Designed for Love (3 page)

     
She
didn’t know he owned the company, but from what she’d seen of him at the grocery
store and his being carted around in a limo, she could have pieced things
together if she’d allowed herself more than exhaustion induced dreams of him.
Discovering now he was “the boss” made her feel glad that she would be able to
leave a better lasting impression on Vincent then the last time he’d seen her.
Even if nothing else came about between them.

     
After
the introductions were made all around and Vincent shook hands with Peter, they
exchanged words, and Vincent told him how he always enjoyed Densa Fashion’s
designs. Chelsi watched Peter, completely taken in by Vincent’s sophisticated
charm, smile broadly before he introduced her.

“This
is Chelsi—”

     
“Halifax.”
Vincent finished as he stretched his hand out towards her.

     
She
didn’t want to touch him. She recalled too vividly the last time they had
touched and how her body had responded. But it would be rude for her not to
accept his gesture in front of his employees and her boss. Reaching out, she
allowed his large hand to engulf her own. The heat from his touch was warm and
familiar.

“You
two know each other?” Peter inquired.

“Yes,
we’re acquainted—” Vincent began.

     
“A
long time ago. It’s in the past,” she rushed on, cutting Vincent off. She
didn’t know what he would have said, but she was already fighting her own
memory of what once was and never could be again without him revealing more to
the ten people in the room.

     
“Hmm,”
was Peter’s only comment. Chelsi knew from that one sound she would be getting
a car full of questions on the way back to the studio.

     
Vincent’s
thumb brushed along the back of her hand, and she was unprepared for the shiver
that raced up her arm, causing every fine hair in its wake to stand on end.
Barely suffocating the small gasp in her throat, she noticed the devastating
smile Vincent gave her as he released her hand, letting her know he caught her
reaction.

     
“Well,
you all have waited long enough for me.” Vincent took his seat at the head of
the long, polished mahogany table between Peter and Rudolph Humphries, the Division
Director.

     
“I’m
truly anxious to see what you all have designed.” Vincent opened up the tan
leather legal pad size portfolio. “It’s in your hands, Mr. Densa.”

     
“Peter
is fine.” Appearing completely in his element, Peter captivated the room with
his light humor and charm. He gave packets of information to the team regarding
the materials, expense, production, and site of manufactures and seamstress
teams. “One thing that Rudolph let us know, Mr. Poindexter—”

Vincent
waved his hand in the air. “Vin.”

     
Chelsi
watched her boss as he spoke and noted Peter was two shades away from a full
blush at Vincent’s words. She didn’t know if her boss’s response was due to
attraction or not. Peter was gay and had plans of marrying his partner next
year so she assumed his reaction was due to being accepted into the close
honored circle of those able to call Vincent Poindexter by his nickname.

     
Clearing
his throat, Peter continued. “As I was saying, Vin, I understand that Point
Corporation stands firm by ensuring their products and services are American
made. Densa Fashion stands by that as well. Since you are not looking for bulk
mass products but more elite designs for distribution, it is something we will
be able to manage rather well.”

     
Vincent
asked pointed follow-up questions, and Chelsi admired how he allowed Peter to
speak as the expert and at different times even asked his advice on specific
clothing and material issues. She couldn’t help but grin at Peter’s wide smile which
confirmed her boss was in hog heaven. Vincent gave Peter all his attention,
only breaking eye contact with him when he was taking notes. Chelsi wondered
what he jotted down since there was a black man in his mid-twenties who had
been steadily annotating information on the packet as well as entering it into
a laptop.

     
She’d
watched and listened to Peter as well, but she had been unable to keep herself
from stealing a few glances at Vincent. It was fascinating to view him in his
world, in his element. To her, he appeared both commanding and brilliant. A part
of her pride was a little wounded because he never glanced in her direction.
Their gazes never clashed even by accident.

     
Evidentially,
his desire to have dinner with her and catch up on old times had passed. Taking
a silent, deep breath, she reminded herself that it was better that he had
moved on. It was easier for her mind to be reassured, but her heart wasn’t
convinced.

     
“I’ll
turn the next portion of the presentation over to Chelsi.” Peter slipped back
into his seat as she stood and signaled to the gentleman at the laptop. “I will
show you all the designs we have for the pregnant mothers as well as the
infants and children up to two. Then when I finish I’ll bring in the models
with the samples of our designs so you all can see them. I also have some
swatches I’ll be passing around during the presentation for you to feel these
as well as other fabrics and materials.”

     
Chelsi
kept her gaze moving around the room as she spoke, making a point not to
address Vincent by any name. She didn’t want him to tell her to call him
anything familiar.
Keep your distance
,
she repeated her mantra.

     
When
she finally glanced in his direction, she noticed his focus was now centered on
her. His gaze left her face and did a slow stroll along her frame. She was sure
he was taking in her look which was drastically different then the last time. When
his blue-eyed gaze returned to her face, he wore a pleased smile. The approving
look made her heart flutter. She glanced away quickly and began talking to the
other people in the room and trying to disregard Mr. Boss Man.

     
“Ladies
and gentlemen, we listened to the information Mr. Rudolph gave us regarding
what your company was looking for concerning the elite maternity and child line
for your store. We pulled several ideas together from our design team. One of
the things you’ll notice about our clothing is that everything we’ll be showing
is not only the highest of quality in craftsmanship but also has the ability to
grow with the mothers and be used after delivery.”

