Make Up Break Up

by Lily Menon

  Hudson stood there, one hand braced on his nightstand. Frustration flashed across his face; his jaw was clenched. “We were friends. We spent an entire week together in Vegas. I’m not even sure why that week ended, because I sure as hell had a good time. More than a good time.”

  “Me too.” Annika bent to scoop up her purse and looked at him. “But I think we both know why it ended. Vegas was a bubble. It was unsustainable. That’s not how things work in the real world.” She gestured between them. “Look at us now. This is the real world, Hudson. And in the real world, the CEO of Make Up and the CEO of Break Up don’t belong together. I should go,” she added, slinging the purse over her shoulder. “I’ve got to wake up early for work anyway.”

  “Annika.” Hudson stepped forward, though he still kept a few feet between them. The soft lights of the room cast shadows under his eyes. “I’m more than just the CEO of Break Up.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. But Break Up’s obscuring what I suspect are the best parts of you. I can’t see anything else.” And then she strode to the door and let herself out.

  chapter twelve

  The next day was such a blur Annika could barely make time to blink, let alone tell June about kissing Hudson or stew about why exactly she’d kissed him.

  After three consecutive phone calls with beta testers—the first two punctuated by gong sounds she had to scramble to explain—Annika stood and stretched. She glanced over at June, who was rolling her wrists around, taking a break from squashing bugs in the app.

  “Hey,” Annika said. “Want to take a quick stretch-your-legs break?”

  June grinned and pushed her chair back. “Thought you’d never ask.”

  They walked out into the hallway, and Annika glanced toward the Break Up office. The gong sounds from earlier this morning had thankfully stopped, but the lights were still on. She could hear faint laughter floating their way. June headed down the hallway, but Annika grabbed her elbow. “Hey, uh—do you want to go the long way around to the bathroom?”

  “What?”

  “You know, around the elevators,” Annika said, feeling sweat prickle under her arms. She was a terrible liar on her best days, and this wasn’t her best day. Images of kissing Hudson Craft kept playing in her head, but right now in the hallway was not the time to tell June what had happened. And she really didn’t feel like continuing her conversation from the previous night with Hudson. She forced a happy smile. “It’ll be good exercise, okay?”

  “O … kay.” June frowned, but she followed Annika nonetheless. Bless her. “Are you okay?”

  “I am,” Annika began, dying to tell June what was going on, now that they had a moment. “I—”

  “Annika?”

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit. There was no mistaking that deep voice.

  It was Hudson, and he must be heading down the hallway toward her. There was no way she wanted to have this conversation with him here, now, and talk about their kiss and what she’d said and how he made her feel and—no way. Not now, not with June standing there, totally innocent and clueless.

  Annika began speed-walking down the hallway, hoping to get to the bend and lose Hudson before he could catch up to her. “Come on!” She tossed June a maniacal smile over her shoulder. “It’s good exercise! Let’s go!”

  “Annika,” June said, speeding up. “I’m pretty sure Hudson’s looking for you.”

  “No, he’s not!” she insisted, grabbing June’s arm as she raced along. The bend was just ahead, thank goodness. “You must be hearing things.”

  “Actually, she’s not.” Hudson stepped around the corner, his cheeks pink, his hair less than immaculate. Dammit. He must’ve sprinted here to cut her off. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his eyes boring into hers. “Hey.”

  She stumbled to a halt. “Oh. Um, hey. I didn’t hear you there.” She laughed weirdly, her voice too high.

  June, who’d begun lagging again, caught up to Annika, huffing and puffing. “That was not easy in six-inch heels, missy.” Then she caught the look Hudson was serving up and looked slowly from him to Annika, falling quiet.

  “Training for a 10K, Ms. Dev? I only ask because you were running the last time I saw you, too.” There was a small smile at Hudson’s lips. Rude. Plus, his tanned skin was practically glowing, even under industrial recessed lighting and against cement-gray walls. Extremely rude.

