Chapter 13

"Arms.. 24 inches." Julia, the agency's grey-haired seamstress, called out to a new young female intern writing on a clipboard.

Sarah stood in the middle of her modeling agency's fitting room in her slightly outgrown underwear, face growing redder by the second. Though it was typical protocol to get measured and weighed before an upcoming shoot, Sarah felt this was overkill. Clearly, she wasn't anywhere near the size requirements, so it was weird that they were even going through the motions.

Of all people at the agency, Sarah wasn't surprised that Julia showed only a small initial shock at the drastic change in her size. As an analytical woman who dealt in numbers, Julia rarely showed emotion. Aside from her close relationship with the agency's CEO, Quinton, Julia didn't seem to care about anything other than needles, threads, and measurements. So, when Sarah showed up for the fitting considerably more overweight than expected, the biggest reaction she got from Julia was a flustered sigh.

"Breasts.. 48 and a half. Up to a.. Double D Cup from a C if I recall." Julia announced. That was possibly the only good news Sarah heard in a while. Having been a C for her entire career, Double D had a nice ring to it.

"Where do I write down cup size?" The intern asked, looking up from her clipboard. Sarah couldn't help but be intimidated by the young blonde intern who looked like she could be a model herself. She'd never seen this girl before, but Sarah felt uncomfortable having someone so small and pretty getting a front-row seat to this horror show. Since she'd stripped down, Sarah had been sucking in while shyly covering her belly with her hands.

"There isn't a column for that. Just put it next to the breast measurements, like I have it written next to the old measurements for Sarah's last shoot." Julia said while readjusting the measuring tape in her hands.

"Oh, I see! Thanks." The intern smiled, penciling in the cup size.

"Where were we.. Ah, waist.." Wrapping the tape between two fat rolls where Sarah's waist used to be, Julia took a moment to get the measurement. "53 inches." Julia announced, emotionless while Sarah felt her heart sink. It wasn't that long ago she'd had a 22-inch waist. Now it had flabbed out to well over double that size.

Just as the intern wrote the number down, the door to the fitting room opened, and Quinton, the agency's CEO, walked in. Sarah wanted to run but didn't dare. Quinton was by far the most intimidating person at the modeling agency. A cold, callous man who rarely appeared in the day-to-day minutia.

"Hello, Quinton." Julia said calmly, not looking up from the measuring tape she was adjusting in her hands.

"Julia." Quinton nodded curtly, not acknowledging Sarah or the intern. He often did this, distancing himself from the models or other employees that worked for him. Typically, he was hands-off, using Julia as his proxy. The burly man in his late 40s rarely showed up for anything other than an emergency. "You sent a note to the receptionist, asking me to come down here?" He asked Julia, sounding as if he was being inconvenienced by even being present.

"Indeed. We have a situation. We'll need to talk after I'm done here. Give me a moment." Julia said, still focused on the task at hand. She was the only person at the agency that could get away with talking to Quinton like that.

For a moment, Sarah glanced over to Quinton, who had taken a seat by the door. But, unfortunately, this proved to be a mistake. He was staring directly at Sarah's body, and the look on his face told her he was not happy.

"Okay.. Stomach..." Julia droned on. Sarah could feel herself start to sweat while nerves wracked her body. "Please move your hands." Julia demanded coldly. Sarah had forgotten she had been trying to shield her belly in an attempt to hide her shame. She reluctantly moved them out of the way.

"Are you sucking in?" Julia asked.

"umm.. no.." Sarah lied, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand.

"Your chest is higher, and your shoulders are back. Exhale, please." Julia ordered.

Doing as she was told, Sarah relaxed, feeling more self-conscious than she thought possible as her belly expanded out a bit more.

Not missing a beat, Julia wrapped the extent of the measuring tape around Sarah's belly, but it didn't go all the way around. "Could you please bring over another measuring tape?" Julia asked the intern as if this was a typical request.

The intern put her clipboard down and followed directions. "Okay, now measure from here.." Julia said, continuing to hold the first measuring tape in place. ".. to here." The intern used the second measuring tape to bridge the gap between the start and end of the first. Sarah felt herself shiver whenever either woman measuring her made contact with her fat. "Okay.. it looks like 64 inches." Julia chimed, causing the intern to grab her clipboard and log it.

Sarah felt sick to her stomach, wanting to be as far away from this room as possible. She knew her belly was big, but 64 inches was a lot. A far cry away from the washboard stomach she'd toned with crunches five days a week. Slowly, Sarah's hands slid back in front of herself, timidly trying to cover her shameful belly fat.

"I'll probably need your help with the next two measurements as well." Julia told the intern, who quickly returned with the second measuring tape. "Okay, Butt.." Sarah nervously bit her lip as she looked over her shoulder, watching Julia and the intern working together to wrap their measuring tapes around Sarah's porky ass. "65 inches." Julia called out. Sarah held her composure but wanted to cry.

"Okay, now let's do her Hips.. 71 inches." Julia called out when done. "I can take it from here for the last one." While Julia prepared for the final measurement, Sarah's mind was in a haze. Seventy-one inches was wide. Incredibly wide. She recognized that her titanic hips were the reason she'd waddled into this room rather than walked, but 71 inches sounded much bigger than she'd been expecting.

"Okay, and finally, Thighs.. 45 inches." Julia exhaled as if she'd just finished something rather unpleasant. Sarah could feel her stomach doing somersaults. Her thighs were twice the size her waist used to be.

Still watching the scene play out from his seat, Quinton cleared his throat, immediately causing the room to feel tense. "And you weighed her at how much?" Quinton asked, not masking an undertone of disgust and disappointment in his voice.