Читать книгу Double Dare - Tawny Weber - Страница 8

AT HER DRAWING TABLE Monday morning, Audra stared at the design she was supposed to be finishing. Instead, she’d been sitting here, staring, for over an hour. Blocked. She’d never been blocked before. But now, she looked at the sketch of a white silk chemise and all she saw was blah, boring, vanilla.

Had she sold out? Had she put the idea of building a career, of making a name for herself in the lingerie design business, ahead of her individuality? Hell, did she even have individuality anymore? The things she’d counted on most of her life seemed to be slipping away. Her friends, her wicked persona. Her sexy attitude and ability to wow a guy speechless.

She eyed the tie she’d tossed on her table and rolled her eyes. Well, maybe she hadn’t lost the speechless thing. That geek hadn’t been able to weave three words together.

Audra looked at the wall over her table, sketches for the fall line in various stages of completion tacked across it. Some were, yes…vanilla. But only a couple. Most were hot. Empowering. An invitation for a woman to embrace her sensuality, to dress herself up in a way that would guarantee she felt strong and sexy.

Dammit, she was proud of those designs.

For a girl with few standout traits—at least, ones she wanted to market—the acclaim and attention she’d received designing lingerie were amazing. Audra had never stood out for anything but her looks and her badass attitude. So to take the sexy little designs she dreamed up from sketch to finished product gave her a sense of accomplishment she’d never imagined growing up as a number on a social worker’s case file.

To have others actually pay money for that lingerie? It rocked, plain and simple.

So maybe she was focusing on the vanilla aspect, for now. It was a place to start. Soon, she’d layer in some rich, bittersweet chocolate syrup, maybe a little whipped cream. If she followed Isabel’s advice and all that career planning stuff her friend spouted, Audra figured she’d have her cherry-topped dreams before she was thirty.

Nothing to worry about. She wasn’t losing herself in the dream. Just working toward making her starring role a little better.

Semireassured, she forced herself to shake off the irritating introspection and took a swig of her energy drink.

She fingered her memento from Saturday night, the geek’s hideous tie. It was a poorly-sewn-together monstrosity of blue geometric shapes strewn over an eye-watering green polyester background. She ought to toss it in the trash, but for some reason she couldn’t. Probably because it reminded her of the delight she’d almost had, and how she’d let it get away.

“What’s that? A new design?” Natasha, Audra’s sister-in-law and boss, asked as she entered the small office-slash-design room. She reached out to touch the tie and grimaced. “No offense, Audra, but that’s butt-ugly. Is that the kind of thing you’re going to do now that you’ve graduated textile design school with all those honors?”

Audra fought back a blush. Honors. Who’d have thunk it? She was so not an honors kind of chick. For a woman who’d gotten her high school diploma through the G.E.D. program, school was not the gig of choice. But the Textile and Fashion Design Academy? She’d found heaven. People who admired her for more than her bust, who were more interested in the designs she envisioned and brought to life than how much she could drink.

“No,” she said in answer to the question, “this isn’t a design for Simply Sensual. It’s more like a reminder.”

“Of what not to wear, I hope.”

More like of the hottest guy she’d ever almost had, to say nothing of her fall from Wicked Chick status. Two dares failed in one night. How humiliating. A wave of despair washed over her. Were her friends right? Was she changing? Losing her edge in her drive to build a career? The missing condom definitely supported that theory.

She looked around the work space, its soft blues and deep burgundies edged with gilt and curlicues. Pure femininity. The colors and lines definitely weren’t what she’d call her style, yet she was perfectly comfortable here. Productive, even more so than in the vivid purple and red decor of her apartment.

It was a Monday morning, and she’d shown up at work before Natasha to open the shop. Again, a sign of responsibility at odds with her bad girl reputation of swinging in whenever the whim took her.

It was enough to make a girl panic. But Audra ignored the sick tension in her stomach and the freaked-out thoughts swirling through her brain. She was made of sterner stuff than that. Dammit, she could have it all. She’d prove her badness, and make her mark on the lingerie world.

Since that wasn’t the kind of thing she could share, though, she just smiled. In looks, Natasha was her complete opposite. Blond, ladylike and subdued. It was only after Audra had gotten to know her that she’d recognized the wild woman under Natasha’s tidy exterior.

“I like to think of it as a design with an identity crisis,” Audra said of the tie. Like a game show hostess, she held it high in one hand and trailed the back of her fingers over it with the other. It was so poorly constructed, it felt as if they’d left a needle or something between the layers.

