Reversal of Fortune

Carlos was so sick of being told that he hadn’t worked hard for his privileges. Sure, he came from a wealthy family and the most taxing thing his work required him to do was keep himself looking trim and muscular, but he still considered himself a hard worker. Not everyone could be an underwear model, nor could they have the busy social calendar that he did too. As such, he saw no reason to apologise for the fact that he owned three different homes across the globe and each had a staff of five people: a cook, a gardener, two cleaners and a butler. He paid them fairly generously too, so the last thing he expected was to be told by the gardener at his Los Angeles home that his butler Travis had been referring to him as an “arrogant prick”.

While there was no doubt in Carlos’ mind that he was going to be firing the backstabbing butler and then besmirching his name to the best of his ability, he was still curious to see how the other would react when confronted for his crimes. Summoning the employee out to the deck where he was relaxing back in his hottub, Carlos could hardly hide the smirk from his face when the other man timidly approached. Travis had a boyishly handsome face but not much else going for him. Truthfully Carlos didn’t know much about the other man aside from what he’d heard the rest of his staff commenting on, namely that Travis gave much of his monthly pay to help support his elderly mother and that he held very liberal views. Perhaps the first piece of information would be enough to sway Carlos into going easy on the other man but he really didn’t like his employees talking about him behind his back. He’d have to work his sob story on somebody else because as far as Carlos was concerned, Travis was done.

“You called for me, sir?” the other man asked, his lips drawn into a thin line as he stood there in his carefully pressed white shirt and dark trousers. The manner of dress caused some discomfort under the summer sun but Carlos was always particular about wanting his staff in uniform. “What would visitors think?” he had once remarked, a comment that had lingered with Travis. As the butler saw it, Carlos cared more about how he appeared and his standing than he did about the wellbeing of his staff. As Carlos saw it though, he was merely ensuring that his staff were always aware that they were there in professional capacity and not as - heaven forbid - his friends. It was important that they knew what was expected of them and they didn’t cross boundaries. Carlos was very conscious of who he kept as company and folks like Travis didn’t exactly meet the cut.

“I’ve been hearing that you’ve made some comments against my character,” the well-off underwear model announced after taking a long swig from his glass of champagne. A little premature celebration. The colour had already begun to drain from Travis’ face as his lips dropped into an uneasy frown. “Calling me arrogant and entitled in my own home of all places! Some of your coworkers thought it was rather scandalous and decided to pass the information on. They’ll be getting a nice little bonus for it, of course. I appreciate the loyalty of my hard-working employees, something I had always presumed you knew.”

The panic was becoming more and more evident on the other’s face with each word Carlos spoke and he relished at the sight of Travis’ weakness. The other man could talk behind his back all he liked but they both knew who was the more powerful between them; Carlos was a titan and Travis but a mere ant. “I- I never said that,” the butler protested weakly, although he had dropped eye contact as he spoke and there was clear strain in his voice.

“Lying now too, hmm?” Carlos asked sharply, enjoying every single second of the other’s discomfort. He had failed to anticipate just how much fun he could have at Travis’ expense. There was no hiding the smirk from his beautiful face as he leered across at the other, like a predator eyeing up its prey before jumping in for the killing blow. “Now, before I request that you go pack your things up and get off of my property, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

All of a sudden the fear dropped away from Travis’ eyes and what was left was a look of pure and utter disgust as he spat out his response: “I don’t regret what I said. You act like you’re a god among men just because you have money but you didn’t work for it. You haven’t worked a hard day in your life, you were just lucky enough to be born into money. In fact, I think I deserve that life more than you do!” 

It was such an unexpected reply that Carlos was stunned into silence and before he could even begin to think of how to respond he was blinded by a flash of bright light right in front of his eyes. His head throbbed in pain for a few moments and his body felt strangely light. It was a good ten seconds before his vision properly returned but even before that Carlos was able to identify the fact that he was no longer sat in his hot-tub but stood on the deck instead. When his vision finally returned he discovered that the hot-tub was now across from him and in it sat a man he didn’t recognise - not at first, at least. It took a good few seconds of closely inspecting the other’s face for Carlos to realize that he recognised the other’s eyes: Travis.

Those familiar eyes were part of a face that featured much stronger features, from the straight nose to the square jawline. His hair was thick and carefully styled and when he smiled he showcased pearly white teeth. All of that was nothing compared to his body though, as he looked to be at least sixty pounds heavier with all of it being muscle! Wide shoulders, huge pecs and abs that might as well have been sculpted from marble - he was a physically perfect specimen and Carlos was at a total loss for words. He couldn’t help but admire the muscles of the other man’s arms tensing as he raised them to show off his new appearance in all of its glory.

“If only you could see the look on your face right now,” Travis boomed, his voice rumbling right through Carlos’ very being and sending a shiver down his spine. His brain was working overtime in its attempts to rationalise what had happened but he was so caught up in the other man’s smug grin that he couldn’t properly formulate his own thoughts. “Good news for you, I’ll be keeping you on as my butler,” the other announced, shocking Carlos back to reality. His butler? Fuck no! “Bad news, your old life is mine now and there’s no take-backs! Now how about you go fill up my champagne glass, huh?”

As the newly hunkified Travis held out his empty glass Carlos surprised himself by taking it with a hand that was more slender than it had any right to be. Suddenly feeling alarmingly submissive, he hurried back towards the kitchen and in the process was able to catch sight of himself in the reflection of a mirror. There he saw a skinny and pale version of himself with none of his facial hair or confidence that had made him such a star in front of the cameras. Any lean muscle he still had was hidden underneath a crisp white shirt buttoned up to the collar and long black pants, an outfit that was uncomfortable but unavoidable. His employer was very specific that Carlos had to remain in uniform at all times. Pouring out another glass of champagne, his last defiant thought died away: This isn’t right, this is supposed to be my life!