Performance Improvement Plan - Chapter 9

I think I might need to acknowledge that my output is just gonna be a little less consistent during this time of year. It's weird how nobody ever talks about how hectic and busy and stressful the holiday season is, you think you'd hear something about that!

Anyway! I do apologize that it's been a bit feast-or-famine around here lately, but I wouldn't bet on that changing until January. Gonna do my best to keep the content flowing—I'm close to having written 200,000 words this year and I REALLY wanna hit that milestone—but I do have to be realistic about the fact that there's just only so many hours in the day!

Also! A few folks have suggested this now, so I'm gonna try something new with this update. From now on, I'll be attaching up-to-date PDF files of the story each time I release a new chapter! It's pretty obvious that this is a smoother reading experience, especially on mobile, but I've been reticent to do it because PDFs feel weirdly more "permanent" to me, and I didn't want to upload a file that wasn't pristine—I've actually been plugging away at an editing pass on GYtM for the purposes of getting it PDF-ready.

But uh, y'know what? That's kinda silly! There's no reason I can't just re-upload the dang PDF if I want to edit something. Not really any good reason not to do it, so I'm gonna be doing it from now on!

With all that out of the way, enjoy!

___________________________

“Don’t fucking talk to me.”

Joyce stormed through the lobby toward the parking garage, Ted following behind her like a pathetic little puppy.

“Joyce, please! I, I, I—”

“How could you fucking do that! When I was literally downstairs waiting for you!” She turned sharply to face him, and Ted flinched, as though he was worried she’d belt him.

He certainly had it coming.

“I-I-I’m sorry, I… I couldn’t… She told me to do it and I couldn’t…”

“You couldn’t fucking say something? Or even just fucking refuse?”

“I… I…”

“You’re a pig. I thought you’d gotten better but I should’ve taken what you did to Laura more seriously. Go fuck yourself, Ted.” She slammed the door to the stairwell, leaving him standing there, blubbering some stupid apology.

She felt moisture building in the corners of her eyes and she angrily blinked it away. She wasn’t going to let him make her cry.

She pulled out into the street, the city traffic completely deadlocked due to the holiday. It was going to take at least an hour for her to get home. She clutched the wheel tightly, scowling. There go all her fucking Christmas plans.

As she crawled down the street, her phone started ringing. She ignored it, and ignored it again when whoever it was called a second time. She huffed a little when the second call was followed up by a text ding, and finally grabbed her phone to look when she hit a red light. It was Beth, blowing up her phone with a long, panicked apology about how she had no idea about her and Ted, she never would’ve done anything if she had, blah blah blah blah blah. Joyce angrily banged out a three-word response: LEAVE ME ALONE

Part of her knew that being angry at Beth wasn’t fair; as far as Joyce knew, she really didn’t know anything about her and Ted’s relationship. If they’d been as careful as Joyce was trying to be, there really wasn’t any way for Beth to know, unless Francesca blabbed about it. Her anger really only had one valid target, and it was Ted.

But right now the wound was too fresh for her to care about fairness.

***

December 24th, 2024 - Dr. Joanna Becker

MS. GRANGER: I am so, so sorry to do this on Christmas Eve. I know we agreed to skip this week’s appointment for the holiday, but…

DR. BECKER: It’s alright, Beth. I’m the one who gave you my personal number, and I’m the one who told me to call you if you had any emergencies. This is an experimental branch of psychology, and I would be derelict in my duties to you as my patient if I wasn’t being vigilant throughout your treatment. You were pretty upset on the phone, so why don’t you start from the beginning?

MS. GRANGER: I just… I fucked up so bad. I fucked up so bad! Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t curse like that.

DR. BECKER: It’s alright.

MS. GRANGER: I… Everything I say in here is confidential, right?

DR. BECKER: Absolutely. I would be in serious legal trouble if I ever shared something you told me with anyone else.

[Beth was, thankfully, too upset to consider the fact that I had already breached confidentiality and shared details about Ted Murphy’s treatment with her.]

