скачать книгу бесплатно
“Okay.” He handed her the paper and charcoal. “Your turn.”
Nicole cautiously took the pencil from him and held it between her shaking fingers. She willed her nerves to subside; however, they persisted mercilessly.
“I’m not sure what you want.” Nicole’s terrified eyes stared into his serious ones.
“I want you to revise my design any way you see fit to make it better,” he elaborated.
“You want me to make your design better?”
He chuckled at her incredulity. “Yes.”
“Okay,” she nervously agreed. “I’ll try.”
How was she supposed to improve on Alexander James’s design? She swallowed her apprehension, took a calming breath and started revising as requested. After hesitating endlessly, she finally added jeweled cuffs to the sheer sleeves to match the neckline, which she changed from the square design Alexander had created into a sweetheart one. Last, she lengthened the blouse by an inch.
When she finished he didn’t say a word, simply took the charcoal from her and sketched a pencil skirt, followed by a ball gown. He handed the sketches and charcoal back to her, which she took and immediately began revising. The only design he rerevised was the ball gown and insisted she do the same. They spent about forty minutes together designing, and it was nerve-racking, but also exhilarating.
“How did I do?” She held her breath.
For a few minutes Alex studied the three designs they had created without responding. She fought against tapping her fingers impatiently on the desktop or shaking him to get an answer; instead, she folded her hands in her lap and waited for his critique.
“Very nice,” he finally answered, and she frowned.
“Is that good?”
“That’s good.” At his assurance, she released her heretofore held breath on an audible sigh. “Well done.”
“That was nerve-racking,” she admitted with a slight smile.
“I know.” He touched her hand briefly. “Come on, wasn’t it just a little bit fun?”
“It was—now that it’s over.” She laughed, and he joined her.
“Which is your favorite?” He spread the designs out on her desk for her review.
“The ball gown.”
“Mine, too.”
He picked up the design and studied it. Their codesign was floor length, free-flowing and simply elegant. It was Grecian-inspired, sleeveless, cut into a deep V nearly to the waist, which was gathered with a wide sequined belt, and the skirt cascaded down to the floor in soft folds.
“What material would you use for this?”
“Chiffon.” Nicole decided without hesitation. “This gown was made for layers and layers of chiffon.”
“I agree,” Alex said approvingly. “I think this might have a place in our April fashion show.”
Nicole’s eyes dilated to twice their normal size. Surely he was teasing her. Wasn’t he?
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.” Alex smiled at her shocked expression. “This will be the first James-Carter creation.”
Nicole was too flabbergasted and thrilled to respond to this fantastic news. She didn’t know which was more thrilling—designing a gown with him or the fact that he had referred to it as their first one. Somebody pinch her; she was going to codesign a gown for a fashion show with Alexander James!
“Wow.” She wasn’t aware of speaking out loud, but Alexander’s chuckle informed her she had.
“I hear Monique asked you to move in with her.”
“What?” Nicole blinked rapidly at his change in subject.
“I said I heard that Monique asked you to move in with her.”
“Oh. Yes, she did.”
“She told me you refused to relocate until the weekend because of work,” he continued.
Nicole groaned. “I wish she hadn’t said anything to you.”
“Why?”
“Because...” She faltered, unwilling to finish verbalizing her reasons.
“You thought I’d make a big deal if you asked to take the time off to move,” he correctly completed for her.
“It’s not a problem,” she quickly guaranteed. “I’m fine with moving over the weekend, Mr. James.”
“Alex,” he reminded with a smile.
“Alexander.” She opted for the full version instead. “I don’t expect nor do I want any special privileges.”
“And you won’t get any,” he quickly assured. “Nicole, you’ve relocated from another country. You’re entitled to time off to move. Leave here at two today, and get yourself situated at your new place.”
“But...”
“That’s an order,” he commanded in mock sternness. “Just make sure you’re here bright and early in the morning.”
“I will be,” she promised as he stood. “Thank you, Mr.—I mean, Alexander.”
“You’re welcome.”
He studied the designs she had been working on before he interrupted her. “That’s nice. You’re working on a variation of this?”
“Two. Monique wanted one with a different top and another with a longer skirt.”
