Garrett: BBW (Members From Money Book 30)

by Katie Dowe

  “Roseville will do for now,” he told her ironically. “I'll pop into your little store and see what it's all about. In the meantime think about what I said.” He strode away leaving her staring after him furiously. She watched as he stopped and spoke to some of the ladies who giggled up at him as if they were still in their teens. His charm was quite lost on her. But he hadn't turned them on for her, she realized. She lifted her chin and got to her feet. He was certainly in for a fight.

  *****

  Garrett stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the water run over him from head to toe. It was so darned hot. He'd stepped out of his vehicle and walked into the town hall and had been sweating before he'd entered the place. The air conditioner was on but was blowing more hot air than anything else. That was something else he needed to take care of eventually. The ventilation was poor and the air conditioner was an ancient one and could hardly manage the intense heat. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to the meeting. Afiya Lowe, his mind jolted sharply as he remembered how she'd spoken up when no one else had. She'd gained his admiration then. He admitted that he'd seen that she was the biggest one in the room and he'd also noticed that in spite of her size that she was extremely beautiful. He'd noticed the dimple in her cheek when she smiled as she accepted her plate of food and also noticed how well she wore her clothes. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image of her flashing dark brown eyes out of his head. He'd been in town for two months and counting, and he hadn't been with a woman two months before that because he'd been making plans to come here. That must be the reason why he was having these ridiculous thoughts about a woman of her size. He'd always abhorred women who let their weight get away from them and had avoided them at all cost. He stepped out of the bath and wrapped a towel around his waist, padding into his bedroom. He picked up his phone and dialed.

  “Darling, I was just thinking about you!” she gushed.

  “Yeah,” he sat on the edge of the bed and cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear. “I hope they were good thoughts.”

  “Always. You called. I cannot believe you actually called. Does that mean you're finally missing me?” she asked him hopefully.

  He used the towel to dry the water off his body and took his time to answer. “That might be it. I'm coming into town next week. Will you be there?”

  “I will be darling. I cannot wait to see you. Why don’t we have dinner at one of Kane’s restaurants and then go back to your apartment?” she asked softly.

  “Let’s start with dinner first and see where it goes.”

  “Okay darling, whatever you say.”

  He hung up with a thoughtful expression on his face and then got to his feet to get ready for bed.

  Chapter 3

  Garrett made the stop at the club the minute he landed at the airstrip. He hadn't been there for the past five months and his friends had been calling. He stepped out of his car and smiled as he realized that there were several tournaments going on. He'd come dressed and ready to participate in one of the matches but first he was going to get himself a tall drink of his favorite lemonade spritzer. He handed his bag to one of the guys working there and made his way to one of the outdoor tables. He scanned the area to see if any of the guys were there and when he didn't see them he sat at the table. A waiter went to him immediately and he gave his order.

  “If it isn’t Garrett King,” a familiar voice sounded just behind him. Claudio McLeod was a braggart whom most of the club members avoided if they could. He'd been bidding on a piece of commercial property against Garrett and had lost. From that time on he'd been resentful but did his best not to show it. “What brings you to these parts? I understand you're spinning the little town of Roseville on its ears.”

  “Claudio,” Garrett acknowledged him coolly as he accepted his drink from the waiter, hoping that the man would be on his way. His eyes narrowed as he pulled out a chair and sat without an invitation. Claudio McLeod came from a long line of real estate owners and had inherited his father’s millions a few years ago. The man had a brilliant mind but he was lazy and boorish. He was also highly prejudiced and believed that people who didn't come directly from money shouldn't be allowed where the elites were. He certainly didn't like the fact that Garrett was a self-made billionaire and a member of the club. He'd tried to block the membership but had been overturned.

  “So how is the project going? Are you bullying those poor people into giving up their livelihood?” he smirked.

  “You're forgetting that I'm not you McLeod,” Garrett said to him, refusing to let him get under his skin. The man was just a big bully and he'd dealt with enough of them in high school. “I'm an honest businessman.”