“Identity crisis?” Natasha repeated with a laugh. “That tie is just ugly.”

Damned good thing she hadn’t ended up with its owner. Who knew what else of his was poorly constructed? Audra suppressed a shudder and shrugged. “Some ideas might come of it.”

Hopefully ideas on how to find balance between her ambitions and her friends instead of the sexual fantasies she’d entertained about Jesse and all the alternate endings to their encounter. Alternate endings she had no way to engineer since she’d not only become wuss girl without the condom, but hadn’t even got the man’s phone number.

God, what was happening to her?

“If anyone can find inspiration from it to use in a lingerie design, you can,” said Natasha. “After all, your latest nightie is selling like gangbusters. Didn’t you say it was inspired by one of those plastic six-pack carriers?”

Audra grinned. She loved the nightie Natasha mentioned. Its random circles of opaque fabric stamped over sheer organza offered tantalizing peeks of bare flesh, all in a baby doll style that screamed sassy fun.

“This just goes to prove the brilliance of my decision to make you head designer,” Natasha claimed with a satisfied smile.

To hide her infinitesimal wince, Audra shrugged. Head designer. It sounded so…uptight, official. So not her. She wasn’t sure if it was the designation or the implied responsibility that gave her the willies. Then again…if it kept her on the road to that cherry-topped dream, she’d deal with it. Willies and all.

She pinned the tie to the wall next to her sketches. She was just about to pitch the changes she’d been dying to make for the new fall line when Natasha jumped up and clapped her hands.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Excitement rang clear in her sister-in-law’s voice. “I had a call. A very special call, as a matter of fact. From Hantai Lingerie. They definitely want to talk business.”

Audra’s mouth went dry. Business? International business? Visions of her latest design ideas flashed through her mind. Now that she was head designer, she’d be able to get a little wild, instead of the more demure, subtle designs Natasha favored. Where better to launch them than in a new country? Excitement whipped through her.

This was why she was teetering on the edge of losing her Wicked Chick status and even the respect of her friends. For a shot at making these visions a reality. To make her mark on the design world with lingerie and finally prove she was a success. Go beyond bridal fluff and get into truly sexy creativity.

“This is it, Audra. We’re heading for the big time. That makes the third China-based lingerie distributor wanting to carry our fall line.”

Natasha grinned and grabbed Audra, pulling her out of her chair for a hug. Still unused to the ready affection, Audra was stiff at first, but Natasha didn’t let up. A few seconds was all it took Audra to loosen up and join her sister-in-law in the celebration. They did a wild butt-swinging boogie and slapped hands before dropping to their chairs.

“Rock on. I’ve been thinking of some designs to spice up the line. You know, add a few options to grab the more adventurous customers.” It was all Audra could do to keep her cool and not bounce in her seat like a little schoolgirl.

Natasha’s smile dimmed and her face got that let’s-let-her-down-gently look.

Audra didn’t even need to hear the words to know she was being denied.

“I’d love to see your ideas. I’m sure there’s a solid market for more adventurous designs. I’ll bet you have some exciting things in mind.”

Nice words, but a shutdown, none the less.

“But…”

Here it was.

“Simply Sensual has built its reputation in a more demure and subtle direction. I think, at least for the fall line, we should keep our focus there. That’s what these distributors have recognized us for, what they are interested in. After all, we can’t afford to experiment at this point. We just don’t have the time or the financial resources.”

In other words, more fluffy sweet designs. Audra bit back a sigh. Not that she didn’t enjoy the challenge of making something demure scream “Do me.” But she’d thought she’d be able to spread her wings a little now. Wasn’t that what head designer meant? That she was in charge of the designs?

Before she could find an unchallenging way to ask, Natasha leaned forward to tap the papers spread over the drafting table.

“Let’s focus on signing these Chinese distributors. We’ll keep the fall line in sync with our current image. But draw me up these designs you have in mind, and we’ll see what we can do about incorporating some aspect of them into the spring additions, okay?”

After a brief struggle with impatience, Audra grimaced and shrugged. Heck, she was getting her way, right? Maybe not as fast as she’d prefer, but Natasha’s explanation made sense.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Natasha said, her fair face flushed from dancing. “I know I said I didn’t want to borrow any money from a bank because I need all the capital and collateral available for this next big order. But I talked to my aunt last week. She’s willing to loan me enough money to guarantee we nail this deal.”

