Page 31 of Cinderella-ish
“CraveMepieces are made inMilan?”
I nod. “Most of them, in Bergamo. I have an uncle who owns a boutique and a small garment factory. A fewCraveMepieces are sold in his boutique—he keeps the profits, in exchange for making the clothes he sendshere.”
“Oh, I see. That’s a pretty neatsetup.”
“It is, only it also requires me to spend a great deal of my time in Milan as well. I prefer to handpick the fabric, especially for new designs. This time around, I didn’t have time to go, so I relied on my uncle to choose the fabric. Maybe that’s why I’ve been putting off looking at how they turned out. I’mnervous.”
Daniella bites on her lower lip. “And if you’re not particularly happy withthem?”
“Haven’t thought about that yet.” I remove the protective wrap and mentally brace myself. “Youready?”
She stands on her toes, peering over the open box in anticipation. “Yes.”
Removing each piece, one by one, I place them in a pile in the middle of the table. Daniella seems beside herself, eyes widened, clearly intrigued by this unveiling. There are panties, bras, camisoles, negligees, and teddies, in an array of colors, all made of sheer fabric. I wanted to go bold thisyear.
Daniella begins to sift through them and the look on her face makes menervous.
“What do youthink?”
She holds up a bra and raises her eyebrows. “They are kind of see-through,” she says, with her big green eyes flashing withshock.
“Yep. I’m going for bold this year. Which I think ties into the Confident Woman theme you presented. If a woman can rock these, she’ll feel as though she can conquer the world,no?”
“Sure, I suppose. But remember, women wear lingerie for themselves, first and foremost. These kind of look like they were meant to be purchased by a man for his woman to wear seconds before he rips them off her and pours into her. Which is fine…but not at all what a woman would wear every day. Does that makesense?”
I sit down now, lifting one of the bras up to inspect it. To me they are perfect. But she seems less impressed than I am. “So you view my lingerie as something a woman wears only for herman?”
She nods. “Sortof.”
“Yet, yesterday you told me you were wearing some when we were in the boardroom. Clearly that was not a wear-them-for-your-man moment.” I feel my mouth curve into a playful smirk at the sight of her brightenedface.
“Well, yeah,” she stammers, “I’d bought severalCraveMepieces long ago, yet never wore them. I thought it only fitting to conduct hands-on product research my first day on thejob.”
“And how did they make youfeel?”
She looks away for a moment before meeting my gaze. “Amazinglyhot.”
“And a little confident, perhaps? I mean, you were able to convince me to give you a stab at presenting your idea for the fashion show. You seemed pretty damn confident to me, if you don’t mind me sayingso.”
She tosses a bra at me and smiles. “Fine. You made your point.” She scoffs. “But in my defense, the bra and panties I wore yesterday, were not like these. They were less…revealing. Perhaps make a few adjustments? Leave some partscovered?”
“Fair enough. We’ll need to go to Milan a week ahead of the event anyway to prepare. I can enhance some of the designs then. Maybe even come up with some additional designs. My uncle is great for a quickturnaround.”
“Um,weneed to be there a weekearly?”
“Yep. I mentioned during your interview, you’ll be going to Milan as well, and you’ll attend both events—the Fashion Show and The Ball. I need to arrive about a week early and, as my assistant, I really want you withme.”
“So, um, when do we leave?” She lowers herself into theseat.
“Sunday.” I peer up and catch a glimpse of her brightened cheeks and droppedjaw.
“As in three days fromnow?”
“Yep. I’ve already booked your airfare andhotel.”
“Isn’t it cold in Milan this time of the year?” Her breathing quickens as if she’s becoming a tad panicked. “I don’t evenhave—”
“Daniella,” I softly interrupt and her breathing begins to return to normal. “Yes, it is cold this time of the year in Milan. But you’ll have the rest of the week to shop for clothes. Since it’s work related, the shopping is onme.”
She looks at me, her green eyes much calmer now. “I was only going to say I don’t even have time to pack for a trip sogrand.”
She leaps up from her seat, and takes a giant step over to me, throwing her arms around my neck, hugging me as if I were her very own teddy bear. “Oh, Antonio, I’m so thrilled I get to go toMilan!”
She pulls away—the hug, feeling her that close, along with the intoxicating whiff of her perfume, makes my heartdance.
“I’m happy you’re thrilled. But it’s going to be a lot of work since I’m waybehind.”
She nods. “We can make it work, Antonio. Like I said before, I’m yourgirl.”
If only sheknew…
