Page 48 of Challenge Accepted

“We couldn’t let you miss the expo. Not with how much work you did. Vance used his menu app and changed its use to become a portfolio. He took all the information from your pamphlets and website, and I packed up everything I could find in your work room and flew in this morning.”

“You two did all this? For me?”

“Of course for you, silly.”

She rushed forward and hugged Natalie. “I placed fourth because you guys did this.Fourth. Out of three hundred.”

“It’s because you’re awesome. I told you this collection had to be seen.”

Numb, she trailed her fingers over the Plexiglas boxes that she’d painstakingly built. The wrought iron stands she’d oiled to a shine. She straightened the screen showing off her gold signature on pristine white.

Natalie pulled out a dozen cards from her pocket. “I scanned these in so you could keep them straight, but I figured you might want to see just how many awesome companies left cards for you.”

She shuffled through the cards. Most of the names were ones she’d been dreaming about since college. And with each name, the surprise and joy was pushed under another layer of numbness.

This was every dream she’d ever had.

They would expect her to work on new collections. They would want her to work with designers and she didn’t have time to even breathe.

The store needed her six days a week.

How was she supposed to tell her father?

She turned to Vance. He stepped forward with a furrowed brow. “Goldie, what’s wrong? This is good, right?”

She pushed the cards into his hands. “How could you do this to me?”

His eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“You didn’t ask me. You just did this.”

“We wanted to surprise you.” Natalie grabbed her hand. “Presley, we didn’t want you to miss your chance.”

She twisted away. “Don’t you see, this is worse? This is everything I ever wanted, but who’s going to run the business?”

“Didn’t you think about that when you entered the exhibition?”

Her gaze swung to Vance. “Of course I did, but I just thought I’d get a little exposure. Not this.”

Not everything she wanted and couldn’t have.

Seventeen

Vance fisted his fingers. “Shit.”

Natalie nibbled on her lower lip. “She’s just scared. She’s never really told her father that she doesn’t want the business.”

Vance tipped his head back and loosened his tie. “I thought I was doing somethingforher—she’s always giving back to everyone. I wanted something just for her.”

“You know her pretty well for only a few days.”

He swiped his hand down his face. “Evidently not since I just pissed her off.”

“Every guy wants a passionate woman, right?”

He blew out a breath that was half laugh, half frustrated groan. “I do. That’s the girl.”

“She’s worth it. I promise.”

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