Shitshitshit.
“Okay, here goes.” Simone listed all of the clothes she had in her arms, and once satisfied that she hadn’t missed an item, Riley followed Mia to Josh’s office, taking copious notes on the pieces she’d taken as well.
“Thanks, Mia. I appreciate your help. We’ll have to figure out a better system for this.” Riley had her nose in her notebook and bumped into Josh’s chest as she turned to leave. His hands caught her forearms. “Oh, sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Not a problem. Slow down. What’s the rush?” Josh didn’t let go of her arms.
“I’ve got to inventory the samples from yesterday’s shoot before everyone takes them away.” She blinked several times, trying to break the energy that ran from his hands through her arms and made her heart beat triple time. When that didn’t work, she shifted her body as if to leave the room, breaking contact with him altogether.
“Did you have lunch?” he asked.
“No time,” she said, trying to think past her desire to say, No. Let’s go grab something.
“I haven’t given you a proper welcome to New York. Why don’t we have dinner tonight?”
When Josh and Riley were back in Colorado, Josh had a way of looking at her that wasn’t lustful or platonic. Something hard to interpret hung in the darkening of his eyes and the lifting of the right side of his mouth, and every time he had looked at her with that butterfly-inducing gaze, she’d wanted to kiss him and run away at the same time. Now she stood frozen beside him, trying to interpret that exact look as he cast it in her direction. Only this time there were spectators—and she was his employee—and what made her stomach ache and shivers run through her body was that she couldn’t decide if what she saw was an implication, a stifled desire, or if she was a crazy employee slash friend wanting more than he had to offer.
Dinner? Like a date? No, he doesn’t mean a date. He means a work thing. He’s being polite.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mia asked.
Claudia entered the room behind Josh. “Riley, the trunk is emptying,” she said in a singsong voice.
Josh arched a brow at Mia.
“Your dinner with Peter Stafford?” Mia said.
“Right. Come with me,” he said to Riley.
“To your dinner with Mr. Stafford? I couldn’t—”
“You can, and I’d be honored if you’d join me. It would be a great chance for you to see how the industry works.” He searched her eyes.
“She’s got to prepare for the trade show,” Claudia said sternly.
“Yeah, and—” Dinner with Josh and Peter Stafford?
“That’s in two weeks. There’s plenty of time. Six? I’ll pick you up at Savannah’s?” Josh didn’t wait for an answer. “Now, slow down. Go do your inventory. And, Claudia, she’ll need to leave by five to get ready.”
Riley walked tentatively past Claudia, averting her eyes from the daggers that Claudia had been casting ever since she’d entered the room—hell, ever since Riley had arrived at JBD.
Chapter Six
RILEY WAS THANKFUL to be buried in work, allowing only moments of worry about whether dinner with Josh was meant to be a date or a work assignment. The way he’d touched her arms didn’t feel very businesslike. Then again, having dinner with Josh and Peter Stafford, head of the biggest modeling agency in New York, was definitely all business. I’m overthinking the situation. Of course, he had asked her to a business dinner, a welcome-to-New-York dinner, as opposed to a date. Or had he?
As soon as she left the office, sheer panic stepped in, filling the space that work had occupied before. Her nerves tangled and fought, making her feel sick to her stomach. She took a hot shower, going over possibilities in her mind. If it was a date, how should she dress? How should she act? She’d been so comfortable with Josh back in Weston. Why was she so nervous now? What if she said something awkward and embarrassed herself in front of Peter Stafford?
She tipped her face up to the spray of the shower to wash away the bombardment of what ifs. What advice would she give Jade? She thought about that as she dried off and stepped from the shower. Just be yourself. Jade was beautiful, smart, and funny. Being herself worked. Riley looked in the mirror, feeling like a drowned rat. She needed to bring in the cavalry. She needed support. She reached for her cell phone.
Jade answered on the first ring.
“Tell me I’m beautiful, smart, and funny,” Riley begged.
Jade laughed. “Why?”
