Beauty and the Boss Read online

  least half of their orders back. The only thing all of the

  rejected food had in common was that it was her fault it was

  bad.

  Charlotte waved and smiled at Sawyer as she headed to

  the single the hostess had just put by the glass wall. “What

  can I get you to drink?” she asked, holding her finger up to

  the people three tables over screaming about wedges of

  lemon, which made no sense considering they were all

  drinking lemonade. She had a feeling that this menu

  peruser would be the next in line to complain, since the

  menu had a lot on it, but it wasn’t exactly War and Peace.

  She needed to get going.

  “Do you recommend the coffee or the hot chocolate?”

  “Somehow, I don’t think you need any more caffeine, so

  how about a lemonade that may or may not have enough

  lemon in it?” she said, figuring she didn’t have anything to

  lose.

  “Uh-huh, and would you recommend the burger or the

  hot dog?” Ellis finally put her oversized menu down

  completely and smiled at her. “Which do you think would be

  easier for you to tell me to shove up my—”

  “Hey, I thought no such thing.” She pointed at Ellis with

  her pen.

  “If you didn’t, you’re kinder than I would’ve ever been in

  the same situation.”

  “I was hoping more like you’d choke on the burger, even

  if it is really good.”

  “Spunk,” Ellis said and slapped the table with her open

  palm. “You’ll need plenty of it in life. Do you have a break

  coming up or something? I’d like to talk to you.”

  “I get fifteen minutes in an hour, so I doubt you want to

  wait that long.” Damn all these people in here and their

  pettiness tonight. If it was slower she could’ve had one of

  the girls cover for her, but not in this madhouse.

  “I’ve got nothing going on except the need for a good

  burger cooked medium with mayo, one piece of lettuce, and

  grilled onions.”

  “How about pickles and tomato?”

  “Put that on it, and I’ll be happy to send it back like those

  idiots over there, though I doubt I can get that loud.” Ellis

  pointed to the man holding up his plate and screaming for

  Charlotte. “How about some company though?”

  “I’m sure one of the girls would love to sit with you, but

  that’s an invitation to get fired on a night like this, so don’t

  tempt anyone over here to amuse yourself.”

  “Ouch.” Ellis put her hands over her chest as if she’d

  stabbed her. “I meant the lonely-looking kid in the corner

  over there.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, blinking rapidly while staring up at

  the ceiling, trying not to look Ellis in the eye. After a few

  deep breaths, she left before she could screw up anymore.

  She couldn’t have imagined Ellis’s being here, so treating

  her like shit wasn’t perhaps the way to handle the situation.

  But it was like she couldn’t help being overly sarcastic. She

  headed over to the agitated man and listened to his

  grievance about the lack of crispy fries on his plate, giving

  her an excuse to head back into the kitchen.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Serena asked as she waited for

  burnt fries.

  “She’s here to see me,” she said, biting her bottom lip as

  to why Ellis was here at all.

  “And you’re in the kitchen? Are you insane?”

  “I can’t lose this job on the hope she’s here to talk to me

  about another one.”

  “I bought you some time by seating Sawyer with her,

  since they seemed to know each other, but I’ll check with

  the others and see if we can give you a few minutes. If I can

  pull it off, I expect you to get me some new clothes,” Serena

  said as she slapped her ass. “I don’t care if you have to do a

  little shoplifting.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The plate of overdone potatoes seemed to take the

  irritation out of the guy, so she quickly stopped by every

  one of her tables, trying to curb any more complaining.

  When she glanced at Ellis’s table, she noticed how animated

  Sawyer appeared. Something about Ellis brought that out in

  her child, since Sawyer tended to live in her head and only

  interacted so openly with her.

  “Your burger isn’t ready yet, but I’ve got a few minutes,”

  she said, once Serena and one of the other servers waved

  her over to sit. “Do you mind if I stand so the whole section

  doesn’t think I’m abandoning ship?”

  “I’ll go back,” Sawyer said, but Ellis shook her head.

  “What I wanted to talk to you about has to do with both

  of you, so stay.” Ellis gazed up at her with the same smile

  Charlotte had seen on numerous buses and billboards. She

  couldn’t help but question if the expression was genuine.

  “I’m not sure what you’re thinking about, but you need a

  better poker face.”

  Crap, she yelled in her head as she did her best to relax.

  “Sorry. That’s my ‘I’m concentrating’ look.”

  “It sort of resembles my ‘this person is full of something

  not good’ face.”

  She laughed at Sawyer’s snort and decided to chance

  every possible tip she had coming by sitting down. “I was

  thinking of all those billboards and other things you’re on

  these days.”

