Right now the menswear department looked like a library arranged by pinstripes and wool. But when she was finished, menswear—and the rest of Lilah’s—would be a celebration of the art and fun of wearing clothes. Young in spirit, unique, and affordable. That was what she and Dex had decided sometime late Sunday afternoon amidst empty boxes of Chinese take-out food.
Somehow over the weekend they’d managed to pry their bodies apart long enough to come to an agreement about her grand plan for Lilah’s, and after they had, they’d taken a long, heat-filled look at each other and tumbled right back into bed. Her lips were still swollen with kisses, and every time she thought about his large hands on her body, fresh waves of desire swelled low in her belly. She felt changed. She felt womanly and confident, but, because she couldn’t stop thinking about Dex, she didn’t have a shred of concentration right now, if she were being honest with herself.
She needed to hurry and make the rest of her notes before he came in to work because once he did, all bets were off and her senses would go on overload. Even now, as she conjured up a mental image of him stretched across her bed with a satisfied grin, she blushed all over, and the notes scrawled on the notebook in her hand looked like gibberish. He was so hot in bed, so smooth and in control. God, he’d barely broken rhythm when Junior Mint had jumped on the bed, hissed in surprise, and swiped at his face. The cat had missed, but it’d managed to scratch his neck, and he’d just given the cat a gentle shove and gone right back to rocking Virginia’s world, even as she’d attempted to apologize for the cat. That apology hadn’t lasted more than few seconds, though, because he’d done wicked things with his tongue that had stolen her breath away.
Letting out a half sigh, half giggle, Virginia walked across the depressing gray carpet to the far end of the sales floor to examine the second-story windows. They were too small to do full displays, but maybe if she had lights put up, she could position some sexy male mannequins in each window. Bingo. She set the coffee on a wide windowsill, pulled the pen from behind her ear, and began to write.
A second later, Ruston was at her shoulder, making her jump. “Making progress?” he asked, picking up her coffee and running a finger along the sill as if the cup had left a ring.
“Yes. Random question. What’s under the carpet, Ruston? Is it hardwood?”
He blinked and clacked his teeth—his go-to move when he didn’t want to answer a question, as she was quickly discovering. “Hmm. I don’t know. I’m afraid it’s a mystery.”
Yeah, sure. With a smile, Virginia walked to a corner and picked at the ancient carpet with her fingernails until she was able to lift up an edge. Underneath, she discovered a wide-plank floor, dulled with age. “Excellent. Mystery solved.”
Ruston watched with disapproval as she tamped the carpet back down with her foot. “Are you planning—?”
“To refinish them? Yes. Not during business hours, of course.” She smiled at him again and took the coffee from his hand. “Thanks for holding that.”
“May I ask what else you’re planning? As store manager, I’d like to keep abreast of things.”
Virginia held back a sigh. He’d said the same thing at least twice already this morning, and she’d given him the same answer—that she and Dex had just finished the final prospectus and it wasn’t printed yet. But she knew that if she didn’t throw Peanut a bone, he wasn’t going to let up. “More than likely, Ruston, this floor will be rearranged to reflect customer needs and interests.” She pointed back toward the accessories section, which sat directly across from the elevator. “For instance, when customers walk in, we want a full display that showcases the latest and most exciting stock. Not ties and belts.”
“Ties are impulse purchases,” Ruston said with a snip in his voice. “They need to be near the register. That’s merchandising one-oh-one. Anyone who knows even a little bit about retail knows that.”
His implied words—you’re an idiot—hung in the air, and Virginia stared at him a moment. “You have no idea what I know about retail.”
“Exactly,” he replied and then pursed his lips. He stared back for a moment and then cocked his head to the side. “I have no idea because I have yet to see—”
“All right, Rusty. Come here.” She shook her head and walked toward the racks of belts, which hung like long, limp black snakes. “I mean, look.” She ran her hand through them, causing them to swing back and forth. “Is this exciting? If you were a customer, would you step off the elevator and say ‘Ooooh, I’ve gotta have a new plain back belt. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these beauties.’”