  Annika crossed her arms, too. “I’m trying to escape the relentless gong sounds emanating from your office. Some of us have serious businesses to run, you know.”

  Hudson laughed. “Hey, that’s the sound of success.”

  There they were, their diametrically opposed life philosophies on glaring show. “No,” Annika said, cocking her head. “That’s the sound of heartbreak, Hudson.”

  Hudson blinked and looked away for a moment, and then turned to gaze back at her. “Can we talk?” he asked more seriously. His eyes flickered to June and then back to her. “Somewhere private?”

  “Sure, why don’t I—” June began, but Annika cut her off.

  “There’s nothing more to say,” she said, cupping her elbows with her hands. “I’m sorry, but there’s just not.” Unless he’d sold Break Up and was here to share the good news.

  He huffed a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Annika, come on.”

  “What’s changed since last night, Hudson?”

  He didn’t say anything, but frustration was painted all over his face.

  “Didn’t think so,” she said quietly, brushing past him and turning toward the bathrooms. She looked over her shoulder. “June, you coming?”

  She heard June murmur something, and then she called, “Yep!”

  As they walked into the bathroom together, Annika couldn’t help but glance at Hudson. He was standing in the same spot, looking after her, his jaw hard, his expression a blend of frustration and dissatisfaction. That made two of them.

  * * *

  In the bathroom, June rounded on her as soon as the door shut behind them. “What is the deal between you two? Something happen last night?”

  Annika went to the nearest sink and ran cool water over her wrists. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, so we haven’t had a chance to really talk since early in the party,” she said, when she was capable of speaking.

  “Uh huh.” June hopped up on the counter beside her. “I left with Lucy and her friends at the end of the night, but you were long gone at that point.”

  “Right. And we texted a little about how it was Hudson’s party and all that, but I didn’t tell you…”

  June looked at her agog, as if she knew something juicy was coming.

  Annika shut off the faucet and leaned against the sink, hanging her head. “I ended up in his bedroom and … we kissed.”

  “Like, a kiss kiss?”

  “Oh, it was a real kiss.”

  June grinned, a wicked little thing. “How was it?”

  Annika threw up her hands. “It was great! It was exactly what you’d want a kiss to be! He was decisive and teasing and he smelled good and he really knew what he was doing—”

  “So what’s the problem?” June asked, ever the short-sighted optimist.

  Annika gave her a look. “What’s the problem? June, we’ve talked about this. This is Hudson Craft. You know, the one in the business of bringing misery and loneliness to the world?”

  “All I know is that you’re always talking about him, whether it’s to complain about him or plot against him,” June said, shrugging. She looked in the mirror and used her nail to get a smudge of lip gloss off the top bow of her lip. Turning back to Annika, she added, “Maybe you just need to see what’s there. Maybe y’all need to rekindle what happened in Vegas.” The wicked smile was back again.

  Annika shook her head. “A hookup is never just a hookup to me. Make Up is who I am. And Break Up’s the exact opposite of that. And now … with the eviction hanging over our heads while they just keep ringing that stupid gong and accumul
ating more breakups? It all just feels wrong.” She took a deep breath as memories from the night before washed over her. “Plus, you know what he told me? His real love is sculpting.”

  June blinked uncomprehendingly for a few moments. “Oh, right. A sculptor. Ugh … sculptors. Yuck?” She gave a theatric shudder.

  “No!” Annika paced from one end of the empty bathroom to the other. “Not only is he running a completely vile business, he’s not even being true to himself. He’s a sculptor, an artist. And he’s going to stomp that part of him down, to, what? Break even more hearts? Make even more obscene amounts of money?” She paused. “Besides, you heard him, lording his ‘success’ over me! How do we know he’s not just trying to get in my head, get me to forfeit the EPIC pitch? I think he knows we have an actual shot at this thing. I can’t afford to let him do that, not with eviction and bankruptcy being actual possibilities.”

