Riley was upset. He had just been told that he had to take one of the jobs offered to him by the end of that week, or he will lose his entitlement to jobseekers allowance. As the letter had got to him late, as is usual with Government brown envelopes, it meant he had to take the next job offered to him.

The only job offer he got in time was for a receptionist at a hotel.

He went to the interview, being quite prepared to do whatever it took to get the job. Then he saw the staff uniform for the first time. The manageress claimed it was Unisex, but he thought otherwise...

It was his own fault, really. He hadn’t ticked any of the gender boxes on the form, as he had filled out everything in a hurry when he applied for benefits. Even the jobseekers website had him down as a girl, and he’d never noticed.

This was reinforced by the manageress being unimpressed when she had first met him. She had thought 'Riley Drake' was a girl...

“Oh”, was all she said. “Well, your CV shows you have the right experience (Riley had helped at his parents B&B for a summer job, as well as working in a local shop before it closed down) so I’m prepared to give you a trial, but only if you agree to the uniform, because we have standards to uphold.”

Riley, desperate to be back in work, would have agreed to anything at this point.

He then had to get ready to start work, as he was needed straight away. Problem was, he couldn’t use the staff changing rooms, as they were for female personnel. He had to get changed in the Gents toilet down the hall…

It took him a few minutes to get ready. All the fasteners were the wrong way round, and it threw him to start with, but eventually he was able to get dressed and ‘reported for duty’.

The job itself was quite straightforward; Riley actually enjoyed it. He was soon making friends with both guests and staff. The manageress was quite impressed and said so.

“I honestly thought you were going to be a trainwreck”, she said. “You’ve surprised me, though, and it takes a lot to do that. Keep this up, and you’ll go far here.”

Riley was overjoyed.

“One thing though, ma’am”, he said. “I just can’t get this top to sit right on me. It’s so creased…”

Realising that Riley was concerned about the impression he was giving, the manageress inspected him.

“Hmm… I see what you mean. Hang on a minute. Tilly, can you spare a sec?”

Tilly McAdams, a bouncy girl on day-release from the local college, came bouncing over.

“Sure, boss, what’s up?”

“Does your mother still work at the mastectomy clinic…?”

“Yes, why?”

“Riley here isn’t filling her uniform out properly, and she’s worried about it. Can you sort her something out with your mum? The hotel will pay for it, of course.”

“No problem”, said Tilly. “God, Riley, you should have said something. You don’t have to go about flat chested like that. There’s no shame in getting a set of falsies…!”

Tilly was certain that Riley was a flat chested woman. Looking at himself in the reflection from the desk, Riley could see why. With his hair tied back in a ponytail, and his perfectly smooth skin which he had shaved all over for the job, he did look like an ‘un-endowed’ woman. At the same time, he couldn’t believe how friendly everyone was being…

It turned out that the only person that thought Riley was a man was the manageress. He was so neat and tidy, and so picky, as well as so concerned about how he looked, that he had been giving all the right signals for a young woman. It didn’t help that he was also very effeminate anyway; it was the way he had been brought up, to be caring and helpful. Everyone else thought Riley was just a flat-chested woman.

Tilly had phoned her mother there and then; she had based Riley’s size from how tall and wide she looked standing against the reception counter.

“Back in a minute, boss”, she said, darting off.

“Hang on a minute…”, Riley started to say. He was really unsure about where this was all going…

“Sshh, don’t worry”, said the manageress. “Your secret is safe with me, and I can assure you that Tilly won’t care, either. Also, why did you get changed in the Gents toilet? You’re staff; you’re welcome in the changing room.”

“But I’m…”

“Don’t worry about that; we’ll soon sort that out once Tilly has finished with you…”

Tilly soon came back, carrying a paper bag.

“Come on, love, let’s get you kitted out.”

Tilly steered Riley into the changing rooms and helped him off with his top. She then fished a padded bra with built-in breast forms from her bag. This was quickly and neatly mounted onto Riley’s chest, with the clasp closed behind, and he then put his top back on.

Riley turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He started crying…

“What’s wrong, love?”, Tilly said, concerned, hugging him.

“I look like one of the girls”, said Riley, still crying.

“I know”, said Tilly. “Come on love, I know it’s an emotional thing when you get your figure back.”

Tilly couldn’t help herself. She kissed Riley.

“Come on, kid, pull yourself together. You need to get back out there; your shift hasn’t ended yet.”

“Who are you calling kid?”, Riley said, with a bit of a giggle. “You’re younger than me.”

The pair then walked back out to reception, Riley drying her eyes.

“Poor love got a bit emotional”, explained Tilly.

To Riley’s absolute amazement, the manageress took his hands and squeezed them gently.

“I quite understand”, she said. “That’s why you are so good at your job. You look just right, by the way.”

Riley carried on working and finished his shift, then went to head to the Gent’s toilet to get changed.

Tilly stood in his way.

“Where do you think you’re going?”, she asked.

Riley couldn’t bring himself to tell Tilly that he was a man.

“You don’t have to be ashamed”, Tilly said. “The boss said you could use the staff changing rooms.”

Riley found a corner to hide in and started to change back into his street clothes. Then he hit a problem…

He couldn’t get the bra off.

“Tilly, how do I undo this thing?”, he asked.

“You don’t have to”, she replied. “It’s designed for long-term use. After all, it’s a replacement for a woman’s breasts after surgery. Most women never take them off, unless they get very dirty…”

“Please, Tilly…!”

“I’m sorry, you can’t get it off. I got the wrong type, it’s locked on. You can borrow one of my tops, if you like; there’s also some staff raincoats out the back.”

Muttering under his breath, Riley accepted the top from Tilly, then found one of the raincoats, as it was drizzling out.

He then realised that wearing the transparent raincoat everything would be on show. He was going to have to go back to his flat as a girl…

Back at the flat, he collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted as he hadn’t worked a full day for a while. He sat back to watch TV then get an early night, as he had to be back for his shift at the hotel tomorrow. Absent-mindedly, he started playing with his breasts…

He stopped with a start. Ye gods!

He couldn’t deny, though, that being a woman was arousing him. He felt so much more alive than he had done for ages…

Energised, he spent the next hour thoroughly tidying the flat. It gave him a real sense of achievement when he hoovered the last room.

He then looked at his hair. The ponytail was ok, but he could do better.

He looked up online to see how various receptionists had their hair and spotted a style that he thought he could carry off. He then spent ages in the bathroom styling and felt even better about himself when he had finished.

He then made himself a nice supper and had an early night.

Next morning, he was almost late to work as he totally misjudged how long it took a woman to get ready for work.

He scampered in five minutes before he was due to start, quickly got changed into his uniform and was behind his desk ready just before the manageress carried out her inspection.

She stopped and did a double take.

“I love what you’ve done with your hair”, she said. “You must show me that trick sometime…!”

Tilly also walked past; or tried to. She slammed the brakes on, her mouth dropped open. “Bloody hell!”

“Tilly McAdams! No cussing at work!”, the manageress said, albeit with a bit of a giggle.

“Sorry ma’am”, she said. “I was just surprised by Riley…”

“Looking very neat and tidy and presentable, as she is supposed to be?”

“Well… Yes, ma’am.”

Tilly leaned over the desk and whispered, “I’ll see you later…!”

Riley felt his second day at his new job was going to be quite interesting…!