Beauty and the Boss Read online

  their mark for either good or bad, so they save time either

  way.”

  * * *

  Charlotte Hamner glanced around while massaging her

  abdomen, trying to relax the crampy ache that was growing

  since Sawyer hadn’t come back from her exploring. Her

  daughter’s curiosity made it impossible for her to behave all

  the time, but she kept her promises, so panic hadn’t set in

  since Sawyer had sworn she wouldn’t leave the building.

  She didn’t know where she was at that exact moment, but

  she was sure Sawyer was still in the building and not

  kidnapped in the back of a van somewhere.

  “Ms. Hamner,” the man who’d introduced himself as

  Rueben Maddox said, holding the door open. “If you’re

  ready, Ms. Renois will see you now.”

  “Thank you, and I’m sure this will completely torpedo my

  chances, but if my daughter comes back, could you tell her

  where I am and that I won’t be long?”

  “I’d be happy to, but I think you have nothing to worry

  about,” Rueben said with a genuinely warm smile.

  Charlotte smiled back, even though she had no idea what

  he was talking about, but she was as thrilled to meet him as

  she was Ellis Renois. Rueben Maddox knew a lot about what

  women really wanted in evening wear, if they could actually

  afford his stuff. She’d copied one of his designs and made

  her own for an event at school.

  “Thanks, but you have to know Sawyer. She’s a free

  spirit, so I hope she doesn’t get into trouble before we’re

  booted out of here.” She tried to juggle her bag and

  portfolio to be able to shake his hand, and Rueben had to

  take the large sketch case from her. “It’s an honor to meet

  you, and thank you.”

  “It’s an honor to meet you, and you don’t have to worry

  since Sawyer and I have already met,” he said, pointing to

  her daughter, who was sitting and sketching in her book at a

  large table by the windows. “She might be a free spirit, but

  she’s a polite, well-behaved one.”

  Charlotte was somewhat shocked to see Ellis Renois

  standing behind Sawyer, seemingly giving her pointers as

  Sawyer drew something. She wasn’t surprised that Sawyer

  was drawing, but that she was actually smiling was

  something new. Usually Sawyer was shy around new people,

  and she was super-secretive about her art with everyone,

  even though her talent was extraordinary for someone her

  age. Not even Sawyer’s deadbeat dad Kyle or anyone in his

  family had ever seen this side of their daughter.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said softly, not wanting to break Ellis

  and Sawyer apart.

  “Whatever for?” Rueben said, carrying her bag to where

  Ellis was standing. “I think the boss is more impressed with

  Sawyer’s book than that of any candidate we had last year.”

  “Ms. Hamner, welcome,” Ellis said after placing her

  hands on Sawyer’s shoulders. “Keep going, kid,” she said to

  Sawyer. “Let’s see your stuff.”

  “Thanks for inviting me, and I hope we haven’t been a

  bother,” Charlotte said as she glanced back at Sawyer as

  she opened her portfolio and grabbed her designs.

  “Listening to Sawyer give me advice was no bother.”

  Ellis quickly spread Charlotte’s designs out over the

  table, and both Ellis and Rueben studied them as if they

  would be tested for every detail when the interview was

  over. Of the twenty she’d brought, Ellis set five aside and

  stacked the rest. These showed a casual outfit, two business

  suits, and two dresses for informal evening wear. All of them

  were variations of something Ellis had put out during her

  career but incorporated the minor changes Charlotte

  would’ve made to appeal to a wider audience.

  “I don’t necessarily think you’re mocking me, but you

  don’t seem to like my stuff either,” Ellis said, still flipping

  through the other sketches again. This time she set three

  aside. “No one has ever taken this exact approach, so I’m

  curious as to why you did.”

  “I’d never mock you or anyone, but not everyone is a

  supermodel, Ms. Renois.” She held up the sketch closest to

  her and started talking before Ellis fired her without even

  considering her for the job. “Flaring the skirt on the suit will

  flatter a wider hip,” she said, pointing to the change and

  moving on to the next one. “Adding straps and a little length

  to the dresses will encourage more women to try them, and

  casual doesn’t mean you can’t accessorize a little.” The

  outfit now had a wide belt and slits in the three-quarter-

  length sleeves.

  Ellis held up two of her originals. “Tell me about these.”

  “My mother and I share a love of vintage clothes, but not

  everyone loves the hunt, so I tried to design with that in

  mind.” The dress that resembled some from the forties

  would’ve been sold in that era as everyday wear, but hers

  were tighter through the hips and leg, with a slight slit, all in

  linen. The top wasn’t as buttoned-up modest as the style

  back then, and she’d done away with the collar. “Most

  dresses from this period had a blouse-and-skirt look about

  them, but I moved the buttons from the waist to the hem of

  the slit to draw your eye to the legs. To highlight the

  buttons, I’d go with something like an onyx material for the

  white and bone for the black.”

