The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Jane Marshall clicked off the cell phone. Elizabeth “Libby” Branch, her best friend since third grade and her roommate since college, was going to be stuck at work for another couple of hours. “So much for happy hour,” she said to herself. The two women even worked at the same company, both getting jobs there after graduation, six years ago. Jane, medium-height, with short, curly black hair, a dazzling smile, and a softly rounded body with breasts to match, worked in the marketing department at the Carpenter Company, and had just been told that no promotions were available for this year in her department. Libby, the harder-working of the two (even since third grade), had become a senior analyst in the technology department. They had been looking forward to having a couple of drinks after work, Libby to celebrate the new software release, and Jane to drown her sorrows.

Jane frowned, looking around the mall. She wasn’t quite in the mood to go to a happy hour by herself, and besides, Libby could do with meeting some new guys, too. Jane hadn’t had many difficulties attracting men since she’d blossomed. Jane knew that Libby envied her “killer tits,” as Libby called them, but Jane had been unable to convince her roomie that she had her own significant beauty capital in her long limbs, soft brownish-blonde hair, and fresh, simple, Midwestern beauty. As for the chest department, Libby’s boobs were a respectable 34C, and while they were not Jane’s 38D, guys couldn’t really tell the difference on her longer frame. Libby was the shy one, and relied on Jane’s social nature, while Jane relied on Libby to keep her out of trouble. It was a formula that had worked without fail for twenty years, even surviving puberty.

“Excuse me, miss.” Jane’s musing was interrupted by a young man in a suit carrying a clipboard. “We are seeking people like yourself to participate in a series of focus groups judging many aspects of our popular culture, or to evaluate new technology. The focus group takes about an hour of your time, and we will pay you seventy-five dollars cash, or give you a mall gift certificate for one hundred dollars.”

Jane was going to be annoyed by the presumption, but the rewards caught her fancy. “Does that gift certificate work in any store here?” The young man consulted his clipboard, produced a gift certificate and turned it over so that she could read the terms and conditions with him. They both agreed that there were no restrictions on which store, so Jane asked him to wait while she left a voice mail for Libby telling her that she’d still be at the mall. The young man led her to an office overlooking one of the promenades.

She was greeted by an older man, in his late forties-early fifties maybe, with dark brown hair showing a touch of gray, and a friendly smile. “Hello, my name is Mr. Ross, and I am the manager in charge of the focus groups here. Would you like to participate? We have one more opening now. After confirming what the young man and she had decided, she agreed, and filled out a short form with her name, some demographic information, and a contact phone just in case they came back to the area and held more focus groups. “We don’t need that other information,” Mr. Ross explained, “unless you choose to take cash and we give you more than $600. Then we need to report it to the IRS.” Jane nodded absently. She had her eye on a little cocktail ensemble that would be just perfect for the company’s annual dinner. “Please make sure that your cell phone is turned off so there won’t be any distractions.”

He led her to a room with one very comfortable chair in it, and a table that had a microphone and some sort of console on it. “We’ve found that we can’t have group sessions, because then consensus tends to take precedence over individual opinion, so we separate all of our participants. I’ll be running the session from this room, so I can answer any questions you might have, and you’re free to leave at any time. However, you have to complete the survey to get the gift. Do you have any questions, Miss Marshall?” Jane shook her head no. Mr. Ross smiled and continued, “This is a technology focus group, Miss Marshall. You will be testing a new set of headphones from a manufacturer whose name must be withheld. We’re going to play some music through them while you listen, and I’ll be interested in your reactions to the quality of the sound. You can use the pad there to record your responses.”

She sat down in the plush chair, and inspected the headphones, trying to figure out what made them so special. “All distinguishing markings have been removed,” said Mr. Ross. “We’ll begin whenever you’re ready.” Jane shrugged and put on the headphones. All the noise from the outside world vanished instantly, except for a faint high-pitched whine she couldn’t quite identify. She couldn’t see Mr. Ross, as the table was behind her, but she told him that she was ready, and she heard his voice come through the headphones. “Commencing focus session 1J3C7M1,” and after a couple of seconds, her head came alive with the grand sweeping strains of Beethoven’s Seventh symphony.

It was exciting! She’d never heard music like this before! The entire symphony orchestra was in her head, between her ears! “Please look at your response pads and press the appropriate answer.” So was Mr. Ross! She pressed the first button. After about a minute, Beethoven was replaced by an organ fugue. Jane responded again. Each time the music would change, she felt as if she were on stage, or in the orchestra pit, or a grand cathedral with its enormous pipe organ. She’d never, ever heard music this clearly! This product was going to be huge. The only thing that detracted from everything, and it took her a while to notice, was that high-pitched whine, which finally began to overwhelm the music.

