Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“When I ended up at Caddell House with her...” I whistled. “She was pissed. Lyla shouted at me when I walked in the first day, demanding to know what the hell I was doing there. That day kicked off a rivalry I had no fucking interest in.”
Sunny sat opposite me in the booth, eating silently. We had our privacy in the back of the cute little shop. The other two patrons flirted with each other in the opposite corner. Just me, Sunny, and pie.
“Every day, Lyla was relentless. Coming after me for my clothes, shoes, hair, designs, lunch. That bitch breathed malice. I ignored her—keeping my head in my work and out of the drama. Those were not fun days for me. The only one who made it bearable was my boss, Damien Frost.” I paused, wishing the story could end there.
“He took me under his wing. Eight interns, but it was me he’d stay late with to bounce ideas. Damien was Lyla’s opposite. In her eyes, I did everything wrong. In his, I was perfect. My designs were fresh. My style fun and unique. Damien talked me up to the other senior designers, even invited me to lunch with them. When it came time to fill the open junior designer spot, he wrote me a glowing recommendation. Looking back, I never stood a chance.”
“You fell for him.”
“Fell hard,” I stated. “Heart-shaped eyes, doodling-Mrs. Frost-in-my-journal hard. How could I not? He was sweet, supportive, handsome, older, and mature. Twenty-two and naive against his thirty-five and experienced. We started sleeping together three weeks after I was promoted.”
“What changed?” he asked.
“Talia Barker.”
“Caddell’s creative director.” Of course Sunny knew who she was. The woman supplied his wardrobe.
I nodded all the same. “Talia fit the ballbusting, take-no-shit, doesn’t-care-if-she-makes-you-cry stereotype, but if you impressed her, she gave credit where credit was due. Have you ever heard of the Phenomenal Five?”
“No. What is it?”
“The top five Cinco fashion houses choose five of their best designers to compete in the competition. It's open to everyone from the senior designers to the interns. Once the twenty-five are chosen, the creative directors vote for the top ten. The top six through ten get a spread in Cinco Couture magazine as up-and-comers.
“The Phenomenal Five have their designs featured on the cover and get a runway show during Cinco Fashion Week. Everyone wanted to be one of the five, Sunny, and Lyla was going to be. So when Talia sought me out specifically and said in front of everyone that she expected to see my submission by the end of the week, Lyla and her harpy crew wanted my head. It burned her up that Talia even knew I existed, let alone threw her version of public support behind me becoming one of the five.
“It was even weirder because around that time, Talia was in rare form, snapping and cutting down anyone that brought her a dress with a loose string or a button out of alignment. Her favorite, Damien, got the brunt of it. Supporting me and not him was just another slap in his face. But she truly loved my work, said I’d go further than Caddell House one day. Me, Lyla, and three of her crew passed the first round.”
“What happened then?”
“What happened then,” I whispered, cutting pieces of my pie that didn’t make it to my lips. “What happened is I threw up for five straight mornings in a row. I was tired, achy, and my period was late. I told Damien I was pregnant, stupidly believing he’d think it was good news.”
“Where does that shit live?” Sunny growled. “You haven’t finished, and I already know I’m going to find him when this is over.”
I laid my hands on his. “Damien is basically unreachable these days. You see, the reason Talia was furious with him and taking it out on everyone was because she suspected him of cheating.”
“Cheating? They were together?”
“Yep,” I drew out. “They kept the relationship a secret. Talia didn’t want her sex life a topic of discussion at work, and Damien... well, it was easier to trick foolish little designers into bed when they didn’t know you were engaged.”
“Engaged? The fucking shit-sucking, micro-dick cunt. Should’ve been a jizz stain on his mommy’s mattress.”
His tirade tugged the corner of my lips. “Pretty sure I said the same thing when he told me about him and Talia, followed by denying Laurel was his. He’d have nothing to do with my kid, and if I opened my mouth, he’d have me fired. Damien had a lot to lose. If Talia found out that not only were the rumors true, but he also knocked up a junior designer, he’d lose everything. She was one of the biggest names in Cinco fashion with an even bigger eight-figure trust fund. While Damien was a thirty-five-year-old marketing undergrad from Ohio who made sixty thousand a year. With millions on the line, he decided he wouldn’t leave it to chance, and teamed up with Lyla to destroy me.”