Page 20 of Dance for Me

Heat Waves

The next morning, Vanessa felt as if she was having déjà vu. Jack sat on the other side of his desk, arms crossed over his chest. His bicep muscles bulged under his hands. But he wasn’t wearing his normal attire. Instead, he had on a black V-neck shirt and jeans. His snake tattoo was more visible than before, overtaking the entire outside of his upper arm. He looked intimidating.

Yeah, it was déjà vu. Except for the fact that, instead of her ex-boss Matilda sitting in front of her, it was Jack. This man made her stomach all wishy washy and her mouth salivate. How could a man be this hot? There wasn’t anything she didn’t find attractive about him. Well, maybe the fact he owned a strip club. Although, that was something she could easily get over, considering she now worked for it.

When Jazz called her this morning and told her that Jack wanted to see her in his office first thing, she knew. She knew she was about to get fired. She might as well pack her bags and kiss the Big Apple goodbye.

“I know what you must have thought about last night and I’m sorry. I completely bombed. Drowned even, no life vest, nothing. Totally sucked.” She let out a breath and nervously finished her babbling. “So, I’ll just leave and get out of your hair.”

She was almost at the door when Jack’s smooth voice stopped her instantly. “Vanessa…” She swallowed and turned around to Jack who was now directly in front of her. Her view was nothing but muscled chest and broad shoulders. He was wearing a half grin that showed off his adorably sexy dimple.

“I’m not firing you, if that’s what you thought.”

She took all six-foot of him in and swallowed. Yeah, definitely six-foot one, maybe two. Then she answered, “You’re not?”

She was relieved to hear him say she wasn’t fired, but her heart still raced uncontrollably.

“No, I’m not. I wanted to talk to you because Jazz tells me that you’re a fashion designer.” Her stomach did a somersault. She thought of the embarrassment that was going to have to come from that explanation.

“I am… used to be, actually.” He titled his head in a matter that told her she should probably continue with her explanation. His hazel colored eyes catching the slight hurt behind hers. “My former place of employment found my designs to be… eccentric. Their exact words actually. Hence why I accepted your job offer to be a stripper because honestly, it wasn’t my first choice,” she breathed.

She regretted her decision to wear a low-cut shirt today when his gaze slid down to her chest. Turtle neck, she should have gone with the turtle neck. In the July heat, it would have been fine. At least it was a step up from the bath robe.

She sucked in a breath when he all of a sudden brushed a strand of hair out of her face and her skin ignited under his touch. His thumb moved across her cheek to her bottom lip and Vanessa let out a breath as her mouth opened for him. But the look on his face told her that he was just as surprised of his gesture as she was. So, he took a step back. Having some distance between them now, disappointment rushed through her.

He cleared his throat, “And what do think about the outfits now?” Vanessa had to take a second to regain her focus after that. Besides, Jazz probably already told him what she thought. “You can be honest with me,” he reassured her.

She rested her hand on her hip. “Okay. They’re hideous.”

“Go on.”

“They are tacky and unflattering. It looks like your dancers are going to the flipping beach instead of the stage. They should be in seductive lingerie, not swimsuits.” She paused, thinking she might have said too much, but then continued when he didn’t interject. “And as far as the robes are concerned, they need to lose them all together. If they came out in sexy lingerie, there is no need for the robes. Why not give the audience what they want from the start?”

She waited for him to get upset at her for such honesty, but he didn’t. He looked to be fully interested.

“I like it and I completely agree.”

“You do?” She asked with surprise.

He nodded, “Yes. That’s why I want you to design the new wardrobe for them.”

She stood there waiting for the camera men to jump out shouting, ‘you just got punk’d.’ But there were no camera men and no Ashton Kutcher. Just her and Jack. This is what she wanted to do after all, so why not do it? Wasn’t her ideal place and she thought her first big break would be at some high-end fashion company, not a strip club. But she had to start somewhere.

“Wow, I mean, absolutely, I would love to.”

He gave her a side grin that made her insides melt. “You seem shocked by my promotion.”

“Promotion?” Now she was confused.

“Yes, as of today, you are no longer one of the dancers. I want your full attention on designing the clothes,” he gave her a minute to process it. “Does that sound agreeable?”

Was she dreaming, she thought she had to be.

“Even without seeing any of my ideas?”

“I trust you. However, I would need to see your final product…” Vanessa’s heart dropped. “You would need to share them with me.”

She thought when he said share them, he meant model them. She had to laugh to herself at the ridiculous thought.

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