“Mr. Ross... Mr. Ross...” She tried to get his attention. Suddenly, restraints popped out of the chair and locked her arms and legs into place. Before she could realize that she was effectively trapped, the high-pitched whine began to increase in pitch and volume. She didn’t know exactly when she stopped hearing it, but her body arched off the chair, trying to get away from whatever it was, the noiseless sound that threatened to tear her brain apart. She collapsed back into the chair with a huff, sobbing. Jane looked up through her watery eyes, and saw Mr. Ross, looking at her with an-evaluating expression. The kind you get on a job interview. She opened her mouth to protest, to scream-

Her brain was on fire again, tormenting every nerve in her body as it tried to buck the headphones off, but they were the sealed-ear cup type, and she had fit them snugly against her head. She couldn’t hear anything but it was so loud and why was it so painful and-

It stopped. Jane panted, gasping for breath, forgetting that she should scream, that she should run away, that she should do something-and then it started again. This time it was slightly less painful, and didn’t last as long. Quiet periods alternated with the loud, painful silence, coming in shorter, less painful bursts, until she could no longer distinguish between the absence of sound and the onset of aural torture. Suddenly, a voice was in her head.

“Can you hear me, Jane?”

“Yes. I can hear you,” she responded, her hysteria and panic replaced by calm, everyday rationality. She regarded the man standing in front of her without expression.

“Do you know who I am?”

“You’re Mr. Ross, the manager of this focus group office.”

“Yes, Jane, that’s right,” he said with some pleasure. “How do you feel?”

She considered that for a moment. There was something way, way back at the corner of her mind, but she couldn’t get it to come out. “OK, I guess.”

“Your focus session is almost over, Jane. We think that you will enjoy participating in our focus sessions, and we’ll be moving to another city soon. You may come back tomorrow for more money.”

That sounded reasonable. At seventy-five bucks a pop, this was an easy way to get the money to pay Libby back for the singles cruise vacation they were taking next winter, and she knew that companies like this didn’t stay in any one place too long. “Yes, I’d like to come back tomorrow, Mr. Ross,” she answered, smiling. She stood up, stretched, and walked outside to the reception desk where she’d filled out the form. “May I have my form back, please? I think I want the money instead of the gift certificate. This would really help with vacation expenses. I can get a dress any time.” He agreed, found her form in the file cabinet, and happily accepted it after she’d given her address and social security number, telling her that he would see her tomorrow at the same time.

She immediately dialed Libby after she left the office. The crisis at work was now under control, and Libby was starving. They decided to meet at the House of Pasta in the mall for dinner. “I’m sorry I’m so late, Janey. Version 2 didn’t want to play nice with version 1 still being on the system so we had some cut-over issues.”

That’s OK, Libby,” Jane replied. “I’ve been at a focus session where they paid me seventy-five bucks for my two cents.” Both girls giggled at the pun. “Better still, they have more focus groups, and they’re going to pay me that each time I participate. I’ve been looking for a way to pay you back for the cruise, and I think I’ve found it. I have to come here after work tomorrow, so you’re on your own.”

Libby smiled at her roommate, happy that Janey had found a way to pick up some extra money. It wasn’t her friend’s fault that marketing at Carpenter had stagnated, along with her career prospects, and she knew that Janey already felt bad about Libby paying for the cruise for both of them. This focus group stuff sounded really good, and it had taken Janey’s mind off her non-promotion.

Jane sat in the chair, headphones on, waiting for Mr. Ross to return to the room. He said that she was the only focus member tonight, so he wouldn’t be running the session from this room, and he didn’t know what she would be evaluating this time, but that she could listen to music while she waited. Suddenly Jane’s body jumped as if she were being electrocuted, because she went from being onstage with Tim McGraw to that loud silence again. Thankfully, it didn’t last too long, and she settled back into the chair. Mr. Ross reappeared with a small box. “Can you hear me without the microphone?”

She nodded. He opened the box and showed her what she was supposed to be evaluating. It was a cigar. Ugh. Jane hated cigars, and told him so. Her body sizzled again, the loud silence making it hard to do much of anything. When it stopped, Jane looked at Mr. Ross. “How can I evaluate this? I don’t smoke any more. I quit in college,” she said. Jane felt funny again; the loud silence was all-encompassing, but not quite painful. She gritted her teeth and held up her hand to Mr. Ross, who was trying to say something to her.

She took the cigar from him and ran it under her nose. “I smell maple, vanilla, and cherries,” she said. She contemplated it for a few seconds before handing it back to him, as he asked her another question. “No, I don’t think I could smoke one of those. It’s... a cigar. Not for women, and all that.” Mr. Ross smiled and took off her headphones, saying that he understood. Jane went home happy with a check for seventy-five dollars, and another appointment for the focus group. At this rate, I’ll pay Libby off by the end of the week.

Thursday was a busy day at Carpenter’s marketing department. First, there was the mandatory training on the new software-it bored Jane, because she had learned everything she needed to know (and more) from Libby over the past three months. Then, they brought in a lunch and she was stuck in a long, long staff meeting about how the department was underperforming compared to all of Carpenter’s other departments. The group meeting seemed endless while they all tried to figure out how best to market the “next big thing from Carpenter.” Hold a damn focus group, she sourly thought, checking her watch frequently. It was after five-thirty when the meeting finally broke up. She left work directly from the meeting.

