When Staci Takes Charge (Leave Your Shoes On 2)

Maxi shot her a wry look. “The latter is so not you. Come on, Stace. You’re not content unless you’re shaking things up. I say take the cruise. Teach those dance instructors on the promenade deck how to burn up the floorboards with a sassy salsa or a tantalizing tango.”

“Hmm, yes, that does sound tempting.”

“It’d be good for you. You love dancing, your parents are a riot, and, let’s face it, you could use some fresh air, Miss Workaholic. Drag your sister on board with you. Jen could use a wild week at sea as well.”

Staci couldn’t disagree with any of that, but said, “We’ll have to see how things shape up here this week before I commit to anything.” She was fearful of any corporate walls that had just been rebuilt crumbling.

“Everything’s fine here, Stace. Go have some fun.”

She certainly needed some time off to relax and decompress. But Staci surmised that the reason she couldn’t make any decisions in her personal life was that she was still caught up in all the hoopla around the office. This was her lifeblood, after all. She couldn’t take any risks with severing it because she was off doing the lambada on the Love Boat.

Yet she told her friend, “I’ll put some thought into the cruise. Enjoy dinner.”

They collected their laptops and walked out of the conference room together.

Maxi said, “Don’t work too hard or too late, huh?”

“I promise. And thanks for worrying about me.”

“It’s what friends do.”

They parted ways near the elevator, Maxi taking the car down to her floor and Staci flashing her access badge over the electronic reader and stepping through the tall glass doors of the executive wing.

Her spacious corner office boasted dark hardwood floors, retro chandeliers set on dimmers, and plush furniture in various artistic designs with sensuous curves. Her sofas were scarlet, the accent chairs a dark mustard, and the toss pillows had a collection of famous faces stamped on them in vibrant colors.

Bold artwork adorned the walls, and several gorgeous floral arrangements sat on end tables, the coffee table, and the two credenzas. Fresh bouquets she’d received from friends who’d congratulated her on the company’s incredible marketing boost and Saturday night’s debut.

Rather unexpectedly, it occurred to Staci that she secretly wished there was an additional bouquet—from Nick. To thank her for, or remind her of, or commemorate with her their night together.

Major wishful thinking. Something Staci didn’t have the luxury to indulge in.

She crossed to her glass-topped desk with its sleek, arching, brushed stainless steel legs that crisscrossed on the sides, and sank into her velvety, royal-blue chair. Floor-to-ceiling windows ran the length of two abutting walls and featured the Baltimore skyline. The city lights glowed as sunset faded into twilight and captured the gentle fall of fat snowflakes.

Staci removed her stilettos and dug her toes into the thick, white shag rug at her feet. She couldn’t help but fixate on Maxi’s comment about the side effects of spending all day in six-inch heels. Staci considered taking her own advice about wearing flats at least half of the day while she was at the office.

But damn, she loved her high heels. Staci was five eight without them on, and that extra surge of height always made her feel a bit more authoritative, and certainly made her more eye-to-eye with the men who worked for her and those she dealt with outside of the company.

Her mind drifted to Nick. It was literally impossible to keep him out of her thoughts. He easily crested six three. She’d found his stature a sexy part of his commanding presence. And she felt a little tickle of feminine empowerment over the fantasy of running into him when she was sporting her heels—and how it would almost put her on par with his tall, devilish self.

But Staci doubted she’d ever see him again. Chances were good he didn’t even live in Baltimore. So she tried not to get lost in these errant thoughts of him and instead remained focused on business—in particular, this new conundrum Maxi had inadvertently brought to her attention. She wasn’t above admitting that Staci Kay shoes could be more comfortable. Possibly designed with some sort of improved, high tech insole that massaged the foot all day or cushioned it in a pillow of gel or some other material.

Hmm…An interesting notion to ponder.

The inserts she’d tried in the past never worked the way they were purported to, and more often than not, she found herself accidentally stepping out of her shoes because of them, particularly when she picked up her pace. A definite hazard.

The main problem she encountered was that the insoles she preferred—expensive ones she ordered from England—took up a little too much space in her shoes. Staci was a solid eight. If she went up half a size to accommodate the inserts, her feet sloshed around. But if she stuck to the eights, her toes got pinched. So she’d recently been bypassing comfort for style.

Not exactly wise. But, like Maxi, she loved her shoes.

Yet there ought to be a reasonable solution.

Finding this new issue important enough to put further thought into, Staci turned on her computer and accessed the network drive shared by Sales, PR, and Marketing. All three divisions were located in Scottsdale. A spur-of-the-moment decision she’d made when starting up the company.

Two football-player friends from college, unfortunately not destined for pro ball, were opening a PR firm in Scottsdale and had offered Staci six months of free work because they needed more projects and clients for their portfolio.

The success of that quick venture had led Staci to hire the firm. From there, they’d merged businesses, and the guys had also built the Sales and Marketing teams while Staci concentrated primarily on the Baltimore Operations hub. Manny and Dave technically worked for her, since Staci had absorbed their firm when she offered them more money than they were projected to make on their own in the first three years. But she really relied on them to run the Scottsdale conglomerate.

She recalled Manny discussing recent focus groups he’d set up with Staci Kay consumers, along with other beta testers who’d never tried the brand before. Staci was suddenly curious about the results, not having the time of late to dedicate to that end of the business while struggling with the production woes.