STORY DESCRIPTION:
"Job hunting, Logan finds an ideal role in a company, but seems unaware of what he's truly applying for..."

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I am so ready for this job interview! 

Taking one last good look in the elevator mirror, I had my hair combed well, my teeth freshly brushed, and a smile as bright as anyone looking to get a job could have. 

So many questions rehearsed, like working with a team, how I handle under pressure, even a few notes on my last job, I was as prepared as I could ever hope to be. 

With a loud ding, the elevator door opened, and I was on the third floor. I stepped out, studying the office room I would soon know more. I wasn’t a big fan of office work, but the last job I had recommended me the place, and the boss said he’d put in a good word for me, so I couldn’t say no to an easy second chance. 

There was a man in a brown coat with long blue jeans waiting by a watercooler with a cup in hand. I passed by, waving at him with a small smile, while he gave me a weird look. He must’ve noticed my “newbie” tag hung around my neck. I was told that the people could be a little cold to the new guys. 

Oh well, I’d save the first impressions for later! My first priority was finding a specific meeting room to meet my interviewer. 

Turning around a few times in the office room, I barged into a janitor’s closet, watching an old guy as he made out with a wet mop. 

“SHUT THE DOOR, SON!” He screamed, and I didn’t need to be told twice. That’s a memory I’m not gonna forget. I tried to be more careful in each door I passed by, but eventually, someone in the office must’ve noticed me looking around, and came up to me to let me know where to go. 

A rough start, but now I was at the proper door! I thanked the kind old lady for showing me the way, and I prepared myself for a second, creasing my arms as the door swung open. 

“Are you…” The man standing at the doorway began, watching my arm movements. “...Logan Vella?” 

“Yes! That’s- uh- me!” I blurted out, moving my arms to a more normal position. I didn’t wanna look weird right off the bat, but I guess I made that my main personality in this whole floor. I took a seat down in front of a large brown desk, as the interviewer sat behind it with a few folders and papers ahead of him. 

“I’m Andrew Cutajar, and I’d like to thank you for finding the time to meet with us here at Office Inc.” He began, waving a hand at the folders. “I read through a lot of your older histories, your CV was really long, so I’d like to ask you some questions since I don’t want to be reading all day. This is an interview after all, I’d love to get to know YOU better!” 

I could do that, yeah! 

Andrew looked at me with a dull look for a moment, I must’ve already made a bad first move. “Hmm… what was your time like in your previous role?” 

“Oh… honestly… it was such a blur!” I answered truthfully, scratching my head for any fleeting thoughts to remind me on what I did back then. “I was really helpful, and everyone loved me.” I continued, a few scattered memories in the pile. 

“Yes… I did hear a few things about that.” Samuel remarked with a skeptical look, eyeing me up a little too much to my liking. “What exactly did you do there?” 

Help… everyone? I… sorry. It's not like me to come up blank on something like this” I answered with a head-tilt, shaking my unease away as I continued talking. “There was the time someone forgot their lunch, so I went out and got them something from Thirsty Cow.” 

“That sounds more like a fetch than a job role.” 

“Fetch!” I shouted in glee. “Yeah, I guess I was mostly fetching people things.” I continued giddily, the word striking my head like a baseball going for a homerun with a bat. It fit right in the context, and it was absolutely what I used to do in my last job. 

Andrew didn't look amused. 

“I’m… uh… kind of an everything guy. You could ask me to do something, and I’d be right at it.” I spoke up after thinking through more memories. Times in which I’d bring everyone coffee, while they’re all praising how great of a boy I am. 

Was it boy? I think… it was… uh- 

“-Would you say you work well with others?” Andrew asked, cutting off my train of thought. 

“I did say I'm big on helping, so yes!” 

I watched as Andrew opened one of my folders, reading through them a bit while glaring up at me on rare occasions. 

“Er… excuse me, Logan.” He began. I didn't like the way he worded it, he had that tone you'd hear before bad news. “Can you give me your…” He paused, quizzically. “…paw?” 

Did I hear him wrong? 

I didn’t want to blow my chance further, so I just got my hand up and shook his. He had a firm grip, while mine was a bit more flaccid, he could probably feel how unsure I was. 

“Good, good.” He said, letting go of my hand. I shuddered at that, the vagueness to his statement leading to anything. But something else about that word brought me in. 