     
“The
children’s apparel can be worn from infancy to toddler years or toddler to
preschool age. Even though you all are marketing your store for middle-class
Americans who can afford to get clothing solely for pregnancy, we at Densa
Fashions are conscience of the financial times now. People are trying to get
the maximum use out of everything.”

     
“How
does
Densa
propose to do this, Chelsi?” said a woman
who introduced herself as Monica when they first arrived. “I don’t know if
you’ve ever been pregnant. Most maternity clothing becomes too stretched out by
the end of pregnancy and can’t be worn after delivery stylishly.” The black
woman in her camel-colored suit didn’t sound or appear to be condescending in
her questioning, just business-minded and matter-of-fact.

     
“I’m
glad you asked.” Chelsi had anticipated this question. “Densa has added a
hidden adjustable tab inside of all of their clothing. Most mothers are used to
this type of adjustment in children’s apparel, but we have now brought it to
maternity wear. It will also aid in keeping away the muumuu look that most
motherhood styles offer.” Her statement caused the eyebrows of the three women
in the room to lift.

     
Chelsi
instructed Mike to begin the PowerPoint presentation. During the slide
presentation she showed them how the hidden straps were embedded in the small
of the back of the dresses. She flipped through photos of babies and toddlers
wearing the different clothing they had designed as well as showed them the few
outfits that were mom/baby matching sets for both boys and girls.

     
She
continued to answer questions about the fabrics used for the garments as she
passed around swatches for people. Since it would have been rude of her not to
start with Vincent as she handed out the assortment of materials, she moved
from the projector screen and crossed the room until she was close enough to
hand him the small bundle.

     
Instead
of Vincent stretching his hand out across the gap to take them from her, he
barely extended his arm, leaving an opening between their hands. He stared at
her, issuing a challenge, intense and evident in his beautiful gaze.

     
In
order to give them to him, she would have to move closer. For a moment, her gaze
darted over to the glossy tabletop and she considered setting them on it; that
way she wouldn’t have to be near him. She gritted her teeth at her own
pettiness. In such a professional and important moment for her and Densa, she
couldn’t afford to let her emotions overrule her good sense.

     
Fixing
a large smile on her face, she took a step towards him, almost bringing the
toes of her heels in contact with his dress shoes. Her plan was to set them in
his hand and quickly move back to her safe zone by the screen, but evidently Vincent
had different ideas. When she placed the cloths in his hand, his long strong
fingers seized her hand. His tight hold didn’t hurt, but feeling his strength
made her knees weak. The butterflies in her stomach that stirred the moment he
walked into the room were doing flips inside of her.

“Thank
you, Chelsi.” He let her hand go.

     
Speechless,
she shuffled away from him in haste as she rubbed her hand in an attempt to
stop the tingling she was experiencing. The hold was only a matter of seconds.
It wasn’t like Vincent had held her for an inappropriate amount of time, and
most people in the room probably barely noticed it. However, every inch of her
body registered it.

     
“At
this moment I would like to pause and bring in some of the models who are
wearing six of our signature designs.” Going over to the door, she stepped out
in the hall and called the first woman inside.

     
“As
Maria strolls around the room, I would like you all to pay attention to the
cinches in the lower part of the back of the outfit. Even though it only
appears to be a small gathering of material, as I showed you in the slide
presentation, it moves through the entire back of the garment. The great thing
about that is others will not be able to see this when expanded for pregnancy
comfort or after.” Chelsi paused for a moment to allow the model to cruise the
room, turning one direction of another when asked.

     
“This
dress Maria is wearing is our collar-drop handkerchief cut dress in violet,”
Chelsi informed the group. “Densa Fashion wanted to bring four things to the
maternity apparel; elegance, comfort, longevity of wear, and sexuality. The
last one is something that usually is not paired with pregnancy.”

     
There
was a lot of nods and words of agreement around the room from the seven men and
three women. It didn’t escape Chelsi’s notice that Vincent didn’t show any
signs of agreeing or not; he continued to keep his gaze trained on her.

     
When
Maria got to Vincent, Chelsi heard him ask the woman about the comfort of the
outfit, the feel of the material, and if anything felt tight or constricting.
He even questioned whether the garment made the woman too warm.

     
Impressed,
Chelsi wondered how Vincent knew such questions to ask a pregnant woman. She
couldn’t lie to herself. The thought weighed heavy on her mind, making her
feeling very certain that he was married with children of his own.

     
Maria
exited the room and Veronica, a small-statured blonde, came in.

     
“Veronica
is draped in our Bedazzled Tunic. The royal blue crushed silk is enhanced
around the deep u-shaped neckline by gold backed crystals. As you can see, the
hem on Veronica’s dress is very short, allowing for the display of the full
length of the woman’s legs. The same jewels on the bottom seam help to weight
the dress and keep it in place.”

     
After
Veronica finished, Janice came in wearing their crisscross single-shoulder tied
dress in gold that left one arm and shoulder bare as it covered the other.
Janice worked the room in her knee length ensemble. The model was only three
months pregnant and barely showed.

     
When
the woman moved closer to Vincent. it didn’t escape Chelsi’s noticed that
Janice stood by him a long time. Even after Vincent asked the same standard
questions to her as he did the two previous ladies. Janice blushed and batted
her eyes at him.

     
Chelsi
watched the exchange, and her blood boiled. Especially when she noticed that
when Janice offered Vincent the chance to feel the chiffon fabric the other
woman raised the hem to him, lifting it higher than necessary. She was
blatantly flirting with Vincent.
Unbelieveable
.