Various States of Undress: Virginia

by Simcox, Laura

  “Oh my God. All you need is a balcony and a Renaissance dress,” Georgia commented. “Grab your purse and let’s go see Romeo before you expire from pining away.”

  “Shut up!”

  Georgia giggled as she walked to the front door, and when she opened it, four agents stood waiting in the hallway. “Good morning, guys.”

  “Hi, Georgia. Virginia.” Muscles looked serious. “Listen, we need to discuss what’s going to happen today since this photo shoot is taking place outdoors. We’re going to need you two to be very careful about following our direction, and if we have to shut the shoot down because of the crowds, that’s what we’ll have to do. Okay?”

  Virginia slung her bag over her shoulder. “That’s fine, Muscles, but nobody knows about this. Dex told me the photographer isn’t setting up in Washington Square Park until right before the shoot, and the trailer we’re using for the clothing changes isn’t marked at all.” She shrugged. “You know all that, of course, so I don’t see why there should be a problem.”

  “Yeah, but . . .” Muscles motioned them down the hall; once they’d all crowded onto the elevator, he folded his arms. “The media has been dogging you girls all week. We’re going to take an alternate route to Lilah’s and go in through the loading dock door in the alley, but I can’t promise they won’t show up at the store, hoping that you will too. They’ve been camping out there all week.”

  “Really?” Virginia raised her eyebrows.

  “Yep.” Muscles stepped in front of her as the elevator dinged open. Silent was waiting for them, his face grim, and Muscles let out a huff of breath. “Here we go.” He ushered them forward, and Virginia kept her face blank, even as she heard the soft clicking noises of cameras on either side of the human walls created by the four agents.

  After they got into the SUV, Virginia’s apprehension mounted. She didn’t want anything to go wrong with the shoot—she knew that Dex was placing a lot of importance on it because it was the lynchpin of his ad campaign. The event at Flash had helped to build buzz, but it wasn’t the same. Today had to go well, so when the SUV pulled into the alley behind Lilah’s, she was poised and ready to run. Two of the agents slipped inside the loading dock entrance and, a moment later, motioned them forward. Muscles got out and opened the passenger door.

  “Good luck,” said Silent. “I’m driving off the minute you’re out.”

  “Go, go,” Muscles commanded. Virginia and Georgia scampered out just as a couple of guys with cameras ran around the corner. She caught her sister’s hand and jogged up the steps and inside, the other agents behind them. Immediately, Virginia saw Dex, who stood in the middle of the stockroom, a big smile on his face. Her heart flipped over and she wanted nothing more than to throw herself in his arms, but she didn’t. She walked slowly, pulling Georgia along. “Hey there, Dex. I’d like for you to meet my sister.”

  “Hi, Georgia,” Dex said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Georgia shook his hand. “Any of it embarrassingly specific?”

  Dex laughed. “Would your sister do that?”

  “Of course not,” Virginia butted in, and then she caught sight of racks and racks of clothes, covered by dust cloths. Next to them were bins of purses and boxes that she knew contained smaller accessories. She squealed and ran toward them. “My new stock!”

  “Oh boy, here we go,” Georgia said. “The devotee is approaching the fashion mecca.”

  “Shut it,” Virginia commanded and flipped back the edge of a cloth. “Oh, just look. I’m in peasant-top heaven. And these skirts! So cute.”

  Georgia wandered over, pretending not to be interested, but Virginia knew better. Her sister loved the nouveau hippie look. “Hmm. They are kind of cute. I might shop here.”

  “That’s code for she’s in love with this stuff,” Virginia told Dex.

  He winked at her in response, and she nearly melted on the spot. Oh, God—he was so handsome. Clearing her throat, she turned back to Georgia. “Wait until you see the shoes.”

  “That will have to wait,” Dex said. “We need to get ready for the shoot. And I’m going to say this fully realizing that I might get smacked—Virginia, it looks like you’re not wearing any makeup. Maybe you should go see the makeup artist waiting in your office. I’ll, uh, be happy to take you up there.” He sounded eager, which caused Virginia to melt a little bit more because she knew that he’d probably take her to his office first—and kiss the hell out of her. But she couldn’t wait that long.

