Sierra

I patiently sat at my desk and waited for Cameron to call. He’d already been at Delia’s for four hours and I hadn’t heard a word from him. Maybe things were going well. I shook my head to snap back into reality. Things involving Delia never went well.

Suddenly, my phone rang and Cam’s sexy face appeared on the screen. Grabbing my phone, I calmly answered it.

“Hello.”

“Hey, babe. How’s your day going?”

“Busy as always. How is your day going?”

“Good. I’m just heading over to the club and restaurant to check on things.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What do you mean ‘and what,’” I snapped. “How are things going with Delia?”

“Things are going great.”

“Seriously, Cam, you can tell me,” I spoke.

“Babe, everything is fine. Delia isn’t even home. She had some charity thing to go to.”

“Oh.”

“You sound disappointed.” He laughed.

“No. I’m happy she isn’t giving you any trouble.”

“Good. I’ll talk you later. I just pulled up to the club. I love you, babe.”

“I love you too.”

I ended the call just as Kirsty walked into my office.

“Was that Cam?” Kirsty asked.

“Yes. He said that everything at Delia’s is going great.”

“See.” She smiled. “I told you there was nothing to worry about. I’ve booked the models to be here at two forty-five for the meeting.”

I leaned back in my chair. “I’m not looking forward to this. Their product is crap and I’m going to have to be the one to tell them. Find out which agency they were with before coming here. I need to get in contact with them.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to know why the boys weren’t happy with them.”

“I’m on it.” She smiled. “By the way, don’t forget Don and Milania’s wedding is this Saturday.”

“Shit. I forgot. Do I have to go?”

“Yes. You already sent back the invitation saying you would attend.”

“Why don’t you and James go instead? You can tell him I got sick or something.” I smiled.

“He’s your ex-suit, not mine.” Her eye narrowed at me.

“Fine. Have Sasha run to the store and buy a card and get me that agency name.”

As she walked out of the office, my phone rang. It was Royce calling.

“Hello, Royce.” I answered.

“Sierra, darling. How are you?”

“I’m good. What can I do for you?”

“Your stepfather, Clive, has some property for sale I’m interested in. I’ve tried calling his office, but it seems he’s out of the country. I’m anxious to talk to him. Can you please give him my number and have him call me as soon as possible?”

“Sure, Royce. He’s in Paris dealing with some issues. I’ll give him a call.”

“Thanks, love. I also called because I wanted to tell you something.”

“Oh? What’s going on?”

He let out a long, deep sigh. “I’ve met someone and she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”

A small smile crossed my lips. “Are you in love, Royce?”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far, but she does keep a few of her things at my place.”

“Wow. I remember accidentally leaving a shoe at your place and you going on a rant about it. I think this woman is changing you, my friend.”

“Perhaps. Maybe the four of us could go out sometime. I’d like for you to meet her.”

“Just name a day and place and Cam and I will be there.”

“Thanks, Sierra. I have to run. I have a meeting to host.”

“I’ll give Clive a call now.”

“Thanks.”

I looked over at the time on my computer and, in Paris, it was almost eight o’clock in the evening. I picked up my office phone and dialed him.

“Hello,” a female voice answered.

A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

“Umm. Hello. I’m looking for Clive.”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“No. You may not. And who the hell is this?” I deadpanned. “You know what, just forget it.” I hung up.

I gulped and clenched my fist as I sat in my chair. Clive was obviously having an affair.

“Hey, Sierra. The agency that Fit Fanatic Sportswear was with is D&B Advertising,” Kirsty spoke as she walked into my office. “What’s wrong? You’re pale.”

I placed my hand on my head and sighed.

“I just called Clive and a woman answered his phone.”

“Oh shit. Who was she?”

“I don’t know. I hung up before I could find out.”

I got up from my seat and walked over to the fridge and pulled out a mini-bottle of tequila.

“Are you going to tell Delia?” Kirsty asked.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang, and when I went over to see who was calling, I noticed it was Clive. I declined the call.