MS. GRANGER: Okay… So, I… I had sex with my boss. With, with Ted. In his office.

I did not verbally respond to this news, but I nodded in acknowledgment and, hopefully, displayed a non-judgmental expression.

MS. GRANGER: I don’t know why I… I mean, I had a whole, plan, about what to say to him during my review. But in the moment, when I was there with him… well, it was kind of like how I’ve told you before, I just got, just got sort of swept up in the energy of the moment. But… instead yelling at him, it led to me… I told him to undress me, and… and he did. And then… Fuck, what was I thinking!

DR. BECKER: So, now that it’s happened, you’re anxious about the consequences?

MS. GRANGER: Yeah. Well, sort of, uh… I didn’t really think anyone would see us, but… Joyce, one of the other women in my office, she did. And I had no idea, but, apparently, she’s been dating Ted for a while now, and… he didn’t tell me! He didn’t say anything about it, he just went along with what I told him to do!

[This was exactly what I was concerned about: Ted’s heightened subservience and Beth’s growing dominance create almost a kind of feedback loop; Beth will feel compelled to take more and more control, while Ted will be virtually incapable of refusing her. This is… another ethical red flag. I should intercede, slow down or maybe even revert some of Beth’s treatment.]

MS. GRANGER: And now, Joyce is furious. She won’t answer my calls or texts, and, and, and…. I feel like I’m unraveling! All that confidence I’ve been building up, it’s just going out the window! I can’t handle this!

It is worth noting that despite her panicked state, Beth is actually weathering this crisis relatively well. She’s frankly less anxious now than she was during her first appointment.

MS. GRANGER: So, I, I know we weren’t supposed to meet again until the new year, but… Please, doctor. Jody. Can you give me another dose? I can’t spend the next week alone at work climbing up the walls over this. I need you to help me. I’m completely coming apart!

DR. BECKER: Well, Beth… Of course, I’m here to help you, but… Do you really think—

MS. GRANGER: Please.

DR. BECKER: …Alright. I’ll admit, Beth, I have some concerns about whether our current course of treatment is healthy for you in the long term, and at our next appointment I think we need to have a discussion about adjusting things a little. But… Okay. Today, I’ll give you another round of the same treatment I’ve been giving you, just to help you through the holidays until we can properly reassess. Alright?

MS. GRANGER: Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!

***

Joyce heaved a sigh as she got out of her car.

Her vacation had been agonizingly slow. She couldn’t cancel her reservation at the ski resort she’d booked for her and Ted, so she’d spent the week sulking alone in her hotel room, glaring out at snowy hills dappled with evergreens. It was better than sulking alone in her apartment, at least.

She hadn’t spoken to Beth or Ted since the day she caught them. Beth got the hint after about a day and left her be. Ted occasionally tried to call her, but she never picked up and deleted his voicemails without reading them. 

It was only this morning that she began to think that it was a mistake to ignore them this entire time, because now she had to deal with both of them in one day. She could always try the tried and true cold-shoulder, but… the truth was, she liked Beth, and as angry as she was about the whole thing, she wasn’t really keen to burn down their friendship over it. Honestly, as far as her and Beth were concerned, she’d rather just forget the whole thing ever happened.

And the moment she opened the door into the lobby, it was clear that that wasn’t going to happen.

“Joyce! There you are, I’ve been waiting for you!” Beth was sitting on a stool at a small table nearby, and rose to approach her. Joyce sighed, but tried not to show too much outward emotion. She’d been banking on the assumption that she’d have the elevator ride up to their floor to brace for this conversation but—

Holy shit, what happened to Beth?

Joyce hadn’t noticed anything different about her friend back before the break—she’d been a bit too focused on what was happening between her legs to take note of much else—and now, watching Beth approach, she felt like she was hallucinating. She was so, so, so tall! For the first time ever, Joyce actually had to look up to meet her eyes.

“Beth, what the hell—” Joyce was cut off when the… formerly shorter woman pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I am so, so sorry about what happened. I had no idea about you and Ted.”