“So, you probably know this, but we need to take you around the office for a short tour. See how you handle with the crew, y’know, standard field-testing stuff.” 

“Of course! I… uh… kinda met two people on my way here anyway.” I said with a lightful tone, trying to shake off the tense atmosphere Andrew was bringing down. 

“Oh? Do you know their names? We could start there.” 

“Not… really.” I said with a wince. “I just know one of them’s a janitor, and the other has a brown coat.” 

“Joey and Carem.” Andrew answered without skipping a beat. 

My mouth was left open as my eyes widened. “Wow! You remember everyone’s names?” I asked with a smile, quickly fading away at the stupidity of such a question. But then again, Andrew’s a job recruiter, I couldn’t second guess how well he could know everyone in the building! 

“They’re… good friends.” Andrew assured me with a nod. “Are we ready for our… er… walk, Logan?” He asked, getting up from his seat. My eyes went blurry for a second, like when you fixate on an object or sound, and my reason was for that mention of a walk. 

“Y-Yes.” I muttered out, bringing a hand to my forehead.

Andrew led me out of the office, holding a clipboard while giving me a few looks. I feel like I was messing up every step of the way, he was talking weirdly, and he sure wasn’t acting like any other normal d- person. Person. Yeah. 

“Alright, Logan. Who do you want to meet first?” Andrew asked me, holding a faint smile as he readied his hand on the clipboard. I side-eyed him, keeping the office floor as my main view, debating between the guy in the coat, or the janitor. 

“Uh… could we meet someone else?” I answered, slipping some air through my teeth while I tried holding a smile. “I… don’t know if I got to know them too well yet.” 

Andrew wrote something down right away, more than just a few scribbles too. I could hear each twist and turn on that paper with his lead pencil, really reeling me in on the anxiety of what my answer did to his expectations. 

“Sure. How about the break room?” 

I nodded eagerly, following him down the office, passing by cubicles, as we stepped to a small doorway with no door. The break room was small, with yellow walls and a checkered floor design with black and white. 

Kinda lively, but it looked unfurnished with a few plastic folding chairs and cabinets to the left side. There was a big fancy fridge, at least. I couldn’t pay that much attention to my surroundings, with Andrew gesturing to me to have a seat at the chairs. We sat down and waited in silence, he kept his eyes down at the clipboard, waiting. 

For… what? I thought we were supposed to be interacting with someone in here. I twisted my head around, surveying the room, and sure enough, it was just me and him. 

“Something wrong, boy?” Andrew asked. 

“Yeah… I don’t see… wait- what did you call me?” 

“Logan, are you alright?” Andrew answered with a raised brow. “You seem tense.” 

“I- well… I’m just trying to make a good impression, is all. I don’t see anyone here… and you did suggest us to come here for interaction.” I answered in a slow calculated manner, pacing my mind along with each word to properly convey my feelings and situation. Andrew nodded along, writing something down just as I finished talking. 

“If I’m right, Emma should be here in a minute.” Andrew assured me, as if I’d known who this Emma was. Trusting him as best as I could, I stayed put in my seat, fiddling with my fingers a bit while we waited. My nails were trimmed for a good case in personal hygiene, but I noticed… they looked a little sharper. And… darker? 

“Hellooo!” A voice called out from out the door, as a young black woman came in. She had a large red vest on with black jeans, walking in with the satisfying clicks of her blue heels. “I brought the food.” She said proudly, putting down two large bags onto the table me and Andrew were sitting in. 

“Thank you, Emma.” Andrew said, raiding the first large bag. Maybe his lunch was in there, or checking for something else. She kept her eyes on him, completely ignoring my presence in the room. Or maybe she couldn’t see me to begin with, the bag covering my face. 

“Emma.” Andrew began, taking himself out of the bag. “Meet our potential hire, Logan Vella.” He said with a light smile, gesturing to me as he pushed the bag in my way aside. 

Emma looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth gone from a monotone expression to a large gasp. “Oh, aren’t you just the cutest!” She said joyously, putting a palm to her cheek lovingly. 

“Uhm… thank you?” I said with a dumb smile, not expecting such a kind gesture. Or… flirtatious? I couldn’t tell. I’m too stiff to tell. I tried to bring my hand up for a handshake, and her smile widened even more. 

“Aww, little boy wants to shake paw?” 

“Excus- what?” I barked out. 

