The Last Rule of Makeups (Breakup Bash)

by Nina Crespo

  Excitement brightened her face. “I heard you pull up a while ago. Why didn’t you ring the doorbell?” She waved him inside. “I’m almost ready. I just need to squeeze another pair of shoes into my carry-on.” As he closed the door behind him, she paused before running upstairs. “Should I bring more casual shoes or a pair of stilettos?”

  He’d really been looking forward to surprising her.

  As she stared at his face, her expression morphed to one of worry. “What’s wrong? Oh no, was the trip cancelled?”

  “Kind of. My dad changed the location of our meeting. It’s now in North Carolina. If you still want to go to New York, I can try to join you tomorrow. Or if you don’t want to go at all, I understand.”

  She came back down the stairs and wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. “It’s okay. Going to New York wasn’t about me. It was about you getting together with your father. Where does he want you to meet him in North Carolina? Charlotte? Raleigh?”

  He returned her embrace. “No. At my parents’ new house, somewhere near Infinity Beach.”

  As she leaned back to look at him, he saw interest in her eyes. “Really? The beach?”

  “Do you want to come with me? It’s not as exciting as New York, but—”

  “Do I have time to repack my bag before we leave for the airport?”

  “So you’re not disappointed? I know you were looking forward to shopping and catching a show.”

  “Disappointed over exchanging New York for a beach vacay? Seriously?”

  “There’s a lot less to do.”

  “But I get to do a lot less with you. And since I was most looking forward to spending time with you, this is perfect.” She rose on her toes and pecked him on the lips. “Give me a minute. I just have to take a few things out of my bag and throw in some shorts, T-shirts, sundresses, and some cute shoes to go with them.”

  He’d have to buy shorts and some other things for the beach when he got there. His own packed bag, sitting in the car, had the basics for a trip to the city, including a nice suit for the meeting he was supposed to have with his father at a high-end restaurant. And he’d also remembered to pack a couple of prime essentials—an extra button-down shirt and a T-shirt for Cori to wear. In the past, no matter how much stuff Cori had packed, she always ended up raiding his bag for a shirt to sleep or lounge around in. And he liked the way she’d looked in them.

  Cori slipped from his arms and headed up the stairs.

  “Cori,” he called out to her, and she paused halfway up. “Don’t forget to bring a bathing suit.”

  She grinned. “Both of my bikinis are at the top of my new packing list, along with my sunscreen.”

  A vision of Cori wearing a bikini appeared in his mind. This trip could turn out better than he expected. “And you have time. We’re driving, not flying. We need to leave in forty-five minutes.”

  “Yes!” She raised her hands in a small fist pump then bounded up the stairs. “I can bring a bigger bag and pack full-sized beauty products.”

  …

  Seven and a half hours later, Cori slipped her laptop into a green canvas bag near her feet as Grey pulled into the wide, tree-lined, sand-colored stone driveway. It led to a three-story beige home with wide white-trimmed windows. More beachfront homes were generously spaced to the left and right of it, and behind the houses, she caught a glimpse of endless sky-blue water.

  She opened the front passenger-side window and filled her lungs. A breeze warmed by the sun and filled with ocean brine fueled her smile. “This is incredible. If I were your parents, I’d live here full time.”

  Grey parked in front of the two-door garage and turned off the engine. “According to Dad’s assistant, they just closed on it last month. I don’t think they’ve even stayed here yet.”

  “So we’re breaking it in?”

  “Apparently.”

  His father, Elliot, wasn’t staying the night. After his meeting with Grey in a couple of hours, he was flying to Atlanta, where he had more meetings.

  Grey snagged his phone from the cupholder. “I hope one of the keycodes works. Dad’s assistant wasn’t sure if she had the right ones. The locks were just changed last week. We don’t have time for problems. The personal chef that’s coming needs to be ready to serve at six. My father starts on time.” Grey’s lips tightened with a frown. He’d done that every time he’d mentioned his father.

  Cori picked up her bag. She couldn’t imagine being this tense around her parents. “Have faith. One of the keycodes will work.”

  They got out and climbed the stairs to the second-floor entrance. The second keycode allowed them inside.

  On the left, sets of dark-wood stairs led down to the first and up to the third floor. In front of them, glossy beige tiles expanded into a living room. A large blue and white rug delineated a seating area with glass furnishings, gray side chairs, and white couches decorated with blue pillows. A section of wall with a flatscreen television bisected a full-sized window showcasing a breathtaking view of the ocean.

  Cori sat her tote in one of the side chairs. “Oh, Grey, this is amazing.”

  “What?” Grey lagged behind focused on his phone. “Yeah, it’s great. Look around. I’ll catch up. I need to call the personal chef and let him know we’re here.”

  She held back a reassuring comment. He wouldn’t take it in. Hopefully, he’d relax once his father was gone.

  A tall, curved, white marble-topped counter sectioned off a gourmet kitchen on the left that also had a spectacular view of the ocean. She imagined her and Grey sitting at the stools interspersed in front of the counter, enjoying coffee in the morning.

