The Night Before Christmas: Naughty Christmas Nights / The Nightshift Before Christmas / 'Twas the Week Before Christmas. Tawny Weber

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      “Yours is the final line Cherry needs to review before we settle on the spring lineup,” Rudy continued. Playing waiter with a dapper flair, he set a Plexiglas tray on the small table centered between their four chairs, motioned to the coffee, tea and juice as if encouraging everyone to help themselves.

      When nobody did, he snagged a Christmas cookie shaped like a reindeer, bit its head off and gestured with its body. “I’d like the two of you to give a final pitch. Tell us why your design is perfect for Cherry Bella and Rudolph department stores.”

      “Ladies first,” Gage said before Hailey could do more than take a nervous breath.

      She gave him a look, intending to say something—anything—that’d put him in his place and let him know that he wasn’t running this show.

      But the second her eyes met his, her brain shut down. She hated that. But her body—oh, her body—it loved the results. Big-time.

      Her heart did a little dance in perfect time with the nerves swirling around in her stomach. She could stare into his eyes for hours. Days, even. Nights would be even better. She wanted to see those eyes heat again, darken with desire and smolder with passion. Like they’d done when he’d kissed her.

      She wet her lips, remembering his taste. The texture of his mouth. The sweep of his tongue.

      “Hailey?”

      “Hmm?” She blinked. Then she blinked again, her eyes widening in horror before she ripped them from Gage to focus on the man with the giant checkbook and the key to her future. “I’m sorry, what?”

      “Why don’t you go ahead and make your pitch.”

      She wanted to suggest that Gage go first instead. She wanted to ask for a bucket of ice. She could barely think straight with her brain locked in horny mode. But they were all gazing at her expectantly and she didn’t want to make waves. Or worse, look as though she wasn’t grateful for this opportunity.

      Deep breaths and don’t look at Gage, she instructed herself.

      Okay, then...

      She’d spent all night obsessing over this. Now that it was time to pitch it, she hoped like hell she’d obsessed in the right direction.

      “Clearly you have two very strong lingerie lines to choose from,” Hailey said, starting her pitch by offering Gage her first smile, then going right back to trying to pretend he wasn’t there. “The question is, which one do you think is going to garner the best publicity and success for both Rudolph department stores and for Cherry Bella?

      “Your theme for spring is A New You. Your strategy is to inspire makeovers, redos and taking chances. And where better to begin such a journey than with how a woman feels about herself. Lingerie goes beyond physical support. It provides emotional support. The right lingerie inspires a woman to believe in herself. It validates her femininity. Merry Widow Lingerie is more than a fashion statement. It’s an empowerment statement.”

      Hailey paused, gauging their expressions. The interest in Rudy’s combined with the agreement in Cherry’s was great. But it was the concern on Gage’s that rocked her. With that as encouragement, she continued her presentation. She pulled out graphs and sales figures, passed around a few samples of the merchandise in all its frothy lace beauty and put her entire heart into the pitch.

      “It really comes down to messaging,” she wound up. “What message do you want to send women, and what message do you think women will respond best to? I think you’ll find that romance, with its empowering belief in love and happy results, will be a stronger selling point.”

      Pleased with her speech, and that she could sit back down and pretend she wasn’t nervous enough to hurl, Hailey offered Rudy and Cherry a warm smile. Then, her body boneless, she slid into the chair next to Gage’s. As soon as she did, he stood. Clearly he wanted to erase her impression as quickly as possible from the others’ minds.

      “Since it’s just the four of us, let’s be honest,” Gage said in a persuasively amused tone. “We all know what sells. Especially when it comes to lingerie.”

      “And that is?” Cherry asked, clearly not willing to let him take the easy way through his pitch.

      “Sex. Empowerment and emotions are all great between the pages of a book or at a self-help seminar. But nobody thinks that when they are buying lingerie. What women, and more importantly men, are thinking about when they look for lingerie is sex.”

      Hailey’s mouth dropped open. It took her a solid five seconds to force it closed.

      He’d thrown her under the bus. For the first time since she’d seen him all wrapped up in that green fur costume, she wanted to kick him. Gage wasn’t the Grinch, she realized. He was a flat-out shark. A shark standing there in a very expensive suit, looking as though he owned the whole damned world.

      “Now, as sweet and appealing as Merry Widow’s lingerie is, let’s face it...there’s nothing that says sex like black leather.” To emphasize his point, Gage lifted a presentation board from his portfolio and continued his pitch. Hailey barely heard him, though; she was too busy focusing on the photo of a leggy redheaded model swathed in leather and holding a microphone, a blatant play to Cherry.

      To try to keep from hissing at being dismissed as sweet and appealing, as if those were stupid things, Hailey shifted her gaze toward Rudy and Cherry. Were they as disgusted by the hard sell as she was?

      Her stomach sank.

      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?

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