Emma didn’t answer my confusion, frantically shaking my paw up and down with her smile ever growing. She let go, and I didn’t feel right. Like I caught a flea right there and then. My paw felt like it was burning, light human flesh with some faint hair growing in. I tried putting it off, ignoring the situation while I dug it deep into my coat’s pocket. I couldn’t scratch that itch in the middle of this interview, it would look unprofessional! 

I looked back at Andrew, and he was still going through the bags. Emma wasn’t paying attention to me again, like I just ceased to exist right after that handshake. “I got everyone their things.” She spoke up, dulling out my thoughts of the moment. “Would you mind helping me out with off-loading into the fridge?” 

“Sure, just a second.” Andrew told her, looking to me with a raised brow. “Logan… I didn’t want to comment on this earlier, but I don’t think you’re well-groomed.” 

I narrowed my eyes for a moment, ready to tell Andrew off on my hair. I had it brushed and combed! I even put some gel in, something I absolutely hate with how it smells. I felt my hair a bit with my other hand, sniffing it to find that disgusting artificial scent of plastic and grease gone. I didn’t even feel anything with my hair either, that sense of frozen hair strands gone to a slick rustle. Did I really not gel and brush myself? 

“I… uh… need a moment, please.” I told Andrew, getting out of my seat and walking out of the break room with my tail between my legs, disturbed by how everything was going, I just needed a second in the bathroom. Wash my face, a quick pep talk with the mirror, that would do me good! 

A few twists around the office, I found where I needed to be. The men's bathroom was small, with ceramic floor tiles, and a light-blue wallpaper covering every upper-half inch of the white tiled design. I didn't even care if anyone else was in a stall, I just darted for the long mirror with all the sinks, and dug my paws under a streaming flow of water. I had my head low to the faucet, almost washing my own face while splashing the water into my claws and digits. 

Next, I dumped my face into the sink, shaking my head into the water while holding a deep breath of air. I could feel how cold it was, grazing my ears and cheeks. But it also felt… really good. I got my tongue out, and just started lapping at the water. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I needed a drink anyway. Between cleaning my face and getting a drink, I got my head out of the sink, wiping my eyes clean. 

I made eye contact with my good old self, Andrew wasn't wrong on my hair. I have no clue how I didn't notice it wasn't groomed either. It was all messy and crazy, I'm glad he didn't call me a bad boy for it! Just thinking about that made me anxious, tugging at my newbie tag with a lengthy claw. 

The lanyard wasn't as slick as plastic as I remembered it to be, looking down at it to realize it was a blue leather collar. Not a bad look for me, and the quality wasn't anything cheap either. I still felt a little worried, but still proud of myself to an extent. I gave myself one last look in the mirror, analyzing any form of error. 

Dark nose? Not an issue. I could smell the old lunches everyone had thrown away from here. And don't get me started on what the cleaners missed in the far right stall… though, my nose was still a bit dry.. I just had to wash it a bit, but… that didn't sound right. 

My tongue was long, I couldn't even keep it in my human mouth anymore, the edge was poking out from between my teeth like I was pulling a funny face with a human child. Maybe I could… lick my nose? I- don't know what made me think that, but before I could contemplate on it, my long tongue was already brushing my nose to perfection, feeling a rough texture as it finally got its more recognizable wet sense. 

Maybe it was Andrew, or Emma, maybe the janitor, or even that one guy at the watercooler, but I was really getting worried now. I could practically feel myself burning up, the room was so hot, I just couldn't bear the heat for another second. 

I needed more water. 

I had to pull some effort to get it this time, the sink was almost too high for me. I was on my hind legs just to reach the switch, assaulting myself with a hard gash of water at full blast. 

But God, it felt GREAT. I could feel it washing all over my skin, my body coated in a better temperature, while burning away all that weird fleshy feeling. I had a paw over my arm, rubbing it under the water, and I could feel all that fur getting rearranged with the water. I pulled it out, licking up that cold feeling, and doing it all over again and again. 

Surely now I was ready to get back with Andrew and settle the interview. I had myself cooled down, my collar on properly, my tongue out for best impressions, and who could resist a wagging tail? No one with a soul, that's for sure! I barked in joy as I left the bathroom, leading myself around the office with the sole source of a faint smell from someone I had spoken with earlier… 

The coat guy. 

He was in a cubicle, typing away on a human thing. I don't know what they called them. They made nice clicking sounds, but he seemed busy. I tried getting his attention by climbing under his little seat, but he didn't even care! I was whining at his feet and trying to climb up, and all he did was bat me away! 

