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Because you’ve seen me practically naked.
I bite my tongue to hold those words in place. “I’m fine.”
“She needs water.” Lenore’s voice interrupts us. “She’s been sitting in that chair for hours.”
He reaches to grab a water bottle that Lenore is pushing at him. He opens it quickly, shoving it into my hand. “Drink. Take a nice long drink.”
I grab the plastic bottle. Our fingers touch, sending heat crawling up my skin.
Taking a swallow, I watch as he pushes to his feet. He glances over his shoulder at Lenore, her husband, and Rhoda.
“Let’s give her a minute.” He motions to the conference room door before he looks back at me. “When you’re ready, we’ll be waiting for you.”
“You’ll be waiting for me?” I ask, my voice shaking.
“I’m Rocco Jones.” He glances to his right briefly to watch the others enter the conference room. “I’m one of the investors you’ll be pitching to.”
His outrageously handsome face softens with a smile before he walks away.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
***
>
This is going well. At least, I think it’s going well.
I look down at my red shoes waiting for another question. Silence fills the space.
Lenore clears her throat. “If there are no more questions for Dexie, we can move onto offers if there are any.”
Rhoda’s hand is in the air just as Glenn speaks. “Your company name is Dexie Walsh? Have you considered changing it?”
“It’s perfect.” Rocco’s declaration surprises me.
He hasn’t said a word since I walked into the conference room and dove into my pitch.
I ran through my sales numbers for the past three years, my marketing approach to date and my vision for my company’s future.
Rhoda and Glenn had a long list of questions, but Rocco sat silently studying the handbags I placed on the conference room table in front of them.
He touched two, glanced at my business plan for all of three seconds and then sat back in his chair to watch me while I spoke to Rhoda and Glenn.
The only time he broke a smile was when Lenore asked if I could make her an oversized shoulder bag in red with a gold buckle and trim.
“The name doesn’t define the product.” Glenn picks up an emerald green clutch to examine the stitching.
“It defines the brand,” Rocco counters. “Her name is as unique as she is.”
I catch his gaze and smile in gratitude.
I struggled endlessly with a name for my company before I set my business up, but there was nothing that I came up with that captured the essence of my designs as well as my name does.
“I’d like to get a word in,” Rhoda jokingly says with a laugh. “I’m ready to make you an offer.”
My heart stops for a beat as I absorb those words.
Once Rhoda introduced herself to me, I realized that I’d seen her before. Her picture graced the cover of a financial magazine less than a year ago. She’s worth tens of millions of dollars. She’s a philanthropist and has helped launch a handful of successful companies, including a shoe brand that is dominating the market today.
