The Beauty and the CEO

by Carolyn Hector

  “Did you need something?”

  “Um,” Will began. “You have...”

  “I have what?” Zoe shook her hair loose with her free hand.

  Will blinked several times.

  She reached for the lavender bottle of body cream, courtesy of Ravens Cosmetics. “I love this stuff.” Zoe held the bottle for him to read the label. He didn’t, so she popped the cap open and squirted the magnolia-scented lotion into one hand. Skillfully, she held the towel tucked under her arm and cocked one leg on the counter for a better angle to smear the product on it. The towel was long enough to cover the important parts.

  “Will?” She tried to snap but her moistened fingers lacked the friction.

  “Sorry,” said Will, finally finding his voice. His eyes glanced up to where steam billowed out into his room. “There’s someone here for you.”

  “Someone or something?” Zoe asked. “Lexi said she was sending over a dress today.”

  “Someone,” Will repeated. He took a bite of his bacon and closed his eyes for a moment while he chewed. Zoe’s stomach began to rumble from hunger for food and the man. “Actually, several people are here for you.”

  Zoe’s brows fused together. “What?”

  “Get dressed and meet me downstairs.”

  Curious, it took Zoe a matter of seconds to find a pair of blue gingham shorts and a matching plain blue top. She bounced down the steps toward the sound of chatter. Lots of chatter. The moment her foot hit the bottom step, a gaggle of girls began screaming. Zoe glanced over her shoulder for the rock star who must have been behind her. There was no one. They must have been screaming for her.

  “What’s going on?” Zoe asked, taking a step back from the wave of practically every flowery and fruity scent possible from Bath & Body Works.

  Kenzie made her way through the crowd. “The prom for Southwood High is tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Some of the girls began wringing their hands together and bobbing at the knees. No one wore a bit of makeup. Zoe looked at all their faces like blank canvases. A twinge jolted through her fingertips as she put two and two together. “Do you guys want some help?”

  “Please?” the girls all chorused.

  “Did we have plans today?” Zoe asked Kenzie.

  “We just have the dinner this evening.”

  Zoe bit the corner of her lip. She would have loved to hang out with Will today, but this was what she considered an emergency. “Alright, let’s form a line. Do any of you have pictures of your gowns with you?” Everyone held their cell phones in the air. The room lit up with colorful glowing screens. “Well then, let’s get started. Who was here first?”

  The girls all began to speak at once, trying to figure out who was at the head of the line. Other pageant staff was trying to maneuver through the foyer. Even though Zoe didn’t use the private elevator, there was another guest who did. Kathleen wheeled out and was blocked by a few of the girls. Rebecca walked out of the dining room and accidently stepped on the toes poking out from one girl’s flip-flops. This was not going to work.

  Reading her mind, Will sprang into action. “Okay, okay, ladies, let’s assemble a line here.”

  “I was here first.”

  “No, I was,” someone else cried.

  There was an easy way to handle this. Zoe stepped up another stair and cupped her hands against her mouth. “Alright, if you’re wearing a tube top or something easy to slip over your head, step forward.”

  Understanding what she was trying to do, Kenzie nodded. “Okay, if you don’t have an easy top on, run back home and change into something to slip on. If you need to slip your dress over your head, come back around three.” Kenzie turned to glance up at Zoe for approval. She nodded. “Okay, let’s get to it.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on,” Will whispered.

  She didn’t expect him to. Zoe patted the center of his back. “Those girls are going to put on their dresses over their heads, so the last thing they’re going to want to do is smear their makeup on the material of the gown.”

  “I can help.” Rebecca moved toward the stairs and held on to the banister. “I can do hair.”

  “And I can do nails,” said a pageant staffer, Lily Ortiz, from the banister at the top of the stairs. The pretty nail tech and Zoe worked together in the past at fashion expos.

  “Sounds like everyone has a job,” Zoe said. “Alright, let’s get to it.”