  Claudio bristled at the implication that he wasn't. “You're also a ruthless one,” he said grimly. “You would go to any lengths to get what you want.”

  “So we have one thing in common. What do you want, McLeod?”

  “I was supposed to have gotten that deal that you cut me out of last year,” he hissed.

  “And you're still sobbing over it. Get over it man and move on,” Garrett told him coldly. “I'm tired of you getting in my face about the same thing.”

  “You cut me out.”

  “And I'm asking you nicely to get away from the table and let me enjoy the time I have here. If I have to ask again it won’t be so polite.”

  The man stared at him for a moment and Garrett held his stare until he dropped his glance. He pushed back his chair noisily and got to his feet. “We're not done.”

  “I'm sure we aren't. Enjoy your afternoon, McLeod,” Garrett saluted him mockingly as he turned and walked away furiously.

  Garrett settled back against the chair with a sigh and finished his drink. “Hey King! Stop sitting around on your ass and get over here! We need another pair of hands for tennis.” He looked over and grinned at Ryan and with a wave he indicated that he would be there shortly.

  *****

  Afiya sat at the dinner table and tried to pretend that she wouldn't rather be anywhere else but sitting around the table with her mother and her husband. Melvin had taken the time to shower and shave but even that couldn't hide the fact that he looked as if he'd just fallen out of bed. Her mother was the one carrying the bulk of the conversation and sometimes Afiya contributed.

  “Honey, tell Melvin about the store. I understand that it's quite a success. I was thinking that one day both of us could come by and actually purchase something to be supportive. I remember when Mama ran it and I was there as a little girl, how fascinated I was by all the knick knacks she had there.”

  “That would be nice Mama,” she said halfheartedly, wishing the meal would end. The chicken was too crispy and the potato salad soggy. She'd stopped eating chicken for the past two months and she'd told her mother about it but as usual she didn't listen.

  “Honey, are you sure you're okay?” she asked. “And I really think you shouldn't wear a dress like that. It highlights too much of your curves.”

  “I think it suits me quite well Mama, but thanks for your support as usual,” she said with a tinge of sarcasm.

  “I didn't mean—

  “I want to go and watch the game,” Melvin mumbled as he pushed back the chair. “Good to see you dear.” He had never called her by her name and Afiya didn't mind in the least.

  “Mel we haven't had dessert yet!” her mother protested.

  “I'm full.” He left the table and didn't look back.

  “Now you see what I have to face?” her mother complained as she got to her feet and started to clear the table. Afiya got up and started to help her.

  “He's still not working?” she asked politely.

  “Of course not,” Ingrid said in an undertone as she turned on the dishwasher. “I think I made a mistake when I married him. Your father, bless his heart, would never just sit around and not do nothing. That man was certainly a gentleman and he took care of me.”

  “I miss him,” Afiya acknowled
ged softly as she passed the rinsed glass to her mother.

  “I do too,” Ingrid blinked the tears from her eyes. “I suppose that after being with him for so long I couldn't bear the thought of not having anyone around so I chose the first man that paid me any mind and now I'm regretting it.”

  “I'm sorry Mama.”

  “Learn from me girl. Never settle for less than love. It's not worth it.”

  *****

  Grace's heart pounded in excitement as she saw the tall handsome man coming into the restaurant. She'd come early in order to order something special. Reservations at any of Kane Takahashi’s restaurants were hard to come by and she'd gotten it because she was a close personal friend of the manager's. Garrett was also a member of the club that Kane belonged to. “Darling,” she melted into his arms as he kissed her cheeks. She pulled away in disappointment, wondering why he hadn't been more intimate. She'd seen the looks he'd received as he made his way to their booth. He was wearing faded denims and a dark blue sports jacket over his light blue shirt and he was by far the most handsome man in the room. His almost white blonde hair glinted in the overhead lights as he took his seat.

  “You look lovely,” he murmured as the waiter hurried over.