  June wrinkled her nose. “Do you really think he’s that sneaky? The way Ziggy talks about him, Hudson’s really not that bad of a guy. Ziggy says he’s got more integrity than anyone else he’s ever worked with.”

  Annika rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Of course Ziggy has to say that. It’s called cognitive dissonance.” Seeing June’s blank look, Annika shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s just get back to work. I don’t want to think about all of this anymore, okay? We need to focus on kicking ass.”

  After a pause, June hopped off the counter, brushed off her dress, and checked her hair in the mirror. “You’re right.”

  Annika grinned. “Let’s show ’em how it’s done.” And she forced all her other feelings into a little box in the corner of her mind.

  chapter thirteen

  Annika took a sip of Peet’s herbal tea, trying to keep her freshly manicured hands from shaking. “It’s Time magazine,” she whispered, vaguely aware that she’d already said this about six times in the last ten minutes. “Time. Magazine.”

  June, dressed in loose linen shorts and a tank top, squatted in front of the stool Annika was sitting on and patted her knee. “Yes. And you’re going to kick ass.”

  They’d arrived twenty minutes early for makeup before being shuttled into a large, many-windowed, industrial-looking room in a warehouse. One corner of it had been converted into a dressing area, where Annika sat at a vanity table. The makeup artist was finally finished blow-drying her hair and dabbing foundation and lipstick and eyeshadow and blush onto her face. All that was left now was … the interview.

  The interview area was about twenty yards away, in the center of the enormous space. They’d put up a backdrop of the city skyline, and created a makeshift “techie” office in front of it, complete with sleek, neon-lit chairs and a clear acrylic table, staged with lots of slim electronic gadgets.

  Annika’s gaze fluttered over to Hudson. He’d been finished with his makeup in about half the time she was finished with hers, and was now on a couch in the corner with Ziggy and Blaire, all of them scrolling on their phones and speaking in low, urgent tones. Annika’s stomach clenched with nerves.

  “I’m going to be sick,” she said, and took another sip of her tea. Good thing her lipstick was smudge-proof.

  “No, you’re not,” June insisted, getting up and dragging a stool over to sit with Annika. “You’re fine. You’ve done interviews before, too.”

  “Yeah, but nothing like him.” Annika thrust her chin over at Hudson’s cozy Break Up huddle. “He’s done Forbes and Glitz and BizTech and—”

  “Doesn’t matter,” June said firmly. “What matters is you’re comfortable and confident in what you say. You know why you created Make Up; you know the good we do in the world. That’s all you have to talk about. Just speak from your heart.”

  Annika took a deep breath. “Right. Just speak from my heart. Easy-peasy.” She paused. “What do you think Hudson’s up to? You know he’s going to try and get one over on me somehow.”

  Hudson looked up at her at that very moment, even though it was impossible that he could’ve heard her. His hand slowly adjusted the deep green silk tie at his throat, but his eyes never left hers. Annika’s pulse thrummed at her throat. She forced her eyes away. Nothing had changed since their kiss at his condo, so why was her heart pounding like that? The thing was, her heart was quite possibly very stupid.

  “Whatever he’s going to do, you can do better. You’re quick on your feet. Just remember, we’re going to cream them at EPIC. Take that energy with you.”

  “Take that energy. Right.” Annika blew out a long breath and took another sip of tea. “I can do that.”

  “Yes, you can.” After a pause, June added, “And you look really good.” She adjusted a lock of Annika’s hair over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could just have a makeup artist follow us around all the time?”

  Annika pulled on the slim black belt she wore at the waist of her slightly-too-tight red pencil skirt. “Right now, I’d kill to be in something comfortable like you’ve got on,” she muttered. “I feel like I can’t breathe.” She glanced down at her black suede Prada pumps. “But thanks for lending me these shoes. They’re fantastic.”

