Chapter 3.

"Why do you joke around so much?" Holly asks Kim as she glares at her.

Kim shrugs.

"It really is the perfect plan if you think about it. You don't give a shit about Ryder. You are probably immune to his charms since you're a sapiosexual or whatever it is you call yourself"

Holly rolled her eyes and excused herself as she left the table. It was all fun and games till Kim decided to ruin the atmosphere with her nonsense talk.

Kim ran after her only slowing down when Holly got behind the table counter.

"Don't be a spoil sport, this is my one chance at humiliating this guy!"

"Shut up! Shut up! If you haven't noticed I'm not the average girl a dude like Ryder Bates would want!"

Kim shook her head.

"Not with this again! Stop putting yourself down. Why would a dude like Ryder not want you. You're hot! And curvy! And..."

Holly raised her hands to stop Kim from talking.

"I'm fat! That's what I am. And no, I'm not putting myself down but there's no way in hell I can pull something like what you're suggesting off. So fuck off Kim!"

The silence between the two of them was deafening and for a moment it seemed like the while bakery had heard the final words of Holly.

She took a turn and walked back to her office.

Kim knew it was best to leave her alone.

She turned and walked back to Charlie.

"You kinda pushed it too far"

Charlie said quietly as Catalina slipped away with a wave.

Kim glared at her.

"I didn't. She has low self esteem"

Kim replied as she folded her arms and pouted.

Charlie rolled her eyes.

"Does she really? You're pushing your best friend to seduce a player who's known to date women with a certain body type. Isn't that a little bit insensitive?"

"I'm not just doing it for Ryder. I'm doing it for Holly too. Ever since she broke up with that nerdy professor she basically has no life outside the bakery and her cat Freckles. This might be good to boost her confidence  and I genuinely think she has zero interest in him"

Kim argued and Charlie rolled her eyes.

She had to admit it, Holly needed to get some action in her life. The only thing she had ever seen Holly devote her time and energy to is her bakery and gym. After that nothing else.

They met at her bakery more than half of the time. She was always dressed in her white chef uniform and covered partly in flour.

"So! What do you think?" Kim asked as she urged on.

Charlie shrugged.

"It doesn't matter what I think. It's not my call to make."

Kim sighed in annoyance and Charlie rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you too old for revenge? It sounds so tacky and childish"

Charlie commented and Kim shrugged.

"I just can't let him get away with it. I know he needs to pay or else he's going to keep doing it!"

Charlie reached across the table and held Kim's hands.

"Well, you know there's really no way for a leopard to change it's spots. It's impossible"

Kim looked away without answering.

Back in the confines of her office, Holly peeled off her jacket in anger and reached for her secret stash.

Downing the gin in one gulp.

It burnes her throat but she welcomed the burn. Kim can be so frustrating sometimes.

She thought as she relaxed on her swivel chair.

All her life, Holly Grace Michaels had always been the chubby one. As a little girl, adults had always pinched her rosy cheeks and called her cute and chubby.

It had all been fun and games playing with the kids in her school playground till Tommy Hardy called her little piggie after a teacher gave her a role in the school play as a pig. The nickname and stuck all through middle school despite all attempts to shed it off.

She hadn't lost the weight either. She grew taller and bigger than most girls did. In high school, she fought hard to stay hidden buried behind her books and her grandma's bakery just so she could stay hidden and avoid hurtful names being hurled at her.

It worked for her, for the better part of High school, but she did miss out on a lot.

Culinary school was much more better, and she learned that she had to watch what she ate more than most people did.

She went to the gym regularly, she didn't let it take over her like others did but she did it to keep fit.

And that did wonders for her stomach fat and arm flabs. The bulging belly had reduced from a tummy flab to a fairly toned tummy.

But she still had a long way to go and Holly doubted that she'd ever be skinny, but she liked where she was. But she wasn't entirely confident about putting herself out there yet.

And that was exactly what Kim was suggesting, stepping out of her comfort zone.

*  Three days later  *

"Freckles!!! Come eat your food" Holly called out in frustration to her cat lounging on the couch without a care.

She worried that there was something probably wrong with his hearing, he was acting practically deaf, even when it was time for him to eat.

There were cats and then there was Freckles. The term "cat" implied an inborn sense of class and pride, of light-footedness and cunning. Freckles was more of a vegetable with fur, more whiskers than a porcupine has quills, and walked like his paws were made of lead. He was about as stealthy as a wedding car with all it's tin cans tailing down the tarmac.

His favourite hobby was sleeping. He slept so much Holly had to wake him up most times scared shitless that something was wrong with him.

She had just come back from her weekly zumba class and she felt exhausted. She needed a quick shower and a breakfast of waffles before she left for the bakery again.

She had visited the bakery as early as six to help with the prep of the morning menu and then left for her zumba class.

Back in her tiny apartment, she left Freckles to be contemplating whether or not he wanted his breakfast.

There was a persistent knock on her door, Kathy knew it was Kim without even checking as she opened the door.

Kim looked tired. She had huge eyebags under her eyes and was still wearing the clothes she must have worn last night.

A black dress with cut outs at the sides.

"How was work? Quite a bit late for you to be in yesterday's clothes"

Kim shrugged.

"I didn't go home. Met a guy"

She murmured as she passed out on the couch almost suffocating Freckles in the process who screeches and lazily moved away.

"How was he?" Holly called out from the kitchen as she went to make a cup of coffee.

"Well, I think he was married! But he does have a yacht"

Handing over the steaming hot coffee to her half delirious friend, Holly wondered if accepting to help Kim with revenge would do her some good.

It was glaring that Kim was still hung up over him and the only way to probably stop that was to agree to her demands.

How bad was it going to be?

It wasn't like she would be sleeping with him or anything.

It was just going to be a simple game of seduction and deception.

It most likely wouldn't last long if Ryder Bates had little or no interest in her. Which is exactly what she was was hopeful for.

"Kim? Remember that thing you mentioned three days ago? Well, I've given it some thoughts and I'm in" she said excitedly as she turned to face Kim.

Only to find her best friend passed out on her couch with the coffee mug on the floor.