The Beauty and the CEO

“Swanky digs you’ve got here,” Zoe said with a low whistle. Ravens Cosmetics had gone all out to make sure their name was seen.

Lily nodded her head in agreement. “As is y’all’s.”

“Y’all’s?”

“Sorry,” Lily blushed. Zoe loved the shade of red on her cheeks. She clearly did not need any makeup. “I’ve been in Southwood too long. I meant you guys have a nice setup over there.”

“Over there” meant a long station with at least six black chairs in front of makeup mirrors. Confusion clouded Zoe’s head. She was under the impression she’d be the only makeup artist today. The pageant started at noon and she would have been working nonstop until at least four. A part of her was relieved to know she’d be able to give each contestant her full attention. As a professional she could get a job done in ten minutes.

“Zoe.” Rebecca waved a gold curling iron with a pearl handle in Zoe’s direction. “Hey, girl.”

Zoe was in midwave when the man standing next to Rebecca turned around. She snarled when their eyes locked. “Titus.”

“Zoe,” he mouthed with utter disdain, then turned his attention to Rebecca. “So, you two are supposed to be friends now?”

Rebecca’s soft smile didn’t ease the situation. “We’re friends, Titus. Stop being rude.”

“I’ll stop being rude when she stops thinking she brought eighties makeup back by telling everyone I copied her.”

Her upper lip curled, Zoe’s body heated from the blood boiling in anger and with her fists clenched she stalked forward. “Why are you even here?”

“Uh, it looks like I’m about to show Ravens Cosmetics that I’m their new Creative Design Director.” In usual Titus fashion, he did a dramatic spin. His black smock twirled around his large frame.

“I don’t understand,” Zoe snapped.

“You didn’t think you were going to keep the CEO’s attention all to yourself?” Titus asked with his hands on his hip. “Luckily for me, the board found out about this little trip.”

Suddenly Zoe remembered what Will had told her about half the board at Ravens. They wanted to see the company fail. Bringing Titus on certainly would do the job. She needed to talk to Will. Did he know what they were trying to do? Zoe absentmindedly reached to touch her good-luck pearls and remembered again that she hadn’t brought them with her.

“Don’t look so lost.” Titus continued to gloat. “Once I am the CDD, I may hire you to consult on the Halloween special I plan on hosting.”

Rebecca elbowed Titus in the gut and offered Zoe an apologetic smile. “Go gather your girls, Titus. Let Zoe get settled in her station.”

It was then Zoe realized that her station was right next to Titus’s. Photographs of the contestants were taped against their mirrors, lining the frames. Zoe went over to her spot and peeked inside her beauty box. Any bit of anger washed away. Lying in the center of the lavender satin box was the soon-to-be-released glitter lipstick from Ravens Zoe had been dying to get her hands on. The lipstick was a two-part design, one containing color, the other glitter. This was the idea she’d been concocting for a while now, but it had taken using several different products for one ultimate look. Someone at Ravens had a great mind like her. She couldn’t wait to collaborate. A few celebrity faces popped into mind, women who would love buying this in one tube rather than combining lipsticks. Renewed energy gushed through her veins. Zoe was armed with all the tools she needed and was headed into battle.

The girls Zoe had been given were all under the age of twenty. As with most pageants, there were age divisions. All of the makeup artists were given girls from each group. The Wee Peaches were between the ages of one and five. Everyone had at least one Wee Peach but Lexi insisted those girls be as natural as possible. The next division was the six-to-eleven age group. These girls were given full glitz makeup if they wanted it. This meant they could wear false lashes and false teeth—or flippers, as they were called. Zoe hated to admit that Titus’s work was heavy but good. Zoe was not too comfortable putting her signature wingtip on. They were still little girls.