  “Then your expression makes sense because it’s the

  same face I make whenever I see one.” Serena set three

  plates down and put her hand briefly on Ellis’s shoulder.

  “Why?” Her first impression of shallow and egotistical

  might be right, but Ellis had a way of torpedoing holes of

  doubt into her gut intuition.

  “Why what?” Ellis cut her burger into four very equal-

  appearing pieces and squirted a mound of ketchup in a spot

  on her plate well away from her fries.

  The anal display wasn’t something Charlotte ever

  associated with any type of artist of Ellis’s success, so it was

  rather humorous. “Why does being the face of your brand

  bother you? Ralph Lauren’s done it for years.”

  “Does seeing Mr. Lauren with his arms crossed wearing a

  usually preppy outfit make you want to buy something from

  his women’s line?” Ellis picked up one of her quarter pieces

  of burger and finally made eye contact. “And I’m not trying

  to be sarcastic.”

  Charlotte tried to relax her face, again resolved to keep it

  that way no matter what Ellis said. “Not really, but it makes

  me think he’s proud of what he does and isn’t afraid to show

  it.”

  Ellis nodded as she took a bite, but her gesture didn’t

  have the conviction of agreement. “Ms. Hamner, can I ask

  why you want to work with me?”

  “Not to get my face on a bus, but if that’s a serious

  question—”

  “I’m being serious, and it’s something I should’ve asked

  you earlier.” Ellis went back to eating.

  “I think every little girl dreams of working in fashion,
or at

  least I did. It started as that fantasy dream, but eventually it

  morphed into the only thing I wanted to do. Once that came

  into focus, I put in the work to try to make it a reality.”

  “I started on a different track but arrived at the same

  place eventually. So now my reality is that I may dress like

  Ralph, but I love making women look and feel beautiful—all

  women.”

  “So it wasn’t to get your face on a billboard in Times

  Square?”

  “It’s not a bucket-list item, no,” Ellis said with what

  appeared to her as a mock shiver. “If it ever was, it’s got a

  check next to it now. If you have time, I’d like to talk to you

  about a job.”

  “Really?” What Ellis had offered was the answer to every

  prayer she’d ever said, but her head seized with fear.

  “I’m sure Rueben went over everything with you, but I

  want you to be sure. Accepting means you’ll be moving to

  New Orleans for at least the next couple of months and

  maybe longer. We’ll take care of the lodging for you and

  Sawyer, but the days are long. Being absolutely ready for

  Fashion Week isn’t easy.” Ellis then hunted through the fries

  as if in search of the perfect one and dragged it through her

  mound of ketchup before salting it.

  There was, she was sure, some reason for her strange

  eating behavior, but now wasn’t the time to investigate it.

  “What happens after that?”

  “I’m sure you keep up with the gossip, so you might have

  some clue as to what might happen.” Another hunt through

  her fries with no choice obviously meant she didn’t see any

  other worthy potatoes.

  “It’s why I’m asking. Leaving is a gamble, and I’m not the

  only player at the table.”

  “Safe and sure never launched anyone’s career, and I’m

  leaving tomorrow.”

  “Sawyer,” she said, and Sawyer left them alone. “Did you

  wait until the last minute as some kind of sick test?”

  “You knew the possibilities going in because Rueben is

  good at his job, and part of his job is disclosure. He showed

  all our cards before you came for that interview, and the

  interviews are flexible to accommodate my schedule. When

  you’re in the position to hire, feel free to change the rules.”

  Ellis glanced around the area before pulling out her wallet.

  “I’ll need an answer tonight.” She placed three hundred

  dollars and a business card next to her plate. “For all the

  tips I cost you,” Ellis said before walking out.

  “Was that Ellis Renois?” her supervisor asked when she

  bussed the table and brought the plates back.

  “Yeah, and I’m sorry I took a break without asking.”

  “Did you get it?”

  “She offered, but I didn’t know what to say.” She stuck

  her hand in her apron and touched the card Ellis had left.

  The chance had probably passed her by, but she’d wait until

  she was alone to beat herself up about it.

  “You’re a good employee, but I doubt you’ll ever convince

  anyone to buy anything you design wearing that.” He pulled

  on her collar before tapping his finger against her temple.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  He didn’t give any advice, so she took a deep breath and

  took the money and card out. All that was on it was a

  number and the name of the business. “I’m afraid of losing

  everything I’ve got, but fear never was the basis for

  success, I guess.”

  She walked outside with Sawyer and called.

  “Rueben Maddox. Can I help you?”

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Maddox, but Ms. Renois

  gave me this number.”

  Sawyer held her hand and crossed her fingers with the

  other.

  “Are you joining us, Ms. Hamner?” The question was to

  the point, but Rueben sounded warm and approachable.

