Deadweight

by Forster, Paul

  At the end of the presentation, there were tears, cheers, and so much applause. Success.

  As Cahill climbed down from the stage, he sought Gareth and gave him a warm hug. “We've fucking done it!” Cahill excitedly claimed.

  “You've done nothing but open your wallet you fat fuck.” Was Gareth's thoughts, but he censored himself. “It was a real team effort, congratulations.”

  Cahill carried on through the room soaking up the adulation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  IT HAD BEEN the best three weeks of Natasha's life. She'd been eating like a horse and had still lost seven stone. She had spent a fortune on new clothes, her old ones hanging off her or just plain dropping to the ground. She still had some way to go, but she couldn't help but admire herself in every mirror or reflective surface she passed. It wasn't just clothes costing money, Natasha's food spend was through the roof. From fifty to sixty pounds a week, she was now spending over two-hundred. It wasn't a problem, not yet at least.

  Natasha was sitting on her sofa, snacking on a large bowl of crisps, Renton beside her purring. Her phone buzzed with a message taking Natasha's attention from the crisps for a moment, picking it up she peered inquisitively then her face opened with a beaming smile. It was Joshua. Having met him yesterday morning at her local coffee shop, he was a charming man in his late twenties. He was good looking out of her league, in reasonable shape and tall. Natasha had never had a man approach her before.

  “I can't stop thinking about you, fancy dinner tonight?” He messaged. She fancied dinner, she fancied him nearly as much. “

  Yes! I've been thinking about you too.” Keen, but she didn’t want to risk losing her shot.

  Ten minutes past, and no reply. “Damn it!” Natasha exclaimed, she's already fucked it up, and all it took was one stupid text message. Her phone buzzed again into life.

  “Great! Do you know Stefano's, about two minutes from our Costa?” She giggled uncontrollably.

  “Our Costa!” Natasha said out loud barely able to contain her excitement.

  “Yes, but I've never been there.” She hit send and waited, less than a minute passed before the response.

  “Well, let's change that. 8pm?” She couldn’t believe what she was reading.

  “Sounds amazing!” Natasha launched herself to her feet on hitting send and jumped up like an excited child.

  “I'll see you at 8pm!” And with that the date was set.

  She stopped and suddenly dread filled her. What would she wear? Would he like her when he saw her again? Saw her eating like a pig? What if he liked her? What if he came back, and they made love? Natasha wasn't a virgin, but she'd only had sex once, with a friend when she was nineteen, an awkward exchange of bodily fluids that she kind of enjoyed but didn't feel she had done it right. She hoped that was about to change it was. These pills were damned fantastic.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  LATE, WHY WAS he late? It was 20:23, Natasha had arrived ten minutes early, but he was now nearly twenty-five minutes late. Stefano's was a nice, but not an extravagant restaurant, family run it was cosy but perhaps slightly dated, less than half the tables were in use with couples and small groups enjoying their meals. Natasha had already demolished the first helping of breadsticks and was contemplating getting some garlic bread. Suddenly she realised, was this one big fucking cruel joke? She'd lost so much weight but she was still a fat girl. A stupid fat girl.

  She looked around to check if she was being watched, being mocked. It wasn't obvious, but she suspected everyone. She wanted to cry, but she was determined not to give the unseen arseholes the satisfaction in seeing her upset. When the waiter next came close, she would ask for the bill, pay and discreetly leave. Natasha checked her phone one more time before reaching for her bag. She produced a credit card from her purse ready to show to a member of staff, so they knew she wanted to pay when a hand rested on her shoulder.

  “Natasha! I'm really sorry I'm late. My bus broke down and I left my phone at the flat. I ran the last half a mile. I was having a bit of a mare.” Joshua looked a little dishevelled and was catching his breath.

  Natasha smiled, a sense of relief washed over her. “You're here now.”

  Joshua sat down at the table and the waiter joined them with menus and a wine list. “Are you a white or red kind of girl?”

