THE SALESPERSON
                               by
                      The Professor

Chapter One - The Big Sale


	 I pushed the contract across the desk in front of my
customer's face and said, "Just okay this and we can get started."

	He hadn't agreed to my contract; at least not in so many
words. But I had been selling for my entire adult life, and I knew
what to do. I had gotten him to agree to key parts of my
presentation. When I sensed any reluctance, I drew back and asked him
to clarify his concerns. I quickly cleared up his misconceptions and
misgivings and drove my presentation to its logical conclusion, with
the contract directly in front of him.

	Now the Moment of Truth had arrived. The next person to speak
had lost.  If my customer managed to say anything at all, he would
lose and I would have a sale. If I had to speak first, there would be
no sale. It worked every time. But as the seconds ticked off, I wasn't
worried. I had studied my customer's needs very well. He needed the
services and products my company had to offer. He couldn't say no.

	After what seemed to be an eternity, he slowly reached for the
contract and signed it. At last, he looked at me. "When will the
system be installed?"

	"We'll get the hardware in in about a week," I promised
him. "As soon as it arrives, I'll be calling you to arrange the
installation.

	He smiled, handing me the contract. "Great!" was all he said.

	I walked out of Matthew Crown's office with a contract for
eighty new computers with all the appropriate peripherals. When I
added all the software, networking, and training which I had sold with
the package, it would be the largest order in our office for the
month. Sam, my Sales Manager, would be proud of me. It was only a
matter of time before he would push me for promotion to Sales
Manager. I had heard that Denver would be available in a few months,
and I wanted that assignment badly.

	The order would produce a tidy commission for me as well. I
wasn't sure how much. I never figure that in advance. If the customer
sees a salesman with dollar signs in his eyes, he'll run for the hills
faster than any deer faced with a hungry wolf.

	As I reached the main lobby, I spotted the
competition. American Netstar led our company in almost every market
in the West except here in Phoenix. Our company, National Net, had a
significant lead over them, mostly due to my efforts, if I do say so.
Dan Morath, the Western Sales Manager for American Netstar had tried
to hire me twice before. Although the compensation package looked
good, I didn't care much for Dan and couldn't see myself working for
him. So I turned him down - nicely the first time and not so nicely
the second.

	Dan had tried over and over to find a rep who could beat me in
Phoenix, but after three tries, he had to be getting frustrated,
because I beat all three of them to the punch almost all the time. His
latest rep in Phoenix was a hotshot about my age (24) who he picked up
from one of the computer manufacturers. The guy came on too strong,
though, to suit most of Phoenix's laid-back customers, and he was
floundering. Now, here he was in the lobby a day (or at least an hour)
late and a large number of dollars short. Victory was all the sweeter
because I saw he had brought Dan in from LA for the presentation.

	"Hey, Dan," I called, completely ignoring the hotshot, "how's
it going?"

	One look at my face and Dan knew he had already lost. The
hotshot was going to take serious crap when they got out of the
office. "It's going well, Jack," he lied to me.  Then curiosity got
the best of him. "What were you here for today?"

	"I just came over to see Matthew Crown," I told him. I didn't
want to volunteer any more information.

	"Any luck?"

	"Quite a bit actually. Good seeing you, Dan." One good lie
deserved another. I left him with hotshot so they could sort out their
Failure of the Day.

	I didn't bother to go back to the office. It was already
nearly five, and I had had a great day. Hell, I was having a great
year. I was our top rep in the West and number two in the nation with
a good shot at number one. I headed for home to get out of my suit and
hit the pool. God, I loved being a salesman!

	I had been selling most of my life when you got right down to
it. In high school, I sold ads for the yearbook, and in college, I was
Rush Chairman of my fraternity. I guess I always wanted to be in
sales. My dad was pretty pissed about that. He was a doctor and wanted
me to be a doctor, too. Since I was an only child, he felt as if I had
let him down.  we never got along after that.

	Dad didn't make it to see me graduate and get a great job in
high-tech sales. He and Mom died in a car wreck my Senior year at
Arizona State. I doubt if he would have been pleased in any case. With
him, if I wasn't going to be a doctor, I wasn't going to be anything.

	My parents left me enough money to finish college, but most of
Dad's estate went into trust for me. I couldn't touch the money until
I was thirty.  Frankly, there wasn't that much in the estate
anyhow. Dad wasn't a high-priced specialist; only a lowly GP, although
I guess they call them "Family Doctors" now. And to be honest, I
didn't much care. I had a good job, and I was very confident of my
abilities. I planned to make my first million; not inherit it.

	I spent the evening in my favorite bar, O'Reilly's, in
Scottsdale. It was one of those places the high-tech sales crowd
always hangs out in. I linked up with a couple of my fraternity
brothers who were still around after graduation doing about the same
thing I was (although not as well). We tossed down a couple and
started looking for girls. I got lucky there, too.

