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Instead of disagreeing, Rudy was nodding away, his eyes on the leather-clad model’s photos and his tongue practically draped over his tie.
And Cherry... Well, she was staring out the window, her expression as far away and morose as the gray clouds engulfing the bridge.
Gage just kept on pitching, reiterating and reframing the presentation he’d offered ten minutes before. He alternated between numbers that seemed to make Rudy drool and flattery that, thankfully, Cherry wasn’t paying much attention to. Instead, the woman looked pensive as she stared out the window.
Her teeth clenched, Hailey wanted to yell no. They were smart business people, weren’t they? Shouldn’t this decision be based on an overall logic? On what fit best for the line? On the designs that’d appeal to the widest demographic?
As Gage finished his pitch, sliding the cover over his presentation board and taking a seat, Rudy’s decision was clear on his face. Hailey’s heart sank into her very cute shoes. He was clearly a man who’d made his fortune thinking a little south of logic.
“Well, thank you both. This was a very informative morning,” the older man said. “Why don’t we break for lunch now so Cherry and I can discuss this, and we’ll notify you by this afternoon of our decision.”
Her stomach plunged into her adorable shoes fast enough to make Hailey nauseous.
He was going to choose Milano. Despite the fact that Cherry had overruled his preference, Vivo’s shoe designs, he was still going to pick the ugly leather.
And that would mean the end of Merry Widow Lingerie.
Oh, sure, she could eventually get a job doing design elsewhere. Maybe. But what about her employees? Her clients? Her dream?
She took a deep breath, trying to accept that she couldn’t change the man’s mind. She couldn’t jump up, stomp her feet and insist he choose her. She’d tried that a few times over the course of her life, and had always been the one standing there alone with sore toes.
But...
She couldn’t just let it go.
“Wait,” Hailey cried, halting everyone midrise, their butts four inches from their chairs. Rudy and Gage frowned, but Cherry sat right back down, her expression warm and encouraging.
“I think he’s wrong. Gage clearly has a strong grasp of basic marketing. And he’s right. Sex Sells 101 is often an effective advertising ploy.” She paused, letting the emphasis on the word ploy sink in. “But is that really what you want? A ploy? Gimmicks only go so far, don’t they?”
She addressed that question to Cherry, who suddenly looked very tired. As if all this talking had sapped her energy.
“Gimmicks have their place,” Cherry said, her shrug indicating that their place was nowhere near her.
At her words, the men settled back in their chairs. Gage’s expression was guarded, but Rudy was watching his muse like a hawk.
That was her hook, Hailey knew. No matter how much Rudy might want to see women prancing down his runway come February wearing tiny strips of leather and stilettos, he’d defer to what Cherry wanted.
“Sex sells.... In this case, it’d sell to a very specific market. But you want to make this year’s debut extraordinary, don’t you, Mr. Rudolph? This is the first year you’ve ever built a line around a person rather than a theme.”
“That’s true. Although Miss Bella hasn’t signed the agreement yet,” Rudy said with a jovial sort of laugh that did nothing to disguise his concern over that detail.
“Once I know exactly what I’d be representing, I’ll make my decision,” Cherry said, her words friendly but firm, with just a hint of impatience. “My image, and my personal comfort levels, must be in sync with anything I do.”
“Which is why Merry Widow is perfect for you,” Hailey said, leaning forward and clasping both hands on her knees. “It’s a line that focuses on the image of romance, of the ultimate in feminine empowerment, while ensuring you feel so real you can’t be anything but comfortable.”
Out of breath, Hailey forced herself not to grin. She was proud of herself. That’d sounded pretty awesome.
“I beg to differ,” Gage broke in. His tone was smooth-as-silk friendly, but the look in his eyes was diamond hard. And, Hailey noted, just a little surprised. Obviously he really hadn’t expected her to be any sort of competition. Just a bit of fluff, like her lingerie.
He turned to Cherry, charm oozing from every pore. Hailey wanted to hate that he could do that. But who could blame a man for being fabulous at what he did? She just wished he could be fabulous somewhere else.
Like in her bedroom.
“Miss Bella, you’re a very sexy woman. Gorgeous, talented and not one to shy away from using both of those as a platform for your voice. Much like Milano Lingerie, you’re distinctive, strong and bold. If anyone can showcase feminine appeal and edgy allure, you can.”
Gage leaned closer to the torch singer, letting his smile widen, and laid a hand on the arm of her chair. He didn’t touch her; he just suggested an intimacy, a connection.
