Sweet for You: A BBW Billionaire Romance (6 page)

The reserved man before her was nothing like the one who showed up at her apartment last night. If it wasn’t for the faint scent of his heady cologne, she might have wondered whether the man in her apartment had been an imposter. A delightfully charming and seductive imposter.

Mr. Blake pushed a business folder toward her. “I’m not quite certain what, exactly, would constitute a confessional ‘doozy,’ but if I were to guess, I would imagine that mine doesn’t quite reach that proportion.”

“What’s this?” Abby asked, already knowing the answer.

“Your notes. I found them in my car this morning.”

“Oh yes, I must have left the folder in there when your driver took me home.”

“While the folder does belong to you, I must confess that I read the contents without your permission.”

THAT was his confession? That he read her notes?

“You’re right,” Abby said, completely flustered. “On the confessional scale, that’s definitely not a doozy. It’s fine that you read my notes. I was going to share them with you during dinner anyway. But the night didn’t really go as planned.”

“I agree,” Stephen said, “and I owe you an apology for that as well. My behavior was completely unacceptable. I’m terribly sorry.”

“You already apologized for being a jerk at dinner,” Abby responded. “Only it turned out that you weren’t really being a jerk at all. In fact, the whole argument was really my fault since I’m kind of sensitive about my size and jumped to conclusions.” She knew she was rambling and forced herself to stop.

“I meant that I’m sorry for my forward behavior in your home. I’m afraid I had a bit too much to drink and crossed the line. I will understand if you feel the need to file a sexual harassment complaint with the human resources department, but if you’re willing to overlook my indiscretion, I promise that it won’t happen again.”

A mortified Abby sat back in her chair, trying to process what she was hearing. “That’s what this meeting is about? Your attempt to avoid a potential sexual harassment lawsuit by issuing an apology for groping me when you were drunk?”

“Well, yes, in a way. But no, not really. That’s not it at all. This meeting is about my confession and your brilliant ideas for the Blake Foods diet desserts line.”

Now Stephen was rambling and Abby’s head was spinning. She was crushed to learn that the most amazing kiss of her life was nothing more than a drunken embarrassment to the man who had kissed her. The only thing that lessened the sting was him calling her ideas ‘brilliant.’

“I’m not going to file a complaint,” she said, her glossy lips tight. “Things got a little heated, in more ways than one, and we both got carried away. As far as I’m concerned, that whole evening never happened.”

He visibly relaxed. “I must say that I’m relieved by your understanding of the situation.”

“Let’s just say you’re not the first guy I’ve been with who woke up the next morning with second thoughts.”

“Been with? I didn’t...we didn’t?”

“We didn’t have sex, if that’s what you’re wondering, Mr. Blake.”
But we would have if I hadn’t screwed things up!

“Of course we didn’t. That’s not something I could possibly forget, could I?”

Abby was thinking that her boss was treading dangerously close to offensive territory again and she needed to change the subject before she was humiliated any further. “You were saying something about my ideas being brilliant?”

A
bby and Jenna arrived early for the 10 o’clock meeting and found Martha setting up in the conference room. “Can I do something to help?” Jenna asked eagerly.

“Thank you for the offer, dear, but I’m just about done,” Martha responded. “Why don’t you and Abby take a seat? The others should be arriving soon.”

Martha was right. The rest of the small team trickled in, including Chef Laurent and Tom Parker, taking seats around the oval table in the middle of the room. At 10:01, Stephen walked through the door, and Jenna nudged Abby’s arm. “Mr. Blake looks tired today. Did your dinner run late?”

“Not really,” Abby responded. “I’m sure he just has a lot on his mind with this whole diet desserts thing.”

“You’re probably right,” Jenna said, unable to hide her disappointment. Abby was sure that she was hoping for some sort of juicy tidbit about her evening with Stephen, but she wasn’t about to share the details of what had happened.

Stephen cleared this throat and all side chatter went silent. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called this meeting on such short notice. My reasons are twofold. First, I wanted to officially welcome Abby Branson to the product team.” He nodded in her direction and all eyes turned toward her. Abby smiled nervously. She was warmly welcomed by everyone in the room except Tom, who wore his perpetual scowl.

