Everything to Me: A BBW Romance

by Manny V.

Stephanie Graves has been dealt a rough hand in life. At a young age, she was left to take care of both her brother and sister with no familial help or resources. As a waitress at Cheesecake Factory, she struggles to make ends meet and raise her siblings but a chance encounter puts her in the path of Zoe Wilson who gives her an offer she can’t refuse.Zoe Wilson is desperate. With less than a month until his newest business venture opens, he finds himself short on staff and options, but when he meets Stephanie Graves, he realizes she might just be the solution to all of his problems.Lines become blurred and relationships are formed, but will one bad decision threaten everything Zoe and Stephanie have worked so hard to build? Or is love really strong enough to conquer every obstacle?**Excerpt**"So wait a minute. Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly. You want to hire me in your restaurant because your girlfriend was rude as hell, but instead of smacking the shit out of her like I should have, I allowed her to verbally abuse and lie on me? That’s what you were impressed with? And you want to hire me to serve your ‘specific clientele’ and put up with that shit 8 hours a day? Thank you, but no thank you.""She's not my girlfriend." I blurted, because of all the things she just said that's what I needed to clarify the most. Most of the time I allow people to think Nicki and I are a couple because it’s wasted energy to correct them, but I didn't want Stephanie thinking that we were together. For some reason, I needed her to know that I wasn't attached."I’m single, Stephanie." I clarified further, ignoring the look of shock on her face as I continued "But, I never thought of it that way. I wasn't trying to offend you or put you in a bad situation, I just wanted someone like you on my team. My mother would have loved you, and you fit her vision of five-star service perfectly."She’s a smart girl because instead of being flattered she crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a look that said 'Negro, Please'. I was laying it on thick as hell. I knew it, and she knew it. But, I wanted her to work for me. Bad. And I was running out of time. With only three weeks left, I needed my staff in place so we could start training, and Stephanie's upside is that she already has experience so she can seamlessly transition into the role."Listen, what's it gonna take to draw you away from this place?"She regarded me curiously before saying “I’ll bite. What's the pay?""Minimum wage plus tips."Shaking her head, she responded, "Yea, that's not gonna work.""Why not? Ain't that what you make here?""No, it's not.” She said flatly before continuing “Have you ever been a server before, Zoe? Do you even know what goes into this role? It's way more than just taking orders and delivering food to tables. And people, aside from you, generally don't tip well. Thank you by the way for your generosity."I nodded my head and signaled for her to continue."So saying minimum wage plus tips is not as much as you think. Servers are people, too. We have bills, responsibilities, and families to take care of. I'm sorry, but I couldn't work for a company that devalued their employees down to minimum wage."After processing what she said, I responded "Aight, you make some good points. So hypothetically speaking, what do you think is a reasonable wage for wait staff specifically?""If you're offering benefits, then twelve dollars an hour is a good start.

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2021

Reviews

[Dahyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steph x Zoe

This author has completely won me over with just three books. This one was a fun and captivating read, I especially love when the man falls first and ends up eating his words.
One thing I will say, though: I didn’t care much for the reconciliation between Steph and Zoe.

Still, a fun read overall, and I definitely recommend this author’s small but solid catalog.

[JBucky · Rating 5 out of 5]

These love stories are unparalleled! I was sad that this one had to end 😩! Zoe & Stephanie’s love story was superb! When they met, I commend Stephanie because I would have lost my job that day lol. The fact that Nicki remained a nuisance throughout this entire book was crazy. This showed how people need to work on themselves and managing their emotions because girl Nicki needed to seek therapy R E A L B A D.!

Zoe valued family, & the way he took to Stephanie’s siblings was beautiful! That speech at the end that Stephanie’s brother Jojo made almost took me out; it was beyond beautiful & heartfelt! Teetee was perfect! Zoe’s friend Kai was funny as crap and so was his father Zion! I loved everything about this book, from the way the characters were written, down to the way the love story unfolded! Bravo 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[Mia Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww

This was just the sweetest story. Stephanie deserved everything and more. She found that in Zoe. This is my second book from this author. I must say she is doing a good job. The first one, Black Soul, was great.

[Keywanna Revell · Rating 5 out of 5]

KR

Awesome

Who ever thought Zoe going to Cheesecake factory
He did not realize he met his soulmate..
I liked how he tried to act like he was not falling for Stephanie for her But he fell hard ..

But I like her strength talking care of her sister and brother..

I'm glad finally let Nicki know what it was she was delusional frfr he never showed her he wanted more but sex she was very disrespectful and .. But she didn't stop nothing he still making with his business..

And now there have there own family and his dad found love again to...

[Monie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manny V is a gifted writer. Although I enjoyed the plot and connection between the characters, the obsession for my girl felt unrealistic. A man with that mindset isn’t going to just fall for a plus-size server who works at the Cheesecake Factory. The justification for his attraction just didn’t make sense to me. One of the author’s books provided the right amount of heat and realism for such an attraction (the one with Kenneth Black and Savannah), but a couple of them have been really off, and have fetishized being a plus size woman. There’s a slippery slope there.

[Lydia Francis-Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic storyline!!!

Thank you for making one of your main characters an out of the normal plus size woman... because everyone always seems to use size 12 to 18 forgetting that the plus size women of 20 - 30 need desire want and even get the love and devotion and marriage that most women want. Stephanie and Zoe make a fabulous couple and one day I hope to read more about them !!!

[Lateefah Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Love Story

I enjoyed this book! I was all in. I love the way you showed how love overcomes struggle and pain. It was an interesting read because enjoy seeing woman being cherished at any size. I also love the she went struggling to having everything she wanted through her love.

[Myra henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

🔥🔥🔥

Haven’t done a review in a while but this book I definitely had to.. loved loved loved this book the characters the story line.. it was sweet funny and very enjoyable that Kai he didn’t have a major part but he was still funny in the parts he was in.. and his plan worked lol great read you wouldn’t be disappointed

[Kalin Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

☺️

This book gave me all of the good feels. Zoe definitely got on my nerves at first trying to deny his feelings but I was still rooting for him. Kai is a straight up fool. I definitely laughed out loud with his plan for Zoe to win Stephanie back. It made it more hilarious that Zoe was down with it.

[Ki Taeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

lol the ending. This man really kidnapped her to say sorry. Idk whether to be annoyed or amused.

[Samantha Veale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is a one click for me!

I love to see plus size women being cherished and desired, and this book gives me exactly that. Zoe loved him some Stephanie, and although he made a few(a lot) bad decisions, he made up for it in the end and they got their happily ever after. Highly recommend this book, and this author is quickly becoming one of my favorites.