The Ivy House - By Drea Stein Page 0,41

my house and now my work?”

“That’s not what I meant. I have a real deal for you, if you’ll just calm down and let me talk.”

Phoebe took a deep breath. Some of her friends in Los Angeles, Dean included, had been dismissive of her efforts, saying they were a distraction. What he had meant is that they were a distraction from what he thought was her real job working with his clients. She had a feeling he hadn’t been happy about the success she had started to enjoy on her own. Now, part of coming here was proving to him that Ivy Lane was more than just a distraction.

“Fine. Talk.” She held out her hand, in what she hoped was an accommodating gesture towards him.

“Well, I really liked the designs. At least on the site. Don’t tell me you’re sewing the pillows yourself, are you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, of course not. I create the design, get the fabric made and then I have a small workshop that sews the pillows for me. Then, they go to a warehouse, which handles all the shipping for me. I have a part-time assistant, a college student, who oversees it all for me.”

“Smart. Leaves you plenty of time to create. And I guess market.”

Phoebe shrugged. She hadn’t done much in the way of marketing her designs. She’d had some luck there since she’d given some of her pillows as a housewarming present to a friend. The pillows then caught the eye of an interior designer, and soon, Phoebe’s pillows had started to pop up all over Los Angeles. But she knew she needed to do more. Going to shops like the Garden Cottage was a first step, but she would need hundreds more like it, across the country, if she wanted to make this a real business. Or one big customer with lots of shops, she thought, beginning to get an idea of where Chase was going.

“It’s great stuff, but I was wondering… The website barely has your name on it. Why aren’t you playing up the Hollywood angle?” There was real curiosity in his voice.

Phoebe looked down to the floor. “I wanted it to be successful on its own, not because I have a famous name.”

Chase nodded. “OK, I get it. But you shouldn’t hold yourself back like that.”

“It’s not up for discussion,” Phoebe said sharply, drawing in a deep breath. Business deal or not, Chase could walk right out of here if he thought she was going to buckle on this.

“OK, so noted.” He smiled to show that he wasn’t put off by her tone. “Here’s the deal.”

Phoebe crossed her arms, interested in spite of her personal misgivings towards Chase. She had managed to do a little research on Chase Sanders. North Coast Outfitters was the real thing, a multimillion-dollar business with high-end customers, expanding every day. Getting North Coast Outfitters behind her would help her launch her fledging business much faster than she could ever do on her own.

“What kind of deal?”

“Well, I thought perhaps you could do some new designs, pillows, a little California cool, a little old-Hollywood-glamour type of thing, and we market them to our customer base. You make the design, do the samples and I’ll take it from there. We’ll offer them as a limited-edition set, promote the hell out of them and then see what happens. If my customers like the pillows, then we can try other things.”

He was excited, she could tell, as the ideas were flowing out of him. She knew that his attention wasn’t on her exactly, but it was still exhilarating to be swept up in his enthusiasm. For a moment, she could see it all mapped out—a limited-edition set of work for North Coast Outfitters, make her name known, then get herself into the pages of magazines. Her business would grow from there, and a Phoebe Ryan design would mean something simple, elegant, yet fun. Good taste for the next generation. Pillows, tablecloths, plates…and, yes, someday, even sheets.

“What’s in it for you?” she asked, returning to reality. Nobody did anyone a favor like this without expecting some return. “You can’t bribe me. I’m not selling the house, you know,” Phoebe said, her defenses rising.

Chase smiled at her and took a step closer. “I know. You made your position very clear. Ivy House isn’t for sale. I respect that. Especially since you’re not planning on tearing it down. At least that’s the word on the street.” He gave her