When the greetings were done, he continued. “I also realized this morning that I’ve been far too removed from this project and will be taking a more active role going forward. I’m optimistic that, with stronger leadership and the addition of Miss Branson to the team, we can turn our diet desserts line into something spectacular.”

“Let’s hear it for the big girl,” Tom mumbled under his breath, loud enough for Abby to hear. Her shoulders stiffened and her face turned a deep shade of crimson. Embarrassed, she glanced around the room to see if anyone else had heard.

Stephen looked angry. “Did you have something to say, Mr. Parker?” he asked in a clipped tone.

“Yes, I believe I do,” Tom said defiantly.

“Well then, let’s hear it,” Stephen challenged.

“I’ve been in charge of new product development at Blake Foods for over a decade and my leadership has never been questioned until
she
came along.” He pointed at Abby. “She may represent the diet industry demographic, but that doesn’t make her an expert at bringing a new product line to market.”

Stephen stood up. “Considering that our last two product launches were met with mediocre success, I’m not sure your expertise in this area is something to brag about.”

Now it was Tom’s face that turned crimson. “If you have so little confidence in me, Mr. Bake, then maybe I should resign from my position in your company.”

Abby watched as Stephen’s face contorted into an almost chilling half-smile. “That may be the best idea you’ve had in years, Mr. Parker. Martha, please escort Tom out of the building. If he gives you any trouble, call security.”

“I can’t believe this is what I get after ten years of loyalty,” Tom yelled as he stood up and gathered his things. “Fired over a fat piece of ass!”

When Tom was gone, Stephen addressed the remaining team members. “Does anyone else in the room feel the same way as Tom Parker?” His pause was met with absolute silence. “Good. Now that that nasty business is settled, let’s take a short break and reconvene in 20 minutes.”

~~~

S
tephen Blake sat in the empty conference room, trying to figure out what had just happened. He had never chastised an employee so publicly before, but he simply couldn’t allow this type of insubordination to go unchecked. Tom Parker had been completely out of line. Not only had he questioned his judgment as the company’s CEO, he had cruelly lashed out at Miss Branson in the process.

Stephen wasn’t exactly known for being protective, but seeing the pained look on Abby’s face after Tom’s callous remark triggered something raw, protective and primal inside of him. Something he hadn’t felt since he was a young boy holding his dying mother in his small arms after the car accident. Something that felt suspiciously like...love.

Nonsense! He was definitely attracted to Abby Branson; there was no doubt about that. But he barely knew the young woman; how could he be in love with her? This was Martha’s doing. All her talk of needs and emotions was clouding his thinking – and his judgment.

“Speak of the devil,” he muttered when she entered the conference room.

“That was certainly a pleasant, yet unexpected, turn of events,” Martha said. “I never cared much for Tom. Always found him to be a bit crude.”

“I could have handled the situation better,” he replied.

“I thought you were quite gallant, Stephen. I could tell that Abby thought so, too.”

“Gallant? Please! I was merely removing a rotten banana before he spoiled the entire bunch.”

Martha laughed in delight. “Oh, Stephen, if that were true, you would have gotten rid of Tom a long time ago. Why don’t you just admit that you’re sweet for Abby Branson? Then you can get on with the business of courting her.”

“Courting her? What is this, the middle ages?”

“It might as well be, the way you’re acting. Why must you be so prim and proper all the time? We both know you want to throw her over your shoulder like a barbarian and carry her off to bed.”

Mr. Blake couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the primitive, yet tantalizing, visual Martha painted, although his amusement was short lived. “But I’m not a barbarian, Martha. I’m the owner of a multi-billion dollar company and I have a job to do. I can’t afford to let my infatuation with a pretty blonde get in the way of my responsibilities.”

Martha’s own smile faded away. “The way I see it, Stephen, I’m not sure you can afford
not
to.”

