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Finally, after I leave the gym, I call her. I don’t know what I’m doing until her voice sounds over the line.
“Rachel,” I said.
“Mr. Ford?” she asks.
“Blake,” I said. “Please.”
“Blake,” she says softly, and I can hear her smile. I love the way my name rolls off her tongue. “How can I help you?”
How, indeed?
“I need a new wardrobe,” I say. What the fuck?
“Your whole wardrobe?”
“Yeah, you showed me that I need something new in my life. I could do with an image makeover. Do you have time?” I keep telling myself I’m making a mistake by asking her, but I find myself willing her to say yes.
“I could take you on…” she starts.
“Good,” I say before she changes her mind. “I’d like to arrange a meeting to discuss at your earliest convenience.” I’ve stopped arguing with myself. I want to see her. As soon as possible. “Will tonight work?” I add before she can talk about next week.
“I think so,” she says. “It looks like I’m free.”
“Good. I’ll meet you at Lavande.”
“That’s a fancy restaurant.”
“I don’t do business any other way,” I say in a clipped voice.
“Okay, I’ll be there,” she says, and we set the time for either before I drive home.
What the hell am I doing? I’m letting a fortune teller mess with my head, making me consider things I haven’t thought about before. But I’m seeing Rachel tonight, and the mere thought of her makes excitement bubble in my chest.
“It’s just business,” I tell myself.
That’s safe, right? What can go wrong?
I don’t let myself answer that question.
Chapter 6
Rachel
I wait in front of Lavande, feeling out of place. This restaurant is a five-star restaurant and not the kind of place I usually spend my time. But Blake had asked me to meet him here.
I fiddle with my handbag, glancing up and down the curb to watch for him coming.
He wants to hire me to redo his entire wardrobe. That came out of the blue, but how can I turn him down? Having a name like Blake Ford as a client will only do wonders for me further down the line, even though I’m still working with Ruby Blue at the moment. I don’t want to work for Ruby Blue forever, though. I want to start my own company. I want to make a name for myself.
And this is my answer.
A pang of guilt shoots into my chest. But I firmly shut it down. I’m not using Raven and her company name, and I’m not using Blake Ford. This is business, all above board, and everyone has to start somewhere.
Besides, I’m eager to see him again.
That part, I push away, too. I think about Emma, the woman on his arm. But what Madame Dorota said about us completing each other and being together… I can’t seem to shake it.
But I’ll have to. Blake calling me out of the blue to hire me for a bigger job than what I already did for him isn’t some kind of mystical happening. The only thing it’s a sign of is that I did a good job, and because of it, I’ve earned another, bigger job.
