The Great Pretender (closed)

[DreamingOfMyEx]

If restraining a man she barely knew to a chair and humping him to orgasm while smothering him with kisses was an unusual experience for Elle, it felt no more unusual than attending church that first Sunday morning. Practically everyone in the congregation was someone Eli had known for years - and half of them were people Eli had known his whole life. But now Eli was Elle. In their eyes she was a person they had never met before, and she had to pretend she didn't know them.

Don't call anyone by name until after you've been introduced. Remember you don't know what anyone does - who's married to whom - or even who you liked or didn't like. Even though Elle already knew everyone and everything there was to know, it felt strange now that she was looking at everyone and everything with new eyes. Prettier eyes. The eyes of a desirable young woman.

Stand for the opening hymn. Holy shit, Bobby Jones is checking me out. He's only... 18? But Eli had known him since he was a toddler.

Remain standing for prayer. Elle could feel someone behind her staring. When it was time to sit she turned slightly to see Fred Sampson still staring. Until he realized she saw him. Busted! His eyes immediately darted around the church as if her were checking out his surroundings for the first time. Fred was married to Sally, owned a hardware store, and had three children. The younger two were in the church nursery, while the oldest was old enough to "endure" the worship service.

Then when the next song started, she noticed another married man with children - Bill Wright. He, too, was looking -- in that way men look while pretending not to look. Elle hadn't even noticed them when she arrived, hadn't had time to do much before finding a seat. Elle didn't let on that she knew Bill was watching her, but she smiled at the thought. She was going to find a way to get him alone.

As Elle relished the attention she was getting from her male admirers, she was finding it easier to forget their past relationships with Eli and look forward to meeting and getting to know them as Elle. She looked over at 18 year old Bobby again - who sure enough was also looking at her. She winked. He didn't know what to do, but turned his attention back to the pulpit, where Pastor Jim was calling everyone's attention to the announcements listed in the church bulletin. Ladies Bible Study on Tuesdays. Men's weekly prayer breakfast on Thursdays. Youth group hosting a fund raiser to pay their expenses to attend church camp. And of course the big church social next weekend.

Then Pastor Jim's eyes fell on Elle, and lingered a bit longer than they should have. The man was pushing 50, overweight with thinning hairline, gregariously friendly at times and fervently devout. Well, she was a new face in the congregation - it made perfect sense he would notice any new faces standing out. But then it took him a bit too long to find his place and resume reading the announcements - Tim and Martha's new baby, mom and baby are fine but Tim is a nervous wreck (laughter), Sam's surgery went well and he'll be home in a couple of days, remember him in your prayers (amen), and on it went till it was time to sing again.

Of course she couldn't spend the entire hour squirming in her seat trying to look around church, but Elle was dying to see if anyone else was trying to check her out. She knew there was, but that's not the same as seeing who, specifically. That's when she noticed the pastor looking at her again. She looked down demurely at her hymnal, and sang softly - thinking of how someone compared her voice to that of Marilyn Monroe. How else could she channel her inner Marilyn?

After a typical Pastor Jim sermon - this one was on "New Beginnings" - and a closing hymn, it was time for Elle to start "meeting" various members of the congregation. The youth group had printed flyers to hand out - offering their services in exchange for donations for church camp. The girls were baking cakes and cookies, babysitting, even cleaning houses. The boys were mowing lawns, washing cars, etc. Despite the fact Elle had already been given a flyer by one young man, all the others tried to give her a copy of the same flyer too.

Tom Connors was there - Elle finally noticed him - but he didn't approach Elle. It was church, and to him it just wouldn't feel right. Besides, she was already surrounded by men, and that was stirring up strange feelings in him. Feelings of ... jealousy?

---

"You go on out to the car, I'll get the kids."

It was Bill's voice. Elle's heart literally jumped in her throat. The near-perfect opportunity presented itself. "I hope you'll excuse me, I need to powder my nose" she said to the besotted young man who was trying to tell her about the restaurant in which he worked, hoping she would come check it out.

