Her Forbidden Billionaire

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Blurb:

An African American, billionaire, forbidden romance story. Nobody wants to be alone on Christmas, least of all me. But when Dean, my mom’s boyfriend’s son, suggest we spend it together, suddenly things don’t look so bleak!

Dean is quite the catch, with strikingly good looks. Of course, we’re not exactly family, unless our parents suddenly get hitched someday. But when we kissed, oh boy, did things get complicated fast! And if people were to find out what been happening between us, we’ll be judged left and right!

Now I’m left wondering: Should we delve into this potentially awesome thing we’ve got going? Or play it safe and ignore our feelings because of what people might think? But honestly, forgetting about that kiss and how it felt is not going to be easy… Discover now in this forbidden romance novel by Natasha Dillion.

Chapter 1

“Come on, people! It’s the Christmas season and you all know what that means!” Raina Barnes shouted from the top of her voice so that every single employee could hear her.

It was tough being a full-time manager of a grocery store and even harder was the fact that the revenues weren’t looking good for the year. The Christmas holidays were the perfect time to redeem themselves and get back on their feet.

In that moment the words of her friends and relatives had sprung to her mind. They had argued against her idea. They had told her that it would be a flop, that she wouldn’t make a fortune of it and only lose her remaining savings. Well, apparently their words were going to become true, but Raina Barnes wasn’t that type of woman to leave everything in the hands of destiny and walk away. No sir.

“Are you sure, Ms. Barnes? Do you still believe in the potential of the grocery store?” One cashier who worked only morning shifts asked. His pimpled face shone in the light of the still-closed store bathing in the morning rays.

“I do. I do more than I ever did.” She lied, but it was what every skillful manager did. Lie to increase the motivation. “Yes. Every company has setbacks. Even people fall, but they stand up on their strong legs and move forward. That is going to be precisely what we will do. Fortunately, Christmas is knocking on our doors and that’s the perfect timing for a second chance…”

All of her employees looked her directly in her eyes, nodding and approving of her informal speech. She liked that. Their support always boosted her confidence to continue with her plans.

“Now let’s work on the strategy for the holiday season… Do you have any suggestions?” She spoke, looking at every single one of the crowd before her.

“Well, I thought a third shift would be a great idea,” one of the elder women said. “My husband and I can cover them. I believe that we will attract more night buyers who don’t have time for shopping during the week and plus it’s good for these youngsters who go clubbing all night.”

“Awesome. A fantastic idea. Something else?”

This time it was the pimple face who raised his voice. “Discounts. We definitely need to lower the prices a bit and even make a promotion strategy for certain products. Pay one and take two.”

“Brilliant, Andrew. You’ll be in charge of that, okay?”

After he agreed, many different suggestions flew her way. Import of new products. Christmas decorations. A man dressed as Santa… It was indeed a nice, democratic move to ask her employees about the future of the company they were working in. Raina was having a blast.

“Okay, awesome, people,” she finally said with a sigh. “If you need me for anything just call. I’ll be up and down the city to prepare everything, so I will be available 24/7 during these couple of days. We have to put everything into place.”

The crowd cheered and immediately broke the formation. Many went into the back of the grocery, others were cleaning the stalls, the cashier was working something on the till and there was even one of the employees who went to put out the box with the Christmas decorations. Raina smiled at that. She loved her job and her workers who poured their hearts into the job. Christmas time fished out the best in people, she concluded.

She left the store, taking a glance at the green and red sign above the door.

Raina’s Grocery Store

Where everything is right as rain

That always made a grin creep up on her face. Once again she mentally congratulated herself on her imagination and creativity to come up with a slogan which was connected to her name.

Going down the street, she was made sure that December had arrived and that the city was readying for the most beautiful holidays of the year. The snow, which was slowly turning into ice under the severe, cold weather conditions, was crunching under her boots.

Suddenly, Raina felt a chill entering her bones and she hugged herself tighter and strapped the scarf around her face. She looked just like a ninja with only her eyes visible. The long olive coat that went to her knees was hopefully enough to keep her warm. At least temporarily. She thanked herself for deciding to wear that in the morning.

It was unbelievably cold, she noticed, and she felt as if it was the first Christmas in her entire life that had so low temperatures. Perhaps it wasn’t the coolness of the air that bothered her so much. Maybe it was the loneliness she felt pronounced during these times. The loneliness that easily crept into her apartment at night and into her bones, shaking every fiber of her body. Yes. Loneliness was even worse than coldness. People had invented blankets and scarves and boots and gloves and central heating and fire to stop the cold. Unfortunately, they hadn’t invented a cure for loneliness yet.

Christmas was knocking on the door and she was going to celebrate it with her best friend. She was looking forward to it, but the pain that her previous relationship inflicted couldn’t quickly disappear. It was as if yesterday that Nicholas had dumped her like an old pair of worn socks. Actually it was months ago, but it pained her just like yesterday. She practically didn’t have any time to retreat to the corner and lick her wounds.

What a moron he was! They had had dinner in her apartment. In her apartment, can you imagine? They had been drinking red wine and eating the meal she had prepared when that son of a buck had asked to speak with her. She had gladly accepted, thinking that he might be going to the next step and even propose to her. He had been a fine young man. Good-looking and kind. And it turned out not so kind at all. Anyway, he had told her that their relationship had become boring to him, that he hadn’t been the type to settle down with one girl, that he had wanted other adventures, that she, Raina, hadn’t been enough to satisfy his needs. All of that he had said to her face. The memories of her hitting him in the face and ushering him out of her apartment were still fresh before her eyes.