“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 of his brilliant kick-his-brother’s-ass-and-prove-he-was-the-best business plan, he was going to be stuck pimping sex wrapped in leather for two weeks?
No way.
“I don’t have another week available to negotiate this project,” he said, shifting his body so he was facing Rudy. Not so much to cut the women out of the discussion as to keep Hailey from his line of sight. If he didn’t see her, he wouldn’t get distracted and she couldn’t work her sweet magic. “And I thought you said you wanted your people moving on the advertising before Christmas. That means you don’t have time to waste, either. It’s not like they can whip up a brilliant campaign in a couple of days.”
“You think this is a waste?”
Gage kept his grimace to a twitch, smoothing out his expression before he gave Cherry a warm smile. Her expression didn’t budge. She was clearly a woman who expected to be catered to, which meant he’d just made a major misstep.
“I think your time is valuable, and that you must have more important things to do for the holidays than play...” He paused, then hating himself but knowing it had to be done, he gave Hailey an arch look. “What is it you wanted us to do again?”
She wet her lips, the move making the shell-pink flesh glisten. His own mouth watered.
He’d offered her an out yesterday. A chance to pick up a solid bevy of new clients, all ready to order. If she was as desperate as that look in her eyes indicated, she’d have grabbed his offer with both hands. She had to know her tiny company didn’t stand much of a chance against an enterprise like Milano. He’d checked into her business this morning before the meeting and she wasn’t heavily in debt or having obvious issues.
So it came down to one thing. There was only one reason she could have refused his offer and was pushing this silly bet idea.
Pure stubbornness.
“Maybe once we know how you think this bet will work, we can figure out the timeline,” Rudy said, his tone pacifying. Not to Hailey, Gage knew. But to the lush, redheaded torch singer.
“Maybe we should just—”
“My thought is that Gage and I each take turns planning a scenario that we feel showcases the image our lingerie will offer. Mine would be to show you how romance would enhance both your reputation as a trendsetter and fashion icon, Mr. Rudolph, and the sensual image Miss Bella’s built over the last few years, as well.”
She tilted her head toward Gage, a lock of baby blond hair sliding over her cheek, reminding him of how soft it was. How it’d felt to tilt her face up to best receive his kisses.
Shake it off, man, Gage told himself, actually twitching his shoulders. Don’t let her get to you again.
“And what do you suggest my scenario would be?”
“Whatever situation you think would best showcase the message your lingerie brings to the table, of course.”
What message did leather panties suit?
A strip club? Bondage basement? Adult video store?
Hell,
