She felt a lump rise in her throat as she walked towards the door of the clothing store where she now worked. Sara had recently joined the plus size franchise Savi. She was beginning to feel comfortable working there as a plus sized young woman herself. She found that she enjoyed the atmosphere in the store.
Inside the trendy boutique she felt at home among her co-workers whose bodies resembled her own. This morning however, that sense of comfort was wearing away as she heard quiet laughter from the gentleman's store directly across from her store's entrance.
The two stores were situated in the Palazzio Mall and while Savi catered to plus sized women's fashion, Brionni was an upscale store dedicated to the distinguished business man. From what she assessed, the men working there were mostly Caucasian, clean cut and very well spoken. On occasion she would glance inside, never giving a thought to actually entering the domain of the gorgeous alpha males.
"There she is!" someone whispered.
She didn't want to look, but she did anyway knowing that she might regret doing this. Brionni was opening for the day ahead and at the entrance stood three men in conversation. They had been staring at her. She quickly looked away. That uneasy feeling was returning. Her life thus far had not been an easy nor positive one. She had been bullied and ridiculed all her life, because of her weight.
She had to endure being called fatty, ugly, huge bitch and other derogatory names by family, peers and strangers alike. It was very painful to go through all of this and as a result of the abuse, she closed herself off from dating and even conversation with her family.
It was all happening again when she least expected it, and her face was inflamed with embarrassment. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them at bay.
She didn't want them to see her break down, even though behind the exterior her heart was breaking. She wanted to disappear and never come back.....but she couldn't do that. Not now. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the 3 pairs of eyes watching her. She entered her store and forced herself to not think about what had just happened.
"Good morning honey. Is something wrong?" asked her manager Louise.
"Good morning. I'm alright, just a bit under the weather this morning." said Sara, forcing a smile.
"Are you sure? You look a bit flushed. Is it a fever?"
"Oh I'll be alright, I just need a drink of water." she said heading for the break room.
"Alright honey, you're early so just use that time to get yourself together. If you need anything let me know." Louise smiled.
Sara made her way down the stairs towards the break room. She was the only one there and she was glad. She didn't want any of the other girls asking her why she looked so down on this beautiful morning. She quickly entered the bathroom and let her tears go. She was crushed. She didn't know why so many people found her appearance so offensive.
She had become more health conscious as the years went by and was determined to become fit. Unfortunately, progress was slow and no one could tell that she was trying hard to take care of her body. Most assumed that she was an out of control glutton at 260 lbs.
She stopped herself from crying. This episode would continue after work in the privacy of her room. She dried the sides of her face and was happy for the fact that she didn't like wearing eye make-up. Her face would have been an inky mess from the river of tears. She walked towards the mirror and looked at herself.
Staring back at her was a young woman of 29, 5'7 in height, with large shapely breasts and a slightly protruding belly. She looked very smart in the slimming black dress and silver drop earrings. Her hair, dark brown and straight, ran down her smooth brown neck and fell to her broad shoulders.
If it were not for her red face she would have thought herself to look decent and not at all ugly this morning. She had recently lost 30 lbs. and although her weight loss goal was far away, she was proud of herself for having come this far. She let that thought sink in. All her hard work and perseverance was not to be diminished by the snickering idiots across from her store.
She applied a little powder under her eyes to hide the tints of red and teased her hair a little. She would conquer this day and not worry about anything other than meeting the needs of her customers.
She took a few steps back and inspected her dress in the mirror, making sure that nothing was out of place. Her face was slowly going back to its normal color and apart from a slight redness in her eyes she looked like her old self again. She was ready to go out there.
***
The next few hours went smoothly. She was having fun again and felt lucky to be employed at such a great store. Her sassy peers were confident, classy and never too serious. They made her smile and even laugh from time to time with their upbeat personalities.
She couldn't forget her morning, but it didn't bother her so much anymore. She had all these wonderful people around her who treated her with respect and she wouldn't ruin this social experience for them or herself.
The day went by quickly to her amazement. She didn't feel like the tears she had saved up needed to be unleashed anymore. It was now 10pm and all stores were getting ready for closing time. This was her favorite time of the night. Not because it was time to go home. The mall was quiet and the pace was slowing down at this late hour. Everyone and everything seemed relaxed and she loved walking past the empty stores on her way out.
She decided to stay back with Louise to help her set up a few displays for the next day. After all she wanted to show how dedicated she was to being a good employee. She enjoyed Louise's company and felt at ease around her, even though this woman was her boss. She had always been tense in the presence of her previous managers and was thankful that she had taken the chance to apply here.
They were finishing up the displays when in the corner of Sara's eye, she saw two figures approaching.
"Hello Louise!" said a deep masculine voice.
Both women turned around and two men in well-tailored suits were approaching.
"Hi Michael, how are you?" Louise addressed the older man, with a smile.
"Well, thank you." he replied politely.
Michael was probably a little past 6 ft. tall and he towered over his companion and the two ladies. He was a prime example of tall, dark and handsome. His dark hair was sleek with a few greys here and there. His face was very handsome featuring dark blue eyes, a long narrow nose and a strong jaw.
He smiled at Louise, then Sara. He, as well as his companion, was one of the three men who brought her to tears earlier that day. Sara didn't know what to expect, so she braced herself.
"Is this lovely young lady new?" he asked Louise; that smile never leaving his face.
"Yes she is new and a great addition to our staff."