  Under other circumstances, she would settle for a Lambrini, but this was a date and not a night on the sofa “Normally white but I don't mind red if that suits you better?”

  Joshua pointed to an entry on the wine list for the waiters benefit “The Pinot Grigio please.”

  The waiter smiled, took the wine list back and then left the couple to a moment of awkward silence.

  “Again I'm sorry, I really hope you weren't here long?” He seemed sincere, this wasn’t a cruel joke.

  “Just ten minutes or so.” Natasha lied. They both smiled as they began to thumb through their menus.

  “Do you recommend anything?” Natasha liked the look of all of it but pretended that she couldn't eat it all.

  “I've only been here once, but I had the Lasagne, which I would thoroughly recommend.”

  “Sounds good.” Natasha closed the menu and looked back at Joshua.

  “And I think I'll have the Calzone, garlic bread to share?” Natasha nodded, and they both placed their menus down ready for more awkwardness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  IT WASN'T POSSIBLE for things to have gone any better. Orders were pouring in, manufacturing couldn't keep up with demand. NewU Pharma had ridden the wave of excitement and already made hundreds of millions of pounds, but now was the endgame. Two huge multinational pharmaceutical companies were fighting it out for the honour of buying NewU. EverGreen were based in the USA but had facilities across Europe and Asia, complemented by deep pockets and a huge portfolio of profitable drugs. Rodgers Taylor Henderson were also based in the US, but enjoyed market dominance in South America and Africa, they were constantly in the shadow of their bigger competitor and knew it. Bidding had started at a cool billion, but that was no longer enough to tempt Cahill and his cronies. It was a starting point but with the money they were making, it needed to double. Gareth's amazing work got him a seat at the table during negotiations, his charisma was an asset and allowed Cahill to sit back and think whilst Gareth did the talking.

  Little did Cahill know that EverGreen had already bought and paid for Gareth. The millions Gareth had been awarded in bonuses from Cahill was nothing to what EverGreen's acquisitions team had already syphoned to him and had promised him. He didn't have any morals any more, they had long since been sold. RTH had also provided Gareth with a bung, although they lacked the skill and experience of EverGreen and undervalued Gareth. He took the money and advised he couldn't promise anything but would influence Cahill and inform on EverGreens offer so they could gazump it.

  In negotiations with RTH, Gareth enjoyed playing cat and mouse with them, he knew they would not win and was enjoying the game. He was being paid enough to have fun. With EverGreen, he didn't give them an easy ride, but he made sure that Cahill heard what he wanted to hear, ultimately, it had to be Cahill's choice to go with EverGreen. They had to appeal to his growing vanity and his greed. Gareth's job was to give RTH enough rope to hang themselves whilst EverGreen would swoop in with a higher offer.

  Eva Hernandez was of Latino descent, born and brought up in Texas, a stunning beauty with an amazing figure, she looked far younger than her forty-three years. She'd been with RTH for seven years and was their star player, her career had run very much like Gareth's. Gareth thought she was too old for him, but wouldn't turn her down since he figured she'd be a fun shag and screwing her would be even funnier when she realised he'd screwed RTH too. She was more fun than Bob Green from EverGreen. His father had founded the company in the fifties and he'd taken over in the late eighties. He definitely was too old for Gareth and definitely wouldn't have been as fun in bed. But he knew how to bribe properly, Gareth as a
man who had paid many people off appreciated that skill at such a high level.

  Eva had failed to impress Cahill, despite his flaws, he was dedicated to his wife, the love of his life and found Eva's misplaced attempts to seduce him an insult. Gareth had encouraged her to do this, as much for his own amusement as to damage RTH's efforts to strike a deal. Cahill found her arrogance annoying, he was an old school misogynist and didn't appreciate being sent a woman to negotiate with, especially one who wasn't higher up. Bob on the other hand was equipped with the correct genitalia, owned the company and spoke only of money, and lots of it. Cahill didn't want a blowjob in his office, he wanted hundreds of millions in his bank account. Gareth had advised Bob that a big one-off offer would not be enough. Cahill would still want some skin in the game. He recommended either an ongoing profit share or shares in EverGreen. After weeks of negotiations, they agreed a deal. An outrageously generous one of just over one and a half billion pounds, on top Cahill would receive five percent of all profits for five years, then one percent after that. His board would share two percent and then quarter percent for the same period.

