Garrett: BBW (Members From Money Book 30) Read online

  Garrett

  She's big and beautiful and catches him by surprise.

  A sexy big beautiful woman romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Afiya has come to love her full-figured body, and she is no longer ashamed of who she is!

  Still, it comes as a total shock to her when she realizes billionaire CEO Garrett King is into her!

  Garrett is also surprised by his attraction towards Afiya, who is not the usual woman he goes for.

  But that doesn’t stop them from sleeping together during a night of fiery passion!

  Yet as she spends more time with Garrett, her crippling self-doubt begins to rear its ugly head.

  And Afiya begins to wonder if Garrett is ashamed to be seen with her…

  Can she be with a man who won’t accept her as she is?

  Or is she better off without him?

  Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll start dreaming about your own CEO billionaire hottie!

  Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.

  Free: Get Jason from the Members From Money series where YOU'RE the star!!

  Hi there. As a special thank you for buying this ebook, for a limited time I want to send a copy of Jason free of charge directly to your email! It's a personalized story, meaning you'll add a few details about yourself (these won't be shared with anyone else) and you'll become the star of the story!! :D

  You'll be emailed a new chapter once a day for 7 days. You can get it by clicking the cover below or going here:

  Direct link: www.afroromancebooks.com/personalized-jason-members-from-money

  This book is so exclusive you can't even buy it. As well as sending daily emails with the story, I'll also send you updates when new books like this are available.

  Copyright © 2018 to Katie Dowe and AfroRomanceBooks.com. No part of this book can be copied or distributed without written permission from the above copyright holders.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

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  Chapter 1

  “Here you go Mrs. Logan,” Afiya handed her the wrapped package with her usual vivacious smile. The woman had been a faithful customer since she had discovered the little novelty store tucked between a travel agency and a hairdressing salon.

  “I cannot believe you found it my dear,” the woman said with a delighted expression on her homely face. “I've been waiting for two whole months. Did I tell you that my late husband bought me one when we first got married?”

  “You did,” Afiya said patiently. She'd heard the story a dozen times, how her husband had bought the specially designed tea cups and the matching tea pots and how a maid working for the family had broken the entire set. Afiya had found the replacement at an antique yard sale she'd gone to a week ago.

  “This place is certainly a life saver,” she looked around the neatly laid out store appreciatively. “I told the ladies at my bridge club to make sure they stop by and purchase something. It’s summer now and those lawn chairs with those big yellow flowers would do well on Sybil’s back garden. Make sure you reserve them for her. She's planning a huge cookout for the 4th of July and she's going to need them.”

  “Thank you Mrs. Logan,” Afiya’s eyes caught an elderly couple stopping to admire a full length mirror and knew a purchase when she saw one.

  “Thank you again Mrs. Logan,” she murmured, making a move to go to them.

  “Of course my dear. Go on and don't let me stop you from the rest of your customers. I'll see you next Tuesday.”

  Afiya hurried over to where they were and chatted with them, telling them the history behind the intricately carved mirror. Within minutes she was ringing up the purchase and sending them on their way.

  Her phone rang just as the customers left and there was a lull in traffic. “Honey, I know I told you that I'm going to try and make it work with Melvin but I'm kicking him out this time for sure.”

  “What is it now, Mama?” she asked resignedly as she took a seat behind the cash register.

  “He lost another job and is lying on my sofa watching the game,” she said in an exasperated tone. “I never had these problems with your dad. I shouldn't have become involved again after your father died. I should have stayed single.”

  “But you're not and the minister told you to try and make it work.”

  “Honey, could you come around and talk to him?”

  “No,” Afiya said firmly. “I am not getting involved. The last time I did that both of you had me off for two weeks and didn't want to talk to me. Work it out between you Mama. Tell him how you feel.”

  Ingrid Mullings, formerly Lowe, sighed heavily. “I'm sorry honey. I shouldn't have done that to you. You're right. I need to talk to him about it. I'm sick of looking at his broke ass every single day. You know how hard I work.”

  “How is Mrs. Lakeside?” Afiya asked her about the elderly woman her mother took care of during the week.

  “Fussy and crotchety but that’s where I get my money. When are you coming over for dinner?”

  “Not until you and Melvin have things resolved.”

  “Honey that doesn't have anything to do with you having dinner with us. You know that Melvin adores you.”

  ”Mama, Melvin only puts up with me because I'm your daughter,” Afiya said dryly.

  “He likes you honey and admires the way you put yourself together in spite of—”

  “The fact that I'm a size twenty-two?” Afiya said, interrupting her.

  “You know he didn't mean what he said that time honey,” her money said defensively.

  “You mean when he called me fat and heavy? And the fact that he said that no man will ever want to be with me?” Afiya reminded her. It no longer affected her the way it had three months ago but she'd avoided going to her mother’s place after that nasty remark. He hadn't meant for her to hear what he'd said but she'd come up unexpectedly and heard him saying it. Her mother had tried to put a good spin on it but it had been too late. Afiya had heard that kind of comment every day since she was a child going to school and had cried herself to sleep at night. Her mother, who was a size six, had often told her that people were naturally cruel and she would come to live with her size. “Honey, maybe you're eating too many sweets,” she had said to her carelessly one day as she came home from school.

