When I first started contracting at the company, I thought Karen was overweight. Turned out, she was just pregnant. I never asked really, as my less than stellar social skills meant there would be no good way to broach that subject. I found out just by listening to the office conversation around me. As the project manager and coordinator, I had to interact with her kind of regularly during my job. Email, IM, or occasional conversations in her office became a regular part of the job. I quickly learned she was very sarcastic, much like myself, sometimes even more so. She delivered countless jabs and barbs when I did something wrong, no matter how minor, and made every compliment backhanded. I responded in kind, belittling her information management or chiding her poor interpersonal skills with the development team. Overall, it was friendly and spirited. When my sister came to visit, she learned that some of my family use to call me Davey when I was little, and that became a frequent taunt when she learned how much I hated it.
After two months, she took time off to have the baby, which I had learned was her second. She was out for a month, and then worked from home part time for another month before coming back into the office full time. She continued to wear somewhat baggy shirts and jeans or skirts to downplay the extra weight she was still carrying. When I learned her two children had come nearly back to back after getting married, I realized she must have gained and kept a lot weight for a couple of years now. Still, she had a lovely, if round, face and deep brown eyes and long, luxurious brown hair that diverted most attention away from her body. It was also apparent that her breasts had enlarged a bit due to the pregnancy, and this helped her proportions along with the baggy clothes. Things between Karen and I were about to change radically though.
"Hey, you want to walk," popped up on my IM.
"Walk where? Are we off for a walkabout in the Outback?" I replied.
"No you goofball, just around the building. I've started back to the gym in the evenings, but I also need to walk twice a day, morning and afternoon."
"Working off the baby fat, eh?"
"Well, that's not very nice, but yes. I could use a partner to keep me motivated."
"Ok, sure, I'll walk. If I bring a whip, is that considered motivation?"
"Ha! No, but the thought is appreciated. See you in a few."
We walked a circle around the office complex where our office was located. Karen had changed into different clothes, and I made a mental note to start keeping a second set of clothes at the office. I wasn't sure how intense this would eventually become, and no one likes a ripe co-worker. When she called a halt after only a couple of laps I had her stop for a picture with my phone.
"What are you doing," she asked.
"Motivational stuff, don't worry about it." She was wearing baggy clothes but I figured documenting the weight loss visually might help at some point. I snapped a quick picture, which she inevitably complained that she wasn't ready for or blinked or something, which I promptly ignored. We went back to work and I got lost in the latest coding problem that had landed on my desk.
"So I hear you've been slacking off while I was gone. I've caught up with the other developers on their projects, but still need to go over yours. You want to catch me up over lunch?" The IM blinked up on the screen near noon. Same old Karen, I thought to myself.
I replied quickly. "You've always been a little slow, so I'll do my best to keep you abreast of what I've been up to. I'll meet you out front in 5."
A few minutes later we were headed to a nearby restaurant. The waitress was young, blonde, and scantily clad, which made me wonder why Karen chose to come here. She might have been reading my mind because she immediately said, "this place has the best salads." This struck me as odd, as she had never struck me as the food conscious type. Apparently exercise wasn't the only change. I didn't give it much thought though as I was engrossed in watching the swaying ass of our departing waitress.
"Don't stare you perv, it's rude," Karen chastised me. "She has to be half your age. Is your girlfriend not taking care of you at home or something?"
That comment snapped me back to reality; as such a personal statement was way out of character for her. I was flustered and a little embarrassed as I finally looked back at Karen. "I... I'm not sure that's any of your business," I said trying to sound offended and failing.
"It is if it starts affecting your job performance," Karen quipped. There was an odd pause here and she seemed to be thinking or hesitating on her next comment. It was very brief and I was not sure what was going on and I thought I might have imagined it. Then she said, "if her poor performance starts affecting you, I'll have to take matters into my own hands." She broke into a mischievous smile and her eyes were glinting with playfulness, but there was a hint of nervousness behind it all. The sarcasm and jabs had just entered a whole new arena. I was struck silent for a moment, completely unsure of how to respond. I felt my nervousness rise as I shifted in my chair. "I can't have our best developer performing at anything other than top form," she continued and I could hear a hint of pleading in her voice.
"That... that sounds like an intriguing... incentive plan," I said somewhat neutrally. Fortunately, the waitress returned with our food at that moment and I was spared from trying to say anything else. When she left, I couldn't help it, and watched her sway away again.