~~~

W
hen the product team reconvened, nervous energy filled the conference room. After the uncomfortable outburst where Abby was the target of Tom’s wrath and Stephen came to her rescue, she wasn’t sure what to expect. But he looked just as cool and composed as ever.

Does anything rattle that man?

She was glad that Tom was gone. He was the kind of insecure guy who thrived on making other people feel bad. From their first meeting, Abby could tell that he viewed her as a threat. In the end, maybe he was right about that.

“Welcome back, everyone,” Stephen said, getting back to business. “With Mr. Parker out of the picture, I’ll be taking over as team lead. From this point forward, all decisions go through me. Miss Branson has presented me with some very innovative ideas for improving this product line.” He turned his attention to Abby. “Miss Branson, would you care to share your ideas with the team?”

Abby was taken aback. “Me? Really? Sure. I guess.” Although she knew her ideas front and back, she stalled for time by shuffling the papers in front of her while she gathered her courage. This was the kind of professional opportunity she had always wanted, and she didn’t want to mess it up.

“As Tom so eloquently pointed out, I am the target demographic for Blake Foods’ diet desserts line,” she said with a wink. Her statement was met with grins and chuckles, and she hoped the team was laughing
with
her rather than
at
her. “From my experienced dieter’s perspective, the company has been approaching this desserts concept all wrong.”

Abby stood up and began pacing the length of the conference room, thinking through the words in her mind before speaking them out loud. “No woman wants to be reminded that she is – or should be – on a diet. And eating something that tastes like, well, diet food, is exactly the kind of reminder that we want to avoid. Women, large and small, want real food that tastes amazing because it’s made from quality ingredients. So how do you reconcile the issue of diet and taste?”

She turned dramatically and clapped her hands on the conference table for emphasis. “Portion control! That’s right. I propose that we do away with the concept of diet altogether and produce high quality desserts made from real ingredients that are portioned to fit a dieter’s calorie restrictions. Let’s give our customers a taste of sweet, gourmet heaven, which is exactly what they’ve come to expect from Bake Foods. They will appreciate the taste and if we scale down the portions, it won’t make them feel bad when they eat it.”

Chef Laurent jumped up from his seat, clearly caught up in Abby’s excitement. “We can use healthy ingredients like coconut oil, agave syrup, and all-natural colors and flavors to pack each bite-sized dessert with nutrition!”

“We can have our graphic designers work up some concepts so the desserts will look as good as they taste,” Molly Adams, the product team’s marketing lead, added.

“Yes!” Abby exclaimed. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Our product line still needs a name and tagline,” Molly added.

“You’re right,” Abby said thoughtfully. “I think it should have ‘sweet’ in the name somewhere.”

“Sweet Tooth?” one team member suggested.

Abby shook her head. “Makes me think of the dentist.”

“Sweet Nothings?” Chef Laurent said.

“Too negative,” Molly responded.

“Sweet for You,” Mr. Blake said quietly. A hush fell over the room.

Abby smiled, nodding slowly. “The only dessert you’ll ever desire, now and forever,” she said softly, her eyes meeting his.

“Sweet for You: Now and Forever,” Molly restated for emphasis. “I can’t think of a more fitting name and tagline. Is everyone in agreement?”

Abby hardly noticed when the entire team nodded in unison.

S
tephen sat in his office, answering emails and planning the rest of his day. He marveled at the progress of Sweet for You. After that initial meeting, everything just seemed to fall into place. As soon as the final desserts were tasted and approved by Abby, he would set and announce an official launch date. To get around the shelf stability issue, the desserts would be flash-frozen. The thaw-and-serve preparation would deliver fresh desserts free of preservatives and other unfortunate additives.

As soon as the Blake Foods diet desserts line had a name, tagline, and new direction, the product development team had sprung into action.

Chef Laurent experimented with new recipes and, with Abby Branson leading the way, each tasting was a delicious experience. Her unrestrained enthusiasm was contagious. On several occasions, Stephen was surprised to realize how rewarding it was to have a business partner he could bounce ideas off. A partner who challenged him to reach beyond his confined world. A partner who invariably made him laugh at himself and at life. It was a new experience for him, and one that he definitely relished.