Ineffable (19 page)

“They like that I been in the game this long, and I’m still affordable. I come out with this, I could alienate a whole slew of my regulars. Those repeat buyers who come back collection after collection and impulse buy.”

“Stop bein’ so scary,” Tommy scolded. “You ain’t gon’ alienate nobody. It’s not like you’re suddenly not making the more affordable stuff. You’re just branching out. Give people something to live up to! You gotta think bigger, girl. Don’t limit yourself. Besides, this is like Ineffable, a capsule collection. Only it’s Yarne,” she said naming the owner of the high end chain of jewelry stores she’d be partnering with. “It’s one little collection. 12-15 pieces. It doesn’t work out, you dissolve after one cycle, no harm, no foul.”

Margot thought about it for less than a minute, “You’re right. I’ll work up some designs. He say what range he was thinking about?”

“From $15,000 to $125,000.”

Margot whistled. “Damn, pimp!”

Tommy gave her a look like, now! How ‘bout that? “Nori ain’t the only one swinging first and asking questions later.”

“You sure do,” Margot laughed. “And I like that in you.”

She turned over the paper Tommy had written notes on and began doodling on the back. Several minutes passed and she was unaware Tommy watched her in satisfaction in between sending emails on her phone.

“I never thought I’d say this to another living soul,” Nori said later. “But you work too hard.” He was massaging her hands. He’d seen her shaking them, and coaxed her to sit down beside him on the couch so that he could take over.

He was excited when she told him about the Yarne deal. He’d noticed how she told him, carefully, hesitating when she revealed the price range for the collection.

“They’re not my competition, Margot,” he laughed, then laughed harder when she relaxed. “Think about yourself,” he scolded, sounding so much like Tommy that she laughed. “Besides, once the average person sees the beautiful, expensive pieces you create for Yarne, where do you think they’ll go to get what they can afford?”

“My web site?”

He swatted her thigh. “Yes, and they’ll come to Ineffable. There’s more than enough of you to go around.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

What the hell kind of men had she been with that she expected him to be jealous of her success, to not celebrate it? He wanted to ask, but hearing how someone had mistreated her – especially on the heels of the George incident – would almost certainly piss him off. Actually, hearing about another man period might make him pop a blood vessel.

He was still fucking pissed about her sad sack, ballsy as fuck ex-husband having the unmitigated gall to come right to the door and abuse her, under his fucking nose at that! If he could help it he’d never let her out of his sight again.

They both had to work, but Nori was already hatching plans to tie himself firmly to her coattails, including having a state of the art studio built for her in his office. As soon as the architect drew up the plans, he was planning to show them to Tommy.

He had no qualms about engaging that lady’s manipulative brain to coax Margot into accepting the space. He already knew she’d refuse. She could be unbelievably creative. Sometimes it literally boggled his mind how many new jewelry designs she came up with every week. She was also an unabashed free-spirit about a lot of things, her speech, her clothes, her beliefs. But it could be tough to get her to leave her comfort zone, and her main comfort zone was her home. He’d have to make the space so lovely, the equipment so tempting, she couldn’t resist.

“This new Yarne collection will undoubtedly boost sales for ours,” he said now. “By the time it’s ready to launch, the Ineffable line will have been out for a while, we’ll have products online to sell, and your accessories line will be ready. One thing will feed the other.”

“Candy was serious about that? I thought she was just, thinking out loud.”

“Candy never just thinks out loud when it comes to business,” he assured her. “She’s too interested in her bonus. She already showed me the business plan for the line: umbrellas, scarves, totes, clutches, sunglasses, when she started talking different products based on geographic region I had to reign her in, for now, but it should be fabulous. I’m surprised she hasn’t talked to you about it already. With the right promotion, she’s predicting it will make us all a fortune overseas.”

Margot laughed. “What was she hatching, Harajuku dolls in Japan or something?”

“Close,” Nori laughed. “Hello Kitty only with diamonds.”

“Hey, don’t knock Hello Kitty. It’s an icon over there.”

“I know it, and so does Candy. Did I tell you I promoted her?”

“No. But it was a good move. She has great ideas, and she does bring in a lot of business, new artists and such, right?”

“She sure does. She brought me you. Best hire I ever made,” he teased. “And now that she is officially part of the executive leadership team at Ineffable, she’ll bring in even more.”

She leaned over and gave him a slow, deep kiss. “Aren’t you clever,” she whispered, sighing happily when he switched to her other hand and began to rub.

“I am.”

“Actually she did send me an email a few days ago. I haven’t got around to reading it yet. That’s probably what it’s about. You’re also an amazing hand masseur,” she sighed happily.

“You need an assistant. You shouldn’t let your emails go. What if it’s about business? Which in this case, it probably is.”

“People know to call Tommy. Haven’t you seen my signature? It says, if you want an immediate response pick up the phone and text.”

He laughed softly, placing a last kiss on her palm and pulling her into his lap. He nuzzled her. “Are we old before our time? Staying home while our friends run the streets? Tommy called to invite you somewhere earlier didn’t she?”

Margot shrugged, which meant, yes.

“Would you have gone if I wasn’t here?”

“Maybe. Depends on if my work was going good.”

“You don’t have to stay home because of me, you know. You could bring me with you. I am house broken, and I have enough money to buy several rounds of drinks.”

Margot grinned. “Yeah, smart guy, I know. But knowing Tommy, there’s someone there she’s trying to do business with, and she thinks nothing of pimping me or any of her friends out when it’s convenient.”

The sad thing was he knew she was telling the truth. He’d seen Tommy use whoever was nearby to get what she wanted. Charm was one of her greatest tools of the trade, a fact she readily confessed to, and she wielded it like a scalpel. If he hadn’t known for a fact that Dom was having the time of his life trying to tame her, he’d wish the poor bastard luck.

