Page 154 of The Sweetest Return

“The stylist?”

“Yes. She has clients who understand red carpets, galas, openings, and the kind of dinner where a woman wants her wrist to speak before she does.”

Nina typed.

“And no mass influencer dinner yet.”

“Cleo will fuss.”

“Cleo enjoys fussing.”

Her mouth twitched.

“Visibility matters. She isn’t wrong. But if we move too fast, people see a beautiful bracelet and miss the house behind it.”

“That part,” Nina murmured.

I smiled. “You can say that out loud in here.”

Her shoulders loosened.

That was another thing I was learning. I did not need to sand every edge off my language before letting it enter the room. The women here understood the difference between refinement and being watered down.

“Harper Ellis gets a personal note from me. Mention AWU. No template.”

“Got it.”

“And Dr. Pendleton stays on the relationship list, but we aren’t leading bridal with this collection.”

“Even though she asked about engagement pieces?”

“Especially because she asked.” I turned my wrist beneath the light. “These diamonds aren’t being introduced as something a woman gets after somebody finally decides she’s worth a ring.”

Nina smiled. “Self-purchase first?”

“Self-possession first.”

“Then the purchase.”

I pointed at her. “That’s why I keep you.”

She laughed.

Work made sense when it sounded like this. Desire. Positioning. Memory. The emotional reason a woman reached for her card before talking herself out of wanting too much.

Unfortunately, wanting too much had become an area where I had developed fresh expertise.

My phone lit.

Dre.

Again.

Nina’s eyes flicked toward mine and immediately away.

Good girl.

“I’ll send you the Harper draft in twenty.”