Hailey had to actually clench her butt to the chair to keep herself seated. She wanted to leap out of her seat and smack his hand away.
You’d think her stomach would be too crowded already with nerves, panic and hurt to have room for one more nasty, balled-up emotion. But there it was, jealousy in all its hairy ugliness. “There is a lot to recommend both lines,” Cherry said slowly, her gaze shifting back and forth between Gage and Hailey. “I’m not sure which I feel best fits my image.”
“Isn’t a better question, what message do you want to send by wearing the line?” Hailey asked before Gage could jump in with another one of those devastatingly effective innuendos. “Do your songs, does your image, equate to sex? Or to romance? Lingerie is about more than the physical act. It’s about intimacy.”
When the redhead’s brows drew together as she considered that, Hailey took a deep breath and, ignoring her natural abhorrence for aggressive pushiness, plunged on.
“That’s what it all comes down to, after all. Sex, which is strictly physical satisfaction. Or romance, which invokes the emotions, the mind and the imagination.”
“There’s plenty of imagination in sex,” Gage said, finally dropping his charming facade to frown at Hailey. “Sex sells for a very good reason. People like it. People want it. Sex, in leather lingerie, will appeal across the board to men and women alike. Fluff might get a few women’s attention, but it won’t get the men’s.”
“Women buy more lingerie,” Hailey pointed out.
“To appeal to men,” he countered.
“Romance sells much better than sex,” she argued. “It sends a more empowering, desirable message and will bring in a wider customer base.”
His hands loosely clasped between his knees, Gage leaned forward. He was still many feet away, but it was as if he’d moved right into her space. As if he were intimately pressing against her. Hailey’s breath caught. Her body heated. She bit her lip, trying not to squirm and damning him for being able to trigger such intense sexual awareness in her body.
“Sex outsells romance. Just check the internet stats.”
“Porn?” Hailey dismissed with a sniff.
“Pays well,” he countered.
“Is that what Rudolph department stores is selling? Or are they focused on creating an exclusive image?”
“They’re selling a trend.” Gage’s tone and expression were pure triumph. As if she’d just set him up to make the perfect point.
Hailey glared. She wanted to kick him for looking so smug over there, wearing his brilliant marketing-wizard face.
“Well, this has been a great meeting,” Rudy interrupted before they could get to the eye-poking and name-calling portion of their argument. “The two of you have presented us with some very good reasons to consider either line. Both have great merit. But of course, we can only feature one.”
Hailey ripped her gaze from Gage’s smug, sexy grin to look at the man who could make or break her future. Suddenly she wanted to cry. She could see it, the decision on Rudy’s face. She’d got so close. She’d done her best and jumped way outside her comfort zone to argue for her designs. And he was still going to go with Milano?
She looked away, blinking fast to clear her burning eyes. The decorations lining the wall caught her eye. Awards. Trophies. Photo after photo of Rudy winning this or that. Many of them, she noted through narrowed eyes, at poker tournaments.
“Why don’t we make a bet,” she heard herself say.
“What?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Ooh,” Rudy intoned, rubbing his hands together and leaning forward. “What kind of bet?”
Hailey licked her lips, not having a clue what kind of bet. She tried to think over the roaring sound of panic rushing through her head. Taking calming breaths to try to overcome her horror at the temerity of challenging Rudolph. This man could break her. Wasn’t leaving on good terms, with a possible order of future lingerie, enough? She’d made a good contact, and she’d garnered enough press and attention to possibly pull in more sales.
But a few sales and orders weren’t going to be enough to get a loan the size she needed to save her business.
So stomach rock tight and nerves dancing, she wet her lips and forced herself to smile.
“Well, the question really comes down to which will be a stronger selling point for your spring line. Sex—” she bit off the word, letting it hang there for a second, then gave a deep sigh before adding “—or romance?”
Gage gave her an arch look as if to say, didn’t we already cover this? Determined to get her point, whatever the hell it was, out before he interrupted and took over again, she sat up straighter and tilted her head toward Cherry.
“Miss Bella can sell either. But the true question is, which one will have the widest appeal? Which one will send customers clamoring for the latest in Rudolph Exclusives? And,” she added triumphantly, “which one will enhance Cherry’s reputation and image in a way that benefits her career, as well?”
“I’m hearing the repeat of your sales pitch, but I’m not hearing a bet,” Gage murmured.
“We each get two chances to prove our point. Sex or romance. Then Mr. Rudolph and Miss Bella decide which they think really offers the most to their prospective images.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
She had no freaking clue.
But she wasn’t going to let him know that.