  All the girls began to scatter. Some began forming a single-file line while others trotted out the front door. Zoe turned and found Will staring at her with awe. He stood a step above her, causing her to stare right at his chest. The muscle shirt he wore revealed the work he put in at the gym. A long vein bulged down each bicep.

  Will tipped her chin toward him with a brush of his finger. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Probably nothing,” Zoe said honestly.

  A crash came from around the corner. Some of the men from the bed-and-breakfast rushed to the rescue. Luke backed out of the room carrying a broken vase. Ramon pushed his door open and accidentally hit another girl in the back of her legs.

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Will. “How about we start an assembly line of sorts in my room? The girls can hang out in there and come through our bathroom to keep out of the way down here.”

  Zoe sighed with appreciation. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Not all,” Will said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I was still at home when my sisters started dating. Our house was pure chaos.”

  “This isn’t just a date,” Zoe reminded him. They started walking up the stairs together. The girls waddled in their heels behind them like ducks. “This is the prom.”

  “Well, if you remember, I wasn’t home for prom.”

  “I didn’t have a prom either,” Zoe said, elbowing him in the ribs, “but I at least can remember how much I wanted to get all dressed up and go.”

  “Ah,” Will began to counter, sliding his forefinger against the slope of her nose. Her cheeks flushed with heat at the touch. “You went to Comic-Con, though.”

  Zoe hid the sly smile by turning her head to the side. “Dressing up as the ultimate warrior princess was worth missing my prom.”

  Will placed both hands on her shoulders. She glanced up into his dark eyes and a flutter rushed in the pit of her stomach. “Wait, you dressed up in a frayed leather skirt and bustier?”

  Her response was a grin. She already saw the wheels in his head turning. No, she didn’t still have the outfit, but Zoe did have a pair of black spikey boots and star-spangled panties. Didn’t everyone?

  “You two should totally come tonight,” blurted out one of the girls closest to the two of them. “I’m on the prom committee and I could totally get you in. You guys would totally be the coolest chaperones.”

  Will paused at the top step for a moment and wiggled his brows. “I’m totally up for the after-prom,” he whispered in Zoe’s ear. Some of the girls giggled. Maybe not at what he said, but at the way Zoe stumbled on the step.

  * * *

  Later on in the afternoon, after a trip to the ice cream shop for milk shakes and the pizza parlor for pizza and wings, Will returned to the hotel. The cars had disappeared from the parking lot. The lines had thinned down to a few girls getting their hair and nails done in the dining room and living room. He wondered if Zoe was finished. Will thought of the Creative Design Director position. Zoe displayed great leadership when it came to organizing the girls. She didn’t panic, and her generosity in sharing her skills with these girls in their time of need humbled him. He wasn’t sure how many of the interviewees would have taken time out of their day to help.

  Because he’d been running back and forth all afternoon, he never got a chance to see the prom girls wh
en Zoe was done with them. Will hated to admit he was frightened at first to see what kind of looks she’d placed on the girls. This would have been a live résumé for her. All the jobs in her portfolio were of heavily made-up people, although there were several artistic pictures. But Ravens Cosmetics didn’t need artwork displayed on its clients’ faces.

  What Will wouldn’t mind seeing, however, was a repeat of the view from this morning when she’d opened the door after her shower. The droplets of water against her brown skin haunted his brain, in a pleasant way. Damn, he couldn’t take much more of this torture.

  “Oh, hey, there you are.” Kenzie’s voice caught Will’s attention. She rounded the corner from the kitchen with a pile of black garment bags in her arms blocking her face.

  Will hurried toward her. “Let me get those. What are you doing with all of this stuff?”

  “Evening attire,” said Kenzie. She stretched her arms, then massaged her biceps. “Courtesy of Grits and Glam Gowns.”

  Lexi’s shop, Will remembered. He draped the bags over one arm. “Where do you want the rest of these?”

