Читать книгу The Night Before Christmas: Naughty Christmas Nights / The Nightshift Before Christmas / 'Twas the Week Before Christmas - Tawny Weber - Страница 12

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“YOU’RE GRINNING LIKE a kid who just found a dancing pony under her Christmas tree. What’s wrong with you?”

Wrong?

This was afterglow. Sexual anticipation. And a big ole dollop of nervous energy. It’d been three days since her kiss with Gage, and she was still floating.

Hailey inspected her image in the ornate standing mirror in the corner of her workroom-slash-office. Behind her were swaths of billowing silk, yards of lace and spilling bins of roses and romantic trim.

Only Doris would look at that and say it was wrong.

Hailey peered past her reflection to the woman behind her.

Doris Danson, or D.D. to her friends—which meant Hailey called her Doris—looked as if she were stuck in a time warp.

Rounded and a little droopy, her white hair was bundled in a messy bun reminiscent of a fifties showgirl. Bright blue eye shadow and false lashes added to the image. Doris’s workday uniform consisted of polyester slacks, a T-shirt with a crude saying by a popular yellow bird and an appliqué holiday sweater complete with beribboned dogs, candy canes and sequin-covered trees.

The sweater and tee didn’t bother Hailey. But as a designer, she was morally offended at the elastic-waisted polyester. Doris knew that. Hailey had a suspicion that the older woman haunted thrift stores and rummage sales to stock up on the ugly things.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Hailey said.

Not really. But she couldn’t meet her secretary-slash-seamstress-slash-bookkeeper’s gaze.

Despite her afterglow, she was kind of freaked out. She’d made out with a potential business associate. Now, granted, associate was a pretty loose term. But she was still walking a moral line here. Should Gage be off-limits? Maybe she shouldn’t be obsessing over that kiss. Hailey bit her lip, chewing off the lip gloss she’d just slicked on five minutes ago.

“Might want to eat something besides your lipstick. Not like they feed you at these fancy meetings. Why you think it’s a good idea to go talk to this guy after he burned you is a mystery, though.”

“Mr. Rudolph didn’t burn me. He’d never offered an actual contract. I’m sure I’ll still get the exclusive. It’s just going to be a little more interesting now.” Jared and Trent wouldn’t have praised her designs like they had if they didn’t think she had the contract in the bag. And Hailey had a secret weapon now. A very sexy, very delicious one she was meeting for dinner.

“Interesting. Right. Instead of getting a solid deal you expected, you get to play some rich man’s game.” The wheels of her chair creaked as Doris shifted. The woman was barely visible behind the stacks of paper, catalogs and the tiny ceramic Christmas tree on her desk. Too bad she wasn’t barely audible, too. “And where are you going to be when that other guy walks off with the contract? On the street, that’s where.”

Turning to give Doris a chiding look, Hailey insisted, “It’s going to be fine. I’m going to get this deal.”

Doris tut-tutted. “I’m telling you, Hailey, you are wasting your time. Better to accept reality than to keep dragging this out.”

Hailey hated reality.

Especially when Doris dished it up with such bitter relish. It was as if she reveled in negativity. Hailey shifted her gaze from her own image to the woman behind her.

What a contrast.

Preparing for the meeting, Hailey was dressed in business chic. A black leather mini paired with leopard-print tights, a black silk turtleneck and a brushed cotton blazer with satin lapels. Along with her favorite boots and black knee-high schoolgirl socks, the look was savvy, sassy and modern. Just right for wowing a department-store tycoon and a fashion powerhouse.

And behind her was the elf of Christmas gloom.

An elf that knew the business inside and out, could finagle suppliers’ fees down to pennies, worked magic with the books and, next to Hailey, was the best fill-in seamstress Merry Widow had ever seen. Which made her indispensable.

Indispensable gloom.

Not for the first time, she wished she were the kind of person who could tell Doris that her bad attitude wouldn’t be tolerated and suggest the woman get her act together or clear out her desk.

But every time Hailey thought about doing it, she thought of everything the woman brought to the company. Then she remembered how lousy Doris’s home life was, how Merry Widow was all she really had.

