Chapter 3

George Spencer stands in front of the conference room and clears his throat in an effort to obtain everyone's attention. "Now that you all have found a seat and some coffee, I have an announcement to make. It is time for us to prove ourselves in the marketplace once more. To aid in our endeavor allow me to introduce your new Creative Director; Emma Swan."

There are whispers, applause and even some oohs and aahs as they all offer up nice to meet yous and other small congratulatory talk.

Emma joins George at the head of the table.

"Hello. My name is Emma Swan and I'm here to help get the company back on track. A little bit about me. When I first started my career it was my dream to work here at Midas-Knightley, but sadly it was not in the cards. I was given an opportunity to prove myself at Hatter & Greenwich. One of the most valuable lessons I learned there is two heads are better than one. I know together we can turn this company around."

She smiles and looks around the room making eye contact with everyone as she waits for their responses. "I love challenges and I hope hard work and long hours are not a problem." She tilts her head and her green eyes meet with intense blue that seem to dive into her soul. She blinks and then the connection is gone, much to her dismay.

"I have a challenge for all of you. This pink box holds products from companies looking for new representation. When Sears decided to show their softer side and said, "Come see the softer side of Sears," their revenue went up twenty-five percent. That is huge. Now, I'm sure it goes without saying that up until now, Midas-Knightley has not done its due diligence targeting the fairer sex. Is it a mistake? Big time, the buying power of a woman cannot be mistaken. The challenge is simple, come up with ideas for one or all of the items. Let's see what is in the box."

She opens the box and pulls out control-top pantyhose, a push-up bra, moisturizing lipstick, Advil, waterproof eyeliner, bath beads, cleansing strips, volumizer for hair, and a home waxing kit. "I'm sure all the women are familiar with the items but let's do a quick review for the men." The men are familiar with most of the items, but the personal wax kit required a little more information.

"Let's reconvene tomorrow and see where we are."

With those final words, the meeting ends and everyone trickles out. It doesn't escape Killian's notice that many stop to kiss the ass of the newest ad executive.

The meeting has Killian in a sour mood, the only thing that makes him smile is that he will be releasing some of that tension soon enough.

Once back at home he readies himself for his date with Lila. He's not a sloppy man but he's in a hurry, so he decides to deal with the mess he's just made getting ready upon his return.

He looks good in his dark, tight jeans and a blue dress shirt that is the same shade as his eyes. He's left a few of the top buttons opened as is his habit, then throws on his black leather jacket and heads out the door.

He takes Lila out to a nice dinner that eventually leads to a nightcap at her place and ends with his quick exit. He has an early morning and he needs to ensure the guest room is ready for his niece.

Killian arrives home from his date and sits down on his sofa. It's been a hell of a day, and the pink box that is staring at him from his coffee table isn't helping. Ignoring it isn't working so he decides to employ a little liquid courage.

"A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets," he mutters as he approaches the bar and pours a draught of his favorite rum. Sure, it's not a refined action, but he has a good excuse. His day had been horrible.

"Alexa, play Sympathy for the Devil," he asks of his digital assistant, then walks toward the table that holds the dreaded pink box.

He peers inside the ominous box, then pulls each item out slowly.. He stares at the lipstick, "Bloody hell, I can do this! I can sell to women. Damn it, I'm a professional!" he closes his eyes and let's the first image that comes to mind take root. "I see a beautiful dark haired, no, a blonde with pouty lips applying the candy apple red lipstick as she stands under a waterfall. The water trails down her voluptuous body and she opens her green eyes and licks her lips…" an image of Emma Swan has wandered into his traitorous mind. "I'm a lesbian, because if I was a woman I would have been turned on by that image." He looks down to see the evident arousal in his pants at the images his mind had conjured up.

That had not worked. He tries to think of a song that will empower the woman in him, and suddenly Katy Perry springs to mind. "Alexa, play Roar." He waits for the song to start.

After listening through the first chorus, he scoops the items back into the box and walks to his bedroom. He unceremoniously dumps the contents onto his bed and stares at them. Control-top pantyhose, push-up bra, moisturizing lipstick, Advil, waterproof eyeliner, bath beads, cleansing strips, hair volumizer and a wax kit. He scratches the back of his ear. Well, he knows how to remove a bra and pantyhose but that is about it.

"Enough procrastination you bloody git, you can do this. How hard can it be?" He grabs the wax and heads to his bathroom. He slowly undresses to his knickers and prepares to go all in. He doesn't read the directions thoroughly, how hard can it be, he thinks. He applies a thick layer of wax in the direction of hair growth on his leg. "Buggering hell, this is hot!" he curses before pressing on the strips provided and allowing it to cool further. "Now hold skin taut and quickly pull off the wax in one motion in the opposite direction of hair growth," he mumbles, reading from the package as he goes. "Why would any woman want to do this?"

Next he enjoys the bath with the beads, but not before applying the eyeliner and lipstick to see just how waterproof and long lasting they are, he also applies the cleansing strip across his nose. The scented beads leave his skin smelling luxuriant, but in order to be thorough, he decides against a long bath, so he quickly washes his hair and body, then moves on.

Exiting the bath he towels off and puts on a fresh pair of boxer briefs, then decides to work on his already perfect hair. He applies the volumizer to his still wet lock and notes his hair does look softer, silkier, and thicker after finally drying it. "Fairly long process for a little sheen," he grumbles.

So far most of the products he has tested do exactly what they claim. The eyeliner is definitely waterproof he notices while admiring himself It wasn't a perfect application, but for his first time, it looks good. "Well, this certainly makes my eyes stand out." The lipstick is still in place, and with any luck his pores are being cleansed thoroughly. He rolls his eyes at the amount of work women must go through on the daily.

He grabs the push up bra and deftly fastens it around his back, "Just as good putting one on as taking one off," he snickers.

Last up are the control top-pantyhose. He is quite the sight as he looks in the mirror. Silky full hair, eyeliner, lipstick, bra, he takes a swig of his rum just to pump a little testosterone back into his system before wrestling with the pantyhose again. "It is confirmed, I'm a bit of a dork," he laughs to himself.

"Uncle Killian!"

"Annabeth?"

The young girl gasps in shock when she rounds the corner and takes in her uncle's appearance.

"What are you wearing? Pantyhose? A bra? Since when are you a crossdresser, and does dad know about it?"

"It's for work related research only! It's a stupid project about what women want. Never mind, beside the point." He's scratching behind his ear nervously trying to decide where to go from here. Damage control. "And who the hell is he?" Killian asks, pointing to the boy standing behind his niece.

"This is my boyfriend, Hans. But this doesn't seem like the greatest time for introductions. Come on, let's go," she urges her boyfriend out of the bathroom.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady," Killian hollers after her. He gets tripped up on the pantyhose that are still around his knees. For the life of him he will never know why he tries to pull them up instead of off. He loses his balance as he tries to pull them up on his muscular legs. The pantyhose rip and he struggles to untangle himself from the material. He knocks the bead container down from the counter and the remaining tiny spheres flow across the floor.

Killian tries to regain his balance but it's a lost cause, his footing is off kilter and the beads further serve to negate his fight to control gravity. He falls into the filled tub at the same time as the hairdryer he tries to grab as a last ditch effort to save himself, and then he's lost to darkness.

At that same time, his niece Annabeth wishes for her uncle to get a clue about what women truly want.

There's a sudden flash of lightning and a wish is granted.