Free SexedUp by Sally Painter Page B

I wanted to
take a shower.” He entered the lab before she could respond.
    “Randi?” Ellen leaned forward in her chair.
“Oh my God. Is that him?”
    William waltzed into the phone’s visual
range, naked and unaware of the significance of his entrance.
    “Hey, Ellen. I’m William. I’ve heard a lot
about you.”
    “Randi!” Ellen screeched. “What have you
done?”
    “Look, Ellen,” Randi said. The energy
drained from her and she felt like a child caught doing something wrong. “Let
me explain.”
    “You can’t. I’m coming over right now.”
Ellen ended the transmission.
    “Dammit!” she cried and bowed her head. Her
worst fears had just manifested and she was powerless to stop the wave about to
slam into her. William would no longer be just hers. He would become a company
commodity. He would be taken to the company laboratory. Tissue samples would be
taken from him daily to clone replicas. He would feel as though he was in a
prison until the corporate announcement and then he would be put on public
display for every media opportunity.
    She’d known his fate before she’d ever
created him, but until the last few days Randi hadn’t considered what would
happen next. Somehow being with him had allowed her to escape the harsh
realities she now faced.
    “Did I do something wrong, baby?” he asked
with a blank look on his face, but she sensed he knew exactly what he’d done.
    “Just go finish up your shower. The towels
are still in the kitchen, in the basket on the counter.”
    “Okay.” William seemed pensive.
    “I’m all right, William. Just…get your
shower and put on the black slacks and white dress shirt. My boss is on her way
over.”
    She watched him turn and walk toward the
kitchen. With a heavy sigh, Randi stood to go to her room and get dressed. Her
mind raced with all kinds of possible excuses, but ultimately, she knew Ellen
would want to take William to bed and there was nothing she could do to stop
her.

Chapter Six
     
    William stepped out of the shower and dried
off with the towel. Steam rose around him and he swiped his hand over the
mirror, but the arched streaks quickly fogged up again.
    He knew Randi was upset and decided it was
time to take control of his situation. That meant revealing himself to Ellen.
    He wasn’t some fucking machine!
    It was time Randi realized it. She might
believe she understood what he was, and granted she did create him, but he was
more than a composite of DNA and nanites. He was a man and she must accept that
fact.
    He had to admit, it was partly his fault
she wasn’t aware of all the changes in him, after all he hadn’t told her. It
wasn’t easy to discuss his feelings or what he was thinking and he sensed that
probably made him more man than machine.
    When the doorbell sounded, Randi yelled for
him to stay in the bathroom until she called for him. Shaking his head, William
finished toweling his hair and donned the clothes she’d told him to wear. That
was another thing soon to change. He wanted different clothes. Clothes of his
choosing.
    He heard the stranger’s voice and assumed
Ellen had arrived since the feminine voice was raised in a rather high and
tense octave.
    “I insist, Randi. You bring him out here
right now.”
    “Okay, Ellen, but first you have to
understand that he’s not ready. He may appear human. You’ll think he is, but
the nanites are still manipulating all of his functions.”
    “Do they think for him?” Ellen challenged.
    “Well, no…”
    “Does he have consciousness of himself?”
    “Yes, but…”
    “Then he fits our description of a cyborg.
Re-read your project directive, Randi. You’ve done it. Quit being such a
perfectionist.”
    William took that for his cue and opened
the bathroom door, heading down the hall, his bare feet slapping the hardwood
floor. He entered the room and the women turned to him. He immediately met
Randi’s frightened look and flashed his stare on the woman standing beside