The Beauty and the CEO Page 9

  Everything came down to the Creative Design Director position. From what he’d seen, Zoe’s work still did not pop to him. The work Will had seen—not just in her portfolio but also album covers for musicians and rap artists—was more for shock value. The bold colors and designs could have been considered art. Will liked to see a woman who looked like a woman, not a walking art gallery. Will thought of the Get line. The product titles were catchy—Get Him, Get Him Back and Get Revenge—but at the end of the day, vintage colors, such as bold red, soft pinks and basic nudes, stood the test of time; meanwhile, a majority of the trendy products were discontinued and in his opinion, a waste of time and money. Will recalled old photographs of his relatives over the years in their dresses and makeup. They started off with vintage red lipstick and natural eyebrows; as the family members grew, they experimented with the trends from the seventies, from heavy, bright blue lids and oversize lashes to funky colors, then the grunge fad, and eventually returned to the basic “less is more.” Zoe was a trend. He wanted classic. How was he supposed to have both?

  She was haute couture. He smiled at his use of the phrase. Dana would be so proud of him. In just a few short weeks he’d grown. He recognized the names of the Ravens Cosmetics Zoe left in the bathroom and ignored the competitors’ products.

  The sleek black cell phone on the nightstand by his bed lit up. It was the first time all week it had rung. Will expected to see Marcus’s or Donovan’s face on the screen, but instead it was his sister. Speak of the devil. He smiled just the same. “Hey,” he said, accepting the FaceTime call.

  Like all of the women in the Ravens family, Dana was extremely beautiful. She’d begged their parents to allow her to be part of an RC back-to-school runway show, and her modeling career had taken off at the age of thirteen. Now, at almost forty, with three kids of her own, Dana was still as beautiful as ever.

  “Hey, little bro,” Dana said with a bright smile. From her position, Will could tell she was seated at the utility table in her kitchen. A bowl of fresh fruit sat on the island bar behind her and the refrigerator door opened and closed without a head bobbing over the countertop. One of the kids was sneaking their own snack. Will kept that tidbit of information to himself. “How is the country life treating you?”

  “Bad news spreads fast,” Will said.

  “I wouldn’t say bad news, more like gossip.” A crash from another room sounded and distracted Dana for a moment. “Tell me about Southwood. Are you wearing overalls yet?”

  “I haven’t gotten that sucked in yet.” Will laughed as he said it, but the small town was growing on him. The walk around the lake had sold him, or maybe it was the company he kept.

  Dana narrowed her eyes and leaned in close to the screen. “You sound and look relaxed compared to the last time I spoke with you.”

  “It was just last week that we spoke, and that was after I had to tell a room full of interviewees that we’re going to have to get back with them about the job interviews that I was late to, thanks to Dixon.”

  Nodding, Dana rubbed her chin. “I heard Titus was in the running. He’s worked a few shows I walked in.”

  If his memory served him correctly, Titus was the six-foot-five artist from the interviews. Truth be told, out of everyone in the pile, Will had preferred Titus’s body of work. Women looked like women, not art. On top of being a great makeup artist, Titus being a man in a female-dominated field made it fresh and new. The idea of hurting Zoe didn’t sit well with Will, though.

  “He is.”

  “And what about Zoe Baldwin? The twins told me she’s at the pageant.”

  Will rubbed his hand over his mouth to cover the smile that the mere thought of Zoe evoked in him. “She’s talented.”

  “And very beautiful,” Dana added.

  Secrecy was never at the forefront for the Ravens family. Will shook his head and sighed. “Okay, what did Donovan say to you?”

  “It wasn’t just Donovan,” Dana said. “Marcus picked up on some sexual chemistry between you two.”

  “Marcus and Donovan? Our brothers who both have issues with dating women from the office?”

  Another crash came from behind Dana. It sounded like a bowl with a thousand Legos falling. Judging from the way Dana rolled her eyes, Will guessed he was right. She squinted her eyes, as if pushing the noise out of her mind. “Will, they say the tension was so thick between you two. Are you sure it’s wise to be working with her in a secluded town?”