Jane rushed into the familiar office an hour late for her appointment. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ross, but I couldn’t get out of work until late, and I didn’t have a chance to call. Am I too late?”

He assured her that she wasn’t too late. “In fact, I’m glad you showed up because no one else did. I sent the rest of the staff home. Shall we?”

Jane headed into her now-familiar focus room, and took her seat, putting the headphones on immediately. The music started, classical again, filling her head with the sounds of the London Symphony orchestra. She barely noticed the high-pitched whine this time, even when it overpowered the music, becoming the loud silence she knew. “Jane, can you hear me?” She nodded at Mr. Ross, who smiled and handed her a cigar, asking for her impressions. It was long, at least six inches and slender, befitting a lady. He thanked her and said, “Jane, we’re going to be evaluating some new musical artists today,” as he took the cigar from her. Jane felt oddly... disappointed, but the music started again, and she dutifully pressed her buttons. It was nine o’clock before Jane got out of the focus group office, but she was another seventy-five dollars richer.

Friday rolled around and Jane was looking forward to the weekend. She and Libby had lunch together, and made plans to meet for happy hour at Hanratty’s in the mall after work. Jane took off early, so that she could make her daily visit to the focus group, and then have time to keep her appointment with her roommate. She tried to get Libby to get off early and join her, but it was a lost cause. The girl needs to learn how to lighten up again, Jane mused. She was a lot less nerdy in college-high school even. She breezed into the focus group office at three, happy as a lark. “Good afternoon, Mr. Ross! How are you this fine afternoon?”

“Very good, Jane,” he said, puffing on a cigar. “I apologize for smoking in the office, but I wasn’t expecting you this early, and the rest of the office is away on a training retreat.” Jane sniffed the smoke trailing in the air. Yep. Maple and cherries. Smells nice. I wonder... He clipped the burning end into an ashtray. “What brings you here this early?”

“I was hoping to get my session in before my girlfriend gets off work and we do the whole girls’ night out thing.” Jane glanced at the now-dead cigar in the ashtray, still discreetly sniffing the wonderful scent that lingered in the outer office. Mr. Ross told her that he had to find the topic for the day in the files, but that she should go on back to her usual room, and that she could put on the headphones if she wanted.

There was no music this time, but Jane didn’t even notice the high-pitched whining. Her mind was on a long, slim cigar, full of vanilla, maple, cherries, blackberries... Her reverie was broken by Mr. Ross’ entry. “Jane, can you hear me through the headphones?” She nodded, looking at him. “Now, Jane, I want you to look at these outfits and rate them. He handed her a book and as if on cue, music began to play through the headphones. It was accompanied by that stupid high-pitched whine, but she quickly tuned it out and turned to the task at hand. She studied the designs, all of them quite flattering to the female form, and some that were downright sexy. “Now I want you to pick the three that you like the most.” Jane entered her selections. “And your sizes, please; this designer wants to know what real people are shaped like.”

After she had complied, Mr. Ross left the room for a few minutes, and Jane found herself singing with Journey. She giggled nervously, but continued singing until the door re-opened. “Very interesting, Jane.” He put a clipboard with another form on it in front of her. “Fill this out, please. You’ve been very cooperative and determined about keeping your appointments, and we like people like that. We think you would like working for us.” She gave a peep of surprise, but filled out the form, excited. She asked about the question on living status. “We want to know if you are willing to be relocated or to travel,” he replied. She nodded and filled it in, telling them that she was renting with one roommate.

When Mr. Ross took the form and read it, he smiled broadly. “We will be interviewing here tomorrow morning at one. You owe it to yourself to come and hear what we have to say. There are openings in our marketing department, and I can guarantee you that you would improve your standard of living. We also have a focus group at ten, so you could earn more money.” Offhandedly, he checked his watch. “Where does the time go?! It’s almost five-fifteen, and I’m keeping you from your friend! Mr. Ross handed her a $100 gift certificate. “Give her this as an apology from us. We will see you at ten tomorrow, Jane.”

“Yes, I’ll be here at ten tomorrow,” Jane smiled as she accepted the gift certificate. She took off the headphones, and paused while Mr. Ross wrote her seventy-five dollar check. The cigar was still sitting in the ashtray where it had been cut, much to her disappointment. She shook herself from her contemplation, thanked him, and headed out the door.

“Janey!!!” Libby yelled, greeting her friend in the chaos that was Hanratty’s on a Friday afternoon, “Where did you disappear to? I’ve been here for a half-hour!”

“Sorry,” Jane replied, “got tied up at the focus group.” She broke out into a big grin and exclaimed, “They offered me a job in their marketing department!”

“What???!!!” Libby gaped at her friend and motioned to a table away from the bar, where they could talk. “They offered you a job?!!!”