  “Come with me,” Kenzie said, waving her arm down the other hallway. “We start down here.”

  As they made their way to each female guest’s door, Kenzie went on about how excited she was about tonight. Even Will started to get excited. With each delivery of a dress, the ladies all squealed with youthful excitement, much like the teenagers from this morning.

  “Have you enjoyed your time here at Magnolia Palace?” Kenzie asked. They waited for the elevator. She insisted he not climb the stairs with the rest of the garments.

  Will nodded. “This place has been wonderful.”

  “I’m kind of partial to it, myself.”

  “Are you and Ramon partners?”

  “No!” Kenzie hissed. Her light brown cheeks reddened and her lips pressed together. Quickly she shook her head and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I mean, we’re not partners. I just have a deep-rooted attachment to this place.”

  “Did your parents get engaged here, like Zoe’s folks?”

  “Yes, but that’s not the only reason.” Kenzie regained herself. “This house used to belong to my family, back before the turn of the twentieth century.”

  “No kidding?”

  “Never would kid,” said Kenzie. “But during hard times, the structure was lost by the original builders and turned over to family members who made more bad investments in wartime.”

  “Until Ramon Torres came along?” Will asked. The elevator arrived at the second floor. Will waved his free hand for Kenzie to exit.

  “Yes,” Kenzie answered, looking at him over her shoulder.

  Will nodded. “Smart of him to listen to you.”

  “Smart of me to be the town historian.”

  “That’s a real thing, huh?” Will asked.

  “Of course.” Kenzie’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and declined the call. Will wondered if the R he saw pop up on her screen stood for Ramon. “Enough about my family drama. I can take the rest of the dresses down the hall if you’ll give this one to Zoe.”

  At the sound of her name, Will grew excited. The pit of his stomach shifted with an odd feeling. “I can do that,” he said coolly.

  “Thanks, and I’ll see you later tonight.”

  Will headed toward his room first. He wanted to clean himself up before seeing Zoe again. Since his door was closed, he assumed the girls had disappeared. He opened the door and the smell of flowers was now faint.

  “I don’t want to look like all the other girls,” said a young voice.

  “You’re not,” Zoe said to whomever was in her room. “I made sure no one was exactly the same.”

  “Except for your signature wingtip.”

  Zoe’s light chuckle filled the air. Will smiled as he eavesdropped. This week he’d figured out what a wingtip was and saw how Zoe perfected it, as she liked to boast.

  “But I want to look like Lil’ Get This. Your Instagram with her got the most likes I’ve ever seen.”

  Lil’ Get This, Will recalled with a sneer, who’d posed basically naked on her CD cover. The only thing the young rap artist had worn was Zoe’s makeup. The photo was absent from Zoe’s portfolio, but that didn’t mean Will hadn’t seen it.

  “Lil’ Get This is a professional artist.”

  Will would use that term loosely.

  “You’re going to have to remember that those ladies you see on my Instagram are going for a particular look, which is why they look that way,” Zoe explained. “You don’t think they walk around with a full face of makeup all day, do you?”

  “Yeah, well, maybe. I’ve seen what you did with the teen girls on BET’s Black Girls Rock show.”

  “I see you follow my work.”

  “I used to collect all the different magazines your models were in, but my mom said she’d kill me if I brought in any more clutter.” The girl’s statement reminded Will of what Zoe’s parents might have said to her. Didn’t she say she used to apply beauty products to the already printed magazine pages?

  “So I have a page on my blog dedicated to your work.” The girl continued naming all of Zoe’s accomplishments. “I love the eighties, thanks to you. Music videos were the best.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Zoe sighed.

  Will imagined Zoe beaming with pride at this moment. He pictured her cheeks turning red or her biting her bottom lip and avoiding a gaze.

  “You’re really cool. But I still want to look like someone else. I want to look like a star.”

