Awkwardly, Emma was staying with Damion at his place. She had to keep making random excuses to slip away to visit Daniel, and she was afraid that he was already growing suspicious.
Rolling over on the rug, Emma smiled, expecting to see Daniel lying beside her, but he was already up and standing over in the kitchen area, completely naked and boiling water.
“Hey,” she murmured at him.
“Hey,” Daniel replied, not turning round to face her.
“I really need a shower,” Emma declared, looking down at her sweat-soaked body. Then, flirtatiously she added, “Care to join me?”
“I haven’t got much time,” Daniel told her.
“Oh, come on.” Emma stood up, willing him to turn around and see her naked body. He did, and she saw the torment flash through his eyes. Perhaps he didn’t have much time, but he also struggled to resist her.
Minutes later their limbs entwined in Daniel’s waterfall shower. Emma gasped with delight as he entered her and the warm water flowed over her back. She climaxed twice as Daniel made love to her, pushing her up against his cream-colored tiles.
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Damion demanded as Emma walked through the door to his apartment.
“What?” He had caught Emma off guard, her mind still giddy from her encounter with Daniel, her hair still damp against her head from their heated time in the shower.
“We’ve got a meeting in like twenty minutes.” Damion fumed. “I did tell you, Ems. Twice.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry.” Emma dashed toward the spare room where all her clothes were being stored. Damion stalked after her, eager for answers.
“What’s going on with you?” he asked as she changed in to a red shift dress and black heels.
“Nothing,” Emma insisted. She glanced in the mirror and noticed how soaked her hair still was. She plugged in her hairdryer.
“Why is your hair wet?”
“I’ve... been to the gym.”
“Why didn’t you just dry your hair after you’d showered there?”
“I went swimming,” Emma improvised. “And didn’t have time to dry my hair because of the meeting we have, in twenty minutes.”
“Did something happen in Paris?” he cried, raising his voice over the hairdryer.
“Like what?” Emma shouted back.
“Like, something with Daniel?”
“No.” Emma shook her head as she ruffled her hair with her fingers to help it dry. “It was all work, I told you that.”
“I know.” Damion sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed in the room and watched Emma as she sat at the dresser drying her hair.
“It’s just, you’ve been different lately, Ems.”
With her hair now dry, Emma switched off the hairdryer and faced him. She saw the hurt look in Damion’s eyes and instantly felt besieged with guilt. Even though she’d just been in the shower, she felt dirty. She hated lying to him. He deserved more than that.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been different,” she said quietly. “I haven’t meant to be.”
“Well, just so long as everything is okay.” Damion looked a little relieved as he spoke.
“Everything is fine.” Emma smiled.
“Great, because we need to reveal your plans for the spring line to the representatives from the stores who will be stocking us, and that obviously includes Daniel.”
Emma stiffened. Daniel hadn’t mentioned anything about a meeting between them. In fact, they’d barely spoken at all since they’d got back; all their communication had been physical.
“But if things are okay with you two, it won’t be awkward.”
“Yeah, things are fine with us. I’d say we’re close to being friends again.”
“Really?” Damion’s eyebrows shot up with surprise.
“Yeah, we spent a bit of time together in Paris, and he’s finally thawed with me a bit on the whole Nick marriage issue.”
“Well, that’s good.” Damion nodded. “It will make life easier for all of us if the two of you are able to get along.”
Emma smiled, keeping the secret of how well she and Daniel were getting along locked safely behind her lips.
THE PLANNED MEETING was being held at Emma’s family home in what had once been the library and had already been converted in to an impressive function room complete with overhead projector, large meeting table, and whiteboard.
“You put this together quickly,” Emma complimented Nick as she walked in. The rest of the house was still in a state of development and far from completion.
“It was the first room we finished,” Nick explained, nodding to the neatly painted Delacourt Designs logo on the far wall. Emma took a moment to admire it. Seeing it there, it made it all real. All her success, how far she had come. The room was one that was familiar yet new. Emma had grown up in the house, but now it was evolving into something else, just like she was.
“Will people mind walking past all the building work?” she fretted as a distant drill began to break through some tough substance.
“Everyone was fine with it,” Nick reassured her.
A coffee machine in one of the corners filled the room with an exotic aroma. Coupled with the scent of fresh paint and freshly cut wood, it made a lovely ambiance. Emma was feeling confident about her meeting though she wondered how Daniel would be with her. Would everyone sense what was going on between them?
Daniel entered the room with his usual cloud of cologne and nodded at Nick, Emma, and Damion before taking a seat at the main meeting table.
“Do you want a coffee?” Emma asked, gesturing to the machine, even though she knew he’d not long ago had a cup in his apartment.
“I’m good.” Daniel’s response was abrupt.
A lady in a pants suit entered the room after Daniel. She was the US sales representative. She was mid to late thirties with a neat blonde bun at the nape of her neck and a slick of red lipstick that matched the soles of her designer shoes. She politely shook everyone’s hands, but Emma noticed how when she went to shake Daniel’s hands a flirtatious spark illuminated her eyes.
