Missy Lange strode into the sunroom, her morning latte in one hand, her smartphone in the other. Her ample breasts and toned bottom fit perfectly (which is to say, barely) into her bikini. A sheer sarong accentuated her lower body, as stylish high-heeled sandals did her feet.

She took a seat facing the open French doors, which overlooked the pool, the rock garden, and the hilltop that dropped away to the valley below. Sipping her coffee, she thumbed through the relevant posts on her phone before finally acknowledging the other woman in the room.

“Good morning, Leigh.”

Though not as strikingly gorgeous as Missy, Leigh was nonetheless an attractive woman, and one who took no offense from the selfish actions of a diva. She wore a casual blouse and jeans, both of which fit enticingly well. Strangely, though, she had nothing on her feet.

Missy noticed Leigh’s absent footwear and wondered what was up with it. Maybe it was some new fashion fad. Hopefully not, though; Missy liked her shoes and didn’t like going without them. Nor did she like being around people who did.

Leigh’s voice broke into Missy’s thoughts.

“Good morning, Missy. When you’re ready, I’d like to go over today’s schedule with you.”

“If we must.”

“It’s not a busy day. I’ve cleared out all your appointments...except for one this morning.”

“That is both excellent and horrid. A clear day--wonderful. A morning appointment--evil. Is this revenge for something I did to you and forgot about?”

“Even if it is, I won’t admit it,” Leigh said with a grin. “Agents don’t seek revenge on their clients.”

“Mm-hm. So I’ve heard, but never believed. Anyway, what is this torturous appointment that’s going to ruin my morning before I can enjoy the rest of my gloriously empty day?”

“Cyril Wellington is here about that thriller script.”

“Oh yeah. I liked that one. There are a few things he needs to change. But overall, it’s good. When’s he coming by?”

“Any time now.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Knowing that Missy wouldn’t answer it, Leigh got up to do it. Missy watched the barefoot agent start to walk away and frowned.

“Kind of unprofessional, isn’t it?” Missy said.

“What is?”

Missy pointed at Leigh’s feet.

“Oh,” Leigh said. “Whatever. It’s L.A. No one cares.”

She shrugged and left the room.

A moment later, she returned with Cyril. He had a briefcase in one hand, and he reached down to greet Missy (because she certainly wasn’t going to get up) with the other. Pleasantries were exchanged, and then he and Leigh sat down.

“I like your script,” Missy said. “I’m willing to take the lead role.”

“That’s great!” Cyril said.

“There are just a few areas you’ll need to fix.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“First, there’s the sex scene. Then the scene at the beach. And then finally, the picnic.”

“The nudity in the sex scene isn’t full frontal,” Cyril said. “And we can--”

“I don’t care if it’s full frontal or not. Why wouldn’t I want to show these off? No, I’m fine with being naked. I just want to wear boots in bed.”

“But--”

“At the beach, I can wear sandals or, I suppose, flip-flops. At the picnic, I can wear whatever shoes I had on in the previous scene. Easy enough.”

“Missy, I think Cyril wrote those scenes the way he did for a reason,” Leigh said.

“Whose side are you on?” Missy asked. “Besides, he can rewrite them the way I want them, if he wants me to be in it.”

“Here,” Cyril said, opening his briefcase and taking out a laptop. “Let me show you something.”

He flipped up the lid and handed the laptop to Missy. She accepted it and looked at the screen, where a copy of the script on the picnic scene displayed.

“When I met with Leigh yesterday,” Cyril said, “I convinced her that going barefoot in those scenes--and in several others I’m rewriting--is integral to your character.”

“Apparently you convinced her it’s integral to her character, too.”

Missy glared at her agent’s bare feet, which were on full display atop an ottman. Leigh simply smiled. Cyril smiled, too, but coldly.

“I’m sure I can convince you, too,” he said. “Please, just read the scene.”

“Fine,” Missy said with a sigh.

When she turned to look at the screen, she at first thought something was wrong with it. Overlaid on top of the script, she thought she saw...a moving pattern of some kind. But when she focused on the text, she couldn’t see it any more. As she went through the script, she periodically got the impression of a spiral, slowly spinning, just at the edge of her sight. But whenever she tried to see it, she couldn’t. After a while, she concentrated on the scene and forgot about it.

Cyril watched Missy closely as she read. As minutes went by, he saw that her look of annoyance faded and she became completely enraptured by what was on the screen.

“Missy,” he said after another minute, “the script is great. You love it.”

Missy didn’t look up from the screen. And as she listened to Cyril’s words, the spiral became apparent to her again. It had been there along, drawing in her gaze, so that she couldn’t pull her eyes from it.

“The script is great,” she said in a sleepy voice. “I love it.”

“You understand perfectly well why being barefoot is integral to your character.”

“I understand perfectly well why being barefoot is integral to my character.”

“You will gladly go barefoot in those three scenes and in any others that I write.”

“I will gladly go barefoot in those three scenes and in any others that you write.”

“After this project, you will want me to write more roles for you that include barefoot scenes.”

“After this project, I will want you to write more roles for me that include barefoot scenes.”

Cyril snapped his fingers. Leigh’s eyes immediately glazed over.

“It’s time, Leigh,” he said.

Leigh nodded. Then she rose from her chair and knelt before Missy. She began slowly and carefully undoing the straps to Missy’s sandals. The actress continued to stare at the laptop screen and gave no indication that she saw what her agent was doing. Soon, both shoes were undone. Leigh removed them, leaving Missy’s feet bare.

“It feels good to have your shoes off,” Cyril said.

“It feels good to have my shoes off,” Missy said, her voice soft and her eyes following the spiral on the screen.

“Going barefoot makes you happy.”

“Going barefoot makes me happy.”

“Going barefoot makes you feel sexy.”

“Going barefoot makes me feel sexy.”

“You will go barefoot whenever possible. At home, on set, when you meet with me.”

“I will go barefoot whenever possible.  At home, on set, when I meet with you.”

“When you are barefoot, you will act submissive and obedient to me.”

“When I am barefoot, I will act submissive and obedient to you.”

“When you are barefoot, you will enter a hypnotic trance and become extremely suggestible whenever I, and only I, snap my fingers.”

“When I am barefoot, I will enter a hypnotic trance and become extremely suggestible whenever you, and only you, snap your fingers.”

“Now, put the laptop aside and close your eyes.”

Missy did as she was told.

“When I say the word, ‘awaken’, you will wake up and open your eyes,” Cyril said. “You will not consciously remember anything that has happened since you started reading the script. But you will act on everything that I have told you. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Leigh, throw Missy’s shoes away. She won’t need them any more. Then come back in and sit down with us.”

“Yes, Cyril,” Leigh said.

She picked up the sandals, stood, and walked out of the room.

“Awaken,” Cyril said.

Missy blinked, yawned, and then looked at him with a smile.

“What a great script.” she said. “And it’s definitely integral that my character goes barefoot in those three scenes...actually, in most of the scenes. In fact, you should probably rewrite a lot of them to incorporate that.”

“I think so, too.”

“Great! Hey, I don’t have anything else planned for today. I could help you work on it, if you want. Maybe I could…”

She threw her legs up over the arm of the chair, so that her bare soles faced Cyril, and wiggled her toes.

“...offer you some inspiration.”

“Yes,” Cyril said. “I‘m sure you could.”