“What do you mean?”
“Stephen and I have a telephone call in the morning with our boss in London. I’ve decided that if by some miracle I get this job here, I’m giving my full support for Stephen to be hired in my previous position in juniors. I’ll miss him like crazy, but he’s good. He’s very good at what he does. I’m not sure how I’ll manage without him. The most important thing is for him to be recognized for his talents. And if you add Max to that mix, my best friend will be happy.”
“What makes you happy, Shana?”
“Right now, it’s you.”
“I like that answer.” I leave cash in the small folder with our bill and reach for her hand. “Shall we find those missing panties?”
Her eyes grow wide as her head moves from side to side, checking to see if anyone heard.
“Think of it as a mystery,” I say in a stage whisper.
“I’d rather think of it as a romance.”
I lean close to her ear. “Is there a lot of sex in those books you read?”
“It depends on the book.”
“With a title like The Case of the Missing Panties, I think there should be sex.”
“I agree, Mr. Willis. How else would they be missing?”
Chapter Thirty
Shana
“I can’t believe they’re taking this to the final buzzer,” Trevor says through my phone.
Though his sports reference isn’t lost on me, I’m too worried about what is about to happen to reply right away. Unable to sit still, I grip my phone tighter as I pace about Stephen’s and my temporary office that is no longer.
All of our things are packed and ready for our flight. According to the people with Saks who organize our travel, with the royal wedding about to occur, there is no turning back on our pre-booked flights. If we did, we wouldn’t get another flight for over a week—which doesn’t sound bad to me—and the increase in cost would be astronomical—which sounds bad to them.
Even my hotel room is packed. “I know that I’m leaving,” I say to Trevor, “but I wish I knew if I were coming back.”
“Listen, I know you’ve worked for Saks for a long time. I know you love the company, but in my opinion, the way they’ve treated you on this is shitty. They flew you over because they needed someone to save the day and you did it. You and Stephen took what they gave you and made a kick-ass fashion show. Not only did you tweak it and make it a grand production but when it was needed, you did what that woman Vicky could never do. You put yourself out there as a model.”
Despite the way my temples are pounding with this tension headache, the tips of my lips turn upward. “Are you a fashion-show connoisseur?”
“And a self-appointed model connoisseur. As luck would have it, I’ve been witness to two fashion shows in the last two weeks. The first one was definitely kick-ass with music and a stage and many stunning models. But the second one...” He lets out a long hum as if he’s reminiscing. “...it had music from the window, no stage, and the most sensational model I’ve ever seen. That one was phenomenal.”
“I’m glad you liked it. However, if fashion shows are judged on sales, the first one sold more.”
“That’s okay, my lady, the second one sold me.”
Vicky’s assistant taps on the open door. “Miss Price, they’re ready for you.”
“Trevor, I need to go.”
“I love you. You can do this.”
My mouth goes dry and my entire body freezes.
Did he just say that he loves me?
I can’t respond.
“Shana, you can do this.”
“Trevor?”
“Call me. I’ll be waiting.” And the line goes dead.
Holy shit.
Dropping those three words on me isn’t what I need seconds before walking into this meeting. As if I don’t have enough things to think about...
And then I let his words sink in and for a moment, take time to smile.
He did it. For only a split second, Trevor took my mind off this job. He reminded me that there’s more to life than what is going to happen in this meeting. I’m not sure if that was his intention; nevertheless, it worked.
As I walk toward the conference room of my destiny, I remember the call Stephen and I had with Neil Butler. Our boss in juniors made his case clear. He wants us back. He wants both of us, and he’s even worked out the numbers to put the money where his mouth is.
He’s heard the rumors about us moving to lingerie and worked to receive authorization to increase our salary to match what we would make in lingerie. The kicker is that it would be in London. We’d be going back to stay.
During the phone call, I broached the subject of Stephen returning on his own and hiring his own assistant. While Stephen still scoffs at the idea, Neil didn’t reject it.
Now it seems that the only factor separating the two positions is location.
Or is it?
In London, I’ll report to Neil, the man who went out of his way to facilitate our return. In New York, I’ll report to...
“Hello, Vicky...” I say, greeting everyone around the table as I enter the conference room.
Stephen hands me a small-stemmed glass and a tiny wine bottle as our plane reaches cruising altitude over the Atlantic Ocean. “You can’t regret trying.”
“That’s what they say,” I reply, my eyes still puffy, and my damn nose running like a faucet.
“You made the right decision.”
I turn his way. “I don’t know. You could have had juniors all to yourself. You’d be in London with Max, and if I’d taken what she offered, I’d be in New York.” The words are like the twisting of a knife in my heart. I’m not in New York and it’s my fault.
“It was a bullshit offer.”
I finish pouring the contents of the small bottle into my glass and nod. “It was worse than a bullshit offer. Move to the children’s department with the title I had before I left for London, including a twenty-percent decrease in salary and loss of my PTO—paid time off.” I turn his way, my voice growing louder. “What kind of bullshit offer is that?”
Stephen’s arm comes up and around my shoulder. “It’s a suck-balls bullshit offer. It’s worse than that. It’s a sucking-hairy-balls bullshit offer.”
“She couldn’t deny the numbers,” I say. “She wanted to, but there they were in black and white. In the room full of people, she couldn’t kick me out after all we accomplished. So, instead, she came up with the shitty, hairy-balls offer.”
“And you told her what to do with it.”
“For a moment,” I admit, “I was so flabbergasted; I couldn’t comprehend what she had said. It didn’t make sense. I started in juniors. Juniors is ahead of children’s on the hierarchy of departments. She wanted to demote me to children and decrease my pay.”
“Because you scare her. She sees your passion and talent. She’s intimidated.”
I set my glass within the indented circle on my small tray and let my face fall forward. “For a second, I almost took it.”