  Considering the way they were interrupted every time he and Zoe got close, the last thing Will would call Southwood was secluded. Someone was always around. The thought of his time with Zoe being put in jeopardy didn’t sit right with Will. He sat up further and shook his head. “There’s nothing going on between us.”

  “Are you sure? Because after going over the video surveillance from the downstairs lobby—”

  “What?” Will pinched the bridge of his nose. “I see Jerraud is taking advantage of his position at the building.”

  “It’s not a position,” Dana corrected her younger brother. “It is his job. He runs Anderson Securities and part of that requires putting out any fires at Kelly Towers.”

  “There was no threat.”

  Dana shook her head back and forth. “Judging from the heat rising between you and Miss Baldwin from the minute you two laid eyes on each other, I’d beg to differ.”

  Jesus, he’d forgotten about the security cameras on all the floors. He shouldn’t have overlooked the sneaky lengths his sisters would go through in order to get some information on him. “So, this is how you get your gossip?” Will had to laugh. He shook his head. “You’re scoping out surveillance tapes.”

  “Whatever, William. This isn’t about me. This is about you and Zoe.”

  “There is no me and Zoe,” Will snapped and when he did, he heard an unmistakable sneeze from the other side of the bathroom door. A jolt charged his system. While it was Zoe’s idea to keep things friendly between them, he still did not want her to think he wasn’t attracted to her. He desired Zoe. Will scratched the space above his heart where his ΤΦΡ, Tau Phi Rho, tattoo rested. The ink reminded him he needed to get back in touch with Dominic at some point this week. He felt bad for being in his frat brother’s new hometown and not hanging out with him at any point.

  “I would hate for her not to get chosen and then want to bring a lawsuit on RC. That’s all the cousins need to hear before they decide to cash in their chips.”

  The door to Zoe’s room slammed shut and footsteps shuffled down the stairs. Will cursed under his breath. “I’ve got this, Dana. Okay?”

  “Fine. Well, I better get off this thing before the kids destroy my house.”

  After they said farewell, Will glanced at the itinerary on the nightstand to decide what to wear tomorrow for Lexi’s last supper before the pageant Sunday. There was nothing formal until Saturday night and that was just a dinner. Since they were touring more old buildings, Will slipped into a pair of jeans, a Miami T-shirt and a pair of wheat Timberlands. He doubted they’d do a lot of running, but if they had to walk through the park or anything, Will wanted his feet protected.

  Even though he knew Zoe had left her bedroom, Will knocked on the door to the bathroom they shared and opened it. The first scent was intoxicating. Magnolias. He grinned at the bottles of hair products with the Ravens Cosmetics label and wondered which ones she used. Whoever came up with the scent needed a raise. Will would never look at or smell magnolias again without thinking of Zoe.

  Will understood Ravens Cosmetics, as a cosmetic conglomerate, was parent to several subsidiaries. The internet made it possible for consumers to try every product created under their umbrella. Years ago, it had helped sales skyrocket; now, beauty bloggers helped, too, but anyone with a camera phone considered themselves professional video bloggers, or vloggers, as they were known. Last
Christmas, RC came out with a holiday mascara—Merry-Merry Mascara—and a customer with a cell phone reported her dislike for the makeup. Then someone purchased a tube but didn’t care for the customer service she’d received and trashed the mascara. That video went viral. The bad press didn’t help when the consumer named RC’s competition as a better alternative. Some of these products seemed to taunt Will as he stood in the bathroom. The other products on the counter irked him. MDMFlow, PNK Digger and AJ Crimson were scattered on the countertop. Was it crazy to wish the only thing Zoe used on her body came from him or his company?

  He saw a piece of jewelry Zoe wore every day. Using his index finger, he traced the hoop earring a few times, then pinched it to pick it up. Returning it to her would give him an excuse to see her—touch her, even.

