chapter 7

‘For f*cks sake…’ Claire thought to herself, as the elevator doors cruelly shut moments before she could enter. In response, the overweight young lawyer furiously tapped the ‘up arrow’ button hoping the doors would open before the elevator left, but she was too late. She would have hurried a little faster, but her heels were killing her poor feet.

She couldn’t seriously believe her luck today. She’d woken up late, learned she’d gained back nearly all the weight she’d lost this year, ruined her diet with donuts, ruined her outfit by being clumsy, been forced to park at the top of the parking garage, and to top it all off she learned that she’d officially grown fatter than her chunky sister.

Tapping her foot with impatience, Claire spotted that the elevator was on the fifth floor of the building. That was the floor her office was on. For a moment Claire wished her office was on the second or third floor, then she wouldn’t have to put up with taking the slow elevator dozens of times every day, she could take the stairs and get some exercise during her workday. Five floors were simply too much to walk, even waiting for the slow elevator was faster than it would take her to walk all the way up there.

‘When’s the last time I even took the stairs?’ Claire thought to herself, ‘It must have been at least two years ago, right?’

She remembered when she’d started this job that walking all the way up five flights of stairs had left her huffing and puffing by the time she’d reached her office, but she’d been able to do it without slowing down or stopping. Claire wondered if she could achieve such a feat in her current overfed condition. When she’d started at the law firm, she was more than a little chubby, but nobody would have considered her fat, like they certainly would now.

Looking at the box of donuts she held in her pudgy hands, Claire’s cheeks blushed with embarrassment. To any onlooker she must have been a shameful sight. Here she was hopelessly overweight, holding a box of donuts, that certainly wouldn’t do her figure any favors, waiting for a slow elevator because she was too fat and out of shape to dare attempt to haul her fat ass up the stairs.

‘That’s it!’ Claire stubbornly thought, ‘I’m taking the stairs! Today’s the day I start some healthy habits!’

With a motivated huff of excitement, Claire strutted over to the steps and began the arduous task of climbing her way up to the fifth floor. For the first flight of stairs, Claire’s imagination pictured her tackling the steps multiple times every day, toning her calf muscles, shaping her butt, burning calories… but as she slowly reached the second floor, something felt different. Claire was feeling warmer, and her legs were feeling heavier, much heavier.

Breathing a little more vigorously, to compensate for her increasing efforts, Claire started her way up to the third floor. Her sluggish motions upward reminded her of how out of shape she’d let herself become. She could only imagine what her personal trainer would say if she could see her now. Probably something blunt like:

‘Woah! You’ve put on a lot of weight! I almost didn’t recognize you!’

Or something like:

‘I haven’t seen you in a while. I don’t remember you being so flabby Claire. What happened to you?’

“Ehh… Three years of marriage happened to me…” Claire sighed out loud in a shameful tone, as she hunched over for a moment to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe she needed a break already. Trying not to blame her brief rest on her poor fitness, Claire checked her aching feet as if they were the reason why she stopped.

‘When I get to my office, I’m taking these d*mn heels off…’ Claire thought to herself, while she took in a few breaths of air and then resumed her exertions plotting forward up the steps.

By the time Claire got to the third floor, she’d started quietly huffing and puffing. Her legs were not used to carrying such a heavy load up more than one flight of stairs at a time. Her lunges were not in shape for such a prolonged exertion. The vast majority of Claire’s days these last few months had been spent sitting on her big butt either working or relaxing.

At this point her knees felt like they might buckle if she attempted to climb one more step, but Claire was undeterred. In her heart, she knew that the beautiful, determined, and athletic young woman she’d been during college was still alive underneath all the tubby fat her body had accumulated during her marriage.

Grunting slightly with determination, Claire began the task of climbing the steps to the fourth floor. She had to move slower this time. Her energy levels were beginning to wane. If she’d eaten a better breakfast maybe she’d have been able to muster more of an effort, but she’d succumbed to temptation and settled for a handful of donuts. Pausing to look down at the box of donuts she carried in her increasingly clammy hands, Claire spared a thought to wonder why she’d even gone through the effort to bring them with her from her car. She had no intention of eating any more of them. Although she was starting to feel hungry again… She should have just thrown the donuts out to avoid the temptation.

Just as Claire was about to mentally chastise herself for her poor self-control, she heard the distinct sound of someone breathing heavily. Making her way to the top of the flight of stairs she was currently on, Claire turned the corner and looked up the last flight of stairs before the fourth floor to notice that her plump intern was sitting atop the final step with a big folder of files next to her. For a girl who normally looked cheerful and enthusiastic, Kimmie appeared sweaty and disheartened. It looked to Claire like Kimmie had attempted to climb the stairs but given up with only one more floor to go.

It was really no surprise. The recent college graduate was quite overweight. Kimmie was a few years younger than Claire and probably weighed a little less than her, but she was also much shorter, five inches to be exact. Thus, the weight each woman carried on their pear-shaped frames looked quite different. When Kimmie sat down, her fat gut bulged out to her knees, almost like it was fighting for room on her overfed body. Claire’s gut was less like a dome and more like two thick, heavy rolls of fat, especially her lower belly. Claire had more padding on her hips and appeared wider than Kimmie, but Kimmie’s tremendous butt was certainly thicker in terms of fat and volume. Although they appeared similar in bulk elsewhere on their bodies, Claire sported a larger chest, and Kimmie had a distinct layer of muscle underneath her thick thighs, pudgy calves, and colossal butt, that Claire lacked.

“What are you doing Kimmie?” Claire wondered, as she slowly made her way up to her plump intern and tried her best not to convey how fatigued she’d become. While she approached Kimmie, Claire noticed how sweaty the recent college graduate’s forehead was.

“*Pant* Getting those files you asked for. This was my fourth trip…” Kimmie revealed, while she couldn’t help, but blush from embarrassment.

Sitting down next to her to give her legs a rest, Claire wondered, “Why don’t you take the elevator if you’re tired?”

“It’s out of order.” Kimmie pouted, as she turned her attention to her boss and gushed, “Oh my god, I love your dress!”

“Thanks.” Claire smiled. She’d caught a few men checking out her cleavage during her walk from the parking garage to her office building, but Kimmie was the first non-family member to complement her appearance today. Regaining her focus, Claire took a second thought about what Kimmie had just said, “Wait Kimmie, the elevator is not out of order.”

“Janet told me it was.” Kimmie hummed earnestly, as she tugged at her tight skirt.

Claire didn’t know what to say. Sometimes Kimmie was too innocent and oblivious for her own good, but she truly was a charming girl. When Kimmie had started as her intern, she tended to be very shy and nervous about making mistakes, but Claire had helped her gain confidence. She’d even helped with Kimmie’s professional style. When she’d started with the firm, Kimmie tended to wear a lot of snug sweatpants, tight t-shirts, and wear her blonde hair in a stubborn ponytail. However, gradually with Claire’s influence, Kimmie came to adopt Claire’s more conservative and professional business attire, although Claire could never get Kimmie to wear her hair in anything other than a ponytail. Kimmie was a sweet girl, but she certainly was not the sharpest. Trying to inform Kimmie in a sensitive manner, Claire slowly rose to her feet and sighed, “I think Janet’s playing a prank on you sweetheart. Come on, let’s go ride the elevator.”

Appearing to realize she’d been fooled again, Kimmie bit her lip in embarrassment, and followed Claire to the elevator on the fourth floor without a word. As the two young women waited for the elevator, Claire thanked her lucky stars for the excuse not to climb the last set of stairs and Kimmie finally noticed what her boss held in her pudgy hands.