  *****

  “Thank you darling,” she passed her hands over the sparkling sapphire blue dress that was an exact match to her eyes. Her dark brown hair was piled on top of her head and exposed her long graceful neck. “It's so good to see you,” she gushed as she leaned forward on the table. “I ordered the duck. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “That’s fine.” He sipped his wine and looked at her. He wished he could feel something other than a slight stirring of lust for her but it wasn't there. “Where to next?”

  “Milan and then Brazil. I was hoping you could fly out one weekend and we could spend it together,” she said hopefully.

  “I'm having some resistance to the project so I have to be there personally to see things through.”

  “Darling, we don’t get to spend enough time together,” she said with a pout. The waiter arrived with their meal and there was silence as it was served.

  “And you know why,” he said in response to her statement. “We both have highly demanding jobs.”

  “If given the right incentive I could give mine up.” She looked at him from beneath her lashes.

  “You love the limelight too much to do that.” He deliberately ignored her meaning. She'd been hinting at marriage ever since they'd started going out and he'd ignored her.

  She put away her utensils and leaned forward, affording him a good view of her enticing bosom. “Darling, I'm in my late twenties, which means that my career is almost over. I would like to think that I have you to turn to when that's over.”

  He looked at her in amusement, his thick brows going up. “So I'm your safety net?” he asked her, not in the least bit offended.

  “Darling, no!” she exclaimed. “I'm just saying that we've been going out for quite some time now and I want you to think about making us permanent.”

  He drank his wine, appreciating the body of it. “I'm not thinking about that now Grace. You know that.”

  “I wish you would, darling,” she said with a sigh.

  “I'm not ready for that yet Grace,” he told her firmly.

  “Let’s enjoy the meal,” she suggested softly. He was secretly happy that she'd dropped it because he didn't want to tell her an outright no to marriage.

  *****

  Afiya was stocking up the bottom shelves during a lull in the late afternoon when she heard the bell ring. She turned and stared in shock as the tall handsome man came into her small space and seemed to dwarf it. She willed herself not to be intimidated by him coming into her store and went to greet him the same way she would greet a prospective customer. “Mr. King, how may I help you?” she asked him politely. His light green eyes took in the pale blue cotton dress she had on and the neat chignon she'd made with her hair. She was hardly wearing makeup, just slight color on her lips. His eyes lingered and he felt the stirrings again, this time more insistent and stronger. He'd kissed Grace lightly on the lips the night before and when she'd suggested he come up to her apartment he'd told her he had to leave early in the morning.

  “I'm just here to see what's so special about this place.” He looked around, trying to keep his feelings in check. “Why Treasure Trove?” he walked over to pick up a gaudy-looking stuffed parrot and examined it in amusement. “Would you call this a treasure?”

  “A lot of people would,” she said, bristling as she took it from him.

  “You're very defensive Ms. Lowe. Why is that?” he stood there with his arms folded as he stared down at her. She wasn't exactly tall, coming in at five feet two inches, something very apparent since she was wearing flats.

  “If you have to hazard a guess, what would it be?” she asked him sarcastically.

  He smiled in spite of himself. He was enjoying sparring with her. And he loved the flash in her large dark brown eyes. They reminded him of melted chocolate. “Maybe it's the fact that you hate change?”

  She stared at him for a moment and then her smile came sweetly, taking him completely by surprise. She had the cutest dimples, he thought hazily as he stared at her. He shook his head slightly as she spoke. “Would you like the tour?”

  “Of course,” he muttered.

  “Let’s go.” For a woman of her weight she certainly moved fast. Within minutes he found himself fascinated by the variety of things in the store. From outside it was deceptively small but it had a lot of space inside. He picked up a lovely brooch that suddenly reminded him of his mother. “How much?” he asked absently as he turned it over in his palm.

  “Are you sure she would appreciate something like that?”

  “What?”

  “I'm sure she's expecting diamonds or some such precious stone,” she told him.

  His eyes glinted as he realized what she was saying. “Do you often try to delve into your customers’ lives Ms. Lowe?”

  “I wouldn't exactly call you a customer, Mr. King,” she returned coolly.

  “What do you call a person who is exchanging cash for services rendered?” he asked her, his brows arched.

