Page 25 of Cinderella-ish
“You went to design school so, what’s your area ofspecialty?”
Oh. right. He’s talkingthatkind of specialty. Duh. I’ll need just a teeny-tiny minute while I get my head out of thegutter.
After taking a sip of my cappuccino, I finally mutter. “Lingerie.”
One eyebrow raised, he says, “Seriously? I would have never guessed lingerie. But I would have guessed dresses and shoes. From what I’ve seen you wear so far, you have elaboratetaste.”
Is he flirting? Or just passing down a genuine compliment? I think back to the photo of the young pregnant woman I saw on his office desk yesterday and, with that in mind, I dismiss the thought of himflirting.
“Well, thanks. I started off designing dresses, actually. When I was much younger, of course. But, as I got older, I began sketching lingerie pieces. When I got accepted into design school, I focused solely onlingerie.”
He offers a smile, but his expression is somewhat dormant, leaving me to ponder whether he’s impressed ornot.
Antonio pulls into the Creative Solutions, Inc complex and maneuvers his way through the underground parking garage until he eases the Benz in-between two parked cars. “I’m glad we had a little time to chat, Daniella, and honestly, I can’t wait to see the ideas you’ve come upwith.”
Up in the boardroom, Jonah greets us, offering breakfast pastries, fruit, and yogurt. He rubs his hands together as he looks at me and smiles. “Are you ready to rock and roll? If you’ve got a presentation, I’ll gladly connect your laptop to theprojector.”
I place my tote onto the large table and remove my laptop. “Sure thing,” I say, feeling my heart rate speed up as the realization of meactuallypresenting, now, in real-fucking-time, kicksin.
Jonah takes my laptop while I slowly ease down into a seat next toAntonio’s.
“You okay?” Antonioasks.
I bite on my lower lip. “Ofcourse.”
He smiles, leaning in close, and whispers into my ear, “Don’t be nervous—Jonah and I are really looking forward to thispresentation.”
“I’ll be fine, thanks,” I affirm, knowing damn well that’s a straight-outlie.
“Okay, you’re set, Daniella. The floor’s all yours,” Jonah says, as he encouragingly claps his hands, claiming a seat across fromAntonio.
Buying time, I slowly tug my butt out of the seat, smoothing down my dress as I rise to a knee-wobbly stance. And as I begin inching my way toward the laptop to load the presentation onto the projection screen, I mentally recap the talking points of my ferventproposal.