  June smiled, satisfied. “They are, aren’t they? I got them at—”

  A tiny woman in a black pantsuit bustled up to them, interrupting June. She was barely five-foot-one in heels, her dirty-blond hair like a lion’s mane around her shoulders. “Annika!” she exclaimed, holding out a minuscule hand. Annika took it gently, and almost gasped in pain at the woman’s bear-trap grip. “I’m Emily Dunbar-Khan. I’ll be interviewing you today. Are you ready?”

  “Hi, Emily,” Annika said, setting her tea down on the table and sliding off the stool. Her mouth felt parched, but there was nothing to do about that now. At least the interview wasn’t being taped. You couldn’t see nerves through a photograph. Or so she hoped. “I’m so ready. Thanks for bringing me on!”

  “Of course!” Emily smiled at June. “By the way, thank you. When Megan told me you’d called her with the idea, I lost my shit. It’s such a dynamic point of view! A woman-owned app all about giving people their happily-ever-afters goes head-to-head with a wildly popular app that’s all about breaking people up.” Emily clutched her tiny hands to her heart. “Perfection.”

  Annika smiled, though she didn’t like the thought of Make Up being contrasted with Break Up’s “wild popularity” as some tiny, loser app.

  “You’re welcome,” June said, glancing at Annika. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if by the time your article comes out, Make Up’s much more than ‘wildly popular.’ It’s going to take the tech world by storm.”

  Annika gave her a grateful look, but Emily just laughed. “Sure, sure, we’ll see what develops.” She turned to Annika, her eyes gleaming. “Let’s go.”

  chapter fourteen

  Annika took a seat in one of the chairs lit up with LED lights. The chair next to her was empty, and she managed to avoid craning her neck to look for Hudson. There was no reason to make him think she was eager, because she wasn’t. She was cool. She was collected. She was going to pretend this was an interview for a college lit mag instead of Time.

  “So Callum’s going to get a couple of pictures of the two of you.” Emily gestured to a blond young man with a goatee who was wielding a giant camera. “And then we’ll do the interview. Sound good?”

  “Sounds great.”

  The reply came before Annika could say anything, and she turned to see Hudson striding confidently toward her, adjusting his cuff links. “Hey, Emily,” he said, as he got closer. “Good to see you again.”

  “Hudson. Always a pleasure.” They shook hands, but Hudson didn’t flinch at Emily’s superior grip.

  He turned to Annika before he sat, a small smirk at his mouth. “Ms. Dev. You look positively ravishing today.”

  Annika narrowed her eyes. Even though his words would be construed as a compliment by everybody on this planet, his tone implied he was making a joke of some kind. Maybe this was how it’d be during
the interview, too—him saying things that would be great in print, but would be obviously condescending and aggravating in person. Well, fine. Let him play his games. Annika was too smart to fall for them. “Compliments to throw me off? Isn’t that a little obvious for you?”

  He squinted his eyes in confusion, but the photographer spoke before he could.

  “For the first picture,” Callum said, “let’s get the two of you with legs crossed, elbows resting loosely on the chair arms, giving me your best competitor face. Really cold, really calculating. This is a cutthroat world, and you’re at the top of your game.”

  Annika felt like a total idiot giving face as Callum took a series of pictures, but June stood behind him, shooting her lots of thumbs-ups and big grins. Annika kind of wished she wouldn’t; Hudson’s team was still coolly hanging out on the couches, as if this was all old news to them.

  “Great, great,” Callum said, adjusting something on his camera. “Now how about the two of you stand? Let’s get the chairs and skyline behind you. Good, now turn so your backs are against each other and cross your arms, but look this way.”

  Annika did as he asked, her mind racing. Feeling Hudson’s firm back against hers reminded her of their yoga session. The way they’d been partnered up, the way Hudson had whispered in her ear, his fingers on her inner knee—

  “Now that’s very seductive, Annika,” Callum laughed. “But can we get a little more cold, calculating businesswoman?”