"Can I look now?"
"Just one minute, let me get you a mirror," said the excitable makeup artist. She's arrived an hour ago with her oversized makeup kit, not knowing what to expect. When she got the call for the emergency appointment she wasn't told anything expect that she would be helping the wife of a rich man and that she'd be paid twice her usual fee for her inconvenience. London was a hell of a makeup artist but San Francisco was an expensive city to live in. She couldn't afford to pass.
"I don't ask questions. I just go where I'm sent," she explained as she turned Unique's face this way and that. Unique sat patiently as the full-figured southern belle examined her skin under an intense light and pulled out several color wheels in an attempt to find one that was most appealing.
"It would have been nice if somebody thought to mention that you were black," she complained.
"Is that a problem?"
The makeup artists paused and smiled. "It's not that. It's just that I have a whole different kit for dark skin tones. This is my general purpose kit so we have fewer options. Lucky for you," the woman leaned in until Unique could see right down her cleavage. "You have such wonderful skin I don't need half of the products that I use on other women."
"Thank you." Unique wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth or simply smoothing over a possible wrinkle, but she'd been raised to graciously accept any compliment, regardless of the source.
The two women decided that, instead of a face full of dramatic makeup, they'd do something softer and more subtle. They used soft neutral tones and played up Unique's long lashes and wife eyes with smokey eye makeup. A soft metallic sheen lipgloss completed the whole look, making the light bend on Unique's skin.
Unique smiled as London handed her the mirror and told her to open her eyes.
"It looks like me, only way better. How did you do it?"
Unique was still marveling at herself in the mirror when the door opened and Enzo walked in.
"Doesn't he have to knock first?" London whispered to Unique.
"He isn't MY employee," Unique replied.
"A word of advice, sweetie. Don't let him get away with things like that. I've seen enough of these rich men and how they treat their women to know a few things. If you let his assistant act like your boss neither one of them will respect you," London said softly, putting the last of her tools back into her kit.
"Thanks," Unique said, nodding. It was clear that even though London didn't ask any questions, she was wise enough to know that this situation was far from normal. NORMAL wives lived WITH their husbands in fabulous homes. NORMAL wives made appointments with makeup artists weeks, sometimes months in advance. It would be reasonable for London to assume that Unique was just a foolish girl mixed up with a rich man.
But she wasn't, and she also wasn't a normal wife.
London handed her case to Enzo and then turned back to face Unique. She took her business card out of her pocket and slipped it into Unique's hand.
"I hope I'll be seeing you again." The words carried with them a silent, unspoken meaning, but Unique heard it all.
Unique lifted her chin and met the southern belle's unwavering glance. "You will."
"That's the spirit," London said, turning on her heel and walking out of the loft without any more ado.
"Mr. Z will be here in ten minutes to escort you," Enzo announced before turning neatly and walking away.
YOU ARE READING
Unintended Consequences (Act One) Completed
Spiritual"It's simple; you help me convince everybody that we're a normal married couple and I help you hide from your homicidal gangster ex-boyfriend." "And the cuffs?" Unique held up their shackled wrists. "Don't look at me! I was as drunk as you were!" *...
