"Corporate Greed" by HurlyBurly
Greg sat and shuffled nervously, exhaling quick bursts of air to calm his nerves. His shirt felt too tight, the buttons straining to stay fastened over his belly. He loosened his tie for the third or forth time, but it still felt like a vice around his double chin.
“You got this,” he muttered quietly. He looked at his typed speech, rehearsing in his head ‘Dear partners, I’m honoured to be before you today, in a year that marks record sales of our fast food division’. He looked at the clock. Ten minutes to show time.
“Well look at you,” came a voice from across the room.
Greg felt his nerves worsen, “Oh... er, Mr Davies, I thought you were out of the country?”
“How many times, call me Doug. Flew back in this morning, you know I wouldn’t miss my best sales guy on his big day now would I?” Doug patted Greg’s belly, which caused Greg to jump uncomfortably.
“Looking sharp, although that suit is looking a little snug,” Doug smirked at Greg, and Greg quickly looked away. “Now I know you’re gonna protest, but I want you to wear this earpiece. I’ve got the script from your email and I can coach you if you lose your place.”
“Mr Davi— erm, Doug. I’m fine really. I’ve rehearsed it and I have a print out.”
“It wasn’t a request ‘son, Now, put in the ear piece. And did you prepare the other stuff for the stage like we discussed?”
Greg looked at the floor, then nodded meekly. This was supposed to be his day.. and once again the head of the company had to make it about him.
“Good, then it looks like we’re ready for showtime,” said Doug. “I’ll be at the back of the crowd, do me proud.”
Greg walked out to the podium slowly, to a healthy round of applause. He shook off the feelings from the interaction with Doug, and got his head in the game. When the applause stopped he took a deep breath and started.
“Dear partners, I’m honoured to be before you today…”
He heard Doug mutter down the earpiece. “As a big fat pig.”
“…as a big fat pig,” said Greg. He froze. Why did he have to say that? The room went silent. Greg laughed nervously. “A… big fat pig… because we have hit record sales within our fast food division!”
The crowd let out a laugh, as if they were suddenly in on the joke.
Greg continued his speech, but Doug continued to talk through the earpiece.
“Do you know how much you weighed when I put you in the fast food team. I do, 157lbs,” said Doug.
Greg felt beads of sweat form on his head and trickle down the fat rolls on the back of his neck. He tried to focus, to read out the script.
“It was a simple question. What are you willing to do to go far in this company,” said Doug, “And you said, ‘Anything’. And that’s a very dangerous thing to say to me.”
Greg found Doug staring him straight in the eye from the crowd. Time seemed to slow down. “And I said, the fatter you get, the more I’ll promote you, I must admit when I said it, it was mostly a joke. But just fucking look at you. I kept waiting for you to stop. For you to grow a fucking back bone, but it was like, the fatter you got, the more you seemed to do whatever the fuck I said.”
Greg felt his eyes un-focus, and his breath quickened. He could feel the damp sweat under his chubby armpits and moobs soak through his shirt. His heart was beating so fast that he instinctively clenched his chest.
“And by the time you reached 400 fucking pounds, I didn’t have any further roles to give you, so I made you head of division.”
Greg was struggling now, his speech had become disjointed, “And … I … errr… couldn’t have done any of this..”
Doug finished the rest of the sentence in his earpiece, “If I wasn’t such an out of fucking control obese pig, who will literally ruin his own body just to get ahead.”
“Stop it!” shouted Greg, the room went silent again. “Erm, stop it! I told myself, we can’t keep up this pace, but each and every one of you, you proved me wrong.”
Doug continued in the earpiece, “Why don’t you tell them about all the extra suits I’ve bought for you. Because you outgrow them as soon I can get them to your current size. Or how many times I’ve found you at the branch just eating leftovers. Why don’t you tell them the REALLY good stuff…”
Greg stared straight at Doug and shook his head violently.
“Why don’t you tell them what a fucking slut being over 450lbs has made you for me. Tell them that even now, you’re plugged for me.”
Greg felt his heart do a somersault as his sphincter clenched around the plug. He felt his knees buckle, and the script slipped off the podium. He bent down to pick up the piece of paper and could hear a large ‘Rrrrriiiiiipppppp’ as his suit trousers split, and a ‘ping’ as two of his shirt buttons gave way. The crowd started to laugh.
“You see. You’re a fucking joke. You really thought I’d let you do this? To take credit for everyone else’s work while you stuffed your face. They’re all staring at you, thinking how did such a fat fuck end up being my boss. How did someone so incompetent continue to work his way up the ladder. And the worst part is, you’re in so deep you can’t get out. You’ve wrecked your body, your skin, your prospects. If you want a reference to work anywhere else, you’ll need to keep eating until you’re 550lbs.”
“Doug, please,” said Greg.
“It’s Mr fucking Davies to you pig. You think just because you’re in a fancy suit that I’ve forgotten that you’re just a fucking fattened piece of livestock? No way pig. Now get your fat ass off the stage and backstage so I can stuff the 20 burgers I’ve ordered into you.”
Greg, with some effort, got back to his feet and looked at the crowd. He was in his ripped pants, with his gut hanging out of his shirt, and the crowd’s laughs became unbearable. He felt like he was going to pass out. He waddled back off the stage as quick as his chubby legs would let him.
He pushed his way into the backroom, and slammed the door, finally shutting out the laughs still coming from the auditorium.
“You did so well,” came a voice from behind him. “You very nearly made it through the whole thing.” Doug was already waiting.
“I… Why did you…” was all Greg could muster.
Doug smiled, “Because I just wish you would just admit to yourself, that no matter what happens, no matter how much you try and act normal, or that you’re some big shot, that you’ll forever be my fat fucking pig. Now…” said Doug as he took a bag of company fast food “…these burgers aren’t going to eat themselves.”
Greg knew exactly what to do, as he had done so many times before. He stripped off his clothes and got on all fours.
Doug forced the first burger into Greg’s mouth, “Now what do you say, pig?”
“….Thank you Sir.”