  “I’m not going to smack you, Dex.” she said lightly. “And I can find my own way up to my office, but I do want to discuss something with you before we get started today.”

  “Ooh,” Georgia said. “Sounds ominous.” She grinned and then went right back to the rack of blouses. “I’ll wait here.”

  Virginia led Dex into the smock closet and shut the door. Before she could even turn around, his hands were all over her and his lips were on hers, searching. “Oh, I missed you,” she whispered. She kissed him, and then kissed him again, gasping as his tongue did things that made her whole body sway. When she came up for air, his hands cradled her face.

  “The last few days have been torture. Do you know how bad I want you right now?” he asked. His eyes were intense with longing, and there was a sense of urgency in the way he caressed her back. He wasn’t talking about just sex.

  She nodded and touched his jaw. “I have a good idea.”

  “How long is your sister staying?”

  “One more night.”

  His head fell back as he groaned, and she leaned up to taste his neck. “Mmm.”

  “Tease.”

  “You’re so worth teasing, sexy Dexie.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “So is that my nickname?”

  “Maybe. But I think I can come up with something better.”

  “I hope so.” He reached for her again, but she stopped him. She wanted nothing more than to stay in here with him, holding him close, ignoring the challenges and choices on the other side of the door. In here, they chose each other and nothing more. But that wasn’t reality, was it? Her breath caught.

  “I need to get ready for the cameras, Dex.”

  He looked at her again, and then his lips curved up in an attempt at a smile, and she knew with certainty that he felt the same way. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to stand off to the side and watch you model those clothes without embarrassing myself.” He shifted the front of his pants.

  “You’ll figure it out,” she said, trying to sound light. And then before he could respond, she cleared her throat, blew him a kiss, opened the door, and walked out of the stockroom. “Georgia! Come see my office.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  DEX SMILED AT the breathlessness in Virginia’s voice and shut the door behind her. He looked down at the front of his suit pants and then briefly considered the row of smocks hanging in front of him. If he wore one of those, he could hide a raging erection, couldn’t he? But he’d look like a dumbass. It was better to calm down and then go deal with Ruston—if anything was going to take his mind off of ravishing Virginia, Ruston’s yapping would do it. He took a couple of deep breaths.

  Despite all of his anxiety, and the exhilaration of having Virginia in his arms again, he couldn’t help but think about what was to come—and how they would handle it. After he’d had the celebration dinner with Virginia last week, he’d told her that he was exhausted and had to go back to his place instead of spending the night at hers. She’d given him a confused look but nodded, saying that she, too, had had a long day. There had been distance between them and things that should have been spoken but weren’t. Since then, he’d done a lot of thinking and had come to the conclusion that he really couldn’t offer her Lilah’s, even though she might take the job with Perry Ellis. She loved Lilah’s as much as he did, but, above everything, he wanted Virginia to feel fulfilled. He’d rebuilt Lilah’s with her, and she was just as much a part of it as he was. He wanted her to be happy. It was ju
st ironic that he would have to go to London to make that happen since that was the only way he was going to get Lilah’s. But without Virginia involved, would Lilah’s mean as much to him?

  Dex put his hands over his face and groaned. After a moment, he walked back into the stockroom. The loading dock door was open, and a large delivery truck idled in the alley. Dex saluted a man wearing coveralls who stood just outside holding a clipboard. “Oh, more of it, huh? Thanks. All of it looks great. My consultant is very happy.” The man gave him a confused look and waddled forward. “You the person in charge?” he asked.

  “Yes, I am. What can I help you with?”

  “Just need your signature.” The man thrust the clipboard into Dex’s hands, and Dex quickly signed his name at the bottom. “There you go. Anything else?”

  “Nope. Have a good one.” The man walked back outside, and Dex, whistling, went out to the sales floor, expecting Ruston to appear out of nowhere as he usually did. Ruston didn’t disappoint. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Cameron?” he asked.