	The next morning, I was in the office right at eight with a
smile on my face. I had scored twice the previous day. That was once
with Matthew Crown and once with a young sweetheart who had just gone
to work for IBM. She wanted to see my selling style and I was happy to
oblige. I sold her right into a terrific night of sex and debauchery.

	Sam was waiting for me in my office. "So, how did you do with
Crown?"  he asked with no preamble.

	"Here." I tossed him the contract.

	He looked at it, checking to see if I had sold everything
right.  Finally he looked up. " You asshole! Why didn't you call me
last night and tell me you got the contract. I stayed here until
almost six thinking you'd call me with the news."

	"I didn't figure I needed to call you," I grinned. "You knew I
went out to pick up the contract."

	"Sure, but something could have gone wrong."

	A small crowd was gathering. The other two reps in the office
and the Service Manager had overheard the news and wanted the details.

	"What could have gone wrong?" I asked innocently.

	"Well," Sam started, "for openers, that clown from American
Netstar could have gotten in and wrecked the whole thing."

	"No, he couldn't," I told him.

	Sam frowned. "How can you be so sure?"

	"Because," I told him with a wicked grin, "I had a hot date
with Crown's secretary three nights ago, and she told me that American
wasn't coming in until after my appointment. All I had to do is make
sure Crown signed before they got in."

	Sam groaned, "I should have known sex would come into this
sale someplace."

	"It's part of the salesmanship," I told him.

	Mike Mitchell, one of the other reps broke in, "I heard that
Dirty Dan fired that new guy over at American."

	"Where did you hear that?" we all asked at once.

	"Their Service Manager told me last night. He and I go way
back. We grew up together.  He's dating my sister."

	"Great," I muttered. "Now I'll have to scope out their new
rep. Maybe they'll hire a girl this time."

	"Dirty Dan?" Sam laughed. "I doubt it. I don't think there
will ever be any women on his sales team."

	Before I could respond, Cindy, our receptionist was on the
intercom.  "Jack, there's a bluebird in your territory. He's on the
phone."

	That was the news every salesman wants to hear. A bluebird is
an unsolicited caller who wants to buy. This would be the icing on the
cake. It was Friday, and I could close out the week with another sale.
Amidst the muttering from the other reps of "he has all the luck," I
picked up the phone.  "Jack Barnes," I answered crisply.

	"Mr. Barnes," a pleasant male voice began, "my name is
Bradford Mills.  I'm with Magnus Corporation. We're a national land
developer. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

	"Of course," I lied smoothly. I had never heard of Magnus.

 	"Well, my company is looking for a new computer system. I was
just talking with my good friend, Matthew Crown. He tells me you were
able to help him. Would you be interested in looking at our needs?"

	"I think we can be of help, Mr. Mills," I said with a twinkle
in my eye for the benefit of my fellow employees who were still
crowded into my office.  "How many stations are you looking at?"

	"We currently have 200 computers tied to our network around
the country," came the reply. "We need to expand that number by at
least twenty per cent."

	A live one, I thought to myself. This was the perfect ending
to a perfect week. I had just signed a big order under the nose of my
top competitor, and now I had a brand new prospect. If I did my
homework right, I could get this Mills under contract before the end
of the month. I'd be the hero of the whole nation and take over the
number one slot in the country. The promotion to Denver would be right
around the corner.

	I didn't realize it at the time, but I had just made a classic
salesman's blunder. I had looked ahead to what the sale would mean for
me instead of making a cautious, thoughtful approach. Being a good
salesman is like being a good predator. In the wild, a predator knows
to sneak up on his prey, always staying downwind and looking for signs
of trouble. A predator who smacks his lips and leaps with abandon for
his prey is apt to go hungry.

	Most salesmen who make this blunder lose the sale. As I was
soon to discover, I was about to lose a lot more.


Chapter Two - The Trap


	I had no trouble making my two o'clock appointment with
Mr. Mills. His offices were in a new building I had watched going up
in an office park on the edge of my territory. He had explained to me
on the phone that his company was operating with a skeleton crew for
the moment and needed to get the details of their computer system
ironed out quickly before the full staff moved in. This was music to
my ears. I had a sales prospect who had an immediate need. A sale like
this and I could buy my ticket to Denver.

	I was a little surprised to find the building still far from
finished.  The way Mr.  Mills had talked on the phone, the move-in
date was imminent. It looked as if some of the floors weren't even
completed yet, and the elevator wasn't working yet, so I had to hoof
it to his office on the third floor.

	Even his office appeared deserted. I tapped lightly on the
outer door and was rewarded with a friendly, "Come on in!"

	Mr. Mills' office was still bare bones. There was only a desk
and chair as well as a visitor's chair in the office. A middle-aged
man who looked somehow familiar looked up from his work and said, "You
must be Jack Barnes."

	"Guilty," I quipped, reaching for his extended hand. I was
surprised to feel a slight tingle when our hands touched.

	"Pleased to meet you," he grinned. "I'm Bradford Mills. I
appreciate your dropping everything to see me."