  On the other side of the kitchen was the dining room with a built-in corner bar where, undoubtedly, the big dinner meeting would take place.

  When Cori walked back to the front of the house, Grey was on the phone. She went up the stairs without him and explored the four bedrooms attached to the long hallway but gravitated toward the larger one at the end. The room furnished in bright white with colorful abstracts on the walls and a king-sized bed also had a balcony.

  She opened the French doors, and the sound of rushing waves greeted her along with the breeze. Walking past the two light-blue Adirondack chairs facing the water, Cori went to the white railing surrounding the intimate outdoor space.

  Down below, fat terra cotta pots with blooming pink and red flowers sat on a wood deck. An outdoor grill was off to one side. On the other side, brown wicker chairs with dark blue cushions surrounded a round firepit.

  Grey joined her, leaning on the railing and staring out at the beach. He looked even more preoccupied than he’d been earlier, but at least he wasn’t on his phone.

  Still facing the water, Cori nudged her way in front of him. Like she’d hoped, he wrapped his arms around her. She glanced up at him from over her shoulder. “I think we should take advantage of the firepit tonight.”

  As he stared down at her, the faraway look in his eyes went away. “Sounds like a plan.” He kissed her, but it ended far too soon. His phone started buzzing in his pocket. He’d synced his phone with the security system. The door camera was alerting him to the chef’s arrival. Once the chef was settled, they got ready for dinner.

  Twenty minutes before his father was to arrive, she stood outside near the firepit, drinking an icy glass of coconut water lemonade. When she’d checked in with the dark-haired chef with a light tan and an easy smile about playing hostess or helping out, he’d handed her the drink and sent her on her way.

  Grey was pretending to watch television as he paced in the living room.

  As she walked closer to the edge of the deck, the wind whipped at the skirt of her blue and white floral dress. It was so tempting to kick off her wedge heels and go play in the sand. She’d mentioned to Grey that she didn’t mind disappearing during dinner so he and his father could talk,
but he’d already explained to his dad that she’d be there, and they’d decided to talk after dinner.

  “Cori,” Grey called out to her.

  She looked over her shoulder at Grey and his father, standing on the threshold of the open sliding door that was between the living room and the kitchen.

  Grey’s white shirt and blue slacks matching up with her dress hadn’t been intentional.

  Elliot Latham looked stylish as well as distinguished in a black button-down shirt, charcoal slacks, and dark, polished dress shoes.

  Side by side, Grey and his fifty-something father shared similarities in height and the way they carried themselves. She’d met Grey’s mother, Olivia, once when she’d accompanied Elliot to DC on business. Olivia was very pretty, and Grey was the masculine version of her. He had his mother’s eyes.

  Cori walked across the deck, slightly nervous about meeting Grey’s dad for the second time. “Hello.”

  “Dad,” Grey said, “you remember Cori.”

  She warmed under the look of pride in Grey’s eyes as he laid his hand on her lower back.

  From the way Grey’s father looked at her, he didn’t remember the DC visit from a little over six years ago. “It’s good to meet you, Cori.” Elliot’s grip was the perfect professional handshake—strong but not too tight. His polite smile was also one that would fit well in a corporate setting. He looked to Grey. “We should get started.”

  With her and Grey walking almost in single file behind his father, it felt as if they really were headed for a business meeting instead of a meal with family.

  They sat down at the end of the oval table with Grey’s father at the head with her to his right and Grey to his left.

  As the chef served them a succulent salad of baby greens, Grey and his father carried on a stilted conversation about the differences in weather between Texas and New York. She was so baffled by the stiffness in their communication, she didn’t even attempt to join in. During the flavorful apricot chicken entrée, the conversation started with how Grey’s mother, Olivia, was doing and migrated to Latham Reeves. But even during those topics, the conversation between Grey and his father sounded more informative than personal.

  Like his father, Grey didn’t smile once the entire time, and he ate as if he wasn’t enjoying the meal. When he was around her family, he laughed and dug in for seconds along with everyone else.

  She’d known Grey didn’t have a close relationship with his father, but she’d never imagined it was this distant…or cold. Emotional pain for him pinged in her chest. It made sense now why he’d never turned down spending time with her parents or attending family get-togethers with her. Her family had given him something he hadn’t experienced with his.

  The chef cleared away their plates and offered them dessert.

  Grey’s father cleared his throat and answered for them. “No, thank you. Just coffee. My son and I have business to discuss.”

  Cori gladly took her cue and rose from the table. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

  Before she went out to the back deck, she snagged a plate of peach pie a la mode from the chef. As she sat with her shoes off and her feet curled up in one of the wicker chairs, she savored every delicious bite along with the view.

  She would have to make sure the chef left some dessert behind for Grey. It would help him decompress after the meeting.

  If he worked for his father, would it change him? Would he forget how to laugh and enjoy himself? No. She wouldn’t let him. She’d make him laugh every day and make sure he spent ample time around her family to compensate.

