Chapter 1

I suppose the most exciting part was putting my signature on national security documents. That’s how it started. Non-disclosure agreements. I work for a large tech company and it’s an open secret that we do under-the-table work for the government. Under normal circumstances that sort of thing never involved me.

Now I’m being interviewed by a federal agent in an empty office. A table, some chairs, a window view. She doesn’t use the word ‘sex’ outright. She dances around that word, instead using sterile phrases like, ‘behavioral excitation’ and ‘group mood shifts’ and my favorite, ‘neurological synchrony.’

“Can you start from the beginning?” she asks. “A quick rundown is fine. We’ll get more details later. And please, don’t be shy, the public won’t know.”

The woman flashes a comforting smile. It’s meant to calm me but somehow it’s unnerving. I can see why they’ve assigned her. I take a deep breath and start the story.

Everyone in the Research & Development department was buzzing over the meteorites. Found in the Eastern European mountains, the U.S. government wanted us to have a look, something to do with fertility. Our findings were inconclusive.

Two weeks later the stones had lost their mystique. What was once treated as a tech-nerd’s dream had become a running joke, with the occasional wise-crack that federal employees watched too many X-Files episodes.

Close to lunch my boss thought it would be funny if I showed a small stone to some of the women in the advertising department. To get them excited over nothing. We have this friendly feud between our departments, sending gag gifts to waste each other’s time.

Roger put the smallest stone in a small glass case and gave it to me. It fit in the palm of my hand. Then he took a piece of paper with a government logo on it, confidential markings, folded it, then slid it into my pocket. His smile was deliciously deviant.

“Show the paper first,” he said. “So the ladies know it’s serious business. Then show them the junk stone. Let them be amazed by it.”

“The ancient artifact, you mean.”

“Ah, right, excuse me, the ancient artifact.”

We shared a laugh over that.

Our location is a bustling tech campus much like Facebook or Google’s headquarters. A self-contained ecosystem. The same vibes as a university only people are better dressed.

The advertising department takes up the entire fourth floor in another building. Open space with frosted glass walls to separate the different working areas. So even with the open space, you can get away with anything at the right hour, which matters to this story, as you’ll see.

Leilee Khan, a cute Pakistani girl, and Olivia McDonough, a ravishing red-haired Irish, were finishing up their work in a small conference room. One was sitting and typing, the other was standing behind looking at the screen. I put the national security paper on the table to show them. It caught their eye.

Then I placed the stone on the table. It might as well have been a massive diamond the way it stole their hearts.

“Yikes, that’s cool.”

“Are we going to get radiation? We better not.”

Instead of hyping the rock as a joke, my nerdy side gave in, and I explained how the government overreacted to a piece of meteorite. They were curious. Anytime you mention outer-space to people, it grabs their attention. They wanted me to leave the stone there so they could show it to their colleagues. I agreed, which in hindsight was an incredible mistake, but that depends who you ask.

After having lunch with friends, I headed back to the marketing department to get the stone back. When I got there, Leilee’s pants were on the table and she was leaning back on her chair with her eyes closed, just vibing, lost in her own world.

When I got closer, I noticed a set of red hair between Leilee’s legs, someone beneath the table. And there was Olivia, kneeling, giving oral sex. I wasn’t sure if they were joking or if it was the real thing. We often played jokes, but never like that.

Her body started trembling while her eyes remained closed so I left that area, certain there was oral sex action going on between them. The stone? No way. At that point I wasn’t sure. It was hard to make sense of it because they were risking their reputations at work over blatant sex acts.

I lingered down the hallway until the elevator door opened and other employees came. We talked for a while, in truth I was trying to stall them until Olivia and Leilee got their act together. I walked with them, slowing them down, but it didn’t work.

To my relief, Leilee and Olivia were finished and they seemed on edge, standing around acting like nothing happened. I gave those two a skeptical eye and they looked at me with blushing expressions. Their skin glowed and their orgasms were undeniable.

Rather than show their colleagues the classified government note and the rock from outer-space, I took it with me. No one bothered to inquire. Why would they? It’s just a rock with a piece of paper. Nothing to get excited about, right?