If she walked quickly enough to the door that led to the fellowship hall, then hurried in heels to the hallway that led to the Sunday School wing, she could catch her breath, formulate a plan, and intercept William Wright just after he picked up his rambunctious rug-rats from the nursery but before making it out the side door to the parking lot.

"Just be sure you thank him for saving you as well. Men love to feel powerful, and being protectors, especially of darling little things like you, can be an especially good motivator for them."

"Well, hello again. It looks like you've got your hands full. Remember me?"

 

[SexyVita]

Val was soon caught up in discussions of next week's social but not so much so that she couldn't keep half-an-eye on Elle, who was doing an amazing job of holding court over a rotating group of admirers. Val found herself swelling with pride in Elle's performance, in part because it was largely due to Val's training that she was even prepared for this, but also genuinely for Elle herself, something that she hadn't felt in her husband in a long time.

The way she'd talked to Elle the last few days, it might seem that she'd never felt any pride in Eli, but that wasn't entirely the case. She knew how crushing it had been on him when he found out he was ineligible to serve, let alone fly. And yet he had found his own way to serve, by going to school and becoming a aeronautical engineer, and she'd been proud of him for that.

But the thing that had disappointed Val the most about Eli was that he was never able to just accept what he was. It wasn't as if Val didn't understand, she was as much a freak in her own way as Eli was. True, she was beautiful, which helped, but no one had ever seen Val as the perfect picture of a woman. She would never be the dainty doll that Elle was. She was too tall, too broadshouldered, and far, far too brash and outspoken. But Val had come to terms with herself in ways that Eli had never been able to for himself.

Admittedly, a lot of the harsh words she'd said to Elle about Eli in the past few days had been born of hurt. When she'd come home to find him dressed like a woman and dancing with an imaginary man it had stung, in ways she was still struggling with. It had felt like a rejection of her and of the life they'd built together. She'd never expected Eli to be any more than he was. Val had known him nearly his whole life and she knew what she was getting when she married him. But he was never able to be happy with that, and honestly, Val didn't know if she was more disappointed in him or in herself. Maybe she could have been more supportive, maybe she could have toned down her brash and outspoken manner for his sake and Eli could have accepted himself for who he was. Or perhaps not.

But now, for the first time, Elle was becoming comfortable in her own skin. Sure, there had been some bumps in the road, and Val expected there would still be more of them, but at least she seemed to be on the road to self-acceptance, and Val was determined to make that road as smooth as possible for her.

Val was distracted for a moment when Clara, the Mayor's wife, came up to ask about some detail of the church social. When she looked back, Elle was gone, leaving a rather bemused and befuddled young man behind. It took but a moment to find her, striding gracefully but very purposefully towards the nursery. Val smiled, just 24 hours ago Elle would probably have broken her ankles trying to walk with that much purpose in those heels. Val suspected she knew the reason for Elle's determined pace, and her guess was confirmed a moment later when Bill and Sue's twins burst into the narthex, without either of their parents. Val gave Clara a polite answer and then quickly excused herself to deal with what was about to become a commotion without her intervention.

Bill Wright

Bill had just gathered his two children from the church nursery when he turned to find himself face-to-face with Elle. He froze like a deer caught in the headlights of an automobile. If anything confirmed that he was lusting over Elle, it would be the blood that rushed to his face, turning his cheeks pink.

"Well, hello again. It looks like you've got your hands full. Remember me?"

Bill did indeed have his hands full with his two rambunctious twins, John and Rose. Though they were obviously fraternal twins, at this age they looked incredibly similar with short, curly, sandy blond hair and facial features that resembled Sue more than Bill. That, combined with the fact that they were nearly always running unless firmly held by one of their parents made it hard to tell them apart.

In that frozen moment, before Bill could think of anything to say, the twins wretched themselves free of their father's grasp as if they'd coordinated the maneuver, and rushed for the freedom of the church narthex, where the congregation gathered after the service. It might have ruined the moment for Elle, as Bill was obligated to go after them, but the twins had not made it ten feet past the door when Val's commanding voice rang out. "John, Rose, stop right there!"

