Curves Envy 3 - Claimed By An Alpha: BBW Billionaire Romance (6 page)

I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful to have short legs in my life. Since my strides aren’t as long as Bruna’s, I’m forced to walk several steps behind her and I’m able to avoid the embarrassment of walking into the party with a woman who lacks in class and sophistication.

It doesn’t take long for me to lose sight of the bitch. She melts into the crowd and I’m left standing at the entrance of the room.
Thank God.
I quickly scour around, eager to spot him. At first, I think he might not have arrived, but when a tall man steps aside, I notice a mob of reporters and camera people surrounding Max.
It sucks being so short in circumstances like these. I could have easily missed him.
I take a step forward to make my way to the back of the room to meet the gorgeous man of my dreams, but Giovanna shouts my name so loudly, it stops me in my tracks.

“Candy, you look smashing, darling.” I barely have time to turn around before she has me locked in a bear hug. “I love the jade color of the flowy skirt and the matching colored print against white at the bodice is simply adorable,” she says, pulling away from me to take a better look at my outfit. “And I like how the deep V-neck is low enough to reveal your fabulous boobs, but not so low it looks trashy. It’s chic, but flirty. It’s so you,” she concludes. Giovanna’s effervescence is contagious and I forget all about Bruna’s scornful words. Giovanna lowers her eyes and I follow her gaze to my feet. “Oh, I almost forgot. The nude Louboutins are the perfect accent,”

“You think I look okay? I bumped into Bruna outside the restaurant and she compared my dress to what a conservative nun would wear,” I say, worried.

“Please don’t tell me you believe anything that comes out of her mouth. Look at her.” Giovanna and I follow Bruna with our eyes as she gets acquainted with every single man in the room. “Her skanky dress is going to get her a lot of action tonight, but not the kind of action you and I are looking for. Whoever she ends up with tonight, the poor sucker won’t remember her name in the morning.”

“Thanks for reassuring me. She had some bitchy things to say about the way I looked and it ate at my confidence. I shouldn’t let her get under my skin the way she does, but she irritates the hell out of me.”

“Are you serious?” Giovanna laughs. “You are going to turn heads, darling. I hear there are loads of eligible bachelors here tonight. Who knows, we might both score big time.”

I don’t care about any eligible bachelors. I only want Max.

“Giovanna, you’re going to leave them begging in your royal-blue creation. All eyes will be on you, not me.”

“I don’t want to hear such nonsense from you. No one here tonight will know you’re not one of the models,” she says, fixating on my ears. “Honey, your dangling gold earrings are so vintage. Where did you get them?”

Her question flushes my cheeks. “They belonged to my paternal grandmother.”

It’s still so difficult for me to elaborate when it comes to my dead parents and grandparents. Since tonight is all about celebrations and festivities, I can’t bring myself to reveal to Giovanna that the earrings I’m wearing, a handful of gold jewelry hidden at my place and the apartment I own are the only things my grandmother Barbara left me. She fought the good fight trying to prove my parents’ deaths weren’t an accident, but in the end, she was no match against a company with very deep pockets and shark attorneys.

“Well, you look like the belle of the ball and the only thing missing is for you to find your prince. Come on, let’s order a few drinks and then we’ll work the room.”

We turn around to head to the bar where Brian, who interviewed me earlier today, is hitting on Josephine. Josie is a tall black model with the most flawless skin I’ve ever seen. Her smooth complexion is only surpassed by her beautiful heavy breasts. No wonder Deidra had her sporting their brightest and most colorful swimsuit selections. She wears her loose curls in a stylish high Afro that accentuates her well-defined cheekbones. I’ll confess, I’m jealous of her gorgeous full lips and her outrageous high ass. There’s no two ways about it, the woman is drop-dead fantabulous.

I’m so focused on Josie, I nearly miss Brian’s transformation. The CNN reporter has ditched his buttoned-up look and his studious glasses for an edgier style. I love how his black leather jacket hugs his slender frame so well. His fiery red hair contrasts with his head-to-toe black outfit and brings even more emphasis to his pale blue eyes.
Damn, he looks like a freaking model
.

