." She tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder and gave him another reassuring smile. "I'll be giving you a tablet with all the technical details for you to review if you are still interested."

"Good." Renton felt a bit better at that. He knew that the company had a good reputation, and that was reassuring as well. If anyone truly had problems here, then they'd have cried foul or there would have been a scandal by now. He didn't especially like the idea that his brain would be adjusted, but he could understand why they needed to do that.

"Excellent. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions and then we can have you take the psychological survey." Marigold tapped on her tablet again.

Renton simply nodded and she pulled up her first question. "So, can you tell me what brought you here to Voluntary Beauty? Please be honest as we will conduct background checks to confirm the details."

"Well, in all honesty, I'm broke. I lost my job last year, and I just haven't been able to find a new one. Then I saw your ads. You promise great pay and benefits for a short-term contract and job placement services after the contract expires. I've thought about it for a long while and when I got kicked out of my apartment tonight, I didn't know where else to go." Renton replied. It hadn't been an easy year. The economy was hard and no one wanted to cut an unemployed software developer any breaks.

"I see, I'm sorry to say that many of our applicants have similar issues before coming to us. Rest assured, that we honor all of those offers. Now, I need to get a bit personal here, but can you tell me about your sexual orientation and recent sex life?" Marigold continued.

"Well, I'm straight. I can't say I've had much luck with women lately. Being unemployed doesn't make it easy to find a girlfriend." Renton explained. Not that he'd tried. It was depressing enough looking for a job without the slings and arrows of relationship issues at the same time.

"How do you feel about becoming a woman?" She asked.

"Well, I never really thought about it before seeing your ads and losing my job. I'm kind of curious, but it's kind of freaky, to be honest. We don't have to have sex on the job do we?" Renton asked. That was something the ads never really mentioned, despite the rolling images of beautiful women in various states of dress. The idea was both oddly thrilling and all kinds of weird. Even if he decided to, he didn't want to feel pressured into it.

"No, of course not, one of the contract stipulations is that you have the right to refuse any sexual encounter. I can say that you'll be paid considerably better if you are willing to indulge the affections of our clients, but we have many assignments where you can simply be eye candy if that is what you want. Also, I want you to know that we do not tolerate sexual harassment or violence of any kind against our contract holders. I can vouch for that personally. If you ever have an issue with a client, report it to your supervisor and it will be taken care of." Marigold smiled. Internal discipline was strictly enforced, and she'd personally handed several clients over to the police for crossing the line.

Renton squirmed in his chair a bit. The thought of having sex as a woman was mildly disconcerting, but it wasn't his only concern either. If he didn't have money issues, he'd have never walked in the door. "So, it pays better if you'll have sex?"

"Certainly, our clients are looking to relive the misogynist past, and while modern women shun such things, our company is here to provide willing and well compensated women to fill those roles. Part of what they look for is a woman willing to be ravished, though the details of what would be asked varies by the assignment, as does the compensation." Marigold explained.

"What roles are we talking about exactly?" Renton's curiosity was getting the better of him. It didn't hurt any that he knew he'd have to decide what exactly he was going to become if he decided to sign a contract.

"We have many eye candy roles, booth babes, receptionists, escorts, and even fashion models. You can volunteer to be sexually available in any of these roles, but it isn't required. There are also positions that are more pointedly sexual, such as porn actress, and prostitute. Normally, the more sexually active you're willing to be the better pay you can expect." Marigold answered. She knew this was often the hardest question for the applicants to deal with. The ones like Renton who came because they needed the money had it the worst.

"What pays the best?" He asked. His curiosity won him over. If he did decide to try it, at least he could get something extra out of it. If they really wouldn't force him, he'd be able to think about it more. For now it was strange enough thinking he'd be turned into a woman.

"It is somewhat based on supply and demand. Usually, the best pay goes to our high-class escorts. We've found it rather difficult to find applicants with the right mix of knowledge and personality to fill the roles. Our reconditioning program can't really add knowledge to your brain, or smooth over every type of attitude. The next best pay goes to our kinkiest porn star actresses, but you'd have to be willing to do just about anything that doesn't result in permanent physical damage." Marigold winced a bit just thinking about it. She needed to review the demonstration videos with applicants from time to time and much of the stuff was far too extreme even for her.

Marigold watched him squirm in his seat at hearing that. The last thing she wanted was to make him too uncomfortable. She knew just how hard it was just to be sitting in that chair. "But don't worry about that right now. We have some psychological and knowledge tests that you need to take first before we can talk about what placement options we can offer, and you are free to pick what you're comfortable with."

"That sounds good. I don't really see myself in porn." Renton shuddered a bit at that. He had to admit he hadn't really considered just what it was he would do here. The simple offer of guaranteed employment and good pay was what had brought him in.

"I understand, but you can always change your mind. We've had many girls decide to get a follow on contract as porn stars after their first term in more conventional positions. If you stay away from the really kinky stuff, I hear it can be a lot of fun." Marigold winked. She'd even considered it as well, but she found helping new applicants so rewarding it was hard to think of doing anything else.

"I have to admit I've never had a company offer to be so flexible in an interview before." Renton sat back. He'd gone to far too many interviews in the last year, and it was almost always a harsh and demoralizing experience.

"Well, if our contract holders aren't happy, our clients won't be. You'd also be surprised at just how many hoops the regulators put on us to make sure we aren't abusing applicants. You'll see a bit of that when it's time to sign the contracts. Believe me when I say that it is in both of our best interests that you sign on to do only that which you're comfortable with." Marigold relaxed. It really looked like she would get another hire. Even with the bad economy, it wasn't easy to get applicants, especially ones that were qualified. Renton didn't look like a junkie or criminal, he was polite and reasonably well groomed. If any of that weren't true, she'd have had to toss him out, if Gwendolyn hadn't already done it.

She wasn't joking about wanting him to be happy either. The company's clients paid very well for women who didn't mind offering sexual favors or simply being eye candy in appropriate places. It was hard to do either of those things if the contract holder wasn't comfortable with their role. Certainly, the reconditioning process helped with many of those issues, but it was far from a panacea. An applicant could resist the changes, which was why they had a battery of tests to give before the rest of the process even started.

Renton nodded. It made sense. "Would you like to know anything else about me?"

"Yes, but that's what our next round of tests is for. Do you have any more questions for me, or are you ready to start the evaluation?" Marigold sat up in her chair and tapped her tablet again. The exam room would be ready for them when they arrived. One thing the company did well was run a tight ship. Everyone who worked here wanted to be here, the pay was great and that kept everyone working hard.