  Cahill had instructed the legal team to draw up the paperwork to proceed with EverGreen, much to Gareth's delight, they tasked him with informing RTH of their failure. Their offer was nearly one and a half billion, but straight cash, Gareth encouraging them all the way, advising that their offer was substantially higher than the one EverGreen had been willing to reach. Gareth had chosen a chain Italian restaurant, a low end one on a high street. It would show Eva exactly what he thought of her and the offer.

  Eva had already seated herself when Gareth arrived. “Sorry, I got stuck back at the office.” Gareth gave a hollow smile and sat down opposite Eva.

  “Cut the shit Gareth, what's going on?” Her wait had done nothing to improve her mood.

  “I thought we were close to a deal, then I get an asshole from EverGreen gloating they've got an agreement. What are you paying you for?”

  A waitress approached with menus. “We're not eating!” Eva snapped.

  “I'll have a gin and tonic.” Gareth smiled, the waitress smiled back and disappeared off.

  “I said I would put a word in, try to steer the deal in your favour. I told you I couldn't promise anything. If you wanted promises, you should have paid more money.”

  Eva's anger was boiling over. “We gave you nearly a million fucking dollars, and you gave us nothing.”

  Gareth felt mischievous. “I gave you a foot in the door, do you think you would have gone further without me? Your frankly abysmal negotiating and tightfistedness cost you the deal. If you wanted it bad enough, you'd have thrown more money rather than your ageing body at it. Jesus, even twenty years ago I doubt you could have fucked your way to a deal.”

  Eva stood up and threw her water at Gareth “This isn't over!”

  Gareth wiped his face with a napkin and continued with his aggravating grin “It really is. Don't worry, in five year's time when EverGreen buy up your shit show Bob might let you drop to your knees and blow your way to a new career opportunity.”

  Eva moved forward as if she was ready to slap Gareth, then regained her composure, adjusted herself and returned an equally shit eating grin “Go fuck yourself.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  THE HALLWAY WAS pitch black, just a dull light from the beyond the front door bleeding through the gaps. A rustle of keys and scratching at the door interrupted the tranquillity. The door burst open and Natasha came through the door, mouth attached to Joshua's as they embraced. They slammed the door shut and carried on through the hallway to the sofa. Natasha unbuttoned Joshua's shirt as she pulled him down with her, their lips barely separating for a moment as they fumbled each other undressed.

  “Wait, wait.” Natasha pulled herself away. She'd allowed herself to get caught up with the moment but only now did her self-doubt re-emerge. Another human hadn't seen her naked ever, even when she lost her virginity she wore a t-shirt.

  “Are you okay?” Joshua was panting.

  “Are you sure you want to do this with me?” Natasha struggled to get the words out.

  “Too fucking right I do! You're amazing.” Joshua re-engaged and Natasha relieved, continued with greater vigour and confidence.

  Joshua's hand slipped between Natasha's legs and she let out a quiet gasp before reciprocating and squeezing her hand down the front of Joshua's trousers. The breathing became heavier as the couple allowed themselves to enjoy the experience. Natasha pulled her hand out of Joshua's trousers, undid his belt and unbuttoned his flies before pulling his trousers and briefs down. Joshua was nearly fully erect, his penis a good few inches bigger than the only other one she'd seen in the flesh previously. She positioned him on the sofa and got on to her knees.

  “You don't have to.” Joshua offered, being a gentleman whilst hoping he didn't just sway Natasha from her current course.