When Brian sees us, he waves in our direction and gestures for us to come join them. I’m about to take a step forward alongside Giovanna when my phone rings. I quickly open my clutch and when his name flashes across my phone I stop breathing for a second.
Max.

“Giovanna, why don’t you go ahead without me? A text requires my attention and I need to make sure I respond, as it relates to an article we’re running on the website in a couple of days,” I lie, hoping she won’t be able to see right through me.

“Honey, you have to turn that thing off,” she says, waving at my phone with a disapproving look. “It’s eight o’clock at night and it’s party time. You shouldn’t be working this late in the day.”

“I know. Unfortunately the web is twenty-four seven and never sleeps. It’s only going to take me five minutes and I’ll be there before you even have time to miss me.”

“Promise? If you’re not standing by my side in the next five minutes with a drink in your hand, I’ll come and grab you by the back of your neck and I’ll drag you all the way to the bar.” She smiles.

“Cross my heart.”

“Good. Five minutes and no more. I’m turning on the timer on my iPhone and keeping a close eye on you.” Giovanna gives me a quick hug before turning on her heel and heading to meet Brian and Josephine.

I get on my toes and I quickly look around the room to spot him.
Where is he?
When I can’t see his handsome face in the crowd, I return my focus to my phone.

You’re the most alluring woman here tonight. When you walked in this room all the others seemed to fade in the background. How dare you look so divine?

Oh. I was hoping I looked good, but his words take me aback.

-----

You don’t look so bad yourself.

Even though Max was surrounded by a mob of people his impeccable three-piece suit didn’t go unnoticed. Honestly, I thought only older men or grooms-to-be wore a waistcoat, but the way he works his three-piece suit, you’d think he jumped out of the pages of
Details
magazine.

Can you find a quiet spot to hide so I we can talk instead of texting?

-----

Give me a second to step out of the room. Where are you now?

Outside on the deck. Why don’t you head to the lobby? Since most of our guests have arrived, it should be quiet there.

Okay. Call me in a few minutes.

I quickly head to the entrance and I barely have time to close the door behind me before my phone rings. It’s Max.

“You’re too eager, buddy,” I say.

“Can you blame me? You’re radiant.”

“Stop, you’re going to make me blush.”

“You know perfectly well I can’t resist you when your cheeks flush. If I could get away right now, I’d kidnap you, lock you up in a bathroom and fuck you senseless for making my cock this hard.”

“You can’t get away?” I’m so disappointed to hear I won’t be able to see him until later.

“Not for a while, sweetness. We have press from all over the country, plus Brazil, the UK and Germany, and they’re all very interested in our three plus-size collections. It’s a wild night because all of these media outlets are eager to spread the good word to their readers.”

“Why are you hiding on the patio while I’m hiding in the lobby to have a conversation?” I ask, slightly irritated.

“I’m afraid if I get too close, everyone in the room will know how aroused I get around you because I’m certain it will be written all over my face. Don’t worry, I’ll make up for this charade when I have you all to myself.”

I wish I could be by his side right now. This hide-and-seek game isn’t doing it for me. I want him to wrap his arms around me and crush my lips until I nearly stop breathing.

“It’s unfortunate you’ll have to wait until later to find out which one of your creations I’m wearing under my dress…” I hope my cockiness motivates him to find some time for us to escape from the prying eyes of the partygoers.

“You dirty girl. You’re teasing me and you know I’m going to have to punish you for being so daring. I’m dying to touch you, kiss you and pound you, but given how many reporters are swarming in the room, it’s best if we keep our distance until later tonight when we’re behind closed doors.”

“I hate it, but I understand.”

“You can’t possibly hate it as much as I do. I’m going to have to exert a Herculean effort to avoid focusing on what you might be hiding under your emerald-colored dress.”

“It’s naughtier than you think.”

