All while being sensual, female-empowered, and high-value. (That’s O, not me, although I’d like to think the same descriptions apply.)

These presentations almost always take place around conference tables.

Sigh.

Seated around O’s table right now is Anterdec’s investment team, along with O’s directors and senior managers. Their meeting will last all day. According to the agenda, I am here to walk them through the concept for O NOLA. But I also have a short pitch of my own to make. A way for O to bring pleasure to women who deserve more of it. gO Spa.

“Good morning. I’m Chloe Browne, design director for O. This is Carrie, our junior designer. She’ll be helping me today. Carrie, could you start by lowering the shades a bit? It’s very bright in here, and I want to be sure everyone sees our vision clearly.”

I also want to be sure no one sees me too clearly.

Have I told you my theory of successful design presentations?

First rule: be absolutely confident in the work you are showing. The design is the star.

In keeping with this idea, I am wearing a sleeveless black linen shirtdress. Silver hoop earrings, silver bracelets. My hair is tied back. Simple and neutral, nothing to distract from the work.

Second rule: be absolutely confident in yourself.

So I am wearing my power underwear. Does that make you think of Wonder Woman? Supergirl maybe? Their superpowers are different.

What I have under my dress now gives me the delicious power of knowing a secret. No one else in this room would guess that I am wearing a black mesh corset, structured with boning that holds me tight and pushes my breasts against my dress. They can’t see the tiny matching thong, or feel how it runs between my legs and up. Only I know.

Joe used to know, too. Which made it so much hotter.

No no no! I can’t think about that!

I look around the table. Some familiar faces, some new.

Andrew McCormick is here, and oh my. He’s the new CEO of Anterdec, and O has been one of his special projects since the beginning. I wouldn’t mind being his special project, but...

Amanda Warrick. She just joined Anterdec as assistant marketing director. She was here once before, unofficially, shopping us for a bachelorette party for her friend. I gave her group their tour. I’ve heard rumors that she is Andrew’s girlfriend, but if so, they’re keeping it very quiet.

Wait. Amanda… here before… shopping us…that mystery shop report...

Alarm bells begin dinging.

“Hey, Chloe,” she says with a wink. I smile back, projecting serenity.

To the right of Amanda is a seriously handsome man. Serious, and handsome. He looks the tiniest bit familiar? A bit older than me? I meet his eye and smile.

In a purely professional way, of course.

He looks down at his phone, frowning slightly.

Hmm. Usually when I smile at a guy, he smiles back. But usually my eyes are not swollen to the size of hard-boiled eggs.

Sigh.

I turn to my presentation. Everything was pinned up before I left the office yesterday. One long wall of this room is covered in white linen, just for this purpose. All the fabrics we’ve selected for O NOLA, the samples of wood finishes and paint colors, squares of carpet, and photos of furniture options are displayed in groups.

And I immediately see that two of the fabric samples have been pinned in the wrong groups. I step over to the wall and re-pin them, reaching up high over my head.

Glad I caught that before I started presenting.

A side table holds materials too big or heavy to pin up, like stone and marble samples, ceramic tile, a faucet, a sconce. There is a stack of folders for everyone, with floor and furniture plans and of course all the estimates, budget sheets, and timelines.

Carrie distributes the folders, and they automatically open them and begin flipping through. All except The Frowner. He’s looking at my chest.

So I look at my chest.

Which, of course, makes everyone watching me look at my chest.

My secret power isn’t secret anymore… two buttons of my shirtdress have come open.

Black mesh corset on full display, one pink nipple fully visible.

I pull my dress together. I wish I could pull myself together. My face is bright red, and red is not in the O corporate color palette.

“This is not the presentation I had in mind,” I blurt out. “Normally, when I set out to give clients something they’ve never seen before, it’s not quite like this.”

Amanda starts to giggle, so infectiously that I have to join her. Everyone else follows, and the formality in the room evaporates. Suddenly they’re all on my side, except for The Frowner.

Is the guy made of stone?

“Did you get that corset here?” asks a blonde woman. Diane. Diane...something. She’s in accounting. Severe face, hair pulled back in a tight bun, smile twitching her nose.

Amanda asks, through laughter, “Does it come in large?”

Of course I did. Of course it does.

One hour later I have finished giving my virtual tour of the new O. I have passed around fabric samples so that everyone could feel for themselves just how luxuriant a fire-retardant material can be. I have given a very short course in sustainable woods, and explained that the ash for O’s custom cabinetry is sourced only from accredited plantations. And, of course, I have justified every dollar to be spent.

Everyone seemed to love it. Except The Frowner, who now clears his throat.

“Chloe, I’m Nick Grafton. I handle branding for Anterdec properties. It’s critically important for a new brand like O to carry the same recognizable image throughout all locations. Can you tell us a bit more about how your design will do this while at the same time bringing in the unique atmosphere of New Orleans?”

Even seated, I can tell he’s a tall man. All the time I spend with seven-foot-tall Henry has skewed my perspective a bit, but Nick must be over six feet. His hair is thick and a little on the long side for a corporate guy, light brown with a hint of silver. I admit it: I have a total weakness for long hair. Not man buns, but a little over the collar… something to grab and maybe pull at intimate times...

Ice blue eyes.

But what really gets my attention is his dark navy blue suit. Crisp shirt. Cotton madras plaid tie. When you spend every work day surrounded by mostly naked men, a fully-dressed guy gets your attention.

Sexy. Makes you wonder what’s underneath.

Not that I’m objectifying him. Ahem.