Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. >The Suggestion Box by edithdick Prologue Joanna reviewed the report again. She had already verified that the numbers were correct multiple times, but she wanted another look just in hope that the finance team had missed something. Not likely, this decision affected them as much as anyone. Finally, she reviewed the wording on her email once more before clicking send. It was too late to turn back now. Within minutes, she expected her door to be rattled off its hinges by disgruntled workers. The economic downturn had caused a complete collapse of the company -(TM)s financials. Not only would there be no raises this year, but everyone from manager level on up would also be expected to take a significant pay decrease. There weren -(TM)t any other options if the company was to survive. The email did include a promise that as things got better, the pay would be restored, but no back pay and no raises for at least 2 more years. As head of Human Resources, Joanna was going to face the brunt of the employee pushback. It -(TM)s not as if their own expenses aren -(TM)t going up through all of this. She tried to reassure herself that at least they hadn -(TM)t had many layoffs. She had heard of one company that was currently going through a 40% work force reduction. It was no surprise when she heard a knocking at her office door. She had always had an open door policy when it came to employee relations, and wasn -(TM)t going to change that just because times were tough. Heck, employees needed an ear to listen to their complaints, and she needed to keep an eye on the morale of the company. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see the CEO and several other VPs waiting to see her. -Come in. - She said, startled. There were five in total, Steve Saching, the CEO, Onella Davidson, the CFO, Mark Arting, the VP of IT, he was never granted the title CIO and she knew why. Also, there were Anna Stevens, the VP of Marketing and Carl Edgeburg, the Chief Engineer. The group crowded into Joanna -(TM)s office. She had a small conference room table that she held staff meeting at on the far side of her office. There weren -(TM)t enough chairs, so she pulled the chair from behind her desk. That still left her one short, so she decided to stand while the rest took seats. There was no reason for it to be her, as she was also a Vice President, but she thought it a courtesy to stand since she was apparently hosting this impromptu executive meeting. -So how do you think the employees will take the news? - Asked the CEO. The question should have been directed at Joanna, but for some reason he just asked the room in general. Joanna hesitated. She knew what she wanted to say, but she didn -(TM)t want to sound too eager when she said it. -How do you think they -(TM)ll take it? - asked Onella. -Their gonna be pissed! - She had such a way with words. Joanna thought. Everyone else muttered their agreement, however. -I -(TM)ve given it some thought. - Joanna said, after the group began to calm down a bit. -Morale will certainly take a hit. But you have said so yourself, that this is just a temporary cutback. We need to remind them that this IS temporary and that in time all will be restored. - -Not restored. - Onella cut her off. -No raises this year or next at the very least, and that is IF sales bounce back to where we were even two years ago! - The Steve nodded his understanding. -If we don -(TM)t get our numbers up, we may have to pursue the staff reduction after all. - They all seemed to agree that having to lay off a large percentage of the work force would somehow make this better. -I suppose it would depend a lot on who we cut then. - Carl brought up. -We -(TM)ll never get ourselves out of this pit if we can -(TM)t produce products anymore. - The biggest problem with this line of discussion was that each department head would do whatever was necessary to keep as many of -Their - employees as possible, regardless of if it made sense to do so. Priority would also be on politics and not common sense. -That is not today -(TM)s problem. - Joanna cut in. It was a simple fact, but her saying it outright brought the chatter to a close. -Today we must deal with the morale problem for the workforce we have. If we don -(TM)t, then the staff reductions will take care of themselves and we won -(TM)t get to control who leave and who, if anybody stays. - She had their attention. She didn -(TM)t want it, but she had it. Of course, she needed their attention, but she still didn -(TM)t want it. -What can we do to raise morale while also cutting pay? - Steve asked, suddenly interested in something Joanna had besides the color of her blouse or how short her skirt happened to be that day. -My suggestion is just that, well sort of. I suggest we employ a suggestion box for boosting morale. Employees can make any request, within reason, and if the company can afford it and it is appropriate, then we will implement it. - She finished. There was a pause while the room considered what she just said. -What sorts of things do you think they -(TM)ll request? - Mark asked carefully. Undoubtedly worried that a lot of new tech will be requested that he would be responsible for managing. -Who knows? It could be anything. If it is appropriate and we can do it, then we should! - Joanna answered. -Who