looked back, Chantal had crossed the floor. She was laughing with Hunter, a long-fingered, sparkly-tipped hand lightly touching his shoulder for emphasis about something.
He didn’t seem the least bit disturbed by the touch, and an unwelcome spike of annoyance hit Sinclair. It wasn’t jealousy, she quickly assured herself. It was the fact that Chantal was ignoring the customers to flirt with the CEO.
Sinclair made her way along the counter.
“Chantal,” she greeted, putting a note of censure in her voice and her expression.
“I was just talking to Hunter about the new mousse,” Chantal trilled. Then she fluffed her hair. “It works miracles.”
Sinclair compressed her lips.
In response, Chantal’s gaze took in Sinclair’s plain hairstyle. “You should …” She frowned. “Uh … have you tried it?”
Hunter inclined his head toward Sinclair. He seemed to be waiting for her answer.
“No,” Sinclair admitted. She hadn’t tired the new mousse. Like she had time for the Luscious Lavender treatment every morning. She started work at seven-thirty after a streamlined regime that rarely included a hairdryer.
“Oh.” Chantal pouted prettily.
Sinclair nodded to a pair of customers lingering around Chantal’s sample station. “I believe those two ladies need some help.”
Chantal giggled and moved away.
“Nice,” said Hunter after she left.
“That better have been sarcasm.”
All men considered Chantal beautiful, but Sinclair would have been disappointed in Hunter if he hadn’t been able to see past her looks.
“Of course it was sarcasm.” But his eyes lingered on the woman.
Sinclair elbowed him in the ribs.
“What?”
“I can tell what you’re thinking.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can.”
“What am I thinking?”
“That her breasts are large, her skirt is short, and her legs go all the way to the ground.”
Hunter coughed out a laugh.
“See?” blurted Sinclair in triumph.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“The doors are closing,” murmured Sinclair, more to herself than to Hunter, as she noticed the security guards stop incoming customers and open the doors for those who were exiting.
“You got a few minutes to talk?” he asked.
“Sure.” Hunter was the CEO. She was ready to talk business at his convenience.
She nodded to two empty chairs across the room.
They moved to the quiet corner of the department, and Sinclair climbed into one of the high leather swivel chairs. She parked her clipboard on the glass counter.
Hunter eased up beside her. “So what’s the plan now?”
She glanced around the big room. “The cleaning staff will be here at six. Amber will make sure the leftover samples are returned to the warehouse. And I’ll write a report in the morning.” Later tonight, she was going to start painting her new apartment, but she didn’t think Hunter needed that kind of information.
His gray eyes sparkled with merriment. “I meant your plan about the spa.”
“Oh, that.” She waved a hand. “It’s dead. We couldn’t make a deal with the Millennium.”
Her gaze unexpectedly caught Chantal. The woman was eyeing them up from across the room, tossing her glittering mane over one shoulder and licking her red lips.
Under the guise of more easily conversing, Sinclair scooted a little closer to Hunter. Let miss Barbie-doll chew on that.
Hunter slanted a look toward Chantal, then shot Sinclair a knowing grin.
“Shut up,” she warned in an undertone.
“I never said a word.”
“You were thinking it.”
“Yeah. And I was right, too.”
Yeah, he was. “It’s something Pavlovian,” she offered.
His grin widened.
“I didn’t want her to think Luscious Lavender mousse trumps brains, that’s all.”
“It doesn’t.”
“I don’t even use mousse. It’s nothing against Luscious Lavender. It’s a personal choice.”
“Okay,” said Hunter.
“Kristy has always been the glitter and glam twin. I’m—”
“Don’t you dare say plain Jane.”
“I was going to say professional Jane.”
He snorted. “You don’t need a label. And you shouldn’t use Kristy as a frame of reference.”
“What? You don’t compare yourself to Jack?”
“I don’t.” But his expression revealed a sense of discomfort.
“What?” she prompted.
“Gramps does.”
Sinclair could well imagine. “And who comes out on top?”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think?”
“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. Jack seemed like a great guy. But then so did Hunter. They were both smart, handsome, capable and hard-working.
“Jack’s dependable,” said Hunter. “He’s patient and methodical. He doesn’t make mistakes.”
Sinclair found herself leaning even closer, the noise of the store dimming around them as the last of the customers made their way out the door. “And you are?”
“Reckless and impulsive.”
“Why do I hear Cleveland’s voice when you say that?”
Hunter chuckled. “It’s usually accompanied by a cuff upside the head.”
In the silence that followed, Sinclair resisted an urge to take his hand. “That’s sad,” she told him.
“That’s
