Marie the Brat, Part 4 (Patreon)

Allison tapped away at her keyboard, her face hard with determination. She had spent nearly all of her workday, as well as much of the previous one, getting her presentation ready. All the numbers were double-checked with sources cited, in case she were challenged on any of them. She had spent longer than she should have playing with the various fonts and color schemes, until she had simply given in and resorted to a tried-and-true black and white setup with elegant curves and only a few sky-blue accents. Her speaking notes were written, and she just needed to commit them to memory, so she wouldn't be reduced to reading off a slideshow or using cue cards. She was running a little late with her preparations, but she still had two hours until she would have to show her work, ready or not, to the district boardroom. The company was considering opening a new branch, and her market analysis might mean the difference between the expansion moving forward or being scrapped entirely.

More importantly to her, however, was the fact that she would be meeting, speaking with, and showing her value as a market analyst to the president and vice-presidents of the district branch. She would be making her first impression on the people who were best positioned to make her career a success or a failure. Normally, someone on her level of the organization would rarely even see a member of such an elite gathering, much less have the opportunity to show them her work and answer their questions about it. This was an opportunity that might never cross her path again. If it went well enough, she might even be asked to present again, this time to the main office, or even to investors.

She knew that her entire professional and financial future depended on how well she spent the next few hours. This was the hinge of history. This was crunch time.

She stood and walked to the bathroom. Around her, the beige-colored labyrinth of cubicles stretched out, populated by people talking on phones, hunching over keyboards, and generally pretending to work with varying degrees of verisimilitude. She nodded politely to Leah when their eyes happened to meet. She wouldn't exactly call Leah her friend, but they were at least co-workers who were on decent terms. Allison wasn't all that popular among her co-workers, and she was okay with that. If all went according to plan, they wouldn't be her co-workers for too much longer anyway. She was on her way up. That much was obvious from how much more driven and capable she was than her colleagues. She didn't fit in here, just like the Ugly Duckling hadn't fitted in among the ducks. It was because she was secretly another breed, destined for something greater. She was certain of it.

In the restroom, she checked herself in the mirror. Her appearance needed to be immaculate for such an important meeting. She reapplied her lipstick (pink, but not too pink), combed out and re-tied her ponytail, adjusted her black, wire-rimmed glasses, and added a touch of color just under her eyes. She spent long enough pinching and pulling at her dark-blue pantsuit that she began to attract slightly curious looks from other women who had visited the restroom for more biological reasons. Still, she was soon finished, and she admired herself with satisfaction in the mirror. She looked every bit like the clean, put-together professional she wanted the board to see when she stepped in the room. She took a long, steadying breath before returning to her cubicle.

However, when she stepped into the gap in the shoulder-height beige wall that served as the entrance to her workspace, she found that someone had slipped in during her absence. One of her co-workers had taken up position in her chair, and was busy banging on her keyboard. Not typing, but simply boredly slapping her hands and stabbing her fingers against the keys, in a manner that would probably count as misuse of company property. The thought of reporting the matter to Hilda, the department's HR representative, flitted across Allison's mind briefly. But it was Marie, so the idea vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

Marie was dressed in her usual workplace uniform, which is to say she was completely nude except for a thick white disposable diaper, the glossy plastic-backed rear of which was currently wedged against the neck of Allison's office chair. This was not at all an approved uniform according to the official office guidelines, but once again, HR would never hear of the issue. Marie wasn't like the other workers, although neither Allison nor anyone else was certain exactly what set her apart.

Usually, Allison was actually more disposed to admire Marie, albeit from a discreet distance. Her workplace habits were horrible, of course, but she was so unbelievably self-confident, and she always looked so mature and professional as she hopped carelessly from cubicle to cubicle, spreading chaos wherever she went. She was quite pretty, and also strangely powerful, like a little human hurricane with bare breasts. Still, with so much riding on things going smoothly, Allison was far from pleased to see Marie making herself at home in her chair.

“Damn it, Marie! Leave my stuff alone! I have something really important that I need to work on!”

