Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

What good would it do, anyway? It was over and done with. I couldn’t go back in time and fix it now. And in a way, Preston had freed me. I’d never trust my family again, and because of his confession, I had finally cut ties with my toxic mother. It was a step forward of some kind, anyway.

I spent my days distracting myself by updating my resume, my LinkedIn profile, and a number of other job-related things, anything that would take my mind off of my past and point my thoughts toward the future, one that didn’t involve getting used and discarded ever again.

I would even date, as soon as I could get around to it. I wouldn’t let Preston Harvey put me off men. I wouldn’t let what he’d done to me turn me angry and bitter. I wasn’t about to become my mother, although now I could understand just a little bit better what had led to her downfall as a human being.

It didn’t make it right, but at least she wasn’t such a mystery to me anymore.

Just as I was beginning to run out of things to do, I got the call that would change my life forever. It was a call I hadn’t been expecting, one from a very prestigious law firm looking for a new legal secretary to manage their office.

“Can you come downtown for an interview around three?” the appointment-setter asked.

I glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon. Fuck it—I’d make it. “Yes,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

The first thing I did, after getting dressed, was ride the bus for the very last time. It took me to a Volvo dealership where I bought my first brand new car. It was a splurge, but it was a well-deserved splurge, and one that would ensure I was self-sufficient from now on. No more relying on public transport to get me to my new job in a swanky office building downtown. I was a new woman. This Madison Hearst didn’t depend on anyone but herself.

Once I had my new car, my resume, and my interview clothes in order, I drove downtown and sat through the mid-day traffic while waiting for the turn lane into the parking garage to open up. I had no idea what the problem was. At first I thought there might have been an accident, but as I got closer to the source of the jam, I saw that a parade of news vehicles were blocking the intersection as they tried to find parking spaces directly in front of the Harvey Tower. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. It figured that they’d throw one more wrench into the gears of my life before they were done with me.

Briefly, I wondered what the hell the fuss was about. But it was probably just some stupid PR move Preston or his father had coordinated. Maybe they hadn’t kicked any puppies this week. That seemed newsworthy, all things considered.

Maybe it was something about the wedding. That was only days out now. I couldn’t think of why Mr. Harvey would do something like that at the tower, though. Maybe my mother had put him up to it.

I finally made it to the garage and parked, stuffing my printed-out garage pass between the dashboard and windshield as I stepped out in the warm summer air. I felt good today. I felt capable and vibrant. Preston obviously had done me the courtesy of not blacklisting me, which meant that I now had a rather impressive resume at my disposal. Thank God for small favors, I supposed.

By the time I made it to the sixteenth floor office, I was still ten minutes early. I handed my resume to a very sweet, bubbly receptionist and took a few moments to look around the lobby and get a little better acquainted with what the law firm was expecting.

They took up the whole floor, and they were clearly very expensive. From what I’d read on their website they dealt in criminal law, which seemed awfully exciting. I would’ve been excited for the job regardless, but knowing that I might spend my days involved with the kind of cases I saw on Law & Order sweetened the deal. It was better than resigning myself to something like worker’s comp and business law, anyway.

When Mr. Princeton emerged from his office, my jaw nearly hit the floor. He looked like he’d just stepped out of the pages of a men’s magazine. He wore an impeccably tailored suit and shoes that probably cost more than my new car had, and he had one of those million-dollar smiles that lit up the room brighter than any fancy chandelier could. Not that he didn’t have those, too, but that smile was absolutely radiant.

His smile nearly touched his ears as he walked toward me, and I stood up, accepting his outstretched hand. “Madison Hearst, I presume?”

“You can call me Maddy,” I said, and for a moment, I was reminded of Preston Harvey and how he’d always called me that whenever we were together. No one else ever had. It had only ever been him.

Stop that, I told myself, pushing thoughts of my asshole of a stepbrother from my mind as I followed Mr. Princeton down the hall. You’ve moved on. He’s in your past. Mr. Princeton is your future, and you should count your lucky stars that he is.

