Perfume Girl

by Vanessa Fewings

  Astor claimed his swivel chair, leaning back and resting his legs on the desk, an amused look on his face.

  “I’m looking forward to collaborating,” I said, my heart beating fast.

  There was no way I could say anything that would link me to this perfume.

  Astor reached for what looked like a small remote and pointed it at the window. It rapidly fogged the glass, concealing us from the outside world.

  He pushed to his feet. “This is the incomplete formula I want your help on.” He approached the picture frame on the wall behind his desk, lifting it off to reveal a safe.

  “A formula?” My throat tightened.

  Astor’s fingers turned the dial. “We need to add a note.”

  Peering over his shoulder, I stared into the safe for my ledger but all I saw were a few folders. He withdrew one, stepped back, and placed it on the desk.

  He sank into his chair again and swiveled side to side. “I’ve tried several ingredients and they just don’t land.”

  I couldn’t allow myself to view the scientific breakdown of a formula that was meant to belong to this House and then purport it to be my own. My thoughts spiraled, trying to come up with excuses that could get me out of this predicament.

  “Have a seat?” he offered.

  The door burst open, startling me.

  “Am I late?” Penelope hurried in on spiked heels, clouded in the scent of magnolias. She swept toward Astor’s desk and sat on the edge of it, her legs dangling casually.

  I glared first at her and then at Astor. His expression was calm, but then again he was often difficult to read.

  “We can’t wait to hear your take, Raquel,” cooed Penelope. “We need to get this to market.”

  Astor got up and rounded the desk, walking over to me. His hand brushed along my arm, sending chills down my spine. “Show her how talented you are.”

  I swallowed the bitterness of doubt. “I’ll try.”

  Astor’s gaze narrowed. “Just look at the ingredients and tell me what you think we can add.” He pulled back a little. “Raquel?”

  I’d given myself over to him so many times…and all those seductive moments had led to this…

  “Give us the missing piece,” said Penelope.

  No, this isn’t what you think it is…

  I couldn’t help but feel that Astor and his sister had set me up. One word from me and I would lose everything.

  “I’m intrigued to hear what you think.” Astor reached for the folder and brought it over to me.

  “Have her smell it,” snapped Penelope.

  “It’s here?” I swallowed my trepidation. “The bottle is in this room?”

  Astor flipped open the folder.

  My gaze rose to meet his as my body stiffened in response to his formality. His serious stance told me that whatever we had been—or what I’d thought we were—was now over.

  “Ms. Wren,” he said quietly, “please share your thoughts on the formula. Let’s see it finished.”

  I LOVED HER.

  Quite simply, I had fallen for this woman and I believed now more than ever that I could trust her. The ghosts of my past were dissipating, my hope rising and those old doubts lifting…setting me free.

  She set me free.

  Raquel strolled into my office, wafting the scent of roses overlaid with my cologne, which had rubbed off on her, and beyond those tones I detected the delectable aroma of our combined chemistry.

  Not that long ago I had knelt at her feet and lavished affection between her thighs, worshiping her while savoring her moans. In that moment she had become mine…in that moment nothing else had mattered because she was with me again.

  I’d savaged her pussy possessively after seeing Damien in my parking lot. He’d upset her, which meant he still affected her, and that had twisted my jealousy into a quiet rage. Those raw emotions had merged into a desire to comfort her, spoil and soothe her, and—more than anything—fuck her.

  Standing on the other side of my desk, Raquel had transformed herself from a passionate lover to a professional chemist. Her lab coat and serious expression reminded me that she was a talented employee and deserved respect.

  And yet she was much more than that to me. I could still taste her…this woman was quite literally absorbed into my senses.

  “Have a seat?” I gestured to the chair opposite.

  Raquel didn’t move and our eyes locked on each other, tension bouncing between us. She was complicated but I didn’t mind that about her. The woman was an enigma, and I’d felt drawn to her bravery.

  Penelope burst through the door in a cloud of fake business acumen and superiority. “Am I late?” She pushed herself up to sit on the edge of my desk.

  I ignored her arrogance and once again focused on Raquel.

  “We can’t wait to hear your take, Raquel,” said Penelope. “We need to get this to market.”

  I pushed to my feet and rounded the desk, approaching Raquel. Maybe it was Penelope’s overwhelming presence that had thrown her.

  I was just about to warn Raquel my sister was joining us for our meeting when she had burst in unannounced. Still, since Penelope had discovered this scent in its current form, I had honored her right to be here for the completion of the formula.

  I found this process stimulating and intriguing, trying to imagine all the possibilities I couldn’t yet see. This formula I hadn’t been able to crack so far because no matter how much I tweaked or added or removed the ingredients, I couldn’t decipher its originality…its destination felt out of reach. Yet something told me Raquel could unravel the elements which evaded me. This mysterious scent in a way reminded me of her.

  I ran my palm up Raquel’s arm to comfort her. “Show her how talented you are.”

  Raquel swallowed hard. “I’ll try.”

  I squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Just look at the ingredients and tell me what you think we can add.” I pulled back to read her expression. “Raquel?”

