4| Do We Have a Deal?

Our eyes hadn’t left each other for the entire conversation. I was refusing to show the slightest bit of weakness in front of this man.

Dominic inhaled deeply, “You have the title of “Baddest Bitch in Fashion,” So why do you need me?”

“It’s not that I need you, it’s that I want you.”

“Oh, I like those words,” he teased with a sinister look and leaned forward, so I clarified myself,

“I want your partnership.”

“Oh,” he said with a dramatically disappointed tone and slight snarl on the corner of his lip as he leaned back in the chair, trying to be playful.

Maybe I’m being too serious. I’m being too professional and I’m pushing too hard. Should I flirt? No, he would take it the wrong way and that’s the last thing I want.

“How about we start with a friendship?”

He inched his head closer to me, “A what now?”

“A friendship,” I said with a smile. “Our businesses would work better together if we have some sort of relationship beforehand, don’t you think?”

“Uhuh…” He had his eyes slightly narrowed and his lips parted as she shifted his jaw. “Alright.” He sat up straighter in his chair and said to me, “Let’s be friends.”

My smile broadened, “Great!”

We sat there in silence for a while and finally broke our stare. I bit my lip slightly, a nervous habit of mine that I need to break out of. The minutes passed by and things only felt more awkward, the air became heavy as the silence continued.

Dominic scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat before downing the rest of his drink just as the waiter was coming up to us.

“Can I take your order?”

“Oh, uh,” I picked up the menu that I hadn’t even looked at once yet.

Before I could make a decision, I heard Dominic say to the waiter, “I think we’re just going to do drinks today.”

“Chicken piccata,” I answered over him and the waiter turned his head to me with a nervous look, his eyes shifting between Dominic and myself.

I smiled at him and handed him the menu before looking back at Dominic, who had a look of incredulity on his face. He was silently asking if I really wanted to stay in this suffocating space with him. ‘Yes, Dominic, I do. At least until I have your agreement to a partnership,’ I thought to myself.

“Friends have lunch together, right? You should order something or I’m going to feel weird.” I adjusted in my seat a little and batted my eyelashes at him.

He looked at the waiter then, “Make it two.”

The waiter took his menu as well and walked away.

Dominic looked at me with an unreadable expression, “Cute.”

I smirked, “I know,” and took a sip of my water.

I don’t drink, low alcohol tolerance runs in my family, and I need to be in my right mind during this lunch, I can’t afford to take any chances. Literally.

“You know, I could just stand up and leave if I wanted to.”

“But you haven't. And you won’t.”

Dominic tilted his head, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because we both know that I’m right.”

The corner of his lip twitched into a lopsided smile.

“Besides, you don’t strike me as the type of guy who would leave a girl with the bill. Am I wrong?”

His smile didn’t falter as he responded and shook his head gently, his eyes sparkling at me, “You are not wrong.”

The heaviness of the air lifted a bit and the waiter brought Dominic a refill of his drink. What was it? Scotch? Bourbon? I couldn’t be sure, but I could smell the rich aroma of the golden liquor from across the table.

“I did a little research on you,” he admitted and my eyebrows rose. “You’ve been in the position of CEO for less than a year, yet you’ve made quite a name for yourself already.”

I smiled at him, and he continued, “I have to say, I’m rather impressed.”

“Thank you. And just imagine what I will be able to accomplish in another year’s time, especially with certain contacts and… friends?” I lifted my brow at him and he smiled.

“You started as a model, didn’t you?”

“I did. I modeled mainly for my parents and then some other brands until I was 18 and left for college.”

“I see…” he began to tap on his glass again and frowned, “So you were pretty much born into this life?”

“I eat, breathe, and sleep fashion. It’s in my blood.”

“Uhuh…”

There was some awkward silence between us after that and my eyebrows furrowed when I saw the calculating look on his face as he stared at his glass.

“Is there a problem?”

A line appeared between his brows and he refused to meet my eyes as he answered my question, “I just wonder…” he trailed off and tilted his head as if his drink had suddenly become interesting.

“You wonder… What?”

“If you’re as good as they say.”

My jaw tensed, not this again.

“Are you questioning me because I’m a woman?”

His eyes snapped to me, that line still between his slanted brows. “No, absolutely not.”

“Because I can assure you that I am capable of anything a man in my position would be capable of, and I can do it in heels.”

He began to laugh, but I kept going. “If I were a man, you would be looking at me differently.”

He snorted, “That’s for damn sure,” and looked me up and down over the rim of his glass as he took a swig.

“That’s not what I meant,” I said through clenched teeth. “If a man had climbed to success the way I have in less than a year, you would praise him, not question him.”

“So you want me to treat you like a man?”

“No. I want you to show me the same respect you would show a man.”

We stared at each other again, both with fire in our eyes and neither of us looking away even as the waiter brought us our food.

“Refill on your drink, sir?” The waiter asked Dominic.

“Absolutely,” he ground out as his eyes stayed glued to me.

We ate our meal in complete silence and only stole glances of each other now and then throughout.

Once done, we each placed our silverware on the plate in the position to let the servers know we were done. I was slightly fascinated that he knew any table etiquette after not pulling out my seat.

Unable to ignore looking at each other any longer, Dominic sighed and met my eyes.

“I’ll show you respect. But.” He took a dramatic pause and his face became serious, “You have to do the same.”

“Of course. I’ll be nothing but professional with you.”

“Also,” he added, “I want to see your workspace.”

“O…kay.”

“I want to meet your staff, meet your people, your investors, and your parents.”

I choked on my water, “Excuse me?”

“I need to know the circle that I’m about to get involved in if we partner and work on a collaboration together.”

My mouth was agape and I only stared at him, blinking. “O…Okay, I… suppose I can understand that.” I looked down at the table and smoothed out a crease that wasn’t there while I thought about it. “Do you really need to meet my parents?”

“Are you embarrassed by them?”

I chuckled, “Who isn’t embarrassed by their parents?”

He tilted his head. “One last thing.”

Oh boy.

“I want 60% of the profit.”

“Fuck you!” The words came right out of me in a high-pitched voice and I had to cover my mouth with my hand and look around to be sure that I didn’t disturb anyone with my outburst. I looked back at Dominic, “A partnership is 50/50, I am not giving you 60%”

“Then no deal.”

“What?”

“How do you think I got so rich so fast?”

I scoffed, “Scamming people, obviously.”

“No. I know my worth.”

“As do I.”

We stared at each other a few moments before he cracked a smile at me, “Alright. 50/50.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal.”