If The Shoe Fits (11 page)

She’d already had too many duties at the
store. With taking over the top spot, she’d be stretched to the
limit and then some.

“And remain art director?”

“Yes.”

If he put a time limit on this maybe-just
maybe-it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for her. Fat chance. But
could he completely snatch her dream away from her? This would
surely be her one and only chance to fulfill that desire. Who was
he to rob her of that, too?

“Agreed.” He held up his hand as she and
Dolly clapped their hands. “But you have four weeks to do it
in.”

“Eight,” she bargained.

“Five.”

“Six and we have a deal.”

He chuckled. Holding out his hand, he said,
“Deal.”

She disentangled herself from her friend and
placed her hand in his. Small, soft, yet firm and strong. His wife
was a mixture of contradictions. And he loved that about her.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “Kiss?”

Before he knew what was happening, she
brushed her lips against his. She giggled as she raced up the
stairs with Dolly behind her. Charlie called out, “But you’ve still
got to court me. Six weeks should do.”

With neat piles of paper stacked carefully on
her desk, Charlie snatched up the ringing phone. “Did you get
him?”

Her assistant’s chirpy voice sang back, “I’m
the girl wonder, whatcha think? He’s on line one.”

“Thanks, Peg, ol’ great one.” She smiled as
she punched the one on her phone. “Rico, I can’t thank you enough
for returning my call.”

“Sweetie, anything for you.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I have
an offer for you.”

“Ohhhhhh! Who is he and what does he look
like?”

“Quit! It’s not a date.” She heard him mutter
in her ear. “Sorry, friend, I’m no matchmaker. But I can get you
one of the hottest jobs in town.”

“Really?” His voice piqued with interest. “Do
tell.”

“With me.”

“You? Oh, honey, are you finally kicking that
place to the curb and starting your own design biz?”

She laughed then. “Not quite. I am taking
over, though.”

“No way!”

“Way!”

“Details, details!”

Well, she couldn’t tell all, but she did fill
him in about her new position. She ended with, “And there are going
to be lots of changes over the next few weeks. Remember when we
talked about you and your team taking over the salon here at King’s
for a week, performing makeovers on our customers?”

“That was ages ago and the barracuda turned
us down flat.”

“She doesn’t have a say-so now. I do.”

He whistled softly. “Oh, I love make overs.
Publicity? Before and after shots? Clothes, makeup, hair, undies,
everything?”

“The works.”

“Count me in, honey.”

After hanging up on the third similar call,
Charlie eased back in her chair. “Yes, yes, yes!” Things were
working out just fine.

She’d arranged for one of her friends at an
advertising firm to assist in the marketing. And, to top it all
off, she’d gotten the best-known print ad photographer to not only
take the before and after pictures for the makeovers, but to snap
shots for a special advertising campaign she dubbed Operation
Charmings. Starring her, of all people.

She mulled over her predicaments. Two, she
knew of. First, Dexter. Would he be so willing to help her? She’d
hurt him. Not on purpose, but nonetheless she had. She sighed
heavily. Not once had she led him on. His brilliance and ideas had
sparked a kinship.

But romance? No. Well, not on her part.
Obviously, it had on his.

Brushing that dilemma aside for now, she
focused on the next one. Alex. His actions stunned her. Making a
deal with the barracuda. Buying the store to marry her. Now he
wanted to destroy the one thing that she’d dreamt of for so long.
How could he?

She quickly reminded herself it wasn’t her
personally he wanted to harm. No, if she believed him, he’d gone to
great measures just to get her stepmother’s approval to marry her.
At first it seemed difficult to grasp.

But he’d pled his case and made it plausible.
He’d have never done it for her stepsisters. No, he’d have walked
away and not had a second thought or a lingering doubt.

But for her, he’d bargained.

“With a master, at that,” she muttered,
thinking of how shrewd and calculating her stepmother could be most
of the time.

“Why me?” she wondered aloud.

“Why not, honey?” Dolly asked as she stood
with her hands on her hips and filling the doorframe.