  Downstairs, he found Zoe seated at the head of the breakfast table draining a glass of orange juice. Though the glass covered her face, Will still caught her eyes watching him as he crossed the room. He bit the inside of his cheek trying to keep from flashing a smile at her. It seemed every time he did she would blush, and with a table filled with other guests working the pageant this Sunday, Will figured he needed to curb his flirting. What Dana had said resonated with him. He needed to keep to himself for the rest of the time here.

  Kenzie carried on a light conversation with the group at the table. She kept directing the topic toward Zoe. Will snagged a biscuit and sat at the opposite end of the table from her. A silver bowl of honey butter sat in front of him. While he slathered the butter on his bread, he could only think about doing the same thing to Zoe. Her slender neck was exposed in her low-cut V-neck T-shirt with a witty picture of sparkling red lips on the front.

  “Are you ready for today?”

  Will turned to his left to find Rebecca sliding into the empty seat. She reached out with her right hand to stroke his forearm. Nodding, Will sat back in his chair and pulled the napkin from under his plate to wipe his hands.

  “Of course,” Will said. “I look forward to discovering more of Southwood’s hidden charms.”

  “I can’t wait to look at the old building,” said Luke. He was the photographer for the pageant, but Will had also seen several freelance jobs he’d done for RC’s digital spreads.

  Will nodded his head in agreement. In one bite he consumed half of his biscuit. From across the table, Zoe stared and pressed her lips together. They’d almost shared a kiss yesterday afternoon.

  Zoe had left with the girl named Kimber to check on Lexi last evening. She hadn’t returned to her room until late. Will had been tempted to “accidentally” walk in on her when she was taking a shower, but he’d decided against it. Will wanted to talk about their episode yesterday.

  They had been about to kiss.

  He hated not being honest with Dana. In truth, he wasn’t sure where he stood with Zoe. Zoe had more aspirations in life than being the wife of an athlete. Will liked the way Zoe took time to talk to the girls at the park. There were times he’d witnessed a grown woman push a child out of the way in order to get his autograph. Will could try to keep things professional like he promised his sister. The words he’d said to Dana weren’t true. There was something going on between him and Zoe. It was only a matter of time. Because of his dedication and traveling with soccer, Will had never thought twice about getting involved in a serious relationship, yet when it came to Zoe, he wrestled with everything. Once the decision about the job was made, Will could concentrate on pursuing Zoe. Since she was from the islands, he knew the perfect place to take her on their first date when they returned to Miami.

  “Alright, is everyone here who wants to go on the road trip?” Kenzie asked in her typically cheerful voice.

  A chorus of yeses came from the Magnolia Palace occupants. Will looked forward to the van being overcrowded again. It would give him a chance to drive in the Maserati with Zoe. Alone.

  “Okay,” Kenzie went on, “Zoe, how about you sit up front with me and I’ll drive.”

  Wait, what? Will thought quickly. This was his chance to have her alone. For a brief moment he contemplated banging his fist on the table or kicking the chair’s leg in protest. But he was the CEO of a major cosmetics company. He was here on business to represent said company, but he was fighting the urge to act like a spoiled child for not getting his way. Will started to get up, but a set of hands clamped down on his shoulders. Ramon was standing behind him.

  “I kind of need a favor from you, bruh,” his new friend said. He slid into the seat Rebecca had left. “Kenzie is a bit upset with me and has kicked me off the tour. I figured since you have an empty seat in that car of yours, I could catch a ride.”

  “Sure, not a problem.”

  Will didn’t ask what the problem was. As with he and Zoe, there was clear tension between the former cheerleader and the owner of the bed-and-breakfast.

  Zoe and Kenzie were already at the doorway. Both ladies glanced back and purposely tilted their chins in the air at the men before turning fully around and leaving.

  Whatever Ramon had done to piss off Kenzie, he needed to stop. This was interrupting Will and Zoe’s time together.