Natasha’s aunt was rolling in snooty, upscale money.

“I think it’d be smart if one of us went over to Beijing and met with these companies,” Natasha continued. “You know, talk us up and personally present the designs. Be there to get them to sign the contracts.”

From the serious look on the blonde’s aristocratic face, she’d put a lot of thought into this. The lure of China stifled Audra’s still simmering impatience to branch out with her designs.

“Okay. That’s smart,” Audra agreed with a nod. She didn’t even ask which one of them would go. She might be the newly appointed head designer, but the businesswoman thing was obviously not her specialty. “It’ll cost a bit of capital, but if the loan will cover it, it’s worth it. I think the connection we’ll make by face-to-face meetings will pay off in the long run.”

But didn’t this mean there was more money available? Like, money that could go toward some hot, sexy designs? Audra pressed her lips together, but didn’t say anything. Bottom line, it was Natasha’s business. As much as Audra might want to push for her rights as head designer, she’d wait. She’d watch for the opportune moment. Any bad girl worth her garter belt knew how to turn a no into a yes. It was all in the timing.

Simply Sensual would be a success. Thanks, in part, to her. This would be the first major step they’d taken since Natasha had bought the company from her aunt almost two years before, one they couldn’t have made without Audra’s talent.

She sucked in a breath and held it, her cheeks puffed out. Focus on the trip. China, so much to see and do. She’d never traveled outside the country. Not that she’d be going this time, but wouldn’t it be cool if she could? Make big deals, wow the distributors with her charm and moxie.

“Which one of us is going to go?” she asked, just in case a miracle happened and Natasha thought knowledge of the designs would be a bigger asset on this trip than knowing the business.

“I’m not sure,” Natasha admitted with a grimace. “You did the designs. But I know the business end. You know, what we need to make this deal work.”

Not sure, her ass. When it was put that way, Audra could hardly argue. She really wasn’t disappointed. And maybe if she repeated it enough, she’d believe it.

Besides, she had enough at stake already, trying to wade through her personal identity crisis. The exhilaration fading, Audra wanted to sink into her chair and bury her head in her hands, but couldn’t. Not while Natasha was here. To admit such a problem—hell, to admit any weakness—wasn’t her way.

“You’d make a stronger impression on the suits” was all Audra could come up with. And it was true. While Audra might wow them, the impression Natasha would make would likely net more business.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You go. Hell, you should take Drew,” Audra suggested, certain her brother would love the idea of a second honeymoon. He’d been so focused on saving their deceased father’s bar, then on building enough business to keep Aaron Walker’s legacy in the black, that he hardly ever took time off. Besides, not only had he been the one to nag Audra into going to design school, he’d even paid her way.

The least she could do was make sure big brother got a little international nooky with his wife. “He’d get a charge out of it. I’ll bet it’d make a better impression on those businessmen, too, you being solidly married and all that.”

“Oh, good point.” Natasha scooted around the desk and grabbed a pad and pen. Audra grinned when she started scratching out a list of things to do. Then Natasha paused and tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and peered at Audra.

“Um, you’d have to handle the boutique on your own. I think I could get Aunt Sharon to help behind the counter once in a while, but mostly it’d fall on you. I’d have to be gone about two weeks, I think.”

Unspoken was the fact that the longest Audra had been responsible for Simply Sensual was a three-day weekend. That was the weekend she’d ended up hosting an impromptu bridal shower in the boutique, complete with male strippers. It probably wouldn’t have been too big a deal if Natasha’s aunt hadn’t chosen to stop in just as the bride-to-be and the stripper had been acting out an explicit sexual act on the checkout counter. They’d sold a hell of a lot of lingerie that evening, she remembered, suppressing a naughty grin.

Natasha’s doubts, so politely unsaid, were clear on her face. Audra knew her sister-in-law would be enlisting her aunt as a babysitter, as well as temporary clerk. Audra’s amusement fell away. No matter how she sugarcoated it, her sister-in-law expected her to drop the ball.

Jeez, how hard could it be to take charge of the boutique for a couple weeks? Audra ran through a checklist of what she knew about running the business. It was a dismally short list.

Damn.

Maybe Natasha was right to worry about the wisdom of leaving it all in her hands. But if there was one thing Audra refused to do, it was to appear needy. Nope, she’d suck up the insecurity and do a kick-ass job.

“When do you think you’ll go?”

