Sweet for You: A BBW Billionaire Romance (2 page)

After Brenda was Chloe the Crier. She was only there because she needed money to pay the utility bill. Evidently her boyfriend had left her for a thinner woman and didn’t pay his share of the bills before he ditched her. As she told her story, she cried and cried just before mentioning that she was diabetic and had forgotten her insulin. Mary paid her and sent her on her way before she tasted a single thing.

Slumped in their seats behind the private, mirrored wall, the product team members surfed the Web on their mobile phones to kill time until their catered lunch arrived. Mr. Blake would be sitting in for the afternoon tasting session, and they all hoped that Mary had more interesting candidates lined up. If not, heads would definitely roll.

~~~

I
n the process of getting ready for her very first tasting experience, Abby searched her closet for something close to Lois Carlyle’s dress-for-success suggestions. Coming up empty-handed, she chose a pair of boot cut jeans and an oversized black tee. Although the jeans were a half-size too small and a little tight around the middle, the t-shirt’s deep V-neck highlighted her cleavage, drawing attention up and away from her rounded, muffin-top belly.

After putting on a little makeup and using a curling iron to add a few waves to her silky hair, she was ready to head into the city for the tasting experience. She had never been inside the Blake Foods corporate headquarters but knew exactly where the building was located in the downtown business district. The tasting offices were on the first floor of the high rise owned by Stephen Blake.

Arriving 10 minutes early, Abby checked in with the lobby receptionist. “Abby Branson. I’m here for a one o’clock with Mary.”

“Welcome, Abby. We’re ready for you. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the tasting room.”

The receptionist led Abby past the elevator bay and down a corridor into a small room with a rectangular table and two chairs. There were video cameras mounted in all four corners of the ceiling. A small sink and mini-fridge were in the back corner, and one wall was completely mirrored. Abby thought the unadorned space looked a lot like a police interrogation room.

Mary arrived at one o’clock sharp carrying a tray of delectable-looking desserts, a linen napkin rolled around a set of silverware, and a clipboard. “You must be Abby,” she said, setting the tray on the table and holding out her hand in greeting. “I’m Mary. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Abby shook Mary’s hand, thinking that her grip was pretty strong for a bird-size woman in a size two suit. “Nice to meet you too, Mary.”

“Have you ever been part of a paid tasting experience or other focus group before?” Mary asked.

“No,” Abby responded.

“Well, there’s nothing to it, really. I’ll have you taste the desserts one at a time. When you share your thoughts, I’ll jot down some notes.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“I need to tell you that we will be recording your tasting experience.” Mary gestured to the video cameras. “Is that all right?”

Abby shrugged. “I’m okay with that.” In addition to the video cameras that were taping her tasting experience, she was pretty sure there were people behind the mirrored wall watching her interrogation by Mary and waiting for her reaction when she finally tried their dessert.

“Excellent. Before we get started, do you have any questions?”

“Yeah. When will this new line of diet desserts be available?”

“I’m afraid the launch date is still up in the air.”

“I see,” Abby mumbled mostly to herself. Maybe that’s why Mr. Blake didn’t plug the diet desserts in his
Food Fest
interview. Even if the official launch day was still up in the air, Abby thought that talking about the desserts would have made for a more exciting interview.

“Which dessert would you like to try first?” Mary asked.

“How about the cheesecake?” Abby loved cheesecake and the look of this one made her mouth water. The creamy triangle of sweetened cheese filling was delicately nestled on a traditional graham cracker crust and topped with a raspberry puree. She wondered how a diet dessert could look so decadent.

“An excellent choice,” Mary said, placing the napkin and cheesecake in front of her. “When you’re ready, go ahead and taste the dessert.”

Abby decided to put on a show for the cameras and the hidden viewers, giving them more bang for their two hundred bucks. Picking up the spoon, she dipped it gently into the cheesecake.

