Chapter Two
Chapter Two
J
onathan kept his eye on the clock. After their hour-long discussion that morning about their ravenous weekends, Debra informed him that she had cleared his schedule. And when he asked why she informed him that he would pitch his first shoe design at two o’clock that afternoon. Jonathan had been floored. He didn’t have any up-to-date shoe designs. Well, none that he would bring to the pitching table of Dabria itself. He had some things he doodled around with. Things that kept his creative mind occupied during the weeknights when his man of choice wasn’t available.
He used every single minute he had refining a couple of his designs.
It was no secret that Jonathan was a fabulous designer. It was the main reason he headed up the approval board for Debra’s own designs. It was also why she constantly asked for his feedback and why she trusted him to contact the warehouses if there was ever an issue. But now that she gave him a chance to pitch his own design, nothing was quite right. Everything was a little out of place. A little too much or not enough.
He crumpled up paper after paper in an attempt at perfection.
Debra giggled from the doorway. “Now you know how I feel.”
Jonathan whipped his head up. “You really can’t scare me like that.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Scare you? With these heels, you can always hear me coming.”
“And while they look fabulous on those legs of yours, when I’m in creative mode, everything else shuts down.”
“And again, now you know how I feel whenever you creep up on me like that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he bellyached.
Debra walked into his office. “You know you’re good at what you do. I’ve trusted you at the helm of my designs and my warehouses for years. You’ll do great. What happened with that floral design I saw you tinkering with last week?”
Jonathan sighed. “Floral is definitely out right now.”
“Floral is never out if you do it right.”
“Spring designs don’t make a profit in winter months.”
Debra giggled. “Spoken like a true businessman.”
He whipped his gaze up. “I learned from the best.”
“I don’t know if you just called me a man or a very keen business individual.”
“Why not both? From your description of your weekend, it sounds like you took those reins anyway.”
She grinned. “It sounds like you did too.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Don’t let the bright suits and the short frame fool you. I’m always in command, honey.”
Debra smiled. “Stop stressing out about this so much. Your designs are flawless. You’ll do fabulously.”
Jonathan nodded. “Thank you for the encouragement, but I only have two more hours to get these designs done before I choose which one I’ll pitch. So, if you don’t mind…”
“I can take a hint. You want me to sit down and keep bugging you more.”
He laughed. “With the most respect possible, Debra, get the hell out of my office.”
Jonathan raised his eyes and Debra winked at him before she left. He shook his head as he watched the Queen of Sole retreat from his space. She really was a knockout. John was a very lucky man. If there were any woman he considered even dipping his toe into, it was Debra. With her fiery red hair that sprung outward into curls and her dresses that clung to her body, it was no wonder John hated taking her out on the weekends.
That woman would turn the head of every man in a room until she was seventy and walking with a cane.
Jonathan drew in a deep breath and got back to work. The minutes ticked by faster than they needed to, and his tension grew. He broke more pencils than not and spent the bulk of his time sharpening them or erasing the lines they left behind. He tried to make it work even though the voices in the back of his head got the best of him.
And when he looked up and saw it was ten minutes to two, he pushed from his seat.
“Here goes nothing.”
He gathered the designs he had chosen and looked at them as he walked into the conference room. Today, he would pitch his design not only to Debra and the board but to the design team as well. Twenty-two people in all and the thought made his stomach roll over on itself.
But when he wound up his pitch, he found it easier than he figured it would be.
“For years, Dabria has taken a bold and brash approach to footwear. Dabria takes comfort and style, merging the two into a harmonious union that has captivated the world. But with our bright colors and our bold designs comes a tapering off during the winter months. Sure, we make plenty of presales for spring and summer, but we’ve never been able to master the art of winter design. I’d like to change that.”
Jonathan pulled up the PowerPoint he had prepared before sliding out his original sketches. The shoe was simple. A gray suede ankle boot with a closed toe, the trademark stiletto heel that could be one of the interchanging designs, the silver bottom Dabria was so well known for, and a bunch of golden buckles on the side. Everyone passed the original sketches around while Jonathan flipped through the PowerPoint.
He drew in a deep breath. “The design is simple. Elegant. But muted for those winter months. It doesn’t detract from the red and green that people wear during Christmas nor does it detract from the sparkles and the firelight on New Year’s. The closed-toe design is timeless, the stiletto heel can come in all the heights we offer, and the sole of the shoe can be fitted with our interchangeable heel designs. The buckles can always be customized. They can be silver or black. A fiery red or even a nice pale yellow for those moments when winter is ushering in spring. The suede can come pre-coated in our suede protector, so it’s even more of an incentive to purchase the shoe during the cold winter months when the snow won’t stop falling. And the price point of this shoe hits right in the sweet spot of our highest-selling shoes. One hundred forty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents.”