  * * *

  When the van pulled up to the Mas Beauty School, Zoe’s heart started fluttering. She led the tour of her great-grandmother’s beloved three-story structure. They started with the old classrooms on the first floor, where the original structure was made up of four rooms. The home started off as a single level and thanks to success, they’d expanded. Sadie Baldwin used one room for teaching, and she and her husband lived in another, raised their two boys in the other, and opened their third bedroom to students coming from across the state of Georgia, and even farther away, to study the techniques of the trade.

  The success of the beauty school had made it easier for the Baldwins to add on to the house. The structure grew upward with two more stories. Sadie, whom Zoe called GiGi for short whenever she came to stay, had been quite young when she gave birth to Zoe’s grandfather.

  Zoe retold the story of the success of the original beauty school, and pointed out that two of the other downstairs rooms were turned into classrooms, as well. During the fifties and sixties, word had gotten out about Mas, and girls traveled from as far as Chicago to come to the school where the young student’s parents and grandparents attended Annie Malone’s as Poro Agents. Before the internet, businesswomen signed on as Poro Agents and sold Miss Annie’s products. Miss Annie went on to become a millionaire and came out with her own hair-care line for African American women in the 1900s. GiGi molded her career after Miss Annie to sell to those who could not afford to travel upstate. It was GiGi’s classes that had inspired Zoe to get a degree in cosmetic chemistry.

  Zoe smiled at everyone soaking in the history lesson. A lot of the women were already aware of it. Even Rebecca nodded her head with awe. Old newspaper clippings about the accomplishments of all the graduates hung in frames, and a significant number of the former students had gone on to work at Ravens Cosmetics—a little bit of news clearly interesting to Will.

  Will rubbed his square jaw with his hand and stood at one of the silver-framed photographs. The picture was of GiGi with the young and successful Naomi Ravens. When girls graduated from Mas, many went back home to start their own shops and salons, but GiGi thought those who went on to Ravens Cosmetics were the ones who truly succeeded.

  The tour continued through the kitchen, where GiGi once used to stand at the stove and make sure all of her students were fed and taken care of. Eventually, when the funds permitted it, she had been able to hire a cook. By the time Zoe came to live here, the number of students enrolled had begun to dwindle. With more beauty schools popping up in so many different cities, no one needed to travel to get the hands-on experience GiGi gave. At one point, everyone in Southwood came to GiGi’s school for free hair and makeup treatments at the end of each semester. After the doors to the scho
ol closed, GiGi kept her shop open for local customers until the day she passed away.

  A rope draped from one staircase railing to the other, warning everyone away from the third floor. That was Zoe’s sanctuary. Her father still lived upstairs when he wasn’t gallivanting around the world to meet up with her mother. It was probably for the best. There’d be no telling what her old room looked like now.

  Kenzie took over the rest of the tour, mainly guiding everyone back downstairs and outside to the second add-on to the home. In her typically excited way, Kenzie told everyone about the back area facing into the woods known as the Firefly Forest. The covered area was meant for cookouts and party events. Kenzie and Lexi had arranged for a special late dinner the next night. It was Lexi’s way of thanking everyone for their hard work. Sunday was the beauty pageant and everyone was going to be torn in different directions.

  Zoe lingered behind the group, mainly to keep an eye out for Will. She hadn’t meant to avoid him that morning, it just sort of happened. Not finding him in the crowd worried her a bit. Somehow she knew she’d find him on the third floor. She ducked under the tape and trotted up the steps. Of course he was standing in her bedroom with the door open. His arms were crossed over his chest; he stroked the hair on his chin and stared at the wall. In his jeans and Timberland boots he looked more like a star on a trendy hip-hop reality TV show.

  “The tape over the stairwell didn’t clue you in that this area was off-limits?” Zoe asked, approaching. Years ago, when her father had opened the house for tourists, the carpets were taken out and the floors stripped to reveal the original hardwood. He must have learned his lesson after having them constantly cleaned. Her father also kept the off-limits sign up to keep the family’s personal belongings safe. Kenzie had a key to the house, as the town historian did with just about every historic place in town open for tours.

  “I like to pick and choose when the rules suit me.” Will chuckled. He dropped his hands and nodded toward the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”