Taking Her Curves (BBW Billionaire Erotic Romance) (3 page)

"Sure, whatever,
Mom...
" She rolled her
eyes at her elder sister, before turning to me. "I'm Tina. You
are...?"

"Suzanne."

"A Suzie! My best friend's name is Suzie."
She gave me a hug too. "So you're the girl Will's marrying,
huh?"

"That's the plan."

"Let's...go and have a meal. Discuss things,
catch up." Allison urged us to follow her to what she would
describe as a banquet hall.

No expense was spared even for a family get
together for four. A banquet hall, and it was indeed a banquet, all
of it expertly prepared, excess for a mere four diners. It was far
beyond the meals that me and Will ate alone in our private time, or
even when we had one or two guests ourselves. For a someone with
unlimited money, Will knew the definition of the word modest.

I wasn't sure if Allison did. She took a sip
of a glass of wine, something from the late eighteenth century,
something Will would save for very special occasions. I guess
seeing your brother after a few years was special enough. "James
couldn't make it. Out making a business deal in Italy. He sends his
regards and congratulations."

I slurped some soup, trying to stop myself
from making too much noise, swallowing before speaking. "...your
brother?"

"James East, CEO of East Industrial, is my
husband... Jesus, Will, did you tell her anything about us?" She
propped up her stature as she said it, as if she were bragging
about her husband's position.

Will stared down his wine glass. "We're so
madly in love we can't even begin to talk about things like
family." Not true. I told him all about my family.

"...So..." I mused aloud, between chews.
"Your full name is Allison West East?"

Her face drooped. "You're not the first to
point that out, no. So tell me, Suzanne, before Will interrupted
us, what is it that you do...?" The droop turned much more
aggressive. I stepped on a mine bringing up her name...ugh.

"I'm Vice President of Human Resources at
West Financial." I said, trying to trump up myself like she did
mentioning her husband.

"...And your qualifications for that...?"

Will took a gulp of the wine as I answered.
"I have an English degree...?"

She shook her head again. I could hear her
muttering "Liberal arts..."

"Suzanne does excellently at her position. I
trust her implicitly as an employee." Will spoke up, trying to stop
me from nailing myself to that cross before his sister.

"What does your position do, just deal with
all the other underlings William doesn't want to deal with
himself?"

"I go over potential hires....and that's
about it." I wasn't a very good liar.

"...What do you do the rest of the time? Just
being his assistant? His toy?" The hostility in the air was
undeniable. Everyone in the room felt it, even young Tina was just
focusing on chewing, not wanting to defy big sister.

"Let's not be cruel, Allison." Will
interjected. "I didn't come to visit to have you insult my
fiance."

"Someone has to, Will. This family means
something now. We can't just be allowing anyone in. I think you're
making a mistake here."

"What kind of mistake could that possibly be,
sister?"

"Isn't it clear? Look at her!" Allison
gestured towards me, as I kept my head down. "She's not of our
class, Will. She doesn't have our education or sophistication. The
media sees you with a girl like her, and they ask 'why can't he do
better...?'"

"What does that matter, Allison? I don't
believe I was read a law forbidding me to marry someone because
they didn't go to an Ivy League school or failed to win Miss
Universe."

Allison stood on the table, asserting
authority over her younger brother. "She's not your equal, Will.
She's your pet. You can have fun with your pet, but you shouldn't
be trying to call it your partner. Have your fling, but marriage is
something you do for status."

Unworthy. I'd been judged as unworthy in the
eyes of family. The office thought I was unworthy too, as Kat had
told me. The world thought I was unworthy. I...I thought myself
unworthy, never deserving of his love.

"What about love, Allison?" Will stood, to
meet his sister face to face. "Does love mean anything to you?"

"Please, don't throw that sentimentality at
me. No one remembers people for their intense love. They remember
powerful and successful people. We're new money, William. But we
could be the next Rockefeller dynasty if we play our cards right.
And the hand of you marrying some tubby chick from the middle of
nowhere hurts our cause."

"...I'd punch you in the face if you weren't
my sister." Will breathed slowly, attempting to calm his anger.
"This is why I never visit, Allison. We'll leave in the
morning."

"...I...I need some time..." I rose, and slid
in my chair.

"Suzanne..." Will went to meet me.

"... Alone... Will. Please." I departed the
room, again trying to fight off my tears as they formed up in my
eyes.

***

A servant pointed me out to the guest rooms.
I found one, and threw myself on a bed. Everything too often seemed
impossible. From the start of when Will told me he wanted me, none
of it was something that should have been happening to me, of all
people. I never belonged.

The last six months had been some of the most
wonderful of my life. New experiences, and what seemed to be true
love. Something was always amiss, even as we both enjoyed each
other so fully, granting the other the full extent of our trust.
Will had said he wanted to marry me...and I had no doubt he
intended to do just that.

A knock on the door. I didn't want to deal
with other people just yet, so I ignored it. The knocking
continued, and the door opened against my wishes, the light from
the hallway pouring into the room.

"Miss Suzie?" The quaint voice asked me, as I
rose to meet it. Tina, Will's little sister, entered and sat on the
edge of the bed. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What's up...?" I groggily said, not exactly
up to discuss whatever was expected to be talked about with young
high school girls.

"My big sister's kinda a jerk at times. I'm
sorry about how she's treating you."

"Thank you, Tina..."

