Page 5 of Not His Bride

Everyone does.

The Jovi Group partnered with Maison Ziterweigen six years ago. Debbie became the face of the collaboration, which meant every ad, interview, and launch party had her name on it. Last year, the Jovi x Maison Ziterweigen collaboration expanded into Europe, and somehow every business publication decided my sister was a genius.

Gallagher says, “Debbie took it international last year.”

“No, I did.”

Silence.

Gallagher straightens. “What?”

“I did the European expansion.”

“You handle the Maison Ziterweigen collaboration?”

“Yes. If you read the fine print, I’m all over it. Debbie calls me whenever there’s a problem.”

His eyes narrow. Not suspicious exactly, but more like he’s trying to figure out how much he missed. It’s not his fault. Everyone has buried my name so Debbie stays front and center. The first time I met Mr. Ziterweigen, even he was surprised that it was me pulling in all the deals.

I turn in the chair. “The original French distributor wanted thirty-two percent. Debbie was going to sign because they promised her placement and three months of launch promotion.”

“I remember that deal.”

“Apparently not all of it.”

I can’t tell whether I’ve annoyed him or amused him, but his mouth twitches all the same.

“I found another distributor, renegotiated fulfillment separately, and got the percentage down to nineteen.”

Gallagher stops smiling. Now I have his attention.

“They went from six countries to eleven because of that contract,” he says.

“Twelve, actually.”

“Maison Ziterweigen only reports eleven.”

“That’s because Portugal starts next week.”

He stares at me, long enough that I start wondering if I’ve said too much.

I shrug. “It hasn’t been announced yet.”

“How much did you save them?”

“In the first year?”

“Yes.”

“A little over nine million.”

His brows lift. I enjoy that more than I should.

“And Debbie gets the credit,” he says, scoffing.

“Debbie does the part she’s good at: she shows her face. She’s the brand; I’m the driving force.”

His gaze stays on me, and suddenly, I’m too aware of how much I’ve told him. People usually stop listening somewhere around the part where I come in.