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