It was a warm morning, the spring sprouts had all fallen to leave place to summer leaves and blooming flowers.
It had been hard to wake up and head to work, god knows Ermano simply wanted to rest for the day, lay in bed and avoid work.
But bills never paid themselves, one way or another, he needed to make the money for at least his survival.
With a resigned sigh, Ermano lifted himself off the bed, making his way to his bathroom to start off his day.
Teeth and hair were brushed, food was consumed and pages were read, there was nothing left to do now but to head to work.
...
"Sir, you will need to go through the different employees that will be showing up for hire." The secretary said upon his arrival, he nodded to her, taking the curriculum vitaes that she held.
A quick scan through was enough for him to reject at least four, keeping the remaining two for him to interview.
He pushed the door to his office, clicking his fingers to his secretary who rushed over to the window, opening the curtains to let the sun in.
"You can schedule them to come by 9 am, it's currently 7h55 so I expect my coffee by eight." Ermano said as he adjusted his CEO plate on the desk, twirling the chair around before sitting down.
The secretary nodded and rushed out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind herself as Ermano opened his laptop, immediately going to work.
He was excited for the day now that he looked through his emails, seeing a few business responses that all seemed promising.
He had managed to get one of the businesses from France to agree in a partneship, this meant he could easily make trades of stock with them.
A smile apeared on his face as he leaned back, pulling a cigarette from his pack on the desk before pressing his secretary button on his phone.
"Natalie, I am still waiting on that coffee."
"Yes, I was about to come bring it to you sir."
"Perfect, schedule yourself for a paid day off after the interviews. You did a wonderful job yesterday with the clients." Ermano said as he heard a small giggle, receiving an affirmation before she walked away from her desk to grab his coffee.
He turned his chair a bit, looking at the scenery, he pushed himself off the chair, making his way to the large windows, he liked having the view over London
He smiled as he watched one of his planes take off from the distant airport, he knew that merchandise was being sent to france and that he would soon be able to get french products on his shelves.
"Excuse me sir, your coffee." Natalie declared as she walked in, gently putting it on his desk before bowing a bit, pulling out her clipboard.
"Mr. Myers called, he wanted to congratulate you on your success. He suggested a dinner at the Velour down on Oxford street."
"You can tell him I accept his offer and will be seeing him at 5 o'clock tonight." Ermano said a she scribbled his answer on a note and quickly turned on her heels before stopping abruptly.
"Sir?"
"Yes Natalie?"
"What are we to do about the boy boy in section b?" She asked as Ermano sighed, making his way over to his desk, his hand gently grasping his cup before taking a large gulp.
"What was his fault again? He was such a good boy to me." He asked as a smirk appeared on his face, remembering the boy he had spread on his desk.
"He sexually assaulted one of our cleaning ladies, Gernia."
Ermano clicked his tongue, irritation now crossing his features as he pinched the brink of his nose, nodding in understanding.
"Make sure she gets a raise, and give her a paid week of vacation to Morocco." Ermano said as the lady smiled, quickly marking it down before lifting her pen.
"What now?"
"The boy?"
"Oh... Right. Fire him on the spot and report him to the authorities. As much as he was pleasant to play with, I do not tolerate harassment upon my employees." He said before Natalie nodded and wrote off his request, bowing again with her clipboard on her chest as she made her way out swiftly.
The man sighed as he took a lighter and lit up his cigarette, taking in a deep puff, it quickly calmed his mind.
He decided it was time to prepare his afternoon presentation for the assembly he had, turning around to sit down at his desk and begin preparations.
...
"Sir, the first candidate has arrived." Natalie paged through his desk phone, taking his attention off of his computer.
He took the last drink of his coffee, adjusting his tie before pressing his button on the phone.
"Thank you, Natalie. Please send them in immediately." He responded, receiving confirmation from his secretary as he leaned back on his chair, taking a quick look at himself on his phone before the door opened.
"Good morning, I'm Hilton. How are you sir?" The man said as he walked into the room, his hand stretched out for a shake.
He liked the initiative of the young man.
"I am Ermano, CEO of Collective Enterprise Inc. I'm doing quite well, thank you. So, what is it you are looking for in my company? Money aside that is." Ermano asked, shaking the man's hand before sitting back down on his chair, crossing his hands together.