To Bill's utter surprise the twins did stop and Val held out a hand to each and the twins quickly placed their small hands in Val's large ones. She poked her head through the doorway and said to Bill, "I'll take them out to the car. I'll tell Sue you were briefly detained." Then she disappeared with the two children meekly in tow. Bill was completely flabbergasted, the twins certainly never responded that obediently to him or Sue. Then suddenly he realized that he and Elle were now alone in the hallway and that he'd never replied to her question.

"Um... yes, of course, you're the young lady that John and Rose nearly bowled over yesterday." he said as a semblance of wits returned to his head. "I'm sorry I didn't have time to properly introduce my family, the twins are rather wild at times, as I'm sure you've noticed. I'm Bill, Bill Wright." It seemed obvious that he was downplaying his part in Elle's rescue the day before. It was equally obvious that he didn't know where to put his eyes, like he wanted to drink in the lovely vision in front of him, but didn't think it was proper.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Eli had not been blessed with much in the way of athleticism or situational awareness. Being Elle certainly helped - for much of her ability came with confidence - something she had in abundance and was developing rapidly. But still, when the twins made their escape she could do little more than watch them run past as she stood there not knowing what to do. Would it have helped if she caught them? Or made it harder to accomplish her mission. She took a fraction of a second longer than their father to do anything other than stand there with a helpless expression, but even before he could move they heard Val's stern authoritative voice commanding the children to stop.

Elle even jumped and yelped - but every so gently and feminine.

Now she was alone with Bill in the hallway. Someone might come in at any moment - or they might not. It was time for her to steal a kiss.

Or was it?

What if she tried to kiss him and he pushed her away. Elle was not at a stage in her development she could handle rejection. Bill appeared to be enthralled, but the wrong move could break the spell. And what if she did kiss him? Then what? Elle didn't know. The original plan was to make Bill want her, to think of her when he made love to his wife. Was a kiss even needed for that? Probably not - and maybe not worth the risk.

Why hit him with a hammer when she could tickle him with a feather?

Channeling her inner Marilyn Monroe (the person who told her she remined him of Marilyn had as big a hand in creating a monster as Val did)

Elle responded - not by thanking him for saving her from indignity the previous day, but by planting a seed.

"Hello Bill, I'm Elle" she said softly - almost a whisper - and smiled. She didn't need to look him up and down as he was unconsciously doing to her - all she needed was to simply be Elle. "It looks like your wife has a lot more work to do in getting your children to listen. She isn't one of those working women who needs to find fulfillment outside the home, is she? I can't imagine anyone not wanting to keep house for someone like you."

 

[SexyVita]

Bill Wright

Bill spluttered. He didn't really know how to respond to what Elle had said. In fact, he wasn't even sure he knew exactly what she'd said, or rather implied. She was pretty obviously suggesting that Sue was failing in her job as a mother, and admittedly Bill had occasionally thought the same himself. The way Val had immediately brought his children in line made him wonder again why Susan couldn't do the same thing. The fact that he couldn't do that either didn't really bother him.

Then there was the suggestion that the fact Sue had, and wanted, a job outside of the house was somehow improper. Again, this was something Bill himself had thought on occasion. Bill had assumed that Sue would settle down and become a proper housewife once the twins arrived, but she'd made it clear to Bill that she planned to continue working even after the children were born. So, instead of the twins being reared by their mother at home, they spend much of the day at the Smith's house. Sarah and Robert Smith had three children of their own, the youngest of whom was about the same age as the twins, and Sarah appreciated the extra money she got for watching John and Rose, even if they were sometimes a bit unruly.

Lastly, and most confusingly, there was the suggestion that Elle would be a proper housewife. But she hadn't exactly said that, at least not directly. She'd only implied that she couldn't imagine anyone, presumably including herself, not wanting to keep house for someone like him. Bill audibly gulped. He tried to imagine this dainty, beautiful woman being the one waiting for him after work, with an immaculately kept home, dinner ready and on the table, and the children well-behaved. And then after the children had been put to bed, her waiting for him in their bedroom.

