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Harper turns toward the window to hide the mischievous smile threatening to appear on her lips.
The car drops them off in front of Alfred Coffee, an upscale café located just a few blocks from where the meeting will take place. The place is quiet, filled with the intense aroma of roasted coffee beans. They find a small table next to the large window overlooking the street. Victoria orders an Americano without sugar; Harper opts for a cappuccino with plenty of milk foam.
The waiter serves the cups and steps away.
“You’re still loyal to your cappuccino,” Victoria remarks, glancing at Harper’s cup as she stirs hers.
“What did you expect? That I’d become a different person?”
“I don’t know,” Victoria admits. “Maybe I was hoping to find a Harper who felt like a stranger to me. Someone I could easily ignore.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to admit that we’re still the same people.”
“I find it incredibly hard,” Victoria confesses, looking at her. “Especially when I’m sitting across from you.”
Harper runs her fingers over the cup’s handle, feeling her nerves take control of her body once again.
“I’m nervous,” she admits, in an attempt to change the subject. “I know our proposal is solid. That there isn’t a magazine in this country that can offer them the prestige we’re going to guarantee. But losing this dress would be a huge blow to Velvet & Silk’s new chapter.”
Victoria reaches across the table and, for a second, covers Harper’s fingers with her own.
“We’re not going to lose it,” Victoria assures her with fierce conviction. “I know how your mind works when you set your mind to something. Together, we’re a hurricane that no one will be able to stop.”
Harper feels a burning tingle spreading from Victoria’s hand to her chest.
“That almost sounded like a compliment. How dangerous.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Victoria says with a smile, pulling her hand away to pick up her cup. “Besides, I’ll be there to save you if you mess up,” she adds, winking at her. “Someone’s got to keep their cool.”
Harper bursts out laughing, drawing the attention of a couple of customers at the next table.
“There’s that arrogance again. All that kindness was starting to scare me.”
As they gather their belongings and head out onto the sunny street in Beverly Hills, Harper realizes that working with Victoria no longer feels like a punishment or an imposition. It feels natural. Like coming home.
Harper watches Victoria put on her sunglasses, and the thought springs to her mind before she can stop it: “We’re starting to work too well together.”
A small knot forms in her stomach. Because discovering that the physical desire between them is still intact is a manageable problem; but discovering that they’re still the perfect team is a threat she has no idea how to face.
Chapter 9
Victoria Vance realizes the meeting has taken a turn the moment Camille Beaumont stops flipping through the draft contract and looks up.
Up until that moment, the relentless communications director at Maison Beaumont hadn’t been willing to budge even an inch from her position.
For forty minutes, she’d been dissecting the exclusivity agreement—from publication windows to control over social media clips—while her two assistants nodded and scribbled notes like mad. To Victoria’s right, Harper hadn’t lost her smile for a single moment. And that is, without a doubt, the main reason they’re about to score a goal in this game.
“I fully understand your eagerness to take a different approach to the collection, Camille,” Harper says, sliding one of the cover proofs across the table. “But think about it for a moment. You know very well that Velvet & Silk—despite its traditional style—is going to achieve things you wouldn’t find anywhere else. The media buzz is going to be incredible.”
“And what about the creative control you won’t let us have?” Camille emphasizes, raising an eyebrow. “That’s an imbalance. Who can guarantee that the final result won’t ruin our own narrative?”
“Because they’re two completely different things,” Victoria interjects. Then she interlaces her fingers on the table. “Having the exclusive with us will protect the impact of your piece. You know very well that Velvet & Silk isn’t just some brochure. It’s a magazine with its own identity that’s surviving the digital age. And that’s what will make having a Beaumont dress on our cover such a big deal.”
The French executive narrows her eyes, still unsure of her decision.
“We could also put a new spin on the concept…” Victoria adds, leaning forward slightly. “Find another brand, another design. But let’s be honest: neither of us wants that. Maison Beaumont needs this dress to be worn by a woman who is part of something big. You need someone who embodies the maturity your brand is striving to achieve. And we need a piece with the right DNA to carry our most important issue to date. This design has it. And you know that as well as I do.”
Camille rests her elbows on the table and interlaces her hands. The tension in her shoulders eases slightly.
