list of things to be
accomplished before the end of the day. Quite a long list, in fact, with items
ranging from picking up his dry cleaning to purchasing gifts for assorted
nieces and nephews for Christmas.
She sighed, and made her way back
out. She had no idea how to feel.
All she knew was that she sure she
wasn't going to last long in this job.
*****
The rest of the week was the same.
Every morning Denny went into Larson's office, and by the afternoon she felt
despondent and dejected. Not only was she doing seemingly nothing up to Larson's
standards, but he insisted on somehow surrounding himself with beautiful women
nearly all the time. First there was the photo shoot, then some sort of
charity event with bikini models, then a re-shoot of the calendar.
She sighed as she saw her
reflection in the shiny glass of the double doors on the huge building. Every
day she became more and more aware of her own body. She felt like a lumbering
hippo next to the sleek and svelte figures of the women Larson surrounded
himself with.
She was fat. She knew it. She got
it. So why did Larson insist on rubbing it in her face, day after day?
Not today. Today was Friday, and
after a full week on the job, Denny had made her decision. Despite the salary,
despite the comfort and the perks of the job, she was going to quit. No amount
of money was worth going through the ridicule she endured day after day. It
wasn't worth the insults, the chiding, and the derogatory comments. She could
and would find another job elsewhere.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled
her nerves and pounded her way past the glass doors, her high heels clicking on
the cold marble floors of the lobby. She felt more purpose in her stride, in
her very body, than she'd ever felt before. She knew what she wanted now, and
that helped her against the cold stares of the gorgeous brunette receptionist.
She lifted her chin and swept by the girl. She wouldn't be afraid.
Despite her new found courage, she
felt her nerves begin to rise with she stepped into the elevator. She could
see her reflection, her plump face looking back at her with disdain, her cheeks
still rosy from the brisk weather outside.
Her skirt looked good on her, damn
it all. It hugged her plentiful curves in all the right places, and she looked
beautiful.
From that moment on, Denny resolved
to not let those thin bitches get to her. She wasn't going to let Larson get
to her. She was going to quit and get out of this toxic work environment.
She felt a flutter in her rib cage
when the elevator dinged and the door opened at the proper floor, though. She
was still nervous.
Nerves or no, she stepped out and into
the short hallway, making her way to the door marking Larson's office. She was
going to do this. Come hell or high water, she was going to stand up for
herself, and then leave.
“Oh. It's you,” Lola sneered as
soon as Denny walked into the room. “I should have known. It sounded like a
herd of elephants out there.”
At first a flush began to rise in
Denny's plump cheeks, but she steeled herself once again. What did she care
what Lola thought of her? Why was she trying so hard to earn the woman's respect?
What did she have to lose if she was snippy right back at her?
“I'd rather be an elephant than a
shambling skeleton,” she said in a biting manner. For just a moment, Lola
looked surprised, but she quickly composed her features into the prude shrewish
look she always wore.
“You look like you just ate a
lemon,” Denny added before stepping into Larson's office, shutting the vast
wooden doors behind her. She may have gotten to the woman, but she didn't
care. This wasn't about insulting people. It was about standing up for
herself.
Lola was easy enough. Standing up
to Larson would be quite a bit more difficult, on the other hand.
He wasn't even there yet, and his
office was dark, and seemed very cold at the moment. Denny