Internally, Emma seethed as they all sat down to commence the meeting.
“So,” Damion addressed everyone gathered, “we’re meeting pretty informally today just to give you a preview of what we have lined up for the spring line of Delacourt Designs.”
“I’m excited to see it.” The pants suit lady, named Penelope, clapped her hands and looked eager.
“It’s still very much a work in progress,” Emma admitted.
Damion switched on the projector, and the wall lit up, showcasing Emma’s early sketches for the designs.
Both Penelope and Daniel scrutinized them for a moment.
“I think they’re stunning,” Penelope said. “Very classic, but with the signature Delacourt style our customers have come to expect. I think when I return, everyone will be more than happy with the results.”
“Thank you.” Emma smiled and then looked to Daniel, who was staring at the designs. He coughed awkwardly and then looked at Damion, not Emma.
“I’ll need to have these emailed to the sales team and our fashion buyers; I can’t give final approval myself.”
“That’s fine.” Damion nodded with understanding.
“No. It’s not,” Emma cried. “We need final approval today so that we can move forward with production.”
In Paris, Daniel had liked her designs and assured her that they would be well received. Why was he suddenly going back on his word?
“Emma”—Damion placed a hand on her shoulder—“we can wait a few days to allow Mr. Richmond to correspond with his colleagues in Europe.”
Emma shot up, knocking his hand away from her, and stormed out of the room. She knew what Daniel was doing; he was deliberately trying to undermine her in front of their friends to make a point.
AS SHE SLAMMED THE door behind her, Damion and Nick exchanged troubled glances. Nick, however, swiftly went into recovery mode with their guest, Penelope
.
“Designers can be so temperamental,” he told her apologetically. “She’s mad but brilliant. May I get you a coffee?” Nick flashed his most dashing smile, and Penelope blushed and nodded her head.
“A coffee would be lovely, thank you.”
Nick whispered to Damion as he passed him on his way to the coffee machine. “What the hell is up with Ems?”
“I’ve no idea.” Damion sighed.
“YOU MADE QUITE THE scene today,” Daniel stated as he opened the door to his apartment and found Emma standing there. She was pouting. He’d not seen her since her dramatic departure from the meeting.
“You knew what you were doing,” Emma fumed, pushing past him and entering his apartment.
“Hey, you can’t just barge in here when you want,” Daniel protested.
“You liked the designs; you were happy with them in Paris. What changed?”
“Nothing changed. But I have to get approval from the buyers in Europe. I’m only a representative for them here, you know that.”
“You were deliberately being a dick to me.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Daniel corrected her sternly. “I was doing my job. You can’t expect special treatment just because we’re fucking.”
Emma froze at the callous term. She’d managed to convince herself that they were making love, that something deeper was going on than just a sexual connection.
“And you can’t just show up here whenever you want,” Daniel continued, his anger growing. “I might have been here with someone.”
“What do you mean?” Emma looked at him in astonishment.
“What do you think I mean?” Daniel replied coldly.
“Are you... are you seeing someone else?”
“Someone else?” Daniel echoed the words in disbelief. “Emma, I’m not even seeing you. I can sleep with whoever I like.”
Emma struggled to conceal her hurt over the words. It wasn’t just the boardroom where Daniel was being mean towards her.
“I should go.” She turned and fled from his apartment as the tears began to run down her cheeks and a lump rose in her throat. She didn’t dare take the elevator and risk anyone seeing her in such a state. Instead, she ran down the staircase, pausing between the third and fourth floors to catch her breath and allow a sob to escape from her lips. It echoed around the concreted space and bounced back in her ears. She glanced back up the way she had come. Above her, the stairwell was still and empty. Daniel had not been gentlemanly enough to chase after her. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised, but Emma felt pain surge through her. He’d basically admitted that he was seeing other people. She’d been a fool to let Daniel Richmond back into her heart.
Sinking to the hard floor, Emma pulled her knees up to her chest and bunched herself into a ball, where she wept for almost twenty minutes before wiping her cheeks and descending the rest of the floors of the building.
“YOU’RE NOT YOURSELF,” Nick stated plainly as he looked across at Emma, who sat nursing a glass of white wine that she’d barely sipped.
“I’m fine,” Emma replied as her gaze drifted past her companion towards the back of the bar.
“You’re not,” Nick scoffed, finishing off his second martini. “You’ve not been yourself since Paris. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but did something happen out there?”
Emma continued to stare blankly across the bar. She just couldn’t focus on the conversation. She kept thinking about Daniel and about what he was doing. While she was out having a friendly drink with Nick, did he have some woman back at his apartment? Were they having sex right at that very moment? The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Emma.” Nick clicked his fingers inches from her eyes, grabbing her attention.
“Sorry, what?” Emma looked at him, bewildered.
“If I’d known how absent you’d be tonight, I’d have brought someone else along to keep me company!”
“I’m sorry.” Emma sighed, gazing down at her glass. “I guess I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“Like what?” Nick asked with concern. “Delacourt Designs has proven to be a runaway success. You should be giddy with delight. Instead you’re moping around the place like a lovesick teenager.”
