When Levi finally rescued Amanda from Melanie, she had already eaten her way through three plates of appetizers and two glasses of hot cocoa. He had found her surrounded by several staff members, all women that had an axe to grind with the former beauty queen of the GWF. Thankfully, Amanda had not been reduced to tears as he had feared she might; indeed, she almost looked like she was having fun. If only he knew that his wide, weak-willed wife was so anxious that she could not help but grin and laugh, and that she wished she were under a rock.
Once the couple had made their way to a conference room to change into their costumes, Amanda clung to Levi’s arm and took several deep gasps of air, as if she had been holding her breath for the last half hour. Levi instinctively held his hefty honey close and asked, “Amanda, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Levi, it was awful,” Amanda sobbed into her husband’s shoulder. “They were all so mean and nasty and now I’m wondering if I was ever that bad and oh god what if I was and—”
“Amanda, slow down,” Levi gently told his wife as he cradled her in his powerful arms. “It looked like you were all having a good time. What happened?”
Amanda sniffled, “Everything they said was a slap in the face. They couldn’t stop talking about how ‘healthy’ I looked, how I must be eating for four, and that they liked how I dressed like I don’t care what people think. It’s Mean Girl 101, Levi! God, if I was ever that catty, I need to apologize to just about everyone at my high school reunion!”
Levi rocked Amanda in his arms and held her close as she shook with pent-up panic. He kissed the top of her head and hummed softly, “Don’t worry about what them; they’re just jealous because you look damned good no matter what. Just take a couple minutes and some deep breaths—you’re going to be fine.”
After her anxieties subsided, Amanda let go of Levi and got to changing into her costume, though it was a very simple change compared to her husband. All she had to do was strip off her sweater and wrap herself in a burgundy cloak with white fur trim, while Levi had to slip into an entire Santa suit plus stuff a pillow under his tank top. He put on a flowing wig of white locks and sprinkled baby powder in his beard, and Amanda threw on a bonnet and a pair of fake spectacles.
“Looking good, Mrs. C,” Levi hummed as he gently placed his hands on his wife’s expansive hips.
“I look like an old biddy,” Amanda grumbled, though she slowly rocked in her husband’s grasp.
“You look adorable, Amanda,” the burly man reminded her. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and brushed away some of the powder that was left behind. “Now, let’s go make some kids happy.”
The reaction Mr. and Mrs. Claus got when they walked back into the party was enough to put a smile back on Amanda’s face. The parents all acted like it was a big surprise that the special guests had come down from the North Pole and the kids were delighted to see their holiday hero making an appearance at their parents’ boring office party. Levi hammed it up by clapping his fake belly and letting out a jolly, booming laugh, while Amanda smiled and waved like the Queen of England. It was just what she needed to shake off the jitters from earlier.
“All right, folks, we’re going to do things a little different this year,” Levi told the partygoers as he guided Amanda into her throne for the afternoon. “Mrs. Claus and I thought it might be fun to change jobs this year—she’ll be taking your Christmas wishes, and ol’ St. Nick is going to give you a little gift! How does that sound?”
“Sounds like Santa got tired of visiting every mall in America and wanted to share the joy,” Amanda teased, much to the delight of the grown-ups in attendance.
When she took her seat, the fake Mrs. Claus gestured to the side of the throne and told the children, “All right, let’s see if we can’t make a nice line and get started!”
With a little help from Levi and a couple other parents, the kids were able to form a single-file line and waited for their turn with bated breath. The first in line was a moppet that could have passed for Shirley Temple, and she carried a plate with two sugar cookies and a cup of eggnog. Curiously, she did not let go of either, even as Levi lifted her up and onto Amanda’s lap.
“Sweetie, wouldn’t you like to set your snack down?” Mrs. Claus asked in a warm, homey tone.
The little girl shook her head and replied, “They’re not my snack—they’re for you!”
“F-For me?” Amanda parroted, her eyebrow arching in curiosity.
“Mommy said that we’re supposed to give Santa milk and cookies, but since you’re switching jobs, we should give them to you,” the little girl explained. “’Course, we didn’t have any milk—just that gross eggnog—but Mommy says that grown-ups like it just as much.”
Amanda gave a quick glance out to the audience of parents and saw one of the women in marketing taking a multitude of pictures on her phone. She was in the same crowd that Melanie had presented her to earlier, and was one of many who took delight in seeing the former bombshell’s body balloon. No doubt this was one more jab at her weight, but the Little Rich Girl was not going to be baited so easily. She would show those harpies that she could take whatever they threw at her—a couple cookies were nothing.