decides what is appropriate? - Steve asked. That was a good question. -I suppose, I should be the one, since I am the one who has to live with the consequences. - Joanna answered. It was decided. They adjourned the meeting and shortly thereafter, an all-hands staff meeting was held. Steve addressed the company and announced the offer. Of course, there was plenty of complaining, but they assured everyone that, -For as long as we are able, we will at the very least not implement any layoffs. If we all pull together, we will get through this and come out stronger in the end. - Joanna -(TM)s idea of a suggestion box seemed to fall on deaf ears during the meeting and everyone left disappointed and angry. It was a couple of weeks before the first suggestion came in. It was small, Hawaiian shirt Wednesday. Joanna signed it and it was implemented the next week. That led to other suggestions, like free soda one day per week. Signed. Some requests, like allowing alcohol on Fridays was deemed inappropriate. The rule was, if it was appropriate, Joanna would sign it, if she signed it, it would be implemented. Each time she signed a slip, Kelly, her assistant would post them on the corkboard outside of the Human Resources department. There was usually a group of three or four people standing outside of the department when Joanna would get in in the morning to review which suggestions had been approved. Today however, the crowd was closer to fifty people all standing around looking downright gleeful about something. Even Steve was there. He grinned at Joanna openly and approached her as she walked toward her office. -You -(TM)re really taking this morale boost to the next level! He told her. - Joanna smiled, not really knowing what he was talking about, and headed into her office. Steve followed her in and closed the door. -So when did you have in mind? - -In mind for what? - She asked. Steve pulled out one of the slips of paper that clearly had Joanna -(TM)s signature on it as a commitment to implement one of the employee -(TM)s suggestions, but when he read what was suggested, she was shocked! Chapter One - Part One For at least the tenth time today, Joanna found herself studying her signature on the small slip of paper that she now kept in the pen drawer in her desk. There was nothing new to be gained from looking at it, she was quite certain that it was her that had somehow signed this paper. She just didn -(TM)t understand how she made this mistake. The suggestion was absurd, and she had no clue as to how her signature wound up approving the -Women of the workforce lingerie calendar. - When Steve first handed it to her, her first instinct was to tear it into shreds and be done with it. Fortunately, he stopped her from that. Now she kept the paper in her desk as a reminder of her own failure. The note wasn -(TM)t the source of her troubles today. The executive meetings were now all centered on her department, and that wasn -(TM)t a good thing. Joanna scooped up the small stack of paper on her desk and slipped the note back into the drawer before locking it up and heading to the meeting that would again put her unhappily into the spotlight. After everyone had arrived, Steve announced, -Let -(TM)s get started. What is the status of operations? - Alex Kramer, the Chief of Operations replied, -Same as last week, if not worse. Everyone is on 4 hours of overtime per day and we are behind schedule for 60% of our orders. - -Have we had any luck in recruiting replacements? - Steve asked. Though not directed at Joanna, the question eventually was deferred her way. -Recruitment is stalled. For each position we have lost, we have found at least one qualified candidate, but only one in ten offer letters come back signed. The rest are asking for more money that we are currently authorized to pay. - -How about turnover? - Steve asked. -It -(TM)s up another 15% from last week. We are currently on pace to reach 48% of the company this year. - Joanna said. -Any ideas on how to stem the flow? - Steve asked the room. Joanna decided to hold her tongue on this question. The last time she spoke up it only made things worse. Instead, Onella said, -I don -(TM)t know what we can do. If we don -(TM)t fill our orders, we won -(TM)t be able to ask for payment and our staffing shortage will only get worse from there as we have mandatory layoffs. - -We need to stop the turnover now and bring in a few more workers to catch up. - Replied Alex. -So how do we stop it? I thought it was getting better. - Steve added. As they began discussing ideas, Joanna stopped listening. She already knew what was causing the uptick in departures from the company, and she knew it was her own fault. Shuffling through the stack of papers that she had brought to the meeting, she interrupted Carl complaining about the number of engineers and how long it took to assemble this team to begin with. -Each time an employee leaves, part of the exit interview involves a survey about what the company could have done better. - Joanna said. Everyone was now listening to her, so she continued. -For the past two weeks, the number one complaint and the reason stated for leaving has been a lack of trust that upper management will follow through on our promises. - -That -(TM)s all well and good, but trust isn -(TM)t something that can be built in a day. What can we do to stop