“Well, almost. They have interviews tomorrow, and I’m going. Carpenter seems like it’s going nowhere, and the pay is better.” She reached into her purse and pulled out an unopened pack of Virginia Slims Ultra Light 120’s Menthol. She deliberately ignored Libby’s raised eyebrows while she opened the pack and lit one. Finally, she said, “I felt like it, OK? I mean, it’ll be like college all over again tonight!!! I even got menthol ones so you could share! It’s only one pack, just for tonight.”

Libby sighed in semi-exasperation. It had been easier for Jane to quit than for her; Jane went from smoker to social smoker to completely quit in less than a few months. Libby, on the other hand, had smoked right up until she and Jane had moved into the townhouse. She sighed again, before grinning, “If I start again after tonight, it’s gonna be your fault,” as she reached for one of the cigarettes. “At least it’s an ultra-light.”

Jane didn’t feel at her best the next morning-it had been a fun night out with Libby. However, she dutifully made her way to the focus group office the next morning, figuring that she could wake up enough for the interview after the focus group session. She was correct; after several cups of coffee and two hours of focus group, this time on rating different ad campaigns, she felt confident that she could present her portfolio to her best advantage. Mr. Ross came into the room. “It looks like we have a few more applicants than we thought,” he apologetically began. “Wait in here and listen to the music, Jane.” She accepted his offer, and reviewed her portfolio while still wearing the headphones. An hour later, Mr. Ross walked into the room with a guy who looked like one of the models in the ads she’d checked out earlier. “Jane, this is Mr. Harvey, our personnel manager. He’ll be interviewing you.” Jane smiled and greeted him, still connected to the headphones. He’s cute. Mr. Ross left the room.

“So, Jane, tell me what you would bring to our marketing department...” he began, and the interview started in earnest. Two hours later, Mr. Harvey was telling her about the focus group company. “You’ll like working for us. We pay very well, and we’re much nicer than Carpenter. There are more opportunities for advancement with us.”

“Yes... I’m looking for more opportunities,” Jane said, maintaining her interested posture, and making sure that she connected with him by affirming what he said. “I’ll like working for you. I’m not going anywhere at Carpenter. They’re not very nice.”

“Great, Jane! I’ll see you Monday, and we can go over the paperwork. There won’t be any problems with you relocating.”

Jane began, “No problems with-reloc—” Suddenly, she shook her head. Libby! What was she going to do about Libby? It would break her heart more than anything else. This would come as a complete shock!

“I can see by your hesitation that there’s an issue here,” Mr. Harvey said. “Do you have a boyfriend? Tell me why you can’t relocate right away.”

“No, I’m not attached-like that. My roommate... Libby... She and I have been best friends since third grade. We were roommates in college, and we moved in together because we both got jobs at Carpenter. She’s a manager in IT, and I don’t think she’d want to leave.”

At that, Mr. Harvey nodded pensively. “You would feel bad about leaving your friend.” Jane nodded. “And this is enough to keep you from accepting our offer.” Jane looked at the floor and said yes, embarrassed. “Well, this is something to consider. You’re sure she couldn’t find another roommate?”

“Well, she could... but this is all so sudden,” Jane replied. “I think she could afford the townhouse on her own, but we’ve been together for so long...”

Mr. Harvey nodded and mumbled, “Well, this is an unexpected complication.” The music continued to play in Jane’s head while he was obviously thinking. She anxiously awaited his next words. Had she blown it? “Come here on Monday, Jane,” he finally said, smiling. “We’ll talk some more.” As he turned to leave, he added, “We have another focus group for you today. Participate in it, Jane. We’ll even pay you double for it, since you’ve already gone through one today.”

Jane answered, “Yes, sir,” and waited for the recorded instructions to begin as she picked up the response pad. Mr. Harvey left the room. Shortly thereafter, a video began playing on the blank wall. She turned her chair to watch as the voice in the headphones instructed her to, and she operated the handheld console in response to the prompts. An hour later, she left the room, the video over. Mr. Ross and Mr. Harvey were looking at a chart, both smoking cigars. She sniffed the air eagerly, enjoying the wonderfully sweet scent of their smokes. As soon as they saw her, they apologized for smoking in the office. “Oh, that’s OK,” she honestly replied.

“You were longer than the other participants, Jane,” Mr. Ross said, “and since we were alone, Mr. Harvey and I decided to enjoy these. We can see that you don’t mind. The scent of expensive cigars interests you.”

“Yes, they smell very nice. I don’t mind,” Jane lightly said, before adding, “I’ve often wondered about expensive cigars.” She dawdled to savor the smoke in the small outer office, trying to be discreet about watching them smoke their cigars as they spoke quietly to one another. “Ummm...” she finally started, “about my check?”

“Oh! Yes, that’s right. One hundred fifty, as I recall,” Mr. Harvey replied. He put his cigar in an ashtray as he retrieved the checkbook. “Sign this first,” he directed.

Jane leaned over, cigar smoke curling in her face, and she signed the form in front of her with deliberation, reveling in the smoke and at the sight of the long, slender cigar, looking so elegant in the ashtray. She felt a pang of arousal, and reluctantly stood erect while Mr. Harvey signed the check, but that also put her close enough to breathe the smoke that Mr. Ross had just exhaled. She closed her eyes, smiling. As she took her check and walked out the door, she was thinking about Libby.