  “These could go from the office to an evening dinner?”

  “I’m motivated by what would be a good investment for

  anyone on a budget. Something like this would be versatile

  for a number of occasions and could be changed easily with

  some basic accessories so it wouldn’t appear like you’re

  wearing the same thing over and over again. I think of it as

  couture for the everyday woman.”

  “What about red?”

  “I didn’t think that would be a good choice since that’d

  be definitely memorable. Red would be good as a once-in-a-

  while dress, so it’d get more time in the closet instead of

  wear time.”

  “Thanks for coming in,” Ellis said, not asking another

  thing and handing over all her work.

  “Is red your favorite color?” she asked, not believing that

  color, of all things, would be the reason she wouldn’t be

  considered.

  “You mean you don’t know what my favorite color is? You

  researched enough to change my designs, but you skimped

  on something so crucial?” Ellis spoke in a tone that signaled

  she was done. In that one instant, every moment Charlotte

  had spent agonizing over this meeting seemed like such a

  waste. Ellis Renois was tall and incredibly good-looking, but

  she was kind of an asshole. “Maybe you should’ve

  considered that and a few other things, Mrs. Hamner.”

  “It’s Ms. Hamner, and it shouldn’t matter what your

  favorite color is. Not everyone looks good in red.”

  “Thank you for the lesson in fashion, Ms. Ha
mner. I don’t

  know how in the world I’ve gotten along without it this

  long.”

  “Sawyer, get your things.” She zipped up her bag and

  waited for Sawyer to put her pencils away before leaving

  without another word. Maybe it wasn’t too late to hire on

  with someone else, even if all she did the entire summer

  was sew.

  “You should’ve shaken her hand, Mama. She’s big on

  that,” Sawyer said as they rode the elevator down.

  “You’re right. I’ll remember that for next time,” she said,

  thinking Ellis was lucky she didn’t punch her in the throat for

  being such an ass.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Do you have everything set?” Jennifer Eymard asked

  Dalton Burton as they had lunch at the Clocktower

  restaurant. “I haven’t heard from the dragon lady, so I’m

  curious,” she said, laughing at their nickname for Ellis’s

  mother Amis.

  Once the business had ballooned to the point where Amis

  couldn’t handle all of the everyday items, Ellis had hired

  Dalton as a manager to take on part of the workload. He’d

  helped the Renois House expand to where they now had

  thousands on the payroll. Once they’d reached that size,

  Jennifer had become the CFO, at Dalton’s suggestion, and

  as usual, Ellis agreed, not wanting to be bothered by what

  she thought was the minutiae of the business.

  “I’ve just got to get Ellis to sign the paperwork before she

  leaves, and no one’s picked up on it yet. You did a good job

  of burying the most important section in all that legalese,”

  Dalton said. They needed to get back, but he really wanted

  to stop at his place to release some of the pressure Jennifer

  had built up with her foot pressed against his crotch. “She’s

  hot to get out of town, so this might actually work. We

  couldn’t have timed this more perfectly.”

  “Then get the bill, lover, and let’s do a little celebrating.”

  Jennifer pressed harder with her foot, making him have to

  take a deep breath. “I told you this would be easy.”

  “Don’t gloat until she signs.”

  The waiter rushed away with his card, and he had to push

  Jennifer off before he came in his pants. That hadn’t

  happened to him since high school, and he wasn’t about to

  regress.

  “You want me there so you don’t mess this up?” she

  asked, which instantly turned him off.

  Condescending and sarcastic commentary he got plenty

  of at home. “I think I can handle it since I’ve gotten us this

  far, haven’t I?”

  “Darling, you know I meant for moral support. Of course

  you’ve done great so far, but we’re so close.” Her tone had

  become syrupy sweet.

  Dalton couldn’t wait for the bill to come so they could get

  the hell out of there.

  “Just take a cab back, and I’ll meet you at the office. No

  sense in whipping up suspicion now,” Dalton said.

  He stared at her when she ran her foot up his leg.

  “Jennifer, I’ll meet you back at the office.”

  “Don’t be mad,” she said with a slight pout.

  Fuck, he thought, knowing what the next couple of hours

  would be like. Jennifer was good in bed. That alone had

  made his wife repulsive to him now, but she could also be a

  pain in the ass when she wanted to be. “Like I said, Ellis

  hasn’t signed it yet, so let’s wait on the party.”

  “But you’re mad,” she whined.

  “I’m being cautious. There’s a difference. Go ahead and

  take off.”