  “I don’t eat sweets Mama, and you know that.”

  “Well you need to go on a diet.”

  “Mama customers are coming in. I'll talk to you later.” Afiya told her now.

  “Okay honey. Take care.”

  Afiya hung up the phone and smiled at the young couple who came in together. They looked like newlyweds. She could see the newness of love and wedded bliss surrounding them as they held each other by the hand. “Welcome to Treasure Trove. May I help you find something?”

  “This is quite a place,” the woman, young, maybe in her early twenties, with long blonde hair looked around, her blue eyes sparkling. “We're visiting from Florida and decided to stop by. We're just going to browse to see if we need anything. Do you mind?”

  “Go right ahead,” Afiya said with an engaging smile. “Call me if you need help.”

  She hurrie
d over to open the door for a mother who had a toddler by the hand and a baby in a carriage.

  “Thank you,” she said breathlessly. “I was in here last week and bought the pot holders and those cute little oven mittens. My sister saw them and fell in love with them. I'm wondering if you have anything like them left.”

  “Of course. Come this way.” Afiya looked down at the baby and felt a pang. “She's adorable isn’t she?”

  “They're a handful,” the woman said with a laugh. “Meet Amber and Angelique,” she said pointing to the baby and toddler. “I tell myself I'm over having children but I cannot seem to help myself. I have a ten year old son who is in school.”

  “I'm sure you're a good mother. Right this way.”

  *****

  Garrett King threaded impatient fingers through his almost white blonde hair as he looked at the 3D drawing of the mall that he planned to put up in town. He frowned a little as he examined it from all angles. He ignored the designer and architect sitting there waiting for his approval. It was going to be a multifaceted mall, one of the most modern in design. It was supposed to lift the sleepy little town and finally put it on the map. He'd rented temporary space in one of the two-story buildings that existed in the small town and had hired several people temporarily. He'd taken his faithful secretary with him and they'd started the ball rolling. The offices were small and cramped and quite unlike the ones in the towering glass building where he came from but they had to do. He was also using local contractors but had sent for some of his own people and put them up in the only available ‘hotel’ in town. He was impatient to get this show on the road and start the project but he had yet to get through to some of the business owners. He was going to have to go and talk to them himself if it came down to that.

  “The ground floor looks slightly octagon,” he said with a frown. “I wanted it in a rectangular shape.”

  “I know you said that Mr. King but it's due to the shape of the land.” Gabriel Reid told him anxiously as he got to his feet. “It's only a slight deviation from the original plan.”

  “And yet I spotted it immediately,” Garrett pointed out.

  “We can try and fix that sir,” Marlon Greaves, the contractor told him.

  Garrett examined it again. “Leave it,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It's actually growing on me.” He looked over at them. “There's coffee and bagels and also donuts in the small conference room. Help yourselves,” he told them, his way of indicating that the meeting was at an end.

  “Thank you sir.” Both men scrambled from their seats and headed towards the door. Garrett sat there for a few more minutes examining the image until his attention was caught by a person coming through the doorway. He smiled slightly as Gertrude came forward with a tray containing the lunch he hadn't remembered to eat.

  “I had no idea it had gotten so late.” He leaned back against his chair and watched as the woman opened the package of grilled ham and cheese sandwich and placed it before him. “What would I do without you?”

  “Hopefully you won't have to find out,” she told him dryly as she poured his fresh orange juice from the jug. “I spoke to Mrs. Grayson again and she's willing to have a sit down with you. There will probably be stories about her cats and where she's going to put them but I think she's leaning towards saying yes to you buying her store.”

  “That’s the woman with the pet store?” Garrett bit into the delicious sandwich.

  “The same.” Gertrude took a seat opposite him and took out her pad. She'd been with him for the past six years and was with him when he started to buy and sell properties. Three years ago he had risen to the top as an entrepreneur to look out for. “There are several you have to try and charm but I'm sure that you'll have no problem doing so.” She gave him a disapproving look. Garrett King was not called one of the most eligible bachelors for no reason. He was tall and athletically built with almost white blonde hair and light green eyes that could make you feel uncomfortable depending on the mood he was in. He was down to earth and never wore a suit if he could help it. He'd been paired with several high profile women and the papers teasingly called him the bachelor who went for the skinniest women. He was tall and muscular because he wasn't afraid to wield a shovel or a power saw if that was what he had to do.

  “Aren’t these women old?” he teased her. He'd lost his mother five years ago to cancer and was still grieving her, but Gertrude was a very good substitute.

  She snorted. “As if you care.”

  He polished off the sandwich and settled back against the chair. “You're right. I'll use my charms if necessary.”

