Enticing Winter

“That’s why I will be intermixing that staff with the new staff I hire for this location. I want Inferno Lounge to be the best in the city.”

“Well, it’s definitely the largest,” he said as he thought about how massive the venue was when he entered.

“Thanks.” Ajay moved a few boxes off his desk and desk chair before pulling out two chairs from a closet.

“Why did you pull out an extra chair?”

Just as Ajay was about to answer, he was cut off by a female voice. “Hello, is anyone here?”

“One sec, bro,” Ajay said as he left to get the woman behind the voice. As he listened to his brother greet the woman, he strained to make out the details of her voice. It was soft but slightly husky at the same time. It was the type of voice that would be perfect for one of those naughty call centers.

The closer they got, the more aware Taheim’s body became. If he wasn’t mistaken, the voice sounded a lot like...

“Taheim, I hope you don’t mind but I asked Winter Dupree from Bare Sophistication to join our meeting.”

From the stunned look on her face, he assumed she was just as surprised to see him.

“I don’t mind,” he said. When Ajay motioned for her to sit in the chair next to Taheim and their arms brushed, he immediately regretted the words that had just come out of his mouth. He should have told his brother that he definitely did mind and that he would prefer he discuss their business before he discussed whatever business he had with Winter. Which begged the question, What business does my brother have with Winter?

He brushed off the same jealousy he’d felt when Jaleen had complimented the way Winter looked yesterday.

“So, as you both know, Inferno will be opening the week before Christmas. I’ve been racking my brain about the type of grand opening I want to have and I’ve decided that a masquerade gala would be the perfect event.”

“That’s a great idea,” Taheim said as Winter expressed similar sentiments.

“Thanks, guys. So that means this event has to be the best lounge event Chicagoans have ever seen.” He took out a couple sheets of paper and handed a sheet to each of them. “I ran my idea by Elite Events since they will be planning the majority of the grand opening, including a huge part that will require the expertise of both of you.”

Winter looked up from the paper. “And what might that be?”

“On the back side of that sheet, you will see the details of the masquerade lingerie fashion show I want to be the central feature of the grand opening.”

Taheim scanned the back side of the paper and assumed that Winter was doing the same.

“I’m confused, Ajay,” Taheim said. “So you want Winter and me to plan the fashion show?”

“Yes. You both have done fashion shows before and Elite Events has a lot of other items to work on for the grand opening. Winter, I heard that you were working on a new line for the holidays that will release next week or so, correct?”

“That’s right. Some pieces are out already.”

“And, Taheim, you need to debut T.R. Night before you go on tour next spring, right? What about creating some holiday nightwear and, of course, you could show some pieces from the Collegiate line, as well.”

He chanced a glance at Winter, who didn’t seem any more thrilled by the idea than he was.

“Listen,” Ajay said as he waved his hand at both of them. “I know you both have heard that the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is trying their best to make Chicago a fashion-forward city and that includes more fashion-focused events. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your work and it would really help me out a lot.”

Taheim ran his fingers across his face. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his family and Ajay knew that.

“Of course I’ll do it, bro.”

“Thanks, man.” Taheim and Ajay both looked at Winter.

“I’m in, too,” she said hesitantly. “It sounds like fun.”

“Great! So I suggest you both share contact info and start planning this fashion show. There are some organizations that I’ve partnered with who may have opportunities for you both to showcase some work, as well, but I’ll let you both know as those opportunities arise. I’m really excited to bring a holiday collection from Bare Sophistication and T.R. Night to Chicago. I’ll leave you both to discuss the best way to begin planning. Remember, Elite Events is here to help, too.”

Yeah, right! It was his friends at Elite Events who had gotten him into this mess with Winter in the first place. First the blind date and now planning a fashion show together? Ajay had always been a forward thinker, but he wasn’t a schemer. This had Elite Events written all over it.

He glanced over at Winter, taking note that she still hadn’t looked him in the eye. He ran his hand over his forehead before placing his forearms on his thighs, trying to think of what to say. In all his thirty-three years, he’d never been at a loss for words around a woman. “I guess we need to set up a date to meet. What day works for you next week?”

She didn’t turn to look at him right away, but when she did, she looked as though she’d rather have been doing anything else than having this conversation.

“Look,” he said, clasping his hands together. “I don’t like this idea any more than you do. But I would love the exposure and I’m sure you would, too. And since Ajay’s my brother, I couldn’t say no even if I wanted to.”

“But that’s insane.”

“What is?”

“What’s insane is the fact that your brother or anyone else would think we could work well together. Over the past couple months, every time we talk, it turns into a debate or an argument. You and I don’t get along.” She waved her hand between the two of them.

“That’s because you disagree with everything I say.”

She gave him the side-eye. “Actually, you are the one who starts most of the arguments.”

“No, I don’t,” he said as he turned his chair more to face her. “Just last month at that fund-raising event that you and I both attended where we happened to be placed at the same table, I was talking to that high school principal about the benefit of a growing man having a good male role model to look up to.”

“And I didn’t disagree,” Winter interjected. “In fact, I agreed with you. I was just pointing out that the same goes for a woman having a good female role model. Sometimes I feel like women get left out of the equation. We need positive role models just like men.”

“But that wasn’t the conversation. That principal was talking about the program he’d created at his school for young men.”

“Exactly my point,” Winter said, turning her chair, as well. “Why start a program for the male students and not have one for the female students? Why segregate the programs at all?”

“I never said I disagreed with you either. I just pointed out the fact that that wasn’t the current topic of discussion.”

“Yeah, and you pointed it out in front of the eight other people at the table, who laughed and then disregarded my suggestion.”

He placed his hands on his chest. “So you’re mad that they thought I was funny?”

She lifted her eyebrows. “How in the world do you process information? It wasn’t because they thought you were funny. It was because they lost sight of my point.”

“Because they were only focused on laughing at me and talking about my viewpoint?”

“Once again, you somehow made this about you.” She sighed and closed her eyes, the sound distracting him from listening to whatever else was coming out of her mouth.

“Taheim, did you hear anything I just said?”

“Every word,” he said as his eyes dropped to her lips. She must have noticed the change in his mood, because her lips parted with awareness.

“So,” Ajay said, reentering the room and breaking the trance between him and Winter. “Did you guys settle when you’d have your first meeting?”