the bleeding now? - Carl asked, impatiently. Though Carl didn -(TM)t address Onella directly, everyone was looking to her to solve that issue. She had already laid out that there was no money for blanket raises, and that wasn -(TM)t about to change. Instead, Joanna answered, -Trust can -(TM)t be earned in a day, that is true. It can be lost in a day, however. And I have to take some responsibility for this problem. - -You? - Asked Steve. Though Onella had nodded, and the others listened in silence. How did you break their trust? - -The suggestion box was my idea, and I -(TM)m the one who signs off on the suggestions. When one -~Approved -(TM) suggestion went missing, we had an almost immediate uptick in employees turning in their notice. - She told them. -The calendar? - Steve asked. -Is there any chance we could actually put this together? - -It wouldn -(TM)t cost that much, less than what we spend to replace a single midline worker. - Onella said. -We don -(TM)t have any willing models. - Joanna said sadly. That was the crux of the situation. She was certain that removing the calendar from approved suggestions was the cause of the problem, but without at least one willing model there was no way to complete it. -Not one person has accepted? - Anna asked. The Marketing department was affected just as much as the others. Joanna shook her head. -Obviously we can -(TM)t make anyone participate without risking a harassment suit. So without at least one volunteer, I have had to table the idea despite it being the bur in everyone -(TM)s saddle. - Joanna said. -I know it would work; I just wish I could find a single woman as committed to the idea as I am. - Joanna was on the verge of tears. She knew it was her own fault and she felt like she was letting everyone down for her failure to find any woman on staff who would agree with her. -Well, - Onella said flatly, -There is obviously one woman at the company who would agree with everything you -(TM)ve just said. - Everyone else nodded in understanding except Joanna who reacted, -There -(TM)s not. I -(TM)ve asked every female employee in the company! Every one of them refused, some were quite angry about it. - Joanna felt a tear begin to run down her left cheek. -You -(TM)re not thinking of resigning, are you? - Steve asked. -Resign? Are you asking me to? - Joanna asked quietly. -Of course not. You will be harder to replace than most of the people who -(TM)ve already left! - He said loudly. -I just wanted to know how you feel about it. - Joanna had never considered resigning until Steve mentioned it. -I -(TM)m not quitting. - She assured him. -I never quit, and I never surrender. No matter what it takes, I am sticking this out until. We will turn this around. I am sure of it. - -So --? - Steve began. -Oh for god -(TM)s sake, are you going to model or not? - Onella demanded. -Am I going to -- - Joanna trailed off as the idea started to sink in. -Yes, you! - Onella said. -You said yourself, you are the one person in this company who believes that this is the answer. Well prove it! - -I hadn -(TM)t considered this. - Joanna said, embarrassed. -I don -(TM)t even own any lingerie. - -That doesn -(TM)t matter, are you willing to model it or not? - Anna asked. -Yes. - Joanna said quietly. -If I am the only one who will do it, then it will have to be me. - She wasn -(TM)t sure about this, but she was willing to at least try. I hope I don -(TM)t embarrass myself too much. she thought. -Then that -(TM)s settled. What is your plan? - Steve asked, a sudden cheeriness returning to his voice for the first time in months. -Well, now that we know we are going forward, I will repost the suggestion with a sign-up sheet for any other woman who may change her mind. - Joanna told them. -After that, I guess I -(TM)ll need to figure out how to make a calendar. - With that the meeting was adjourned. When Joanna returned to her office, she quickly crafted a generic sign-up sheet with a title, -Any Women who would like to volunteer - and it had room for a dozen volunteers. She then pinned it up on the suggestion board with the original suggestion attached. For the rest of the day, as word spread, dozens upon dozens of employees stopped by to verify the rumor that the suggestion was back on the board. A weight had been lifted off of Joanna -(TM)s shoulders, and a different weight was added. Am I really going though with this? Chapter 1 -" Part 2 Joanna sat at the conference table in her office with two other women. Onella and Alice Hwang, the director of Sales Enablement. -How about this one? - Alice asked, handing a photo of a woman wearing a skimpy looking set of lingerie. This one was red and white stripped and included a G-String bottom and the bra had a small bow nestled between the breasts. Joanna merely glanced at it before passing the photo to Onella. She was more interested in how much skin would be revealed when wearing such an outfit than she was of the outfit itself. -How much? - Asked Onella? -Should be $50. - Alice said. Onella wrote it down and added it to the stack. It had been like this the past three times they met. Alice would present a stack of pictures of women in their underwear, Onella would jot down the cost, and Joanna would wonder if she could really wear something like that where people could see her. Within a day after reposting the Lingerie Calendar