No one was exactly sure what to make of Marie, but she certainly stood out. She wasn't around very often, which was somewhat unusual in itself. No one was sure what it was she was supposed to be doing all week, but it probably wasn't being done, and certainly not by her. All she seemed to do when she was in the office was to run around interfering with the activities of her co-workers. The strange thing was, no matter how annoying or useless or outright disruptive she was, hardly anyone had an unkind word to say about her. Although those who interacted with her rarely appeared to be enjoying themselves, afterward they often spoke of what a delight she was to be around. Allison considered her to be the prime example of how undervalued hard work and efficiency were in this department.

Marie's biggest fan had to be the department supervisor, Diane. She seemed utterly infatuated with her, and was all warm smiles and gushing praise whenever the topic was raised with her. There were all sorts of rumors about Marie. Some said that she was the CFO's secret lover. Some said that she knew some shameful secret of Diane's, and was blackmailing her into keeping her employed. There were even more esoteric theories about the strange way she acted, and how people responded to her. Some said that they sensed a weird uneasiness in the air whenever she was present, and sometimes even when she was merely spoken of.

Allison didn't put stock in rumors, especially the really spooky or fanciful ones. She insisted to herself that Marie was just another annoying, useless co-worker. Nice to look at (that diaper really was a fetching look), but a pill nonetheless.

“Oh hey Allie! Just making my usual rounds. Looks like you got a big presentation coming up! Kind of a snore, looks like. I just thought I'd give it a little punch-up while I'm here. Make it a little more exciting!”

Allison ran to Marie's side, hoping against hope that her worst fears were not being realized. One look at the screen informed her that her hope was in vain. Her carefully designed and  annotated slides were now covered with colorful squiggles and meaningless clumps of random letters and punctuation. She bared her teeth. She felt her face heat up as rage poured out of her. Her hands settled on Marie's shoulders.

“Marie...” she said through clenched teeth. “Leave it...alone! If you just stop, and leave me alone, I might still be able to salvage this.”

Marie seemed oblivious of Allison's threatening tone. “Oh, you worry too much! Here, watch me add a few gifs to liven things up. Oh, and this font is really stale!”

Without a hint of shame, she added a dancing Santa Clause and a fluttering image of Tinkerbell over the graph of sales figures, then changed the font from Times New Roman to Wingdings . Allison seethed as she watched. The thought of interfering with Marie's playful sabotage never crossed her mind. Instead, she began gently massaging Marie's shoulders.

“Mmmm, I like that Allie! Let's put your slides in a different order! Let's see...I think this ones at the start, this one later on, this one goes over here...”

Allison angrily rubbed Marie's shoulders as she helplessly watched two days worth of hard work go down the drain. Every number was deleted or replaced with gibberish. Her charts were relabeled and filled in with nonsense. Page after page was digitally ransacked as Marie gleefully played with the editing software. She was almost reduced to tears when she saw Marie open the File tab and hover the cursor over Save.

“Goddammit Marie! Stop!” she said in a hoarse whisper!

It was no use. Marie saved her new version of the slide show over Allison's, making all her changes permanent.

“Wheee!” Marie spun around in the swiveling office chair a few times before jumping up and standing triumphantly in front of Allison.

She looked at Allison with an expectant grin. “Dawww, you're so cute when you're mad! I bet you want to punish me now, huh?”

Allison did. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so angry. It almost made her light-headed. There was an odd feeling in the air, as though the floor were uneven. She knew something was seriously off about this situation, but figuring that out came a distant second to making Marie pay. Abandoning her polite whispering, she screamed at Marie.

“You're...you're damn right I do! Do you have any idea what you've just cost me! I could have made vice-president if it weren't for you!” She glowered at Marie's smug face and drew herself up to her full height. She was well past being done with Marie's shtick. She spoke slowly through gritted teeth. “Your...butt...is getting the kissing of a lifetime!”

Marie snickered and stuck out her thickly diapered rear at Allison. Allison dropped to her knees and planted one long, luscious kiss after another on the glossy bulk of the diaper.

Marie giggled and waved her ass back and forth. “Th-that'll teach me!”

“You (smack) better believe it! (smooch) This is just (smack) the beginning, too. (smooch) I am going to (smack) make it my personal mission to see you (smooch) promoted Marie! I'll tell HR that (smack) that you're doing a terrific job (smack), and that you deserve a (smooch) big raise! Do you understand me (smack)?”