Surprised, Charlie sat upright. “Dolly? When
did you get here?”

“Just in time, by the looks of it.” The older
woman waved a hand at her. “Come on, the unveiling is about to take
place.”

She glanced at the clock on her phone, and
then jumped up. “Already?”

Not quite nine in the morning, Charlie and
Dolly rushed to the display windows. A crowd of employees gathered
at the entrance, waiting for the curtains to drop and the secretive
display windows to be revealed.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the piece d’
resistance,” Dolly said, huffing the last few yards.

“More surprises?”

“Yep. I called Edward to fill him in. He’s
bringing Mr. R.”

Charlie stopped in her tracks. “What?!” It
was one thing to create this story of the Charmings, but quite
another to have to come face to face with one of the “characters”
who didn’t even know he was in the darn story to begin with.

“Righto! He’s out there now. We’ll watch from
outside, too. And with the press. They came just like you said they
would after you made the calls. Peg’s gonna pull the drape for each
one.”

“But.” Charlie’s nerves bubbled in her
middle. “The shoes.” She pointed past Dolly. “I’ve got to—”

“Done.”

“Done. How?”

“I did it just like you asked me to this
morning, don’t you remember?”

The air rushed out of her. That was nearly
three hours and lots of work ago. “Oh.” She struggled for another
thought. “You know Peg can’t do both drapes. It would be too much
for her to rush from one to the next. I’ll do it myself.” What
better way to face her husband’s reaction than by having a thick
pane of glass between them?

Before Dolly could stop her, Charlie made her
way around several employees as they offered well wishes. She
absently greeted them with a smile pasted on her face. The air
buzzed with excitement. Word had traveled fast. The barracuda was
out and Charlie was in charge, making sweeping changes for the
better.

“Honey!”

For once in her life, Charlie ignored Dolly’s
call. Time seemed to stop as she slowly made her way up the short
number of stairs. Peg, six foot and model thin, fidgeted with the
gold-tasseled cord.

“I’ll take this one,” Charlie said.

She frowned. “Holy Saint Nick, are you
sure?”

One of the few people to know about the
secret romance and attended the private wedding, Peg sensed there
could be consequences. She’d said as much earlier when Charlie
filled her in on her plans.

“You know he’s here.”

Charlie swallowed hard. “I heard.”

“It could get sticky.”

“Why do you think I’d rather be here than
there?”

Peg chuckled. “I would, too.” She winced.
“Sorry, boss, but for a guy who’s had his whole life on display, no
pun intended, he might not be too happy that it’s about to get a
whole heck of a lot more personal. And that it’s all at the hands
of his—” She stopped herself. “You know.”

Wife
. “Yes, I do know.”

“I’m right here, honey,” Dolly said, touching
her back in comfort.

“Just like always.” Charlie sent up a prayer
of thanks for her friend.

A short time later, she breathed deeply once,
twice, and then a third time as she tugged on the drape cord. It
opened smoothly. Charlie blinked several times at the popping light
bulbs. Even from inside the building, she heard the oohs and
ahhs.

Standing off to the side, she watched as
several people pointed to the scene before them. A couple, in the
trendiest clothes the store offered, dined on what appeared to be
the deck of a yacht. The scrumptious fare sat upon the best King’s
Department Store housewares. The finest linens adorned the
beautiful wood dining table.

The dark-haired, broad-shouldered male leaned
close to the dark-haired laughing female. Above them read
The
Charmings
. But below the title, it had starring
A King and A
Royale. A match?

Fresh, breezy, hip, young and intriguing rang
out. A blossoming romance.

The crowd outside seemed to part slightly.
Alex shouldered his way through. As he faced the display, he
stilled. She couldn’t read his expression.

Trepidation filled her. How would he
react?

As the photographers quickly grasped the
situation, they began taking picture after picture of Alex as he
took in every detail. Finally, Alex looked at her in the
shadows.

With bated breath and her heart pounding, she
walked out of the depths and into the light. Even from where she
stood, buffeted by the pane of glass, she caught the gasps of the
onlookers.