suggestion, three names appeared on the signup sheet. Onella, Alice and Miriam Brinton, the facilities manager. None of the three volunteered to be a model however. Onella was a bit of a surprise, considering Joanna was pretty sure Onella didn -(TM)t like her. But it seemed that she wanted to make sure that this project stayed under budget. Miriam wasn -(TM)t really a candidate for being a model either. She was in her mid-50 -(TM)s and was built like, well a facilities manager. She had rough hands and a strong back. If anything, her potato shaped body would probably have had a negative effect on company morale. Alice on the other hand, looked like she had been designed by a man who loved looking at voluptuous women. Her breasts, hips and waist were perfectly proportional and her face made Joanna question her own sexuality. Not only that, but her favorite hobby seemed to be keeping up with fashion and design. That was what made her want to be part of this project. She wanted the chance to help researcher the clothes and set designs that they would use for the calendar. As it turned out, Joanna was just as glad for this help too. She certainly had no interest in such menial knowledge, such as which clothing designer worked best for her body type and which materials would be better in the printed calendar compared to which would look better in a digital format. Joanna -(TM)s only real interest was in how much she had to expose to make this calendar work. It wasn -(TM)t that Joanna wasn -(TM)t pretty or didn -(TM)t have a nice figure. When her son Isaac was born 15 years ago, she went on a diet and exercise binge to bring the baby weight back to her pre-pregnancy state. After that, she just kept it up and now spend a minimum of two hours on the treadmill and takes three palate classed every week. At 5 -(TM)2, she was shorter than most of the women she worked with. She also weighed a scant 90 pounds. Her B cup breasts would look small on a normal woman, but on her, they were perfectly proportional. The problem wasn -(TM)t that she was embarrassed of her body, she just didn -(TM)t like other people seeing her that way. She had spent her entire life trying to be taken seriously. She had grown quite accustomed to wearing very conservative outfits at work. She normally couldn -(TM)t find clothes in adult sizes that fit her, so for her casual wear, she often shopped in the teen or even pre-teen section. Boy -(TM)s medium sweatpants fit her the best. For this, she had never even owned a set of lingerie. Not only because finding lingerie is a child -(TM)s size is problematic, but she never really was interested in that sort of thing. Now, she was being pressed into a situation that would take her way outside of her comfort zone. Joanna had grown tired of looking at these naughty pictures. If she had her way, every pair would start at her neckline and continue on to just above her knee. She wasn -(TM)t going to have it her way and didn -(TM)t want to think about it anymore. -What about the photographer? - Joanna asked. Not that she had much more to offer on this line of the conversation, but at least she had one demand that she wouldn -(TM)t back down from. -We have nailed it down to these three. - Alice said, pulling out the list. All three were women. That was her one and only demand on this project. If she had to be photographed like that, at the very least the photographer and everyone associated with this shoot would be a woman. At least so far as the logistics of the photoshoot, that was what she was mostly concerned with. In the area of privacy, however, she had additional demands. In that regard, she at least was an expert in putting together work contracts and knew the ins and outs of legal verbiage. In a nutshell, she had prepared a contract between the company and herself that stated: 1. All images collected by the company on the date of the shoot would belong to the company and not the photographer. 2. All images collected by the company on the date of the shoot would be solely for use in the calendar and in promotion of the calendar as part of a larger employee morale. No other use would be permitted without her consent 3. All images collected by the company on the date of the shoot that were no used for the calendar or promotion of the calendar would be treated as secret intellectual property, and no images would be permitted to be sent outside of the company for any reason She had prepared this contract in hopes that it would help persuade other women to feel comfortable enough to be part of the calendar. It didn -(TM)t work, but at the very least it would allow her to feel like she still had some control over this project. Joanna decided to let the other three women handle the details of the shoot itself. She had had her say and gotten all she felt she could out of the arrangement. Besides, the more she looked at these photos, the worse her anxiety over it grew. Best not to think of it until I have too. she thought. Over the next two weeks, Joanna was aware that four other planning meetings were held. She was aware because they were on her calendar. She insisted they have them in her office, and always found reason to be elsewhere when the meetings actually took place. She knew what she needed to and that was enough for her. Chapter 1 -" Part 3 By the day of the photoshoot arrived, Joanna had