Nick’s eyes widened with understanding. “It’s because you’re pining for someone, isn’t it?”
Emma groaned at how intuitive her new friend could be.
“Spill,” Nick insisted, raising his hand to order more drinks for the both of them. “If you need some courage, down that first.” He nodded at Emma’s glass of wine.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Emma shook her head.
“Did you meet some Parisian guy who broke your heart?”
Emma bit her lip. She didn’t want to say too much. Daniel didn’t want people knowing about them; he wanted to keep everything casual. He was, after all, seeing other people. What he had with Emma was nothing worth talking about. Then why was she so upset?
“Come on,” Nick pressed her for details.
Picking up her glass of wine, Emma raised it to her lips and held it there until she’d consumed all of its contents, just as a fresh glass arrived.
“That’s it!” Nick applauded approvingly. “Now we’re talking!”
Emma took a moment to let the alcohol settle in her system. It flushed her cheeks and made her feelings about Daniel feel even rawer.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” Nick leaned back expectantly.
“Fine,” Emma conceded, emboldened by the wine. “But you have to keep it between us, okay?”
“Okay.” Nick made a dramatically solemn expression, which he followed with his trademark mischievous smile.
“It happened in Paris,” Emma began.
“Well, it is the city of love.”
“It happened with Daniel.” Emma braced herself for Nick’s reaction as she dropped the bombshell. She expected him to look shocked, disappointed even. Instead, he remained looking cool and collected as though she’d just told him that the sky were blue.
“I figured as much.” Nick nodded knowingly. “It explains why you blew up in the meeting.”
“Oh God. Was it that obvious?”
“Only to a keen observer of the female species like myself.” Nick winked.
“I don’t know how it happened.” Emma leaned her head against her hand and gazed wearily at Nick. “We started getting along, like back when we were friends. Then one night we got pretty drunk on expensive champagne, and the next thing I knew we were back in his room and things were happening.”
“We’ve all been there!” Nick said, raising his glass in a half toast.
“But then it keeps happening,” Emma continued. “Since we got back from Paris, it’s like it can’t stop happening. Yet Daniel only wants that. He doesn’t want a relationship or anything like we had before. And he told me he’s seeing other people.”
Nick frowned with concern over the latter part. “Are you okay with that? With him seeing other people?”
“No!” Emma began drinking from her second glass of wine. She needed to blot out the pain, to forget how terrible Daniel Richmond was making her feel.
“You deserve more than that, Emma.”
“I know!” Emma tried not to cry. “And I keep telling myself that all the time, but I’m just so... drawn to him. He drives me crazy!”
“It’s called the Cardelinni effect,” Nick joked. Emma smiled slightly, appreciative of his efforts to lighten the mood.
“But I don’t know what to do,” Emma declared sadly. “I still want him. I want him more than anything.”
Nick watched Emma finish off her wine and casually raised his hand to order another round. He could see how troubled she was. Her whole body appeared wilted beneath the weight of her feelings for Daniel. He decided that what she needed was to break free from his spell and have some fun. Nick was determined to get her out on the dance floor, to see her smile!
Several
drinks later Emma was drunkenly swaying to a song she didn’t even know. She lifted Nick’s arm and twirled beneath it as though they were in a ballroom.
“I’m cutting you off!” Nick whispered to her as she almost lost her footing and went crashing down to the mirrored floor.
“Nooo!” Emma waved her arms madly at him. “I’m having too much fun!”
“I can see that!” Nick laughed.
“Spin me!” Emma insisted with the intense urgency of a child upon a swing who just wants to be pushed and feel the wind rush through their hair and their legs almost touch the sky.
“Spin me!”
“Okay.” Nick spun Emma around the dance floor, and she giggled uncontrollably, loving the sensation.
“You’re a drunken mess!” He laughed at her.
“Takes one to know one!” Emma tried to point directly at Nick as she spoke, but she couldn’t get her movements quite right.
“I think its home time.” Nick tried to guide her away from the dance floor.
“Nooo!” Emma protested.
“Come on, my driver will take you back.”
“No, I want to take a cab.”
“You sure?”
After some cajoling, they were now outside on the street. The cool night air almost knocked Emma off her feet. She was incredibly drunk.
“I want a cab!” Emma pointed at a lingering yellow cab. Nick opened his mouth to object, but before he could say anything, she’d bundled herself in the cab, and it was pulling away from the curb.
Shocked, Nick could only wave goodbye and wait for his driver to come and get him.
DANIEL AWOKE WITH A start. In the darkness of his apartment, it took his eyes a moment to adjust.
Banging.
His body tensed when he heard it. Banging, against his door. Loud, incessant banging. Someone was trying to break into his apartment!
Daniel pulled himself out of bed, and wearing only his designer boxer shorts, he cautiously walked through his apartment.
As he approached the front door, the banging intensified.
“Who’s there?” he demanded, using his deepest voice.
Designing Emma (Volume 4) Page 5