Jonathan looked down the table and found Debra all smiles. When he looked around at the others, he saw everyone else was as well. The shoe was edgy and trendy but perfect for the winter months. And with a unanimous vote, the design was approved.
He would have his name alongside Debra’s on his first-ever shoe design.
She popped open a bottle of champagne in her office. “That was one of the best pitches I’ve ever heard.”
Jonathan snickered. “You don’t have to blow it out of proportion.”
Debra poured them each a glass. “If anything, I’m being modest. You were entrancing. I usually fall asleep in those pitch meetings.”
“You’re usually the one giving them.”
“Exactly. Jonathan, I don’t know what the hell you were worried about. Your shoe design is perfect. And you’re right. I’m shit with the muted colors. I prefer spring and summer. Those are my sweet spots. But you? With those colors and that edgy design? Fall and winter were made for you.”
Jonathan smiled. “I keep telling people not to let the bright colors of my suits fool them.”
Debra raised her champagne glass. “To many more lines of Revvy and Dabria.”
“Oh, you want to use my last name?”
“It stands out. You know it does.”
He rolled his eyes. “Dabria and Revvy sounds a little better. We’ll work on it from a marketing standpoint.”
She smiled. “You’ll run this place one day. You know that, right?”
“You know damn good and well you’d never give this place up. You’ll die right there in that leather office chair of yours.”
“With John under the desk in his rightful place.”
Jonathan threw his head back and laughed. The two of them clinked glasses and downed the first flutes of champagne. Debra quickly filled their glasses and they did it again, a tradition they had started years ago when she was still working her way up to the top. Two glasses back, one to sip on. It was how Debra and Charity took their shots back in the old days, and it was how they drank their expensive champagne now that they were at the top of their games.
Debra sipped her third glass. “Can I ask you something?”
He narrowed his eyes. “It’s never good when you preface something like that.”
She sighed. “You asked Dustin out officially, what? Three weeks ago? Four?”
“Six actually.”
“Six weeks? Have you ever been with anyone that long?”
Jonathan chuckled. “Well, now you make me sound like a man-whore.”
Debra shook her head. “Not that I’m judging, I just—never mind. So, you like him?”
“Uh-oh.”
“I haven’t said anything.”
Jonathan sipped his drink. “You don’t like Dustin.”
She shrugged. “I think he’s a bit manipulative, is all. Not to mention messy. I mean, really messy.”
“You had drinks with him once.”
“And the mess he left behind with his food told me everything I needed to know.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Yes, he’s messy. But everyone has their quirks.”
Debra shook her head. “He manipulated
you
into ordering something
he
wanted you to order so he could pick off your plate.”
“And I got to pick off his. What’s the big deal?”
“Just be careful, okay? Those are some red flags.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Wanting to order for me and making a mess on his plate are red flags?”
Debra finished her drink. “He didn't order for you. He manipulated you into changing your mind. That’s the red flag. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’m a big boy, but I do appreciate you looking out for me.”
“Have the two of you had any fights lately?”
Jonathan paused. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Debra snickered. “Uh-huh. What have you been fighting about?”
He sighed. “It was nothing. Dustin got a little upset last week because I went out for drinks with some coworkers. We had a small fight, then we spent the weekend making up.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the fight?”
“It wasn’t a big fight.”
“We talk about all of that kind of stuff. Why did you keep it from me?”
He finished his drink. “You’re reading way too much into this.”
Debra took his glass. “Maybe I am, but maybe I’m not. Take care of yourself, okay? You’re, like, my work boyfriend.”
“Don’t let Dustin hear you say that.”
She set the glasses down. “What was that?”
Jonathan shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I love you. You are, first and foremost, one of my dearest friends. Something about Dustin gives me a bad vibe. There are red flags, even if you don’t want to see them. Please, tread lightly, okay?”
“I love you, too, Debra.”
She smiled. “Good. Now, let’s head over to the design room. They should have their first round of critiques up, which you can completely feel free to smash directly into the ground.”
He chuckled. “You know the design team always has good critiques. And they’re always in the best interest of the company.”
Debra snickered. “Yeah, well. You just wait. You’re on the receiving end of this now. And something tells me you aren’t always used to that.”
Jonathan threw his head back and laughed. “You’re insane, you know that?”
“I just know you all too well. Now, come on. You’re about to find out why I sling back champagne on an empty stomach before these critique-based meetings.”