  “I would refer to you as the man who wants to turn my life upside down.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then looked around. His eyes touched on a pair of delightful antique earrings that he was sure Grace would find fascinating. He owed her for the way he'd treated her. “Package this up along with those,” he told her, pointing to the earrings. “I'm sure she'll appreciate them,” he added sardonically. She did as he asked and went to the cash register. He handed her a platinum card with his name embossed in gold and she rung up the purchase.

  “I'm not out to get you Ms. Lowe,” he told her quietly as he took the package from her. “I'm truly interested in making this place more livable.”

  “I wish I could believe that,” she told him.

  Suddenly he thought of something. “How about you come to my office one afternoon after you close and I show you what I have planned?”

  Afiya stared at him in surprise. “Why?”

  “Because I want to show you that I'm as interested in this place as you are.”

  “I strongly doubt that,” she said dryly.

  “Almost, then,” he said with a smile.

  She thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “How about Wednesday evening?”

  He considered quickly, wondering what he had on, and then nodded. “That’s fine. See you then.”

  *****

  “You were right,” Hillary said as she crunched into the chunky peanut butter sandwich she'd prepared.

  “About what?” Afiya asked her absently as she turned the 'open' sign to 'closed' and came to sit next to her, reaching for one of the sandwiches. It had been a pretty hectic day and she'd been on her feet for the entire day. She just wanted to go on up, take a nice long hot bath, and go to bed. She hadn't eaten much b
ecause Hillary'd had to leave to go and run some errands and she'd been left on her own.

  “About Bob.”

  “What was I right about?” she asked as she eyed her friend. Hillary was plain in a pleasant sort of way, with long brown hair that needed trimming and laughing blue eyes.

  “He's not good enough for me,” she sighed as she finished off her sandwich.

  “What happened?”

  “He said he doesn't want to get married but he wants to move into the house I worked so hard to purchase. I'm not good enough for him to put a ring on my finger but he wants to move in. How does Beyoncé put it? If you like it you would put a ring on it?”

  Afiya laughed. “Something like that. What did you tell him?”

  “I told him to go to hell,” she sighed again. “I almost called him back and apologized. How do you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Stay single.”

  “I don’t think about it. I love what I do and it sort of completes me. I don’t sit around and pine over the fact that I don't have a man. We've been made to think that without a man we don’t stand a chance and that's not true.”

  “Maybe because I live in a big rambling house all by myself when the kids aren't around. And I think I also wanted to show that bastard that left me that I'm attractive to other men too.”

  “Then you're doing it for all the wrong reasons,” Afiya pointed out. “You should do it because you want to.”

  “You're right as usual. I've decided that I'm going to take Lillie up on her offer and get myself a new hairdo and start wearing makeup. I need to take care of me.”

  “Good for you.”

  *****

  Garrett found it hard to fall asleep that night. He'd been going over and over in his mind the conversation he'd had with Afiya Lowe the day before. He'd come home and opened the package and looked at the items. He'd picked up the brooch and looked at it for a very long time. His mother had been a poor woman who had fought to put food on the table for them both after his father had fallen into a drunken stupor and had wandered out into the path of oncoming traffic. He'd been fifteen and his life had been turned upside down. He'd been determined ever since then that he would help his mother out. He'd gotten a job at the local supermarket right after school and every cent he earned he'd handed it to her. She'd protested at first but had been so grateful. He'd told her that one day he would get rich and give her everything she needed. She'd pulled him into her arms and kissed him on the forehead. She'd been a small woman and he had towered over her at that time. She'd told him that he was all she needed. But he'd made up his mind. At twenty-one he'd finished college and started making deals from money he'd saved. He'd bought his first property at a steal and fixed it up all by himself, selling it off at a big profit and had gone on to buy his next property. There had been days when he hadn't eaten in order to follow his dreams. His mother had lived long enough for him to buy her a house and let her live in comfort for the few years she had left before she'd died of breast cancer a year earlier. She'd taught him well and believed in him and that was something he would never forget.