Ruston narrowed his eyes. “Men are utilitarian shoppers. They don’t care about belts. They just know they need them, and the older a man gets, the less he cares.”
“Exactly!” She slapped her notebook down on top of a row of ties. “It’s our business to encourage them to care. In order to sell stuff. And selling stuff—correct me if I’m wrong—is your entire job.” Her voice was getting louder, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “So if—”
“You think my job is easy?” Ruston interrupted.
“No! That’s the point. We have to be creative, stay ahead of the curve; we have to—”
“We? You say that often, but I don’t feel as if we has anything to do with me. Or anything to do with our customer base.”
“It will! If you would just untighten your ass for two seconds, we could work together.”
The elevator dinged open and Silent, who had been standing nearby, moved in front of it. At the same time, Ruston took a step back, spluttering. “My ass? My ass?”
“Yes! Your ass is—” Virginia stopped herself and craned her neck to see around Silent’s broad back. Dex stepped around him, an amused smile on his face. Her heart flipped over and she caught her breath. He was so handsome, even with the cat scratch on his neck. She blinked to clear her mind. Oh, God. How much of that argument had he heard? He’d asked her to be patient with Ruston.
“What’s going on up here?” he asked, his smile getting wider. And faker.
“Nothing,” she said quickly and stared at him, her heart racing. A grin—a silly one, probably—lifted her lips. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he replied and walked over to straighten the pen behind her ear. “It was lopsided.”
“Oh.” She patted the side of her head. “Thanks.” She stepped around him to grab her notebook.
Ruston cleared his throat. “Mr. Cameron, may I speak with you?”
“Sure,” Dex said easily. “Virginia, will you join us?”
“Okay.” She fell into step beside him and got into the elevator, her heart thudding as she forced a smile at Eddie. “Hey there. What’s up?” she asked.
“My spirits, since you got in my car, beautiful.” Eddie winked.
Ruston, who lingered just outside the doors, folded his arms. “I changed my mind. Whatever I need to discuss can wait. I have some business to take care of in the stockroom.”
“Good, then that’s where we’ll go.” Dex pulled him into the car. “The three of us will have a chat.”
Oh no. Virginia closed her eyes for a moment. “Great,” she said, faking enthusiasm. After they reached the first floor and walked into the stockroom, Dex shut the door. “Let’s hear it.”
Ruston jumped right in, speaking in rapid fire. “Miss Fulton seems to think that she can wave a magic wand and change decades of history into . . . into . . . what, I don’t know because she won’t tell me. She has no frame of reference for dealing with the mature customer, and she doesn’t seem to care to learn. Plus, she insulted my rear end.”
“I see.” Dex pressed his lips together. “I brought copies of the final prospectus for the new Lilah’s this morning. They’re on my desk, Ruston, and you’re free to take one. Read it. Learn it. Love it—or not. Your job is to supervise the staff and make sure day-to-day operations run smoothly. If you choose to get on board with the changes, then we will be thrilled to have your input since your experience is invaluabl
e. Otherwise, stop sulking. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like nothing has changed.” Ruston glanced at Virginia and then raised his chin. “But as long as she agrees to respect my experience, I’ll do my best.”
Virginia felt a swell of victory, but then Dex touched her arm and she looked at him. He wasn’t smiling. “Virginia, Ruston’s butt isn’t up for discussion. Also, you should follow him around one day and learn about techniques for selling to the, ah, older customers. You can’t approach them as you would a college student.”
“Indeed not,” Ruston interjected.
Virginia chose her words carefully. “I’m well aware of that.”
“Have you ever sold a dress to an old lady?” Dex asked, chuckling.
“Have you?” she shot back.
Ruston flicked a finger in the air, gesturing between them. “Odds are, neither of you have, and I’d like to see you both try.”