  “Give us the missing piece,” Penelope piped up.

  I frowned at Penelope’s belligerence. Raquel didn’t owe us anything. Yes, she was our employee, but this was inappropriate.

  “I’m intrigued to hear what you think.” I reached for the folder and brought it over to her, trying to offset Penelope’s obnoxious demeanor with an air of professionalism.

  “Have her smell it,” my sister snapped.

  Raquel’s gaze widened with concern. “It’s here? The bottle is in this room?”

  I flipped open the folder.

  “Ms. Wren, please share your thoughts on the formula. Let’s see it finished.”

  Raquel stepped back, refusing to look at the folder’s contents. “I’m going to go grab something from the lab,” she said, staring up at me.

  “What do you need?”

  Raquel backed toward the door. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “That’s fine.” I watched her leave in a hurry, feeling puzzled by her behavior.

  When I spun around to look at my sister, she was wearing one of those satisfied smiles that told me she was close to getting something she wanted.

  What the hell had just happened?

  FINALLY, I COULD EXHALE AS I steadied my nerves outside Astor’s office. I took a few seconds to put my game face on so I could face Taylor.

  Now it all made sense.

  What Penelope had witnessed her brother do at Bridgestone all those years ago had left her bitter and cruel because she couldn’t even trust her own sibling. The circumstances of their past had forged them both into who they were today—two ruthless professionals willing to do anything to get what they wanted. It had been hard to read Astor, he was always guarded and secretive, and yet I’d just witnessed their mutual offensive.

  With my head held high, I strolled over to Taylor’s desk and forced a smile.

  “Penelope wants me to grab a folder from her office.”

  Taylor pushed to her feet. “I can get it.”

  “No, that
’s all right. You look busy.”

  “I’m trying to finish a few things because we’re all leaving early. Are you off soon?”

  “Yes, right after this.”

  She pointed to a door on the east side of the building. “Penelope’s got that great harbor view.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Knowing Astor and Penelope were nearby made my heart do a flip. The fact I was betraying Taylor’s trust made me feel nauseated. She’d been kind to me and yet this was a chance I had to take.

  You can do this.

  That familiar anger welled up inside of me. How had my life come to this? Me snooping around other people’s offices, me having to pretend I wanted to work here…

  This was all Damien’s doing. If he’d just kept it in his pants and been loyal, loved me the way he’d once vowed to, none of this would be happening. Everything I was doing could potentially set me up for a lawsuit I had no money to fight.

  Every time I felt like I had a handle on my life, a day like this swept in to fracture the ground beneath my feet. I had no choice but to keep moving.

  Inside Penelope’s luxurious office, I barely noticed the art deco desk and the prints of glass bottles like the ones on Astor’s walls. Quickly, I searched through her filing cabinet, easing each drawer out slowly so it wouldn’t make a noise. Finding nothing, I went over to her desk, meaning to search the four drawers on either side.

  I inhaled sharply when I saw an unmarked manila envelope hidden beneath a stack of magazines.

  When I reached in and felt that familiar shaped ledger I stifled a sob, feeling vindicated, feeling all I had risked and all I had done had been worth it. I had been proven right.

  Penelope knew I was the creator of that scent.

  Hugging the envelope to my chest, I ran over the plan. I could walk into Astor’s office right now with the ledger and accuse them both of stealing.

  Penelope would deny it.

  They both would.

  They had too much to lose to ever admit stealing my formula. My heart ached with the possibility that Astor was an accomplice…that he knew this had been in her office all along.

  That he had led me on.

  All that time I had slaved away in their lab. All those hours I had given to them despite everything. The realization hit me that the ledger had been easy to find—because it didn’t matter now. Seconds ago, I had stood in Astor’s office about to view a formula I could be accused of copying into this ledger after the fact. The only way to convince Astor I hadn’t stolen that formula was to never have seen it.

  I started to head out of Penelope’s office and jolted to a stop.

  Taylor was standing in the doorway.

  RAQUEL HAD BEEN GONE TOO long and Penelope was growing more impatient with each passing second.

  “Let me call her.” I pulled out my phone and dialed Raquel’s number. The call went to voicemail. “Hey, Raquel, where are you?” I hoped she’d detect the lightness of my tone to lessen the tension.

  I reached for my desk phone.

  “Where is she?” snapped Penelope. “I have another appointment.”

  I shot my sister a warning glare and said into the phone, “Hey, Arabella, is Ms. Wren down there? Can you send her to my office, please?” I hung up.

  Penelope fisted her hands on her hips. “She lost her store, right?”

  “That’s why she needs this job.”

  “How can you be certain she’s not a corporate spy?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” I hid my doubt from her.

  “You’re in love with her?”

  “She’s only been here a few weeks.”

  “She’s up to something.”

  “Raquel is extremely qualified.”

  “The way you look at her—”

  “Do I look like a man who does insta-love?” Yet even as I spoke those words, I felt the truth deep inside. Raquel had swept into my life like a vision of loveliness, and I’d craved her presence since the first day we’d met at Bridgestone. I was missing her right now.

