Beauty and the Boss Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Praise for Ali Vali

  Acclaim for the Casey Cain Saga

  By the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  About the Author

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Beauty and the Boss

  Ellis Renois is at the top of the fashion world and has built

  the Renois Company into a success that dominates the

  runways of the world. Ellis loves creating clothes, and she

  loves the beautiful women who wear them. While Ellis deals

  with design, she leaves the business aspect to others. It’s a

  mistake that could cost her more than just her life’s work.

  Charlotte Hamner has worked her way through school and is

  ready to make a better life for herself and her daughter

  Sawyer. She’s far from the teenaged mother who worked a

  string of dead-end jobs to fulfill her dreams, so she’s not

  about to fall victim to Ellis’s easy charm.

  A summer job presents Charlotte with the chance to learn

  from Ellis, but it might also land her the position of head

  designer for Renois. But her promotion will come only

  through betrayal and perhaps at the cost of her heart.

  Praise for Ali Vali

  Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  “A stunning addition to the vampire legend, Balance of

  Forces: Toujour Ici is one that stands apart from the rest.”—

  Bibliophilic Book Blog

  Calling the Dead

  “So many writers set stories in New Orleans, but Ali Vali’s

  mystery novels have the authenticity that only a real Big

  Easy resident could bring…makes for a classic lesbian

  murder yarn.”—Curve Magazine

  Blue Skies

  “Vali is skilled at building sexual tension, and the sex in this

  novel flies as high as Berkley’s jets. Look for this fast-paced

  read.”—Just About Write

  Carly’s Sound

  “Vali paints vivid pictures with her words…Carly’s Sound is a

  great romance, with some wonderfully hot sex.”—Midwest

  Book Review

  “It’s no surprise that passion is indeed possible a second

  time around.”—Q Syndicate

  Acclaim for the Casey Cain Saga

  The Devil Inside

  “Vali’s fluid writing style quickly puts the reader at ease,

  which makes the story and its characters equally easy to

  get to know and care about. When you find yourself talking

  out loud to the characters in a book, you know the work is

  polished and professional, as well as entertaining.”—Family

  and Friends Magazine

  “Not only is The Devil Inside a ripping mystery, it’s also an

  intimate character study.”—L-Word Literature

  “The Devil Inside is the first of what promises to be a very

  exciting series…While telling an exciting story that grips the

  reader, Vali has also fully fleshed out her heroes and villains.

  The Devil Inside is that rarity: a fascinating crime novel

  which includes a tender love story and leaves the reader

  with a cliffhanger ending.”—MegaScene

  The Devil Unleashed

  “Fast-paced action scenes, intriguing character revelations,

  and a refreshing approach to the romance thriller genre all

  make for an enjoyable reading experience in the Big Easy…

  The

  Devil

  Unleashed

  is

  an

  engrossing

  reading

  experience.”—Midwest Book Review

  Deal with the Devil

  “Ali Vali has given her fans another thick, rich thriller…Deal

  With the Devil has wonderful love stories, great sex, and an

  ample supply of humor. It is an exciting, page-turning read

  that leaves her readers eagerly awaiting the next book in

  the series.”—Just About Write

  The Devil Be Damned

  “Ali Vali excels at creating strong, romantic characters along

  with her fast-paced, sophisticated plots. Her setting, New

  Orleans, provides just the right blend of immigrants from

  Mexico, South America, and Cuba, along with a city steeped

  in traditions.”—Just About Write

  Beauty and the Boss Brought to you

  by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or

  given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this

  work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Beauty and the Boss

  © 2017 By Ali Vali. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-920-4

  This Electronic Original is published by Bold Strokes Books,

  Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: September 2017

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

  incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are

  used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living

  or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is

  entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any

  form without permission. Credits

  EDITOR: SHELLEY THRASHER

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman Cover Design By Melody

  Pond

  By the Author

  Carly’s Sound

  Second Season

  Calling the Dead Blue Skies

  Love Match

  The Dragon Tree Legacy The Romance Vote Girls with Guns

  Beneath the Waves Beauty and the Boss

  Forces Series

  Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  Battle of Forces: Sera Toujours

  The Cain Casey Saga

  The Devil Inside The Devil Unleashed Deal with the Devil

  The Devil Be Damned The Devil’s Orchard The Devil’s Due

  Acknowledgments

  Every story might start with an idea that takes months to

  write, but no book is done without a great team. Thank you,

  Radclyffe, for your support from the beginning and for your

  friendship. Thanks to Sandy Lowe for the title—those are

  always the hardest, and this one’s perfect.

