Clean Slate by Holley Trent Read Free Book Online

doorframe. Her breath caught at the sight of him, fabulously
sunburned but still smiling.
    “Ben. Darling ,”
Nikki purred, tapping her fingertips together and grinning like the cat that
got the cream.
    “Good morning.”
    “Can you do me a wee favor?” She held one thumb and
forefinger a few millimeters apart to show just how small the boon was.
    “Anything.”
    “Shit, I wish everyone else was so accommodating. I’d
spend less time yelling. Come in and close the door for me, will ya? Oh!
Daisy!” She snapped her fingers and pointed at her, seeming to confess she’d
forgotten she was there. “You’re so damn quiet. What’d you need, hon?”
    “Uh…” All of Daisy’s blood seemed to rush to her head and
her stomach turned. She swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth and stood
from the armchair she’d been occupying. “I wanted to pitch something, but…” She
looked from blank-faced Nikki to Ben whose smile widened at her attention.
    Fuck.
    She dropped her gaze to her shoes. “I’ll come back later
when you’re not busy.”
    “Honey, if there’s ever a point when I’m not busy, go
ahead and roll me into the nearest open grave.” Nikki picked her pencil up once
more and used it to wind her long hair into a sloppy bun.
    Ben closed the door.
    Nikki fixed her green gaze on her and ground her teeth. Teeth-grinding
was her tic.
    Just spit it out.
The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll be out of her firing range.
    “I had an idea for some new soaps.”
    “ You did?”
    Daisy opened her mouth to respond and closed it while she
got her thoughts together. How to be diplomatic? She didn’t want to throw her
mother under the bus or anything. She just wanted some
independence—authority of her own.
    She sighed. “Nikki, I didn’t want to wait for the Monday
meeting because Momma doesn’t know I’m even thinking about this.”
    “Hmm.” Nikki gestured to the chair, indicating Daisy
return to it.
    She did, and pulled it closer to the front of the desk.
    Ben was still hovering, so Nikki hooked her thumb toward
the other chair. He pulled it up.
    “Lay it on me, Daisy. Maybe I can kill two birds with one
stone.”
    Daisy let her face slacken with her confusion. “I’m
sorry?”
    “I’ll explain when you’re done.” She tapped her fingertips
some more.
    “Oh. Well, we’ve always used our old family recipes for
the soaps. There hasn’t been much change in the product in a hundred years,
best I can tell. I know people like the soaps because they’re natural, but
they’re not very luxurious.”
    “Go on.”
    Daisy crossed her legs at the ankles and stared at her
knees. “I’ve been brainstorming more modern products, and I think I have a
couple of ideas that’ll fit the brand but maybe appeal to a younger
demographic.”
    “Younger and more broke?”
    Daisy shook her head. When she looked up, Nikki had found
another pencil and was scratching notes onto her pad.
    “People who are careful with their spending, but who’ll
splurge on toiletry items they view as necessities.”
    “Give me three ideas off the top of your head.”
    Three? Shit. Daisy clucked her tongue. “Um, well, the first is a lemon astringent.”
    Nikki lifted both brows and grunted. “Sounds nice. What
else ya got?”
    Daisy swallowed hard. “An orange cream body
soap—orange natural glycerin and milk.”
    Nikki scribbled on her yellow pad. “And number three?”
    Eenie-meenie-miney-moe…
    “A lavender-grape seed oil soap with soy for blemishes.”
    Nikki whistled long and low and intensified the frenzied
pace of her writing. When she looked up again, she didn’t turn her attention to
Daisy. She looked at Ben.
    “Ben, I wanna tell you a secret.”
    He laughed that deep, chesty laugh that made the wrinkles
at the sides of his eyes deepen. “I’m afraid.”
    “You should be.” The little boss lady stood and sauntered
to the file cabinet installed near the closet door. She pulled open the top
drawer and scanned the