Curves Envy - Alphas Love Curves: BBW Billionaire Romance (12 page)

What the hell?
“Numbers are not my thing.”

“Maybe, but the way Jennifer is batting her eyelashes at this client like a hyena in heat, I think she’ll kill you if you don’t get your ass in there and start catering to this guy’s every need.”

“Jesus.” I stick my elbows on my desk and hide my face in the palms of my hands, unwilling to have to sit in a boring number-crunching meeting on a Friday afternoon. “Can’t Denise be patched in via Skype?”

“You’re hilarious, honey. Maleficent is so tech-averse I’m surprised she can turn on her iMac computer.”

He’s right. Jennifer thinks no one notices, but it’s so blatant how afraid she is of technology.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I say reluctantly, trying to pep myself up.

“Honey, look at you. She’s going to freak out if you walk into a meeting with a potential big advertiser looking like you just rolled out of bed.” Carl stares at me with a disapproving look before folding his arms over his chest.

“Carl, I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Uh-huh. Perhaps a valid reason at nine this morning, but it’s two forty-five in the afternoon and you should have done something to fix this disheveled look you’ve got going on.” Carl scrutinizes me with his hand on his hip.

God, do I look so dreadful?

“What am I supposed to do? It’s not as if I have time to run back home and change. I didn’t expect to have to walk into a meeting.”

“You still have fifteen minutes. Come on, get up. Let me see if I can work my magic.”

“I don’t think there’s much you can do. I’m wearing simple jeans and a baggy black top since it’s Casual Friday.”

“Honey, maybe for people working at an accounting firm, but you should know by now, no days are casual days when you work in fashion.”

“I woke up late because I couldn’t fall asleep until four o’clock in the morning. I rushed out this morning in order not to be late.”

“You’re not wearing any makeup? Why?”

“I told you…”

“Hush, child,” Carl interrupts me. “I don’t care if Godzilla has descended upon us, a girl should at least put on a little makeup before walking out the door. You never know who you’ll bump into.”

Yeah. I bumped into a hot guy and did unspeakably dirty things with him. Then I tossed and turned all night, riddled with guilt at the same time as I’d give up a right kidney for a few more hours of saucy pleasure.

“Do you have anything in your handbag?”

“A red lipstick.”

“I’ll need to a miracle to make this happen,” he sighs.

“Wait, I have a sample of a new mascara in my drawer.”

“Now you’re talking. Grab it, please.”

I turn around and fish in my drawer until I find the mascara that’s about to save my ass.

“Great. Let’s get to work.” Without wasting a second, Carl meticulously applies two coats of mascara before painting my lips. He dabs a touch of lipstick on each cheek before smudging it with his fingers. “Much better.”

“Thanks so much, Carl,” I squeal when he hands me a pocket mirror.

“I’m not finished, honey. Your hair is a disaster.”

Tell me how you really feel.

“We need to put it up so it doesn’t look so messy. Obviously, you didn’t wash your hair this morning.”

“No.” There’s no point in coming up with an excuse.

“Hmmm, I don’t have time to run to the accessories room to grab something pretty to hold up your hair. Grab me the elastic on your desk.”

Carl sweeps my hair back and fastens the elastic so tight I think I’m going to have a headache. Luckily he loosens the ponytail before wrapping the hair sticking out in a deconstructed updo.

“Now we’re talking. All right, I’m going to bunch up this dreadful shapeless sweater you’re wearing and tie it at your waist so it looks somewhat stylish.”

“No. You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s going to reveal my wide hips. I don’t want all these skinny women in the office staring at my hips. Oh, and my thighs…”

“Would you rather Maleficent have a shitfit over your wardrobe selection?”

“Crap. Let the skinny bitches laugh at my wide hips and my big thighs.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, honey. Those skinny bitches wish they could fill a dress like you can. I’ve seen you when you make an effort and you’re gorgeous. Honey, straight men would kill to catch a glimpse of your huge tatas.” Carl is gesturing at my breasts with so much enthusiasm, I burst out laughing.

It doesn’t matter if they’re gay or straight, men are obsessed with big boobs.