reached the point where she just wanted this over with. She was so nervous about being seen without her clothes on that she could hardly eat. She didn -(TM)t need to lose any weight but ended up losing two pounds. She had avoided any more of the planning meetings, letting Alice pretty much make the rest of the decisions with Onella. Joanna -(TM)s biggest concern was her fifteen-year-old son, Isaac. He would be mortified if he learned his mom was putting her body out there like this. His father died when he was only two, and she never remarried or even dated really, because she didn -(TM)t want Isaac to feel like his father was being replaced. He died a hero in Afghanistan and Joanna wanted Isaac to always think of him that way. Adding another man would only add confusion. As a result of all that, Joanna never really thought of herself as a woman. Not in the sexual way, anyway. She was a mom at home and a Vice President at her company. That was enough. And the idea of walking around her workplace wearing only a bra and panties was going to be the most erotic thing she had ever done in her entire life. Joanna arrived at the office at 10:00 am. The others had been there for over three hours setting up, but she was told to sleep in and come well rested and beautiful. Well, sleeping in was out of the question. She had a routine to maintain and fixing Isaac a hot breakfast on Saturday was one that she had not skipped out on since he took his first bite of solid food. When she arrived, she was wearing a simple black tracksuit with a thin white stripe down the side. She went to her office and dropped her purse off before heading down to the shipping and receiving area. That was where they told her they would set up the changing area. She had been warned in advance, that once they did her hair, she wouldn -(TM)t be allowed to pull her shirt over her head, or risk messing it up. Knowing this, the shirt for track suit she selected had a sipper in the front and could be pulled off without touching her hair. They had set up a makeshift tent using ropes and what appeared to be bedsheets all draped and tied off. There was no roof, but it was over seven feet high, so there was no chance of someone peeking over the top while she changed. It also blocked the view of the security cameras that were in place to keep an eye on shipments coming into the office or merchandise on its way out. Joanna sat in the chair inside the tent while the woman they had hired, Anita, started giving her a blow out and fixing her makeup. While they worked, she tried to evaluate the clothing rack that was set up on the other side of the tent. It was a long horizontal pole propped up by two tripods. On the pole were around a dozen hangers containing the -~costumes is how she thought of them -(TM) that Joanna would be wearing for the photoshoot. The first couple looked reasonably decent, but as she moved down the line, she began envisioning herself wearing such skimpy attire and began to blush. -Did I burn you? - asked Anita, noting her sudden change in color. -Wah? Oh, no. I was just seeing what they picked out for me is all. - Joanna said smoothly. -They -(TM)re beautiful, aren -(TM)t they? - Anita asked. -I don -(TM)t have the figure for it like you do, but the clothes are gorgeous. - Clothes Joanna thought, bemused. Those weren -(TM)t clothes, they were quite literally called underclothes. Of course, today, they would not be worn under any clothes. She felt her cheeks heating up again thinking of it. -How long have you been doing this? - Joanna asked, trying to change the topic. -Oh, hair and makeup? Maybe fifteen years. - Anita said casually. -Mostly weddings and high school formals. - When Joanna had gotten married, it was on an army base. She couldn -(TM)t have afforded to hire someone to do her makeup or hair back then, even if such a person existed in the military. -This is my first time. - She confessed. -Well, I have my hair cut when it needs it, but I have never had it styled like this and nobody has done my makeup since my mom showed me how when I turned eighteen. - Anita nodded. She continued talking about how lovely Joanna -(TM)s skin was or what she would like to do with her hair on the other shots. That was news, apparently Joanna would have her makeup redone each time she changed outfits and would have her hair redone three times. After about thirty minutes, Anita spun Joanna around and ask, -What do you think? - Joanna had never seen herself looking quite like this before. Her hair now was pulled back on the sides and sort of flopped over from front to back, adding a lot of volume, but just in the center column, and in the back, it was organized chaos, with curls seeming to go everywhere, but with such intentional waves that it looked like a piece of art. She was especially fascinated by the amount of makeup that had been applied. Her eyelashes were longer than humans normally grow. She had mascara, eye liner, rouge, and lipstick. When Joanna wore makeup, it was minimal and mostly just to conceal her blemishes. This was absolutely shocking. -What about the glitter? - asked Alice harshly. -We want her to sparkle. - Joanna hadn -(TM)t realized the woman had even come into the tent. Spinning the chair around to face the newcomer, she noticed that Onella was also there, looking none too happy. -What -(TM)s taking so long? - Onella