Chapter 1
Vance, a caramel latte in his right hand and a shiny black leather briefcase tucked firmly under his left arm, walked intrepidly along the dimly lit corridor, where the sound of only his footsteps against the iridescent tiles could be heard. On the walls were lined up engravings that depicted beautiful young women, sometimes blond, sometimes brunette, with straightened or curly hair, decked out in intimate outfits of cotton or silk or dressed in elegant evening dresses embroidered with sequins.
He opened the door which overlooked a small meeting room, welcoming briefly where the fresh air diffused by the cooling system purified the nostrils, especially with the intense heat that was dominating at this time of year. He was accompanied by his friend and housemate, Carl.
Carl entered the room without waiting for him.
Carl, housemate? That was new!
While he owned a large, luxurious apartment, lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and furnished with beautifully trimmed modern furniture, he was better off living with Vance in the latter’s apartment which was as luxurious as his.
In the room proudly stood an octagon table made of brown rosewood which was surrounded by chairs covered with off-white cushions. Some documents bearing the logo of Segel’s Haute Couture were meticulously laid out in front of each chair. The room that was in the basement of the building was illuminated by a royally suspended chandelier, from which emanated a white light which also accentuated the whiteness of the panels of wood with which the walls were decorated. Vance followed his friend into the room and they both cast a glance at the documents which were the planning for the next three months.
“It looks to me that you’ve got work to do, Vance!”
“Yeah. But I’m not worried at all. It’s within my capabilities,” he muttered with an air of pretentiousness.
After all, Vance was in his golden age. Cocky but smart. Logically, it would be his intelligence that would make him feel as if he were always the king of the world.
At thirty-three years old, he was already at the head of several family businesses and not to forget that the Ellis family were the founders of a few large companies in the main sectors of activity. As a result, the knowledge of running a business was transmitted from generation to generation and it did not scare him the least to run a normal fashion house.
Yes, normal! That was how he considered this business.
Now that the Ellis family, who had an excellent reputation, got themselves into fashion, they were going to make sure that Segel’s Haute Couture knew a spectacular rise. Tenacious and ambitious as he was, Vance couldn’t wait to sign the papers to formalize his new position as CEO. However, the “little fashion house”, as he was now calling it, was not going to belong to his family even if managing it was heartwarming. Running several businesses was like collecting trophies, and running Segel’s Haute Couture was another added trophy to his growing collection.
“Another achievement of the Ellis,” Carl said.
“What achievement?” Vance asked.
“You are the new owners of Segel’s Haute Couture, right?”
“No. Segel does not want to sell the business even though Dad offered him a pretty large sum of money that actually no one could ever refuse.”
Vance sighed.
“I can already imagine both your dad’s and granddad’s disappointment.”
Vance nodded as he left the room to head down to the hall that was next to the meeting room, followed by Carl. He stared thoughtfully at the pictures.
“He’s not going to give up that easily, you can be sure of that! Stubborn as he is, he will renew his offer to Segel. And he will win.”
Suddenly, Vance noticed a young slender woman that pulled him out of his thoughts. She jumped out of a room opposite the meeting room, head bowed, without even apologizing to him.
“What is wrong with her? Well, women! They’re all the same,” Carl noticed, recombing, with his fingers, the few hair strands that were trying in vain to cover his almost bald head.
He had started losing his hair since his first year in law school. He had hoped that on his wedding day with Melanie, six months ago, he wouldn’t be bald. In fact, that was not totally the case except for the middle of the skull. But one thing he had never expected was that Melanie would have packed and left a couple of weeks before their wedding.
At thirty-five, he did not have that wonderfully built body which would make a woman drool. Instead, he had a small, rounded belly that his tall stature would hide perfectly.
“Kaitlyn? Kaitlyn Leighton?”
Damn! Kaitlyn thought to herself.
She slowly made a full turn when Vance mentioned her name.
“Why him? And why today?” she grumbled.
When she heard that Vance Ellis, the Vance who was standing right in front of her – the one on whom she had had a big crush back in college, the one with whom she had exchanged several kisses, the one who had told her that a relationship was not an option – was about to become her boss, it had turned her into an irrational person with her sudden crazy screams in front of everyone in the office, even if no one knew the reason for her sudden out of control reaction.
“He just needs to sign the damned contract! Oh! And why not the champagne too?” she had said bitterly.
“Vance…Ellis! What a surprise!”
“Good, I hope?” he asked.
Huh? she thought incredulously, scratching her temple.