What a heartless human. I'd bite him if he wasn't throwing a ball for me to catch. It was small and white, I caught it in the air just as it left his big paws, biting down on it just as it broke into pieces. My tail wagged harder, as I gave it back to him, the human had a big frown on his face when he looked at me, the ball still slobbering in my mouth. 

He pulled it out, and groaned as he threw it again. I couldn't catch it in time, and I saw it fall inside a small hole. He's no fun! But I can't distract myself further, I had to find And…rew? 

My head fogged for a moment there. That name sounded so familiar, but I couldn't put a claw on it. What mattered was leaving this human to his own business, wandering around in the large room as I entered a faintly familiar one. The walls were colorful, and I saw two humans at a table! One was tall and dark, putting things away in a big white thing. 

“Oh, Logan, you're back.” The other human spoke up, snapping me back to reality. My eyes widened in horror at all the sensations and things I had going through my mind. Smells from across the building, the world weird in color, forgetting… things. What is happening? 

He’s about there. Andrew thought, examining the dog-human hybrid. Logan’s ears were up his skull, dropped back in fear as he continued surveying his surroundings, a small yellow tail snapping underneath his sweatpants to stay between his legs. His nose was out and pointed with a faint snout, darker than any other part of his changing form. 

“Have a seat, Logan.” I told him, gesturing to my side. His eyes were still a little blank, probably unsure of what I was telling him. “Logan, come and sit.” I demanded with a bored look, watching him maneuver on his two legs as he fidgeted with the seat opposite to me. I was holding a straight face, trying not to laugh at how hard it was for him to climb up into place. 

Once he was sat down on the chair, Emma came back from the fridge, eyeing up Logan. “Hey! Get off there!” She yelled at him, making Logan’s ears flare up from her pitch. His tail almost puffed too, still golden in shine and patch. “Dogs don’t belong on furniture.” She added with a forceful pull, removing the chair from under Logan. He fell down with a faint smack, catching himself on his two front paws. 

“It’s sweet you got the dog to wear clothes.” Emma remarked with a smile just the same as when she first interacted with Logan. “That’s… all you’re acknowledging?” I asked her, but she didn’t give me a response, moving off to the fridge as she organized all the things we had packed up. 

I could tell Logan was losing it. And I was too. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting any of this to happen. But I guess his CV was right on the whole… “helping people out” thing. As a dog, it seems. Every reference call kept going on about him being a good boy and so on, and seeing that special note from my boss definitely made this situation even weirder. 

Here I am, watching a grown man turn into a golden retriever like this was some average Tuesday. Not even Emma batted an eye, am I the only one aware of how weird this was? Maybe I’m just not affected by whatever this magic is. Maybe it’s a curse or something. Can’t just be himself if no one else sees the issue. 

Right, right. Logan’s slobbering at my shoes now. Oh great. He’s biting on them. “Heel, boy!” I commanded, watching him snap a bit in his eyes. “Good boy.” I added, giving me one last desperate look before he broke down to what I asked. Standing just beside me, he was down on his legs, still wearing his clothes, but absolutely too big for him. 

He was a pretty big dog too. Like those huskies. I had him climb up onto my lap with his front paws while I got his shirt off, but his pants were still in the way of looking normal. To me, at least. I got up from my chair, looking around the break room for anything to help me out, but then I remembered Emma’s shopping spree. I know the boss told me there’s something in there specifically for me, and no way in hell would it be a nice lunch gift. This was something for Logan. 

Logan was between my legs as I stood by the fridge, his tail wagging wildly and batting my ankles, barking at me with faint signs of human speech. Emma was still moving things in there, standard containers, some bags with coffee cups, and then one small bag with sharpie writing on the front. 

Dog treats. 

I’m not paid enough for this. I dug my hand into the bag, taking out a few small dog bones, the cookie stuff, and shut the fridge. Logan was getting antsy with me, he must’ve heard and smelled the stuff before I even had my eyes on them. Before I could even try to feed him one, he was already trying to eat them out of my hand by standing on his back legs. 

He had his mouth open, panting madly with his tongue flopping in and out. I had him pushed down, trying to keep him off from ruining my suit. He whined when I did, swearing I could hear him say ow… 

Testing a theory, I presented a bone to his nose, his eyes locked to it as he froze in place. “Logan… speak?” I asked in an uncertain tone, and sure enough, he did. Clear as day in English, had that gravely tone of someone trying to cough out their lung, but there it was, him saying hello without any awareness of the situation. 