  “Lisa,” Zoe said, “you don’t need all that heavy makeup to make you look like a star. Think of all the faces I’ve done. They’re like superheroes. And like all superheroes, they are wearing a mask, but when they are just being themselves, they don’t need all that extra stuff to hide their beauty. Does that make sense?”

  “No.” The word came out more with a whine but accompanied by a laugh. “But okay.”

  “When you get old enough, you can put your makeup on however you like, but for now, just enjoy being a kid and enjoy your prom.”

  “Thanks, Miss Zoe.”

  When Will heard Zoe’s door close, he crossed through their bathroom and leaned against the door. From this angle it appeared her bottom half was encased in a pair of tube socks with three pink stripes. Zoe wore an apron with I Love Makeup spelled out in makeup items, such as a tube of mascara for the I, two eyeliner pencils making the L, red lipstick spelling out the O in a heart shape, and a powder brush as the E. The word makeup was spelled out in eyeliner. Her pink apron held several pockets, each containing either a variety of lipsticks, an eyelash contraption he’d seen his sisters use, or powder brushes. Zoe’s long brown hair was piled up in a loose bun. Several strands had come loose from the band securing her tresses. Different shades of powder sprinkled her face. The insides of her forearms were streaked with various pink, mauve, red, gold and brown shades. She’d never looked more beautiful.

  “Long day?” Will asked. He expected Zoe to fret about her hair or her attire. But, instead, she straightened her shoulders and stood tall.

  “Yes, but I had a blast.”

  Will crossed the room, the garment bag under his arm. “I have something for you.”

  It was his intent to hand her the dress, but when she opened her arms, who was he to resist? Will set the bag on the edge of her bed and pulled Zoe’s body into his. Their mouths met for two or three polite kisses, just lips, but then they fed into their desire, tongues circling fiercely together. His hands dragged across her bottom, fitting underneath the cuffs of her blue-and-white shorts. The ties of her apron brushed against the backs of his hands.

  “I could get used to a greeting like that every day,” Will breathed, breaking the kiss and brushing the tip of his nose aga
inst hers.

  “Tell me about it.” Zoe stroked the side of his face. He turned his face to kiss her palm. They needed to stop.

  Though he shouldn’t, Will thought of being able to kiss Zoe like this every day. Every day at the office or every day at home. If she became the Creative Design Director, he wouldn’t be able to do this. There’d have to be some boundaries, and right now, Will didn’t want to test those.

  Zoe stepped backward with her hands on her hips. “I need to start cleaning up in here before dinner tonight.”

  “Speaking of dinner,” Will said, remembering the garment bag. “Kenzie delivered these for you from Lexi’s.” Like the other ladies had at their doors, Zoe squealed with excitement. Her face lit up as she yanked down the bag’s zipper. Before Will had a chance to see, Zoe pressed the dress against her chest. “What?”

  “Isn’t it bad luck to see the dress?” Zoe wiggled her eyebrows at him.

  “I believe that’s for a wedding. We haven’t had our first official date,” Will replied and gave a lopsided grin. “We can start things off tonight, though. Care to be my date for the dinner?”

  For a moment, Zoe glanced at the ceiling and pondered his question. “It is rather late to be asking.”

  “Someone’s already asked?” Will faked being upset—or, rather, covered the bubble in his gut. He turned toward the door. “Who had the nerve to ask after I’ve staked my claim to you this week?”

  “Staked,” Zoe laughed, grabbing Will back by the arm. “What am I? An uncharted territory?”

  He liked the way her hand fit around his biceps—made it totally worth working out all the time. Will caught her hand and pulled her up to him once again. Without thinking he lowered his head and his lips to hers. “I can’t wait to explore.”

  Chapter 9

  In the end, Zoe, of course, gave in to Will’s request and allowed him to take her to dinner. It didn’t hurt that he knocked on her door carrying a bouquet of flowers or that he became utterly speechless at the sight of her when she let him in.