LITMIR.BIZ

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felt the corners of her eyes tighten with a smirk. Her body leaned forward. She expected Will to add something along the lines of “when you join the team.” All she received was a sneer. “What do you know about the beauty industry?” Zoe boldly asked.

      “I know I’m not going to let my family’s legacy fail,” he retorted.

      Without him having to say the words, Zoe knew Will was not impressed with her work. Seemed like this week was going to turn out perfect.

      When Will flashed a smile, her knees went weak again. According to Lexi’s itinerary, they were going to be sequestered for almost a week. Zoe would be making over all of the contestants. One full week to prove to Will she’d be the perfect person for the CDD job.

      A man wearing a dark suit and aviator glasses appeared at the entranceway of the door leading toward the plane. In a ripple effect, the man Zoe assumed was the pilot nodded his head at Will, Will returned the head nod and, in turn, inclined his head to Zoe. “There’s my guy,” Will said. “There’s someone more important in the hangar...”

      “You mean more than you?” Zoe gasped sarcastically, her hand clutched to her heart.

      “Cute,” he said with a sigh. “So, what’s it going to be, Miss Baldwin?”

      “I’ll go,” Zoe said hesitantly, “but understand that I am going to have to owe you a ride.”

      The way Will raised his brows made her shiver with wanton promise. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. Flashes of her naked body curled up in a mixture of his arms and tangled sheets entered her mind. Heat began to boil underneath her shirt. “You know what I’m talking about.”

      “I certainly do,” Will said.

      The only thing Zoe could do was pray Will hadn’t felt the dampness on her lower back as he pressed his hand there to guide her across the windy airport strip toward the plane. Once they boarded, Zoe realized they were the only ones taking up space on the twenty-two pearl-leather seats. A flight attendant, dressed in a cute thigh-length lavender button-down dress with gold and pearl accessories—staple colors of Ravens Cosmetics packaging—greeted them as they boarded. She lifted her arm effortlessly to point in the direction of all the available seats.

      Ahead of Will, Zoe glanced in the direction of the restrooms. Did the mile-high club count if they were the only ones on the plane? She jumped when Will touched the back of her shoulders. His thumb circled the nape of her neck.

      “We have our pick,” said Will, “but these are my favorites.” His gentle touch against her skin guided her to a set of seats facing one another with a round coffee table between them. She imagined all the business deals made over that table.

      “Thank you again, Mr. Ravens,” Zoe replied with a curt nod of her head.

      The perky flight attendant came over to take their order for drinks. Both of them asked for bottled water. When they were alone again, the captain began to take off. Out of the window, Zoe watched her plane still sitting on the runway. Will sat across from her. His long legs stretched out and their knees touched. Zoe sat straighter and crossed her legs together at the ankles.

      “Having doubts?” Will’s deep voice brought Zoe out of her zone. She blinked into focus and he explained further. “About coming on the plane with me?”

      Zoe kept a straight face and led things in a professional direction. “I do appreciate this. I’m honored to have another chance to speak with you.”

      “Are you now?” Will asked with a raised brow.

      “Of course,” said Zoe, reaching for her phone from her purse. Her fingers slid across the screen to bring it to life. “This gives me more time to show you what you may not have seen in my portfolio.”

      “And give you an advantage over the other artists?”

      A cold chill rushed down Zoe’s spine and she offered a tight smile. She slid the phone back in her purse. “Have you ever been to Southwood before?”

      “Can’t say that I have,” said Will, crossing one long leg over the other.

      Zoe inhaled deeply at the way his thighs rippled beneath the denim. “Well, you’re in for a treat. It’s like taking a walk into history.”

      “Uh,” Will started, “our history in the South?”

      “Just wait and see.”

      “I take it you’ve been there?”

      Nodding, Zoe grinned. “I spent my summers there and the last two years of high school.”

      “Your parents aren’t together?”

      No one ever asked about her parents. When working, she did most of the talking with her clients. Zoe usually eased models’ fears of being in front of a particular photographer or clients’ nervousness about the events Zoe was getting them ready for. To them, she was a machine. Will made her feel like a person. “They’re together in a sense,” she answered, and then nodded. “They never divorced, but they never truly lived together. My mother, Jamerica, is from Trinidad and she couldn’t stand being away from the islands for too long. And, well, my dad preferred to be landlocked.”

      The corners of Will’s mouth turned down. “Does he still live there now?”

      “Worried about meeting my father?”

      Will uncrossed his legs and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I haven’t done anything to you yet to be worried about.”

      A chill of excitement ran down Zoe’s spine. What kinds of things would he do? Just the thought of his lips on her collarbone steamed her throughout her body. Even with her last official relationship, Zoe never daydreamed about what his lips would do. Shaun Jackson had been sweet, hunky and driven, but never enough for Zoe to get distracted from her own goals. This was a perfect example of why she carried a change of clothes with her in her carry-on bag. Zoe cleared her throat and tried to stay focused on the prize. What she wanted was the Creative Design Director position. She was not going to sleep her way to the top. She’d never had to before, and she wasn’t going to start now.

      “Alright, I’ll drop it for now,” Will said, interrupting her thoughts. “Will you be staying at your father’s?”

      Zoe shook her head. “Dad is away this summer. But, even so, I won’t be staying there.”

      An inquisitive brow rose on Will’s face. “No?”

      “I heard that everyone involved with the pageant is going to be at Magnolia Palace.”

      “Is it someplace special? My cousins gushed when they told me about it.”

      “I am biased,” Zoe began, a smile touching her face at the vast memories. “My folks met there when my mother was on a photo shoot. He proposed there, as well.”

      A sad sigh struggled in the back of Zoe’s throat. She wanted what her parents had, minus the not living together. A long-distance relationship worked for them, but not her. As much as work kept Zoe busy, she didn’t have time to nurture a relationship. Soon Zoe was going to want someone she could wake up to every day. Work had always been important and the proverbial someday lurked around the corner. Once she got the position at Ravens Cosmetics, Zoe planned on settling down. There were a few potential men in Miami, but no one worth giving up her goals for. Zoe needed a man as driven as herself.

      “Well, I can’t wait to see this place,” Will concluded with a dazzling grin.

      “Me, either,” Zoe beamed. “During high school, Magnolia Palace sort of crashed and burned. But recently it was bought and renovated. I’m excited to see the changes and I can’t wait to walk along the pier.”

      For a moment, Zoe held her breath. Given her creative job as a makeup artist, she lived in a fast-paced world. People wanted fast-paced things. A walk along a pier on a lake was not fast-paced.

      Will

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