Natasha tapped the pencil on the pad of paper, the dull thump keeping rhythm with Aerosmith belting out “Just Push Play” on the radio.

“I can call Aunt Sharon and get the money transferred today. The sooner we get the contracts and an idea of what kind of numbers we’ll be producing, the faster we can deliver product. What do you think about me leaving tomorrow? It’s like an all-day flight, but I can set up meetings starting on Wednesday.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s get this party rockin’.”

Natasha settled behind her desk with a cup of peppermint tea while Audra knocked back a Red Bull. For the next half hour they sketched out a plan of action, then went over the boutique responsibilities for the next week or so.

“I think that’s everything,” Natasha said as she tidied her notes into a stack. “And just in time to open the doors.”

She came around her desk and gave Audra an excited hug.

“We’re making it, Audra. Big-time. Drew is so proud of you.” She pulled back, obviously realizing all this sentimental stuff made Audra uncomfortable. “So we’re set. Are you sure you can handle everything alone?”

Audra considered her performance over the last week since graduating the textile and design academy.

She’d lost an order, told a customer the fishnets made her cellulite look like a bag full of marbles and almost got the delivery guy fired for flirting on company time.

Hardly management material.

But if she wanted to be trusted with something as major as bringing her vision to the spring line, she’d have to prove she could handle running the boutique.

Rarely felt nerves made their way through her stomach with a nasty flutter.

“I can handle it,” she vowed. She’d make sure of it. “As long as I don’t have to remember to bring a condom,” she muttered under her breath.

“Um, no, I doubt you’ll need to worry about that. At least, not for the boutique—unless you’re planning another party,” Natasha said with a wink and laugh.

Maybe she’d overreacted and Natasha wasn’t worried about leaving her in charge. Audra frowned.

Dammit, she should worry. Two years ago, heck, two months ago, she’d have worried. Now, though, Audra was, what? Such a goody-goody she could be trusted to be well-behaved? She sank into her chair with a morose sigh. All these yo-yoing emotions were exhausting. Just because she wasn’t a loser didn’t mean she was a goody-goody. There was an in-between there. Somewhere.

“But, you know it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’d strongly suggest keeping a few condoms on hand, since you never know what will come up.” Laughing at her own joke, Natasha headed out to the showroom to open the boutique for the day.

Audra made a face at her sister-in-law’s retreating back and mocked, “Ha ha.”

But inside, she groaned. How freaking pitiful was she? Even Natasha knew to be prepared.

After Natasha left, Audra contemplated the ugly tie pinned to the wall. The green was an insult to the eyes, and the crappy construction mocked her devotion to design details.

She should throw it away. It was stupid to hold on to some geek’s tie. A geek who’d run out on her, making her a loser in her friends’ eyes. Sure, they’d tossed her a second dare. But look how that had turned out.

But no, here she was, a sappy sentimental wuss who should have her Wicked Chick membership revoked. Courting silly thoughts about what a guy was like out of bed and wondering if he’d really call her for a date. Holding on to some butt-ugly memento as a reminder of the night she’d met the hottest guy to ever keep her awake without even being there.

Talk about an identity crisis.

A JUMBO COFFEE at his elbow, heavily laced with cream to disguise the bitter taste, Jesse’s fingers cruised with loving familiarity over the computer keyboard. He ignored the usual Tuesday morning noise in the cop shop as he patiently hacked through Dave Larson’s personal life.

Two steps forward, five steps back.

A dance Jesse loved. Larson was dirtier than a meth fiend on a street corner. The last two years he’d been up to his ass in debt, conning Peter to rob Paul. Now, suddenly, he was rolling in the green. Enough cash flying through his secondary account to rent a BMW, pay for a Nordstrom shopping spree and buy one hell of a lot of porn on the Internet. Davey Larson was definitely being paid well.

Jesse hit Print to add the financials to his file and continued digging. An hour later, the phone on the corner of his desk jangled. He ignored it until someone yelled his name.

“Hey, Martinez. Phone. Dude wants to talk to you.”

Jesse waved his thanks and grabbed the phone, still working the keyboard with one hand.

“Martinez here.”

Five minutes later, he stared at his scribbled notes. It wasn’t the chicken-scratch mess that had the coffee churning in his stomach. His informant had confirmed the rumors. Dave Larson wasn’t just dabbling in organized crime. He was playing with the big boys. Chinatown-based mafia Du Bing Li big. It seemed Dave had finally scored the underworld connections he’d sought through the most unlikely source. His porn addiction.