“Why, thank you,” Amanda hummed as she ate up the cookies and eggnog and ignored the peanut gallery. “That’s so very sweet of you. Now, why don’t you go see Santa for your toy, okay?”
Unfortunately, the brunette billionaire did not know she had opened herself up to a deluge of cookies and creamy drink. It seemed that the moms in attendance had conspired to make a fool of her and their kids had become their unwitting pawns, as each child had a plate of cookies and a cup of eggnog just for Amanda. She had set a precedent with her first visitor and, not wanting to deny any of the children, had no choice but to accept each offering. What had started as a seemingly simple task had quickly become daunting, as all the cookies added up in her belly and the eggnog served to fill every nook and cranny until there was no room left.
Amanda’s stomach was already full of her fast food splurge and her snacks from earlier, and all these gifts did little to help her. She felt like a sack being stuffed to capacity and she worried that the next cookie might be the one to make her pop, but it never came. The only thing she got from holding on a little longer was fuller, until she felt like the water in her blood had been replaced with eggnog and her DNA had been spliced with sugar. Through it all, the bloated brunette maintained a jolly disposition, though she clearly became foggier as the line whittled down.
By the time the final child had come and gone and the partygoers applauded, Amanda was ready to pass out on the spot. Her eyes were glassy, her brain was swimming in all the eggnog, and even more crumbs speckled her ruby lips. While her cheeks had been rosy from the cold and embarrassment earlier, they were now pink from the sheer exertion of consuming a good few dozen cookies. She wanted to rest her hands on her stomach for some comfort, but her arms hung limp at her side like wet noodles and she lacked the strength to lift so much as a finger. The Little Rich Girl was well and truly stuffed, to the point that simply breathing hurt.
“You did amazing, hon,” Levi whispered as he used a napkin to clean Amanda’s lips. “How are you feeling?”
Amanda could do little but gurgle as her head slump back against the throne. “So…full…ate…so…much…”
“Well, you just rest here, and I’ll get you a little water,” the burly man hummed as he stroked her cheek before leaving for the drink table.
As Amanda huffed and puffed, Melanie smirked down at her rival, too stuffed to even think straight. She took one last picture of the fattened heiress and purred, “Merry Christmas to me.”
Once the couple had made their way to a conference room to change into their costumes, Amanda clung to Levi’s arm and took several deep gasps of air, as if she had been holding her breath for the last half hour. Levi instinctively held his hefty honey close and asked, “Amanda, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Levi, it was awful,” Amanda sobbed into her husband’s shoulder. “They were all so mean and nasty and now I’m wondering if I was ever that bad and oh god what if I was and—”
“Amanda, slow down,” Levi gently told his wife as he cradled her in his powerful arms. “It looked like you were all having a good time. What happened?”
Amanda sniffled, “Everything they said was a slap in the face. They couldn’t stop talking about how ‘healthy’ I looked, how I must be eating for four, and that they liked how I dressed like I don’t care what people think. It’s Mean Girl 101, Levi! God, if I was ever that catty, I need to apologize to just about everyone at my high school reunion!”
Levi rocked Amanda in his arms and held her close as she shook with pent-up panic. He kissed the top of her head and hummed softly, “Don’t worry about what them; they’re just jealous because you look damned good no matter what. Just take a couple minutes and some deep breaths—you’re going to be fine.”
After her anxieties subsided, Amanda let go of Levi and got to changing into her costume, though it was a very simple change compared to her husband. All she had to do was strip off her sweater and wrap herself in a burgundy cloak with white fur trim, while Levi had to slip into an entire Santa suit plus stuff a pillow under his tank top. He put on a flowing wig of white locks and sprinkled baby powder in his beard, and Amanda threw on a bonnet and a pair of fake spectacles.
“Looking good, Mrs. C,” Levi hummed as he gently placed his hands on his wife’s expansive hips.
“I look like an old biddy,” Amanda grumbled, though she slowly rocked in her husband’s grasp.
“You look adorable, Amanda,” the burly man reminded her. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and brushed away some of the powder that was left behind. “Now, let’s go make some kids happy.”