Trent Harvey looked at Mr. Ross. “She has a best friend who’s her roommate-I didn’t know that before,” he said with disappointment.

Ross shrugged. “That’s not really a problem. Did you see the way she looked at the cigars and was sniffing the air? It’s working, just like I said it would.” He fell silent, thinking for a moment, and finally asked, “Trent, you have enough money to get any girl you want, with or without my method. Why did you hire me?”

Trent looked at him and answered his question with a question. “Yeah, I have that kind of money, but how many girls would I meet that would be absolutely perfect for me?” Ross nodded with understanding. “Your method works great,” Trent resumed, “but her best friend is a big obstacle for her,” Trent turned to look out over the mall’s promenade. “Trust me, I know a deal-breaker when I see one,” he glumly finished.

Ross nodded again, choosing to take him at his word. “So you think the method is working, correct?”

“Yeah,” Trent answered, “I’m sure that it works, but she’s got—”

Ross interrupted, “Just how bad do you want this girl?” The expression on Trent Harvey’s face spoke volumes. “Then I have an idea, as long as you have faith in the method-but it will cost you.”

Trent looked at him and shrugged, “Money’s no object-within reason. What do you have planned? I mean, you said that there’s a possibility of causing brain dam—”

Ross held up his hand. “Well, I need to work on a different script tonight, and you’ll have to meet me at the studio tomorrow, bright and early.”

That piqued Trent’s curiosity. He’d wanted Jane since the first time he’d seen her at the Carpenter Company when he was checking out the firm before becoming their largest investor. He asked for details, but Ross only said, “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

When Jane got home, she called for her roommate. Getting no answer, she headed for the deck in the back of the townhouse where she saw her roommate, looking at the fence. “Hey Libby! I think I got the job if I want it!” she excitedly yelled. Libby spun, with a startled expression on her face. Jane immediately saw the reason: it was long, white, and trailing smoke. “I thought we finished the pack last night,” Jane said, noncommittally. “You got some more.”

Libby blushed, “Ummm... yeah.” There was a pack of Benson & Hedges Menthol Ultra Lights sitting on the table on the deck. “After you left, I got a call from the office. I had to go in for the upgrade; things were crashing all day and I’m low manager on the totem pole,” she said, pausing to take a drag. “It’s been more than a little stressful these past few days, so I picked them up on my way home from work,” she reluctantly admitted.

“Well, it sounds like you’re not too happy at the moment,” Jane intimated. Libby admitted that she wasn’t-she always got the off-hours calls that required a manager-the guys above her seemed to always be unavailable. “Well, that’s OK, Libby,” she comforted her friend, “I’m not gonna yell at you about smoking in the townhouse. I understand the stress Carpenter can cause.” She smiled. “I’m going in Monday to talk to the focus group people some more. They liked my portfolio, and like I said, I think I got the job.” She reached for her purse, grinning, “I feel like going out again tonight, so I picked up some Mores for myself on my way home from focus group.”

“You what???!!!” Libby yelped.

“Look at it this way, at least you won’t feel guilty about your cigarettes.” Jane and pulled out a pack of More 120’s Regular, and quickly opened it. “We should go to the 80’s party at Humphrey’s tonight, because smoking these reminds me of college and I feel so retro. Light me?” Jane asked, taking a nice, deep, satisfying drag on the long, brown cigarette when Libby complied, giggling. She enjoyed the slow exhale and the taste of the smoke, but it didn’t quite smell right.

Monday, Jane wished the day would pass faster. She couldn’t leave early, since she’d taken off prematurely on Friday, but she found herself looking forward to five o’clock and didn’t get anything done after four. She headed right to the mall and focus group. She rushed into the office to find Mr. Ross was waiting for her. There was no sign of Mr. Harvey or those delicious cigars of his. She worried aloud that she’d blown the chance at the job.

“No, Jane,” Mr. Ross assured her with his friendly smile. “Mr. Harvey had business at another location, but he personally told me that he was still interested in having you join us. There’s no enormous rush. We have several openings waiting to be filled.” He indicated room five and followed her inside. Jane, today we’ll be checking your response to some videos, just like on Saturday. According to the form you filled out, you don’t have a problem with adult material. So, if that is still true, you’ll be reviewing adult videos. They like to know if it works for their audiences, too.”

“No, I don’t have a problem with adult material,” she said, headphones already on. Mr. Ross left the room, and the wall came to life. After an hour, Jane felt mildly aroused, but not extremely hot. There was way too much girl-on-girl action for that. She slowly took the headphones off and walked into the outer office. Only Mr. Ross was there, and he asked her how she was. “I’m not offended,” she lightly replied, “if that’s what you mean. I’m pretty open-minded, but I think that’s all I can say to you about it, right?”

Mr. Ross nodded, and presented a form for her to sign. “Sign this, Jane, but I left the pens in the other office.” She opened her purse to get a pen, and spied the pack of Mores sitting there.

