The Beauty and the CEO

“Sorry.” She grinned.

“Don’t be sorry.” Will shrugged, a smile spreading across his face. “Is the band a favorite of yours?”

“In a way,” said Zoe. “I did their makeup for one of their album covers. You may have seen it in my portfolio.” Zoe glanced over in time to catch his fingers gripping the steering wheel.

Will cocked his head to the side. “Can we be honest here?”

“Sure.”

“I wasn’t a fan of your work.”

The light may have turned green, but Zoe ceased to notice everything else around her. Her heart slammed against her rib cage. “What?”

Will shrugged. “You said I could be honest.”

“Well, I didn’t mean rip my heart out and slam it on the ground,” Zoe shot back quickly. “We’re talking about my life’s work.”

“Your work is stuck in the eighties.”

“It’s not stuck in the eighties,” Zoe gasped. “It’s an homage to the eighties. It’s my signature.”

“Big hair, bright colors, crazy colors.” Will shook his head and frowned. “Not my cup of tea, but fortunately for you, I don’t have the final say in the hiring. We do have to put it to a vote.”

“And do you want to tell me what my odds are right now?”

Chuckling, Will reached over and patted Zoe’s shoulder. “I have no desire to be that honest with you.”

They drove along a few more miles before reaching the park. Will slipped the car into an empty spot with no cars on either side and stepped out. Zoe was still at a loss for words. He didn’t like her work and he had no problem telling her so. So why wasn’t she ready to rip his head off?

In the beauty business, there was always competition. If Zoe had a fit every time she didn’t get a job, she’d be one miserable person. The only time she hated being passed over was when it came to Titus. He stole everything from her. Zoe swallowed down the bubbling irritation. No need to worry. Zoe had Donovan, Marcus and the twins on her side. Surely that was enough, right?

“Thanks,” Zoe said, taking his hand as he offered to help her out. “I mean, for being honest.”

Will held on to her hand to press it against his heart. “Can I be honest with you some more?”

Butterflies puttered around in her belly. How much honesty was she supposed to take in one day? “How about, if you beat me around the field,” Zoe pulled herself away and took off running, “you can say whatever you want.”

“No fair!” Will shouted at her backside as she left him in the dust.

* * *

Cute. She wanted to race. Will had two choices. The competitive side of him wanted to, of course, win this instant race, but winning might cause more hurt feelings than Will wanted to provide. Even though Zoe smiled at him after he gave his honest opinion, Will knew better than to push his luck. So, clearly, the other option was to let her win.

Going with that, Will jogged behind Zoe. She had great form, knees up, feet up as she paced herself. His steps were quiet, quiet enough that when he turned around to run backward alongside of her, Zoe jumped off to the side with a little scream. Her pace became a full-on dash. The light laugh she made, as if she couldn’t catch her breath, was infectious. As Will caught her laugh, he made the mistake of closing his eyes and not watching where he was going. Thanks to his carelessness, he tripped over a log and fell down to the grass in a laughing heap.

“Will!” Zoe screeched and came running back. She slid into him like he was home plate. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Will hooted. In truth, his pride hurt, but as long as Zoe’s hands roamed his body he wasn’t going to admit anything. The damn clothes were in the way.

In a caring manner, Zoe sat and cradled Will’s head in her lap. “Seriously, what were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t,” Will groaned. “I was just trying to make things interesting.”

“Ouch.” Zoe’s eyes and mouth became pinched. Suddenly Will’s head hit the ground as Zoe rolled onto her back. Puffs of dirt and blades of grass flew into the air when Will scrambled to her side. “Cramp. Cramp.”