  He came close to sighing in relief when she stood up but

  didn’t make that mistake until she was out the door. The

  moment alone gave him time to reflect on what he was

  getting ready to do. Ellis and he had been friends for years,

  and she’d given him the opportunity of a lifetime, but

  Jennifer had made him want more than Ellis was willing to

  give. Hell, if Ellis was honest, she’d admit the business

  wouldn’t be where it was without him, so if she wouldn’t

  reward him, he’d just take it.

  “After tonight I’ll lock you on the hamster wheel of life

  like you did to me,” he said and tried to calm the nerves

  that were upsetting his stomach. “It’s my turn to be the top

  guy.”

  * * *

  The last candidate was the best flirt in the bunch, and

  she reminded Ellis of the woman from last summer. It was a

  shame her designs didn’t match her talent in the come-on

  arena. “Thank you for coming in. Rueben will be in touch.”

  The woman took her hand and held it as she looked into her

  eyes, as if trying to hypnotize her into giving her the job.

  “Take care now,” she said, prying her hand loose.

  It took Rueben ten minutes to get back, giving her

  enough time to find the original sketches Charlotte Hamner

  had shown her. Design, she’d learned quickly, was always a

  compromise, from the original idea to the final product, and

  that compromise usually came down to one simple thing…

  money. Only a very few could afford what the final outfit

  would cost if it was produced with every specification she

  envisioned initially.

  “Have you made up your mind?” Rueben asked when he

  returned. “Or do you need more time?”

  “Considering we’re on a time crunch, and I’m also late for

  lunch with my mother, it’s now or never. Have you made up

  your mind?” She held up the sketch of the casual outfit,

  which wasn’t much different from what Charlotte had

  showed her, but definitely different than what the final

  product had turned out to be.

  “There’s no way she would’ve had access to that since

  we never release those until the show and subsequent

  launch to the market. And even then, we only show the final

  sketches and not the first draft. That went into production

  without the belt and the sleeve design. If you remember,

  the version Ms. Hamner liked couldn’t be brought to market

  because it would’ve been either too pricey or too cheesy if

  they downgraded the belt to something other than leather.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” Ellis said as she

  returned to the designs.

  “She thinks like you, but she hasn’t found her edge yet.

  Her original designs are good, but they’re missing the ‘it’

  factor that would make a woman carry the dress to the

  register and hand over her credit card.”

  “I know that about Ms. Hamner, and she’s closer than

  you think to the ‘it’ factor. What about the rest of them?”

  she said as she put the sketches back into the book from a

  few years back and shelved it. The only book out was for

  this year’s show, but Ruby had just taken it from the safe. It

  was complete as far as the initial sketches. They’d spend

  the next few months finalizing what the crew was already

  physically putting together, and only then would she make

  changes to the pages. Art was one thing, but she needed to

  see som
ething on a woman before she even contemplated

  redesign.

  “Do you really want to waste time talking about the

  others?” Rueben said as he locked the cabinet that held all

  her original books. “Or is this about the fact that Charlotte

  Hamner isn’t going to fall into your bed with a few well-

  placed moves and pretty words on your part?”

  “You don’t know me that well, Ruby. It’s not always about

  the ass factor. She’s got a kid to consider, so she might not

  want to uproot her life to follow us home.”

  “She’s blond and beautiful, so the ass factor always

  comes up, my friend. Why not ask her what she’s willing to

  do about the moving part before you make the decision for

  her? This one isn’t your typical summer-fling material, and

  maybe that’s a good thing for you.”

  “Don’t push it, Ruby. I’m not in the mood. I like women,

  and I’m not going to apologize for it.”

  “Seriously? Come on. You know I’m right. This has been

  an unmitigated disaster from the beginning.”

  “I think unmitigated is a little extreme, drama queen, and

  I’m not changing my mind. Just give me a rundown on

  everything else, and I’ll think about Ms. Hamner. She was

  the only one in the bunch with a fresh idea.”

  “Everything’s packed, and since this was the last thing on

  your list before we fly out in the morning, we’re ready to

  go,” Rueben said in a flat tone, never glancing up from his

  black leather folio.

  Ellis was sure Rueben slept, bathed, had sex, and ate

  without ever putting the damn thing down. It was still in one

  piece and not in tatters only because Ellis had purchased

  one with the finest leather she could get. Rueben deserved

  nothing but the best, since he was her best friend and his

  designs for the Renois Fashion House were inspirational.

  He was talented in design and keeping her life on track,

  so he was always close by with his folio full of appointments

  and what he liked to call the blueprint to beauty. She was

  also sure he had enough ideas folded away in that book to

  keep them going for the next three years.

  “Look, I know this isn’t your thing, but it’s important to

  me. I refuse to let a few setbacks change my mind about

  going forward.”

  When they’d started together, they’d agreed to always