Chapter 1 - work woes

QUICK AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Thanks so much for checking out this story! Fair warning up top—this is a *slow* burn, not a simple series of short salacious descriptions. I really wanted to craft a narrative that unfolds organically the way a novel would. Therefore there’s a fair bit of plot exposition and character development along the way, but I trust you will find this serves to justify Eliza’s behavior and feelings (hopefully in a way that’s satisfying for the reader). I promise it gets spicy, though. Very spicy. However I won’t fault you if you skim your way through until it gets exciting. The story will unfold hopefully over the course of 20 or so chapters, getting more heated as it goes. I welcome any and all feedback, which can help shape the rest of the tale. [Currently, the story is incomplete ... stay tuned for more. Probably 4 or so left to write!]

Okay that’s it for my rambling. Please enjoy :)

CHAPTER ONE — Work Woes

“Aaand cut!” The director shouted. “That’s a wrap on our ballroom coverage. Eliza, go lend a hand to Craft Services, we needed lunch set up over an hour ago.”

Eliza Miller threw down her clipboard and walkie talkie, and rushed over to meet the other production interns in the ship’s ballroom kitchen. Grabbing the handle on a large pushcart, she wheeled an ornate platter of silver trays back into the ballroom where actors and crew stood waiting anxiously for their late lunch.

The commercial shoot for Seabourn’s luxury Mediterranean cruise liner had begun at 7am, and lunch was just now being served at nearly 2pm. Eliza was absolutely starving, but knew the interns ate last. *Always*. She salivated as actors and senior crew members filled up their plates with mountains of pita bread, hummus, falafel, kebabs, and baklava. When she finally reached the buffet table, there were only a few sad-looking pieces of pita bread and some old tabbouleh waiting for her.

“Another glamorous day living the dream,” Eliza muttered to a fellow intern, grabbing a pair of serving tongs.

Eliza scarfed her measly meal down in 45 seconds, not worried for a second what others might think of her eating style. Although, surely no one would accuse her of being a glutton for a few quick bites of bread and salad. Similarly, her svelte figure resembled that of a young starving professional. Fortunately there was no shortage of beverages, however, so without hesitation Eliza quickly chugged two cans of Coke just so she could feel full. Scanning the table desperately once more to see if she’d missed anything, it was clear there was nothing left. Eliza’s small stomach grumbled in protest.

There was so much initial appeal to the New York advertising industry when Eliza first began her career — promises of exotic on-location shoots, extravagant parties, and expensive dinners. However she found out very quickly that the reality meant long hours, low pay, and the free food she *did* receive more closely resembled pathetic leftovers often found in the back of her refrigerator. Because of this scarcity, Eliza took advantage of any free food she could, knowing how expensive it was to feed herself in the city.

The remainder of her lunch break was spent wandering the deck of the cruise ship, which was presently 50 miles off the coast of Greece. Eliza watched all of these elegantly dressed Europeans enjoying wine and appetizers, and the ship’s staff actually seemed to be enjoying themselves too. There were countless food options to choose from made by chefs from all over the world; it seemed like absolute heaven.
“If only that could be my life every day,” Eliza thought longingly to herself.

- - -

The following week back at the New York office, Eliza sat at her desk combing through raw footage from the Seabourn commercial. Wide shots of sun bathers and close-ups of people savoring bites of expensive seafood sent Eliza into a day dream. She imagined herself lying on a lounge chair in the sun, sea air in her hair, sipping a craft cocktail while waiters walked around offering her complimentary tapas — oysters, foie gras, brie, tarts...
Reality rushed back when Eliza noticed a client meeting had just let out in the conference room opposite her desk. Two trays of completely untouched sandwiches sat on the conference table.

“What a total waste,” she said to herself.

Trying to look as casual as possible, Eliza got up slowly from her desk and made her way into the conference room. Her eyebrows raised as she took in the pile of *free* food that laid in front of her. Grabbing five sandwiches, Eliza made a beeline back to her desk where she shoved her bounty into her tote bag.

“Excellent,” she thought, “I have my next five meals covered. Maybe I can actually afford to go out for drinks this weekend.”

Eliza ceremoniously dug into her first sandwich as she continued working. However she was so ravenous from her sporadic eating that she couldn’t help but start in on a second one. There was a twinge in the back of her head that maybe this was inappropriate. Had someone seen her steal the food? Had anyone watched her pig out at her desk?

The savory meat, cheese, and bread drowned out these thoughts almost instantly. By the time Eliza had finished, she realized that she’d maybe overdone it. Her skirt was covered in crumbs, and the tight waistband dug uncomfortably into her little food baby. She shifted in her seat slightly, brushed off the crumbs, and readjusted her skirt. The sandwiches made her very thirsty, so with a quick glance left and right, Eliza made another mad dash for the conference room to steal a Dr. Pepper. She ran back to her desk, cracked it open, and slurped the sugary drink down quickly, hoping to get rid of the evidence as soon as she could. Eliza surprised herself with how loud of a belch snuck out of her mouth. Now fairly bloated with a hand unconsciously massaging her own stomach, she continued parsing through video footage.

Without noticing, Eliza’s hand had snuck inside her shirt as she continued rubbing her belly. She could feel the warmth and tenderness from being so full.

Free food was such a hot commodity that Eliza was constantly on the lookout for it. Though as she sat partially out of breath from her lunchtime binge, she began wishing she didn’t have to absolutely stuff herself every time free food was around. This desperation style of eating had developed in college when Eliza was even poorer than she is now, knowing that stuffing herself whenever possible was the best way to ensure she could avoid spending money on food.

As her frustration about her job and lifestyle worsened, Eliza made a curious Google search for “cruise ship jobs.” The first result that caught her eye was for an entry level Entertainment Coordinator position on one of Seabourn’s luxury cruise liners.

“I was just on one of their cruses last week for the shoot!” Eliza thought. “And I have plenty of talent wrangling skills, I communicate with actors almost every day.”

The contact person for the job listing, Eric, was actually someone she had met while on the shoot. This was truly meant to be.

- - -

That night at her apartment, Eliza lied down on the couch and started fixing up her resume. She crafted the perfect cover letter and sent it off to Eric over at Seabourn. Just then Eliza realized she had left those three other sandwiches in her bag.

“Oh shit, I forgot to refrigerate these,” Eliza said out loud. “Hmm they probably won’t be good tomorrow.”

Pulling all three sandwiches out, she ungraciously wolfed them down, forgetting just how full they had made her earlier that afternoon. Only this evening she’d had THREE. Eliza had hoped she could stretch these out over the next few days to avoid buying food unnecessarily, but her feast-or-famine style of eating had gotten the best of her.

Having not fully digested her sizable lunch, her stomach was now uncomfortably full. She unzipped her skirt, let out a soft moan, and once again started massaging her full stomach as she put her head back and closed her eyes. Since she wasn’t at the office, Eliza was free to lift up her shirt bottom and expose her bare skin as she rubbed gently.

“Ugh,” she thought, “I wish I had enough food around so I could slow down and not eat like a pig all the time. God knows what would happen if I constantly found myself surrounded by free food…”

Breathing heavily, she began fantasizing once again about working on the cruise line -- getting to wander through buffets, always having her choice of sweet or savory, and getting to feel a sense of freedom -- ah, the perfect life... Waiting for her out at sea.