Page 7 of At Your Service
A few seconds of him giving her a very heated glare only increased Nina’s awareness of the sexual attraction buzzing between them since the first moment they’d met.
“The point of this arrangement is to boost sales for the new line. Our marketing department is convinced that seeing a Gold actually planning their wedding and selecting items from the bridal collection will encourage others to check it out for themselves,” he said.
“And what happens at the end of the six-week period? After this wedding has been planned?”
He shrugged. “I’m told we’ll have a huge and very public argument, followed by a press release the next morning announcing the unfortunate demise of the relationship. In this industry, negative publicity can sometimes work just as well as positive, as I’m sure you saw a few months ago when that ridiculous story about RGF stealing a design from King Designs surfaced. Marketing and sales are convinced that story, even after it was debunked, was partially responsible for the Golden Bride’s phenomenal debut.”
She was the one nodding now as the concept of “any publicity is good publicity” came to mind. “How very dramatic. Suits the Gold brand perfectly. So, like I said, you’re banking on people buying this act, without kissing or touching. Do you not like to kiss and touch, Major?”
His gaze immediately moved to her lips. As if they were suddenly under pressure, she licked them slowly before clearing her throat. She should think of something else to say, to ease this awkward moment... Too late, he’d found her eyes again and now they were staring at each other, speaking that silent but knowing language of physical attraction.
“To the contrary, Nina. I like kissing and touching very much. I especially enjoyed the way you touched me earlier today.”
She swallowed as the combination of his proximity, the silky tone of his voice and the blatant memory of her hand brushing over his magnificent erection shot to mind.
“Is that the type of touching you’re referring to?”
“I’m not convinced we have to go that far,” she said, because that was definitely going too far with a man she’d be entering into a business deal with. “But something along the lines of holding hands in public, perhaps a few chaste kisses...those might go a long way to creating the façade your company is banking on.”
His hands had been resting on his thighs, but she could now see them moving to his knees, his fingers clenching slowly and releasing. If she dared to trace her gaze back just a little more she was certain that erection she’d felt earlier was making another appearance. Her breasts had begun to feel full and she barely resisted the urge to clamp her thighs together to keep the throbbing that had increased in her center at bay.
“I think—” he cleared his throat “—we’d just play it by ear in that regard. See what’s needed and when. Go with the flow.”
“Is that what the contract is going to say?” She prayed disappointment wasn’t apparent in her tone.
“What would you like the contract to say? That we’ll kiss five times in six weeks, hold hands ten times, hug twice?”
“If you think five kisses will be enough.” Nina wasn’t so sure anything would be enough where this man was concerned.
This time he licked his lips at her words. She did the same.
“Maybe we leave out a number. I wouldn’t want us to be committed before we’ve considered how much we may like it.”
“You think I’ll like kissing you?” There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she would.
“No,” he replied. “IknowI’m gonna like kissing you.”
Nina couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him and she had no idea why she’d even brought up holding hands or kissing in public. Especially since she wasn’t a fan of PDA. Holding hands, touching, ogling, and yes, kissing, were reserved for behind closed doors. That’s the way she’d been brought up and it was a rule she’d stuck to.
Your personal business is your personal business. Nobody else’s.
Jacoby Fuller had said that more times than Nina or her sisters could count. But not for the same reasons that Nina had decided to adopt them. Her father didn’t like public displays of affection because it reminded him of how much he still loved and missed his wife. Nina didn’t like them because it reminded her of how quickly a happy couple could become a lonely man raising three daughters on his own.
Which was precisely why she didn’t do relationships. The thought of investing her time, emotions and trust into one person who could potentially walk away without a care in the world, wasn’t something she liked to entertain. But that wasn’t what this was.
Major Gold had come to her with a business proposal, one she’d spent the bulk of last night contemplating. If this fake wedding was going to bring publicity—good and bad—to RGF, then what was she going to get out of it? Besides the six weeks to work with the company and the possibility of a longer contract, there was a measure of exposure here that Nina couldn’t ignore. For every public appearance she made with Major, she was adding a face to her brand. The Nina Fuller behind At Your Service would be up close and personal with the industry she’d dreamed of working in all her life. And while she totally understood that any publicity was good publicity, she wanted as much of her exposure to this industry to be as positive as she could manage. Creating the most believable fake relationship possible was a must.
Her traveling outfit was jeans and a T-shirt with her school mascot—a mustang—on the front. She couldn’t wear that to what technically was her second interview at RGF, where she knew she would be receiving and accepting a job offer. After a quick run to Macy’s and the purchase of a gray pantsuit and white blouse, at exactly nine forty-five in the morning, she walked through the glass doors of RGF again.
Major was already seated at the same end of the conference room table as yesterday. Across from him was Maurice. Twins, not identical, but who favored each other enough that she hadn’t needed Google to tell her they’d been born together. But the internet had informed her that Major was older and, while he wasn’t as brash and indiscriminate as his younger brother, he was still quite popular with women. A fact that made no difference to her—this was a temporary assignment. One she’d spent some time plotting out.
She’d used RGF’s online sales figures—retrieved from an article in a top financial magazine that had compared the fashion industry’s growth from five years ago to the present—to approximate how many new accounts At Your Service would obtain and the percentage she would earn from each of her vendors once the app had successfully accessorized each customer. It would bring her more than enough to pay for her father to move into an assisted-living facility and remain there for at least two years. In that time, she would land more clients. King Designs, RGF’s biggest rival, was next on her list to approach, and there were others. All of which would be impressed by her work with RGF and would pay her even more for the use of her app.
“Good morning, Ms. Fuller,” Maurice was the first to speak when she entered the boardroom.
“Good morning. Please call me Nina,” she said and watched as he stood and walked to her. When he extended his hand, Nina accepted it for a quick shake.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us again on such short notice,” he said.