demanded. -The first coat always takes the longest. - Anita said casually. -Don -(TM)t worry, the touchups will be quick. Now, her hair will have to cooperate if we are to stay on schedule, but we won -(TM)t know that until we get there. - Onella nodded and then said to Joanna, -You, go change. We have to start shooting while there is still daylight. - Joanna wanted to argue about that point, they were the ones who told her when to arrive and not they are acting like she is holding them up. Joanna stood up intending to walk over to the clothing rack. Suddenly, her legs wouldn -(TM)t move. She wanted to just get this over with, but her body suddenly refused to move. -What is it? - asked a still angry Onella. -It -(TM)s time! - -I don -(TM)t think I can go through with this. - Joanna said softly. -What? - Asked Alice. -Everything is already set, of course you can -- - -NO! - Joanna shouted. -I CAN -(TM)T DO THIS! - Onella and Alice rounded on her. -We have come too far for you to back out now! - Onella said. -I can -(TM)t! - Joanna protested. -Now you listen to me. - Onella continued. -You can and you will. It -(TM)s no longer just your reputation on the line here. All of us put ourselves out there promoting this. It will happen! - -Please, Joanna. - Pleaded Alice. -Look at you. You look amazing! You are going to look so beautiful in the clothes we picked out for you. - -I -(TM)m sorry, but I can -(TM)t do this. - Joanna said, her knees finally starting to give in causing her to slide back into the chair she had been sitting in. Onella was having none of it. -Joanna, listen to me. We have put some much stock in this photoshoot to boost morale. Whether you like it or not, you have been promoting this as a way to save the company. Hell, I -(TM)m even starting to believe you. - -I know, but I didn -(TM)t think it through. I -(TM)m just not a person who can have my picture taken this way. - Joanna protested. -I -(TM)m not done. It won -(TM)t just be you going down if this shoot doesn -(TM)t happen. The company has spent not an insignificant amount of money bringing your idea to life with this. My credit card was used. This makes me partially responsible to get this done. - Onella continued. -I understand. - Joanna started. -I don -(TM)t think you do! - Onella said roughly. -Alice and I will be taking the fall because our name and credibility are also at stake here. Now get your ass out of that chair and get dressed in the outfits that Alice picked for you. - -No, I won -(TM)t. - Joanna stated firmly. -Are you really willing to throw your whole career away over this? - Alice asked. -I think I am. I know I can -(TM)t make myself put on these clothes. - Joanna said. -Well, I -(TM)m not. - Onella said. -Alice, give me a hand. - With that the two women descended on Joanna who -(TM)s knees were still too weak to stand, let alone run. -Stop! - Joanna demanded. -Let go of me! What are you doing? Give that back. NOOoooo! - Joanna screamed. -Joanna, we -(TM)re doing this for your own good. - Onella insisted, as they proceeded to manhandle Joanna. In a matter of seconds, Joanna was still sitting in the chair, but now she wore not a stich of clothing. One arm firmly covering her breasts and the other hand wrapped gently over her vagina and pubic hair. -Give me back my clothes! - Demanded Joanna. -These? - Onella asked, holding them out and taunting her with them for a second. -Yes, those ARE my clothes! Give them back this instant. - Joanna said, starting to feel her face flushing red with heat from her sheer humiliation. -You -(TM)ll get these back after the shoot. And one more thing, If you aren -(TM)t dressed and ready to go, Alice and I will drag you to the photoshoot in your skin! - Onella told her and then to add emphasis she left the tent. Joanna stood to chase after her, but remembered that just outside of these thin fabric walls were no less than four security cameras. She had no intention of stepping out there in her current state. Instead, she did the only thing that she could do, -ONELLA! GET BACK HERE NOW! - Whether Onella heard her screams, Joanna was never sure. What she was sure of was that she now stood in this tent straight up naked, and her clothes were nowhere to be seen. -We -(TM)ll give you some privacy. - Alice announced, taking a very stunned Anita by the hand and exiting the tent. I won -(TM)t do it! Joanna thought as she paced around the small tent. Despite the fact that the other women had left her alone, she didn -(TM)t dare remove her arm of hand from covering her precious bits. There -(TM)s no way Onella was serious about dragging me out there, was she? Deciding that it would be far better to be dragged out there wearing at least something, Joanna approached the clothing rack. Each outfit was on a separate hanger and each hanger had a tag taped just below the hook with a name on it. Joanna picked up the first one labeled January and studied it. This was not bad, really. The top was a soft pink satin tank-top that covered to just below her bellybutton. There was an arrow shaped formation of lace allowing her cleavage to barely be seen. There was a matching set of pink thong panties that were fully exposed, due to a large portion of her midriff being exposed. Overall, the bikini she wore by her pool at home covered much less than this outfit. -I -(TM)m ready. - Joanna announced