And whenever the older woman pissed her off so much that she forgot all that, the minute she got ready to get in her face, Hailey’s tongue swelled up, her head buzzed with panic and she freaked out.

It wasn’t that she was a wimp. She was a fierce negotiator in business, a savvy designer who insisted her company be run her way. She was smart. She was clever. She was strong.

She just sucked at confrontation.

Partially because her father had once told her that arguments always left scars. That even after making up, the memory of the conflict would forever change the relationship. Given that his advice had come on the heels of a hideous family drama that’d cost Hailey a whole year away from her new half brother, she’d taken the lesson to heart.

But mostly because she hated making people mad at her. Her mom had got mad and left her dad. Her dad got mad and refused to talk to Hailey. She’d seen plenty of mad in her life. Which was why she tried to avoid it like the plague.

“You want one of these cookies?” Doris asked, a frosted reindeer in hand. Doris shot Hailey a sour smile, bit the head off, then said around her mouthful, “Might as well eat up now, since things are gonna get tight after we go out of business.”

“We’re not going out of business,” Hailey insisted, lifting a cream lace scarf to her shoulder to compare, then switching to one of vivid red cashmere.

“Right. Bet you still believe in Santa Claus, too.”

“We’re not going out of business,” she said again. “Our sales are up ten percent over last year. Our projected first quarter should double that, easily.”

“The Phillips kids are calling their daddy’s note the first of the year,” Doris reminded her like a persistently cheerful rain cloud.

Rotten kids. Or, really, greedy adults.

When Hailey had bought Merry Widow Lingerie from Eric Phillips three years ago, they’d agreed that he’d take a percentage of the profits for five years, with a final payment of the agreed-upon balance at the end of that time. When he’d died in the fall, though, his kids had found a loophole in the contract, insisting that they could call the entire debt. They’d given Hailey until the end of the year, which was mighty big of them, in their opinion.

Without a significant contract the size of, oh, say Rudolph department stores, the bank wouldn’t consider a loan in the sum the Phillipses were demanding.

Just thinking about it made Hailey’s stomach churn, an inky panic coating the back of her throat.

No. She put the mental brakes to the freak-out. She wasn’t going there. She’d found her answer; she just had to believe in it. She was going to snag this Rudolph-department-store contract.

Negative thinking, even the kind that had her second-guessing her date tonight, would only drag her down.

Giving her reflection a hard-eyed stare, Hailey vowed that she was going to rock this meeting and wow her date. As long as she didn’t strip him naked and nibble on his body, she wasn’t crossing any ethical work-relationship boundaries. Right?

Right.

Now she just had to get Doris off her back.

“When I pull in this department-store deal, we’re golden. I can pay off the note, Merry Widow will be mine free and clear, and we’ll be set,” she assured the other woman.

“Do you bake special cookies to set out for Santa, or are you comfy settling for store bought? And those stars that fall from the sky, how many of those wishes actually come true for you?” Doris gave a pitying shake of her head. “You listen to me, miss. You keep going through life with your head in the clouds like you do, you’re gonna fall in a big ole ditch one of these days.”

What was it with the people in her life? Her mother was always warning that she’d get taken advantage of. Her friends worried that she was wearing rose-colored glasses. Even her father... Hailey bit her lip. Well, her father barely noticed what she was doing. But every once in a while, he did throw out a caution warning of his own. It wasn’t as if she were Pollyanna with no clue. Hailey was a smart, perceptive woman. She’d made it to twenty-six without a major heartbreak, owned her own business and paid her bills on time. And unlike anyone else in her family, she hadn’t had to resort to therapy and/or addictive substances along the way.

“I’m just saying, you might want to look at your alternatives. Me, I can retire anytime. But the rest of the team, don’t they deserve a little heads-up so they can start looking for new jobs? It’s all well and good to keep your hopes up,” Doris said, her tone indicating the exact opposite. “But you can’t let your Mary Sunshine attitude hurt other people, now, can you?”

“Everything is going to be fine. Why don’t you focus on doing your job and let me do mine,” Hailey snapped, her words so loud and insistent that the other woman dropped her cookie and stared.