Marie turned her butt again. “Oh nooo, anything but that! You missed a spot by the way.”

Allison prided herself on her thoroughness, so she was careful to make sure that every inch of Marie's backside had a faint outline of her make-up on it. She would need to re-do it for her presentation.

That thought took the wind out of her sails again. She heaved a sigh and sat backward on the floor, resting on an elbow. Taking out her frustration on Marie's bulging backside was very satisfying, but it didn't change the fact that she was sunk. Could she have the meeting postponed? Unlikely. There were other analysts in this department that would pounce on the chance to take her place. She would earn a reputation for being flaky and unreliable that would haunt her for the rest of her career.

Marie turned to see why her butt wasn't getting the attention it clearly deserved. She looked quizzically down at Allison. “What's up Allie? Need a hug?”

Allison just sat, feeling drained. “Just leave me alone. Please.”

Marie nodded. “Yeah, you need a hug. C'mon babe. Up, up, up.” She pulled Allison to her feet and wrapped her arms around her. The thought of pulling away or pushing her off flashed briefly across Allison's mind, before being whipped away by the logic-shredding force that was Marie. Marie rubbed her back and whispered reassurances to her. Despite herself, Allison found that the hug did actually make her feel better. Marie was quite attractive, after all, and her bare chest felt very soft and warm against her.

A long, whistling fart sounded from behind Marie. Allison winced as the smell found her nose. “Oh gawd, Marie...” she moaned, still unable to even think about breaking the hug.

“Sh, sh, sh. It's okay. I'm just making stinkies. Just relax, and take a deep breath.”

Allison did. She didn't know why, but just like everyone else, she let Marie have her own way. The sounds coming from Marie's diaper grew louder and ruder as the hug stretched on. Allison glanced around at her co-workers, hoping for some support. Some of them were surreptitiously watching her and Marie while pretending to work. Her eyes met Leah's. She winced slightly, but then looked back down at her monitor. “Sorry, but better you than me.” her eyes seemed to say. The other workers (what few had turned their heads at all) followed suit. The phrase “what a bunch of ducks” flashed through Allison's mind.

Marie finished making her deposit at the pampers bank. She breathed a heavy sigh of satisfaction.

“Are you done? Can I go now?” asked Allison. She didn't even feel angry anymore. What was the point? No matter what she said or did, Marie would get her way. It was a strange sensation, almost a weightlessness. She was ruined, nothing mattered, nothing made sense, and the results would be the same no matter what she did. It wasn't the best kind of freedom, but it still felt oddly liberating.

Marie rested her head on Allison's shoulder. “No, no. Just relax. Do you want to hear a secret?”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Does it matter if I do or not?”

Marie giggled. “No, not really. I'm just leaving my mark on you now, you see. It's kinda like a spell I can put on people. My mom has it, my best friend Katie, and Diane, a few others around here. And now you. I've seen the way you look at me Allison. Don't try to deny it. You can fight all you like, and it won't matter. Some people take more convincing than others, but you'll figure it out eventually.”

Allison narrowed her eyes. That feeling of wrongness was still there, but it now it felt more immediate, like it was right in front of her instead of lurking in the shadows. She wasn't sure what Marie was talking about, but some instinct told her that it was not simply a lie. “Figure what out?”

“That I'm the one with all the power here. I am something that can't even fit in your little brain, Allie. I can play with your life like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. I can toss you up in the air and bat you back and forth, and there isn't a thing you can do about it. You can get mad, if you want. Most people do. Some stay mad for a while, but I can tell you're not like that. You're not the kind of person who was born to rage against the machine. You're a nice, compliant little office drone, and now I'm going to make you my drone. You can kick and scream, but eventually you'll be ready to settle down and be my little toy.”

“...toy?”

“mmm-hmm. I think you're already getting the hang of it. Once all that anger is out of your system, you'll feel much better. More calm. More relaxed. Once you do that, you''l be ready to help me, and I can help you, too.”

Allison was totally adrift. The hug no longer felt awkward or uncomfortable. It was beginning to feel genuinely comforting, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. “Help me...how?”