"Well, I am currently studying business. I would like to be just like you one day sir. So getting to work under such a successful business man would be a great attribute." Hilton said with a smile, clear mischief in the man's eyes.
"I see, and what are you willing to do to get up the ranks here?" Ermano asked, testing to see if the man was willing to work hard to get where he needs.
"Well... I am willing to do anything. And I mean... Anything." The boy said, licking his lips as he looked down at Ermano's crotch with desire.
Now, in normal circumstances, Ermano would have loved to get a nice blowjob from a youngster, but this was a job interview, this wasn't a good first impression.
"Mhm... And what are your qualities? What makes you different from hiring anyone elses?" He asked, putting his ankle on his knee, his chin now laying in his palm.
"Well, I have good initiative. I work very hard and am very good with my hands." The man said, winking as he leaned back, causing the opposite reaction in Ermano.
He was the type to like more reserve men, ones that were strong and quiet, this man was too confident and way too cocky.
Plus this was a job interview, not a strip club, he needed serious people if he wanted his company to keep itself afloat.
"Alright, that'll be enough for the day. I will reach out to you if you are chosen for the position." Ermano said as he looked at the other resumes, dismissing the boy with a swing of his hand.
He started to read through the next resume, frowning a bit at the lack of qualities and experiences, yet there seemed to be something that intreagued him regarding this lady.
The experience she did have was, well least to say it was very unique, none were common things you would see on a resume.
He jumped when he felt a hand on his thigh, looking up in confusion as the man smirked, not having left the office yet.
"What are you doing?" Ermano asked with a cocked eyebrow, shocked at the audacity of this man.
"I figured I could give you a good time before I left, give you something to remember me by~" Hilton said as he got on his knees, reaching for Ermano's zipper.
He quickly caught the man's hand, clicking his tongue in disappointment as Hilton frowned.
"This isn't a slut office, what the hell do you think you are doing? Did you not hear my dismissal?"
"Sir, I just wanted to pleasure you—"
"I did not ask for your services. Please exit my establishment, you will not be hearing from us again."
"But sir—"
"Leave now before I call security." Ermano said in a heavy tone, he did not like this guy one bit, he had regretted giving this man a chance to be interviewed.
Hilton groaned and stood up, making his way towards the door as it opened, glaring at the girl who stood there innocently.
"Move it, bitch!" He said as he bumped into her, making Ermano sigh as he shook his head, giving a sympathetic smile to the girl who wobbled inside.
"Don't mind this boy, he does not work here. Please come take a seat." Ermano said as he pointed to the chair, watching as the young girl walked in, she sat in the chair he held open, sighing in relief as she adjusted her skirt.
"I am Ermano, CEO of Collective Enterprise Inc. What brings you to my establishment? Aside from money of course." He said with a smile, making her chuckle a bit at the joke.
"I would like to join the customer service position, I thrive at an office desk more than I do at a counter." She giggled out, receiving a nod from him.
...
A heavy sigh left him as he leaned back on his chair, rubbing his temple as Natalie walked in, bowing before she gave him her clipboard.
"Here is the schedule, I will be heading home now, will you be alright sir?" She said in a soft tone, he had always liked the way she cared for him like a sister, it warmed his heart.
"I will be fine, yes. Just disappointed with the interviews. Thank you, Natalie. Please go home and rest, next week will be busy." He said as she nodded, bowing again before she left his office.
He looked over at his laptop, groaning while standing up to shut it off, he had very little hopes towards the people he interviewed today.
The first one was simply too open to sex at work, it also looked like he had temper issues, the other one just was far too dimwitted to be part of such a large company.
"What happened to the new generation?" Ermano sighed as he made his way out of the office, his shoes echoing into the empty hall.
He hated how most men nowadays were willing to sully themselves for work, he couldn't understand how people could be this desperate.
He clicked the elevator button, pulling out his phone with a sigh as he scrolled through his company website, making sure everything was in order.
He frowned as he noticed a bad review quickly seeing that it was regarding a product failure, reading further, Ermano realized they had gotten a prototype by accident instead of the real product.
