Riley sighed. She’d been working on some design ideas for Jade’s Christmas outfit, and she was on a roll. She needed only a few more minutes to get her thoughts down on paper. She shoved the drawings in her drawer before grabbing her purse and heading out of the office.
She flagged down a cab, and no longer feeling playful or flirty, deleted the message to Josh.
Fifteen minutes later, she was standing before a baffled and balding Phil Lancorn.
“I have no idea what Claudia’s talking about. We have no more items, and frankly, I’m getting tired of her accusatory ways.”
Crap. “Maybe I misunderstood her. I’m so sorry. She must have said someone else’s name. My apologies.”
Phil breathed a frustrated sigh. “It’s okay. We expect these things with newbies.”
We expect these things? Riley was not the type of person to make mistakes that were expected of her. She knew Claudia’s good mood had a hidden agenda. She was trying to make her look bad. She wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. She headed back to the office with a plan.
Mia was more than happy to help Riley find the yellow scarf she’d seen Claudia carrying the day before. Mia rifled through the accessories in the closet.
“What do you need this for?” she asked.
Riley bit her lip. She didn’t want to involve Mia any more than she had to. “I’m looking at a few outfits for the trade show, and I want to see if it’ll go well enough with the brighter shades of the Bliss line.”
“Love that,” Mia said with a wide smile. She snagged the canary yellow scarf and handed it to Riley. “Just put it back when you’re done.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Mia stroked her chin, studying Riley’s pantsuit. “That’s a really great outfit on you.”
Riley sensed sincerity in Mia’s voice. Her eyes were bright and her smile genuine. Josh’s faith in Mia reassured her, and Riley sensed that she could let her guard down with her. “Thanks, Mia. I don’t have the money to wear all designer clothes yet, and back home dressing up meant wearing your best cowgirl boots and denim skirt.” She laughed.
“Been there, done that,” she said.
“Where are you from?”
“Southern Virginia. My father ran a dairy farm.” She shrugged. “I think that’s why I always wear jeans. It reminds me of home.”
“You can get away with skinny jeans. You’re about as big around as a string bean, besides, with your heels and your taste in blouses, you always look stunning.”
“Thanks. It’s all about comfort for me, and Josh doesn’t seem to mind, so...” She shrugged.
Josh doesn’t seem to mind much of anything, other than Claudia’s attempts to seduce him. Riley smiled to herself.
“Mia, can you give me the name and number of the company courier?”
“Sure. I can have something couriered if you need me to,” Mia offered.
“Really? Peter Stafford asked to see my portfolio. Josh knows. It’s not for another job or anything like that. I was in the meeting with him and Josh the other night about the Bliss line, and he asked then, as well as when he called earlier today.”
“Sure. Wow, that’s big. Peter is known for turning down ideas, not asking for more.”
“Really? Hm.” She had no idea why Peter had requested her work, but she’d been up-front with Josh, and being open with the company and working through the JBD courier would send a clear and professional message to Peter. “Thank you. Oh, and I don’t know why, but I have a feeling this is best done without Claudia knowing about it. She might think I’m doing something inappropriate.”
“She’d be jealous as hell. How are things going with Cruella?”
Riley froze. Had she heard her use that name? She ran through her calls to Jade and couldn’t remember calling her from the office.
“Relax. We all call her that.”
She let out a relieved breath. “Oh my God. I thought you read my mind.”
“Nope. Is she making your life hell?”
Riley leaned against a shelf. “Only a little. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“She has a thing for Josh, so she puts all attractive new employees through hell.”
“Really?” Attractive? The compliment made her day.
“Haven’t you noticed the way she stalks him, showing up whenever you and Josh are near each other? I swear that woman’s got him on a homing device.”
Riley hated herself for what she was about to ask, but it didn’t stop the words from tumbling from her lips. “Do you think they’ve ever…you know?”