“Tell you what. You know that presentation I just tanked for you? I'll help you out. Instead of that snorepocalypse of a slide-show, you're gonna present me to them.”

“W-what?”

“You'll show them my spoiled, pampered butt, and I'll explain to them how things are going to be from now on. I've made up my mind, you see. I'm taking over. I'm gonna rule this company. No one can stop me. They're all gonna be eating out of my hand before I'm through, just like you. You're gonna be my little helper and ride along on my coattails.”

Allison felt very confused. Everything Marie was saying seemed to make perfect sense, and yet she wasn't sure how to feel about it. She had always understood that climbing the corporate ladder would always mean kowtowing to some privileged, power-mad jerk or another. That was always the price of success. If Marie was really capable of the things she claimed, this could actually be a bigger opportunity than her ten-minute spiel had ever been.

“What exactly...would that entail?” she asked suspiciously.

“Shhhh. You don't have to worry about all the little details. It's not like you have some other option you have to consider. This is just how things are. I rule, I get everything I want, and you and everybody else are just gonna put up with it and clean up after me. That's all there is to it. You exist to amuse me, Allison. The sooner you accept that, the happier you'll be.”

Allison bit her lip nervously. She was certain now that this was all very wrong. But Marie was right about her, and she knew that too. She was the kind of person who worked within the system, not one who struggled against it. For better or worse, the system was now clinging to her like a koala, forcing her to stand in the stench of her dirty diaper.

“I...I guess if I don't really have a choice...” she said slowly. It was always easier when you didn't have a choice

“There's a good girl! When is your presentation?” answered Marie. She released Allison from the hug, but grabbed both her hands.

“Uh...about an hour and forty away...” said Allison, glancing at the wall clock.

Marie chuckled. “I'm just kidding! It doesn't matter. Being on time would show that we have respect for other people's time. I'm not getting caught on something like that! C'mon, we need to have a talk with the Boss lady.”

Marie pulled Allison by the hand and took her toward Diane's office. She found that she was simply swept along in the diapered woman's wake, with no more choice in the matter than if she had been a briefcase.

She was surprised to see Diane's office. She visited whenever she had a reasonable excuse, as all the career advice she had read suggested she should. Some major redecorating had occurred since the last such occasion. Pictures of Marie were scattered across the walls and  all over Diane's desk, most in pink or purple frames with glittering fake gemstones. In one corner, a rack of what looked like costumes was now standing where a filing cabinet had once been. The shelves that had once been full of reference texts were now stacked with hundreds of disposable diapers, in a range of colors, sizes, and decorations. The most striking changes, however, were to Diane's own attire.

She was wearing a light yellow dress with puffed sleeves at the shoulder, elbow-length white gloves, a bright white apron, and a matching frilly headpiece. She stood and smiled warmly as Marie pulled Allison into the room. The door hung open behind her.

“Marie! To what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked. She sniffed the air, and her face fell a bit. “Don't tell me you're here because of that dirty diaper?” she asked, seeming worried.

“Ha! Not likely. I'm just here to get Allison started on that Fast Track program we talked about. Better get Hilda in here.”

Diane's smile returned, brighter than ever. “Oh, of course! Lucky you, Allison! It's quite an opportunity for you, you know.”

“Oh. Good.” said Allison, who hadn't known anything of the kind and still didn't. Diane ignored her, instead pressing a button on her company phone.

“Pauline? Tell Hilda to see her in here right away. Code M. Tell her to bring along Allison's personnel files, and the paperwork for the new fast-track program.”

“Right away, Ms. Hoffman.”

Allison could guess what the M stood for. They stood for a moment, waiting for the HR rep to make her appearance. Marie took the time to sit on Diane's desk and see how many papers she could knock to the floor with her squishy, padded rear. Allison took it upon herself to break the silence.

“That...uh...that isn't your...usual outfit.” pointed out Allison nervously.

Diane blushed and glanced downward. “Well...you see, uh, last time I picked Marie up at her home, her mother was wearing this funny-looking dress...I asked about it, and she said that Marie liked her to dress that way now, and then Marie opened my suitcase and threw all my papers out into the street. It seemed reasonable that since I'm also responsible for Marie's diaper changes, I ought to dress appropriately for the part.”

