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?