All this passed through his mind in a flash, leaving him just as flustered as he had been at the beginning, if not more so. Still, he suddenly remember where he was and the fact that Susan and the children were undoubtedly waiting for him in the car. He finally managed to stammer out. "It's... it's very kind of you to say so, but I need to see to my family." Yet he didn't move, it seemed it would be rude to do so without Elle releasing him.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

"It's... it's very kind of you to say so, but I need to see to my family." Yet he didn't move, it seemed it would be rude to do so without Elle releasing him.

"Yes, of course" Marilyn - or rather, Elle - whispered, while somehow managing to take a half a step closer to the man. It was as if she could read his thoughts - not that difficult since she was the one who put the thoughts there in his hormone-laden male brain. Elle reached up with both hands to "adjust" his tie which one of the children managed to knock out of kilter during the escape attempt.

Bill remained frozen in place as Elle did what any wife would do for her husband in such circumstances. Then, licking her finger, she pretended to smooth down the rumpled hair which hadn't really been rumpled - but he couldn't know that.

"You run along now, and maybe I'll see you at the social next Sunday?" One week - one week of waiting to see her again. One week of agony for the man. Bill and Elle have had two encounters thus far, and both times they touched. Not in an inappropriate way considering the circumstances, but in a more intimate way than two strangers normally would. "Maybe your wife will have your children under control by then."

With that, Elle took the smallest of steps back - giving him "room" to get away - but otherwise she didn't move a muscle. She just stood there, staring at him, her body language and expression unreadable, except perhaps to say It's your move. Then, before he could decide on a move, she ever-so-slightly licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. Look what could be waiting for you at home.

 

[SexyVita]

Bill Wright

For a moment Bill was frozen, he couldn't seem to look away from Elle's lips. Nor could he forget the touch of her hands adjusting his tie and the gentle scent they had carried with them. He was so tempted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her. But he couldn't, not here, not now. While the church was gradually emptying, he could still hear adult voices just beyond the door in the narthex, and the shrill voices of children still in the nursery behind him. Anyone could walk in and see them at any moment. No matter how much he wanted to, Bill chickened out. Still, he wasn't so far gone as to forget his manners.

"Yes, of course, the social! I'll look forward to seeing you again next week." He thought that was innocuous enough that it would not seem inappropriate to anyone who might overhear. "If you'll excuse me, Sue is waiting for me outside." And with that, he made a bee line for the door, his heart still pounding in his chest.

Valerie Morrison

Val brought John and Rose outside and spotted the Wright's car, with Sue behind the wheel. Val never really understood why Bill allowed Sue to drive when they were together. Even Val had let Eli drive when they were out together. She understood from the moment she married him that it was good for his fragile ego.

She steered the children towards the car. "In you go." she said to them firmly as she opened the rear door. John got in without any hassle and scooched across the bench seat to allow his sister to get in behind him. "Very good." she said with a smile, once they were both settled. "Now, don't give your mother any trouble on the ride home, or I'll hear about it." Val said, closing the door.

She walked around to the driver's door and told Sue, "Bill was briefly detained so I offered to bring the children out. I expect he'll be along presently." Sue was staring at Val with an incredulous look on her face, her mouth openning and closing like a fish as she tried to figure out what to say.

Val thought Sue might ask how she had gotten her unruly children to behave, but instead she said, "Oh! Thank you for bringing them, they can be such a handful sometimes!" Then she turned to the children. "Say thank you to Mrs. Morrison."

"Thank you, Mrs. Morrison." the children said in unison.

"You're all very welcome." Val replied. "Now, I need to go see how Elle is doing. I'll see you all next Saturday." She turned and walked back inside where only a graceful sidestep on her part prevented her from colliding with Bill Wright as he barrelled through the doorway to the nursery like all the demons of Hell were chasing him. Val smiled and shook her head. Apparently Elle had really rattled him. She stepped through the door to find Elle standing there, looking... satisfied maybe?

"I take it things went well?" Val said with a smile. "If you're ready, we should probably head home, it's going to be a busy week and there's a lot to get ready."

