“Yeah, you looked like you were working hard when you were leaning over Kaiser’s desk with your skirt up—”
“You don’t understand...” She hadn’t found him after leaving Kaiser’s office and his phone had just gone to voicemail.
“I understand perfectly,” he snapped. “Forget the weird sex stuff. I’m more worried about you selling your soul to the devil. Heidi, are you really going to let some scheming cow like Andrea Paxton steal your dreams?”#p#分页标题#e#
She opened the dressing room door and stepped into the hallway, gulping the fresher, less cloying air. “Maybe my dreams have changed.”
“Heidi, I swear, if you don’t do it, I will.”
She froze, eyes wide, and actually pulled the phone away to stare at it for a moment, as if Lenny could see the shocked look on her face. She put the phone back to her ear and hissed, “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Do you really think it was you I was coming to see today?”
“Lenny!” she gasped, covering her eyes with her hand. It was bad enough he’d walked into what he had—but what would have happened if he’d actually decided to spout off to Kaiser?
“So tell him,” he urged, his voice more firm that she’d ever heard it. Was he serious? He couldn’t be serious.
“Okay, okay!” she relented, praying he wouldn’t call her on her bluff. “I will.”
“You promise?”
She sighed, looking up at the sound of heels on the tile and saw Andrea coming down the hall. “I’ve got to go!”
Heidi ended the call, slipping her cell into her jacket pocket and standing up tall—as tall as she could manage—as Andrea approached.
“Where are my dresses?” the blonde inquired, frowning down at her.
“Your dresses?” Heidi scoffed.
Andrea rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to accuse me of something, either do it or shut up.”
Heidi turned and opened the dressing room door and Andrea followed, gasping when she saw the rack of her dresses lined up against the wall. The models would run her line last—the show finale—so they were untouched so far.
“God, they’re amazing…” Andrea fingered the material, her eyes shining.
“I know.” Heidi sighed.
The stage manager stuck her head in and called, “Fifteen minutes!”
“How do I look?” Andrea asked, moving left and right, fussing with her blonde curls, trying to see herself in one of the mirrors past a tall, brunette model. “I saw Carvel sitting down in front.”
“Kaiser’s there, too,” Heidi reminded her hotly. “You know, the man whose company is showcasing your designs.”
Andrea shrugged, giving her cheeks a pinch. “Gotta go where the money is.”
“What does that mean?”
The blonde whirled and shook a finger at her. “You know why you’ll never make it in this business?”
Heidi shook her head, swallowing hard.
“God, you are so naïve!” Andrea threw up her hands, heading for the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a career to go make.”
The door closed behind her and Heidi stood next to the rack of dresses that should have been hers, her stomach churning, her eyes filling with tears.
“I can’t watch this,” Heidi murmured, pushing past one of the models who’d stepped into her path.
“What did you say?” The model was a tall redhead, her hair in tight auburn cornrows, her eyes painted up like butterfly wings.
“Nothing,” Heidi muttered, pushing into the hallway and standing there for a moment, undecided. Then, instead of heading toward the stage, she turned the other way and hurried toward the exit.
Kaiser’s call came in on her cell when she got back to the office. She’d expected it earlier, but he probably had assumed she was backstage, working to make everything run smoothly.
“Heidi, where are you?” The noise was deafening. She could barely hear him.
“At the office,” she replied, lying smoothly. “I had to fax Jean Patou the schedule in Paris. They need it by tomorrow morning. I thought that was more important…”
“Thank you,” he said, and she heard the gratitude in his voice. “The pre-show went without a hitch, Heidi. Thank you so much for all your hard work.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I can barely hear you!” He was now yelling to be heard. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
He hung up without saying anything more and Heidi stood looking at the dozen red roses sitting on her desk, along with a similar thank you note, probably meant for her to see in the morning. Her sketchbook was there, too, open in the middle of her desk, and there as another note: