She looked up from her purse. “No, it’s fine...really!”
“So now you’re just repeating what I say?”
“Not at all. Unlike those other moochers you probably date, I can cover my own dinner.”
“I’ve only dated top-quality women,” he said, suddenly defensive.
The side-eye she gave him proved she wasn’t buying it. “Fifty bucks says you’re lying.”
In truth, he didn’t always date quality women, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last woman he’d dated who actually intrigued his mind. He’d be the first to admit, but not to her, that he thought more with the lower part of his body in regards to the opposite sex.
“I don’t know why the ladies of Elite Events thought we would be a good fit.”
“Me neither,” he agreed. “As soon as I sat down, you’d decided that this date was going to be terrible. My guess is you hate blind dates and I was doomed from the start.”
“Me? What about you?” She stopped searching her purse. “You assumed that I would be one of those women you’ve dated that hangs on to every word you say. Before you even sat at this table, you knew how you were going to approach me. So I think it’s safe to say we both agree this date was a mistake.”
He studied her facial features, assuming her tenseness mirrored how his own face appeared.
“Hey, Taheim.” He turned to the voice he heard behind him.
“Hey, Amanda, how are you?”
“Fine now that I saw you,” she said as she leaned slightly toward him, evidently trying to bring his gaze from her face to her chest. “I was hoping you could take me out after you finish up with whatever this is.” She flicked her hand toward Winter in disregard.
Taheim chanced a glance at Winter and was unable to miss the knowing look in her eyes. “Just like I said,” she replied as she finally pulled out some cash, which she placed on the table for her half of dinner. “The moochers trailing behind you are in full effect tonight, huh?”
“What did you just call me?” Amanda said, pointing a long acrylic nail in Winter’s direction.
Winter stood to put on her coat, completely ignoring Amanda.
“I asked you a question.”
“Which I ignored,” Winter said as she turned to face Amanda. “Listen, I don’t care what you and Taheim do after I leave. Regardless of the fact that I can’t stand to be at this dinner a minute longer, I could have called you much worse considering that you are the one who came to the table and rudely ignored the fact that I was sitting here.”
Amanda flicked her long weave over her shoulder and placed her arm over Taheim’s shoulder. “That’s because you’re irrelevant.”
Winter lifted an eyebrow and took two steps toward Amanda. To Taheim’s surprise, Amanda actually took a couple steps back. Winter then looked at Taheim and brought her lips closer to his ear.
“Quality women, huh,” she whispered. “You owe me fifty bucks.”
With that she grabbed her purse and walked out of the restaurant.
“Did she just say I wasn’t a quality chick?” Amanda asked as she poked him in the side. “She must have me confused with someone else, because I’m as classy as they come.”
She walked over and sat in the seat that Winter had just vacated, in a dress so tight he swore he could see the imprint of her panties. “And since she was so disrespectful, I’ll take this money as a consolation for having to listen to her talk crap about me.”
As he watched Amanda stuff the cash Winter had placed on the table in her bra, he averted his eyes and winced. Not only had his blind date crashed and burned, but Amanda—a woman whose company often kept him amused—was making him want to run to the nearest exit.
Three months later
“Angelique, you seriously cannot be doing this to me right now!”
Winter Dupree clutched her smartphone, trying to refrain from throwing it against the wall. “There are thirty women waiting to see you strut your stuff across the hardwood floor in less than an hour.”
“I know, Winter, and I’m so sorry,” Angelique replied.
“Whoosah.” Winter took a deep breath as she stepped deeper into the dimly lit walk-in closet. “Now’s the time when you tell me this is just a joke and men dressed in funny costumes are going to throw confetti and yell ‘Surprise!’”
She briefly noticed that all the coats and jackets in the closet coordinated with a pair of shoes that were placed right beneath them. Seriously? Who the heck does that?
It was bad enough she was hiding in a closet when she was supposed to be hosting a bachelorette party, but now she was also snooping in the closet of a man she’d rather forget existed.
“Our flight takes off in less than ten minutes, so this is definitely not a joke.”
“I think your boyfriend surprising you with a trip to Paris is amazing, since his timing is perfect,” she said sarcastically. “How about I just tell the client that my top model was swept away on a romantic getaway, so we will show our backless embellished lace babydoll paired with a pearl lace thong on a dull mannequin instead.”
“Oh, Winter, that would be awesome. I was worried—”
“I was not being serious,” Winter said, cutting off the rest of Angelique’s sentence. “I’d rather have a root canal than tell a client we can’t deliver on what we promised. I’ll have to figure something else out.”
“Why don’t you have another model wear that piece?”
Winter quirked one eyebrow and blinked several times. “I’ll pretend like you didn’t just say that my customized piece that was made to fit your measurements exactly could be worn by another model. Those chic black pieces are the signature look for our European-inspired lingerie collection and you are the only model who can pull off the look.”
“I’ll make it up to you when I get back to Chicago,” Angelique said, rushing Winter off the phone. “It’s the last boarding call. Talk to you soon!”
Winter dropped her head to the floor as she listened to the silence on the other end of the call. “Ugh! Must be nice to get whisked away on a trip to Paris.” She knew she sounded bitter, but at the moment, she didn’t care. Angelique was one of her best models. Also the first model who had signed up when word spread through the Chicago fashion industry that Bare Sophistication had decided to throw masquerade lingerie events to promote signature pieces from their store. Winter had been in business with her sisters for over two years now and she was really excited about the direction Bare Sophistication was taking.
She and her sisters had immediately developed a great business model. Winter handled all the visual merchandising and design for the lingerie store. Autumn managed the business and sales, while Summer handled all public relations and advertising despite the fact that she was currently residing in Miami. Their newly appointed manager, Danni Allison, assisted in the daily operations and staff management.
Last month Winter had decided that it was time to bring their boutique to another level. She’d come up with the idea of throwing upscale masquerade lingerie events that offered customized pieces that weren’t available in-store and therefore only available if purchased at an elaborate masquerade lingerie party. In addition, they also offered sexy European-inspired nightwear and robes to complement the lingerie.
With the help of her friends at Elite Events Incorporated,