  “I want to.” And she did, no one had made her feel the way Joshua had done, and if they were going to only have one night, if it was a cruel joke she at least wanted to give it everything she had.

  She licked his shaft and kissed the tip of Joshua's cock before taking as much of him in her mouth as she good. He let out a slight groan of pleasure as he rested his hand on the back of her head offering some encouragement whilst being careful not to force Natasha to do anything. Her action became more vigorous, more energetic. She'd never given a blowjob before and missed the nuances of a technique.

  “Slower, gentler.” Joshua requested quietly. Natasha took the critique on board and adjusted, Joshua relaxed as she carried on at the more gentle pace. After a few moments, he gently lifted her face from his crotch and stood up.

  “Your turn.”

  Natasha led him to the bedroom, Renton jumped from the bed in the shadows unnoticed as Natasha removed her remaining clothes and lay on the bed. Joshua climbed on top and kissed her, before edging down her body kissing every inch, paying special attention to her nipples. He reached her vagina and slowly started licking her clitoris, moving his tongue inside of her at a random speed and pattern. Natasha clutched his head and let out a deep moan as her legs quivered uncontrollably. This was the most perfect experience of her life. Joshua eased himself back up to Natasha's face and kissed her passionately as he entered her to another groan, slowly thrusting she again let out a loud moan and dug her nails deeply into his back. This was so much more intense than she'd ever imagined. It seemed like they had been making love for hours but she couldn’t tell. Her nails dug deeper into his back as she began to climax, her breathing getting even faster before she came and let out a powerful moan. Joshua wasn’t too far behind after seeing his work was done. They were both exhausted. Joshua kissed her again before rolling over to lie by her side.

  “Is it just me, or are you really hungry?” Joshua asked, still struggling to regain his breath.

  “I could eat.” Of course.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  IT HAD BEEN constantly in Natalie’s mind since she first took that pill. The desire to eat, the need to consume. The FatBGone pills were expensive enough, but the amount she had been spending on food was ridiculous, the last few days Joshua had been a regular fixture in the flat and he seemed capable of keeping up with her appetite. Between the two of them, they'd gone through a large week's worth of food shopping, several takeaways and snack runs to the local newsagent. Natasha was looking forward to finishing the pills and then returning to normal. She had at first enjoyed eating anything she wanted, but it was most definitely now becoming a chore.

  It was their first night apart since she had slept with Joshua for the first time. She had held back a little with what she ate in front of him. They still consumed gluttonous amounts of food, but she knew on her own she'd have eaten even more. She grabbed fish and chips on the way home and polished it off on the bus. She raided the cupboards and finished the last few remnants of food in the fridge, ate the remaining half bag of uncooked pasta as if they were crisps a
nd now stared at two pouches of Renton's cat food on the kitchen worktop. She couldn't, could she? She popped the top off the first pouch, salmon and trout. She didn’t like trout, but looking at the jelly covered brown lumps, Natasha didn't think that'd be the problem with this scenario.

  What's wrong with her? She didn't want to eat it, but she was so hungry. She scooped out half the packet with her fingers and shovelled it into her mouth, licking each finger clean. It didn't even taste that bad. The jelly was meaty in flavour but not a great texture and taste combination. Renton appeared and meowed a protest at his dinner being eaten in front of him.

  “Fuck off cat!” She had no love or tenderness in her voice, just desperation and anger.

  She quickly dispatched the rest of the packet careful not to waste a drop. Renton again protested and Natasha shoved him forcefully from the worktop. He hit the floor and hissed at her. Natasha tore open the last pouch and ate it even quicker than the first. It wasn't enough. Renton jumped back on the worktop and sniffed at the empty packet before staring at Natasha.

  She didn't even think as she grabbed the poor cat by the throat and smashed his furry head against a kitchen cupboard. He went limp straight after the impact. Natasha hit him one more time before slamming his lifeless body on the kitchen counter. What had she done? She stared at Renton for a moment, his eyes open and filled with confusion, blood dripping from his ears and mouth.