softly, hoping it was soft enough to not be heard. Disappointment reigned in her heart for a few fated seconds as Alice entered the tent. It was replaced by a small amount of relief when she noticed that Alice was holding out a bathrobe for her to wear. At least she didn -(TM)t need to wander around the building like this. -Where are the shoes? - Alice asked cheerfully. -Shoes? - Joanna wondered out loud. Alice pulled a shoebox out from under the clothing rack. Joanna had no idea how she missed that, but under each outfit was a shoebox with the same handwritten label proclaiming which month it was for. Pulling out the shoes, Joanna was stunned. They seemed to have been made for this lingerie. It was a set of four inch high heels made of the same pink color as the lingerie and just over the middle toe was a small patch of lace cut in the same shape as between her bust. Joanna slipped out of her flats and slid into the beautiful heels. Alice tightened the small buckle on the strap that wrapped around each of her heels. -Can you walk okay in these? - Joanna took a few steps. She did wobble more than she liked, but she had worn heels at previous engagements and would get used to this soon enough. Wearing the shoes and her bathrobe, Joanna walked out of the tent with Alice and off to the first shoot location. Chapter One - Part Four Joanna followed Alice out of the shipping and receiving area. The shoes were a bit of a struggle, but she managed to keep up. Joanna realized she had no idea where they were even doing the photoshoot at and was surprised when they reached the lobby of the building and saw a group of people milling around. -We -(TM)re shooting it HERE? - Joanna asked incredulously. The lobby was probably the worst place in the building for this. For starters, aside from shipping and receiving, the lobby had the most security cameras. Actually, all of the entrances and exists had at least one, but the lobby had four. Anything they shot here would be still images for the calendar, but for the security camera, they would have a video recording of her whole humiliating experience. Even if she could secure the surveillance footage, which we wasn -(TM)t exactly sure that she could, the front of the lobby was a glass wall. Everything she did here could be viewed by anyone who happened to be in the parking lot across the street or just passing by on the sidewalk in front of the building. -We are shooting in different parts of the building, but the first couple of shoots will be here. - Alice told her. Joanna recognized Onella in the group of people who were standing near the reception desk apparently waiting for her. She also saw Anita and there were two other women she -(TM)s never seen before. She glared at Onella, who was no longer holding onto her clothes. When the two of them approached, she confronted Onella, -What did you do with my clothes? - -I put them somewhere safe. - Onella said in what Joanna assumed was an attempt to sound reassuring. -I want them back, now. - Joanna insisted. -Is this the model? - Asked one of the stranger women. She was on the tall side, maybe 5 -(TM)9 - and wearing overalls and a sweatshirt. She was also the one with a camera slung around her neck, so Joanna presumed that this was the photographer. Instinctively, Joanna smiled as she addressed the newcomer. -Hi, I -(TM)m Joanna. - -Very nice. - The woman said without expression in either her face or voice. -Please stand over by the reception desk, and I will instruct you. - There was no softness to this woman. It was just business and maybe an expression of artistic indifference. -What -(TM)s up with her? - Joanna asked Alice as she proceeded to stand where the photographer had indicated. -Who, Claudia? She -(TM)s a very talented photographer. She owed me a favor, so we are getting her at a discount, but she is normally very expensive! - Alice told her. Great, now I have to manage the ego of an artist? Joanna thought, contemptuously. -It -(TM)s not a bathrobe calendar. - Claudia said, waving her hand in a flicking motion. Alice tugged on the bathrobe and after a few seconds Joanna stopped resisting and let it slip away. She was now standing in the front lobby of her place of work wearing only a G-string panty and a very revealing top. Joanna was frozen in fear as all eyes were now on her. The final person who Joanna had yet to meet stepped up and was adjusting a light and reflector screen, trying to get the lighting adjusted properly on Joanna. -Why are you covering yourself? - Claudia asked. Joanna realized that she was talking about her. She didn -(TM)t remember moving her hands, but was now doing her best to cover her privates with her hands and arm. -Arms at your side, model. - Claudia told her impatiently. -I will show you how to pose. - Reluctantly, Joanna eased her arms to her sides. She felt her face growing red as everyone -(TM)s eyes were no on her. It didn -(TM)t matter much that everyone present was also a woman, she was not at all comfortable being stared at like this. -I really need to have you loosen up before we begin. - Claudia instructed. -Do you dance? - -Dance? Like the waltz? - Joanna asked. -No, no, no. Like you are at the club. Can you dance? - Claudia repeated. -Not really, I haven -(TM)t been to a night club in quite a while. - Joanna told her. -Alright, let -(TM)s just do some loosening up