The next day started much like any other, the electronic clock sounding off and dozens of office workers in clean white shirts and pencil skirts reporting to their cubicles for the daily grind. Over the course of the day however, rumors started to buzz like flies.
"Did you see what they were installing in the break room?"
By lunch, the staff had started to gather like excited children at a zoo to watch the brutish looking workmen installing what looked like a giant metal slab into the floor, wondering what such an archaic device was for.
"You think it's some kind of virtual reality helper?"
"No, it's too simple. Maybe it's supposed to jolt you awake with electricity."
"Yeah, something to keep us up and working, you know what a slave driver the boss is!"
"You're dense, my uncle works out in the livestock sectors past 5V and uses these all the time. It's a scale."
"A scale? What do we need that for, we all have VI Health programs, right?"
Mutterings and musings on the purpose of the scale reached a fevered pitch, spreading through the clerks and the paper pushers all the way up to the middle management as everyone tried to figure out why on earth such an archaic device would be stuck in the break room. The answer came sooner then expected however as a familiar harsh buzz echoed through the building, announcing an imminent announcement from upstairs. Everyone slouched in front of their desks as holographic monitors switched to a new screen, expecting some inane announcement from a faceless corporate suit on this and that, only to see Ms. Morraine herself appearing in front of them.
"Is this damned thing on?" she muttered off to the side before looking forward again with her best smile. "Good afternoon, valued employees of Morraine Incorporated. I am appearing before you today to announce a substantial change to company policy moving forward."
Those who could exchanged wary but exciting looks with coworkers as they sat glued to their screens, wondering what was so important that the big boss herself would step in.
"But first I want to tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you. From the ones who've been here since the start to those who are new to our team, its through your efforts and your hard work that this company is where it is today. We could have taken the easy way out, built this company on a foundation of straw through financial chicanery and greed. I could have taken that way myself, sat back and let the corporate system squeeze every cent while I sat around turning myself into a silicon and plastic doll like every old money stooge. But I did not, I worked hard and bore the consequences of that hard work...much to the delight of my tailor."
A few awkward laughs were heard, though most were confused by where this was going as the boss continued.
"So as our company reaches its greatest height, I've decided that it is time that everyone embraces the ethos of hard work that got us to where we are today. Thus...Morraine Inc will be instituting a minimum weight for all employees going forward."
Stunned silence. You could hear a fly buzzing a few floors down as everyone tried to comprehend this bizarre new rule.
"A message will be arriving detailing the finer points of the new policy, though in short this will be an immediate qualification for future hires while current hires will be regularly screened to ensure they are gaining weight at a proper pace. Over this time period, we will also be renovating the offices to accommodate your larger figures properly." Her smile widened a little more in spite of the shock most were looking at her with. "Naturally this will be an adjustment, so to smooth things out, all employees who hit their quota will be qualified for at least a 200% increase in their salary, with further bonuses based on performance."
You could almost hear everyone gasping in unison at this news, some disbelieving, some excited, some even crying in relief. DOUBLE their salary? That would put even the lowliest typists in the same income block as middle managers in other companies! It had to be too good to be true, and yet...?
"I trust that you will all do your best to fit the new image of Morraine Incorporated," Morraine finished, tilting her head to check something. "Have a good weekend, and keep up the excellent work."
"And that would do it," L said, the holographic bunny popping up to 'lean on' the drone filming her. "A stirring speech, ma'am."
"God I hate speeches," Morraine grumbled, leaning against her chair and tossing back a glass of synth-brandy. "Wish I could just tell them all to get fat, but it's all about the pitch I guess..."
Polina suddenly jerked her head towards the office door, grasping the handle of her bayonet. Morraine raised a hand to steady her as heavy footsteps thundered up and the door burst open.
"Are you INSANE?"
"Come in, the door's open," Morraine muttered as she glanced over. "Afternoon to you too, Glo."
With an angry chitter, Glo stomped in front of her desk, working three datapads at once with two arms each, though her pure black eyes focused solely on her boss. "Two....HUNDRED...percent?"
"We had to get everyone to go along with it somehow, didn't we?" Morraine twirled the empty glass on her desk idly. "A pay increase was perhaps the most expedient way to do that."
"It's also the most expedient way to wipe out most of the profits from our recent sales. Look at this!" The spiderlike snythoid turned one of her datapads around while continuing to type and scrawl on the other two. "The losses alone would put us back at square one within the year!"
"I get it Glo, you're concerned over the metrics, but you gotta trust me that there's more to this then that line," Morraine said sincerely. "Not everything is surface level you know." She felt a pang of guilt over this manipulation of someone she genuinely did like, but there was a truth to it. No company in their right mind would have hired a hardcore body modding synth like Glo, even with her savant-like talent for balancing the books. But where they wanted supermodels, Morraine had wanted talent, and for that reason the two implicitly trusted one another.
Glo took a deep breath, her eyes flashing as her brilliant mind suddenly sprang into action. "Well to offset some of these staggering costs, I recommend we expand the company mess hall and staff rooms to provide more food to employees. That alone would lessen the impact of the exorbitant salary increase, but adding onto that..."
Listening to her rattling off financial statistics, Morraine slowly trailed off into her own thoughts, smiling as she considered what the future would hold. Her fingers itched to grab hold of her love handles and feel their plush softness again, and she let her hips sink a little deeper into her chair. Soon, she considered, they'd all know what it was like to live like this...and they'd come to embrace it too.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