“I don’t have time to think about him right now. I have to focus on this meeting with Fit Fanatic Sportswear.”

“They’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” Kirsty spoke.

“Put them in the conference room. I’m going to call D&B right now.”

“Sierra, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I gave a small smile.

The truth was I wasn’t sure how I felt. I’d always known in the back of my mind that Clive was a cheater, but to actually catch him bothered me more than I thought it would have. My phone dinged and alerted me I had a voicemail. After retrieving it, I heard Clive’s voice.

“Sierra, it’s Clive. Please call me as soon as you get this message. We need to talk.”

What he meant was that he needed to make sure I didn’t say anything to Delia. I took a seat behind my desk and gave Dan over at D&B Advertising a call. After I hung up with them, Sasha walked into my office and alerted me that Chris and Roman from Fit Fanatic Sportswear were waiting in the conference room. Taking the last gulp of tequila that was in the bottle, I threw it in the trashcan and headed to the meeting.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” I smiled.

“Good afternoon, Sierra. We trust that you had a chance to try on some of our sportswear?”

“Oh yes.” I took a seat across from them.

“Well, what did you think? Excellent fit and quality, right?” Roman grinned.

I sighed as I folded my hands on the table.

“Gentlemen, let me start this meeting off by telling you that I just got off the phone with Dan from D&B and he had some pretty interesting things to say.”

Uncomfortableness settled into them as they both shifted in their seats and looked at each other.

“You know what?” I got up from my seat. “I’m just going to cut to the chase to save all of us some time. Your clothing is crap, and that’s putting it mildly.”

“Excuse me?” Chris spoke.

“Kirsty, send the models in, please.”

Kirsty got up from her seat and opened the door as the models walked in one by one.

“Let’s take a look at Veronica here.” I walked over to her. “Notice anything?” I cocked my head at them.

“Those pants look very nice on her,” Roman spoke.

“Of course they do to the eyes of a man. And you know why? Because you can see her ass as plain as day in them, not to mention down here.” I pointed to her private area. “Turn around, Veronica, and do the squat test.”

She did as I asked and I stood there shaking my head. “See this, gentlemen? Women don’t want to wear workout pants where you can see their booty. Now, a tiny little bit of camel toe is acceptable. But for god sakes, look at this.” I pointed to her perfectly outlined vagina. “And this material is paper thin. One wash and they’re toast. Thank you, Veronica.” I smiled. “You may leave.”

Walking over to Charley, I pointed down to her calves.

“Is this a new look? Is this a new trend?” I asked as I cocked my head at them.

Both of them sat there in silence.

“One leg is longer than the other by three inches. Thank you, Charley.” I smiled.

Walking over to Renee, I took the broken shoulder strap of the sports bra she was wearing in my hand.

“I put this on this morning and it snapped. Judging by the stitching on the other side, the other strap is held together by one stitch. You mislead your customers by advertising on your website that your sportswear is made with the highest quality materials, yet you somehow manage to sell them at a discounted price. Now I can see why your sales are declining. You charge cheap prices for cheap clothes that actually are worse than cheap. You blamed D&B for poor marketing when they had nothing to do with it. The problem here, gentlemen, lies with your company and piss poor made clothing.”

“We don’t have to sit here and listen to this,” Roman spoke in anger as he got up from his seat.

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Let me give you one piece of business advice. It’s really very simple. Sell good quality clothes. Did you really think that having the Adams Advertising name back you up would help business?”

“We no longer require your services, Miss Adams,” Chris spoke.

I placed my hand over my heart. “I’m heartbroken, gentlemen. Good luck to you and to Fit Fanatic Sportswear. When you decide to produce something of quality, we can revisit this.”

“There is no way in hell we’d advertise with you.” They both stormed out of the conference room.

“What a bunch of babies,” I spoke as I looked over at Kirsty.

“They’ll be out of business soon.” She smiled.