Riley was just finishing his shift when the manageress called him in to her office.

“I’ve had nothing but compliments about you”, she said, “So I’m thinking about promoting you to senior floor manager. There is a slight problem, however…”

“Yes, ma’am?”, said Riley. “Anything that can be overcome?”

“it’s the uniform”, she said. “The top is similar to the one you are wearing now, but… there’s no version of the uniform with slacks. It’s a skirt or nothing.”

“Don’t you have a male version?”, asked Riley.

“I’m sorry, no. We’ve never needed one. No man has ever been good enough and, technically, I only hired you by mistake… I thought you were a woman, remember?”

Riley was really hurt and confused.

He wanted the promotion; there was a lot of money involved. At the same time, there was no way he could bring himself to wear a skirt. Apart from the breasts that Tilly had got for him, the rest of his outfit could still be put down to be being worn by a man, albeit an effeminate one. A skirt was one step too far…

Sadly, he got up and, before the manageress could stop him, he left the office.

As soon as he walked out, Tilly could see something was wrong with her friend. Leaving what she was doing, she came straight over.

“What’s up, love?”, she asked.

“I’ve been offered a promotion”, Riley said. “Senior floor manager.”

“That’s great!”, Tilly cried. “I’m happy for you. Why the sad face, though?”

“I’d have to wear a skirt…”, said Riley, hesitantly.

“So, what’s wrong with that?”, asked Tilly. “You’ve had breasts and been wearing a blouse for long enough. It’s only for being at work, after all. You could change back as soon as your shift finished.”

“It doesn’t feel right”, said Riley. “I feel like I’m being something I’m not.”

To Tillys shock, Riley then went into the changing rooms, switched back into his street wear, then left. As she went to stop him, she saw he was flat-chested. He’d cut the bra off.

“Sorry, Tilly, I can’t do this anymore. I feel like I’m losing myself.”

Riley walked out. Tilly dissolved in a heap, wailing…

Back at his flat, Riley just wrapped himself in a throw, sat on the sofa and watched TV. What was scaring him the most was how close he had come to accepting the promotion. Was he really happy with being a woman? No, that was stupid. What he really hated was not being true to himself…

Someone banged on the door. Not knocked, banged.

“I know you’re in there! Show yourself, you selfish coward!”

Riley’s mouth dropped open. It was Tilly.

“Damn it, Riley, talk to us!”, came another voice.

The manageress was there as well…!

Riley got up, wandered over to the door and opened it.

Tilly came storming in like a freight train, almost knocking him over. She then slapped him, hard.

“You selfish bitch!”, she cried, not caring that Riley wasn’t a true woman. “Just walking out on me like that! I love you, you idiot! You don’t do that to me!”

“What she said!”, the manageress said, fury in her eyes as well. “How dare you just walk out!”

The two women then dumped Riley on the sofa, sat either side of him and hugged him.

“In case you hadn’t realised, we care about you!”, the manageress said. “And I thought you cared about Tilly. Have you any idea what she’s been going through?”

Riley blushed and hung his head.

“I didn’t realise… I only thought…”

“Of yourself! Yes!”, said Tilly. “What about me? I thought we had something! You’re not backing out on me now just because of a damn skirt!”

Tilly pulled Riley over and kissed him.

“You’re the first guy I’ve ever fancied. Don’t make me regret it now…!”

Riley pulled himself away from them and stood up.

Staring out of the window, he said, “I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Losing myself. Being perfectly honest for a minute, I’m enjoying being a woman way too much…!”

The manageress stood up and went to Riley.

“Then keep being one. Do it in a safe environment, with us. You’ll have our support one hundred percent. As I believe Tilly told you, you only have to be a woman at work. You can change over before you go home at night. Tilly has even found you a version of your bra that you can undo.”

The floodgates just opened. Tilly and the manageress both held Riley as he cried his eyes out.

“I never expected people to be so friendly toward me”, he said. “I’ve been afraid for so long…”

They coaxed Riley back to the sofa.

“Tell me”, said Tilly, holding his hands…

“Mum always taught me to be caring and supportive, and she taught me the way she knew. Not having a father figure around at the time meant I picked up her mannerisms and became more and more effeminate. Some of my mates at school were sure I was gay; one boy even made a pass at me. Then my father came back into my life…”

“Mum died, heart attack. There one day, gone the next. I got sent to live with my father; we’d been separated almost from birth. He was soon disgusted with my mannerisms, calling me a limp wristed sissy. He spent the next few years trying to beat it out of me…”

Tilly gasped at this; she held on to Riley even tighter, then hugged him.

“I’ve been taught anything female is wrong. That’s why I was crying when you got me that first bra, Tilly. All the old feelings came back…”

Tilly and the manageress then both looked at Riley with new understanding.

“We’re so sorry”, the manageress said. “We had no way of knowing…”

They both stood.

“If you want us to leave you alone, we’ll go. At least, we’ll try to. That might be a bit difficult for Tilly…!”

The silence in the flat was palpable.

Both Tilly and the manageress slowly edged toward the door, not really wanting to leave.

Suddenly, to their amazement, Riley seemed to come to a decision.

“Damn it! I’m not going to let my deceased father rule my life!”

He got up.

“I’m accepting the promotion”, he said.

“What makes you think you’ve still got a job, walking out like that?”, the manageress said.

Both Tilly and Riley stared at her with horror.

She burst out laughing.

“Gotcha…!”

After a session of good-natured pummelling, where the manageress apologised but said she had to say it (“You should have seen the look on your faces…!”, she cried) Riley went back to work with the others.

They quickly found a black pencil skirt in Riley’s size, and Tilly gave him the new bra, which he quickly put on.

Senior Floor Manager Riley Drake then reported for duty…