“Since we’re alone in the office,” she asked, “do you mind if I smoke a cigarette before I leave?” He said no, and lit her cigarette with his lighter. She signed the form and got her check, but she waited until she had finished her cigarette before standing up to leave. Mr. Ross told her that he would see her tomorrow, and she cheerfully agreed.

Tuesday, Jane was irritated with work. More specifically, with her supervisor at Carpenter, who had given her nothing but gofer tasks all day. She spent the day looking for reference material from their competitors’ ad campaigns for similar products. What a waste of my talent. The focus group company wouldn’t have me doing stupid shit like this. Libby’s day wasn’t going much better, so they both wound up taking several cigarette breaks that day. At five-thirty, Jane was in her seat at the focus group, headphones on, listening to descriptions of models’ bodies, and ranking her ability to visualize them from those descriptions.

She returned home that evening and wrote Libby a check for the cruise after dinner. “I’ve earned enough cash from the focus groups to pay you back,” she smiled. “Light me?” she asked, bringing a More to her lips. Between Jane’s celebratory mood, and Libby’s stress about the software upgrade, their mutually agreed-upon ban on smoking in their townhouse had vanished. Libby seemed to complain constantly about the so-called improved software. If it wasn’t crashing the system, it failed to perform as advertised. They were both disenchanted with their jobs at Carpenter, and it was growing worse. Something had to happen soon.

“Jane, we have more adult videos for you to view. You don’t mind.” Jane said no, that she didn’t, although she was barely able to hear Mr. Ross through the headphones. He left and the headphones began to play the music associated with the video. The wall illuminated, showing two women in a passionate embrace, but the audio seemed a little-distorted. At the end of the movie, Jane had to take a few minutes to compose herself. The movie had been-exciting. The men were cute enough, but the women had been gorgeous.

Libby wasn’t home when Jane opened the door at about eight p.m. That was odd. Jane double-checked her cell phone to see if she’d missed a call. Nope. Libby came in sometime around one a.m., looking exhausted. “Today was the worst!!!” she exclaimed. “The damn system crashed and wouldn’t come back. The new software corrupted everything! I have to be in at seven tomorrow to oversee the re-boot because the CTO is taking the other managers on a scheduled golf retreat! He said he couldn’t cancel because they’d have to forfeit the entire payment!!!” Libby started to cry. “I thought they were rewarding me, but they only promoted me so they’d have somebody to do all the work!!!”

Jane rushed over to console her best friend, who sobbed unashamedly in her arms. She cooed soft, soothing words to Libby, waiting for her to calm down, simultaneously enjoying the soft, warm feel of her roommate’s body. She held Libby, gently stroking her hair long after she’d finished crying. The embrace was making Jane think about more than just friendship.

Janey’s embrace made Libby feel much better. It was nice to always have your best friend there for you when things went wrong. “Thanks, Janey,” she said as they separated. They’d hugged and comforted each other many times before. She opened a fresh pack of cigarettes and lit one.

“Light me?” Jane asked, retrieving her own More. After Libby had finished venting the last of her frustrations, the two friends went to their bedrooms. Jane’s night was filled with delicious dreams of her and Libby.

Jane eagerly looked forward to the next afternoon’s focus group session. She had resolved to speak to Mr. Ross about a possible job for Libby; her best friend wasn’t happy at all at Carpenter now; it seemed that they were making her do the work of all the managers, and if the focus group was going to be better for Jane, maybe they’d have something for Libby, too.

“Hello, Jane,” Mr. Ross greeted her as she came through the door. “I’m afraid that you’re the only one who showed again today.”

“That’s OK, Mr. Ross. I have to talk to you first, anyway.” He seemed curious at that. She spent the next few minutes talking about Libby, and the fact that Carpenter was mistreating her.

“I know that we are experiencing growth, and are seeking experienced IT people to help us with our transition, Jane,” he earnestly said. “Ask her if she might want to join us as well. We’re paying a premium for people with her skill level and experience.”

Mr. Ross smiled, “It would most likely be a raise and at least a lateral position move, maybe even a promotion. I’m sure that we can certainly surpass Carpenter’s work environment if they are as callous as you say.” She thanked him. “I’ll contact Mr. Harvey, and see if he can come here for an interview tomorrow.” He opened the door leading to the focus rooms. “You’ll be in room two today. We have some slightly different products for evaluation.”

This room was different from the other focus group rooms. The chair was a recliner with a leg rest that reclined fully. The broad leg rest came almost all the way up so that she was lying nearly flat. “The chair’s being evaluated, too, Jane,” Mr. Ross explained. The headphones were attached to the chair this time, and she put them on, sealing out any kind of noise from the room. Suddenly, Mr. Ross’ voice seemed to come from everywhere. “Today you will evaluate adult novelties. Use them as you see fit and then answer the questions in the response pad in the armrest afterwards. You have complete privacy, and the room is soundproofed, so there’s no need for restraint.”

