Page 28 of Mr. Scandalous

Oh dear. Spice-Up-Your-Love-Life Cruises was her biggest account. Hadn’t the baskets she’d shipped last week gotten there in time?

Calm down.

She dropped the stone into her pocket and went to take the receiver from Ashley. “Hello, Tori.”

“Eden, good morning. How are you?”

“Fine. Did you get the baskets I sent?” Nervously she ran her thumb over the stone.

“Yes, and that’s why I’m calling.”

“Is there a problem? Were they damaged in shipping?”

“No. The contents are fine.” An awkward pause followed.

“Yes?”

“Eden, these baskets aren’t up to your usual caliber of work.”

Oh dear. She’d been right to worry. “Tori, I’m really sorry. How can I make it right?” She wouldn’t offer an excuse. Her creative block wasn’t Tori’s problem.

“We’ll accept them this time, Eden, but I must warn you, we’ve been approached by another designer whose baskets are a lot edgier.”

“Edgier?”

“Hip. Contemporary. Naughty, saucy, flaunt-it-if-you’ve-got it, in-your-face raw and randy.”

“I see.” What the hell didthatmean?

“Eden, you’ve been a reliable supplier and up until the last couple of shipments your products have been excellent.”

“But...”

“Unless you can put together something that will knock the pants off the execs, I’m afraid we’ll have to switch to the new designer.”

Every worst-case-scenario fear she’d ever had crashed in on her. The money she made from Spice-Up-Your-Love-Life Cruises paid her bills. Without it, she would be in deep financial trouble.

Don’t panic, rub the stone.Miraculously, rubbing the stone did calm her.Okay. All right. She could deal with this.

How? You’re creatively blocked.

She rubbed faster. She could get unblocked. If all else failed, she knew where to find her muse.

“Eden? Are you there?”

“Yes, Tori, I’m here.”

“You have until the end of the month to come up with something phenomenal.”

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to improve,” Eden said. It was early August. She had three weeks.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with,” Tori said. “I know you won’t let us down.”

Gee, no pressure there.

“I won’t,” she assured her.

“Good luck.” Tori rang off.

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