Jacquelin Thomas - Styles of Seduction

“I’m looking forward to it,” Nelson interjected. “My schedule’s clear.”

She awarded him another smile. “Good. I’ll be looking for you.”

Zoe was pleased at the sullen expression on Kyle’s face. It served him right after the way that he’d treated her.

Feeling his gaze on her, she pulled out her iPhone and scanned through her emails.

It won’t be long before we reach the lobby. I just want to get out of here. I can’t handle being this close to him.

After what seemed like an eternity in the elevator, the doors opened.

Zoe stepped out first, thrilled to be out of the confined space. Clearly Kyle still had the ability to make her weak at the knees, and the last thing she wanted to do was fall at his feet.

“It was nice seeing you both,” she said coolly before walking briskly away.

She was angry with herself for inviting Kyle to the cocktail party, and for flirting with Nelson to make him jealous. She had often accused Jerry of being childish when it came to Kyle, but Zoe couldn’t deny that she’d behaved in much the same way. It was just...wrong.

Kyle Hamilton seemed to bring out the worst in her.

But then again, Zoe already knew that.

Chapter 3

“What did you do to Zoe?” Nelson inquired as soon as she was out of hearing range. “She acted as if she couldn’t bear to be around you.” He chuckled. “I guess you were right—there is at least one woman who is immune to your charms.”

Kyle was in no mood to laugh about Zoe Sinclair with his cousin. “She used to work for RHD, but Guava made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. I don’t think she really liked working for me.”

Nelson shook his head. “I feel like there is something more between you two. I got the feeling that her interest in me was only to garner a reaction from you.”

“No,” Kyle insisted. “There’s never been anything between me and Zoe.”

He saw no need to mention that they had once shared a kiss one sultry night more than five years ago. Zoe’s undeniable charm had been too much for him to ignore in a weakened moment.

“I don’t know, man,” Nelson said, looking as if he didn’t completely believe Kyle. “There was just too much tension in that elevator. She wasn’t fired, so what happened?”

Kyle shrugged. “I’m not sure. She’s always had a chip on her shoulder.”

“What’s up with you?”

“Excuse me?”

Nelson repeated his question. “I’ve never seen you react this way around a woman.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kyle would never admit it, but seeing Zoe bat her eyelashes and flirt with Nelson had really bothered him. He wasn’t sure if she was really interested in his cousin or if Nelson’s suspicions were correct. Regardless, he did not like it one way or the other.

* * *

Zoe walked into her office and closed the door behind her. Her purse fell to the floor as she leaned against her desk, then sat. She closed her eyes as vivid images churned through her mind of her time at RHD working under Kyle.

There was a part of Zoe that wanted to hate Kyle for turning her world upside down with a scorching kiss and then acting as though nothing had ever happened between them, but the fact was there was much that she admired about him, such as his love for family. Although her Baltimore upbringing was not privileged in the way that Kyle’s was, Zoe was raised by loving parents with whom she remained close. She had inherited her love of fashion from her mother. Some of Zoe’s earliest memories were of playing in her parents’ closet, trying on her mother’s high heels and scarves. Her mom claimed that the first word Zoe ever spoke was shoe.

Zoe and her mother used to go shopping together almost every weekend as she got older. They never bought much because her parents made just enough money to make ends meet and had very little extra. Still it was fun trying on clothes and putting together outfits. By the time Zoe was in high school, she had started making her own clothes and earning extra money by designing for her friends.

When she was studying at FIT, Zoe devoured fashion magazines and articles on trends in the industry. Although she could not afford a subscription to Women’s Wear Daily, she read every copy in FIT’s library and kept abreast of the industry. That was how she heard about the RHD internship. Zoe had leaped at the chance to work for such a prominent design house.

From the moment she’d first walked through the doors of RHD, Zoe had felt as if she had finally arrived where she was meant to be. Like a sponge, she’d soaked up every detail of the business. Everyone at RHD worked hard, but Zoe worked harder. She was intent on proving her worth, and her efforts did not go unnoticed. There were three other FIT interns at RHD that semester—girls with sterling pedigrees and family connections—but Zoe was the only one who was offered a job upon graduation.

Most of Zoe’s coworkers had embraced her from the beginning, praising her work ethic and her creativity, but Kyle had seemed unimpressed by her talent. He wasn’t insulting or dismissive—he just accepted her accomplishments at face value. Zoe was determined to make Kyle Hamilton acknowledge her.

Maybe that was what led to tension between them.

By the time Zoe was twenty-three, her star was rising at RHD. Kyle had frequently requested Zoe for projects and Zoe took every opportunity to work closely with Kyle, despite their constant bickering. But working in such close proximity to the sensual designer had ignited a smoldering desire within Zoe that she didn’t know how to handle.

Things had come to a head during Fashion Week 2008. After a successful show in Bryant Park, Kyle had invited Zoe to join him and his friends at a party. She wasn’t sure if it was the cosmos they were drinking or the excitement of the evening, but Kyle had kissed her.

Zoe had matched him kiss for kiss, each one more passionate than the last.

Abruptly, Kyle had pulled away, leaving her to try to figure out what had gone wrong. Her humiliation did not end there, however.

The next morning, Kyle pulled her into his office and apologized for crossing the boundary between employer and employee. To add insult to injury, he also had the nerve to say that she was too young for him.

She had to admit that the man was one incredible kisser, but the sting of his dismissal still felt as fresh as the day it had happened.

It bothered Zoe that she had been foolish enough to believe that Kyle Hamilton was tied to her destiny...and that she had allowed herself to fall in love with him.

Jerry stuck his head inside her office, interrupting her turbulent thoughts. “I have a lunch date. Can you review the list of candidates for Fashion Week internships? I sent them to you via email. We need a couple to start as soon as possible because two quit on us yesterday.”

“Sure,” Zoe said.

He was gone in a flash.

She leaned back in her chair and sighed. Zoe had a lot on her plate already, but she checked her email and found the list Jerry had sent.

When she came across one prospect who had interned at RHD last year, Zoe paused. She briefly wondered why the young man had decided not to go back there. It really did not matter, she told herself.

The important thing was for Zoe to put RHD, and Kyle Hamilton, out of her mind once and for all. She had bigger things to worry about than the man she had once been in love with.

* * *

“Have you seen Brianna or Bailey yet?” Kyle asked Nelson as they left his apartment for the weekly Sunday dinner hosted by his parents. “I know Daniel came by to see you a couple of days ago.”

Nelson shook his head. “I talked to Bailey, but Brianna and I have been playing telephone tag. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.”