“I’m happy to see you smile. Now, stop obsessing over your sexy curvy body, grab this notepad, and walk into the boardroom before Jennifer starts spewing fire and roasts all of us like marshmallows over an open campfire.”

“Bring it on. I can take on this new client with my hands tied behind my back.”

“Meow. You go, girl. Snap.”

I match Carl’s snap before turning on my heel.

I so can do this.

I sashay into the boardroom bursting with confidence from Carl’s pep talk. Even though I’m wearing rider boots, I make my way to an empty seat to Jennifer’s right with as much attitude as plus-size Australian model Georgina Burke.

As I stride in, I notice the typical agency people.
Hmmm, I’ve never seen her before.
The thin woman sitting to the right of the empty chair across from Jennifer must be the one Carl was going on about. Where is the high-powered client? I lift my eyes and notice a tall man standing by the window with his back to me.

“Ah. Candice. Thank you for joining us and replacing Denise. You already know a few members of the Bard Agency.”

“I look forward to this meeting, Jennifer,” I lie. “Of course, I know Jack, Trent, Cindy, Ashley, Drake and Donna.” As I call out their names, the agency people take turns flashing me a contrived smile.

“Excellent. Let me introduce you to Deidra Summers. She’s one of the VPs working with our new potential major advertiser.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Deidra stands up to shake my hand and I have to tilt my head back to take her tall frame in. Of course it doesn’t help she’s wearing three-inch heels.

She must be six-three in those killer shoes. God, do I ever feel short next to her.

“Deidra, I love your suit.”

“Oh. Thanks. I’m so tall, I had to get it handmade,” she says, polishing the expensive wool fabric.

“It was worth it, you look impeccable.” It never hurts to pay a compliment here and there.

“Candice?”

“Yes, Jennifer?” I say, turning my attention to my detestable boss.

“I’d also like to introduce you to someone I hope will be part of the history in the making of the plus-size division, Mr. Keller.”

Huh? I know a Mr. Keller.

Before I can put two and two together, the man standing staring at the skyline with his hands in his pockets turns around with a cocky grin on his face.
No way.

My nerves hit me in one big rush when I gaze up at his beautiful hazel eyes.

Maximiliano?

“Mr. Keller, I’d like to introduce you to Candice Westerman, our editor on the plus-size sections of the magazine. She also takes care of the content on our web portal. She’s done an incredible job at building such a loyal following for
Sassy
magazine.”

Jennifer is still talking, but my mind is racing so fast at the sight of him, I can only take in her last sentence.
First off, what the hell is he doing here, and second, why is Jennifer kissing my ass?

“Candice, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I was admiring the view while we were waiting for you. I can never get enough of seeing New York at my feet.”

Is he quoting what I said last night?

“Mr. Keller, it’s a pleasure meeting you as well,” I lie, shaking the hand he’s extended to me.

If I were to kill him right now, would anyone else in the room notice?

“Please, call me Maximiliano. My father is the only Mr. Keller I know.” He laughs and the entire room follows suit.

If I could crawl under the conference room table to hide, I would. This cannot be happening.

“Jennifer, shall we start?” He’s speaking to Maleficent, but his eyes are locked into mine. I wonder if the other eight people in the room can sense the tension between us. 

“Absolutely. Candice, why don’t you take the seat next to me?” Jennifer says, gesturing at me.

God Lord, there’s no escaping him. I’ll be staring into his eyes during the entire meeting.

I settle myself next to Jennifer and immediately lower my gaze to the notepad in front of me. Jennifer breaks the ice and starts the meeting.

“Mr. Keller…”

“Maximiliano.” He flashes her a disarming smile. I notice his side glance and look away.

“Oh, of course,” she coos, bringing her manicured hands to her chest like a debutante. “Maximiliano, it’s unusual for the client to come to meet with us. We usually deal with the agency. I’m sure you must be an extremely busy man.”