  *****

  Afiya sank down onto the sofa in front of her bed later that night and taking off her comfortable flats she rubbed her feet wearily. The shop had been especially busy, which was quite unusual for a Tuesday. She'd expected the day before to be busy but things had been slow. She was happy as she closed the doors and checked off the cash and the credits that had been put through. She'd made a good profit. She padded barefoot to her small bathroom to run her bath. She lived above her shop, which was very convenient. Her grandmother had run the place as something to occupy her time after her husband had died in the war soon after she'd had Afiya’s mother. She'd started selling little knick knacks but hadn't been very serious about it. She'd left the entire thing to her granddaughter because Afiya had always spent time with her and worked in the store. Afiya had been fascinated by what people spent their money on and had jotted down some ideas of what she would add if the store was hers. Afiya took off her clothes and for a moment stood there staring at herself in the full length mirror in her bathroom. She'd come to terms with her heaviness and had accepted herself for who she was a long time ago. She had flawless cocoa brown skin and a surprisingly flat stomach. Her breasts were also surprising as they were small. Her hips were wide and her legs big. She had a beautiful full face with full lips, large dark eyes and winged eyebrows. Her hair was thick and dark and had a tendency to curl. She'd braided it for work that morning and wore big hoop earrings to highlight her face. She had been in one relationship when she'd been in college and the man had used her and cruelly broken her heart. It had been a bet that he could make her fall in love with him. She'd been halfway there until she overheard him talking to his friends. She had stayed away from relationships after that. She'd convinced herself that she didn't have the time for it anyway as she was concentrating on building her store. She travelled a lot, taking her spiffy sports car for a spin in the country to find out of way yard sales and antique stores where she bought her treasures and sold them for a profit. She was doing very well and for the first time in a long time she was contented! She frowned as she remembered that she'd heard a rumor about a huge company that had come to town and was buying up properties. She hadn't paid it any mind because she knew there was no way hers was a part of that. She stepped into the tepid bath and sank down into the bubbles, leaning her head back against the padded headrest and closing her eyes as the weariness leaked from her body slowly.

  You're beautiful baby girl, never forget that. Her father’s words came to her suddenly and her eyes flew open. He'd died when she was young and she missed him every day. He was the one who always explained to her that people came in all sorts of packages but that didn't mean that they weren't all special. God made you this way for a reason, He'd told her gently. It had happened so often when she came home from school crying about some unkind joke someone had made about her weight and he would always sit her down and talk to her. She always ended up feeling so much better.

  She ran the sponge over her body and smiled as she remembered her dad. She missed him so much that sometimes it was like a physical pain inside her.

  *****

  “When are you coming back?”

  “I have no idea,” Garrett forced himself to say lightly. He'd been there for the past two months and Grace was still asking him that question. “I'm working here Grace, I already told you that.”

 
“Darling, I miss you.” He could hear the pout in her voice.

  “So come on out here. It's a delightful place where children play in the streets and people walk all hours of the night. I get to run very late at night without fearing that I'm going to be held up at gunpoint.”

  “I don’t do small towns darling, you know that.”

  “I might think of settling here,” he told her casually.

  “Darling, no!” she practically screamed and caused him to move the phone from his ear a little bit. “You wouldn't do that to me.”

  “Grace, we're not exclusive,” he reminded her.

  “And whose fault is that?”

  “I told you that to be fair to you. I go wherever work takes me and you know that,” he said a little impatiently.

  “I like you a lot Garrett and I think that we should be exclusive.”

  “You're a model who travels all over the world. We're not suited.”

  “You're just making excuses.” She paused. “How about I come down next weekend?”

  “I'll let you know.”

  “I really miss you,” she said hopefully.

  “I'm sure that’s not true,” he told her dryly. “You're having too much fun.”

  “I can do that and miss you as well.”

  “I have to go. We'll talk.” He hung up before she could say anything else. He sat back in his chair and gazed at the plain grey wall of his temporary office. He'd told her the truth. The town was growing on him. He'd done his research before coming and had noticed that the crime rate was low. It was a quaint little place with old fashioned houses and pretty little streets. His wanting to build a mall had been met with a lot of objections but eventually people had started to come around. He'd spruced up the park and made it workable again, a place where children could go and enjoy themselves along with their parents, and had won the hearts of the mayor and the people. He'd extended the small library and added a computer room all by itself and had also added a computer lab to the local high school. He was making his presence felt in the small town and had done so deliberately. He got to the office early and stayed late. What was even better was the fact that he had provided employment for a number of young people who had nothing to do and were thinking of leaving town. He pushed back his chair and went to look out his window. All the staff had left for the evening so he was alone in the building. The summer heat rose from the sidewalk even though it was almost seven at night. Summer days seemed to stretch longer here than they did where he came from, and in other large cities. The smell of daffodils wafted up from the garden that someone had planted some time ago and he could smell it even though the windows were closed and the air conditioner was on. Kings Corporation was a towering glass building in the middle of New York and had several doormen jumping to open the doors. He smiled as he thought about his upscale office and realized that he was quite comfortable in this small one. With a restless sigh he decided that it was time to leave. He went back to his desk to map out what he needed to do the next day before he left.