Chapter 2

Laura saw the conference room at the end of the makeshift hallway with the door open. Looking around the conference room, Laura saw posters of the company's ads featuring things like activewear, outerwear, and even one for a pair of lacey undergarments. All of them obviously featured plus-sized models, but what was surprising to Laura is that unlike many of the usual ad campaigns by older companies like Layne Bryant, these models were much bigger. They were still attractive, Laura mused, but it was unconventional. There were also a few framed photos of what Laura assumed to be employees, as well as awards and magazine articles. There was a large conference table made of what looked like actual purpleheart wood. Encircling the table were several chairs that appeared to be reinforced and extra wide. To the side of the room was a table covered in boxes of donuts, bear claws, coffee cakes, other sweets, and a full coffee pot. Next to the coffee was an assortment of sweeteners and creamers to take away any minuscule amount of non-sweetness that could be present.

As Laura was eyeing the table, several heavy footsteps could be heard, and the door to the conference room could be heard gently closing. Laura turned to see a short woman with dark hair and a medium skin tone. The woman sported a sizeable spherical gut that sagged and filled the front of her pants, which contained the bottom portion of her belly. She was thick all over and smiled, creasing her broad double chin.

"Good Morning! You must be Laura! I'm Sofia; I'm going to be your supervisor." Sofia bubbled over in a bouncy, happy tone. "Go ahead and grab a few treats, and then join me over here at the table!"

With a huff and a bit of effort, Sofia lowered herself into one of the extra wide chairs. It gave the slightest creak as she placed a tablet, a few folders, and a small box on the desk. Laura grabbed a custard-filled donut and a cup of black coffee and then grabbed the chair adjacent to Sofia.

"That's all you wanted, Laurie? Don't be afraid to take a few more donuts if you'd like; everything is free."

"Oh, I'm all set. I had a parfait for breakfast."

"Well, I recommend the peanut butter glazed if you change your mind. They are absolutely irresistible!" Sofia's mouth seemed to water at the mere thought before she opened the box she had brought, raised the same type of donut to her lips, and took a large bite.

"Sshoo," Sofia said, her mouth full of pastry. "Welcome to Claire's. You'll be working with our newest team, responsible for our brand-new line of women's streetwear. The concept to be fashionable but functional and comfortable." After another series of quick munches, Sofia finished the donut. "Take, for example, a pair of jeans; even stretchy jeans aren't as flexible and comfortable as a pair of sweats or yoga pants, but we aim to make a pair that adjusts to the wearer's figure while retaining the look and maximum comfort." Sofia stopped to grab another donut while Laura couldn't help but think that was a bit excessive, especially for someone who was struggling with their figure like Sofia.

"Luara, you haven't touched your donut! You have to try it; the filling is so velvety and rich, I insist!"

"Ah, okay…" Laura responded with a slight pause before raising the donut to her face and sniffing it. "What they doing, drugging these things?" She thought to herself. She took a bite and was surprised at the sumptuous flavors that coated her tongue.

"As I was saying," Sofia continued, still eating her second donut, "It'll be your job to manage the project, make sure deadlines for design are coming along on time, that R&D and testing are delivering the fabrics to spec, and on time to our designers to work with. Alerting marketing and budgeting of requirements and such. I looked over your resume and LinkedIn page, and it seems you have a lot of experience doing this sort of thing in your previous position, so I don't want to micromanage you. Just let me know if you need help or have questions about our specific processes. "Sofia finished her second treat and took a swig out of her iced coffee.

"Great! I'm really excited to get started."

"I'm sure you'll do great. I've got a copy of some of our basic day-to-day stuff in this folder and some forms for you to fill out, like direct deposit and health insurance elections. You can also access the company guidebook from your computer. After we complete these, I'll review some of the perks and fun little unique tidbits about the company. We can run the forms down to HR, and then we can meet with the rest of the team to introduce you!"

Laura finished her donut without even noticing it and began working on the forms Sofia passed to her while she talked more about day-to-day company work and procedures.

"As you have noticed, around here, we like to ensure our employees are taken care of, so in any designated snacking areas, feel free to take anything. We wanna make sure there's no brain fog around here! We've got an hour and a half for lunch each day, which is paid, and we give our employees a 250 dollar-a-week Uber Eats Credit, as we know how hard it can be to make some deadlines and get a meal in. Also, any clothing we make you can buy at cost for us to make it, so if you ever need to update your wardrobe, let Joanna, who works as part of our online store team, know, and she can send it to you. Finally, one of the other things we pride ourselves on is using everyday people as part of our ad campaigns, and who better to use than the people who work here! If you ever want to make a little extra money and don't mind your picture being out there, you could model!"

"Wow, that's all insanely generous!" Laura said, without sounding a bit weird or like she was being diplomatic. "It'll certainly be a nice cheat day treat occasionally. Unfortunately, I don't think we make clothing for my size, as that'd be a great perk to use!"

"Aw, don't worry, hun. You're not the first new girl to say that, haha!" Sofia chuckled.

"Jeez, it'd take years and growing like 7 sizes for me to come anywhere close to fitting in these clothes." Laura thought to herself, glancing up at one of the ads on the wall. "I will have to watch it, though, or those 25 pounds I lost last year could creep back on me."

"Sofia, is there anything like an office gym or a good place to take a lunchtime jog around here?"

"No, not that I can think of. You can ask Alan in HR; he may know more." Sofia grabbed a third donut from her box and placed it in Laura's hand. "You've got to try this flavor, though!

Laura sighed and made a mental note that she would have to be VERY dedicated to her workouts before taking a bite of the donut, not wanting to leave a wrong impression on her first day.

"Let me show you where your desk is going to be," Sofia said, sitting up, brushing a few crumbs from her shirt, and waving Laura towards the door.

Laura followed behind Sofia as they exited the conference room and turned.

"LAURA! Is that you?!" Came an excited shout from behind her.

Laura smiled; that was a voice she could never fail to pick out of a crowd. She turned around, excited to see her best friend for the first time in two years. However, when she laid her eyes on Lexi, she gasped, not believing what she saw.

The once-lithe redhead was now expanded to absurd proportions. Her curvy pear-shaped hips had grown outwards, making her more than twice as wide as the last time Laura had seen her. The dress pants Lexi wore showed little dimples and rolls in Lexi's mammoth thighs, while her belly pooched down and out, bulging in the pants, which looked so tight they could be painted on. Her toned arms were replaced with bingo wings that had begun to sag over the elbow in her sleeveless blouse. Her firey red hair was tied back into a ponytail, showing how her once sharp jawline and cheekbones had been covered in a layer of fat and rounding her face out without completely erasing her features.

She walked up to Laura and embraced the stunned woman. Laura snapped out of her daze, hugging back when her hands discovered the massive shelf below Lexi's back. Lexi's ass stuck out several inches past her back and, when combined with her wide hips, gave her one of the fattest asses Luara had ever seen. "Lexi, it's been so long; what… what happened to you?"