	Dropping everything consisted of giving up an early afternoon
at O'Reilly's knocking down a few beers and selecting a conquest for
the weekend. "I'm glad I could make it, sir."

	"Sit down," He motioned to the visitor's chair. "I'm sorry I
can't offer you something, but as you can see, we're still a little
bare bones around here. Thank god for cell phones or I wouldn't even
be able to operate out of here."

	I sat down in the chair. I noted it had an odd seat and didn't
feel exactly right on my butt. "That's fine. I don't need anything," I
lied. Actually, I could have used a beer from O'Reilly's, I thought,
because my voice cracked unexpectedly.

	"Now," Mr. Mills began, "we're going to need to have the
system we decide upon up and running within thirty days. Is that a
problem?"

	"I wouldn't think so," I replied, upset that my voice cracked
again.  Also, I was upset when I felt hair on the back of my neck. I
made a mental note to set up a haircut appointment for Saturday. "Now,
I'd like to know a little more about what is important to you in this
system."

	"Well," Mr. Mills began, leaning back in his chair and tapped
his fingers together, "the system needs to be fast. Is your system
fast?"

	I smiled. "Si, es muy rapido." What had possessed me to say
that? I hadn't had Spanish since high school, and I certainly wouldn't
use it on a sales call.

	I opened my notebook, preparing to write "Important: Speed"
when I looked at my hand. Something was wrong. It appeared darker than
it should and smaller. As I watched, my fingernails began to grow,
filing themselves down to a point and changing color to a deep
burgundy. "What the hell?" I yelled as my voice not only cracked but
also went up a full octave. As I looked at my now slender hand and
wrist, two delicate gold bracelets faded into existence around it.

	Mr. Mills began to laugh suddenly. Odd, I thought through the
panic I was feeling. There was nothing to laugh about. "Feeling a
little out of sorts, Jack?" he asked.

	Out of sorts wasn't the phrase for it. My entire body seemed
to be rippling and changing. I looked down in horror, breathing
quickly, and with each breath, mounds of flesh began to inflate on my
chest. I could feel their weight suddenly changing the entire balance
of my body.

	"Not quite yourself today, are you, Jack?" he laughed as I
felt my hair growing longer and curling down my back and over my
shoulders.

	"What are you doing to me?" I demanded. I tried to stand to
face him, but I lost my balance and fell back into the chair on what
was now a very well padded ass. I looked down to see why I had lost my
balance and looked in horror at the three inch heels that were now on
my feet. Also, the legs of my blue pinstripe suit pants had fused and
formed a skirt, which was inching slowly up my legs, exposing slim,
feminine legs encased in dark sheer nylon mesh.

	"It should be obvious to you, Jack," he said. "I am changing
you into a woman.  To be precise, I am changing you into a Hispanic
woman. In a few minutes, you will be Maria Delgado, a rather lovely
twenty-three year old woman."

	"Pero, porque?" I asked in my new, higher voice in a language
I barely understood moments before. I winced slightly as my ears felt
the weight of two heavy gold hoops, each an inch in diameter.

	"Why?" he said, translating into English. "Let me show you
why."

	I gasped in amazement as the image of Mr. Mills shifted into
the familiar image of Dan Morath. Somehow, I realized that unlike what
was happening to me, the visage of "Mr. Mills" had been nothing more
than an illusion. Morath had set a trap for me with himself as the
bait.

	"I've gotten tired of constantly losing sales to you, Jack,"
Morath explained. "Do you have any idea how many sales reps I've had
in this territory in the last three years?"

	I dared not speak, for I knew that I was starting to think in
Spanish.  I had to think hard before I could make the words come out
in English, so I shook my head instead, feeling the waves of coal
black hair tickle my cheeks as I did.

	"Three sales reps!" he answered. "I haven't replaced that many
in all of Southern California. You have probably cost me a big
promotion already, but I have a way for you to make up for it."

	I looked down as my tie became a gold necklace and my shirt
became a silky blouse with a wide open neck. The blouse pushed out
uncomfortably with my new breasts.  I felt them surrounded by what I
knew was a bra. I licked my lips, surprised to taste lipstick there.

	"You see, Jack, or I should say 'Maria,' you're going to be my
new sales rep in Phoenix!"

	"No!" I cried in my new feminine voice, trying hard to speak
in English. "Yo - I can't. I'll be missed at National Net. I work
there."

	"Wrong, Maria. Jack Barnes is whom Sam will miss. If you
walked in the door of his office right now, he'd throw you out. You
work for me now."

	"Then I'll tell him," I snapped, feeling my new face
flush. "I'll get him to believe me somehow."

	Morath shook his head. "I doubt that very much. Most people
don't believe in magic any more. Do you know there are less than five
hundred sorcerers left in the world? In fact, in the entire Southwest,
there are only four of us.  You'd never get anyone to believe you."

	"Es posible," I admitted, "pero - but I'm not going to work