chapter 4

Feeling exposed by her bare office windows, she suddenly wished she hadn't ordered those new office curtains. There had been a delay with the delivery after she already had her prior ones taken out and now she was on display for the entire floor to see.

Olivia sat at her desk and pretended everything was normal. She booted up her computer, trying not to think about what just transpired; trying not to break down into a total anxiety attack.

But her brain wouldn't let it go. She couldn't shake the train of thought, even though she was fearful of where it might lead. All of this morning's unfortunate events were indicative of a terrifying truth: the Munchies were back.

Her breathing began to deepen as she felt the anxiety pounding against her chest. She needed to calm her nerves with a healthy snack. Olivia leaned over and pulled open her bottom drawer to grab a granola bar, but there weren't any.

Instead of the usual collection of boring health snacks with bland packaging, someone had replaced them all with a colorful array of candies and treats. M&M pouches, full-sized candy bars (Snickers, Twix, KitKats), Little Debbie snack cakes!

Olivia slammed the drawer shut, as if it had contained small, vicious monster. And in a way, it did. She knew where those snacks had come from. They were encroaching on her normal life! But as she placed a hand on her stomach and felt how much squish it had, she realized they had already encroached on her normal life. With her extra weight, she was carrying the Munchies with her wherever she went. Their presence was evident in her swelling body.

She sighed, feeling the rumble of hunger. Her eyes glanced back down at the drawer, internally pleading with herself not to open it. Her hand trembled, torn between the conflicting orders simultaneously coming from her mind, her heart, and her stomach.

"Hey!"

Olivia yelped and jumped, rolling back in her office chair. She put her hand to her chest to calm herself. It was only Big Fat Becky, filling the doorway with her spherical abundance, standing out in a big red dress pulled tight over her rolls, an excited smile on her fat face.

"H-hey, Becky. What's up?" Olivia asked after clearing her throat.

"Did you hear? Someone brought doughnuts!" Becky said with hushed enthusiasm. "Come on, they're in the break room!" She motioned for Olivia to follow, her fat arm wobbling a bit from the movement. Olivia watched out her office window as Becky bounded towards the break room at a waddle that was noticeably quicker than her usual pace, waves of fat flowing back and forth across her form with every footfall.

Olivia licked her lips and began to rise but stopped herself and sat back down. What was she doing? She couldn't have any doughnuts! She reprimanded herself internally, focusing on the mantra that had kept her slim for the past fifteen years: "Discipline. Motivation. Willpower. Discipline. Motivation. Willpower. Discipline. Motivation. Wi-"

Her train of thought was interrupted by a gurgle in the pit of her stomach. Olivia felt so empty and starved. But she could wait until lunch. Besides, it was only...9:24 AM?! Olivia moaned in agony.

Fine. One doughnut. But that's it. Besides, she had missed her usual oatmeal-and-banana breakfast due to the mess her in kitchen left behind by those...things. One doughnut wasn't going to balloon her into obesity.

Olivia leapt from her chair at a hurried pace and speedwalked to the breakroom.

Luckily, she was early, the only other employee present being Becky, who stood above the table that held the donuts, like a rising sun cresting the horizon. She had a donut in each hand, eyes closed, moaning as she chewed.

Looking down at the vast, colorful spread of doughy, circular confections, Olivia licked her lips to prepare for whichever kind she picked. She eventually plucked a chocolate iced and bit into it, her lips wrapping around the sweet frosting and sinking into the fried dough like when her tired head eased into her pillow at the end of a long day.

Her eyelids fluttered with pleasure and she didn't even notice that she had picked up another, bringing it to her mouth. Boston creme. Custard burst out the sides, a dollop dropping on the floor by her feet, some covering her fingers, and some smattering across her cheeks. But Olivia didn't care. She was moaning from the sweetness kneading her tongue. A third? Maple cinnamon. Oh my gah-

"Olivia!"

Her heart seized and she realized she had a half-eaten doughnut in each hand and could feel the sticky residue of previous bites around the edges of her lips. Olivia slowly turned to see Kendall flanked by two other employees: Richard and Monica.

Olivia swallowed the gob of sugary dough in her mouth and smiled awkwardly. She turned to see Big Fat Becky also holding a doughnut in each chubby hand while chewing the last bite of a third. Becky's cheeks and chins wobbled as she made involuntary grunting noises of satisfaction. Her fat arms rested on her rounded shelf of a belly, her breasts swelling in the cradle within her pillowy elbows as she brought each bite to her slick, puckered lips.

It was hypnotic to Olivia. She watched with an uncertain familiarity; as if she could see her future in the flowing flesh of Big Fat Becky.

"You got a little something..." Kendall's voice yanked her back into the present. She was tapping the corners of her own mouth to telegraph the smudge's location to Olivia.

With her hands occupied, Olivia licked at where Kendall indicated and got a nice burst of creamy sweetness. She forgot herself and closed her eyes, humming sensual noises.

The three employees looked at each other, equal parts amused and concerned. Olivia opened her eyes and acted quickly. She stuck one of the doughnuts between her teeth and used her now-free hand to grab some napkins from a nearby dispenser. With a nervous smile at her coworkers, Olivia shouldered past them, back to her office.

She closed the door so she could get a modicum of privacy and stuffed the last of the doughnuts past her lips, chewing bites that would have been much too big for her only a day before. Licking the various frostings and glazes from her fingertips, she collapsed into her chair, hearing it squeak in a way it hadn't before.

That should do her until lunch.

Four minutes later, while typing up an email, she absent-mindedly opened her snack drawer and grabbed a candy bar without looking. She proofread her email as she tore open the wrapper, forgetting that her granola bars had been replaced. Peeling the wrapper back like a banana peel, she brought the Milky Way bar to her lips and bit into it.

Her eyes went wide at the shock of the sweetness, caramel strands coating her lips, as she had been expecting something flavorless and grainy. But her shock was swiftly replaced by pleasure and she took another bite to chase the feeling. Her mind was now completely off the email and focused solely on finishing her chocolate bar.

The wrapper crinkled in her fist and she closed her eyes to focus on the flavors splashing over her tongue and against her cheeks.

Her email notification sound jolted her back to her surroundings. It was Lori.

"Lunch?"