Page 17 of The Exposed Heiress

She needed some protection against him. “Actually, I’m putting on a bra. Where is the bathroom?”

He laughed. “Near the foyer.”

She let out a groan and went back into the flat. She hadn’t been thinking when she removed her coat.

Finding the guest bathroom, she closed the door and looked in the mirror. Her skin looked flushed and her lips were sensitive. She looked away. She kissed Leo. Not only kissed him, but hadn’t wanted to stop. Pressing her hand to her chest, her heart beat fast and she couldn’t seem to take in enough oxygen.

Taking her bra out of her handbag, she slipped off her blouse and tore off the support pads.

A few minutes later, she walked out onto the terrace ready to face him.

He slowly smiled. “I like your hair down.”

She resisted smiling. “Let’s put aside the last twenty minutes and focus on the problems facing the company.”

He gestured to a cushioned sectional. “I brought out tea.”

Emma sat down across from him. “Thank you. We left off talking about employees.”

“Your concern is holding onto current people?”

Her limbs felt heavy. “I don’t know how we’ll manage to hold onto every employee, given the projections. It’ll have to be a combination of keeping some, helping others find work, and maybe offering a small severance to those who have been with us forever.”

Leo took a sip of tea. “That’s a reasonable approach. Let’s have a firm plan before we begin having conversations with employees.”

She hugged her arms over her body. “We have fifty-seven people on payroll. We should be able to cut that in half yet stay viable.”

He leaned forward. “What about the building?”

She twisted her ring around her finger. “I don’t know. If we intend to eliminate employees, then we can certainly get rid of the building. But it has a high mortgage—will anyone buy it?”

Leo nodded. “It won’t bring in capital, but it’ll reduce the overhead. It has been well-maintained and it’s in a highly desirable part of the city. It should sell quickly.”

She nodded. Her throat felt scratchy. “The press will have a field day.”

He held her gaze. “It’s all in how you spin it. It could be that Francis Bolles is seeking a new beginning or deciding on a more private, hidden location.”

Emma moved her hair behind her shoulders. “Do you mean we won’t have a location?”

He shook his head. “We may not want to reveal the location. It’ll be in a rough part of the city. There is no cash flow for rent and most decent landlords will not accept a lease from a nearly bankrupt company.”

Emma moved forward. “Can it be here? You have the perfect space on the first level and it used to be a warehouse.”

He shook his head. “In Rotherhithe? It’s away from the garment district and foot traffic.”

“I don’t think we should have a shop. There are plenty of couture houses away from the city proper.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Your approach to this is surprising. I had assumed you’d fight me on layoffs and selling the building.”

Emma smoothed her skirt. “Is there another way? Are you holding something back?”

He shook his head. “No. There isn’t another way. It’s just most business leaders aren’t courageous enough to forge a new path.”

She couldn’t think about all the changes yet. “I don’t want to go bankrupt. It would mean defeat, the business would close and every employee would be out of work. Not to mention the building and other assets sold.”

He leaned back and crossed his legs. “Have you thought about how you’ll tell your father?”

She stood up and walked to the edge of the terrace before turning around to face him. “When he is well enough, I’ll be honest and say that he allowed things to get so bad that I had no choice.”

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