We chat with Celeste for a few minutes, then she goes back to her office and Dane lets me drive the sports car he rented so I can get back to Eddie's house faster than the train can get me there. Eddie doesn't mind if I take a very long lunch once a week so I can hang out with Dane more. I make up the lost time by doing website maintenance for him on Saturday, from home. Eddie is one of the nicest people I've ever met, but Dane is my favorite person on earth.
Every weekend, we do something fun---like going to the zoo, which was Arden's suggestion, or visiting Chance and Elena in New Hampshire. Dane likes to sleep over at my apartment several times a week, and I think it's because he's used to a homey place instead of a luxury hotel suite. He grew up in a small town, after all. I'm from Chicago, but even I find that suite kind of off-putting. I mean, it's gorgeous and amazing, but it's not a home.
Our trip to the Armani store results in Dane buying three new suits and a tux. I buy a few dresses too. We both wince at the price tags---discreetly, so we won't offend the store employees---but Celeste insisted we should both have designer threads. She's paying for all of it, so we can't say no.
I have to admit Dane looks extra super yummy in an Armani suit. Am I drooling when I ogle him in that suit? Maybe. Who cares? My boyfriend is hot, hot, hot.
We survive the fashion show. I enjoy it, but Dane tolerates it. We get our picture taken by various members of the press, and the next day, we see ourselves in those ultra-chic clothes in various newspapers and magazines, plus some websites. More events follow, including a charity fundraising ball and a photo op at a store that's going to sell Dane's devices. It's a dizzying whirlwind of appearances that leaves us both exhausted.
One night, in Dane's opulent hotel suite, we reach another milestone. We've just made love, and the afterglow is pure bliss.
He turns onto his side and pulls me snug against him, our noses bumping. "I love you, Rika."
"I love you too, Dane."
A glow inside me suffuses my entire body. It's the glow of happiness, a kind I've never experienced before. I get the feeling he experiences the same thing, since his eyes have gone soft and warm, and he kisses me with a sweetness that triggers a dull but pleasant ache in my chest. Then he makes love to me again, infusing the act with all the emotions neither of us can fully express in words. I love this man, and he loves me. My crush has matured into the best thing that's ever happened to me.
The next morning, it's time for the hammer to drop.
It's re-launch day.
Chapter Sixteen
Dane
I stand on a temporary stage set up in the cavernous lobby at the global headquarters of Bonsoir Beauty Incorporated with a microphone on a stand positioned in front of me. Well, not me specifically. Not yet, anyway. Celeste will make her speech, then I will be required to speak. To a large audience. Full of reporters. With flash bulbs firing off like machine guns.
Bloody hell, it's hot in here. I'm starting to sweat, but when I glance around, no one else seems disturbed by the sweltering heat. Maybe it's just me. I don't want to do this.
Celeste begins her introduction, smiling and sounding as confident as ever. She gives a brief overview of Bonsoir and its subsidiaries, then she starts to talk about my corner of the Bonsoir domain. Any minute now she'll introduce me.
I resist the impulse to scratch under my shirt collar. Why do I feel like tiny insects are crawling all over my skin?
When I scan the crowd, I don't see anyone I recognize, so I turn to look at the people standing in the wings, behind a curtain. Reese is there. He gives me the thumbs-up sign and grins. Rika stands beside him. When she notices I'm looking at her, she smiles and mouths, "I love you."
I stand up straighter, lifting my chin. She loves me, and I won't let her down by stammering like an idiot in front of the international press.
"And now," Celeste says, spreading an arm toward me in a grand gesture, "may I introduce the genius behind our new line of sexual wellness devices---the gorgeous, charming, and talented Dane Dixon."
Christ, why did she have to give me an overblown introduction?
I glance at Rika again. This time she mouths, "You can do it."
So I do it. I walk up to the microphone and start my speech. Reese wrote it for me, but thankfully, he didn't include any racy jokes. What he wrote for me sounds like me, not like my little brother. I shouldn't be surprised. I've always known that Reese is cleverer than he used to let on and that he has a way with words. It's why he was successful as an advertising copywriter and why Celeste made him her vice president of advertising.
And I'm even more thankful that he kept the speech short.
"Thank you for coming today," I say, surprising myself with how composed I sound. "I'm proud to present our new line of sexual wellness devices for women---Bonsoir Delights, designed by me and manufactured by our extraordinary teams in the US, UK, Canada, the European Union, and a dozen other locations around the world. Soon, we'll be selling these devices everywhere from Boston to Beijing, and from Norway to New Zealand." I pause for a second, but not because I'm nervous. Not anymore. I'm following Reese's instructions in the script he gave me, which tell me to pause for dramatic effect. "Now, let me walk you through the products we have."
The rest of my speech goes by in a blur. I say all the words I'm meant to say, I hold up each device while I discuss it, and I don't stammer or choke on my own tongue. Not once. Not even when I have to say the name of the most embarrassingly titled device---the Jackrabbit. No, I am not going to explain why it's called that, not to this audience or to any of my friends or family, mostly because I have no idea. Reese came up with the name. He says his wife, Arden, gave him the idea. I don't want to know how or why she did that.
It's one of the two new devices I created. The second one won't be unveiled quite yet. I'm planning a private reveal for one person, the woman who inspired it. When I told Celeste I wanted to delay the announcement, she didn't complain. She said, "Yes, Dane darling, whatever my favorite employee wants."
"Shouldn't Reese be your favorite employee?" I'd asked. "He is your grandson-in-law."
"And I adore Reese, but I adore you even more." She patted my cheek. "Let's not tell Reese that. It's our little secret."
I've wrapped up my speech, so I walk behind the curtain. Celeste assured me I wouldn't need to answer questions from the press. She'll handle that. I hear her voice, projected by the speakers, as I pull Rika into my arms and hold her tight.
"So fucking glad that's over," I groan.
Reese chuckles. "You really aren't built for the public life, are you?"
"No, I'm not." I pull back enough to see Rika's face. Her smile is bright and loving. "Can we talk alone? I want to discuss something with you."
"Sure thing."
Reese winks at me. "Yes, Dane, you drag your girlfriend into a closet or whatever and have her shag you until you can't see straight. That'll make you feel much better."