She closed her eyes against Doris’s shocked look. Hailey never snapped. In a life surrounded by simmering emotional volcanoes, she worked hard to be calm water. Mellow. Soothing, even. She’d grown up watching the devastation negativity and emotional turmoil caused, had spent her childhood trying to repair the damage.

And, of course, on the oh-so-rare occasions that she did respond to stress with a negative reaction, she always got that same horrified, might-as-well-have-kicked-a-puppy-and-cussed-out-a-nun look from people.

“I’m sorry,” Hailey said with a grimace. “I’m just nervous about the meeting this afternoon. I want to make a good impression, to show Mr. Rudolph and his team that I’m the designer they want.”

“You think the perfect scarf is going to make that dirty old man pick you as his lingerie designer?”

“I think the right look will show him my sense of style and savvy use of color and patterns,” Hailey defended, lifting one scarf and then the other against her neckline again. “How a woman feels about her outfit affects her confidence, after all. If I think I look good, I’ll project a strong image. And that might be all I need to get the deal.”

“You might be a little overoptimistic about business stuff, but you’ve always had a firm handle on how well you put together fashion,” Doris said with a frown. “Silly to start worrying about it now.”

“I really want this contract.” Desperately needed it was closer to the truth. But why put that fine a dot on the subject?

“An exclusive with the Rudolph department stores? It’ll be so cool. The rich and famous shop there. They have a store on Rodeo Drive and everything. Can you imagine Gwyneth Paltrow in Sassy Class?” Hailey said in a dreamy tone, thinking of the pristine white satin chemise with delicate crocheted trim.

“Those highfalutin stars are the only ones who can afford to shop at snobby stores like Rudolph’s.” Doris’s sniff made it perfectly clear what she thought of stars, snobs and all of their money.

“Well, unless you really do want to retire early and spend every day at home with your husband, you better cross your fingers that those snobs take to my designs,” Hailey said, finally choosing the red scarf. It was sassier, she decided as she draped it elegantly around her neck. Frustrated, she wrinkled her nose. At least she was trying for elegant. It was hard when she’d knotted wrinkles into the scarf, so it looked like a soggy, deflated balloon around her neck.

Doris rolled her eyes, then hefted herself out from behind the desk to come over and adjust the scarf. A tug of fabric here, a tuck there, then she jerked her chin to indicate that Hailey turn back to the mirror.

While Doris fussed with the scarf, Hailey obsessed.

What if the other woman was right about it being impossible to come up with the funds to pay off the Phillips note?

What if Hailey’s mother was right about Hailey shooting too high, wanting too much?

What if this was it, her last Christmas as the owner and head designer of Merry Widow Lingerie? What if it was the end of her dream?

“Not gonna happen,” she muttered, lifting her chin to emphasize the promise.

“Whazzat?” Doris peered over her bifocals.

“Nothing,” Hailey assured her in a cheery tone. With a smile to match, she patted the older woman’s shoulder and promised, “Everything’s great. Merry Widow is ready to fly, and this account is going to be our launchpad to make it happen.”

The older woman harrumphed, but her usual grumpy look softened a little as she tucked one of Hailey’s curls back into the faux chignon she’d fashioned at the base of her neck.

“Well, I will say this. If anyone deserves to make those dreams come true, you do.” With that, and a stiff smile, Doris clomped back to her tin of cookies.

That was about the nicest thing Doris had ever said to her. It had to be a good omen, right?

Or the kiss of death.

* * *

AN HOUR LATER, Hailey stepped into the glass elevator in the center of the Rudolph Building and pushed the button for the top floor. Top floor, baby. Unable to resist, she watched the surrounding buildings of the Financial District as the elevator rose, sighing when the sun broke through the clouds, and off in the distance she could just make out the Golden Gate Bridge. That had to be some kind of sign. Any day that included a meeting with a powerhouse like Rudolph, a pat on the back from Doris and a date with a sexy guy like Gage couldn’t go wrong. Hailey practically skipped out of the elevator.