Virginia looked at Dex. “I’d like to see that too. “Care to make a bet?”
“What do you mean?” He smiled at her uncertainly.
“We both try selling today. Ruston keeps track and, at the end of the day, I’ll come out on top.”
Dex folded his arms and stared at her for a moment. “Okay. What does the winner get?”
She shrugged. “What do you want?”
“Hmm.” Dex tapped his chin. “I’ll choose a head-to-toe outfit from Lilah’s current selection, which you will wear out in public. Let’s say dinner, tomorrow night.”
Virginia gasped. “That’s harsh.”
“But hilarious. What do you want?” Dex grinned.
She thought for a minute and then brightened. “Oh, mine is simple. You can choose your own outfit, but you’ll wear it to go dancing with me.”
“That’s evil,” he said, stepping close to give her an intimidating look. “I don’t have any dancing shoes.”
“So get some.” She smiled. “Unless you’re chicken.”
Dex touched the tip of her nose with his finger. “I’m going to mop the floor with you.”
“There’s a lot of floor out there. Better get busy.”
“Ahem,” Ruston said. He looked over his glasses, first at Virginia and then at Dex. “Shall I put out the sandwich boards advertising a discount sale?”
“Oh. Brilliant idea!” Virginia clapped her hands and noticed a small smile of pleasure on Ruston’s face. It was a small step, but it was a step, and she could do even better. She could wear a smock. Swallowing her horror, she nodded at him. “Give me a smock. Him too.”
Dex took a couple of steps back. “Oh, hell no. I’m not wearing one of those.”
“All of my staff wear them, and we have them in men’s sizes.” Ruston trundled to a closet and emerged a moment later with two white smocks on hangers. “These should do.”
Virginia put hers on, snapped it up, and stuffed her notebook into a pocket. “Go ahead, Dex.”
“Dammit,” he muttered and allowed Ruston to help him slide his arms into the smock. Then he glared at Virginia.
She burst out laughing.
“You ready?”
She walked to him and held out her hand. “Good luck.”
“Same to you.” He shook her hand and then pressed his thumb gently into her palm, teasing with little circling motions. When her mouth dropped open slightly, he grinned. “Game on, sweetheart.”
Virginia pulled her hand away and strolled casually out to the sales floor. She nodded at Doris, whose beetle-like eyebrows shot up. “Hey, Doris. I’m going to be helping out. You want to be my wingman?”
“Wingman?”
“Err, wing lady. Give me the inside dirt on customers?”
To Virginia’s surprise, Doris beamed. “I’d love to, Miss Fulton.”
“Great.” Virginia watched Ruston and Dex walk by on their way to the main entrance, each of them carrying large placards reading LADIES DRESSES ARE HALF OFF! TODAY ONLY! Then she read it again. “Oh no. Those signs need to ‘accidentally’ go in the Dumpster. Lilah’s isn’t a strip club.”
“Pardon?” Doris came to stand next to her.
Virginia smiled. “Nothing.” Glancing over the sales floor, she spotted a tiny old woman who was fingering her way through a rack of nightgowns. “What do you know about her?”
Doris shook her head. “She always browses. Never buys.”
“Okay.” Virginia began to make her way over to the woman, but before she could get close, Dex burst through the doors and practically ran to the old lady. “What can I help you with?” he said, way too loudly. The woman sucked in a breath and scuttled away, straight toward Virginia.
“Oh, what a lovely purse.” Virginia put her hands over her chest and pointed to the woman’s large penguin-printed bag. “I hope you don’t mind if I ask where you bought it.”
The woman smiled. “Oh, thank you. It’s just something I picked up at Jack’s Ninety-Nine Cent World.”
“Reaaaally? You’re a bargain shopper for sure.” Virginia winked. “Were you aware that our ladies dresses are half . . . are fifty percent off today?”
