Chapter One : Becoming A Man

Luca Giovanni put the final touches on one of the most spectacular jobs he has ever done in the twenty years of his career. With one last brush through the short, chestnut brown hair, he spoke in his deep Italian accent,

     "That's it! You're all set to go!"

Then, turning the chair around so that the person sitting on it was now facing the mirror, he added,

     "Say hello to the latest young Adonis in town! Sei un bel ragazzo giovane, Angelina!"

  (You make such a handsome young dude, Angelina!)

Smiling, Angelina corrected him.

    "Marcus…I'm now…"

She trailed off as her eyes fell on her reflection on the mirror, or should that be 'his' reflection? Because the person reflected on the mirror was in no way like a woman, far from it!

With her mouth agape, Angelina McQueen stared in utter shock at the reflection staring back at her. Jumping up on her feet, she kept turning from one side to the other, checking out her new, completely different look. If not for the familiar plump, kissable lips, even she wouldn't have been able to recognize herself!

    "Luca, you are a genius! I've always known you're the best but today you've outdone yourself!"

Luca Giovanni is the number one make-up artist in the whole United Kingdom. He's so talented in what he does that most actors or actresses, musicians, fashionistas, celebrities and many other creme de la creme of the society depend on him for their make-up. Hence, the demand for his services is always very high and getting an appointment with him required Herculean effort.

Angelina had no idea how her benefactor, Jeremy Logan managed to get this appointment for her but to say she's thrilled with the outcome is a great understatement. She wasn't exaggerating when she said that the man outdid himself. What he did is nothing short of magic! It was as if he had taken a magic wand and used it to transform her into a man!

Luca had custom-made a human-skin-like jacket for her which she wore underneath her clothes and it helped in transforming her figure into a masculine one. The jacket flattened her boobs but not in a suffocating way and made her shoulders a bit wider. Not just that, it extended down to cover her nether region, providing her with fake masculine organs so that if she wears a tight trouser or pant, the outline of her crotch would be exactly like that of a man. 

Then for her face, he dyed and cropped her jet-black hair into a chestnut brown bob, giving her the impression of a young man with shoulder-length hair before styling it in a sleek, masculine fashion. He didn't stop there as he reshaped her eyebrows, adjusted her eyelashes, put blue contact lenses on her naturally hazel eyes and finally worked his magic on her nose and lips to make them look less feminine. And with Luca's magic touch paired with the tailor-made suit Jeremy bought for her, Angelina looked every inch the male she aspired to be!

When one of Luca's assistants popped her head into the studio for the umpteenth time reminding him of the anxious clients waiting for him, Angelina finally stopped twirling in front of the mirror and hugged Luca happily. With a peck on his cheek, she gushed,

    "Thank you so very much, Luca. You're our twenty-first century Midas with the golden touch! I love you!"

Chuckling exultantly, Luca teasingly replied,

    "Sorry tipo (dude), I'm as straight as an arrow and enjoy only a female's touch so I can't hug you back or say I love you in return. But we can bump our fists together. You know, man to man."

He concluded with a wink which made Angelina laugh out loud in her perfect imitation of masculine voice before she bumped her fist with his and hurriedly exited the studio. 

To protect herself as a teenage girl living in the slums, Angelina had disguised as a boy in many instances so she was quite experienced in pretending to be a male. However, for this particular mission, Jeremy Logan wasn't comfortable with just experience, he needed perfection. He knew the man they were going up against wasn't anyone's fool and with just one look at Angelina's usual disguise costume, he'll definitely call her bluff. That's why he went through all the trouble of getting an appointment with Luca Giovanni. 

As soon as she left the premises of Giovanni's Beauty Parlor, she placed a video call to Jeremy Logan and immediately he answered, she quickly spoke in a masculine voice that has been perfected over the years.

    "Good morning Sir, Mr. Marcus Reed reporting for duty. I'm at your service, Sir."

On the other side, Jeremy smiled triumphantly. He knew he could count on both Luca and Angelina. She could have easily fooled him if not for her mobile number which she called him with. And that's even him, the same person who has known Angelina for so many years and has seen her in male costumes on many occasions. So what about a complete stranger, someone who has never seen her before? Yes, Jeremy was a hundred percent confident that 'he' cannot see through their ruse. Success is definitely theirs!

     "What are you waiting for Mr. Reed? The interview is slated to take place at eleven am and it's already a quarter after ten. Go on, go and show them the kind of stuff this man is made of!"

     "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Angelina responded with a mock salute before disconnecting the call and flagging down a cab. It was time to take the bull by the horns!

********

     Determination, they say, is the key to success. And if there's any adjective to describe Angelina's attitude when she left home that Monday morning, it's exactly that; determined and of course, confident.

    

 Oh yes she was absolutely, hundred percent determined that she'll do all it takes and come rain or shine, she would surely succeed. But all that was then and now...

      

Now as the cab driver dropped her in front of the imposing forty storey building of M.J Tech, the renowned software engineering company which ranked number one in the whole of U.K according to Forbes, she couldn't really say the same.

   

As she looked up at the magnificent architectural work, she couldn't help but ask herself; can you really do this? Are you sure you can pull this off without someone recognising you as who you really are and shouting "Hey you, you're an imposter?!"

And her concern is not even about her disguise as she was sure the combination of Luca's magic touch and her wealth of experience in the art of disguising as a male was foolproof. She was absolutely confident that she would easily pull off her role perfectly.

       

        

 She has lived most of her teenage life disguised as a boy and so she had no qualms whatsoever about blowing off her cover during the interview or even during the duration of her stay in the company if…or when recruited. When it comes to dressing and acting as a man, Angelina McQueen is a pro. So that's definitely not what's making her hesitant and apprehensive.

      

Strangely, what bothered her was her conscience.

Unbelievable!

Angelina just couldn't believe that. Her conscience?! She kept asking herself some conflicting questions as a debate ensued in her mind. Is someone like her, someone who has lived the kind of life she lived, even supposed to have a conscience?

 Of course you have a conscience, Angie. You may have done all sorts of things you're not proud of in the past but those are all trivial compared to what you're about to do. This isn't just petty crime for survival, it's an act of felony! What if you're caught? Even if you're not caught, do you really have to do this? Can you live with yourself if you go ahead with the plans?.

Of course you can Angelina! Remember, you're not doing this for yourself, you're doing it for those poor homeless orphans. Once the job is done and Jeremy pays you, you can make their lives much better. Besides, Jeremy doesn't deserve this from you. Have you forgotten how and who you were when he found you? Look at yourself now, without Jeremy, where would you be now? No, Angie the die is already cast. No backing out now!

  As her inner voices' debate ensued, she already knew which of the two she'll listen to. Nobody knows how terrible and pathetic the life of a homeless orphan is better than she does. Experience, as they say, is the best teacher and she has it first hand!  So her conscience be damned, she has her priorities!

Squaring her shoulders, she gave the exterior of the highly magnificent glass building one last look before striding confidently towards the security guards stationed at the entrance. As soon as she was cleared along with some other candidates for the interview, she stepped inside while muttering to herself, 

    "Let the show begin.You're the man, Angie, you're the man!"