Chapter 5

A few days after the Christmas party, Wednesday, Robbie came home from work with a slight scowl. Mallory gave him a hello kiss and noticed the look on his face. “What’s the matter, babe? Bad day at work?”

“I guess I wouldn’t say it was a bad day. It’s just that I heard a rumor that I don’t know what to make of.” Mallory’s ears perked up. This might be what she was waiting for. “I heard that Percy is going to retire at the end of next year. Most of us had already guessed that. But what I also heard was that when he picks his replacement, he’s going to want him to have the As The Cookie Crumbles look.”

“Look? What kind of look?” Mallory asked with all the innocence she could manage.

“Chubby. Plump. Fat. Whatever you want to call it. Whoever has a belly has a leg up on the competition.”

“Your real competition is Derek, right? Are you thinking that he’ll get it because he’s…well, fat?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Robbie answered, downcast.

“You don’t think your performance will outweigh Derek having a belly?”

“Derek may be fat, but he’s also a high performer. All things being equal, maybe his fat belly gets him the promotion.”

Mallory liked the way this conversation was going, but she fought to keep her cool. Let him come to the conclusion that he needed to gain weight. “But how do you know that it’s even true, babe? It’s a rumor, right?”

“I heard it from one of the IT guys, and he said he heard it from his OA. Supposedly it came right from Percy’s OA, Rebecca.”

“Sounds like maybe the OA network has been at it. If so, then wouldn’t Felisha know if it’s for real?”

Robbie brightened up. “Yeah…either she would know or she could find out. I know that she and Rebecca talk.”

“I guess you just can’t straight out ask Percy, can you?”

Robbie thought about it for a moment. “No, it would sound like an accusation if I asked. No matter how I put it. No, that wouldn’t work.”

“So maybe you should ask Felisha. You two trust each other, right?”

“If she knows, I think she would tell me. I don’t know if she’d actually ask Rebecca.”

“Well, if you get the promotion, wouldn’t you want to move Felisha up too? If she knew that, I’ll bet she’d do whatever digging needs to be done.”

“You know, you’re right. I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

Mallory smiled to herself. Her plan was working. And she noticed that Robbie had come straight home instead of stopping at the gym.

The next evening, Robbie came straight home again, with the same dark look on his face. “I asked Felisha this morning. She had heard the same rumor and heard that it came from Rebecca. I told her that I really wanted that promotion and if I got it that I planned to move her up with me. But I needed to know if it was true. This afternoon she told me that she had talked directly to Rebecca. Yes, it’s true.” There was a momentary silence. Mallory felt like Robbie was on the verge of deciding to gain weight. But careful, careful. Let him make the decision.

“You deserve that promotion, babe. You’re worked hard. It would be shame if you didn’t get it just because, well, just because you’re skinny.”

Robbie looked Mallory in the eyes. “You’ve hinted around that you’d like to see me fill out some. Were you serious? Me gaining weight wouldn’t turn you off?”

Mallory moved to him and hugged him. “I could never be turned off with you, babe. You’ll always be sexy to me. But yes, I was serious, I think you would look good with a little more meat on your bones.”

“What if it turns out to be a lot of meat on my bones? I’ve worked hard all my life to stay in shape. What if I go from filling out a little to…” he held his hands in front of him like he had a big round belly.

“Then you’ll still be sexy to me, babe. You always will be.”

“Percy probably won’t make his decision right away, since he’s not retiring until the end of next year. I guess I can put on some weight over the holidays and see if he notices.”

“And I’ll help you, babe. I’ve got some stick to your ribs recipes that I think you’ll love.”