  Where are you, Raquel?

  Penelope slid off the desk and came toward me. “We need her to give us the missing piece—” She waved her hand at the folder.

  “We have other chemists—”

  “She’s the best for this.”

  “And why do you think that?” I studied her.

  She threw up her middle finger at me.

  I breathed out a frustrated sigh. “You’re painfully discourteous this morning.”

  “Because my gut is warning me not to trust her.”

  “You know me, Penelope,” I said, trying to soothe her. “I don’t do relationships.”

  “So why is she living in your home?”

  I flinched. “Who told you?”

  She crossed her arms. “So…she’s moved in?”

  “She needed somewhere to stay.”

  “Wow, she got you good.”

  “It’s temporary.” I didn’t even want to think about her leaving.

  “What did she say to persuade you?”

  “What more do you want?” I leaned back against the desk. “Have I not given you the best of me?”

  “Don’t go there.”

  “I mean us, now. With all I do to keep you appearing as my equal here.”

  “Don’t I deserve it?”

  No, she fucking well did not because she was never here. “I know what I’m doing.”

  Her lips trembled. “What if I lose you?”

  “You’re my sister for God’s sake.”

  She fell into my arms. “Promise me she won’t find out about Bridgestone.”

  “I never think of it.” My thoughts dragged me back to that vast house with its sprawling corridors. In my nightmares, I still ran down those halls through a never-ending blackness.

  “If we get this scent perfected,” Penelope said softly, “I’ll have given this company something to make you proud.”

  I hugged her tight. “I’m already proud of you.”

  “I love you, Astor.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “Let’s think about a name for it.”

  She peered up at me. “Okay.”

  That seemed to calm her, though I knew this scent deserved a unique label. That was why I paid the staff in the marketing department so well.

  “Pull back on the partying, okay?” This was my way of saying stay away from the cocaine. It made her jittery and turned her into a raving bitch—and when she got that crazy I was the only one who could talk her off the ledge.

  “I do it to forget,” she admitted.

  My throat tightened with sorrow. “Try not to think about that right now.”

  Her lips trembled, as though she’d gone there anyway. “We forgive each other, right?”

  “Of course. You know that.”

  “And you got to live in England.”

  I forced a smile. “Made me the man I am.”

  She looked like she was going to say something else, but then closed her eyes in defeat.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My Porsche needs servicing.”

  I hoped she wasn’t lying. “I’ll have the money transferred.” Keeping my sister on a budget seemed controlling, but this was my way of keeping her out of rehab.

  “How was Mom this morning?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Didn’t see her, just visited the horses.”

  “You always were her favorite.”

  Penelope’s words made me want to pull away from her. No, I wasn’t Mom’s favorite, not even close. I had been the one to be sent to Havana and forbidden to have any contact with my family. Every time Penelope spoke those words I wanted to break something.

  Fuck. So much damage created from one reckless decision. Those haunting memories always found me. Penelope had a way of laying them at my feet…

  Once, when Cuba became too much and they were threatening to send me to England, I stole a boat and tried to return to Miami. I’d failed to even get out of the harbor, th
ough at fourteen it was a decent try.

  The pain I’d felt over that long ago rejection hadn’t faded with time and distance. In recent years I’d tried to salvage the time I’d lost with my family, but failed. I’d returned to a mother who hardly knew me and a sister who stared at me with confusion in her gaze. I reminded them of our horror-filled past.

  Yet I couldn’t find it in me to stop loving them. Or not forgive them.

  “Go see Mama,” I said softly.

  “Next week.” She raised her gaze to mine. “I’d die without you.”

  I stepped away and raised the folder. “Let me get this to the lab.”

  I was glad I had an excuse to leave my office. Penelope’s energy made me apprehensive and her impertinence had ruined Raquel’s creative focus.

  I stopped off at reception to talk with Taylor. “I want all the staff out by two. That gives everyone time to get home.”

  “I don’t think the hurricane’s on course to hit us.”

  “These things can turn.”

  She pointed at me with insistence. “You leave, too. Go hunker down.”

  I gave her a kind smile. “Taylor, call me when you get home.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I mean it.”

  “Got it, boss.” Her frown narrowed and she swallowed her nervousness.

  I turned to follow Taylor’s line of sight toward Penelope. “Do you need me for anything else?” I called over to my sister.

  She came toward me. “I’ll get a percentage?”

  “Of the perfume, yes, of course.”

  She had delivered the notes of our new scent so she deserved a generous commission. But I was ready to send her to an investor who would tie up her money until her taste for Miami’s vices had faded.

  She swapped a smile with Taylor. “I’m heading out.”

  Taylor gave a nod. “I’ll do a loop of the building before I lock up.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said, following Taylor’s conflicted stare toward Penelope’s office.

  Taylor started to say something.

  I gestured for her to hold that thought as I shot off a quick text to my horse trainer, Jacob Nestling, who’d just sent me a message that he was heading over to Bridgestone to secure the horses. He’d volunteered to remain near them during the storm.