***
The reaction Mr. and Mrs. Claus got when they walked back into the party was enough to put a smile back on Amanda’s face. The parents all acted like it was a big surprise that the special guests had come down from the North Pole and the kids were delighted to see their holiday hero making an appearance at their parents’ boring office party. Levi hammed it up by clapping his fake belly and letting out a jolly, booming laugh, while Amanda smiled and waved like the Queen of England. It was just what she needed to shake off the jitters from earlier.
“All right, folks, we’re going to do things a little different this year,” Levi told the partygoers as he guided Amanda into her throne for the afternoon. “Mrs. Claus and I thought it might be fun to change jobs this year—she’ll be taking your Christmas wishes, and ol’ St. Nick is going to give you a little gift! How does that sound?”
“Sounds like Santa got tired of visiting every mall in America and wanted to share the joy,” Amanda teased, much to the delight of the grown-ups in attendance.
When she took her seat, the fake Mrs. Claus gestured to the side of the throne and told the children, “All right, let’s see if we can’t make a nice line and get started!”
With a little help from Levi and a couple other parents, the kids were able to form a single-file line and waited for their turn with bated breath. The first in line was a moppet that could have passed for Shirley Temple, and she carried a plate with two sugar cookies and a cup of eggnog. Curiously, she did not let go of either, even as Levi lifted her up and onto Amanda’s lap.
“Sweetie, wouldn’t you like to set your snack down?” Mrs. Claus asked in a warm, homey tone.
The little girl shook her head and replied, “They’re not my snack—they’re for you!”
“F-For me?” Amanda parroted, her eyebrow arching in curiosity.
“Mommy said that we’re supposed to give Santa milk and cookies, but since you’re switching jobs, we should give them to you,” the little girl explained. “’Course, we didn’t have any milk—just that gross eggnog—but Mommy says that grown-ups like it just as much.”
Amanda gave a quick glance out to the audience of parents and saw one of the women in marketing taking a multitude of pictures on her phone. She was in the same crowd that Melanie had presented her to earlier, and was one of many who took delight in seeing the former bombshell’s body balloon. No doubt this was one more jab at her weight, but the Little Rich Girl was not going to be baited so easily. She would show those harpies that she could take whatever they threw at her—a couple cookies were nothing.
“Why, thank you,” Amanda hummed as she ate up the cookies and eggnog and ignored the peanut gallery. “That’s so very sweet of you. Now, why don’t you go see Santa for your toy, okay?”
Unfortunately, the brunette billionaire did not know she had opened herself up to a deluge of cookies and creamy drink. It seemed that the moms in attendance had conspired to make a fool of her and their kids had become their unwitting pawns, as each child had a plate of cookies and a cup of eggnog just for Amanda. She had set a precedent with her first visitor and, not wanting to deny any of the children, had no choice but to accept each offering. What had started as a seemingly simple task had quickly become daunting, as all the cookies added up in her belly and the eggnog served to fill every nook and cranny until there was no room left.
Amanda’s stomach was already full of her fast food splurge and her snacks from earlier, and all these gifts did little to help her. She felt like a sack being stuffed to capacity and she worried that the next cookie might be the one to make her pop, but it never came. The only thing she got from holding on a little longer was fuller, until she felt like the water in her blood had been replaced with eggnog and her DNA had been spliced with sugar. Through it all, the bloated brunette maintained a jolly disposition, though she clearly became foggier as the line whittled down.
By the time the final child had come and gone and the partygoers applauded, Amanda was ready to pass out on the spot. Her eyes were glassy, her brain was swimming in all the eggnog, and even more crumbs speckled her ruby lips. While her cheeks had been rosy from the cold and embarrassment earlier, they were now pink from the sheer exertion of consuming a good few dozen cookies. She wanted to rest her hands on her stomach for some comfort, but her arms hung limp at her side like wet noodles and she lacked the strength to lift so much as a finger. The Little Rich Girl was well and truly stuffed, to the point that simply breathing hurt.
“You did amazing, hon,” Levi whispered as he used a napkin to clean Amanda’s lips. “How are you feeling?”
Amanda could do little but gurgle as her head slump back against the throne. “So…full…ate…so…much…”
“Well, you just rest here, and I’ll get you a little water,” the burly man hummed as he stroked her cheek before leaving for the drink table.
As Amanda huffed and puffed, Melanie smirked down at her rival, too stuffed to even think straight. She took one last picture of the fattened heiress and purred, “Merry Christmas to me.”