“Yes, sir. No need for restraint.” she replied.

“We will provide an appropriate atmosphere for the evaluation. You will start by pressing the green button here once you’re comfortably reclined.” He left the room, and Jane played with the chair’s settings, getting settled into its soft contours. When she pressed the button, a panel in the wall opened, and a motorized cart rolled alongside the chair and stopped.

“A robot! Libby would think that was so cool,” she said, although she was also impressed. The cart held all kinds of-sex toys! She giggled, but the lights dimmed, and the ceiling began to play, along with the music in her head. She recognized the music as being from the hot movie she’d watched yesterday. This time, she had some toys to play with, and complete privacy. Jane was naked before the first scene was over, playing with her breasts as the images on the ceiling filled her vision, and the slightly distorted sounds of sex filled her mind through the headphones. It wasn’t long before she found the vibrator that had the clit-stimulating arm and put it to use.

The movie had been over for fifteen minutes, but Jane didn’t care. She was awash in orgasmic haze, having used three different toys to masturbate to orgasm three times, each one bigger and stronger than the previous. She didn’t notice that Mr. Ross’ voice was in her head, telling her to rate things. She didn’t even notice when his voice faded, the movie re-started above her, and the deafening silence filled her head. She just laid there, legs splayed, awash in bliss...

Jane was enjoying a post-orgasm More, feeling too lazy to get dressed. She didn’t even flinch when Mr. Ross came in. She smiled at him, and then resumed smoking her cigarette. “Jane, tomorrow you will bring Libby here for an interview with Mr. Harvey,” he said. While his lips were moving, his voice only came through the headphones. “We will give you the job tomorrow as well. Tell Libby that tomorrow, we will have her go through a focus group in order to understand what it is we do.”

“Yes, sir,” she sleepily replied, her mind still addled by afterglow. She took a deep drag and leisurely exhaled. The music was so beautiful... just the thing she needed to prolong her ecstasy.

Mr. Ross’ voice filled her head again while the music continued to play in the background. “Get dressed now, and go home. It’s getting late. Libby will be worried. Tell her that you were reviewing some of the projects you would be working on, and that you talked to us about a job for her.”

Jane blinked. “Yes... getting late. I’ve been reviewing... projects... A job for Libby...” He left the room, and the music in her head stopped. Apparently, the session was finished. She reluctantly removed the headphones to get dressed and go home. She didn’t finish her cigarette, nor did she even bother to ask about her check on the way out.

“Wow, you’re getting home late. Did you go spend some of that cash you’ve been making? I don’t see sixty-three shopping bags,” Libby joked.

Jane shot back, “Well, no, I wasn’t shopping, but it wouldn’t hurt you to realize that there’s more to fashion than business attire. You could do with some more-attractive clothes.” Libby gave her a raspberry. Jane shrugged, smiling sweetly, and then plopped onto the sofa. “Light me?” she asked, getting a fresh More from the pack.

“One of these days, you’re going to have to get your own lighter, Janey,” Libby replied as she provided her friend with a light. Since Jane was smoking, Libby lit a Salem Slim Light of her own. She preferred something less-masculine in appearance, and menthol. She didn’t know why Janey had chosen to smoke Mores, but with her tits, she could get away with it.

“Haven’t since high school. You were always the practical one,” Jane grinned. She shifted position to face Libby. “Seriously, I was speaking with Mr. Ross at focus group. About some of the stuff I’d be working on if I took the job there.” Before the surprised, hurt look could finish forming on her roommate’s face, Jane continued, “But I also talked to them about you. About what you do, and how Carpenter has been treating you lately. I told him you weren’t happy.” Jane paused, trying to figure out what her best friend was thinking. Jane decided to tell her everything. “He said that they’d set up an interview for you tomorrow, if you wanted to come with me after work.”

Libby’s face brightened. “Really???!!! Janey?!!! I mean, how does it compare to my current job, where would I be moving to, what—”

“Slow down, Libby! I don’t know any of that,” Jane laughed. “But I’m sure that Mr. Harvey or Mr. Ross would be able to tell you tomorrow. But I’m pretty sure that we’d be going the same place if we both took jobs with them.” Libby stood and began to pace nervously, stopping every so often to take a drag. Jane felt a twitch as she watched her best friend in profile. Such a beautiful body. She’s so pretty... She has no idea how sexy she really is.

“I haven’t taken the job for sure yet,” Jane forced herself to say, interrupting her contemplation of Libby, “but if you get a job with them too, we can still be roommates, and it’ll be like college all over again!” Jane broke into an enormous grin. “A new city, a new life, and—”

“New men!!!!” they both chorused before breaking into giggles.

“Mr. Harvey, this is my roommate and best friend in the world, Elizabeth Branch,” Jane said. “She’s the computer person I told you about, and she’s thinking about leaving Carpenter, too.”

“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth,” the handsome man said. “Before you talk to me, though, I’d like you to get a feel for what it is we do, because that’s directly tied to our information technology needs. If you’d just go with Mr. Ross here, into room five, we’ll have you participate in a focus group, and then we can talk.” As Mr. Ross led Libby out of the room, Jane heard him say, “We’re testing some new audiophile headphones...”