“Uh… hold on, I mean, we should talk, but—”

“We should absolutely talk! I already told Ted that we were gonna be late this morning. There’s a cafe just down the street, can I buy you a coffee?”

Joyce sputtered, starting to feel a little self-conscious that Beth still hadn’t released her. “Uh… Uh, yeah, sure, okay.”

“Great!” Beth finally ended the hug, though she kept an arm on Joyce’s back as she guided her toward the front entrance. Joyce was completely taken off-balance by her energy; since when was she this confident? 

“Beth… What the hell happened to you?” At the moment, relationship drama was the furthest thing from Joyce’s mind.

“What?”

“You… you’re…” Joyce gestured up and down Beth’s body, taking in for the first time that she was wasn’t just taller, but bigger all over, her slim, slender frame swapped out for something a lot closer to Laura’s perfect hourglass figure. It was like someone had taken Beth’s head—her sapphire eyes, her elegant jawline, her rich, wavy brunette hair—and swapped it onto a taller, more curvaceous body, and had somehow found a way to make it all blend together naturally into tall, gorgeous bombshell.

That cup of coffee was sounding better and better to Joyce by the moment; the cold January air was drying out her throat.

“I’m not really sure what you mean,” Beth responded, shrugging.

“What? Beth, you look… completely…” Joyce looked up into Beth’s eyes. They were warm, friendly… but there was something else hiding in them. A challenge. A dare.

Joyce’s words died in her throat. She felt herself blushing in response, glancing away toward the sidewalk.

“Um. Nevermind.”

Ten minutes later, the two were seated at a small table in the coffee shop.

“It’s gonna get cold if you don’t start drinking it,” Beth lightly chided, eyes smiling as she sipped her own latte.

“Huh? Oh! Uh…” Joyce shook her head. She’d been… something about the way the light was catching Beth’s hair made it hard to focus on anything else. Embarrassed, she grabbed her cup and drank. The spell momentarily broken, Joyce took note of her surroundings, and realized that everyone, everyone else in the cafe, staff and patrons alike, were constantly stealing glances toward Beth. A few were even openly staring.

So, it wasn’t just her then.

“I said it before, but I just wanna say again: I am so, so sorry about what happened. You are one of my closest friends, and I would never deliberately hurt you like that.”

What was she talking about? Joyce couldn’t remember at first, her mind temporarily hazed over with a feeling of euphoria that Beth had called her a friend.

Oh, right. Ted.

“Um, it’s uh… it’s fine! It’s okay. I was mad, at you, that day…” Joyce felt blood rushing to her cheeks, feeling vaguely… ashamed? To admit that she’d harbored any ill-will toward the gorgeous creature across from her? “But, but! I know that that wasn’t fair of me. I’m sorry, it really was just something I should have worked out with Ted. You’re blameless here, I know that.” The words came spilling out of her mouth so fast that she was worried it would just sound like babbling.

What the fuck was happening to her? What was making her feel this way?

The concern melted under the radiant heat of Beth’s smile. “I’m so glad to hear that. I hope you can forgive Ted, too. I basically forced myself on him, and, well, poor guy’s such a pushover these days—I mean, you must know what I’m talking about, right?—I don’t really think he had it in him to tell me ‘no.’ I acted out of ignorance, but I was still responsible for what happened that day, so, I really hope you don’t hold it against him.”

Joyce shook her head, mouth open. “I mean, that’s um… that’s sweet, Beth. But Ted’s a grown man. He can make his own choices. He could have stopped what happened if—”

“Joyce. I mean it. The only person responsible for what happened… The only person who was in control of what happened, was me.”

“...Uh. Okay…”

“And, so, even though we both agree that I can’t really be blamed for what happened… I’ve been putting a lot of thought into what I can do to make it right. I respect you a lot, and I care about you being happy.”

“Oh, Beth, uh, you don’t have to do any—”

“So, what do you think about this: how about, from now on… we share Ted?”

Joyce’s eyes snapped open wider before her brow furrowed.