  “I am, so I need the where and when.” Those words

  ripped through her, but instead of gutting her, they made

  her lighter. “I’ll be there, and thanks for the opportunity.”

  “We’re looking forward to it.”

  “Please let Ms. Renois know how much I appreciate this.”

  “It’s just Rueben and Ellis, and I’ll have a courier drop off

  everything you’ll need if you give me your address. The

  return is open-ended, depending on the amount of work to

  be done, and the hours are long since you’ll find Ellis isn’t

  your typical nine-to-five worker.” He paused, and she could

  almost guess that some kind of warning was coming. “Think

  you can handle that?”

  “I’m not going to let you down.”

  The call ended, and she hoped to hell that would be true.

  “You ready for this?” she asked Sawyer, but the question

  might as well be part of an internal dialogue to psych

  herself up for what was coming.

  “Mama, you made it—smile.”

  That Sawyer understood and appreciated the moment

  better than she did made her laugh. “We’re going to be

  okay.” She said it out loud but figured it’d be her new

  mantra because all she really felt was off balance.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The office was quiet since it was late, but it never

  seemed to be empty, and while Ellis understood the concept

  of long hours, she encouraged the people that worked for

  her to leave the building at a reasonable hour. This place

  was like her apartment, in that she didn’t feel at home here

  either.

  “Some psychiatrist would probably make a fortune off

  me,” she mumbled as she entered her office, not bothering

  with the overhead lights but opting for the lamp on the

  sterile, neat desk. Three folders lay on the usually spotless

  top.

  She sat and opened the first one and shook her head at

  the amount they’d stand to make stated on the sticky note

  Dalton had put on the first page. The word COPY instead of

  FINAL surprised her, since Dalton kept insisting that the

  contracts were ready to go.

  No matter the level of success she achieved, that much

  money never failed to make that young kid still alive in her

  heart take a deep breath in awe. She hoped it would always

  do that. Losing the part of herself that still saw the wonder

  in what she’d built would mean she’d lost the drive that got

  her here.

  “Oh, good,” Jennifer said, leaning against her doorjamb.

  “Those need your signature before you leave. We were

  afraid we’d missed you.”

  “We? Did I miss a call or anything else? Besides, these

  aren’t the final contracts, according to Dalton’s note.” She

  flipped through the pages as if she understood the

  convoluted language lawyers put in these things like their

  fee depended on word count.

  Jennifer laughed like a date who wanted her to know how

  much she appreciated Ellis’s wittiness. “He must’ve

  forgotten to make it clear that those are the final contracts.

  Since you’re here, you saved him a trip south. You know how

&
nbsp; much Dalton detests New Orleans this time of year, so you

  rescued him from a heat rash.”

  Something about Jennifer made her want to walk away or

  order her to leave. She tried to ignore her feeling, willing

  herself not to cling to something imaginary that’d make this

  relationship any harder than it already was. The whim of

  handing over something she wasn’t interested in doing had

  blinded her to how much she really didn’t like Dalton as a

  person and, by extension, his good friend Jennifer.

  “Actually, he’s never mentioned his dislike of New

  Orleans. Whenever he’s there he seems to enjoy the

  nightlife enough.” She turned to the view and smiled at the

  crack she’d put in Jennifer’s smug façade. “Whatever

  happens in the South stays there, but it’s a big enough

  playground if you’re into that.”

  “Good thing for his wife you’re still here to sign these

  then.” Jennifer had used her attention break to move closer.

  Actually, she’d moved too close, and that feeling to take

  flight came back.

  “Is there anything else, Jennifer?” It occurred to Ellis then

  that in all the time Jennifer had worked for her, aside from

  that night that Jennifer had blamed on too much to drink,

  this was the first time they’d been truly alone. Her drunken

  escapade had been something both of them had tried to

  pretend never happened. “I’ve got an early flight and have

  all this to get through, so if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Do you enjoy the nightlife down there? Those interns

  must cream their pants when you show them the town. Must

  be all that heat, booze, and depravity that makes them go

  crazy.”

  “Ms. Eymard, I’m sure you and Dalton are good friends,

  right?” She cocked her head slightly and kept her seat, even

  though she really wanted to physically throw this bitch out.

  “What are you insinuating?” Jennifer’s tone was harsh

  and fast.

  It was like a spider who had spun such an elaborate web

  that she’d entrapped herself. “I’m not insinuating anything,

  just asking a question,” she said, trying to do her best to act

  the part of the fly. “It’s not a complicated question, so

  answer it.”

  “We’re good friends—nothing more.”

  “Then your friend must’ve given you the employee

  manual, so your comments were way out of line. Consider

  yourself warned.”