He walked into the elevator, quickly choosing the lobby floor before pulling out his contacts, he needed to reach out to his manufacturer as soon as possible to get a proper replacement to the poor customer.
"Hey Donald, how are you doing?"
"I'm doing quite fine sir, what can I do for you today?"
"I got a client here that ordered our latest model, for the Byron 60. They mentioned some sort of defect that seemed to be related to our prototype. I need a proper product to be sent out to this customer free of charge as soon as possible." Ermano said as he heard the man click his tongue in annoyance.
"Yes, I did notice one of the prototypes had gone missing, I am sorry to hear that it was given to a customer. I will have that dealt with immediately sir."
"Good, that's all I needed. Have a good day." Ermano said as he closed the call, walking into the lobby and out towards the streets.
He sighed as he walked down the stairs, looking at his phone to check the time, the air was already warm with humidity despite how early in the day it still was.
Ermano made his way towards the city center, he needed to go decompress at a nice bar, perhaps he could loosen himself up before the dinner he had tonight.
He stood by the light, his eyes scanning the area as he waited for the crossing to turn green.
Some kids were playing around in the park nearby, it made him smile at the thought of having his own, not that he ever would considering how busy he was, he didn't even have a relationship to begin with.
He sighed as he made his way forward, the light having finally turned green, his feet were now heavy with sadness, knowing his fate.
He knew from a young age he was different, liking men had been evident early on in his life, it didn't stop him from wanting kids however.
He had gotten into a relationship when he was 25 years old, having found the perfect guy, or so he had thought, but when his test results came back as infertile and that he could never have his own kid, the other man cheated on him for another.
He hadn't understood why, they could have easily adopted, or even gotten the other's sperm to have the child conceived, but it didn't matter apparently to that man.
The sound of a scream pulled Ermano back to reality, turning around to see a car speeding past the screaming vitim and towards a woman who had headphones in, unaware of her imminent danger.
Without a second thought, Ermano turned around, his feet moving as fast as he could, pushing the women out of the way on time to avoid her being hit.
A loud bang echoed, flashes of colors flew in front of him, blues, greys, reds, all seemed to be spiralling around him.
It was all too much for him, closing his eyes for a moment of peace, he didn't understand what the person beside him was saying, his head was too heavy to try and look at them.
...
Pain was the first thing he felt when opening his eyes, frowning as he looked around the room, it reaked of chemicals.
The walls were pale grey with what looked like poor drawn designs of darker greys, he hated the look of the room.
It seemed like some low quality hospital, he knew this had to be a dream as he was too high status to be in a run of the mill hospital.
"I see you're awake, may I ask your name?" A voice echoed as the door opened, making Ermano groan as he tried to sit up.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, that train hit you pretty hard." The man said, making Ermano frown.
"A train..?" Ermano asked, his voice dry and cracking, sounding like he had smoked huge packs of cigarette since he was 12.
"It's possible you don't remember, you tried to take your life by jumping in front of a train. We managed to save your life, and you somehow managed to be unharmed for the most part. Aside from the head trauma." The man that looked like a doctor now more into clear view said, writing onto a clipboard.
"I don't think... That doesn't sound right. Why would I do that?" Ermano asked, confused as he tried to recall the last day, only being able to remember until the car incident.
"I have multiple eye witnesses as well as a very traumatized train driver who witnessed the whole scene." The doctor said as he adjusted the IV, inserting some syringe into the tube.
"What is that?"
"Oh, just your medication and painkillers." The doctor said as Ermano nodded, looking at the window with confusion.
Why had he jumped in front of a train?
More importantly, when?
He couldn't think of any reason to, his life was going so well, his business was blooming wonderfully, it just didn't make sense.
"Now, do you remember your name at all?" The doctor said, pressing on the pen clip to prepare himself to write Ermano's answer.
"Ermano Summerville." He replied, making the doctor frown and write it down, looking at the clipboard he held.
"Alright... Um, what day are we in your opinion? What is the last day you remember."
"Um, if it's been a day since the incident, today should be Saturday June 11th?" Ermano replied, the doctor nodding before writing a long paragraph on his paper.
"Last question, where do you last remember being?"
"Um... Last I remembered, I was walking down Oxford street."
"Oxford street..? Where exactly would that be?"
