chapter 4

A month had finally passed and Jamie was finally starting to get used to the increased workload. It was still stressful, but she was keeping pace and holding her own, even with 6 hours a night of sleep if only by the grace of her cappuccinos consumed twice daily. Monday's staff meeting brought more praise from the higher ups of the paper who were pleased with the responses to her stories and reviews from the readership. Jamie, a perfectionist, was invigorated by the compliments and it made the hard work worth all the anxiety and effort. She also got another huge bit of news that could be a huge bonus for her career, the newspaper decided to foot the bill for her to travel to New York for restaurant week to report on all the new up and coming hot spots, special events, and tastings. Sure, it would be another thing to add to her already insane workload, but it would give her the chance to network and schmooze with media types from larger organizations that could potentially lead to new opportunities in the future. Plus, Jamie would never say no to an opportunity to travel.

The rest of the week passed by quickly, Jamie's days were jam packed with work, but she was giddy with anticipation for her upcoming trip. On Friday night after work, she finally had the chance to carve out some time to get back to boot camp with Amy. "Ugh, I'm sorry Amy, you know I want to make it to every single class to be there with you, but you know I'm drowning at work right now." Jamie said apologetically to Amy in the locker room. "It's cool girl, I totally understand. But you better be controlling yourself around all that food, I definitely don't want a chubby maid of honor!" said Amy, only half joking. "Oh, you know me! I'm religious about what goes in my body, and I'm still staying below 1500 calories a day." Jamie fibbed as she pulled the sports bra over her head. But still, the subtlest changes to Jamie's figure were already beginning, unbeknownst to her. That morning as Jamie got dressed her 34B bra was beginning to feel a little tight, as her breasts were starting to slowly fill out thanks to the increased caloric intake. In the locker room as Jamie scrutinized herself in the mirror clad in her skin tight workout clothes, the tiniest bulge was forming at her waistline where the elastic was squeezing the shallow deposit of softer skin. Even though the scales were still at 125 "okay alright 128" (Jamie guiltily thought to herself but chalking it up to natural weight fluctuations) it's possible that thanks to all that time sitting in the office and her new sedentary lifestyle was having effects, causing some muscle to transition to fat.

All that lean muscle that she worked so hard to maintain over the years was starting to morph, starting to soften, starting to cause all her clearly defined musculature to cloud with the addition of only the slightest bit of padding. Jamie left the locker room to start class, but she was finding it incredibly hard to keep up with the intense aerobic pace. Those two weeks of skipping out on the gym had clearly completely shot her stamina. By the middle of the class she was already beet red, panting, and sweating buckets. The crunches towards the end of the session were especially hard, because she faced the extra resistance of a new bulge of skin bunching up around her middle with every flex and then disappearing into a smooth stretch of stomach when she relaxed. Jamie looked over at Amy as she struggled, the classes were clearly paying off for her. Amy expertly and swiftly counted reps, with a body looking more toned than ever and worthy of a fitness model. "It looked rough out there for you! Wanna grab a salad and a glass of wine tonight? It's finally the weekend and I'm ready to relax." Said Amy in the locker room after class, subtly dropping a hint. "I wish. I have a reservation at a new French place that opened downtown, then I need to finish up some last minute business and get ready for New York." Said Jamie regretfully. A few hours later Jamie could finally relax at the table with Gabe, having polished off the richest Steak au Béarnaise she had ever had and a whole bottle of Bordeaux.