Fat Cats: Chapter 2

Joe sucked in and closed the latch on his work pants. Exhaling, his beginner belly fell forward and filled the fabric of his white dress shirt. Nearby, Justin finished toweling himself off after a shower and slipped into a pair of briefs. The curvature of his ass gobbled up the fabric causing an uncomfortable wedgie. His pants fit fine around the waist but the strained fabric in the rear showed every line of his underwear.

Before heading into the subway, Joe purchased a bagel and large iced coffee drowned in whole milk and sugar. Justin munched on a coffee cake with a chai latte. On the short ride to the office Justin placed a hand on Joe’s inner thigh. It felt bulkier than usual, softer too. Joe had gotten back into a gym routine recently and it was hard to tell whether his gains came from lifting or eating.

They rode the elevator up to the office holding hands, kissed when the doors opened, and marched to their separate offices. Joe sat down in his leather seat with a sigh. He sent a chat message to his assistant requesting a plate of whatever was being catered for breakfast. He didn’t care what it was as long as it was food. Three hours and two breakfast burritos later he was hungry again. Thankfully, Guy stopped by his office.

“Joe, are you up for an early lunch? Just you and me.”

“Yeah, always,” Joe replied.

Justin caught a glimpse of Joe and Guy as they grabbed their jackets and headed for the elevator. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he watched his husband saunter off with one of the lumbering barrel chested owners of the firm. A wave of insecurity washed over Justin and he messaged Manuel, a paralegal who had been at the firm for many years.

Manuel arrived at Justin's doorway. He was wearing a seafoam green polo that clung to the soft spare tire hanging thick above his pants. The shirt barely covered him and you could imagine that if he reached for something on a tall shelf a good deal of flesh would be exposed. The young man was becoming one of Justin’s closest work friends.

“Hey, wanna grab lunch?” Justin asked.

Twenty minutes later the two men were seated at a Hawaiian restaurant with two creamy midday cocktails before them.

“So what’s with these lunches the partners are always going on?” Justin blurted out.

“I don’t know, I mean one can only imagine…” Manuel trailed off.

“They always come back so sweaty and, well, frankly bloated and unkempt. I mean, I know they’re big guys but come on… not the most professional. Has it always been this way?”

Manuel smirked, “I knew this was coming. Yes, it’s always been this way, even when it was just Guy running the show he’d come back from these two hour long lunches looking ten pounds heavier and exasperated. Granted, he’s grown exponentially since then. I mean, I suppose we all have, but Guy especially.”

“What goes on at these lunches?” Justin was at a loss.

“I mean, I wouldn’t know but I suspect it’s not very innocent… The annual retreat is proof enough in that regard.”

“Guy took Joe to lunch today,” Justin was feeling desperate and couldn’t afford getting distracted by mention of the retreat. “Did you see that?”

“That’s good,” Manuel replied encouragingly.

“Why is that good? You basically just implied that… you know!”

“Whenever Guy starts taking someone new out for lunch, that means he’s next in line to be, well… one of the big guys.”

Justin stared at Manuel blankly, “I’m sorry, please don’t take offense to this, but I can’t keep beating around the bush. Do you mean he’s going to get fat? It’s no secret everyone in this office is not exactly petite.”

“Yeah sure, that, but also a promotion. To become a partner…”

Justin was still perplexed as he and Manuel returned to the office an hour later with achingly full stomachs. Manuel had acknowledged the general bearishness of the office which was reassuring to Justin. Sure, he downplayed the whole thing by saying that everyone puts on weight working in an office and that it’s a positive thing not having unrealistic body standards in the workplace, blah blah blah. Still, Justin knew something was up and although he didn’t really mind the collective weight gain, he was suspicious of Joe and Guy’s relationship.

Later that afternoon, Justin received a chat from his husband. “Dinner after work? Mauricio’s? On me.” Justin obliged, of course.

Joe ordered far more than he usually did at the Italian restaurant, including three appetizers, a main course for each of them, two desserts, a bottle of wine and dessert cocktails. It was an inordinate amount of food and Justin couldn’t help but suspect this was Guy’s influence. Joe made a valiant effort to stuff his stomach to max capacity. He also encouraged Justin to keep eating throughout the whole meal. Nevertheless, the two men only had so much room and by the end of the dinner leftovers still remained.

After they paid Joe patted his stomach dramatically; an action he’d never done before in his life. He then leaned back and propped his arms behind his head with a satisfied sigh.

“You know what Justin,” he said with a starry look in his eyes. “I see big things in store for us at this firm.”