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Description
Aubrey's mysterious disappearance caused a minor stir in the office, mostly amongst the younger, less well-disciplined staff - those with some experience with working beneath Mrs. Taylor said nothing openly, but made an oddly oblique point of not noticing her new toe ring, the tight bronze band she now wore every day around the penultimate toe of her left foot. Her subordinates exchanged uncomfortable glances amongst themselves, trying not to think about how tightly the metal ring was wedged on there, or how hot and clammy it must get between Mrs. Taylor's toes - especially when she wears her black stockings to work - or how often (or rarely) she actually removes the piece of jewellery, if ever. All these unpleasant thoughts were tacitly banished while the office workers ostentatiously ignored the little toe ring, looking elsewhere no matter how flagrantly visible their boss made it, donning all manner of entirely office-inappropriate open-toe footwear, as though she wanted to flaunt the cute new addition to her daily wardrobe.

It took the better part of a month for the studiously unacknowledged tension in the office to slack off. Three or so weeks after Aubrey vanished most of the members of staff who had actually met her during her short tenure with the company had forgotten her face and name, and Mrs. Taylor’s toe ring ceased to be a weird, unmentionable taboo within the office. Some of the new girls (including Aubrey’s replacement) went as far as to compliment the small piece of jewellery; an easy bit of brown-nosing for them - little did they know the significance of the digit-bound artefact.

Aubrey was never seen again.

Description
Aubrey's mysterious disappearance caused a minor stir in the office, mostly amongst the younger, less well-disciplined staff - those with some experience with working beneath Mrs. Taylor said nothing openly, but made an oddly oblique point of not noticing her new toe ring, the tight bronze band she now wore every day around the penultimate toe of her left foot. Her subordinates exchanged uncomfortable glances amongst themselves, trying not to think about how tightly the metal ring was wedged on there, or how hot and clammy it must get between Mrs. Taylor's toes - especially when she wears her black stockings to work - or how often (or rarely) she actually removes the piece of jewellery, if ever. All these unpleasant thoughts were tacitly banished while the office workers ostentatiously ignored the little toe ring, looking elsewhere no matter how flagrantly visible their boss made it, donning all manner of entirely office-inappropriate open-toe footwear, as though she wanted to flaunt the cute new addition to her daily wardrobe.

It took the better part of a month for the studiously unacknowledged tension in the office to slack off. Three or so weeks after Aubrey vanished most of the members of staff who had actually met her during her short tenure with the company had forgotten her face and name, and Mrs. Taylor’s toe ring ceased to be a weird, unmentionable taboo within the office. Some of the new girls (including Aubrey’s replacement) went as far as to compliment the small piece of jewellery; an easy bit of brown-nosing for them - little did they know the significance of the digit-bound artefact.

Aubrey was never seen again.