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Elle had bragged to Val that she was going to kiss William Wright that Sunday in church, but she didn't. Instead of a failure, Elle considered what happened even better than a kiss. A kiss might have made things awkward. A kiss might have shocked the man back to reality. At any rate, a kiss would have meant both Elle and Bill got something they wanted, and Elle wouldn't be sure where to go from there.

This way, Bill would have one more thing to wonder about. One more reason to dream hard about Elle. He would go over that look a million times, analyzing it from a million different angles, wondering if she really said what she said, if she really looked at him the way she looked at him, if she could find him as desirable as he found her -- or was it all just his imagination.

One week of questioning everything. One week to talk himself into thinking he had misinterpreted her words and actions and body language. One week to remind himself that he was a happily married man. One week to try not to think of Elle every time he kissed his wife. Would he be able to escape the emotional grasp she had on him in that week - or would anticipation of seeing her again drive him to distraction?

Eli Morrison never had that much experience with women, but he passed on to Elle one advantage most women didn't -- an above-average understanding of men. Elle understood how she affected Bill. At any given time, Elle could probably guess what he was thinking about. And that week Bill would spend thinking about Elle would give Elle a week to decide how best to handle Bill next time she saw him.

"I didn't kiss him - I saw how badly he wanted it and I decided to make him wait." So no, it wasn't a failure to do what she bragged she would do - after all, isn't it a woman's prerogative to change her mind?

==

It's interesting how the smallest of small misunderstandings - perhaps due to subtle cultural differences or workplace policies - can lead to unforeseen results. Like writing a date in day/month format as opposed to month/day format.

"We don't usually get deliveries on Sundays." Not that the guard on duty at the South Gate would know much about the history of deliveries at the South Gate on Sundays, since this was only his third Sunday to be on duty. But according to the paperwork accompanying a pallet load of five gallon containers labeled SAE-35, this was the day delivery was required. In reality the boys in Grubber's Green Door clique wouldn't be ready to test Synthetic Aerosolizable Estrogen formula 35 for three more months, and it was a year away from deployment. The list of countries had been narrowed down to three - one in Southeast Asia, one in the Middle East, and one in South America.

"Motor oil" the driver said with some degree of authority he didn't have. It was an easy enough mistake - most aircraft engines were notorious for consuming large amounts of oil, and engineers were notorious for tampering with different formulas, so something between SAE-30 and SAE-40 to achieve the optimum level of lubrication wouldn't arouse much suspicion, which was exactly the reason the top-secret weaponized hormone solution was put into non-descript haze-gray metal cans marked SAE-35. Obviously, something destined to be used in large quantities on Navy aircraft carriers in the future.

"Well, I don't have the authority to open any of the warehouses, just put in on that dock over there - Warehouse 6."

The driver tucked the envelope under a strap holding the load together before departing. The envelope had all the necessary paperwork stapled to the outside, so there was no need to open it. Had it been opened, both his day and the guard's would have become somewhat more complicated.

 

[SexyVita]

Val just shook her head in response to Elle's answer. In the last few days, Val had taught Elle how to act like a woman, but it was obvious that she was not her only teacher. Apparently, she had been observing other woman long before Val started her training. That was really the only explanation she had for the sort of woman Elle was becoming. Most of what Val had taught her was physical, like how to dress, put on makeup, walk, and manners of speaking. But Elle was showing traits that Val couldn't model for her. Oh, Elle had inherited some of Val's forwardness, but not her brashness. Val got her way by sheer force of will, while Elle used subtlety and manipulation. It made sense, given Elle's secret, but it was not something Val would have been able to teach her.

The rest of the day was quiet, Val made them lunch and later she had Elle help her with dinner. It would be a while before Val trusted Elle to make a meal on her own. It wasn't that Elle was stupid, but cooking was more art than science. Almost anyone could follow a recipe, but the end result might vary wildly depending on the cook's skill. Elle hadn't learned the art of cooking and it would take time and coaching for her to develop it. Still, Elle did well under Val's guidence and Val praised her for it. Elle might be turning into a confident woman, but Val knew that underneath there was still a fragile ego that needed to feel useful and appreciated.

