The Night Before Christmas. Tawny Weber

Hailey didn’t figure reveling in the turned tables would endear her to Rudy, though. She kept her lips still.

      “She’s in tentative agreement, with the caveat that she gets to be the final judge on the various lines for the spring show. She and Rudy are nailing down those details.”

      “So how is this any different than it was Saturday night when he announced that it was a competition?” she wondered.

      “Well, before we were pretty sure he was going to go with Merry Widow since he had this whole soft spring theme in mind. But Rudy apparently left the party Saturday with Vivo, the shoe designer.”

      So? Hailey arched both brows. She wasn’t competing for the shoe contract.

      “Vivo is edgy, modern and quirky. Think eight-inch platforms shaped like dinosaurs.”

      Eww, tacky. Halfway through her cringe, it hit her why Jared was so upset.

      “Rudy’s going to want the line to be a cohesive message....” Her words trailed off as it hit her.

      Romantic sensuality didn’t go with eight-inch platform dinosaurs. But snakeskin and black leather did.

      And Rudy had a favor-wielding relationship with a designer who thought dinosaurs belonged on women’s feet?

      Anger ran, tense and jittery, along Hailey’s spine. Fists clenched at her sides, she ground her teeth to keep from shouting that enough was enough. They kept changing the rules, shifting the playing field. Dammit, she deserved more respect than that. She’d worked hard for this deal, and until that stupid party, all indications were that she’d be awarded the contract.

      She didn’t say a word, though.

      Yelling never helped anything. If she jumped all over Jared, it’d just make things uncomfortable, and might lose her whatever slim chance she had left.

      Big picture, she reminded herself, taking deep breaths to try to push out the irritation. It was all about saving her company.

      “I just found out a few minutes ago, or I’d have called to warn you. Cherry and Rudy are meeting with all of the designers together, listening to their pitches.” Jared’s words came at such a rush, they were spilling over themselves. Maybe because they’d reached the wide double doors of the meeting room.

      “They’re making the decision now?” she asked. Her fingers clutched her sassy messenger bag filled with marketing ideas and clever pitches aimed at the media. She’d come prepared to pitch the beauty of romantic lingerie that made women feel sexy. If she’d had more time, could she have found a way to work ugly shoes into her presentation? To show that even with the hideous footwear, a woman could still feel attractive?

      His hand on the door, Jared closed his eyes for a second, as if he was fighting some inner battle. Then he leaned close and gave Hailey an intense look.

      “Focus on Cherry. She’s the key. Rudy will ignore his preferences in favor of whatever she likes, so chat her up. Make friends. She’s on edge about something. Don’t know if that’s her typical personality or if she’s having issues. But she seems to be responding better to soft sells than hard pushes.”

      Before Hailey could process all of that, before she could do more than give Jared a grateful smile since she knew he was risking his job by showing preferential treatment, he’d pushed the door open and gestured her inside.

      She wanted to grab his hand and drag him in with her.

      But she didn’t.

      Instead, she took a deep breath of her own, lifted her chin, pulled back her shoulders and plastered on her best soft-sell smile.

      Then, with as much enthusiasm as if there were a bed of hissing vipers on the other side, she swept over the threshold.

      And almost tripped over her gorgeous boots.

      “Hi,” she breathed, the word taking all the air from her lungs.

      * * *

      GAGE SHIFTED HIS glare from the window to the door, ready to get this damned meeting over with.

      And, for one of the few times in his life, found himself speechless. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, then found his voice.

      “Hailey?”

      Damn, she was pretty.

      Her hair, still a froth of blond curls, was tamer than it’d been at the party. Sleeker, as if she’d bribed the curls into behaving by tying them in a knot at the base of her neck. Her big, round eyes were subtly made up, her lips pale and glistening. She was definitely looking more nice than naughty today.

      But even without a candy-cane-striped bustier and thigh-grazing ballerina skirt, her sweet curves were mouthwatering. Instead of skimpy holiday wear, today she was decked out in a simple black skirt a few inches short of her knees and another pair of sexy boots. Her scarf and turtleneck screamed class, while her leopard-print tights assured him she was all sass.

      He’d never been a foot-fetish kind of guy, but he was starting to seriously wonder what other styles of footwear she had in her closet. And how she’d look riding his body wearing just a pair of boots in thigh-hugging black leather.

      “Gage?” Frowning, she chewed on the full pillow of her bottom lip, making him want to offer to take over the task. Then, as if she’d realized something, her eyes cleared and she offered a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

      “I’m surprised you recognized me without the green fur,” he said with a teasing smile, walking across the room. He met her wide-eyed look with a wink.

      He swept his gaze down her body again, noting the edgy boots and knee socks paired with tights and black leather.

      She was a study in contrasts.

      “Your suit is a definite step up from that costume,” she agreed. “I’m glad to see you finally got the zipper unstuck.”

      She gave him a once-over just as hot as the one he’d given her. Her gaze slowed when passing over his faulty-zipper zone, making him wonder if he’d be having issues with these slacks. The speed at which she inspired an erection was hell on his clothes.

      “I didn’t. I had to cut the costume off.”

      “Oh.” Her eyes danced with amusement, but she pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing aloud.

      She was so damned cute.

      He wanted to lift her off her feet and pull that curvy body against his, to see if it fit as good as he’d spent the weekend imagining. Not for the first time, he cursed his brother, the bet and that damned Grinch costume. If it weren’t for Saturday night’s thick layer of green fur—and a faulty zipper—he’d already know what she felt like.

      But this was a formal meeting.

      In someone else’s office.

      Getting hot and heavy with a business associate was definitely on the stupid list. Especially since Rudolph was likely to walk in at any moment. If he caught Gage and Hailey making out, he’d probably grab a video recorder and put it up on the company’s YouTube channel.

      So reluctantly, Gage offered his hand instead. The delicate softness of her palm and her quick intake of breath reminded him that she was about as close to an innocent as he’d been since his teens.

      Maybe this was a bad idea.

      “I didn’t realize you were going to be a part of the meeting,” she said breathlessly, her hand still nestled in his.

      Gage frowned.

      Why wouldn’t he be here? This meeting was supposed to be him, Rudy, that singer chick and the competing designer. He’d figured he’d play to Rudy’s good-old-boy persona while pitching circles around the designer. Milano’s leather designs already appealed to Rudy’s misogynistic perverted side. All Gage had to do was play that up,