"Um... Oxford street in London?" Ermano said before the doctor frowned, looking at the paper before looking back at Ermano.
"Mam... I think you have some severe brain damage." The doctor said with concern as Ermano frowned, why had he addressed him as mam?
"Um... It's sir. I am not a woman." Ermano said before the doctor sighed and wrote down something on the board.
"It seems you're confused with your identity—"
"I am not confused, I have a cock. What's to be confused with that?" Ermano stated in disbelief, the doctor chuckling and shaking his head as he wrote more down on the board.
"Well, I will come back later. Hopefully you will remember more by then. If you need anything, theres a nurse button here and a distress button here." The doctor said before walking out, leaving Ermano there in disbelief.
When the door shut, Ermano slowly sat up, groaning as he looked around the room, nothing seemed right to him.
He slowly pushed his legs off the hospital bed, groaning as he lifted himself, grabbing onto the the IV stand, making his way to the bathroom.
He flicked the ligh on, a grunt left him as he closed the door, making his way over to the toilet, he slowly lifted the seat before pulling the gown up, frowning as he looked down in confusion.
"What the hell...?" He said as he looked between his legs, blinking repeatedly as he looked at his crotch.
There was no longer a shalf there, or balls, instead, he was faced with lips and a clitoris.
He couldn't believe his eyes, backing away as the gown dropped back down, he quickly gripped his chest, eyes growing wide as he felt the the large breasts that were there.
"What the fuck!?" He yelled before quickly facing the mirror, his face paling as he looked at the mirror, a woman facing him back.
How was this possible? Surely he was having a dream, there was no way he had somehow gained the body of a woman.
Tears started to appear in his eyes, a frown crossing his features as they fell down his cheeks.
Ermano never cried, this was unnatural to him, all of this was unnatural, who had done this to him?
He quickly made his way out of the bathroom, spamming the help button as his heart raced, unsure how to even ask for help.
A nurse soon came into the room, smiling softly as she came by his side, putting her hand on his frail arm.
"What's wrong sweetheart? Is there something you need?" She asked as Ermano teared up again, anger showing through his eyes.
"What happened to me!? I don't understand anything!" He yelled, making the nurse frown a bit, looking at him with pity.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"This! What happened to my body!? I used to be a highly ranked business man! Who did this to me!? Where is my body!?" He started yelling, making the nurse back away, reaching into her pocket to click the emergency button.
"Mam, you need to calm down. You attempted suicide—"
"I did not try to kill myself! I was in London! I tried to save a woman from being hit by a car!" He yelled before three doctors walked in the room, one of them having a syringe in his hand.
"Mam, I don't know what you are saying, but you are in Chicago right now, you were found on the railroad about an hour from here okay? You couldn't be in London... And you are definitely not a man." The doctor said as he slowly approached Ermano, the two other doctors close behind him.
"Please sit down and relax. Otherwise, we will have to use force." One of them said as Ermano sat down in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Chicago...
That meant he was no longer in the United Kingdom, he was now in the United States of America.
"How did I get here...?" He mumbled to himself, the two extra doctors nodding and leaving with the nurse as the original doctor sat next to him.
"I know it's hard to believe, head trauma can sometimes do this. It creates a dream you completely believed was real. But I can assure you that you are in Chicago, Illinois." The doctor said, gently putting his hand in a comforting manner on Ermano's shoulder.
"So... My memories, they all were just a dream?" Ermano asks, confused as he looked at the doctor in shock.
"Yes, I looked up the person you spoke of, they died a month ago in a car accident. They were hit trying to save a woman. There is no way you could have been that man." The doctor said, making Ermano look down at his feet.
He couldn't believe what he had heard, his entire life, gone in an instant.
He knew the doctor was trying to be nice, saying there was no way he could have been that man, but he knew it was the truth.
The doctor slowly stood up and smiled to him, pulling out a board before looking at Ermano.
"Since you cannot remember your name, what would you like to be addressed as?" He asked, a heavy feeling entered Ermano's chest as he glanced around the room.
He was hoping that somehow this was an awful dream, that the second he closed his eyes, he would wake up from it and back into his life.
But for now, he would play along with this nightmare.
"You can call me Elena."