He lets out a low grunt. “Please, don’t tempt me any further. I want to protect you from the unkind eyes of the press. If they spot us together and suspect something is going on between us, they’ll have a field day—at your expense, since I’m immune to this sort of garbage by now.”

“I get it. I’ll see you later. You can text me when you want me to come up to your room.”

“Did you leave your things with the concierge?”

“Yes, I left my suitcase with Charles.”

“Excellent. I’m sure he already has it up in my room. I’ll make sure we leave together. Before I go I want you to know one thing, sweetness.”

“What?” I ask hesitantly.

“You do know I’ll only have eyes for you tonight?”

How in the world am I supposed to respond to that? “There must be at least three hundred attractive women in the room.”

“Yeah, but there’s only one of you,” he interrupts.

“Max…”

“Every time we lock eyes, you’ll know I’ll be counting the minutes until I’m able to have my way with you.”

Holy hell.

No man has ever made me feel as unbelievably sexy and as utterly desired as he does now.

Chapter 5

After my short conversation with Max, I meet up with Giovanna, Brian and Josephine at the bar. For the next hour, we have our own little private party amongst all the industry people. The flowing drinks mellow me out somewhat, but not enough to ignore Bruna’s attempts at catching Max’s attention.
She’s looking him up and down like a lioness eyeing a baby gazelle.
Bitch.
She’s tried everything—flipping her black mane, yanking up her giant boobs to make them more obvious, pulling up her already indecently short dress to expose more of her long tanned legs, and she’s even resorted to reapplying her red lipstick as if she’s performing a crude act in public. The woman won’t give up.

Luckily, Max has been too busy with the press and top retailers to pay the bitch any attention. It becomes so hilarious at a certain point during the evening, Brian starts betting on her next moves. Every time he predicts her next ploy, Giovanna and Josephine burst out in laughter.

Unfortunately, my stomach is tied up too much in a knot for me to enjoy myself.
What the hell is she up to?
I’m so troubled, I stand up from my stool and take a few steps forward with my arms crossed over my chest like protective armor. I want to make sure I keep a close eye on the human piranha and the man who makes my heart skip a beat.

Although the music has been playing in the background all evening long, the sudden change is unmistakable. The smooth vibe from Mexican superstar duo Camila changes to a sultrier and more provocative beat. Were it not for the fact Lexi is half Latina, I’d know very little about Spanish music, but I recognize a feverish tune she played last summer every time we visited her home—
6 a.m.
by J. Balvin.

The next thing I know, Bruna is gyrating her sinful body theatrically in the middle of the restaurant. It comes as no surprise all eyes are glued on the Brazilian as she undulates her hips to the cadence of the music. She’s making such a spectacle of herself, even the media who had been focused on Max turn their attention to the tall model. I’m fuming with jealousy as she approaches Max in front of everyone.
What the fuck is she doing?
My mouth is still gaping open when Brian behind me summarizes my exact feelings.

“She’s such an attention-seeker. I’m sure she must have masterminded her plan all night long so that she could bewitch everyone as she works her dirty-dancing moves on Max. The poor chap has no choice but to play along given how many reporters are crammed in this room and how many cameras are pointing at him.”

I really don’t need to hear this.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not as if he can brush her off in front of so many people. The next thing you’ll know we’ll read on the cover of every newspaper in the country tomorrow morning,
Sexy Curves’ CEO Rejects Plus-Size Model On The Dance Floor!
I know from firsthand experience the media can twist pretty much anything to sell more papers or get more page views online.” Giovanna’s observation should calm me down, but I feel so sick to my stomach right now, I could run to the bathroom and puke my guts out.

“Well, she did say in passing on the set earlier today she was determined to get to know Max a lot better before the clock strikes midnight…” Josephine’s words send me into sheer panic.
No, no, no.

Unable to hold back any longer, I turn on my heel and face the group who has so accurately been commenting on the unfolding events and I dare to ask a question that might expose me. “What do you mean, Josie?”