“Oh.” said Allison, surprised. “Uh, doesn't she need a change now?”

Diane snorted a laugh. “Well, yes, but that's far too convenient, you see. I have to go and find Marie to get her changed into a fresh diaper. It really interrupts the flow of my work.”

“Oh. I'm...sorry about that.” said Allison uncertainly.

Diane shrugged. “Well, what can you do? Oh, there she is.”

Hilda stepped into the office, shutting the door demurely behind her. She held a couple manila folders in one hand and was dressed as professionally as Allison, with a pantsuit of light tan and a dark blue neckerchief.

“So! You're the lucky one, huh?” The question was directed at Allison.

“That's...what they tell me.” she responded, forcing a nervous smile.

“Well, let's go over the main features.” she set aside one folder and handed Allison a sheet from another. “This one covers the variances to the company dress code that will apply to you under the new program. If you could just read and initial that?”

Allison's eyes widened when she read through the items that the paper outlined.

“That's uh...that's a maximum skirt length.” she pointed out.

Hilda nodded. “Yes. What you're wearing now is perfect for a standard employee, but it would be too obscuring for someone in the new program.”

As Hilda explained this, Marie was standing behind her and lifting her skirt. Allison couldn't help but stare.

“Oh just ignore that!” said Hilda, throwing her hand carelessly. “Marie likes to play with my butt cheeks sometimes. It's probably the only reason why I'm still in big girl panties.”

“Unlike me.” thought Allison, blushing heavily as she read through the second item on the paper. It listed the acceptable brands, designs, and thickness of the diapers that would now be part of her official company uniform. She glanced at Marie, who raised an eyebrow and nodded seriously, even as she continued to fondle and knead Hilda's rear.“What can you do, I guess?” she said nervously, before reluctantly initialing the paper and handing it back.

“You got it! Now, there will be some mandatory company training as well.” She produced another paper. “That will be during regular work hours, so we'll have to meet this week and set up a training time that works with your schedule. You will be paid for your time as usual, of course.”

After the last one, Allison didn't believe that anything could shock her anymore, but she was wrong. She felt herself flush even harder as she saw the list of training courses.

“I'm not even sure its possible to be trained for that.” she pointed out, gesturing to one of the courses listed on the paper.

“Well, between ourselves, most company training courses are just there to check boxes, and I had to set this one up rather quickly, but I'm confident that someone with your work ethic can handle the job becoming fully incontinent. I've prepared a set of relaxation exercises and visualization techniques that should have you wetting yourself fairly reliably within a month or two, and we'll work on it from there.”

Allison nodded. Compared to dealing with Marie, Hilda seemed reassuringly corporate in her approach. She was used to simply accepting the madness around her and trying to be as reasonable and efficient as possible despite it. Alison felt that Hilda was almost a kindred spirit.

Marie switched from fondling Hilda's butt to playing with her breasts. If Hilda was at all bothered, she didn't let on. Perhaps she was simply used to it.

“And the other ones?”

“As for the intelligence reduction and vocabulary alterations, that should also be achievable through relaxation and visualization techniques. I believe we can also take advantage of the fact that you already suffer from astigmatism. With some non-prescription frames, we can do away with your ability to read and tell time at a stroke!”

Marie ceased juggling Hilda's breasts to dart forward and snatch Alison's glasses from her head. The world went into soft focus. Alison could barely make out the sight of Marie snapping her glasses into pieces and dropping them on the floor. Diane quickly picked them up and disposed of them before someone stepped on them. When Alison's eyes returned to the paper in her hands, the neatly typed words explaining how she would be transformed into a diaper-wetting idiot were nothing but gray smudges.

A thought occurred to her. “How am I even supposed to drive to work like this?”

The fuzzy outline of Hilda's face smiled. “You'll be moving in with me. I'll be responsible for bringing you to the office, and also for seeing to your new diapering schedule. Your signature goes right there by the way.”

Allison shook her head and scrawled a gray smudge onto the spot that Hilda indicated with her blurry finger. “Oh well.” she thought. “It isn't up to me.”

“Perfect!” said Hilda, carefully signing her own name on the appropriate line. “Now, shall we get you in your new uniform? You have a presentation coming up today, don't you?”