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“Angelique can’t make it,” Adalyn said with an eye roll.
Jackie sucked in a quick breath. “Did they fire her?”
Leaning closer to Jackie, Adalyn lowered her voice. “Don’t know. But Rhett will be happy to be rid of her. The girl kept coming on to him, and he was close to firing her last week after the stunt she pulled at that restaurant opening. I don’t know what happened, just that we told the show we’d provide our own hair and makeup, and now we don’t have one.”
The car reverted to silence as both assistants typed manically into their phones, and I tried not to watch them awkwardly from the side-view mirror. What exactly did styling Rhett entail? He must have some degree of face makeup, surely, but not enough for the cameras to pick up on. Was I in charge of his hair too? Both his and Sunny’s?
A quiver of fear nestled into my chest. What if I wasn’t able to handle both of them? I wasn’t exactly a studio makeup artist. I worked in a salon on a busy town square and dealt with typical clients and bridezillas.
Okay, wait. I dealt with bridesa lot. As one of the premier wedding locations in California, my home in the Wine Country saw many, many brides. From April to October, I was booked nearly every weekend with updos and wedding makeup. I absolutely loved it. Formal styling like that was why I chose a career in cosmetology in the first place. If I could handle lunatic brides and their chirpy bridesmaids, I could handle two movie stars. The basics of avoiding shine, shimmer, and too-bright colors remained the same. The skill set was in my repertoire. I just needed to keep my cool.
We pulled to a stop, and the driver went around to the trunk of the car and removed my cases. I thanked him and followed the assistants inside, handing over my driver’s license to the building security team for proof of identification and taking the pass from them that allowed me access to the dressing rooms.
The fluorescent-lit hallways buzzed with activity. Adalyn and Jackie led the way to the rooms labeledSunny NashandRhett Myers. The stars were located right beside each other, which would help.
“You can take care of Sunny first,” Adalyn said, nodding to the correct door. “Rhett is running behind, but he’ll be here by the time you’re ready for him.” She shot me a perfunctory smile before turning to Jackie in dismissal. “I’m running out to grab Rhett some breakfast after I check the dressing room. Want me to get anything for Sunny?”
“No, I already dropped coffee off at her hotel room.”
They parted ways, letting themselves into the different dressing rooms, and I followed Jackie into Sunny’s. I set my cases down on the long counter with a clunk and started unpacking my implements and opening my case drawers. Sunny was set to arrive in twenty minutes, and I wanted everything to be ready to go the moment she walked in.
Jackie perched on the edge of the sofa, her face glued to her phone. In the amount of time it took me to set up my hair and makeup supplies, Jackie had completed two phone calls confirming Sunny had awoken and that the car was waiting for her at the Ritz.
“She’s almost here,” Jackie said. I leaned against the counter, pulling the end of my ponytail over my shoulder and running my finger over the dead ends. You’d think someone who worked in a salon would have her own hair in order, but I needed a trim badly. The split ends were standing out like a goth in a pink convertible.
Enough about me, though. I was about to style one of America’s most popular actresses.
“Anything I should know?” I asked.
Jackie pushed out her chin a little, looking at the ceiling. “Not that I can think of. Sunny is super great, actually. I mean, she has her moments, but she’s got to be the easiest actress to work with.” She lowered her voice. “I think it has to do with her newfound religion, and I’m okay with it.”
This was the first I’d heard of any newfound religion, and I was pretty up-to-date on Sunny Nash. Since middle school, I’d made it my business to keep abreast of anything relating to Rhett. Sunny just costarred in his last movie, so she was pretty relevant. “Religion?”
Jackie’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, and she picked it up, her nails clicking as she rapidly typed. “She’s here. I’m going outside to meet her.”
“Okay.”
Jackie was out the door in a flash, and I started pacing, wringing my hands as if I were prepping to start a floor routine in the Olympics. My heart pounded harder than it had before my first bridal portrait session when I was fresh out of school. Except, I wasn’t fresh out of school anymore. I’d been doing this foryears, and I was extremely capable.
Transforming people from one look to another was my specialty and joy. There was something about the magic in my curling wand and powder brushes that gave me deep satisfaction. Sunny’s face was just another challenge—another chance to take an already beautiful woman and give her a little edge. To temporarily remove her imperfections and enhance her natural features.
Every face was beautiful. Finding the unique traits and giving them a spotlight—that was the point of makeup and hairstyling.
Deep breath in, anxious energyout.Ugh. Why wasn’t that working? My hands shook, and my mouth was going dry.
The door opened, and Jackie stood there, holding her phone to her chest and allowing Sunny Nash to precede her into the room. I pasted a wide smile on my face, hoping I looked welcoming and not scared like the frightened little rabbit I was. Sunny pulled to an abrupt stop in the middle of the room.
Her dark, curly hair was unkempt from having been slept in, and she wore a wide-necked tee over black leggings. Her brown nose was scrunched up, and her hazel eyes were wide.
“Your aura,” she said, staring at me as if I’d busted out the chicken dance for her benefit. “It’s much too blue.”
Chapter Three
Blue? What did a blueaura imply? Judging by Sunny’s disgust, it wasn’t a good thing.
“Surely her aura won’t affect your hair, though, right, Sunny?” Jackie asked, gently approaching the movie star but keeping her hands tightly glued to her phone over her chest. She looked like she was about to pray. Maybe she already was.
Sunny’s perfect eyebrows knit together, her plump lips turned down. A man followed them into the room and came to an abrupt halt. He looked around quickly through thick glasses, his wide eyebrows pulled together. He wore a nice, understated suit, not a hair out of place on his classically styled head. “What’s going on?” he asked, confused.