Monday morning brought a whole new set of concerns. Elle wasn't going to be able to go back to being Eli, but for the next week or two, until Val could finalize her plans, she was going to have to pretend. She was afraid that Elle would crack under the pressure. So she stacked the deck to prevent that as she laid out Elle's work clothes. The night before, she had removed all of Elle's makeup before bed, including the nail polish, though she left the polish on Elle's toes.

"I know you're not going to like having to dress and act like a man, but for now, it's necessary. Put this on first." she said as she passed Elle a satin chemise trimed with delicate lace and a pair of matching panties. Next followed a garter belt and black silk stockings. Then she added a pearl necklace and bracelet. Val had chosen items that would both feel good against the skin, and were delicate and feminine, with little embellishments like lace, bows, ribbons, and even a few tiny seed pearls.

"There. Now this," Val said running her hands over the silky fabric, "is who you truly are. Everything else is a disguise. For now it is important that only you and I know who you really are. Now, put on the shirt and pants, and I'll help you with the tie."

Val was playing a delicate game. They both needed Elle to be Eli for now. Val wasn't sure how long it would take to finalize her plan. But she was afraid that if forced to return to her life as a man, Elle would have a crisis of indentity, possibly slipping into depression, or even suicide, and that would not benefit either of them. So Val was also pretending in suggesting that Elle needed help tying a tie. Eli wouldn't need help with that, but Elle, disguised as Eli, would. When she was done, the true Elle was completely hidden save for her stocking-clad feet. Val had decided against putting Eli's socks over the stockings, the suit pants would cover them in most situations. Still, it was a wicked thought that someone might catch a glimpse of Elle's stockinged ankle, even if it wasn't likely.

Val held out the suit jacket and helped Elle into it. "There, now put on your shoes and the disguise will be perfect. No one will suspect a thing." Val let Elle drive them to work, explaining "It wouldn't look right if I'm driving, so you'll have to do it." Once they were at the office, they went their separate ways, but before they parted she gave Elle one final piece of encouragement. "You'll do just great, dear, I know it."

Val arrived to her regular Monday morning mound of paperwork. Mail that had been delayed by the weekend, combined with everything that had been left unfinished on Friday, and the weekend reports from the factory all combined on Mondays. Unlike many of her coworkers who dreaded Mondays, Val dug in with enthusiasm. She really enjoyed her job and the power that came with it. John Grubber may run the company, but Val ran John's office and anyone at Grubber Aeronautics who didn't appreciate that did so at their own peril.

It was fully an hour later, when Val was in full swing, that Mr. Grubber arrived. As much as John Grubber was Grubber Aeronautics, he treated it more like a hobby than a job. That wasn't to say he never did anything important, but it was one of the reasons that Val guarded his domain so fiercely. John needed to make the really important decisions, but everything else was either left to Val, or if she deemed that she wasn't qualified to decide, delegated to one of the senior staff. Usually, by the time Val brought an issue to John, it had been thoroughly analyzed and one or more plans had been suggested, and all John had to do was sign off on whatever he thought was the best course of action.

"John, the factory summaries are on your desk, as well as your mail. Oh, and I've scheduled a 10:00 meeting with Victor Hensley. Apparently, he has some concerns about the engine on the F1G."

"Really?" John replied, "Why doesn't he tell the engineers?"

"I asked him the same thing. He says he has, but they haven't listened. However, he convinced me that it was important enough for you to make a decision."

"Well, that's good enough for me." John said before disappearing into his office. John could be scant with his praise, but the fact that he trusted Val's opinion was satisfying on its own.

About an hour later, Victor showed up for his meeting with Mr. Grubber, with a sheaf of blueprints in his hands. He'd obviously taken the time to clean up before coming up to the office, and Val appreciated again that he was a good looking man. She picked up the phone and rang John's office. "Mr. Hensley is here." After his response she replaced the handset and turned to Victor. "Mr. Grubber will see you now." she said with a wink. Victor blushed slightly and quickly headed into John's office.