~~~

B
ehind the wall of mirrors, Stephen Blake and his product team watched, mesmerized, as the pretty blonde – Abby Branson – made love to their dessert, teasing it with her spoon before slowly scooping up a bite and bringing it to her lush, pink lips. As she took the spoon into her mouth, she closed her eyes and let her head tilt back slightly, savoring the morsel with abandon before seductively sliding the spoon out of her mouth.

The only woman in the room audibly sighed and two of the men shifted uncomfortably in their seats, trying to adjust their spontaneous erections. Surprisingly, the usually-detached Mr. Blake felt a stirring of arousal, too. Something about this woman got his blood boiling. Outwardly, he managed to maintain his composure. But inwardly, the alluring taster behind the mirrored glass made his pulse quicken as if he was no more than a schoolboy.

When the blonde abruptly stopped mid-chew and violently spit the bite of dessert into her napkin, none of them saw it coming. But, like fingernails on a chalkboard, they all felt her reaction on a visceral level. All eyes turned to Mr. Blake as his face darkened in displeasure.

“Find out what just happened,” he barked, heading for the door, “and make sure you get this one back for Phase II.”

~~~

“I
s everything okay, Abby?” Mary asked, rushing to get her a glass of water, which she gulped down to dilute the terrible taste in her mouth.

“This is the worst dessert I’ve ever tasted!”

“Oh dear. Could you be a bit more specific please?”

To explain, Abby chose an analogy that every woman, no matter what her size, could relate to. “Although it looks delicious, the taste made me feel duped, kind of like dating a really cute guy only to find out that he’s just a phony jerk who wants to get in your pants.”

She paused for effect before continuing. “Your dessert is really cute on the outside, but inside its just artificial ingredients with a texture like cardboard.”

“My, my. That doesn’t sound appetizing at all,” Mary said, leading Abby to realize that the bird-woman had never actually tried the product she was representing. Clearly, Mary didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.

Lowering her voice, Abby asked, “Can I be blunt, Mary?”

“Yes, of course,” Mary responded, leaning forward just a bit, as if the two women were sharing a secret.  

“After one bite of this dessert,” Abby said dramatically before shifting her gaze toward the mirrored wall and the hidden people behind it, “you know you’ve been screwed.”

~~~

S
tephen Blake had watched the video of Abby Branson’s tasting experience a dozen times and was about to click the play button once again. Every bite she took elicited the same distasteful response.

“Haven’t you seen enough, Stephen?” Martha asked, pressing the “off” button on the 72-inch wall-mounted monitor. Mr. Blake’s 60-year-old executive assistant was the only employee at Blake Foods who dared to call him by his first name and, in some ways, was like the mother he barely remembered. She had been with him since he took over as CEO of Blake Foods, Inc. fourteen years ago. He was only 25 then, but as the sole heir to the gourmet foods empire, he had been preparing for the role his entire life.

“She’s an intriguing young woman, wouldn’t you agree, Martha?”

“Intriguing, yes, and quite attractive. Maybe you should ask her to dinner.”

“It would never work. We’re too different, she and I,” Stephen responded, his voice tinged with regret. It had been a while since he felt more than a passing attraction for a woman. A few years ago, he might have enjoyed getting to know Abby Branson better. But now, work – not romance – was his obsession.

“Different how?” Martha prompted.

“She’s spirited and vivacious, and I’m...well, you know what I am.”

“Lonely?”

Stephen flashed his executive assistant an irritated look. “Let’s not start with that again. You know I’m married to my work. I date just enough to keep the tabloids off my back, but I’m not interested in a relationship. Not at this point in my life anyway. Even though my father is gone, as his only child, it’s my duty to preserve the profitability of our family’s business.”

“It’s not normal for a man in the prime of his life to live like a monk,” Martha argued. “Besides, what’s the point of preserving your family’s legacy if you don’t have a child of your own to take over the company someday?”

“There’s still time for that, Martha. Besides, Abby Branson and I are from different worlds.”

“Your world is boring, Stephen. It would be good for you to step away from your reserved, methodical existence and let someone other than me get to know the real you.”

“The real me?”

“Yes,” Martha said. “The charming, generous, and fiercely loyal man behind the brooding, stoic mask.”

