Atlantis (10 page)

Chapter Nineteen

             
"Did you see this?" Sloane tossed a copy of Model Manual Magazine onto Candace's desk and smiled broadly.

             
Candace picked it up and on the cover was a photo of the front of their building with the headline: Parker, Inc. The Next Hot Thing in Modeling. Her eyes widened and she couldn't contain her smile. "Oh my, God, this is fantastic!"

             
"I know." Sloane sat on the edge of Candace's desk and crossed her legs. "It gets better. According to Becky, since that article was published, we've had a surge of interest from models who want to sign with us."

             
"Wow!" Candace leaned back in her chair. This was the best news ever!

             
"Yup, and you know that new Australian model, Toni Keiran?"

             
"Yeah, he's signed with Balmain right?" Candace's throat went dry just saying that name. She still hadn't told Sloane the truth about who Harvey really was, and it was killing her lying to her sister like that.

             
Sloane grinned wickedly. "His contract is up this month and he's looking to sign with us instead of going back to Balmain." She laughed and clapped her hands. "Serves Balmain right for stealing Johl from us."

             
Candace rolled her eyes. She wanted to remind Sloane that Balmain didn't steal Johl from them, that he made the decision all on his own, but that would just end in an argument and Candace was in too good of a mood to argue with Sloane today. "Speaking of Johl…how're you doing with that?"

             
Sloane shrugged. "I'm letting him take me to dinner tonight. We've been talking. I'm still mad at him for not signing with us, but I think I like him more than I'm mad at him." She laughed; then smiled shyly. "And I do miss him."

             
"I'm glad you're going out with him again, Sloane. He's good for you." Candace stood. "Please give him a fair chance."

             
"I will." Sloane hopped off the desk. "Where are you going?"

             
"To the gym."

             
"Oh, you mean you're going to go see Harvey." Sloane playfully batted her eyelashes and said his name in an overly dramatic way.

             
Candace laughed. "Yes, I'm meeting Harvey there."

             
Sloane hugged her. "I'm so happy that you're dating again. And he clearly makes you happy. I don't think I've ever seen you smile as much as I have these past few weeks."

             
"Thanks. Okay, I need to get going or I'll be late."

             
"Have fun."

*****

One Month Later…

             
"I can't believe we're even considering this," Sloane said as she and Candace made their way into the offices of Balmain Models.

             
"We have to consider it, Sloane. I'm sure the offer is going to be very generous, and with all the new modeling work we've been getting, it's harder and harder to run the agency," Candace said.

             
"I know, but we have Becky and we can hire more staff. I just hate the idea of Balmain buying Parker, Inc., and of working for him," Sloane whined.

             
"He's looking to buy our agency, not us. I made it very clear that the only way we were taking this meeting was with the understanding that he did not get us in the deal. We'll remain independent and we'll still be able to do what we want."

             
Sloane made a face. "I know, but still…"

             
Candace stopped with her hand on the door handle to the office. "You promised to keep an open mind and hear him out."

             
"I will."

             
"Thank you."

             
Together, the girls walked into Benjamin Balmain's office and the color drained from Candace's face. There, sitting next to Benjamin, was Harvey, looking sexy as hell. She should've known he would be present at this meeting. He smiled at her and her body was instantly heated with the memory of what it was like to make love to him, to be held in his arms. Then she sliced a look at Sloane and all of Candace's fuzzy feelings were replaced with ice cold dread.

             
"Candace, Sloane, so good to see you." Benjamin stood and shook each of their hands in turn. "I'm sure you both know my son, Harvey."

             
Harvey stood and greeted each of them, his hold on Candace's hand lasting longer than necessary.

             
"Wait," Sloane said, looking pointedly at her sister. "This is
the
Harvey, the guy from the gym?"

             
"Not now, Sloane." Candace's voice was stern.

             
Sloane smiled sweetly at Benjamin and Harvey. "I'm sorry, could you please excuse us." She grabbed her sister's arm and led her out of the office. Before the door was fully closed, Sloane started to rant. "You're sleeping with Harvey Balmain? He's the enemy, Candace! How could you do this? And how could you not tell me about it?"

             
Candace sighed with frustration. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd freak out, but now is not the time or the place to have this discussion. We'll talk about it after the meeting."

             
"No." Sloane crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you agree to this meeting because you're sleeping with him? Is that what this is about?"

             
"Don't be ridiculous. For your information, I didn't know Harvey was a Balmain when I met him. I didn't know until the night of the fundraiser event, but you know what? I like him, Sloane. I like him a lot and I think…I think I'm falling in love with him, okay?"

             
Sloane was silent for several moments. "It's really that serious?"

             
"Yes. It is for me, anyway. I'm not sure how he feels."

             
"Okay, okay, let's go hear what they have to say, but in the future, don't keep something like this from me."

             
Candace smiled. "I won't. I promise."

*****

              They girls left the meeting an hour later. They hadn't made a decision, but rather decided to wait and give it some more thought. As Candace had suspected, the offer was more than generous. She stood outside with Sloane, both lost in their own thoughts, when Harvey came running outside.

