Schooled

Stripped Excerpt! Chapter 2 - Ava

No matter what I did, it didn't hide the sheen of sweat that covered my ... well, everything.

The doors opened with a ding, exposing a law office that looked like it was made by old rich men, for old rich men. Shiny wood. Polished marble. Big, bold lettering probably made from twenty-four-karat gold. A pretty secretary smiled from the reception desk. I blew past her with a wave as a familiar face caught my eye through the wall of a glassed-in meeting room.

"I'm here! Sorry, sorry." I tugged the sliding door shut behind me.

My best friend sat on the far side of the table with our lawyer, John. Lex wore a stylish blue boyfriend jacket rolled at the sleeves. Her red hair fell in sleek waves just past her shoulders and her gray eyes radiated relief. Always 100% class, my BFF didn't look like she'd just completed an Ironman.

So that made one of us.

"Traffic was insane. Still getting used to it." I pulled out a chair and collapsed into it. My clothes were already sticking to me. Now they'd stick me to the chair. Ick.

Lex knew I didn't drive but wasn't about to rat me out.

"Right. So, remind me what we're doing here?" I was dying to know the reason for my best friend's cryptic and urgent-sounding phone message asking me to get my ass down there. I never thought we'd need a lawyer. And with less than eight weeks to finalize Travesty's spring collection, Lex and I didn't have time to mess around.

"Someone from the court came to my office this morning," Lex started.

John gestured to another person at the table, who I'd hardly noticed in the rush. "Ava, Travesty has been served with a complaint. Nathan Townsend is here representing the plaintiff."

I didn't understand what that meant, but turned my head.

Oh.

Oh no ...

Oh, supercalifragifucking ...

I'm a visual person. What I noticed was spiky dark hair. A jaw you could cut diamonds on. A navy suit that cost more than my rent, tailored to fit a hard body. Eyes two shades lighter than the suit.

He wasn't smiling, but I knew his teeth were straight. The only flaw above his neck was a scar through his eyebrow. And you'd only see it if you were close.

Say, close enough to lick it.

I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut. Hope he'd vanish in a puff of smoke, like a leprechaun. Or a unicorn. Or anything that belonged in my imagination and not reclining comfortably in a New York law office.

"Ava Cameron, is it?"

"No. No, no, no." I turned to John. "We are not working with him. If you need help, find someone else. According to Barry there are lots of options."

"We're not working together." A voice smooth as whiskey commanded my attention. Blue eyes took me apart and put me back together. Then the owner of that voice and those eyes straightened despite his already impressive posture and pushed a card in front of me on the table.

An actual fucking business card.

Nathan J. Townsend. Associate, Townsend Price.

Unbelievable. Weren't lawyers supposed to be old and balding, like John? Not twenty-something and sexy as—

"I'm representing Anthony Bryson, whose work you copied."

The surprise at seeing Nate dissolved into a new shock. "What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"One of the designs from Travesty's initial collection, your design, bears an uncanny resemblance to one created by my client," he replied easily. Nate opened a folder and slid over the glossy photos like a detective in a network cop show. "These garments appeared at a fashion show three weeks ago. I understand they're part of your fall line."

He'd switched into full-on lawyer mode. It felt strange. The last time I'd heard his voice, it had been an octave lower and saying other things.

Very different things.

I forced my attention back to the photos. The first showed a flouncy skirt I'd done for the fall, blown up to highlight tone-on-tone detailing in an inverted chevron pattern that blended into hearts at the bottom. Next to it was a photo of a maxi skirt I didn't recognize, but the pattern was similar.

I glanced at Lex, sliding the photos over. "Travesty's designs are original. And mine," I bit out.

"I appreciate your indignation, Ms. Cameron. But there is a striking similarity between this motif, shown here, and my client's." His smooth tone was as infuriating as his accusations.

"It doesn't sound like you appreciate anything, Mr. Townsend," I said tightly, leaning in. "Except the tree trunk up your ass, which you seem pretty happy about."

Nate blinked.

Take that, Suit. I felt an ounce of satisfaction at his reaction.

"What Ava's trying to say," Lex jumped in with her trademark tact, "is the chevron has inspired a lot of collections this fall. We have a unique take on it."

"Nathan, this is a sham. We intend to dispute this. But I think we're done for today." John cut us off before we could get into any more trouble.

This day had gone from bad to worse to apocalypse-sized disastrous.

I dug into my bag, searching for a nail file. At least I could fix something.

I've been in New York four weeks. I'm behind on the spring line, a week from homeless, and getting sued by the only person in the whole damn city who's seen me naked.

"Quite the trifecta," Nate muttered under his breath as he slid his files into a brown leather case.

Because apparently I'd said it out loud.

~

Thanks for reading this excerpt of Stripped! I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to keep reading Nate and Ava's story, you can find it on most e-book retailers. Or, check out my Announcements for a way I may be able to post it on WattPad... but I need your help! <3 

xx P