  Thank
you to Shelley Thrasher, my editor. As always, you

  taught me something, and for that I’m always grateful.

  Thank you to my fantastic first readers Kim Rieff, Cris Perez-

  Soria, and Connie Ward. You guys rock and always have

  great suggestions, so I appreciate the input. It’s nice to

  know, though, that I can surprise you with a good plot twist.

  A big thank you to the BSB team, my fellow authors, and

  Melody Pond for a great cover. Life at times knocks you flat

  with surprises you never see coming, so I thank my BSB

  family for not only helping me get up, but for letting me

  lean on you. I love you guys.

  Thank you to all the readers for your unwavering support

  and for your many emails. As always, every word is written

  with you in mind.

  It’s amazing how life can change in such a short time and

  how much pain you can endure without breaking from the

  weight of so much loss. The only way to survive is to be

  lucky enough to have friends and someone who loves you

  shoulder the burden with you. Thank you to my big brother

  for all the memories and for your unwavering support for all

  of my fifty-three years. I hope your eternity is only smooth

  waters, big fish, and a cup that never goes empty.

  Thank you, C, for making me laugh when I didn’t think I

  could, for simply holding my hand when words weren’t

  necessary or possible, and for thirty-two years full of joy. I

  love you. Verdad!

  For C

  A lifetime will never be enough.

  For my big brother

  Rest easy, brother, and know you are missed.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Fashion designer Ellis Renois used the back door of her

  main studio in the Garment District, wanting to avoid

  anyone vying for the summer internship from trying to make

  an impression before it was their turn. The large open space

  on the top floor was where her team took her sketches and

  transformed them into the reality of the runway. She’d

  always felt alive in here, and she used these interviews to

  find the person who felt the same way. The only thing was, it

  had to be someone who would put in the work and not want

  to just show up for the accolades of Fashion Week.

  Her best friend and business partner Rueben Maddox was

  waiting just inside. “Take the sofa,” he said of the spot they

  used when they had guests for previews. The space was

  eerily quiet since the staff was on holiday for a few weeks

  and would return when she started sending sketches from

  her own vacation to add to the ones already in the finishing

  stages. A skeleton crew would follow her out of town, and

  one of the head seamstresses would fly back and forth to

  make sure everything stayed on track for the fall.

  “It’s not too late to change your mind,” Rueben said.

  Ellis was growing tired of this same damn conversation

  they’d had in the last couple of years. “This will go much

  faster if you leave out the lecture, Ruby.”

  “You can’t blame me for trying.”

  “True, but don’t push it by driving it in the ground. You’ll

  break a nail, or worse yet, you’ll ruin your outfit by breaking

  a sweat.”

  She smiled at Rueben and moved to her assigned seat,

  stopping to put her hands on her hips when she spotted a

  kid walking slowly in the back corner of the room. Whoever

  she was, she was moving her head like she was trying to

  commit every inch of the space to memory.

  “Hold up, Ruby. Hi,” Ellis said, stopping in front of the big

  leather chesterfield. “Are you here for the internship? Not

  that I’d turn you down, but you look a little young to be in

  the workforce.” She unbuttoned her jacket and held her

  hand out after spotting the book in the girl’s hand. “Let’s

  see your sketches.”

  “How come you don’t think it’s my diary?”

  The kid, who appeared barely ten, had moxie, and her

  slightly long, dark hair falling in her face made Ellis think

  she was ready for a photo shoot. She sat and patted the

  spot next to her. “If it’s your diary, you must have a lot of

  emotion in those pages.”

  The kid had a good laugh, but she hesitated before

  taking a seat. “Why’d you say that?” The girl had obviously

  thought about joining her and chose to stay on her feet.