Leilee followed me to the hall and we knew what the conversation was going to be about. Her lush black hair was a mess, her lips shiny, and she couldn’t find the words.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Seriously, in the office?”

“Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Are you and Olivia… you know?”

“Yeah, well, sure we are. But never here. We’re not crazy. It’s just… I don’t know what came over us. Olivia is just as confused. Please don’t tell anyone. Sorry you had to see that.”

“Actually, you have nothing to apologize for. I was the one who intruded.”

Leilee hadn’t made the connection that perhaps the meteorite was a factor, but I did. She was on the verge of tears while I grew intrigued. I did my best to soothe her, to let her know we’re all under a lot of stress.

I went straight to Roger’s office and told him everything. He’s a tall man, a foot taller than me, and I remember the look on his face as he contemplated. His eyes squinted and he rubbed his chin for what felt like a solid minute.

“You understand that I’m obligated to report this, right?” he said.

Roger went to his office and closed the door. I could see him through the glass, speaking on the phone. Usually he’s a jovial guy but he wasn’t smiling then. He nodded along to whatever he was being told. When he came back it was straight to the point.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” he said. “In fact, take it further.”

“Isn’t this intrusive?”

“Yes, but we’re doing an important job. We depend on government contracts. And this is what they want.”

“There’s got to be a better way. Maybe we can just talk to those girls first. It could be a misunderstanding. Maybe they’re just excited. Young love, you know?”

“Not happening,” he said. “Those officials are convinced it’s the meteorite. They want to know how this plays out.”

“This is where you have to trust me. I’ve been working here a long time. Office romance happens, but what you’ve described, and that stone… it’s too coincidental.”

“Good, now focus on your job.”

We agreed to a plan, one that I didn’t love, which involved bringing the meteorite back to those women. I was placed in charge of that particular stone, and given its newfound value, security was a must. So my boss put it inside a small pendant and hung it around my neck.

The next day I returned to the Marketing department. A coffee break around 10 a.m. meant I had a chance to observe them further. I lingered around the area, made small talk with people. My real attention was with Leilee and Olivia, both of whom I noticed wore less clothes than usual. Maybe not less, but different. Braless? Pantyless? It wasn’t overtly obvious, but it was the impression I got through their layers of thin clothes and the way they carried themselves.

I took out the pendant necklace from beneath my top and let it shine as it hung from my neck. Then I had a quick word with Olivia McDonough by pulling her aside. She looked relieved to see me, like she wanted to clear the air about what I saw, so I inquired in the hallway.

“You two looked close yesterday. A new bonding exercise I don’t know about?”

Olivia blushed. “We got carried away. It’s not usually like that.”

“But you two are a thing, right? You make a cute couple.”

“Something like that. I mean, we’re not official. But we hang out, usually at my place. That was the first time it ever happened in the office. I swear.”

“I bet that added something. You know, the workplace.”

She tilted her head then whispered, “God, it did. Ever try it?”

“No, but I get why it’s exciting.”

She whispered again, “Literally don’t know why that happened. We’re still scratching our heads.”

I was about to probe deeper but a guy in charge of budgeting called his team back for an impromptu meeting. That caused Olivia to snap back to reality and away from this personal talk. She seemed disappointed that she couldn’t delve deeper into this conversation.

Olivia whispered once more, “If you want to join… maybe just wear that necklace again.”

She winked, curled her lower lip, gently biting it, then she left. I didn’t think she noticed the pendant but it was enough for her to make the request. And from her exact choice of words, what she implied, she wanted me to wear it while naked for them.

To this day, I’ll always wonder if I did the right thing by reporting that comment to my boss. I could simply be another employee right now, blending in with everyone else, testing AI products in Research and sharing your average office gossip. Instead I’ve become the secret monitor for something strange.

It was inevitable that the CEO and top executives were briefed on this matter and government officials wanted routine updates. The main theory was that the scientists were initially correct — that these had the effect of fertility stones. In this case, they brought hidden desires to the light.