Like any gentleman, he held out his hand to greet her. His eyes could not come off her beautiful face. Kaitlyn hadn’t changed. She was always as beautiful. Her black hair was shining under the built-in spotlights of the ceiling of the hall. Her immaculate skin was lightly covered in pink blush and a gloss adorned her thin lips.
A smile appeared on her face despite herself as she felt she was melting under the incessant gaze of Vance. She finally nodded in response to his question. It would be rude to say otherwise, even though she was surprised.
“Are you in training here?”
His question left her speechless.
“No! No! I work… Humm… stylist,” she managed to reply, shyly.
In training? You must be kidding me! she did not abstain from thinking. She was convinced she shouldn’t be underestimated. Who was he to think he was the only one who made it in the professional life?
“Listen, I gotta go… I need a coffee.”
Without waiting for an answer, Kaitlyn slipped away. Watching her walk away, Vance remained still, lost in his thoughts. She had finally made it. She has probably sweat blood to become a stylist. He was amazed to see how her ambition had made her become what she had wanted to become.
But at least she could have aimed higher, by working in a renowned fashion house, he thought pretentiously.
He then remembered the less ambitious Kaitlyn he had known her to be. He returned to the meeting room where he saw his friend already comfortably seated.
“When does the meeting start?” Carl asked Vance when the latter sat down as well.
And suddenly…
“Vance Ellis!” They heard when the owner of Segel’s Haute Couture entered the room.
A tall man with a shaved head, he wore elegantly matched brown pants with a beige shirt. He went to meet Vance.
“Mr. Segel,” Vance exclaimed happily, who respectfully stood up to greet him.
The two men gave each other a firm handshake and then hugged each other strongly.
“How are you, Vance?” Mr. Segel inquired with too much excessive joy and outbursts of laughs.
“Very well, Sir,” Vance replied with much respect, looking confident, his left hand still engulfed in the chubby hands of the owner while the latter led him to the famous director’s chair to cordially invite him to be seated.
Strangely, Mr. Segel had not asked about his father and grandfather and made no reference to their last interview where Peter Ellis, Vance’s father, had tried in vain to convince him to sell off his business.
“The team shall be here shortly,” he communicated to Vance, glancing at his Pall watch. “And that is how I call them, a team, not just employees. A tenacious, vivacious, and hard-working team doing their job with enthusiasm and passion.”
His way of seeing things could well explain his determination not to sell, Vance thought.
As he explained the plans of the fashion house, Carl got up and walked over to them to make himself aware of the business objectives.
“And who are you, young man?” Segel asked when he saw Carl standing next to them. “I didn’t know there was room for two directors,” he continued with a hoarse laugh. “Tell me, you didn’t apply for the position of director? If that’s not the case, I’ll ask you to leave, thank you.”
Segel showed him the door.
Carl, surprised, hit the bricks without even greeting Vance while the team that Mr. Segel was praising earlier had just got in and sat down. His gaze fixed on each of them, Vance gave them a stern nod to salute them.
A glass of water in her hand, Kaitlyn frowned when she noticed that Geralyn, her nemesis, was seated in his favourite seat, the one next to the director. Confidently, she walked towards the only free chair at the other end of the table, opposite Vance. In an irritable mood, she put down her drink. She let herself fall into her chair like a spoiled brat, took off her grey jacket that was a good match with her pair of linen trousers of the same colour, then delicately put it on the back of her chair. She grabbed her glass, swirling the content before taking a sip.
Vance, meanwhile, had not taken his eyes off her. Her angry mood made him shiver.
Odd!
He lowered his head. He would find her awfully sexy. And if it had been up to him, he would have taken her in his arms. Could it be that the feelings he once had for her and which he had hidden from her for a long time were resurfacing?
No! That can’t be the case! Me, still madly in love with Kaitlyn? he mocked himself internally.
However, at this precise moment, he could not know what he was feeling. But when it came to sexual desire, oh, he was so sure that it was what he was feeling down under! And it looked like it was only her who could satisfy his pressing desire. He would therefore not stop having erotic thoughts while hoping there would not be any repercussions.
It is not forbidden to fantasize, he thought.
All sorts of sensual thoughts started to invade his mind. He was already imagining her sitting on this very table with her naughty look he was used to every time that she wanted to seduce him, that same look that would make him lose all his senses. He imagined her intoxicating tongue caressing languorously the tips of his fingers.
A simple thought and he was losing his mind. Feeling an immoderate and uncontrolled desire reaching the most sensitive part of his body, he discreetly moved his hand down under to calm himself down. He was immediately snapped out of his daydreams when he realized that the meeting was about to start.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as you know very well, I decided to hire by the count of today, Mr. Ellis, as the CEO of Segel’s Haute Couture. Also, we will designate one of you to be his assistant, in three months, most precisely, after the show that will be held in our premises.”