“When I first met her, she told me she dealt partly in this world, and partly in the unconscious mind. Fantasies, she said, were where the magic happened. It was up to her to figure out who longed for what, and then give it to them.”

“Yup, that sounds like her,” Margot laughed. “Want a drink?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alcohol?”

Nori shrugged. He hadn’t been drinking much since he began dating Margot. “Whatever you’re having.”

He watched her walk away. She was wearing his favorite shorts. He’d convinced her to only wear them in the house. At least, he’d tried to. She changed if they left home, but who knew if she bothered if he wasn’t around. He should spy on her one day to see.

Christ, he was losing it. This wasn’t the first time he’d thought about spying on her. He’d never thought of himself as a jealous man before he met Margot. Now he realized he’d never been jealous before because he hadn’t cared. Now he glared at any man who looked at Margot, no matter what their age.

Even toddlers were suspect, demanding little imps, always cooing and carrying on, rubbing their little faces in her cleavage or latching on to her legs like leeches, small paws clutched around her slender limbs like they owned her. He’d seen it happen twice already with tiny boys. Cute, his ass. They were miniature horn dogs in the making.

He thought he hid most of it – mostly because Margot could be completely oblivious to everything when she was working, and she was always working – but he couldn’t take anything with her for granted. He was afraid to. There were horny mother fuckers everywhere just waiting for him to slip up. He saw them when they went out, watched them watch her. He saw them sidle up when he left her to go to the bar or to use the head. Bastards.

Jeremy laughed his head off watching him hustle to get across a room once. They were at Reiko’s family’s bar, and a tall, flashy looking Hispanic man had leaned in presumably to talk shit in Margot’s ear.

Nori, fresh from the loo, had puffed up, prepared to charge in and straighten the fucker out.

“Just wait, man,” Jeremy said, holding his arm. “Watch.”

Nori opened his mouth to blast his new friend, but then he realized Margot had everything under control. As he watched, the guy touched her shoulder in a clearly caressing move. But with a charming, cheesy grin, she lifted the man’s hand away and wagged her finger back and forth.

“See?” Jeremy laughed. “She knows who she belongs too.”

Nori was slightly appeased. It appeared she did indeed. But he was still on guard. Men were dogs. He’d been a dog too at one point, he supposed. But now his bone was too valuable to chance letting anyone get close enough to steal it.

“Try this,” she said now, reappearing with a tray bearing two highball glasses and a small plate with some of the thin ginger biscuits she favored.

“They’re fizzing. It’s not going to blow up is it?”

“Ha, ha. Try it.”

He took a sip. It was delicious. Fruity with a hint of booze that warned him to not to underestimate the drink’s potency.

“It’s lovely. What is it?”

“Ginger ale, orange juice and whiskey.”

“Mmmm,” he drained his glass, burped, and reached for hers.

Laughing she swung it out of his reach and drained it.

“Spoilsport.” He stretched. “I’m for bed. You?”

“I’ll there in a minute.”

That could mean a minute or two hours. And the way she was eyeing her latest project, it was looking like two hours, which sucked shit since he was hoping for a night cap that did not come in a glass.

Sighing like he was being martyred, Nori waited a beat to see if she’d fall for it. Sometimes she did, and he was able to get her under him fairly quickly. But now she ignored him, absently nibbling on a cookie before she put it down in favor of those wretched pliers.

Nori sighed and pulled open his laptop. He might as well get in a little work. What choice did he have? He couldn’t go to bed without her.

“Do you think I’m going to hurt you, Margot?”

She didn’t answer, but he knew she was listening, felt the tiny movements of her body as she focused on him. Perhaps she would answer because it was dark and warm and safe in the bedroom. It had happened before.

“I might,” he admitted. “But it will never be on purpose. I won’t cheat. I know how horrible that feels, and I wouldn’t do it to any woman, let alone one that I love.” He felt her jump at the word love, but he continued. “I won’t cheat you either. It might appear complicated because we are lovers, and we are in business together. But I’ve built a reputation in the global marketplace for being tough but fair, in all dealings. I will not compromise my integrity for any reason, not even love,” he said, deliberately using the word again. Again she flinched. She did not, however, move away. He relaxed a little bit more.

She shifted, moving onto her side, head on hand as she listened.

Encouraged, he laughed. “I confess, my girl, I’ve never felt quite like this about a woman. So if I make mistakes, if I do hurt you in some way, I hope you’ll tell me so I can make things right.” He scooted down and turned onto his side so they were face to face.

“I love you, Margot,” he repeated. “And I want you to love me. To feel comfortable with me, to lean on me, and to build a life with me. We don’t have to define what that means immediately. I know we’re just getting to know one another, and we should take the time to do that right. But I want you to know that my intentions toward you are not transient. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said after a while.

Their hands clasped in the dark, and he waited.

“I, love you too, Nori. I didn’t expect to, and that’s probably part of the problem. You usually get what you expect. I wasn’t expecting you at all, but I can’t deny that you’re wonderful,” she admitted.

He rolled her under him, and buried his face in her neck, knowing she could feel him grinning.

“More,” he demanded.

“More, huh. Well, when I say you’re wonderful I’m not just talking about the sex, though I’ve never enjoyed myself more with a man,” she said and earned herself a squeeze and a kiss. “I feel like I can learn from you. We talk, you bring me books and send me articles, and introduce me to people who have knowledge I can use.”

Earlier in the week he’d brought a lady by who’d been a top jeweler in her day. Grace was old now, her store closed. Because of age she was unable to work every day making crafts, though she still sold pieces occasionally. Nori proudly told Margot she’d been an Ineffable customer for more than 25 years.