“Why don’t you also do one that shortens the hem by half an inch and add a slight flare to the skirt?”
“I will.”
“What type of material are you thinking of using?”
“It’s meant for casual wear, so I was entertaining jersey knit for freedom of movement and ease of care.”
“Good choice.” His eyes strayed to her desk to the pictures arranged there. “Your family?”
She followed his eyes and smiled. “Yes.”
“May I?” He pointed toward the wedding photo showing them all.
“Please.” She handed him the photo.
“Your brother’s wedding?”
“Yes.” She waited for a snide remark, and when none came, she relaxed and pointed everyone out. “That’s Nathan and Marcy. That’s my sister Natasha and her husband, Damien—who’s Marcy’s brother.” She paused and glanced at him. “Are you following me?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He chuckled. “There wasn’t a brother free for you?”
“Nope, the Johnsons were fresh out of siblings.”
“Are you sad about that?”
“No, I don’t need to be fixed up. I’ll find my own man when I’m ready.” How had the conversation taken such a personal turn? It was too weird and very uncomfortable talking to her boss about finding a man to settle down with.
“So you’re not ready now?”
“No, I’m focused on establishing my career.”
“That’s commendable.”
She purposefully refocused his attention to the photo and concluded. “That’s my mother, father and Marcy and Damien’s parents.”
“And you.”
She smiled. “And me.”
“You have a nice-looking family.”
“Thank you.” She took the photo from him and replaced it on her desk. “I love them.”
“It shows when you talk about them.” As if sensing she was missing them, he changed the subject. “The wedding dress is beautiful. Who designed it?”
“I did,” she proudly proclaimed.
“You?” At her nod, he picked up the picture again. “It’s really lovely.”
“Thank you.
“What about the bridesmaids’ dresses?”
“Me again. I even made them.”
He whistled in admiration at her statement, and she felt ten feet tall.
“You sew, too?”
“Since I was nine.”
“That’s damned good work, Nicole.”
“Thank you again.” This was turning out to be a fabulous day. “I’m not used to so many compliments from you.”
“Get used to them,” he suggested.
He stood and walked away without another word, and Nicole shook her head in confusion. That man was a whirlwind of unpredictability.
He had certainly changed her opinion of him in record time. It seemed he could be both human and appealing when he wanted to. But she wasn’t sure which Alexander she preferred—the gruff one who set her teeth on the edge, or the likable one who she longed to get to know better—and not in a professional way.
* * *
Nicole left work at two and changed into faded jeans, a red “I Love NY” T-shirt, a denim jacket and sneakers. Monique had gone home to change and was meeting her at the hotel at three. Thankfully, the move wouldn’t involve any furniture, just clothes, though Nicole had a lot.
She hadn’t unpacked most of her bags, for which she was grateful. She stood in the middle of the sitting room, where she had gathered almost everything, and groaned at the rather large pile in front of her. A few bags were still in her hotel bedroom. Goodness, had she really packed this much stuff?
She was shaking her head in self-recrimination when someone knocked on her door. Expecting Monique, she opened the door and gasped in shock when she found Alexander and Victor dressed casually in jeans, T-shirts and light jackets.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We’ve come to make amends for our faux pas earlier.” Victor glanced at the pile of her belongings inside the room. “Looks like you can use our help.”
“You don’t have to help me move.” Nicole directed her words to the silent Alexander. “I’m sure you have better things to do with your day.”
“We want to.” Alexander finally spoke. “May we come in?”
“I’m sorry.” Nicole stepped aside to allow them in. “Come in.”
“Is this all that’s going?” Victor pointed to the stack of luggage piled on and beside the sofa.
“Most of it. There’s some more in my bedroom.”
“I’ll start on these. Alex, why don’t you see what’s in the bedroom?”
“All right.” Alex glanced at Nicole, who pointed the way and then quickly followed him, praying she didn’t have any unmentionables lying about. Thankfully, the coast was clear.
“I can manage this,” Alexander assured her after surveying the small stack of bags. “Why don’t you go and help Victor?”
“Are you sure? I can take...oh!”
She stumbled over a suitcase on the floor and wound up flying toward Alexander. He caught her effortlessly, strong arms automatically encircling her off-balance body. He held her tight against his unyielding strength.
