Styles of Seduction. Jacquelin Thomas
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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.”
They stepped inside a waiting elevator.
“Miss those family gatherings, huh?” Kyle asked as he pressed the button for the eighteenth floor. Kyle’s whole family lived in separate apartments in the same building co-owned by Kyle’s parents on Central Park West, which had its advantages, particularly when it came to getting together for Sunday dinner.
Nelson nodded. “I do. I enjoy being around family.”
They rode three floors up and knocked on the door when they reached his parents’ apartment. His mother rushed out to give Nelson a hug. “Welcome to New York.”
He laughed. “Hello, Aunt Lila.”
She slipped her arm through his. “I cooked some of your favorites.”
Kyle followed them inside. “Don’t spoil him, Mom.”
Lila looked much younger than her fifty-eight years. Although she no longer modeled and had given birth to four children, she still maintained her slender figure. Today, she wore her long, dark hair in its natural kinky/curly state.
Lila looked up at her son and said, “Nelson’s the guest of honor today. He deserves a little spoiling.”
Kyle’s youngest sister Bailey walked into the room. “We have been graced by a celebrity. How are you, cousin?”
Even in a pair of faded jeans and a black tank top with silver beading, the young model looked like a star, Kyle thought to himself. He had a strong feeling that this year’s Fashion Week was going to launch Bailey’s career, and Kyle was excited for her.
Nelson chuckled. “I’m no celebrity, that’s for sure.”
Kyle’s other sister Brianna, a budding designer in her own right, joined them, followed by a man in his early sixties, bald with a salt-and-pepper beard and mustache. He pushed his designer eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose. “Nephew, it’s good to see you. Although I thought you would’ve come to say hello before now.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Roger, I know how busy it’s been for you all.”
“There’s always time for family.”
Kyle sat down beside Nelson on the overstuffed sofa. “Family comes first—that’s what my dad always says.”
Roger gave Nelson a firm pat on the shoulder. “So you decided to venture on a different path than your father, I hear.”
“Law is not in my blood. I think I inherited my mother’s creative spirit instead.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Kyle interjected as Roger nodded in agreement.
“I wanted to be an actress once,” Brianna confessed. “When I was twelve.”
“Then she wanted to become an astronaut,” Kyle’s brother, Daniel, said as he came into the room with a chuckle. “But she changed her mind when she realized that the space suits were not fashionable.”
Brianna laughed. “I figured I could just design my own. When I found out that I couldn’t, I decided that being an astronaut just wasn’t for me.
“Kyle never wanted to be anything other than an RHD designer,” Brianna continued. “I would be in my room designing clothes for my dolls and Kyle would try to change my drawings. It used to drive me crazy. That’s why I bought him a doll one Christmas.”
Nelson threw back his head and laughed.
“It’s not that funny,” Kyle muttered, before chuckling.
“I should thank you,” Brianna said. “It’s because of you that I am the person I am. You taught me a lot about designing.”
Lila rose, checked her watch and announced, “Dinner is ready to be served. Shall we?”
Roger gave the blessing before they all ventured into the kitchen to prepare their plates.
“I’m really excited about the show,” Bailey said once they were all seated around a table large enough to seat twenty. “I’ve got several interviews lined up already. I feel that this might be my big moment.”
“I