Between all the welcome baskets, complementary discount dinners at partnered restaurants, and freely accepting the suggestions from their friends in the Gordge Enterprises break room, it was beginning to seriously interfere with Cass’ exercise regimen. It started out rather small, some minor inconveniences that weren’t quite enough to cause concern but enough to throw off her carefully crafted routine.
Gordge was a company that dipped its fingers in a lot of smaller businesses around town, both women to wake up early or stay a little later to pre-record commercials for various businesses around town. It was something that they did normally, yes, but Gordge’s sponsorship required doing a whole slew of them. So, for fear of sounding burnt out on the recordings, Marty decided that it would be best if the girls did them one or two at a time for about a week. Rather than wake up even earlier (four ‘o’ clock in the morning was enough, thank you very much!) Cass just skipped her morning workout routine. She rolled out of bed, did her makeup, got dressed, and went out the door without doing her stretches or her cardio.
With only her morning coffee to wake her up, Cass was usually a little groggy by the time she made it to the studio. She had something of a tradition where she would grab one of the breakfast bars from their dressing room before going on the air, but Marty needed the new commercials recorded ASAP. Luckily for her appetite, not so much for her conscience, Gordge had started delivering them donuts every morning, which they kept right outside the studio for convenience’s sake. Marty practically ushered her into the recording room, pressed for time.
“Can’t a girl get some breakfast first?” Cass bit back groggily at his pace
“Here just…” Marty plucked a crème-filled pastry randomly from the box, “J-Just eat this. And be quick about it—once Marni gets here, we’re going on the air!”
Their morning show went mostly unchanged, thankfully. There were no censorships in place, and there was no interference with the programs already scheduled. They still did Second Date Update, Ask Cass, To Catch a Cheater, and et cetera, but there was a slight push from their new sponsors to include products from affiliated companies in their morning discussions. They were given plenty of free samples across a wide variety of companies to “test out” for the show, and the studio execs actually pushed to have a new program created called KISS it or Cram it—a solid ten minutes taken out of every day where one of the girls would talk about a certain product that they were gifted from one company, talk about how awesome it was, and basically mention how easy it made their lives.
“So today’s KISS It or Cram it is dedicated to the PediPad.” Cass said into the microphone one morning, powdered sugar dusting the corner of her lips, “It’s made by the good people at You—the company that makes and designs products based for… well, you—and… it’s just… wow. Just so wow.”
“Someone’s feeling very articulate today.” Marni teased
“No, for real, it’s fantastic. It’s this high-end foot massager that reads the stress and strain on your feet—like say, after a long day at work, you come home from work or from a workout—and it gives you a personalized, deep-tissue massage every single time you use it. It tailors what it does to fit how sore your feet are!” Cass actually pulled up a picture on her phone and showed it to Marni, “Ladies, you know me, I’m all about fitness. But I just got this thing, and I sit down and I put my feet in it, and all I want to do is {i]relax…”
But the most intrusive part of Gordge’s sponsorship had to be their insistence that their clients got the most detailed review possible. It was understandable, of course, that they wanted their companies to be represented honestly and professionally reviewed. So all the new gadgets and frivolities that came with sponsoring companies like You or Gadgetech were to be expected. Even if it meant that Cass had to take time out of her workout routine to test things like the PediPad or the shoe organizer from Mauve and John’s, she didn’t necessarily mind so much. It was part of the job, right?
But more often than not, Cass and Marni found themselves dining out. Gordge apparently sponsored a lot of local restaurants (chains or otherwise) and expected the same treatment that they gave to the other companies. It was in their contract, actually. Marty was insistent on ordering from Gordge-affiliated eateries for lunch in the studio, taking extra steps to keep the money flowing into their pockets. Thanks to the discounts provided by Gordge’s sponsorship, Cass and Marni actually found themselves eating out more, even when they weren’t on the clock. This wasn’t so much of a problem for fun-loving, laissez-faire Marni. But when it came to salad-munching, ab-crunching Cass, who lived on nearly half the calories that Marni did, all this food was beginning to become a bit overwhelming!
“Hey Cass, wanna hit up House of Wings?” Marni asked her one day, not long into their sponsorship, “It’s about dinner time, right?”
“Ugh. No way.” Cass burbled, cradling a swollen stomach, “I’m still full from lunch.”
“Oh come on, don’t be such a baby.” Marni psshaw’d with a playful punch in Cass’ well-toned arm muscle, “You had like, one sandwich.”
“A footlong! With sausage and ham and turkey and enough empty calories to send me to the hospital.” Cass rolled her eyes as she walked her teeny-weeny cohost into the parking lot, “Seriously, all this food is killing me. I feel like I’m going to pop.”
“Well don’t do it in my car.” Marni hit the unlock button on her key fob, “C’mon, you still owe me for bailing when you got that stupid foot massager.”
“Bluh. I feel like I need to hit the gym.” Cass gave a self-conscious rub across her bloated belly, “I’ve been eating a lot lately.”
“Hey, House of Wings is on the way!” Marni said sarcastically, “We can just… y’know, pull into the Fit Life parking lot, park, and then leave. That’s technically going to the gym, right? I mean, you went there, am I right?”
“Ugh… I just hope Gordge sponsors an AbLounge next or something.” Cass puffed as she poured herself into the passenger seat, “I don’t think I can take much more of this…”
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