  “You’ve got an awful lot of colored pencils for the average

  diary. Can I see, or is it too personal?” She stood and waved

  the kid to the table against the wall of glass as a way to put

  her more at ease. The view from here was shit, but the light

  was phenomenal, so she coped. Staring at something

  beautiful all day would definitely blow her work-life

  concentration right out the window. Not that it didn’t

  anyway.

  “How about I go first.” She moved some of the work-

  related sketchbooks to the side and reached for one from

  the bottom shelf of the long table, opening it to the first

  page. “Put your book down,” she said, pointing to the space

  she’d made. “Or not,” she said when the kid pressed it

  closer against her chest.

  The first sketch in her book was of her and her mother

  Amis, when she was about the same age as this kid. Back

  then, Amis had been one of the seamstresses in a place

  very much like this. They always spent their Sundays,

  Amis’s only real day off, at the center of some beautiful

  place, and her mother had done a masterful job of choosing

  locations that built the artist in her soul one stunning

  landscape after another.

  “This is my mother, Amis,” she said of the sketch she’d

  done a few years back. The finished product hung over her

  fireplace at home.

  The kid opened her book and handed it over like it was

  her heart on a plate. “Here,” she said, making eye contact

  only for a moment.

  “I’m Ellis,” she said, placing the sketchbook next to hers.

  “What’s your name?” She held her hand out where the kid

  would see it. “How it works is, you tell me your name to

  introduce yourself, and then you shake my hand firmly but

  not painfully.”

  “I’m Sawyer. My mom wants to meet you.” Sawyer shook

  her hand a little too long with a slightly sweaty palm, but

  she didn’t mind since the kid was obviously nervous.

  After Sawyer finally let her hand go, Ellis flipped through

  the pages of really good sketches. Sawyer wasn’t Monet yet,

  but the raw talent was there. At times, no matter how much

  the person wanted it, you couldn’t build on faulty ground.

  Sawyer had the kind of talent that would blossom only

  under the right care. “How’d you get back here?”

  “Everyone out there has like a major case of the willies,

  so I went exploring. One of the doors led back here.” Sawyer

  shrugged and still wouldn’t make eye contact. “Did this

  mess my mom up?”

  She finished going through the book. “Did she help you

  with these?”

 
“No. She tells me all the time to follow my heart.”

  Ellis had to smile when Sawyer rolled her eyes. “Do you

  know what that means?”

  Sawyer cocked her head to the side before shaking it.

  “Not really, no.”

  She flipped through her own sketchbook to the few she’d

  done when she’d visited Monet’s gardens in France and then

  opened her book of his work. “These are of the same place.”

  She pointed between the two. “This is the way he saw it,

  and this is the way I did. One’s more literal than the other,

  don’t you think?”

  “They’re both nice,” Sawyer said, putting her hands on

  the table and standing on her toes to see better. “You’re

  really good.”

  “Thank you, and we were both doing what your mom told

  you, so she’s right about following your heart. Eventually

  you’ll see how important that is.” She handed the book

  back, and Sawyer immediately held it against her chest.

  “But what’s it really mean?”

  “Everyone has their own interpretation, but here’s my

  take. The world and how we see it is like loving a certain

  kind of flower over another. I might look at daisies and see

  weeds, but you might love daisies so you see something

  beautiful. You don’t want someone telling you how to think

  about the flowers—you know it’s a completely personal

  thing. Art’s all about the eye of the person with the brush in

  their hand, and what you put on the page or canvas is

  what’s in here,” she said, tapping the side of Sawyer’s head,

  “and in here,” she said tapping over her heart.

  “Thanks…I guess.” Sawyer seemed hesitant to leave.

  “You want to hang out here until we’re done?” Sawyer

  smiled slightly and sat on the stool she’d pointed to and

  waved Rueben off when he stared at the girl. “Come on,

  Ruby. Let’s get started. What’s your mom’s name?” she

  asked Sawyer.

  “Charlotte.”

  “Should she go first or last?” Ellis asked, immediately

  putting a stunned almost pained expression on Sawyer’s

  face.

  Actually, Sawyer looked at her as if her answer would

  totally mess her mother up if she were wrong. “If it was you,

  would you go first or last?” Sawyer finally said.

  “Smart kid,” Rueben said.

  “I’d say first,” Ellis said seriously. “First impressions make