Mia let out a loud, “Ha! Josh? No way. He doesn’t even like dating the gorgeous women he’s set up with. I can’t figure him out. He’s got women at his fingertips, and it’s like he’s waiting for Ms. Right. I have no idea what he thinks he’ll find in a woman, but he doesn’t like the typical snooty women he’s introduced to. I just hope that when she shows up, she’s as kind as he is, because the wrong woman could ruin that wonderful man.”
I’m a kind woman. “You’re so right. I hope so, too.”
Mia looked at her then with narrowing eyes, and Riley thought she saw a secret lingering behind her gaze. There’s no way she could possibly know about us. She thanked her for the help and went back to her desk.
Her phone vibrated as she sat down. She pulled it out and was surprised to see a text from Max.
Hi, it’s Max. Jade gave me ur number. I hear ur with Josh!
Before texting back, she took a deep breath. She’d met Max at Josh’s father’s ranch when she was there for lunch right after Josh had offered her a job, and she had warmed to Max right away. Why did it feel like she was exposing their relationship publicly by confirming what Max already knew? And why did it feel so freaking good? She texted back.
Yup! Pls don’t tell anyone. Ur coming over 2night 4 dinner?
She tucked her phone under her leg and tapped her foot, waiting for the return text, renewed excitement rushing through her. After they’d been intimate that morning, she’d decided that she no longer wanted to hide their relationship, but she hadn’t had the courage to tell Josh. She knew that once she did, there was no turning back. He was chomping at the bit to get things out in the open, and when she was at work, she wasn’t quite as sure of her decision. I wish I could decide once and for all. She stared at the phone sticking out from under her leg. Tell. Don’t tell. Ugh! I can’t decide! Her phone vibrated again.
I never would. Promise. Yes. Can’t wait 2 see U.
U 2, she responded, then tucked her phone into her purse and put them both in the drawer on top of her stack of drawings. She picked up the scarf and went in search of Claudia.
Claudia turned from what she’d been working on as Riley approached.
“Found it.” Riley held up the scarf. “Phil said he was so glad you remembered.”
Claudia’s jaw dropped.
“I’ll just go put it in the closet.” Riley walked away with a smirk on her face. Two can play at this game.
Chapter Nineteen
RILEY ANSWERED THE door wearing what Josh knew were her favorite skinny jeans, which she’d worn confidently in Colorado and hadn’t worn since being in New York, a sheer, red drop-neck blouse, and a single gold necklace draped across her collarbone. She stood on her tippy-toes to kiss him, and Josh laid a hand on her hip.
“God, you look hot,” he said. “I haven’t seen you in skinny jeans since we were in Colorado.”
“The idea of being with Max and Treat made me feel a little closer to home, and the way you relish my body replenished my confidence in my curves,” she admitted.
“I do love your curves.” He ran his hand down her hip and squeezed her butt. “You look almost as hot as you did in your scruffy outfit,” he teased. “Almost. There’s nothing like sweatpants.” Josh headed for the kitchen with an armful of take-out Italian food and wine.
“Thanks. I was gonna wear the sweats, but I didn’t want to tempt your brother too much.” She followed Josh into the kitchen.
“I doubt anyone could tempt Treat away from Max.” He set the bags on the table and began removing the hot containers of food. “I’ve got mussels, fresh bread, pasta. Oh”—he held up two bottles of wine—“and wine, of course.”
“Everything smells delicious,” Riley said.
Josh opened the wine and poured two glasses, handing her one. He thought of their first date and how nervous she’d looked when they were in the kitchen together. Being with her now, he could hardly believe it had been only a few days. He felt like Riley had always been in his life.
“Don’t you want to wait for Treat and Max?” she asked.
“Nope. This toast is to us. We’ve survived secrecy,” he said, and kissed her lightly on her lips.
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass.
“Okay. Want to go sit in the living room?” Josh’s stomach tightened. He still didn’t have a backup plan in case his staff found out about their relationship, and the more he thought about how hurt Riley might get when they went public, the more he fretted about it.