Still, she paused outside the frosted-glass double doors. One hand pressed to her stomach to calm her nerves, she took a deep breath. A quick glance at her feet to peek at her Jeffrey Campbells worked as a reminder that everything went better when a girl wore great boots. Then, resisting the urge to fluff her curls into frizz and nibble at her lipstick, she called up her brightest smile and pulled open the door.

This was it.

Her first foray into fashion fabulousness and the beginning of the best day of her life. A prelude, maybe, to the best night of her life.

With that peppy chant playing in her head, she swept into Rudolph Headquarters.

“Hailey, darling.” Jared greeted her as soon as she crossed the foyer. He hurried around the high counter where he’d been chatting with the receptionist to offer a hug.

Hailey shifted, suddenly nervous.

“Hi, Jared. What’s up?” He looked normal enough. Metro chic in his electric-blue suit and skinny tie, his hair slicked to the side and quirky horn rims perched on the bridge of his nose. But he was all tense, as if someone had just told him shoulder pads and moon boots were about to make a comeback.

“Up? Nothing, nothing. C’mon, let me escort you to the meeting. Rudy isn’t in yet, of course. But you can get settled. I’ll fetch you a nice latte, shall I?”

Hailey’s stomach sank. Now she knew something was wrong. Jared didn’t fetch for anybody. She slowed, all but digging the spikes on the heels of her boots into the plush carpet to make Jared slow, too.

“Seriously. If something’s happened...” She swallowed hard, then forced herself to continue. “If I’ve lost the account, I’d rather know before I go in that meeting.”

Quick as a flash, a grimace came and went. Not a small feat considering the amount of Botox injected in that pretty face. “It’s nothing, really. Just, well, Rudy finally got hold of Cherry Bella. She’s interested, but not committed.”

That sounded familiar. Hailey didn’t figure reveling in the turned tables would endear her to Rudy, though. She kept her lips still.

“She’s in tentative agreement, with the caveat that she gets to be the final judge on the various lines for the spring show. She and Rudy are nailing down those details.”

“So how is this any different than it was Saturday night when he announced that it was a competition?” she wondered.

“Well, before we were pretty sure he was going to go with Merry Widow since he had this whole soft spring theme in mind. But Rudy apparently left the party Saturday with Vivo, the shoe designer.”

So? Hailey arched both brows. She wasn’t competing for the shoe contract.

“Vivo is edgy, modern and quirky. Think eight-inch platforms shaped like dinosaurs.”

Eww, tacky. Halfway through her cringe, it hit her why Jared was so upset.

“Rudy’s going to want the line to be a cohesive message....” Her words trailed off as it hit her.

Romantic sensuality didn’t go with eight-inch platform dinosaurs. But snakeskin and black leather did.

And Rudy had a favor-wielding relationship with a designer who thought dinosaurs belonged on women’s feet?

Anger ran, tense and jittery, along Hailey’s spine. Fists clenched at her sides, she ground her teeth to keep from shouting that enough was enough. They kept changing the rules, shifting the playing field. Dammit, she deserved more respect than that. She’d worked hard for this deal, and until that stupid party, all indications were that she’d be awarded the contract.

She didn’t say a word, though.

Yelling never helped anything. If she jumped all over Jared, it’d just make things uncomfortable, and might lose her whatever slim chance she had left.

Big picture, she reminded herself, taking deep breaths to try to push out the irritation. It was all about saving her company.

“I just found out a few minutes ago, or I’d have called to warn you. Cherry and Rudy are meeting with all of the designers together, listening to their pitches.” Jared’s words came at such a rush, they were spilling over themselves. Maybe because they’d reached the wide double doors of the meeting room.

“They’re making the decision now?” she asked. Her fingers clutched her sassy messenger bag filled with marketing ideas and clever pitches aimed at the media. She’d come prepared to pitch the beauty of romantic lingerie that made women feel sexy. If she’d had more time, could she have found a way to work ugly shoes into her presentation? To show that even with the hideous footwear, a woman could still feel attractive?

His hand on the door, Jared closed his eyes for a second, as if he was fighting some inner battle. Then he leaned close and gave Hailey an intense look.