"She's always telling me what to do. Telling
me what I need to wear to the school. What colleges I need to go
to. Who I can be friends with." She blushed a bit. "Who I can date,
even."

"That sounds annoying."

"Did you have to deal with any of that? Your
parents hounding you through school?"

"I couldn't attract enough of the bad boys to
have them complain about who I dated, but outside wanting me to
succeed in school and get a scholarship, they never did anything
like that, no." I pitied her, I had only dealt with less than an
hour of Allison. Shes' had nearly two decades of her.

"See? I envy you."

"Let's not be crazy, Tina. You have all these
opportunities ahead of you cause of your family's money."

"You have freedom. You can walk away from all
this. I've been raised by Allison for most of my life and she's
been a noose the entire time. I can't be a kid. I want to go see
the world a bit before committing to college, but no, even though
we can afford it, I have to go to Oxford. I don't even like England
that much."

I had the strangest inclination I was simply
a convenient outlet to vent to for her... "You're eighteen, an
adult. Can't you tell her to shove it?"

"I wish... money's not actually mine. Gotta
do what she says. It's so stupid. I feel like I'm trapped in a
gilded cage."

"Has the world started bearing down on your
every move yet?"

"I'm sure they're waiting. Cast me right
along every other trust find kid out to party until they wind up in
a ditch somewhere. Petrified of drinking cause of it."

"You shouldn't be drinking anyway. You're
eighteen."

"Hah. They let ten year olds drink in France
you know. They're just fine." She pouted. "I wish I had what you
had, though. I really do."

"Freedom...?"

"Yeah. If you want to leave Will, they'll
forget about you. You'd have anonymity."

No one would judge me anymore...huh. It
sounded sweet. Even as attempted to tough through it all, through
everything...it all did dig at me. "It'd be nice, wouldn't
it..."

"Ally would freak if I tried to like run away
or something, and probably drag me back kicking and
screaming..."

"What's that about me, Tina?" In the doorway
stood Allison, a folder resting in her hand. "You know I want only
what's best for you and this family."

"Uh, hi Ally." Tina shuffled her feet and
looked down.

"Don't you have school tomorrow or
something?" She took a few steps forward, and urged her sister to
depart.

"Oh please, like there's anything else left
in the senior year that I need to be awake for." Tina accepted
defeat, sulking out of the room, leaving me with the weight of her
elder sibling's presence bearing down on me.

"So...Suzanne..." She threw the folder at me,
it spilling open, with many papers, contracts...and checks falling
out. "What do I have to do to get you out of my brother's
life?"

"...Excuse me...?" I glanced over everything
that was tossed over me. Very legalese.

"My brother doesn't have the best taste in
women. I've known this since he was a teenager. I knew he'd bring
someone... not to my standards here today. So I was prepared."

"...Plane tickets. Blank checks... You want
me to vanish into the night or something?"

"That's the idea. How much does it have to
be? I know you're just after the easy street life. This way you can
get that, without tainting my brother's reputation."

My mouth dropped at what I was hearing.
"...Does love mean anything to you?"

"I love my brother if that's what you're
asking. That's why I'm protecting him."

I glared at Allison. "I mean my love for
him...his love for me..."

She threw her head back with a laugh. "Oh
please. You're nothing more than his toy. You're a fun diversion to
keep him excited for this long, but he'll get bored with you soon
enough. You? His life partner, soulmate? Quite the sense of humor
you got there."

"What are you going to do if I toss this
right in your face?" Depression and anger are two emotions that
were very weird to have swirled together.

"I'll make your life hell. I'll fight your
wedding kicking and screaming. I got money to burn, little girl. I
can crush you like a bug...if I have to break my brother's heart
while doing it, so be it. It's for the good of the family."

Our romance had faced so much adversity
already. She was his sister, yes, and they already had a shaky
relationship. I could be the turning point that would ruin that
sibling's bond forever.

"You should take that. Vanish. It'll be
easier on him, Suzanne. His pet will have run away from him, he'll
cry a bit, put your face on a milk carton, but he'll get over it,
and find someone new. Think it over nice and hard, but really, the
choice is clear. You don't want a powerful woman like me as your
enemy."

She began to swagger out of the room, happy
with herself, only to have her brother block her exit.

"What in the hell are you doing, Allison?"
Will stared her down, but in spite of his height advantage, sister
was right there meeting him eye to eye.

"Saving you, my brother."

"Sounds like you're trying to blackmail my
fiance."

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's for her to decide,
isn't it?" Allison walked past him, unfazed. My decision,
huh...?

"I loathe her." Will spat out of his teeth as
he moved to take the seat beside me, looking at the documents that
had been thrown at me. "...She's mad."

"Is she, Will...?"

"You are mine, curvy diamond. Always."

"Am I worth your family?"

"Pardon me...?" He raised an eyebrow.

"She seems serious. I don't she'd forgive you
for marrying someone she hates."

"Allison..." He sighed. "She's a forceful
person. Her standards are ones I'll never understand."

"You do love your family though, don't you,
Will? You don't want to hurt them...?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly."

"I don't know..." I fiddled with the ring on
my finger. "There's a weight to our decision that I never truly
considered."

Will remained quiet.

I gazed down at the folder in front of me.
"...I'm just not sure what I really want anymore..." I mumbled, as
I went over the papers, mostly to keep my mind away from what I was
considering.