Stephen shook his head. Martha knew he wasn’t the type of man to wear his emotions on his sleeve. He had spent his entire life fiercely guarding his private life, which is why he usually dated vapid women who were far more interested in their own lives than his. It wasn’t his fault that people mistook his reserved demeanor for something more threatening.

“I’ll think about dating some more,” he said. “
After
the launch. I still can’t believe Miss Branson equated the act of eating our dessert to something so...wretched.”

“She certainly knows how to get her point across,” Martha replied with a chuckle.

“I’m glad you’re amused. But we have a significant problem on our hands. We haven’t launched a new product line in years and this was going to be our big, competitive breakthrough.”

The company’s profits had been slipping in recent years and Stephen was worried about its future. Once the leader in gourmet foods manufacturing, Blake Foods was now ranked a dismal third and up-and-coming boutique producers were pressuring the company to do something big. The diet desserts line had been Stephen’s idea and he had a lot riding on its success.

Martha placed a manicured hand on his shoulder. “Go home, Stephen. Have a drink and get some sleep. You’re not going to solve the problem by continuing to watch that lovely young woman spit out your dream.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he sighed. Martha usually was.

Tomorrow, he would call a meeting with the product team and demand a 24/7 schedule until new recipes were developed. Blake Foods needed to fast track the Phase II tasting experience.

A
fter her rude performance, Abby was surprised when she got a callback for Phase II of the Blake Foods tasting experience. This time, the pay was $400. She knew exactly what to wear!

She had used her first tasting payment to buy a simple black dress with a high waist and a scooped neckline that could be dressed up or down, just like Lois Carlyle recommended. She paired the dress with a cardigan sweater and ballet flats and felt as professional as she looked.

On the day of her tasting she was, once again, greeted by the Research Institute’s receptionist and seated in the tasting room with the mirrored wall. Soon, Mary arrived carrying the familiar tray of desserts.

“Abby, so good to see you again,” Mary said pleasantly.

“Thank you, Mary. I think I should apologize for being so rude at the first tasting.”

“No apologies needed. We appreciate your candor. Your frank and honest opinions are the kind of feedback that Blake Foods needs to improve their line before launch. Should we start this tasting with the cheesecake again?”

Abby shrugged. She was a little apprehensive about tasting the desserts this time. While they still looked delicious, she knew that those looks could be deceiving.

When Mary put the cheesecake in front of her, she scooped up a bite and brought it tentatively toward her mouth.

~~~

B
ehind the mirrored wall, the Blake Foods product team waited anxiously for Abby Branson to taste the cheesecake. She swallowed the first bite of their dessert this time, but not without a grimace.

“Hey Harvey, it looks like she just swallowed your cum!” Tom Parker, the team lead, said. Laughter erupted at the raunchy joke.

“Silence!” Stephen commanded. “This is not the time for jokes. This young woman represents the demographic for a new product line that we have spent months and millions of dollars developing. A product line that, in its current form, is causing someone from our target market to grimace like she ate something that went bad.”

He began pacing in the confined space, something he did when an idea was forming in his mind, which put everyone in the room on edge. “Clearly, this team isn’t prepared to bring the product line to market. We need to bring in an expert,” he finally announced to the nervous group.

Turning to Tom Parker, he said, “You stay. Everyone else out. And someone send in Martha and Smythe.”

~~~

A
bby tasted the desserts, one by one, never bothering to take more than one bite. Why waste the calories on something so...uninspired?

“I wish I had something more positive to say,” she confessed to Mary on multiple occasions. “While these desserts are better than the last ones, they’re nothing special.”

“That’s quite alright, Abby. Remember, honesty matters here. Looks like that’s it for today. Let me get your payment envelope and you can be on your way.”

Just then, a knock sounded from behind the mirrored wall.
I knew there were people back there!
Abby thought to herself.

“Oh dear,” Mary said, clearly flustered by the unexpected intrusion. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.”

“No problem,” Abby said, getting up and pacing around the small room. She walked over to the large mirror and pretended to peer inside.
How does it feel to know that someone is watching you, huh?