  Wait. She was getting way ahead of herself. Grey hadn’t agreed to anything yet with his father, and even if he did, what she had with Grey was like the peach pie a la mode in her hand—something she’d relish for the short time it existed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Grey stirred sugar into his coffee. What he’d give to have his father suggest that they pour up something from the corner bar and sit in the living room or on the deck to continue their talk. But of course, his father wouldn’t because this wasn’t just any conversation. It was an interrogation.

  His father took a sip from his coffee cup then set it down. “So, you’re finally ready to join us?”

  And so it begins… “I am.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “I felt it was time.”

  As his father drank his coffee, his gaze shifted momentarily to where Cori had been sitting. “All right. Explain to me how your experience as a DJ will contribute to the company and help us meet our goals.”

  His father had upended the weekend for them to have the equivalent of an interview? They could have done that over the phone or his father should have let his assistant handle it like everything else.

  Grey caught the glimpse of dismissal in his dad’s eyes. Did his father believe he didn’t have what it took to help manage the company? As a DJ, he was a solo entrepreneur. He’d created his business plan, set up and achieved his financial goals, negotiated deals, collaborated on projects, developed his marketing platform, and done everything else in between as the CEO of his own enterprise.

  As Grey laid it all out, his father’s look of dismissal turned into one of interest. By the time he’d outlined his goals in terms that lined up with Latham Reeves’s financial reports and minutes from the company’s quarterly and annual meetings that he’d read faithfully since college, he’d gained his father’s full attention. And as he listened to himself recite his resume to his father, well-deserved pride swelled inside of him.

  When Grey finished answering his dad’s questions, his father studied him. “It sounds like your past experiences will line up with the company’s objectives. But being a part of the executive team at Latham Reeves is also a collaborative effort. It requires management as well as mentoring skills. It doesn’t sound like you’ve done much of that.”

  Liam’s face flashed in Grey’s mind. He’d managed people and mentored others along the way, but he’d spent the most time with Liam. A quick hit of despair silenced Grey.

  His father continued, “Putting in some hours at the properties would be the best place for you to start. That’s where your cousins started, but they did it while they were in college. A day-to-day training view would be a good way for you to learn and give you peer credibility. We’ll strategize to determine how to bring you up to par.”

  Up to par… From the amount of As on his report cards to the number of touchdowns he’d made as a wide receiver in high school to his choice to go to a college where his family didn’t have connections to his refusal to join Latham Reeves—he’d never met his father’s expectations. And that was just the short list.

  Grey pushed away his coffee, and his father stood, signaling their brief dinner had come to an end.

  They reached the kitchen. The chef had already tidied up and departed the scene.

  Cori wasn’t in the living room or on the deck. Maybe she’d gone upstairs or for a walk on the beach?

  Grey turned to his father who was preparing to leave. “I’ll find Cori so you can tell her good-bye.”

  “You can tell her for me. I need to get to the airport.”

  Grey shook his father’s hand. “Have a good flight.”

  His father gave him a nod. “I’ll be in touch. Soon.”

  As Grey watched his dad get into to the four-door, black car that was beside his rental and drive off, a light rain sprinkled down in contrast to the still bright evening sky.

  Grey shut the door, but barely contained restlessness remained with him in the room. Joining his family’s company was still the right move, wasn’t it? Intensifying restlessness answered. If he was back in Austin, he would have practiced a new set or put in his earbuds, turned up the music, and immersed himself in sound as he went for a long run. Or he could run on the beach now. The sun shower was still pretty l
ight.

  Just as he’d started to envision the steady wash of the waves and the solid hit of his feet on wet sand taking over his mind, lightning flashed and thunder boomed, and the rain started falling faster.

  Cori. Where was she? Upstairs? Hopefully she wasn’t somewhere on the beach.

  Just as he was about to call her name to see if she was in the house, the sliding door opened on the other side of the room, and Cori rushed in, still in her dress and holding her shoes in her hand.

  Laughing and out of breath, she slid the door shut. “I just made it. I went for a walk and ended up farther from the house than I’d realized. On the way back, it started raining, so I had to run the rest of the way.” Suddenly, she sobered and glanced around. “Is your father still here?”

  “No. He already left.”

  “Sorry, I missed him.”

  He wasn’t. He was so happy to see this Cori again, the one caught up in the thrill of life. He knew her well from years ago, but since they’d been together over the past couple of weeks, this was the first glimpse he’d really caught of her.

  Maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted to capture some of her happiness as his own without anyone or anything getting in the way, including his own thoughts about the past or the future.

  Grey walked over to Cori where she stood near the back of the couch. The sweet fragrance of her perfume mixed with the smells of rain and the ocean. Her body heat seeped into his pores, consuming him and luring him closer.

  “Hard meeting with your dad, huh?” She stared up at him with true concern in her eyes as she laid a hand on his chest. “I had the chef save some dessert for you.” She smiled. “It’s so good, you’ll forget about everything after the first taste.”

  A vision flared in his mind of her writhing under him as he lapped at the folds of her pussy.

  The lust in his veins nearly blinded him to the red dot on a disk almost camouflaged in the corner of the ceiling. He took out his phone, pulled up the security app, and muted the essential hardware.

  “Is there something wrong with the security system?” Cori asked.