Sweet for You: A BBW Billionaire Romance by Harper Ashe Read Free Book Online Page B

to the man who had kissed her. The only thing that lessened the sting was him calling her ideas ‘brilliant.’
    “I’m not going to file a complaint,” she said, her glossy lips tight. “Things got a little heated, in more ways than one, and we both got carried away. As far as I’m concerned, that whole evening never happened.”
    He visibly relaxed. “I must say that I’m relieved by your understanding of the situation.”
    “Let’s just say you’re not the first guy I’ve been with who woke up the next morning with second thoughts.”
    “Been with? I didn’t...we didn’t?”
    “We didn’t have sex, if that’s what you’re wondering, Mr. Blake.” But we would have if I hadn’t screwed things up!
    “Of course we didn’t. That’s not something I could possibly forget, could I?”
    Abby was thinking that her boss was treading dangerously close to offensive territory again and she needed to change the subject before she was humiliated any further. “You were saying something about my ideas being brilliant?”

Chapter 8
    A bby and Jenna arrived early for the 10 o’clock meeting and found Martha setting up in the conference room. “Can I do something to help?” Jenna asked eagerly.
    “Thank you for the offer, dear, but I’m just about done,” Martha responded. “Why don’t you and Abby take a seat? The others should be arriving soon.”
    Martha was right. The rest of the small team trickled in, including Chef Laurent and Tom Parker, taking seats around the oval table in the middle of the room. At 10:01, Stephen walked through the door, and Jenna nudged Abby’s arm. “Mr. Blake looks tired today. Did your dinner run late?”
    “Not really,” Abby responded. “I’m sure he just has a lot on his mind with this whole diet desserts thing.”
    “You’re probably right,” Jenna said, unable to hide her disappointment. Abby was sure that she was hoping for some sort of juicy tidbit about her evening with Stephen, but she wasn’t about to share the details of what had happened.
    Stephen cleared this throat and all side chatter went silent. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called this meeting on such short notice. My reasons are twofold. First, I wanted to officially welcome Abby Branson to the product team.” He nodded in her direction and all eyes turned toward her. Abby smiled nervously. She was warmly welcomed by everyone in the room except Tom, who wore his perpetual scowl.
    When the greetings were done, he continued. “I also realized this morning that I’ve been far too removed from this project and will be taking a more active role going forward. I’m optimistic that, with stronger leadership and the addition of Miss Branson to the team, we can turn our diet desserts line into something spectacular.”
    “Let’s hear it for the big girl,” Tom mumbled under his breath, loud enough for Abby to hear. Her shoulders stiffened and her face turned a deep shade of crimson. Embarrassed, she glanced around the room to see if anyone else had heard.
    Stephen looked angry. “Did you have something to say, Mr. Parker?” he asked in a clipped tone.
    “Yes, I believe I do,” Tom said defiantly.
    “Well then, let’s hear it,” Stephen challenged.
    “I’ve been in charge of new product development at Blake Foods for over a decade and my leadership has never been questioned until she came along.” He pointed at Abby. “She may represent the diet industry demographic, but that doesn’t make her an expert at bringing a new product line to market.”
    Stephen stood up. “Considering that our last two product launches were met with mediocre success, I’m not sure your expertise in this area is something to brag about.”
    Now it was Tom’s face that turned crimson. “If you have so little confidence in me, Mr. Bake, then maybe I should resign from my position in your company.”
    Abby watched as Stephen’s face contorted into an almost chilling half-smile. “That may be the