It was close to half-a-hour later when John and Victor emerged from the office. "Val, please reschedule all my appointments this afternoon, this needs to be dealt with now. Call an immediate all staff meeting for the F1G team in the large conference room, and I mean everyone, from the project manager down to the maintenance crew!" Victor had obviously convinced John that there really was a serious issue. Val was glad she let him in, but also did not regret that she'd blocked him for weeks. Making judgement calls like that was, after all, her job.

"Of course, Mr. Grubber." Val replied as she picked up the phone and started making the necessary calls.

It was over 20 minutes before Val could get back to her filing. That's when she found the packing list for the SAE-35. Normally, she would simply have filed the paperwork like any other, but two things stopped her. First, Val was one of the few people at Grubber who actually knew what SAE-35 was, and it was not motor oil. Second the delivery had been signed for by their new weekend security guard. He'd obviously not known what to do when the shipment arrived on Sunday, and he'd not thought to ask. However, he'd had at least enough sense to note that the shipment was left on the dock at Warehouse 6.

She pulled the invoice and realized that the shipment was supposed to be delivered on Monday July 6th, nearly a month from now, but instead someone had transposed the day and the month and it had arrived on Sunday, June 7th instead. Val rolled her eyes. That meant the whole shipment had been sitting in the open since yesterday! But this presented Val with an interesting opportunity. With everyone else who knew about the SAE-35 currently in the meeting, Val could act without anyone else questioning what she was doing.

Val didn't normally venture out of the offices, but it wasn't entirely unheard of. It wasn't like she was going anywhere that was restricted, so no one questioned why she was in the warehouse. She verified that the pallet of canisters was still sitting on the dock. Apparently no one had noticed them because there hadn't been any deliveries to that dock since they arrived. Then she flagged down Jimmy, a forklift driver who was one of Grubber's oldest employees. John had recently asked her to plan a company celebration for his retirement in two weeks. That made him perfect for this. By the time anyone thought to wonder where the shipment was, Jimmy would be gone, and with him any memory of where the shipment had been taken.

"Jimmy, this pallet was left here by mistake, can you please take it over to Section C?"

"Of course, Mrs. Morrison, right away." Val knew that eventually the shipment would be found. Once July 6th had come and gone with no sign of the shipment, Val wouldn't be able to hide that it had been delivered. She still had to file the paperwork, because there could be no hint of her involvement. But Section C was where the lubricants were kept, and there were hundreds of similar pallets of gray canisters in that part of the warehouse. Even after someone thought to look there, it might be days before they found the right one. That would give Val all the time she needed.

Val didn't stay around in the warehouse after that, returning to her office. Perhaps tomorrow she would send Elle down to Section C to retrieve some of the SAE-35. Having just arrived, it should be easy enough to find. A month from now, however, it would be buried amongst the more recent deliveries. Thinking about Elle made Val wonder how she was doing, but soon she was busy enough not to think Elle again until the end of the workday.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

They were never meant to be husband and wife. In fact, Eli had never been meant to be anyone’s husband. That didn’t mean there was trouble in their marriage – only that the marriage lacked a certain something. Perhaps now that Elle was discovering her true self, she and Val could rediscover the friendship they’d once had as kids. She’d been Val the Protector as Eli was trying to figure out his place in the world. Now she was Val the Protector again – a bigger challenge this time, but with the promise of a much bigger payoff. Valarie deserved more than Eli could ever give her, and now that she was free of him she would finally have it.

“I love you” Elle said to Val. She was looking into the mirror at her freshly washed face that she secretly hoped would never again remind anyone of Eli, even though she knew it was necessary – at least for a while longer. She was, however, a little surprised to see all the soft pretty delicate under-things she would be wearing to work under her Eli disguise. Not completely understanding Val’s logic, she was thrilled by the idea of feeling pretty things against her soft feminine body while one of Eli’s suits concealed her true nature.

They may have been intellectual equals, but Val had always been the more logical one, the one best at thinking on her feet. Eli had learned to trust Val’s instincts, and there was no reason for Elle not to do the same. However, since becoming Elle, she had started to develop a lot more confidence in herself and her own abilities. “I’ll be fine, I promise” she whispered, sensing Valerie's concerns and smiling at her through the mirror in a reassuring way. “It’s not like anyone expects Eli to strip off his shirt and start lifting weights.” Besides, Elle had given thought to what she needed to do to conceal her true identity.