“Mr. Royale, do you care to comment?”

Another person piped up, “Are you and Ms.
King dating, sir?”

Question after question was fired at him. He
didn’t say a word. He stared at her, long and lingering. A smile
tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Her heart stilled.

He bowed his head slightly. She took it as a
nod of approval.

“What’s going on?” Dolly whispered
loudly.

“He’s not mad,” she threw over her
shoulder.

When she looked back, he’d disappeared. The
photographers trailed him, still peppering him with questions.

“The second window.” Charlie rushed back to
the steps. “Come on, he’s on the move.”

“Huh?” Dolly’s question sailed past her as
she rushed through the throngs of employees, their claps echoing
and bouncing off the marble surrounding them.

“Thank you,” Charlie said, pressing her way
to the other side of the aisle way and to the second display
window.

She met Peg at the landing. “They love it,”
her assistant gushed.

Charlie rushed on and gained the stairs. She
searched the crowd outside the window. She didn’t spot Alex.
Growing concerned, she stepped closer. More people seemed to have
gathered and were now openly chuckling at the smartly dressed
couple on King’s best quality, hand-crafted furniture. The male
fanned out the bogus deck of cards. The female plucked the middle
one. All aces. All hearts.

She strained to see over the snapping
photographers and to the edge of the crowd. He was nowhere in
sight.

“If you’re looking for me, I’m right here.”
His softly spoken words came from just behind her.

Slowly, she turned. She heard the gasps from
the growing cluster of people. It seemed as if they then held their
collective breaths.

“Alex.” His name came out in a hurry. The
rush of blood pounded in her ears.

He drew closer. “Is that all you’re going to
say?”

His expression remained neutral. Beyond him,
she heard her staff’s whispers of speculation.

“Do you like it?” she asked, too anxious to
wait another moment.

He laughed, breaking the trance of the
spellbound crowd gathered outside. The flashes went off as he
cupped her face in his hands. “Brilliant,” he murmured, “absolutely
brilliant.”

Relief washed over her. Giddiness seemed to
follow. “Are you talking about you or me?”

“Both of us, my love, both of us.”

“Dexter’s coming,” Dolly hissed as Charlie,
followed by Alex, descended the display window stairs.

Panic gnawed at her middle. “Dex?!” Her voice
rose an octave.

Her staff applauded again, yet somehow the
celebration seemed a little less happy with the prospect of what
she would soon encounter.

Suddenly, the crowd seemed to grow quiet as
they slowly parted.

With all the nerve she could muster, Charlie
began to walk. Nearly ten more feet and she halted at the
sight.

Fair-haired and with thick, dark-framed
glasses, Dexter glared at her. His set jaw and clenched lips spoke
volumes. Even in his white, lab coat he couldn’t mask the
disheveled air about him. The shaggy hair, the slight stubble, and
wrinkled jacket all bore the fact that Dexter Snodgrass never gave
a hoot about appearances.

Charlie cringed. That could definitely be a
problem. She sensed he’d block out their audience and would launch
into a heated discussion right then and there.

The strong presence at her back and steadying
hand on her arm had Charlie releasing her pent-up breath.

***

Alex took in the man standing before his
wife. A twinge of compassion hit him. It could easily have been him
in that position, jilted. “Dexter, I take it?”

The man nearly gaped at him. “You!” He turned
back to Charlie. “It’s true, then? How could you?”

Within seconds, Alex realized this would
become a spectacle and, most likely, make the papers. Highly aware
of the photographers racing into the building and flashbulbs going
off all around him, he steered Charlie away. Next, he said,
“Snodgrass, follow us.”

Thankfully, the other man didn’t question him
and soon was close on his heels. At the bank of executive
elevators, one of the doors opened instantly. “Thank you,” Alex
muttered to no one in particular.

Once Charlie, Dexter, and he were in the
confining space, Alex pressed the button to close the door,
blocking them from the curious onlookers.

Silence reined. Tension grew.

Alex looked from the seething man to his
chagrined wife. Neither spoke. Neither seemed capable of
beginning.