“Focus on Cherry. She’s the key. Rudy will ignore his preferences in favor of whatever she likes, so chat her up. Make friends. She’s on edge about something. Don’t know if that’s her typical personality or if she’s having issues. But she seems to be responding better to soft sells than hard pushes.”

Before Hailey could process all of that, before she could do more than give Jared a grateful smile since she knew he was risking his job by showing preferential treatment, he’d pushed the door open and gestured her inside.

She wanted to grab his hand and drag him in with her.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she took a deep breath of her own, lifted her chin, pulled back her shoulders and plastered on her best soft-sell smile.

Then, with as much enthusiasm as if there were a bed of hissing vipers on the other side, she swept over the threshold.

And almost tripped over her gorgeous boots.

“Hi,” she breathed, the word taking all the air from her lungs.

* * *

GAGE SHIFTED HIS glare from the window to the door, ready to get this damned meeting over with.

And, for one of the few times in his life, found himself speechless. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, then found his voice.

“Hailey?”

Damn, she was pretty.

Her hair, still a froth of blond curls, was tamer than it’d been at the party. Sleeker, as if she’d bribed the curls into behaving by tying them in a knot at the base of her neck. Her big, round eyes were subtly made up, her lips pale and glistening. She was definitely looking more nice than naughty today.

But even without a candy-cane-striped bustier and thigh-grazing ballerina skirt, her sweet curves were mouthwatering. Instead of skimpy holiday wear, today she was decked out in a simple black skirt a few inches short of her knees and another pair of sexy boots. Her scarf and turtleneck screamed class, while her leopard-print tights assured him she was all sass.

He’d never been a foot-fetish kind of guy, but he was starting to seriously wonder what other styles of footwear she had in her closet. And how she’d look riding his body wearing just a pair of boots in thigh-hugging black leather.

“Gage?” Frowning, she chewed on the full pillow of her bottom lip, making him want to offer to take over the task. Then, as if she’d realized something, her eyes cleared and she offered a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“I’m surprised you recognized me without the green fur,” he said with a teasing smile, walking across the room. He met her wide-eyed look with a wink.

He swept his gaze down her body again, noting the edgy boots and knee socks paired with tights and black leather.

She was a study in contrasts.

“Your suit is a definite step up from that costume,” she agreed. “I’m glad to see you finally got the zipper unstuck.”

She gave him a once-over just as hot as the one he’d given her. Her gaze slowed when passing over his faulty-zipper zone, making him wonder if he’d be having issues with these slacks. The speed at which she inspired an erection was hell on his clothes.

“I didn’t. I had to cut the costume off.”

“Oh.” Her eyes danced with amusement, but she pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing aloud.

She was so damned cute.

He wanted to lift her off her feet and pull that curvy body against his, to see if it fit as good as he’d spent the weekend imagining. Not for the first time, he cursed his brother, the bet and that damned Grinch costume. If it weren’t for Saturday night’s thick layer of green fur—and a faulty zipper—he’d already know what she felt like.

But this was a formal meeting.

In someone else’s office.

Getting hot and heavy with a business associate was definitely on the stupid list. Especially since Rudolph was likely to walk in at any moment. If he caught Gage and Hailey making out, he’d probably grab a video recorder and put it up on the company’s YouTube channel.

So reluctantly, Gage offered his hand instead. The delicate softness of her palm and her quick intake of breath reminded him that she was about as close to an innocent as he’d been since his teens.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

“I didn’t realize you were going to be a part of the meeting,” she said breathlessly, her hand still nestled in his.

Gage frowned.

Why wouldn’t he be here? This meeting was supposed to be him, Rudy, that singer chick and the competing designer. He’d figured he’d play to Rudy’s good-old-boy persona while pitching circles around the designer. Milano’s leather designs already appealed to Rudy’s misogynistic perverted side. All Gage had to do was play that up, maybe intimidate the other designer a little and snag the contract on his way out the door to meet Hailey for dinner.

A dinner he’d been of two minds about keeping.

Hailey was everything he liked in a woman.

Sexy, fun and sporting a body that’d starred in all his dreams since the party.

