I spun around on my stool as I watched my best friend style a mannequin for an upcoming fashion show. A quick glance told me what I needed to style the makeup to match.
"Actually, maybe go with the orange belt? I can do a really pretty gold shimmer with that."
Lucia Blake raised an eyebrow. "JJ, I have no idea why he would call you a prima donna," she said with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I like things a certain way. There's nothing wrong with that."
Lucia giggled. "I'm not saying there is. I'm saying I think you and Jonas like to push each other's buttons. Why don’t you just give in and say you like him already?"
"I do not like him. Matter of fact, I hate him."
Never mind that half the time I wanted to pick a fight with him just because he got my blood pumping. And also, never mind the fact that my lady parts throbbed every time he gave me one of his annoying smirks.
“Just because he thinks he saved my life, it doesn’t mean he can say whatever he wants to me. Bigger men than him have tried.” Except that wasn’t true. Jonas was big, and I actually liked the way he talked to me.
“Honey, he did actually save your life,” Lucia pointed out oh so helpfully.
I shuddered when I remembered the fire that razed my apartment to ash. It had nearly consumed me, too. I’d been asleep in my bedroom when the fire started.
The memory of choking on smoke made my stomach turn. I hadn’t been able to wake up at first, almost like I’d taken a sleeping pill or something. Next thing I knew, Jonas was bursting through my bedroom door even as smoke licked at him from the living area.
Management said it was an electrical fire. The building had been renovated about fifteen years prior, but they said something went wrong with the wiring between the trio of apartments on the corner. My place took the brunt of the damage, so now I was living at Blake Security headquarters. The view at the penthouse was better, but I missed my own space.
“Okay, fine, you have a point. He did save my life, but he’s still a caveman. And a jackass. Saving my life does not preclude that.”
Lucia snorted. “You may have a point.”
The man was just so damned frustrating. I wanted to hit him, and I wanted to jump his bones. I knew that wasn't a healthy response. So I was just going to keep that to myself. Besides, my history with men involved picking exactly the wrong kind of guy. And Jonas was the wrong kind of guy. Besides, he hated me just as much as I hated him.
Which isn't very much at all.
I shoved that thought down. So what if I occasionally busted out the battery-operated boyfriend when I was thinking about him in my bed alone at night. So? Lots of women did that. It didn't mean I was a glutton for punishment or that I was ever going to do anything about it.
Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.
“I mean, just because he and his boys are part of some secret government hit squad doesn’t mean he’s so cool.”
Lucia’s eyes bugged, and I stared at her. My best friend was no good at lying or keeping secrets usually. She would never blurt them out, but ask her a direct question and she was toast … every time.
“Holy shit, are you kidding me right now?”
Lucia flushed. “Given everything you’ve seen in the last year, you know you need to keep that to yourself, right?”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. “I’m not an idiot. Usually the people coming after us have very big guns. So fine. He is part of a secret government hit squad. I mean talk about #squadgoals.”
A laugh burst out of my best friend. “You’re ridiculous.”
I grinned. “Take that Taylor Swift. My squad is hotter than your squad.”
Our boss Adriana poked her head into the styling room. "There you are."
We both glanced over. Adriana had the kind of former-model's body that any stylist would be thrilled to dress. Long lean lines, with high cheekbones and a beautifully sculpted face. She was fifty and looked like she was thirty-five. I had no idea how she did that. I figured she must use some seriously expensive European creams.
I grinned up at her. "What's up boss lady? Lucia is just finishing the styling, and I'll have the final makeup color palette for you soon, probably this afternoon."
Lucia nodded. "JJ suggested using the orange belt. I like that one. Or maybe this one that's a little more salmon. JJ, that'll work for you right?"
I nodded. “Yeah, that works too. I have a really pretty peach shimmer I can use that will still work."
Adriana agreed. “Use Lucia as a test model. She has that gorgeous olive skin and we can see how it all works together. But that's not why I'm here, actually."
"What do you need?" I asked.
“This year we’re working with a new charity, Hope Springs. It's for domestic violence survivors. I'd love for you to spearhead this. Sit down with the board and help map out the campaign. There are a lot of women who have just managed to leave their situations. A lot of them need some help to get back on their feet. But it's sort of impossible to go back to work when you're covered in bruises and scars.
“We wanted to do a benefit makeup campaign; raise funds, raise awareness, and then train makeup artists on how to help these women put on a brave face. A survivor's face. And every woman knows that you always feel a little better with makeup. The best part about this is we're pairing with some lower-cost makeup lines, so we want to do some simple looks that will work to get these women back in the workforce. Some of the work that you did with that homeless teenagers’ charity last year was amazing. Some quick, simple, and cheap solutions. I think you're just the person."
As Adriana spoke, my gut curled in on itself. All I could hear were Adriana's words clanging around my head. Abused women. Domestic violence. I couldn't do this. There was no way.
I cleared my throat before I spoke. "That sounds like a great cause, but is there any reason I need to sit with the board and help them? They can just repurpose what I used for the homeless teenagers. It would be a lot of the same work."
Adriana raised a brow and Lucia slid me a glance. I wished I could explain everything to my best friend, but this was not something I could talk about. And it was certainly not anything I could be involved with. It hit too close to home.
Even though Adriana had her brow raised, she carried on. "You're the best makeup stylist I have. Doing pro bono charity work is really important to the organization. I'll tell them to expect a call from you this afternoon."
Adriana left without another word. And she could do that because, well, she owned the joint. All she had to do was put down an edict, and she should expect her word to become bond. The problem was, this was the last thing on earth I wanted to do. I didn't want to go back to that time in my life. A time when I'd had to cover physical and emotional bruises. I didn't want to think about the girl I'd been.
You can do this. This is your job. This is your dream job. Make it happen. One way or another.
When Adriana left, Lucia studied the two belts, the orange and salmon ones, holding them up to the mannequin. I didn't look over at her, but her tone said it all. "You okay, JJ?"
I forced a smile into my voice. "Of course I am." I have to be.