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?
She took a deep breath, trying to accept that she couldn’t change the man’s mind. She couldn’t jump up, stomp her feet and insist he choose her. She’d tried that a few times over the course of her life, and had always been the one standing there alone with sore toes.
But...
She couldn’t just let it go.
“Wait,” Hailey cried, halting everyone midrise, their butts four inches from their chairs. Rudy and Gage frowned, but Cherry sat right back down, her expression warm and encouraging.
“I think he’s wrong. Gage clearly has a strong grasp of basic marketing. And he’s right. Sex Sells 101 is often an effective advertising ploy.” She paused, letting the emphasis on the word ploy sink in. “But is that really what you want? A ploy? Gimmicks only go so far, don’t they?”
She addressed that question to Cherry, who suddenly looked very tired. As if all this talking had sapped her energy.
“Gimmicks have their place,” Cherry said, her shrug indicating that their place was nowhere near her.
At her words, the men settled back in their chairs. Gage’s expression was guarded, but Rudy was watching his muse like a hawk.
That was her hook, Hailey knew. No matter how much Rudy might want to see women prancing down his runway come February wearing tiny strips of leather and stilettos, he’d defer to what Cherry wanted.
“Sex sells.... In this case, it’d sell to a very specific market. But you want to make this year’s debut extraordinary, don’t you, Mr. Rudolph? This is the first year you’ve ever built a line around a person rather than a theme.”
“That’s true. Although Miss Bella hasn’t signed the agreement yet,” Rudy said with a jovial sort of laugh that did nothing to disguise his concern over that detail.
“Once I know exactly what I’d be representing, I’ll make my decision,” Cherry said, her words friendly but firm, with just a hint of impatience. “My image, and my personal comfort levels, must be in sync with anything I do.”
“Which is why Merry Widow is perfect for you,” Hailey said, leaning forward and clasping both hands on her knees. “It’s a line that focuses on the image of romance, of the ultimate in feminine empowerment, while ensuring you feel so real you can’t be anything but comfortable.”
Out of breath, Hailey forced herself not to grin. She was proud of herself. That’d sounded pretty awesome.
“I beg to differ,” Gage broke in. His tone was smooth-as-silk friendly, but the look in his eyes was diamond hard. And, Hailey noted, just a little surprised. Obviously he really hadn’t expected her to be any sort of competition. Just a bit of fluff, like her lingerie.
He turned to Cherry, charm oozing from every pore. Hailey wanted to hate that he could do that. But who could blame a man for being fabulous at what he did? She just wished he could be fabulous somewhere else.
Like in her bedroom.
“Miss 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