  “Ruston, when are you going to start calling me Dex? And yeah, I wanted to talk to you about lingerie. Have you figured out how to integrate the, ah, items that would appeal to older women without them being too conspicuous?”

  Ruston looked over his glasses. “You mean the ‘boulder holders’? That’s what Miss Fulton calls them. I have them in hand, not to worry.”

  “Great.” Dex tried not to smile. “Virginia’s excited about the new stock. I’m assuming you’ve had a chance to take a peek. What do you think?”

  “It’s fine.” Ruston cleared his throat. “If you have a few moments, perhaps you could come up to the second floor and walk me through the remodel of the men’s dressing rooms. That’s the last item on the list you gave me to work on while Miss Fulton was on vacation.”

  “Okay.” Dex followed Ruston to the elevator and grinned at Eddie. “Hey, old fella.”

  “Hey, yourself, youngster. Rusty here tells me that Lilah’s is going to be very busy soon. You might have to hire me an assistant.” Eddie pulled open the gate and ushered Dex and Ruston inside. “I have only one request. Make her young and pretty.” He chortled at his own joke and then promptly sat down on the folding chair inside the elevator car, his round face wreathed by his perpetual smile.

  Dex laughed along with him—he didn’t have the heart to tell Eddie that, not only was an assistant not necessary, Eddie wasn’t necessary—at least not to run the elevator. But that didn’t matter because Eddie was indispensable. He was part of the spirit of Lilah’s, and that made Dex happy. Despite everything swirling around in his head, Dex was very happy, actually—which came as a bit of a shock. He hadn’t been until Virginia stepped into his life, and now he couldn’t imagine life without her. What the hell did that mean, though? Did he—was he in love with her? Was he, Dex Cameron, the tongue-tied idiot, in love with the daughter of the president of the United States? Yes. He was hopelessly in love with her. As he let the thought sink in, his brain began to buzz with amazement.

  “Mr. Cameron?” Ruston plucked at his sleeve.

  Dex glanced at him and then stepped off the elevator. “Of course,” he murmured. “Let’s figure this out.” He stepped out onto the second floor, and—for the next hour, while Dex’s thoughts were almost solely focused on Virginia—Ruston droned on about carpet, shelving, and lighting fixtures in the men’s department. Dex must have given appropriate answers because Ruston didn’t complain, even when Dex began checking his watch every few minutes. He had to see her—had to go to her office and . . . what? Tell her how he felt? How was he going to do that with Larry, Charlie, Georgia, her agents, a makeup artist, and a photographer all hovering in the background?

  “Mr. Cameron!”

  Dex turned around and saw Doris exit the elevator. She huffed toward him, her eyes round and her hands pressed to her lips. “What’s wrong, Doris?”

  “The stock. All of the beautiful things that Virginia ordered. They’re gone! Why?”

  “What?” Dex motioned to Eddie to hold the elevator and jogged toward him, turning to beckon Ruston, who stood next to the neckties. “Let’s go.” Immediately, Ruston followed Dex and Doris onto the elevator, his usual sardonic expression replaced by shock.

  “Tell me exactly what happened, Doris.” Dex let out a slow breath.

  “I went back to the break room to get some coffee before we open the store and saw the empty stockroom, and there was this guy with a clipboard standing on the dock. I ran over and asked him why he was taking everything like the damn Grinch, and he said that you signed off on it. Where did it all go, Dex?”

  “Uh—” Dex’s stomach plunged, and in the empty space in his gut, anger flared to life. It had to be Ariel. Or maybe Granddad. Either way, why hadn’t he kept a sharp eye out for his sick family’s meddling? And why the fuck had he signed his name without even glancing at what was in front of him?

  “There . . . there was a big mix-up Doris. I need to make some calls. Don’t you worry, though.” He tried to smile at her. “Is Virginia . . . did she see the stockroom?”

  Doris shook her head. “When I passed by, she was waiting for you near the main entrance with her sister. I heard one of the agents tell the girls to stay put until you arrived. I think they’re ready to leave.”