“Oh my. No. Where are they?”
“Come with me.” Virginia led the woman across the sales floor, sticking her tongue out at Dex as she went. He shook his head.
After making a sale of not one but two dresses to the lady—who, incredibly, had not recognized her—Virginia resumed her position by Doris, watching the door as several customers walked in. “The signs must be working.”
“Mmm,” Doris agreed. “They usually help but never enough.” She put her hand to the side of her mouth and muttered, “If you ask me, the scary window displays cancel out the signs.”
Virginia thought about Doris’s admission as she watched Dex accost two more customers. This time he managed to work in a little of his abundant charm and he hooked them. Damn. She turned to Doris. “Those window displays are going to change soon.”
“Oh, good.” Doris smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, no matter what Ruston says.”
Virginia smiled back. “Thanks.” It was encouraging to know that she had at least one salesperson on her team. Maybe it wouldn’t be so rough when she decided to start moving in some new stock to test the waters. Dex had said that she was free to experiment, but with Ruston acting like a guard dog, it had been much easier to leave things be. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to change his mind about her until she showed that she could cater to seniors, and if she could prove herself to him today—and then move that stock in next week—perhaps she could break down his defenses, little by little.
“Hey, Doris,” Virginia said slowly, “Would you be interested in working late on Thursday? I’m planning to redo the windows as a kind of experiment. Oh, and clear out the lingerie section and arrange some new stock I’ve ordered. It would have to be kept quiet, but I’d love to have your help.”
Doris’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been waiting for someone to say something like that to me for years. Of course, I will.”
“Great!” Virginia squeezed her arm. “Now let’s go kick Dex’s ass.”
For the rest of the morning, and then through the busy lunch hour, Virginia sold her heart out, signed a few autographs, took the smock off to pose for a few photos, and then sold some more. Doris stuck to her like glue, whispering tidbits about familiar customers, and by midafternoon, Virginia was sure that she’d outsold Dex at least twice over. She’d kept an eye on him, and, while he’d been charming and chatty, he hadn’t escorted people to the register half as often as she had. But every time he’d glanced at her, he’d had a smug smile on his face. She was a tiny bit worried about that. It was time to distract him.
She walked over to where he stood with his eyes closed, his back to a pillar, rolling his neck on his shoulders. “Tired?” she asked.
“Not at all.” He stood up straight and grinned at her. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ve never felt more energetic,” she lied. “Listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you . . . my
dad is going to be in town on Sunday, and I wondered if you’d like to meet him.”
Dex’s eyes widened. “Uh . . . meet the president of the United States?” He laughed softly and nodded. “Sure.”
“Oh, good. You’ll need to have a more thorough background check, though, and soon. You can chat with Muscles about it.” She pointed at Muscles, who stood next to the door.
“Okay,” Dex agreed. He headed in that direction.
She cracked a smile just as Dex looked over his shoulder, and he saw. A second later, he was shaking his head and walking back to her. “I see how you are. Trying to occupy me so you can steal my customers.”
She giggled. “Maybe.”
“I’m not falling for it.” He leaned in close, and his wolfish smile made her heart flip over. He might not have fallen for that, but was he falling for her? At that thought, her heart flipped over again and she broke eye contact. Maybe he was genuinely interested in something long-term. Virginia hadn’t given any thought to that possibility since she’d been so caught up with how quickly her life was changing. Opportunity had presented itself, and, for once, she’d grabbed at it. She felt overwhelmed yet proud of herself. She felt appreciated, yet she still doubted her ability. And deep down, she knew that her swirling emotions reflected exactly how she felt about Dex—which was exhilarated and excited—threaded with desire and need. Was she falling for him too? She couldn’t dwell on it right now, so she returned his playful smile.
“My dad really is coming to town, though.”
“And I’ll be glad to meet him,” Dex said. “But first, I’m going to crush your sales.”
Various States of Undress: Virginia Page 12