chapter 4 - lina anderson

The two-week trial period flew by. The amount of real work to be done only took up a small fraction of each day, which allowed for plenty of exploration of the ship's bars and restaurants. While Eliza had planned to include the gym in her ship routine, she never seemed to make it there. Afternoons were often spent in Lina’s office with Jeremy trying to look busy, but the only things Eliza truly busied herself with were the employee snack table and the beer fridge. She found Jeremy to be a great mentor, who always recommended a new restaurant to try on her lengthy breaks. Sure enough, she unabashedly consumed whatever was placed in front of her, and acted on every hunger-driven impulse that struck. Each night was capped off with a party, seemingly more wild than the last.

It was the final morning of the trial period, and the ship was due to dock in Portugal that evening where Eliza would be flown back to New York. Waking up on this final morning was particularly difficult for Eliza. Two weeks of straight partying made her feel extra sluggish. When she got up from the bed, her hip brushed the bedside lamp and knocked it over.

"Huh," Eliza thought. "Seas must be a little rough today. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten my ‘sea-legs yet like they keep saying.”

She showered and put on makeup delicately so she could look put together for her exit interview. Although when she went to put on the one professional outfit she'd brought, something was different. Very different. The same pencil skirt Eliza had worn to her original Seabourn interview would barely budge over her butt.

“What the hell,” Eliza muttered in disbelief.

Eliza walked half dressed over to the mirror to see what was going on. As she tugged it up onto her body, Eliza finally clued into what was happening. Her formerly stick-thin frame no longer stared back at her in the mirror. Where the skirt used to cling to angular hip bones, soft little love handles pushed outwards on the fabric. The tight waistband dug firmly into Eliza's midriff, creating a small roll above it. As she felt her body with her hands and stared, most glaring of all was her belly, something she'd never had before. There was now a round, bowed shape, creating a soft bulge of flesh resting in her form-fitting skirt.

“Oh my god,” Eliza said out loud, pinching the side of her belly. “Did I really go that crazy these past two weeks?”

There were no scales around, of course, as Seabourn would never want to suggest to their guests that they’d made any bad decisions while on vacation.

“I look ridiculous,” she thought, eyeing herself up and down in the mirror.

Scrolling through her phone photos, Eliza looked for any evidence of what had happened. Sure enough, there were artfully framed shots of desserts, decadent brunches, cocktails, and dinners. There were also a lot of group shots taken of Eliza standing with the crew in her bikini by the pool. When she zoomed in, she could see small indications that she’d been growing all along. The loss of her abs, the softening of her hips, the rounding of her arms, the constant bloated look she had. As Eliza swiped through more photos, she saw the steady progression from thin to out-of-shape.

Eliza put on her blazer, which made her look somewhat slimmer when looking head on. However her profile still showed off her belly bulge and growing butt. It wasn’t just bloat at this point either. Her belly actually had a distinct layer of fat that had formed in just a short period of time.

“Ugh, maybe the cruise life isn’t for me,” she sighed, jiggling her belly and thighs with her hands.

Eliza sat back down on her bed, which made her clothes fit even more uncomfortably. She was having instant regret from the choices she’d made. At least she didn’t quit her ad job. Eliza reminded herself she could return back to New York, and was confident that a few weeks back in the gym and returning to her normal low calorie diet could fix the damage she’d done to her body. The past two weeks had been fun, she admitted. And she’d been getting more comfortable speaking with celebrities. But Eliza was conflicted. Work was finally starting to have meaning, and life was beginning to have purpose, only it came at a significant price: her body.

“Alright well I guess this was a good experience,” Eliza ruminated. “I can go back and try to make advertising work. I mean, I have new experience to negotiate a raise at the agency.”

She had made up her mind. Returning to New York was the right move. That was until she met the head of her department...

- - -

When Eliza arrived at Lina’s office with her roller bag in tow, she was prepared to meet with Jeremy to tell him the bad news about not planning to return. However when she pushed through the door, the office was empty except for one woman sitting with her back facing the door.

“Hello?” Eliza said timidly.

The chair spun around slowly, and the woman stood up. She was stunning in every sense of the word. Standing 5’10” with a curvy yet toned figure, she wore a pristine Euro-fashion outfit, and had short platinum-died hair with an undercut. Her strong presence was intimidating, to say the least. Walking over to Eliza with an expressionless look, she outstretched her hand.

“I’m Lina. Pleasure to meet you.”

Eliza shook Lina’s hand nervously. She had this wave of emotions wash over her. Lina was the most attractive woman Eliza had ever seen. And she was a powerful, successful woman which piqued Eliza’s interest even more.

“I’m Eliza Miller,” she said, somewhat uneasily.

“I know,” Lina replied. “You’ve been working under Jeremy these past two weeks. He’s had nothing but glowing things to say about you. How have you found your time here?”

“Oh, well it’s been incredible,” Eliza said.
This was true, as she had sincerely enjoyed the past two weeks. However she had been tormented over her recent weight gain, and had decided not to pursue the cruise job.

“I see you have your bag all packed up,” Lina went on. “Does this mean you’ll be leaving us?”

Eliza thought for a second. Just ten minutes ago she had been absolutely certain she was going to return to her old life in New York, but Lina’s presence was totally magnetic. She felt so many things for Lina.

“Well—” Eliza began.

“Because you’ve really shown a lot of promise,” Lina cut it. “We’d hate for you to go. In fact, everyone on the staff has had nothing but good things to say about you. You could really advance your career working at Seabourn. In six or seven years you could be leading a department of your own. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Eliza’s conscience was weakening. Sure, she’d put on a bit of weight while working on the cruise ship. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t adjust her habits to maintain a healthier balance and recover her trim body. The promise of advancing her career in a field she enjoyed was really captivating as well. Though most of all, the prospect of being able to get closer to Lina was what tipped Eliza over the edge.

“I’d love nothing more than to continue working at Seabourn!” Eliza blurted out. “Everyone here has been so wonderful, and I really feel like I’m getting the hang of things. I packed my bag because I didn’t want to be presumptuous, knowing this was a trial period and all. But if you’re offering for me to stay, that would be so, so amazing.”

“Great,” Lina said. “Then that’s that. I’ll have Jeremy email HR and tell them to bring you on as a full time entertainment coordinator. I’m glad you made the right decision.”

“Thank you!” Eliza said. “I’m so happy you want me on the team.”

“Mmhmm,” Lina said, showing very little enthusiasm. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

Eliza had stopped by the mess hall for waffles right before her meeting, thinking it was the last time she’d enjoy the cruise food. But she wanted nothing more than to impress the head of her department.

“Umm,” Eliza rubbed her soft belly. “No, not yet...”