  “Okay.” Dex let out a sigh of relief and then glanced at Doris, who still looked worried, and then at Ruston, who stared back gravely. “Please—don’t say anything to Virginia about the stock. I’ll handle it.” They nodded. “She’s nervous about the photo shoot,” he added, as if he had to explain himself. The one thing that didn’t make Virginia nervous was fashion, and she was probably full of excitement—but he had to figure out a way to get her alone and break the news gently. He needed time. Unfortunately, he didn’t get any because when the elevator opened on the first floor, Larry was standing there. Georgia stood beside him, her arms wide, gesturing to her sister.

  Virginia struck a pose.

  “How’s my makeup?” she asked. She flipped her hair out of her eyes. It had been styled in loose, sexy curls, and, as she batted smoky bedroom eyes at him, Dex threw a hand over his hammering heart. “You’re a knockout.”

  Her full lips, painted cherry red, curved up in a playful smile. “Good. I was going for fearless yet feminine. Does my hair say fearless?”

  Georgia snorted. “Your hair says a lot more than that.”

  Dex agreed, but he wasn’t about to take Georgia’s bait. He gave Virginia a smile. “Could we talk for a second?”

  “What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.

  “Excuse me, but time is of the essence here. Maybe you could talk on the way?” Larry suggested.

  Dex gave a short nod, but there was no way in hell he was going to spring the missing stock on Virginia while they were in a crowded vehicle. On their way to her photo shoot, dodging the paparazzi. Shit. The minute the shoot was over, he’d take her straight to his office and tell her. With a silent sigh, he stepped forward and steered Virginia toward the main entrance. “You’re going to be great. If we get this done quickly, the media won’t have a chance.”

  She stopped walking. “Wait, why are we going out the front? Wouldn’t we be a lot less conspicuous if we went out the back?” She frowned up at Dex, and he opened his mouth and then closed it again, watching her as she turned to Larry. “Right?”

  Larry spoke into the mic on his wrist and, after a moment, shook his head. “It won’t matter, Virginia. Idiots with cameras both places, I’m afraid.” When she sighed, he shrugged. “Sorry. But we’re still willing to give this a try, at least. Are you ready?”

  “Yes.” She grabbed Dex’s hand. “All the outfits and accessories are in the trailer, right?”

  God, he hoped so. “As far as I’m aware.” He smiled at her and allowed himself to be positioned by the agents. They walked through the main entrance in a clump, heads ducked, ignoring the media who stood behind barricades shouting. Within seconds, Dex found himsel
f sandwiched between Georgia and Virginia, and the SUV took off. After a few turns down alleys and a couple of green lights, they were heading south on Fifth Avenue, and it appeared that they had shaken the paparazzi—for the time being.

  “Great driving, Silent!” Virginia said to Charlie. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned but didn’t say anything. She laughed and squeezed Dex’s hand. “Oh, look. The park. There’s the arch. I want to pose a few shots right there if I can.”

  “You can’t,” Larry commented. “It’s too close to the street. We’ll be lucky to get ten minutes at the fountain. The cops won’t allow for more than that if a crowd starts to gather.”

  Dex squeezed her hand back and gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be fine. You just worry about the clothes.” And I’ll do the same, he thought to himself because he had to figure out what had happened to the missing stock. While Virginia was changing, he planned to call Ariel and find out. If he had to threaten her again with exposing her screwup with the fake diamonds, he’d do it.

  When they reached Washington Square Park, the SUV rolled right over the sidewalk, zoomed past the arch, and took a sharp left into a clearing in the trees. Dex caught a glimpse of the trailer, parked alongside a walking path. It was in full view of the park. A lot of people milled around, watching as a couple of police officers set up temporary barricades near the fountain. Larry was right—they were going to have to hurry. “What’s your first outfit?” he asked Virginia.

  “The one that I can put on fastest.” She grimaced. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I’m trying really hard lately not to cause people any trouble.” She leaned in and whispered. “Especially you. You’ve worked too hard for this to get screwed up.”

  “So have you,” he whispered back. “Even when I was a pain in the ass.”

  “You’re a good man, Dex Cameron.” She smiled up at him, pride in her eyes.