She had put a small amount of jalapeno pepper into a small bottle and topped it off with water. In a small packet concealed in Eli’s handkerchief she’d placed some ground black pepper. “Hay fever on demand” she called it. Red puffy eyes, sensitive to light, would be covered by Eli’s dark sunglasses – which would also help to conceal the fact he was reporting to work with less eyebrows than he’d had the week before. Burning eyes were a small price to pay to protect Elle’s true identity.

--

“I’m sure it’s nothing contagious” Eli told his coworkers – but still, best to keep your distance.

Leave it to weak little Eli to get hay fever when nobody else had so much as a sniffle.

--

When Grubber said “everyone” associated with the F1G, he meant everyone. Eli had not been involved with any of the modifications in the last two models to roll off the line, but he was in the meeting too.

“We can’t change the angle of incidence without redesigning the fuselage.”

“I thought we were here to talk about the engine.”

“We are, but the larger engine will completely throw off our center of gravity unless we can move it back, which means …”

“I know what it means, Stan, but do you realize the implications for the landing gear?

“And the torque.”

“Could we move the tanks to offset the torque?”

“That wouldn’t help enough. It’s not just the roll issue, but the yaw the pilot would experience because the center of gravity is moved so far back, and at takeoff – the worst possible time.” Eli realized this was the only point in the meeting in which someone was being addressed as if he were a child. "You wouldn't understand that because you're not a pilot."

Right, I'm not a pilot, and neither are 98% of the other people in the room, but you felt it was necessary to single me out. Fuck you, Adam.

"You don't need to be a pilot to understand physics, Adam, but it helps to have an engineer to make the pilot's job doable" John Monroe spoke up, in defense of Eli. If anybody at Grubber Aviation had a reputation and a war record nobody could dare challenge, it was John Monroe. He had been Eli's inspiration for pretend dates when he played dress-up during Val's absences. The fact John was defending her sent a pleasurable little feeling of being wanted and protected down Elle's spine and into her groin.

Eli, however, was quickly forgotten as someone expressed opposition to something another someone else said.

Grubber let them all go on for a while, then cut them off. “John, you’re conducting this orchestra. All I know is that wheels up for the Gigi will be zero-nine-hundred on Thursday the 18th…” He already had his hand up to silence the protests. “I’ll authorize all the overtime we need. Testing the application equipment will begin that Saturday. That gives you two days to work out the bugs. I want three more units ready to deploy by the First of July. That means Navy pilots checked out to fly the damned things. John, you and Stan will be going with them – wherever they’re going. Stan, put together a maintenance crew to take with you. Five men should be enough. Martin, I want you to be one of them. Now, let’s get to work.”

Anyone thinking that was the end of the meeting had probably never been in a meeting before. There was a great deal of work (organizing) to do before everyone could “get to work” as Mr. Grubber had told them to do.

The engine problem, and all the problems the engine problem caused, and the absurd deadline, put everyone at Grubber Aviation into a state of near panic. For the next two weeks everyone would be frantic, focused on whatever emergency they were responsible for solving, begging to meet with whomever they needed to meet with to help them solve their problem, and paying no attention whatsoever to anything else. It was a blessing in disguise for Elle. Eli could report to work wearing nothing but a loin cloth and nobody would notice.

In addition, there was one more way in which Eli was fortunate to be Eli – it was easy to forget he even existed. While everyone else was assigned some critical task to get the G model of the F1G working (hence the nickname “Gigi”) Eli sitting in the corner with dark glasses covering his red eyes and handkerchief covering his red nose was forgotten. For the next week he would be employed, but would have no job. While everyone else was trying to focus on all the engineering and logistical challenges of getting a new airplane ready to deploy half a world away, Elle was focusing on how good the nylon stockings felt on her freshly shaved legs, and how good her little penis felt rubbing up against her silk panties. She couldn’t wait for Eli’s untimely and permanent demise.