Olivia stretched and slipped out of her jacket. The first heat wave of summer had arrived early, turning the conference room into a freaking sauna, and the A/C was struggling to keep up. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the temperature so much as the memory of Cole feasting on her in this very room—on this very table—that had her body simmering. What the hell had she been thinking anyway?
His intense gaze burned through her, ripping her from her thoughts. His eyes radiated sex as he stared at her bare arm with lust. Olivia glanced down, realizing too late that the strap of her red lace bra had slipped loose. She hastily pushed it back up, hiding it under the sleeveless blouse.
…
Cole didn’t consider himself a genius by any stretch of the imagination, but every now and then he had his moments. As he watched Olivia tuck the strap of her hard-on-inducing bra back in her shirt, inspiration struck. And it was an honest to goddamn epiphany. It was so obvious. The Vixen angle had been right in front of them all along, but they were too busy fighting to see it.
“I’ve got it,” he announced. He pulled a chair up to the table and sat across from Olivia. “I know what women want.”
“Really? You know what women want? Outside of the bedroom?” She wrinkled her nose. “Because I don’t really think Vixen is looking for a how-to tutorial on pleasing your one-night stand.”
He shot her a dark look, but let it slide. “Look at you. You make a point of downplaying your assets so you aren’t accused of trading on looks, right?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah, well, between the boys club and the kitty claws, I have to work twice as hard for respect.”
For the first time, he felt like she was sharing something real, a piece of herself she’d kept hidden far too long. It felt surprisingly good. He wanted more.
“I’ll bet a lot of women feel like you do, and yet there isn’t a single lingerie company in the market that recognizes real, working women. Lingerie ads focus on supermodels and soccer moms.”
“Tell me about it.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s like sexy on steroids—which real women can’t live up to—or granny panties—which don’t exactly inspire lights-on-for-sex confidence.”
“Exactly. There’s no middle ground,” he agreed, thrilled she was buying into the idea. It was the right approach. He could feel it in his bones, but he needed her on board and fully committed to make it work. They couldn’t afford to be split on this one. “Where does that leave a young working woman like you who aspires to more?”
Doubt lined her eyes. She flattened her brows and he knew he was losing her. She was a textbook example, but he couldn’t make it too personal or she’d balk at the whole thing.
“Where are you going with this?”
“Smart. Confident. Sexy as hell. That’s our audience,” he explained as he moved around the table, coming to rest behind her. He leaned down, bringing his mouth to her ear. “From the boardroom to the bedroom… Be a Vixen.”
Her sharp intake of breath told him he’d nailed it. It also put him in mind of her aroused face, but he did his best to push that thought aside. She’d made it clear at the fundraiser that she was done with their little arrangement, which was probably for the best anyway. Rules were rules, and he was beginning to be uncomfortable with how often he found himself thinking about Olivia.
“I like it,” she announced, once again all business. And damn if he didn’t find that arousing. He lo—No, appreciated, her take-charge sassiness, even when she was dishing it his way. “We’ve got a tagline. What else have you got?”
“We emphasize sharp women in powerful positions. It’ll have to be sexy, but believable.”
“It’s risky,” she pointed out. “If we screw it up, we’ll just alienate people. The women have to be authentic and so does the motivation. If the idea is to empower women, then we have to sell it right.”
“I’m more worried about competing effectively with prime time fashion shows without supermodels of our own.”
Olivia groaned. “It’s a wonder you survive yourself. Do you ever think about anything but sex? Seriously?”
Cole gave her a cocky grin and shrugged. “Might as well focus on the things I’m good at.”