And Hailey was everything he avoided in a woman.

Sweet, trusting and sporting an emotional innocence that promised nothing but trouble down the road.

And she was a business associate. Distant, perhaps, but still close enough to this project for it to possibly get messy. If he were smart, he’d offer a clever excuse and get out of their date. He’d keep this business deal simple, and himself out of trouble.

Gage was damned smart.

And here he had a chance to pitch to the singer’s agent, just him alone. Might as well use it. Maybe it’d help keep his mind off stripping Hailey bare of everything but those boots.

“Since Rudolph is late, why don’t we get comfortable? You can fill me in on what you think Cherry Bella likes best. And, of course, tell me what you’re wearing under that skirt.”

So much for keeping his mind off her naked.

Eyes wide, Hailey’s mouth rounded to a surprised O before she let out a gurgle of laughter. As he escorted her to one of the half dozen club chairs by the window, she slanted him a teasing look.

“Under this? What better under leather than lace? Merry Widow lace, of course.”

Releasing her elbow, Gage frowned.

What the hell?

She wore the competition?

“I’m a little confused,” she said before he could point out the blatant conflict of interest. “Wouldn’t you know better than I what Cherry likes?”

Why would he?

Gage gave Hailey a hard look.

Before he could ask exactly what her connection to Cherry, and to Rudolph, was, the department-store mogul swanned in with all but bugles blaring a fanfare. The small, bald man apparently made up for his lack of stature by surrounding himself with as big an entourage as possible. Mostly made up of busty women in short skirts, Gage noted. Two carrying briefcases, one with coffee and another with a tray of tiny pastries.

The women paraded in, each setting her item on a wide, glass-topped table, then without a word, doing a snappy about-face and parading right back out.

Leaving Hailey to stare, wide-eyed, Gage frowning and Rudolph posing in the doorway. And Cherry Bella nowhere to be found.

Was that why Hailey was here? To rep her client?

“Darlings, I’m late. So let’s not dawdle. Sit, sit.” Rudolph waved his fingers at Gage, who, after a second’s debate, sat. But opposite Hailey instead of next to her. He had a feeling he was going to get more out of watching her face than whatever the old coot spouted.

“It’ll just be the three of us, I’m afraid.” As if to emphasize his statement, he came over to sit with them, rat-a-tat-tatting his fingers on his knee and frowning. “I know you’re both anxious to hear the decision of who’ll be awarded the contract. I’d intended to give it today, with Cherry’s help. But as she’s ill, we’ll have to reconvene tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Tension spiked Gage’s system. And not the happy, sexual kind he’d been enjoying thanks to Hailey. This meeting was supposed to finish up his commitments to Milano for the year. He had his own clients to see, several projects in the works. He didn’t have time to play babysitter to a leather lingerie line and a kooky, old guy.

“Unfortunately, Cherry felt ill after lunch,” the old guy said, sounding more irritated than sorry. “She apologizes for missing the meeting, but insists on talking with the designers herself and having a say in the decision if she’s to take the role of spokesmodel. I hate to inconvenience you, but we’ll have to meet again tomorrow. Cherry feels the lingerie is the linchpin of her agreement to signing on as the face of Rudolph for next year.”

Gage barely heard a thing after the words talking with the designers. His eyes shifted to Hailey. Her eyes were round, those full lips parted in a silent gasp. Not a gasp of pleasure, either.

Nope. She looked about as horrified as he felt.

“Inconvenient for the two of you, but as much as I’m sure you both want this contract, I’m sure you’ll make adjustments.” With that pronouncement of misperception, Rudy bounced up and scurried over to the tray-topped table. “So are you in the mood for cocoa? And a sweet, of course. What’s Christmas without cookies? Then we’ll take a quick look at the test shots my photographer took of Cherry in each of your designs. Consider it an early gift, since it gives you a chance to refine the pitch you’ll need tomorrow.”

Hailey closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then shaking her head as if trying to shift the new facts into the old picture. If the pinched expression on her face was any indication, she wasn’t liking the way it looked now.

Gage could relate.

Son of a bitch.

There went his Christmas treat.