Instead, Hailey fluttered her lashes and offered up a smug smile of her own.
“I have so many ideas, my challenge will be narrowing them down.”
“We do have to get moving on this,” Rudy started to say, his words drawn out and hesitant as he tried to read Cherry’s reaction. “It can’t go on for too long.”
Trying not to let on how desperate she was, Hailey cast her mind around every idea, every argument, every possible persuasion she could offer that might get him to agree. She had nothing. Biting her lip, she looked at Cherry. The other woman didn’t really want to parade around in a leather bikini, did she? It would probably chafe something horrible.
“I can give it a week,” Cherry said, her eyes on Hailey. “At that point, I’ll be able to let you know which lingerie line I prefer. And if I’m going to take your offered position as spokesmodel.”
* * *
SON OF A BITCH.
Gage couldn’t figure it out.
He’d been right there, in the winning position. They all knew Rudy was going to go with Milano.
That contract, and his freedom, had been in the palm of his hand. He’d felt bad, just a little, about playing to his strengths as hard as he had. Hailey was sweet, and clearly a talented designer. But she didn’t have that killer edge that made the difference between success and luck.
Then, just when he was ready to pull out his pen and sign the contract, the pretty little blonde had outflanked him. Again. How the hell did she keep doing that? He didn’t know if it was deliberate, or if Hailey was just lucky.
But now thanks to her, instead of heading up to Tahoe and mapping out the details of his brilliant kick-his-brother’s-ass-and-prove-he-was-the-best business plan, he was going to be stuck pimping sex wrapped in leather for two weeks?
No way.
“I don’t have another week available to negotiate this project,” he said, shifting his body so he was facing Rudy. Not so much to cut the women out of the discussion as to keep Hailey from his line of sight. If he didn’t see her, he wouldn’t get distracted and she couldn’t work her sweet magic. “And I thought you said you wanted your people moving on the advertising before Christmas. That means you don’t have time to waste, either. It’s not like they can whip up a brilliant campaign in a couple of days.”
“You think this is a waste?”
Gage kept his grimace to a twitch, smoothing out his expression before he gave Cherry a warm smile. Her expression didn’t budge. She was clearly a woman who expected to be catered to, which meant he’d just made a major misstep.
“I think your time is valuable, and that you must have more important things to do for the holidays than play...” He paused, then hating himself but knowing it had to be done, he gave Hailey an arch look. “What is it you wanted us to do again?”
She wet her lips, the move making the shell-pink flesh glisten. His own mouth watered.
He’d offered her an out yesterday. A chance to pick up a solid bevy of new clients, all ready to order. If she was as desperate as that look in her eyes indicated, she’d have grabbed his offer with both hands. She had to know her tiny company didn’t stand much of a chance against an enterprise like Milano. He’d checked into her business this morning before the meeting and she wasn’t heavily in debt or having obvious issues.
So it came down to one thing. There was only one reason she could have refused his offer and was pushing this silly bet idea.
Pure stubbornness.
“Maybe once we know how you think this bet will work, we can figure out the timeline,” Rudy said, his tone pacifying. Not to Hailey, Gage knew. But to the lush, redheaded torch singer.
“Maybe we should just—”
“My thought is that Gage and I each take turns planning a scenario that we feel showcases the image our lingerie will offer. Mine would be to show you how romance would enhance both your reputation as a trendsetter and fashion icon, Mr. Rudolph, and the sensual image Miss Bella’s built over the last few years, as well.”
She tilted her head toward Gage, a lock of baby blond hair sliding over her cheek, reminding him of how soft it was. How it’d felt to tilt her face up to best receive his kisses.
Shake it off, man, Gage told himself, actually twitching his shoulders. Don’t let her get to you again.
“And what do you suggest my scenario would be?”
“Whatever situation you think would best showcase the message your lingerie brings to the table, of course.”
What message did leather panties suit?
A strip club? Bondage basement? Adult video store?
Hell, maybe she had a point.
From the look on her face, she knew it, too.
And so did Rudy and Cherry, Gage noted.
Crap.
“Not a problem,” he lied smoothly.
“I like this idea. A lot, actually. And it’ll only take a week,” Cherry said with a languid wave of one hand, a walnut-sized diamond flashing in the morning light as she dismissed Gage’s tight schedule. “But I’ve commitments, so my time is scarce. You’ll have to plan these little tableaux for evenings when I’m not performing.”
They all looked to Rudy, who ran one long-fingered hand over his bald head as he gauged Cherry’s expression. When he saw her determined interest, he sighed and gave a shrug.