“Aww… are you training him?” Emma teased, taking the bag of treats out and shutting the fridge. Logan was staring at the both of us, snapping his head back and forth to focus on which of our treats were better. In reality, it was more a game of favoritism. I won that without a second to spare, with Logan trying to climb up my knees again to bite the treats in my hand. 

“Come here, boy.” Emma demanded, wagging her hand of treats in front of him. I could hear Logan sneering a bit in his tone, saying no in a rather bold way at her. I suppose they got off on the wrong foot, her oddly condescending character a bad look for any newbie in the building. Nonetheless, Emma wouldn’t quit, as she plopped her hand of treats into mine. 

I watched her dig her hands into Logan’s face, rubbing her dark palms around his snout and maw, a weird petting method, but he wasn’t against it. I took a step back as she had him all to herself, watching him defeatedly wag harder, his tail playing against his own thoughts. I could hear him complain about how cruel she is between each sad bark, all the while she took each one as him being joyous of the petting. 

“Whooo’s a good boy? You are! Yes you are!” She cooed loudly, rubbing below and reaching his stomach. That must’ve tripped something, because Logan was REALLY excited. All that complaining drowned out to genuine barking and panting, I couldn’t hear a single word but standard dog noises. 

He was shaking on his back, letting Emma pet him wherever she pleased. Between all that, she dug his sweatpants off, and that’s the last trace of any humanity with him. His body was basically a standard dog. No fur missing, weird anatomy, just a standard healthy happy dog. I guess Emma broke him for me, whether she even knew who he was or not. 

“Emma, do you mind if I take the dog for a moment?” 

“Aww, you’re taking Goldie?” She pleaded, looking at me with pleading eyes. I was… not prepared for her to have a name for him. His newbie tag was a collar, sure, but I didn’t remember it having anything written on. Though, it wouldn’t surprise me if that just randomly changed. 

“The boss needs him.” I reaffirmed, helping Emma off her knees while Loga- er… Goldie, now, tried licking her. I gave him a quick look, and sure enough, that leather collar had a tag on it now. Small dog bone dangling with the name “Goldie”. 

Why do I bother questioning things anymore? 

“Alright… bye, Goldie!” Emma said, waving to Goldie as we left the break room. He stayed by my side without a single problem, all it took was a single compliment on how good he was for listening, and we kept our way to an elevator, taking a one-way trip to the top floor. Goldie wasn’t even against anything, he just acted like nothing was wrong. 

The elevator gave off that obnoxious microwave ding, and then the door opened. Slowly moving left into the wall, we were making eye-contact with the boss at the end of the room, sitting in a black chair while reading through some files on his desk. Goldie was the polar opposite of this calm moment, bolting out and running right at the man of the hour. 

“SIT!” He yelled, to which Goldie obliged on the spot. With good timing too, he was just a few feet away from jumping the desk. Practically stood before it like he had an interview to be… wait. 

“Hi… sir.” I said slowly, stepping out of the elevator and making my way to the desk, observing a few red curtains shut from daylight. The office wasn’t dark, but it had that sense of dread you’d imagine in a carnival tent. “That’s… er-” 

“-Goldie, of course!” He cut me off, opening his arms and beckoning for the dog to jump onto his lap. All it took was saying “C’mere boy!” and there he was, nestled on the man’s knees. 

“Right.” I sighed, pulling out a small note from my pocket. “What are we doing about this?” 

“About the adoption papers? Keep him, of course!” The Boss answered, taking the slip of paper away from me. I had my eyes shut as I tried to let myself make sense of the scene, questioning how in anything on this planet could we have gone from hiring a guy to making him some kind of office pet. 

“Here you go.” He said, snapping me out of my contemptful trance. I opened my eyes to stare at a large form-fill out from an adoption agency, all details filled in appropriately, and none of them were as confusing as “Goldie” being registered as a dog that was in the shelter for the same amount of time Logan was out of a job. “Now we’ve got a puppy to train, ain’t that fun?” 

“Yeah… really… fun.” I answered slowly, giving Goldie one last look, while I walked to the elevator. “If you… need anything else, let me know, sir.” 

“Thank you, Andrew. That’ll be all.”