Love Invested E-Book

Shyla Starr

• Herausgeber: Revelry Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Book 1 of the Persuasive Billionaire BWWM Romance Series

A BWWM Billionaire Romance Story

How can Stacey reconcile her feelings for Charlie while facing the dilemma his employer is putting her through?

***Due to sexually graphic content and language that some may find offensive, this book is intended for mature readers only***

Stacey is trying to keep a handle on her life the best that she can while barely scraping by working at a restaurant on the verge of closing down. To make matters worse, the apartment complex where she lives is being swept up in an effort to rebuild that section of the city. To leave would mean living in a poor area, unsafe for herself and her grandmother.

Changes occur when Stacey meets Charlie. Their connection is undeniable but so is the fact he works for the very company trying to kick Stacey out of her home. Stacey must juggle her life hurtles and her budding romance with Charlie, who might not be who he appears to be.

Download the book and find out what happens.

Leseprobe

WARNING

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

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Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

Copyright 2019 by Revelry Publishing

All Rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER

This book is a work of FICTION. It is not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Every character in this book is over 18 years of age. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.

Other books by Shyla Starr:

Tenacious Billionaire BWWM Romance Series

Adalia is too proud to accept help from the billionaire playboy, Trent Dawson. How long can she maintain her resolve? The bank is at her heels to repossess her business. To make matters worse, Adalia finds suspicious evidence of Trent's philandering ways. She must determine whether to trust Trent with the fate of her business and her heart.

Elusive Billionaire Romance Series

Billionaire Hendrick is trying to repair his company’s image by putting in some volunteer work, building a school and hospital for the impoverished children in Africa. There, he meets a beautiful African American volunteer, Jocelyn. They hit it off right away but does she belong in his world?

Lonely Billionaire Romance Series

Tricia was hired to care for billionaire John’s wife, who is dying. An unlikely romance emerges after his wife, Rebecca, gives John permission to pursue his happiness after she is gone.

Ardent Billionaire Romance Series

Deirdre doesn't know what to make of the gorgeous man that seems to be interested in her. His name is Parker Walters and he seems friendly enough. There is just something off about him. Why is he trying the hide the fact that he is the heir to his father's billion dollar software empire?

Fervent Billionaire BWWM Romance Series

Alexandra had never been with a white man before. She had seen William at the café before but she always kept her distance. It was unfortunate that their first chance meeting happened when she dropped her breakfast and spilled coffee all over his expensive business suit.

Audacious Billionaire BWWM Romance Series

Chante is torn between staying close to a man beyond her league, and fleeing from him to spare herself from a hopeless position. But she finds she is propelled into a place where she needs to confront her doubts and cast her fate aside to follow the dictates of her heart. Damned if she does and miserable is she doesn’t, how will Chante face the events that will lead her to a place of pure happiness or to the pits of a broken heart?

Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:

https://shylastarr.com/newsletter/

This book is Part One of the “Persuasive Billionaire BWWM Romance Series”

1 - Love Invested

Stacey is trying to keep a handle on her life the best that she can. She is on the verge of losing her job and her apartment, while taking care of her sick grandmother. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Charlie, who works for the construction company that is attempting to persuade her to move out of her home.

2 - Love Divested

After discovering that Charlie has a fiancée, Stacey’s world has turned upside down. She cannot help but feel as if she is in over her head. Struggling with her job, her bills and her family, will Stacey be able to figure out how she can get her life straightened out?

3 - Love Reinstated

Stacey decides that she has to put Charlie behind her and move on with her life. As Stacey dates Tony and is pulled into his world, she slowly realizes that although she likes him, it might not be enough to brush aside her feelings for Charlie. Leaving everything behind, she lets herself get lost in the money and privacy that Tony brings to her.

4 - Love Confirmed

Stacey can’t believe the turn of events in her life. After losing her grandmother and running away to Tony’s private island, she was content to stick her head in the sand and forget her past. But a proposal from Charlie changes everything.

5 - Love Divine

Stacey must ensure she relaxes in order to keep her baby safe. But life is never that easy. Her new husband’s father is bent on sabotaging their fledgling investment firm. To make things worse, her brother-in-law isn’t content with just being in the background. Stacey finds herself wishing she could have the brothers patch things up.

Persuasive Billionaire BWWM Romance Series

Love Invested

Book One

By Shyla Starr

Copyright Revelry Publishing 2019

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Other Books by Shyla Starr

About the Author - Shyla Starr

Connect with Shyla Starr

Chapter One

“THEY’RE ASKING for the eggs to be cooked again.”

“What? Those are fine!”

“What do you want me to do about it, Brad? The customer is complaining. Just make them again, alright? He wants the eggs overcooked, apparently.”