Riley sighed as she sat on the toilet lid. “Because I’m having dinner with Josh and Peter Stafford tonight. Do you know who he is?” She didn’t give Jade time to answer. “He runs the biggest modeling agency in New York. Can you believe it? And I have no idea if it’s a business thing, a date, or what, and I don’t look like the spit-skinny models, and I’m from frickin’ Weston, not New York City, so God knows how many ways I’ll mess this up.”
“Oh, is that all?” Jade teased.
“Jade! I need support. Please? Someone told me today that I’m not afraid to eat. That’s code for fat, and now I’m not sure if I should just pretend to eat when I’m with Josh and Peter frickin’ Stafford. I’m so nervous I could puke. I probably won’t eat anyway.”
“Oh my God. You’re kidding, right?”
“Jade.” Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Come on, Ri. You know how pretty you are. You turn heads everywhere you go. You have curves and you know how to work them. Guys love that.”
“I don’t think New York guys do.”
“Really? Josh is a New York guy now. And you know the way he looked at you before he offered you the job.”
“How could I forget?” Riley asked.
“And remember that night at the concert? I swear, Ri. The man didn’t give you thirty seconds with the rest of us. He whisked you away.”
“We were talking about fashion. He was probably just interested because I wasn’t a complete novice. He never made a single move on me, Jade.” I swear the butterflies in my stomach are taking steroids.
“For a smart girl, sometimes you’re a real dunce. Look, it’s Josh Braden. Think of him as the boy from high school. Be yourself. You’re charming and witty. You’re gorgeous and smart. Ri, you’re so likable that I can’t imagine anyone not liking you.”
The sincerity in Jade’s voice settled Riley’s nerves…a little. “You really think so? I don’t even know which fork to use in a restaurant.”
“Google it,” Jade joked.
“You laugh, but I will before he picks me up.”
“Josh is picking you up?” Jade asked.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a date,” Jade said emphatically.
“Why? Just because he’s coming to get me? I don’t know where anything is around here and I’m petrified of the subway, but I promised myself I’d start taking it tomorrow. I think Josh’s just being nice.” Oh God, a date?
“I don’t know. You’re asking me to define something that’s hard to figure out. I don’t know how things work in New York, but if it’s a friendly dinner, you know, you meet them at the restaurant. How did he ask you?”
This was getting more stressful by the second. “Well, he said that he hadn’t given me a proper welcome and asked if I wanted to have dinner with him. Then Mia said he had this dinner engagement with Peter Stafford, and he asked me to come along.”
“It kinda sounds like a date, but also like he was being nice because he brought you into New York, you know, welcoming a friend.”
“See,” Riley said. “That’s what I thought, too.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter what it is. You’re his employee, so be professional and be yourself. You’ll know it’s a date if he brings you flowers, or kisses you when he sees you.”
“Do guys even bring flowers to girls anymore?” Riley asked.
“Rex does, but he usually picks them from the garden.” Jade laughed.
Riley glanced at the clock. “Oh my God. I have to get ready.” She was mentally ticking off her potential outfits for the evening. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes. Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it. You’re going to have a great time and they’ll both love you. Call me after?”
“You got it. And, Jade?” Riley hoped she was as good of a friend to Jade as Jade had always been for her.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for everything.”
Riley dried her hair and put on her makeup, then stood in front of the closet, wishing she’d had time to shop for something new. She’d already worn two of her designer outfits, and she had only two more. Tucked in the back of her closet was the one dress that she’d made just before coming to New York. It was a bit racy for a work-related dinner engagement, but it did accentuate her curves in all the right places. She pulled it from the closet and slipped it on.
The black sheath hugged her curves, and the scalloped hemline rested just above her knees, not too short for a professional dinner, though a bit snug. The scooped neckline slimmed her bust, and she’d cleverly designed the sleeves with cutouts at the shoulders and tightly fitting material around her biceps. Riley might not be model thin, but she had well-defined shoulders, and they drew attention away from her slightly thick waist.