“...Excuse me?”

“I mean, I don’t really know what’s going on with him, but the poor little guy barely knows to put one foot in front of the other without being told to. And he’s so needy. He needs affirmation like a plant needs sunlight. Despite being so small, he’s kind of a handful for just one woman, y’know? So, it might be easier if we share him!”

Joyce let out a small, stuttering laugh, the suggestion galling her enough to shake her out of the strange daze she’d been in this entire conversation. “Beth… I’m not gonna split my boyfriend with you. I forgive you for what happened cuz, like you said, you couldn’t have known. And like… I’m still pretty mad at him about it, but you have a point that he’s pretty easy to push around these days, so maybe you’re right that I should forgive him. But… that’s where this stops. We should just… let bygones be bygones at this point. You don’t mention anything about me and Ted to Laura, I don’t mention anything about you two fucking in his office. Right?”

Everything Joyce was saying sounded perfectly sensible to her, to the degree that was almost a little offensive that Beht would pretend otherwise. And yet, something about Beth’s patient, smiling… condescending expression made Joyce falter a little. That feeling only grew in intensity when Beth reached across the table to take her hand.

“Joyce. I want to repeat this, because I really want you to understand that I mean it. You are my friend, and I love you. I really, truly love you.” Joyce felt such an intense burst of butterflies that it almost made her dizzy. “But… I’m not asking you to share your boyfriend with me. I’m offering to share my boyfriend with you.”

“Wh… Wh…”

“It’s just like I told Ted that day. I took him, and I’m not letting go. But because I love you so much, I’m willing to share.”

“You… you can’t…”

“I already have. I’ve had him since the day you walked in on us, and we spent a lot more time together over the last week while you were out of town. I tried to get in touch to talk to you, but you clearly weren’t in the mood. You… I mean frankly, you sort of dumped him, so I really don’t even think you’ve got room to get mad about it. But, if you still want to have part of him, I’m willing to let you. In fact… I consider this a gift to you. And I would really, really like it if you accepted.”

What the fuck? Who was this? It certainly wasn’t sweet little Beth, the girl so shy that she could barely survive a casual conversation. The smart but frumpy girl who Joyce had taught how to properly dress herself, who barely said a word when they got drinks together. Who was this fucking… supervillain, talking down to her like this? And she, what, she expected Joyce to just go along with this? To let her disrespect her to her face, and take it with a smile?

No. Absolutely not. She slowly shook her head, trying to find it in her to form the words. Swallowing as she struggled to find the will to form the word “no.” Every time she opened her mouth to try, she found herself getting lost again in Beth’s crystal-blue eyes, and her nerve slipped like tires in mud.

“I… I…”

***

“Ted.” The sound of Joyce’s voice startled Ted from his work. He flinched away at the sight of her; he’d been dreading this discussion for over a week now.

“Um, Joyce, uh… I… I’m so sorry.”

Joyce seemed… pensive. “Ted. I have…” she stopped looking at something out of Ted’s view. “I have decided to give you a second chance. I’m going to give you an opportunity to make it up to me. Friday night, you’re going to come over, and you’re going to make dinner.”

“Oh… uh, gosh, Joyce, I’m sorry, I, I really appreciate that you’re willing to forgive me, but I’m really not that good of a cook…”

“Teddy!” Beth’s voice called out. “Don’t be so down on yourself!” The taller woman—how the heck did she get so tall?—confidently strode up next to Joyce and slung an arm around her. Joyce abashedly looked down at the ground. “You have an entire week to come up with something to wow us. I’m sure you can do it!”

“Uh, wait… ‘us?’”

“Yeah! Your two girlfriends, silly! Let’s say… 6 o’clock? Early enough that we have plenty of time to have fun afterward, you know?” Beth winked, and Ted noticed Joyce going stiff next to her. “Sound good to everyone? Yeah? Great! I’ll see you then. Oh! Hi Laura!”

Beth waved to Laura as she strolled toward her cubicle, and Ted watched as the color completely drained out of Joyce’s face.