then. Arms out at our sides. - Claudia said. For some reason, Alice started loosening up with her. It felt a lot like they were getting ready for a palate workout. Arms out at her side, move your shoulders up and down, not small circles. Stretch slightly to the left, now to the right. After a bit of instruction, Joanna had fallen into the routine. Overall they spent about 10 minutes loosening up. Joanna was then guided to a white pillowy square that had been set up next to the receptionist -(TM)s desk. She imagines that the white cotton was supposed to resemble snow, and there was a three foot tall stuffed snowman lying in the middle of it. Claudia starting giving her -~sexy -(TM) poses to try. Leaned forward on her elbows, with her butt raised up behind her. Lying on her back, with her left side toward the camera and her arms behind her head, looking -- -~wanting -(TM). She posed with the snowman, she posed without it. Each time Claudia would have her change position, she would shout instructions about which way to look, and -~try is sexy -- sexier! -(TM) whatever that meant. After about 20 minutes, Claudia said, -Done. - And just a quick as they had arrived, the bathrobe was again draped over Joanna -(TM)s body and they were down in the shipping/receiving area trying on another outfit. Well, that was the plan. This new outfit had three pieces to it. It was a smaller panty, a bra and what looked like a lace vest of all things. All done in red. Before they had come back downstairs, she thought she had seen someone pulling out a large stuffed heart, so she assumed that February would have a Valentine -(TM)s Day theme to it. After refreshing her makeup, Joanna stepped out of the tent area where Alice was again waiting for her with the bathrobe. Immediately, Alice started laughing at her. -What is so funny? - Joanna demanded. This was already humiliating without people making fun of her. -The corset is backwards! - Alice said. -Corset? It -(TM)s lace. - Joanna protested. -I thought it was a vest. - -Let me help you with that. - Alice said as she guided Joanna back into the tent. -You clearly don -(TM)t wear a lot of lingerie, do you? - -Well no. - Joanna confessed. -This is my first time actually. - -It -(TM)s okay, with you permission I will help dress you so we can make this go faster. Okay? - Alice asked. Joanna nodded as she slipped the vest er -- corset off and handed it to Alice. Alice gave it a quick shake to straighten it back out before flipping it around and helping Joanna into it. It would have been impossible for her to handle all those buttons on her own anyway. Joanna slipped the bathrobe back on and they headed once again to the lobby. She was right of course, the fluffy snow remained, but the snowman was replaced with a Valentine -(TM)s theme. They began as they had the last time, sexy pose. -More pouty! -, -You -(TM)re beautiful, darling, now sexy. No, sexier! - -Okay, now let -(TM)s lose the bra. - Joanna continued as instructed. Well, she tried, she could do pouty. She still didn -(TM)t know what -sexier - meant, but she tried to emulate the faces that Alice was modeling for her on the side. She -- -Wait, what? It -(TM)s a lingerie calendar, I need my bra! - Joanna said. -Keep the corset, but lose the bra. - Claudia said as indifferently as everything else she had said since Joanna had met her. Joanna was stunned, especially since she was now standing in the middle of the lobby and not protesting as Alice had helped remove the corset and bra, before replacing the corset. Joanna hadn -(TM)t given it much thought until now, but the lace corset was not even slightly opaque. From any angle, especially from her front, her breasts were fully exposed. Instinctively, she raised her hands and covered her modesty. -Poses darling. Poses! - Claudia instructed. The other woman, whom Joanna still had not learned the name of was adjusting the reflector and trying to improve the lighting. -This is not a naked calendar! - Joanna protested. -Of course not darling. The camera won -(TM)t show your nipple. You look beautiful. Poses! - Claudia assured her. Joanna repeated the first pose, down on her elbow with her butt in the air. She hid her chest behind the large red heart. -Beautiful, darling, sexier! - Claudia instructed. Joanna continued each pose, and each time she made sure that the big red heart covered the nips at the very least. -Wonderful! - Claudia said. -Finished with this set. - With that, Joanna quickly wrapped the bathrobe around herself before Alice led her back into the changing tent and helped her out of her corset. Alice systematically rehung the bra, corset and panties back on the hanger before offering Joanna the set that had been labeled March. Joanna wanted to throttle her for making her stand there naked for the extra bit, but that would have required the use of her hands which were fully engaged covering her breasts and pubic area. March was a green bra and matching G-string. She didn -(TM)t know how these things managed to keep getting skimpier, but at least this one had no corset to fuss with. Once dressed, her makeup was refreshed, and her body was reapplied with a new dose of glitter. Joanna was relieved when she saw the next set was no longer in the lobby. She hoped she could get the security footage of her humiliating boobie show erased from the system when this was over.