I sat down in his office and watched as he closed the door and stepped around the opposite side of his desk. “I have to say,” he began, adjusting his perfectly form-fitting blazer, “I’m impressed. This is one hell of a resume, Madison—sorry. Maddy,” he corrected himself.

I beamed. Then Preston really hadn’t added insult to injury. I was relieved. “Thank you, Mr. Princeton,” I said. “This is one hell of a law firm, from what I hear.”

He laughed. It was a sweet, honeyed sound. “Let’s cut to the chase. Your qualifications are top-notch. And from just the few minutes I’ve spent with you, you seem like the kind of employee who would fit right in here at Princeton & Kline. All that coupled with the personal recommendation we received from Preston Harvey himself, I’m ready to offer you the job right here.”

I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. “Mr. Harvey contacted you directly?”

Mr. Princeton nodded. “Oh, yeah. He called this morning. Said he saw our ad on a jobs site and knew the perfect woman for the job.”

My heart skipped a beat. Preston had been trawling the job boards for me? Why? What the hell did he care?

A recommendation was one thing. The fact that my stepbrother had been actively interested in my employment was another. I knew for a fact that Preston had way better things to do than scour Craigslist ads on my behalf. Had he grown a conscience since I’d been away? Was he actually feeling guilty?

I tried not to think too hard on it, though it flustered me all the same. “Working for Preston Harvey was… a wonderful experience,” I said. And it had been—right up until the point that it wasn’t anymore. I didn’t count it as a lie. “I’m so thrilled that he was satisfied with my service enough to call you and get my foot in the door.”

Mr. Princeton grinned. “He spoke so highly of you that I was afraid someone else had snatched you up already. You seem to have it all, Maddy. Which brings us to your salary…”

I was on the edge of my seat now. I was sure a place like this paid handsomely. Visions of renting an actual house danced through my head, and Mr. Princeton was about to speak again when his receptionist burst through the door.

“Mr. Princeton,” she said breathlessly, “I’m so sorry to interrupt. But you have to see this.”

He frowned at her. “Can’t it wait, Amy?”

She shook her head so hard I was sure her earrings were going to fly right out of her ears. “No, sir. Come quick. It’s all over the news.”

Mr. Princeton raised his eyebrows at me. “I guess that means you should come too,” he said.

I stood up, my stomach flipping as I followed Amy and Mr. Princeton down another hall toward the break room. What the hell was going on?

As soon as I walked in, I saw it plain as day on the TV. Just outside Harvey Tower, several news crews had gathered around my stepbrother, each one of them shoving their microphones in his face, yet all standing so deathly still as he spoke. Someone turned it up and I gripped my clutch tightly as I listened to what he said.

“…in cooperating with state and Federal authorities, Harvey Enterprises has exposed Harold Verger’s intent to collude with government officials in order to shut down the 39th Street homeless shelter on fabricated charges of code violations. Mr. Verger then intended t

o demolish the shelter to make way for a person investment project: a luxury condo development that would cater to the wealthiest citizens of this fine city. Meanwhile, hundreds of homeless would be displaced, including battered women and children for whom there was no other place to turn.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Preston was actually admitting to God and country what Harvey Enterprises had intended to do just to retain a client—one with senatorial aspirations, no less. He was selling himself, Mr. Verger, his father, and his own company out to do it. But there he was, admitting everything on live television.

“Holy shit,” I murmured.

Mr. Princeton folded his arms. “You’re tellin’ me.”

Preston continued, “In light of this and other incidents which have come to light over the past few weeks, Harvey Enterprises will be restructuring. Mr. Harvey—my father—will step down from his position as the head of our company, and with the board of directors’ unanimous approval, I will take his place.”

My knees almost gave out from under me. This was huge. The only way it could have been more shocking was if a nuclear bomb had detonated in the heart of the city. But then Preston delivered one more surprise for me.