“Jennifer, you’re right. I buy struggling companies and send a team to restructure the operation. I don’t get involved much since I have very smart people working for me, like Deidra,” he says, touching the forearm of the woman sitting to his right.
Great. I bet you he’s also taken her to the forty-first floor and submitted her to all sorts of dirty things.
“These three divisions are different. They’re personal,” he continues. “I’m half Brazilian and when my mother’s oldest brother passed away, I was the only one capable of reshaping the family legacy. My uncle died three years ago and I inherited Sexy Curves Lingerie, Splash Swimwear and Divine Curves Couture. These three lines were near and dear to my uncle’s heart. He couldn’t get enough of women with curves and he’s spent his lifetime catering to these beauties.”

What? He owns Sexy Curves? I see this is the part of the dream that turns into a nightmare. I knew last night was too good to be real.

“Maximiliano, you seem too young to be so accomplished. Along with these three companies, you own a fleet of other ones.”

“I keep myself busy and I surround myself with good people. Don’t be fooled by the boyish face, I’m thirty-six.”

Jesus. I’ve never been with a man who was older than thirty-one. This is going from bad to worse. He’s so much older than me.

“I was flipping the pages of the latest
Forbes
magazine edition and I noticed you made the list of Richest Under Forty. What an accomplishment. You’re so young to be a billionaire.”

No wonder he spent four hundred dollars on a bottle of champagne and a few appetizers.

“Jennifer, I’m lucky in many ways because my talented team has always been able to reshape the companies we buy. We either hold on to them and place new management or we sell them for a profit. It’s been a lot of strategic work and thanks to my team, it’s paid off big time for us.”

“I can’t tell you how impressed I am.”

Oh, please, Jennifer, stop gushing all over him.

“The Sexy Curves Lingerie and Splash Swimwear divisions are finally profitable. Bless my uncle’s heart, he was running these businesses into the ground. We have managed to turn things around and we’re now ready to expand in America. We’ve had a phenomenal year because the mommy bloggers have been all over our collections, but we plan on opening stores across this beautiful country of ours and we’re looking for additional exposure.”

I’m pretending to take notes to avoid his gaze, but I’m dumbfounded to find out Max owns some of my favorite designer lines. In fact, I was wearing a turquoise combo from Sexy Curves last night when I bumped into him.

“You’ve come to the right place.” Jennifer lifts her slender hands, sticks her elbows on the boardroom table and steeples her fingers under her chin.

“Deidra and the team have done quite a lot of research on your magazine and it seems you’re among the premier publications celebrating women at any size.”

“I do like the way you put it. Yes, Maximiliano, we believe a size zero should be made to feel as beautiful as a size twenty-six and vice versa.”

Liar. She might not put it in words, but everything about her body language suggests Jennifer is allergic to plus-size women—myself included.

“It’s good to hear, Jennifer.” Max and his VP Deidra are both nodding in approval. “We were hoping to start by pushing the lingerie and swimwear first, given the season, but by end of year, we should be gearing up to launch our Divine Curves Couture collection. We have a team of designers working tirelessly to ensure we have the entire collection ready before the holidays.”

No wonder he has a thing for women with curves. We represent a lot of money in his pockets.

“Our readers love sexy and flirty underwear designed with the plus-size woman in mind, don’t they, Candice?”

Jennifer’s question startles me because I didn’t expect she’d seek my opinion.

“Oh. Yes, they do. It’s not easy to find flattering lingerie past a certain size,” I say, addressing Deidra, who is sitting next to Max.

“Perhaps in America, but in Brazil, where most women have beautiful curves, it’s a common occurrence. We brought one of our most popular sellers to show you and we’ve agreed with the agency, it would be the best one to help us make our mark in the market. We envision this flirty little number everywhere. Don’t we, gang?” Max addresses the suits sitting around the table and they all nod in agreement.

God, they’re such bootlickers. It’s sick.

“Deidra, do you mind showing Jennifer and Candice our Sensual Vixen collection?” Something flickers in his eyes and he represses a smile. Why is he so amused?

Instead of sliding the folder on the table, Deidra extracts her long and lean body from the chair and strides towards Jennifer with a dead serious look on her face.

“The Sensual Vixen is feminine, but it also allows the plus-size girl to let the vamp inside come out to play.”

I swallow hard when Jennifer slides the folder towards me and I lay my eyes on the pictures in front of me.
No way.