As Mr. Segel carried on explaining the plans of the fashion house, notably to make it a fashion house of renown and then made his welcome speech to Vance who stood up to the warm welcome of the staff, Kaitlyn was looking around, visibly disturbed by what was being said.
She brazenly let out annoyed sighs as the owner darted into more important explanations regarding the role of Vance Ellis as CEO. But he did not forget the ambitious projects of the fashion house.
“I am counting on every one of you to organize our first fashion show after… three years?” he asked, glancing a look at Sabrina, his secretary.
She nodded positively.
“So, we will organize our show in a few months to launch our brand-new collection of the finest lingerie and evening wear among others, and that we shall introduce to potential customers...”
After sharing his expectations, Vance sat down with warm applause from the audience. Kaitlyn, after a few minutes, stood up in her turn and cleared her throat, seeking everyone’s attention.
“I’m sorry to interrupt all this little festive meeting,” she said, mimicking the situation with her hands, “But I firmly believe that we don’t need a CEO, Mr. Segel. According to my humble opinion, the business has been run without one and we are fine operating like this,” she asserted frankly.
With her tone, everyone would think she was angry. Of course, she had realized that it was not the right time to make her opinions known, and quite frankly, no one ever bothered to give her free speech until now, which she thought counted for nothing. She glanced at Vance to see how her remark would affect him. But he was not bothered. His left elbow was lying on the table with his index crossing his lips, his expression neutral.
Now I understand why she was so mad earlier! Vance said to himself, staring at her.
“Come on, Kaitlyn! Don’t overdo it. As this fashion house needs to find a place among the most famous ones and for that, you will need someone to guide you and direct you. And with Vance Ellis taking the reins of the business, Segel’s Haute Couture will be in good hands!” Mr. Segel smiles at Kaitlyn to hide his displeasure discreetly.
But that was not all. In front of all the employees of the fashion house and especially in revenge for what Kaitlyn had said earlier, Segel handed the contract to Vance where he quickly filled in his signature.
Then he concluded:
“Vance Ellis will tell you what he expects of you all. Good day!”
Mr. Segel left while the staff also rose to regain their respective office and task. Kaitlyn was the last one to stand up. After the others had left, she walked towards Vance, still seated.
He was overwhelmed by her air of confidence while she was walking with a measured step when he was so used to seeing a confused and intimidated Kaitlyn back in college. As she got closer, his heart started to race. Vance brought his hand to his chest and with little pats, he tried in vain to calm himself down.
“How are you feeling?” Kaitlyn asked, somewhat concerned as she leaned over him, which accelerated his heartbeat.
“I am fine. Why? Are you a doctor?” he found himself asking, whispering.
He leaned against the back of his chair, keeping his trembling hand against his chest. How come she would make him feel the same way after so many years? However, with his excessive arrogance, he had to hide it from her. He felt he was melting under her gaze, being lulled by her sweet voice, losing control of his means, when he usually feels the need to have total control over his life, his feelings, his emotions but especially over his body. And this loss of control terrified him.
These emotions were foreign to him now and henceforth he considered that feeling this way and being under the emotional and sexual influence of a woman was only a sign of weakness. He had so many times believed that nothing could disconcert him, especially since his breakup with Priscilla, but his marriage with Priscilla was never his goal. She had remained the only woman to have such effect on him. Until now…
“You might be upset of what I have said earlier and I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you,” he replied even though he usually found it hard to forgive.
He demanded respect from his employees and what Kaitlyn just did was nothing but to contradict his decision and this was something he hated above everything else.
But it was Kaitlyn. How could he do otherwise?
“Fair enough!”
A smile embellishes Kaitlyn’s face, earlier clouded with anger. She reached out her hand for a handshake that Vance did not refuse so as to close this matter and move on.
“Welcome to Segel’s Haute Couture. That is the least I can do.”
“Thanks,” Vance replied, standing up.
He was standing so close to her, he thought she would hear his heart beating.
Now, she noticed that Vance had the same effect on her, which puzzled her. He kept that elegant look. Tall in his hundred and eighty centimeters, a slightly muscular body hidden under the grey fabric of his shirt and his black pants made of linen, in addition to the short golden hair, slightly wavy, Vance still possessed the same qualities that would make a woman fall to her knees.
Similarly, back in college, she had succumbed to his charming beauty and here again today she felt she was succumbing.