Brad took the plate from Stacey’s hand and returned to his grill, grumbling loudly. Stacey wiped the sweat from her brow and turned around, getting ready to head back out onto the floor of Papa’s Grill and Diner.

It was the middle of the day in mid-summer, which made the sweltering kitchen unbearable. Stacey was glad to leave the kitchen even if it meant dealing with a couple of jerk customers.

Back in the dining area, she looked around. She had only one couple in her section. They were older, with their shoulders hunched over and beady eyes pointed toward the kitchen. The woman hadn’t touched her sandwich, probably waiting for the man to get his eggs back before digging in.

There was only one other waitress, Maria, working, and she was in the corner, texting on her phone. Their place wasn’t exactly the hot spot of the city to eat during the best of times. During mid-day, it was more like a graveyard.

The woman motioned for Stacey to come over. She clenched her jaw, exhaled slowly and got ready for whatever ridiculous request the woman was going to make. This couple had been a hassle from the moment they were seated.

“How can I help you?” she asked, plastering a smile on her face.

The woman scowled, “Where are my husband’s eggs?”

“They’re making him a fresh batch right now.”

“Tell them to hurry up!” the woman snapped.

The husband sat there silently, playing with the edge of his napkin. But he nodded at Stacey as if to tell her he better get his eggs soon.

Stacey scurried back into the kitchen. It was mind-numbing if she let it get to her. How long had she been working here now? Four years? It was supposed to be a pit stop before she moved onto bigger and better things. She had been there, scraping by, instead of returning to college or working on making something more of herself.

No use in thinking about that now.

Brad handed her a plate of freshly cooked eggs. She walked back to the table and placed it in front of the man and his wife.

The man wrinkled his nose and said, “This will do, I suppose.”

Stacey clasped her hands together and inquired as politely as she could muster, “Would you like more coffee?”

They grunted, and she gave them a fresh pot, making sure not to add it their bill. She was sure they would want something for free out of the egg fiasco. By the time the couple left, Stacey was ready for a break.

In the break room, she slipped off her shoes and rubbed her feet, wincing. Her shoes were cheap, and it showed after standing in them for more than a couple of hours. Her feet were killing her.

She checked her phone next. There was a voicemail from her sister. It was a rare event that her sister reached out to her and she was filled with dread listening to the message.

“Stacey, hey. It’s your sister, Allison,” she added for clarification as if Stacey wouldn’t know her own sister’s name. “Listen, call me when you can? I have a question to ask you. Well, more of a favor? But I need to talk to you first. Thanks, bye.”

Stacey sighed as the message ended. Her sister wanting a favor never led to anything good. If she wants money, she can forget it. There was no cash to give Allison. There were barely any funds for Stacey.

A small TV in the break room played the news. The image was grainy but she could just make out the weatherman talking about rain later on in the evening. Great. She made a mental note to make sure the roof didn’t leak all over everything when she got home from work. Last time it stormed, Stacey had to set out buckets to catch the drips.

She closed her eyes just for a moment. If she left them closed for too long, she would fall asleep on the spot. It felt as if there was always something to do. She finished one thing, and another task popped up in its place. Maybe that was how it would always be.

“Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Stacey opened her eyes to see Amanda stepping into the break room.

“You work today?” Stacey asked, surprised, wondering why they needed another waitress working during such a slow day.

“Nah, I left my wallet here last night in my locker. I was so tired after closing, it just slipped my mind.” Amanda walked over to her locker and glanced back at Stacey. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

“Looks dead here. I’d be tired too,” Amanda remarked as she opened up her locker.

“Yeah, it’s pretty boring.”

Amanda paused in front of her open locker, grabbed her wallet, and tucked it into her purse. When she turned back around, she had a strange look on her face. Stacey sat up straighter.

“What?”

Amanda hesitated and then sat down on the wooden bench. Stacey could see the purple circles under Amanda’s eyes. Although they both worked full time at the restaurant, Amanda also attended college. She was probably just as tired as Stacey.

“I heard something. Probably just a rumor. I don’t know. I wasn’t going to tell anyone but—”

But I know how much you need this job was the unfinished thought there.

“What is it?”

Amanda lowered her voice, “Heard at a class yesterday this place might close down.”

“Who was talking about that in your class?” Stacey scoffed. “Especially about our little place.”

“Well, I mentioned that I work here. I was in my accounting class, and we were doing a project. This kid in my group said that I should look for other work because this place is going to shut down. Especially with all those investment groups coming in here trying to revive the area.”

Stacey scowled. Her neighborhood, which was predominantly black, had indeed been crawling with rich white men in suits lately. All of them wanted to knock down and rebuild her section of town. They wanted to make it new and fresh again. They wanted it to appeal to the elite, which naturally meant getting rid of anyone who was low income.