             
"Candace, wait!" he shouted.

             
She turned to face him. He looked frazzled, like he'd been chasing her for a long time, which wasn't the case at all. "Harvey, what's wrong?"

             
He took her face into his hands and kissed her, taking her by surprise, but she leaned into him and fully embraced him. "Did you mean it?" he asked.

             
"Mean what?" She gave him a confused look.

             
"What you said to your sister…that you're falling in love with me?"
Oh God! He'd heard that?
As if sensing her embarrassment, he added, "The walls in the office are thin. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to."

             
"Yes, I meant it."

             
Harvey smiled in a way she'd never seen him smile before and it make her heart flutter. "I'm falling in love with you, too." He winked; then kissed her again. Candace's head spun with his words. Harvey loved her. His admission was music to her ears.

             
"I'm leaving to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico tomorrow. Go with me, Sloane. We can spend a few days there, just the two of us. I have to meet with a potential business contact, but that should only take a few hours max; then I'm all yours."

             
The way he said that,
just the two of us
…
I'm all yours
. His voice held so much promise. "Yes," she said with a laugh. "I'd love to go to Mexico with you."

             
"Really?" He seemed genuinely shocked by her agreeing to go that she couldn't help but laugh again.

             
"Yeah, really."

             
He picked her up and spun her around, kissing her fully on the mouth. When he finally set her back on her feet, he said, "I can't wait to have you all to myself." He smiled. "I'll call you later, okay?"

             
"Okay." She nodded and watched as he walked back inside. When she turned around, Sloane was grinning at her.

             
"Okay, I'm officially not mad anymore. That was the sweetest thing ever," Sloane said.

             
"Yeah, he's pretty great, huh?" Their car pulled up and they got into the backseat. No sooner than the car pulled onto the road, Candace got a text message from Harvey. It read,
miss you already
. She couldn't stop smiling.

Chapter Twenty

             
It was Fashion Week in New York and the Parker sisters were in high demand, more so than they'd ever been in their lives. It was exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. They'd been offered so many new jobs they had to have Becky start a spreadsheet just to keep track of all of them. There was no way they could commit to every single offer they got, but they were now in a position where they could pick and choose, and that was the best position in the world to be in.

             
As if they weren't busy enough themselves during fashion week, every single model that was signed with them had multiple jobs that they were doing – and those models were getting numerous offers, too. It was surreal. Candace had to keep pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But, she wasn't.

             
Her trip to Mexico with Harvey was a dream come true and it had been hard to return home. In fact, since they'd returned, it had been difficult for them to have time together. Their schedules were both so full. She missed him terribly. Hopefully, once this week was over, they could find some time.

             
Sloane was hot and heavy with Johl again. She'd completely forgiven him for signing with Balmain Models and the two of them were nearly inseparable.  Candace was happy for her sister. Their lives and careers had come a long way from where they were just six months ago. They'd overcome adversity to be major players in the modeling industry, and that was no small feat.

             
"So, the deadline to make a decision is tonight at midnight," Sloane said as she threw her napkin into the garbage.

             
They'd hosted a party for all their models tonight to celebrate everyone's successes and now it was over, and they were the last two people there, except for the clean-up staff. Candace sighed and looked around. Large easels were set up, displaying prints of their models and the company logo. A smiled pulled at her face. "I love this company," she said.

             
"Me too."

             
"I mean, look around. We did this, Sloane." Candace waved her hand around the room to emphasize her point. "Every single one of these models took a chance on us. We can't sell them out."

             
Sloane wiped a tear from her face. "God, I'm so glad you said that, because I really don't want to sell Parker, Inc."

             
Candace hugged Sloane. "There's no way we're selling. I'll call Harvey and let him know that we're declining Balmain's offer."

             
"Oh, girls!" Becky walked in with a huge smile, waving a business card in her hand. "Guess who I just spent the last half an hour talking to?"

             
Candace and Sloane just looked at her, waiting for an answer.

             
"Maria from Évoqué Magazine."

             
In unison, Candace and Sloane screamed, "Oh my God!"

             
Becky laughed. "That's right. Go home and pack. You two are flying to Milan tomorrow for a photo shoot."

             
"Becky, if this is a joke, it's so not funny," Sloane said.

             
Becky held out the business card to make her point. "No joke. You girls did it. You're going to be on the cover of Évoqué!" She smiled again. "In fact, they're talking about doing a four page spread on Parker, Inc., too."

             
"Wow, I can't believe this," Candace repeated over and over. It was literally a dream come true. She had to call Harvey, tell him the good news, and then she was going to ask him to go to Milan with her. She was also going to suggest that Sloane invite Johl. They could make a vacation out of it.

             
"C'mon, Candace!" Sloane tugged at her arm. "We have to go home and pack!"

             
The following morning, at seven forty five in the morning, Candace and Sloane boarded a private jet bound for Milan to realize their ultimate dream. It was just the beginning of the next chapter in their lives and neither of them could wait to see what happened next.