Mr. Harvey motioned for Jane to follow him. She sat in the comfy chair in room six, relaxed, and put on the headphones. “So, Jane, if we were to offer Libby a job, could I count on you becoming a part of our family?” She smiled and eagerly answered yes. He began to tell her what a wonderful career she would have with the company...

Libby came into room six accompanied by Mr. Ross. Jane and Mr. Harvey were smoking cigars and having champagne. “I took their job offer, Libby,” Jane began. “But only if they’d hire you, too.” She took a drag from her long, slender cigar, inhaling deeply, and noted Libby’s curious look. “Oh, Mr. Harvey gave it to me,” she smiled. “He says that’s the way they celebrate things here, with champagne and cigars.” She looked in Libby’s hand. “Oh, you’ve got the headphones!”

“Yeah,” Libby grinned sheepishly. “Techie that I am, I asked for the headphones instead of a gift certificate or cash. They’re worth more than both of those combined, especially when you consider that I also got a matching CD player and some CD’s to go with it. The CD’s are specially-encoded for audiophiles, and you can’t get them at any store.”

“Come back tomorrow for an interview with me, Libby,” Mr. Harvey interjected. “If you’re as good at your job as your roommate is, I’m sure we can find a position for your talents.” Jane took another drag from her cigar and exhaled a thick stream of smoke, smiling broadly.

One Year Later

Jane Marshall looked out from the penthouse patio at the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean. She never tired of this view, and the ocean breeze that she got to enjoy for a few months over the winter. Sure beats New York in January. After checking her watch, she carefully clipped the slender, expensive, handmade Cuban cigar before inserting it into its holder. “Libby, darling,” she called into the bedroom, “come light me.” Libby Branch came out onto the patio, wearing her bikini bottom and nothing else.

Jane pulled Libby to her and gave her a deep kiss. Libby responded eagerly, feeling very flushed and hot afterwards. She patiently lit Janey’s cigar, waiting until the end glowed a complete red with Janey’s draw. Libby pulled a Capri 120 menthol from the pack on the table and lit it, feeling another hot flash of lust go through her body as she watched her best friend, lover, and mistress against the clear blue sky. “When will he be home, Janey?”

“Any time now,” she smiled. “He called about an hour ago from the airport in Cancun, so he ought to be here real soon, sweetie.” She looked at her best friend, her lean, yet feminine, body so perfectly appetizing, her fresh, adorable face... Jane blinked, belatedly realizing that they’d been kissing again. “We’d better save some for Mr. Harvey, dear.” The disappointment she felt was mirrored in Libby’s expression. “You know how he is after business.” She took another drag from her cigar and returned to the railing, resuming her silent contemplation of the Caribbean, ignoring Libby. The bedroom door closed behind her less than a minute later; Libby understood that she had been silently dismissed. It made it easier to resist the temptation of her slave girl’s charms.

Trent Harvey smiled as his limousine neared his Mexican villa, where his made-to-order vixens awaited. While the successful completion of the deal that added to his already-gigantic personal fortune was thrilling, he hardened at the thought of Libby and Jane. The large cost of the ultrasonic conditioning had been well worth the thrill of being able to enjoy his newest fantasy whenever he wished. By now, Ross had no doubt moved on, possibly two or three times, to new cities and malls, holding “focus groups” to fill orders for clients who had the money and foresight to create their partners to exacting specifications. Some have paid more in multiple prenuptials and settlements than the cost of turning someone into the right person straight off. Trent grinned at the thought that he had gotten in on the ground floor-while Ross was still perfecting his method. The price for one conversion was now probably double what he had paid for both girls. Trent, you sure know how to spot a good trend and jump on it before it gets hot.

Both girls had been brainwashed by ultra-high frequency sound waves and turned into Trent’s personal playthings. While Trent had only wanted Jane at first, Libby had presented a complication: their friendship was something that the conditioning couldn’t overcome. Ross had suggested that it could be resolved by brainwashing Libby as well. As Trent remembered the way that the taller girl’s soft, warm, wet mouth felt when it moved over his cock, he couldn’t imagine why he’d initially had doubts about that solution. Both girls’ sexual skills had been enhanced and their libidos increased through the conditioning. Moreover, their sexual preferences had also been re-defined in the sessions with Ross, with Libby’s designed to be complimentary to Jane’s.

He wished that the limo could go faster as thoughts of his business dealings faded to insignificance, overwhelmed by the images of his favorite position: thrusting at Libby from behind while she licked at Jane’s pussy. He got even harder. As he realized that he was only a few minutes away now, episodes of their previous sex games replayed, interspersed with visions of Jane smoking cigars in the manner he and Ross had worked hard to cultivate. He was only a few blocks away now. All work and no play makes Trent a very dull boy. Trent had paid top dollar for his toys, and now that his hard work was done, it was definitely time to play.