“Thanks for the heads up, Amanda, but one kid in a college class saying we’re going to close doesn’t mean we are going to.”

“Maybe. But this place is always dead. How long do you think we can stay open like this?” She stood up. “Don’t tell anyone I told you, okay? I’ll see you later.”

Stacey watched her go, suddenly feeling wide awake. Even though she had sounded confident to Amanda that they weren’t going to close, the girl had a point. Business had been awful lately. How long would they really be able to stay open?

Maybe it was time to find another job. The only reason Stacey had stuck around there for so long was how flexible the hours were. Few places would accommodate Stacey like that. But if this place was going to close, she may have to put some applications out.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, fending off a headache. Just another worry to add to her long list.

Chapter Two

Stacey closed the front door of her apartment softly. She crept into the living room. The TV was on, showing the weather report. Apparently, Stacey wasn’t going to be able to escape from bad weather news today. The rain was rolling in. She was glad that she had beaten it in time.

“That you, Stacey?” came a voice from one of the other rooms.

Stacey headed down the cramped hallway and stopped in front of one of the doors. She pushed it open a little and peered inside. Her grandmother, Tina, was sitting up in her bed with a magazine in her lap. Her lamp was on next to her, giving her just enough light to read by. Her eyes looked a little glassy, and her fingers were curled around one of the magazine pages. Her mind had been slowly deteriorating for a couple of years now. Stacey wondered how long Tina had been staring at the same page.

“Hey, I figured you’d be asleep.”

“Couldn’t sleep. Joints ache. It’s going to rain, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.”

Stacey came into the room and sat down at the edge of the bed. The room smelled like mothballs mixed with perfume. There was no point in telling her that she had left the TV on. Tina would have probably forgotten she was even out in the living room at one point.

“How was your day, doll?”

“It was okay. How are you feeling? Were you okay here by yourself?” Stacey asked.

Tina smiled and replied, “Just fine, dear. Although I wouldn’t mind some warm milk.”

“Let me get you some,” Stacey said as she got up.

She was almost at the door when Tina spoke, “Oh, someone came to the door today.”

“You answered?” she asked with a sigh. “You know you should be resting, not answering doors.”

“Well, he wouldn’t go away.”

“What did he say?”

Tina’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember. Stacey watched with a stab of pain in her chest. It was so hard watching her grandmother like this. It was even harder leaving her alone during the day while she worked. She could barely afford doctors and medicine, so there was no way she could pay for a nurse or an assisted-living facility.

“I don’t know, dear. What were we talking about?”

“You wanted warm milk.”

“Ah, yes. That would be lovely,” Tina replied and smiled at her.

Stacey returned the smile and went back to the living room. She turned off the TV and continued to the front door. There was a small table beside it where she had tossed her keys and hadn’t noticed the envelope. It had her name typed on it.

Stacey didn’t even have to open it to know what it was going to be. She picked it up and debated just throwing it out without reading it. But that could come back and bite her in the ass.

As she warmed up the milk, she opened up the letter and scanned it quickly. It was the same old shit. They were trying to vacate everyone from the building so they could knock it down. They probably wanted to build some high rise or something in its place.

This time, they were offering money. But it wasn’t enough. Sure, they could take the money and could go. But between Stacey’s debts, taking care of her grandmother, and then trying to find a place that was cheap enough for them to live, this money ultimately didn’t help. There was no other place in the city that Stacey could afford that wasn’t in a seedy neighborhood or by some noisy factory.

A headache she had been fending off all day came back with a vengeance. The panic that she tried to fight off at the same time also threatened to return. Where would they go? She didn’t want to live in the slums. She didn’t want to put her grandmother in danger. On top of that, if the restaurant did close, she would be out of a job.

“When it rains, it pours,” Stacey mumbled and shoved the letter back into the envelope.

She took the warm milk to Tina who was still on the same page of the magazine. She put it next to her on the night table and adjusted her pillows.

“Need anything else?”

“Oh, someone came to the door for you today,” Tina repeated.

“Did they?”

“Yes. They were from that business group. The construction group.”

Stacey pretended as if this was new information for her. “What did they want?”

“Just about the area. About improving it,” Tina said, settling in with her milk.

Stacey doubted they would have told her grandmother anything. It was common knowledge, even among the people working in the company that hovered around there, that her grandmother was forgetful and not well. At least they had the decency not to harasses her.

“Well, thanks for letting me know.”

Tina smiled and looked back down at her magazine. Stacey studied her for a few seconds and then slipped out of the room quietly. Sometimes, Tina forgot that anyone was there and would be startled by Stacey speaking. Best to leave her alone.