Page 26 of Stained
Alicia snorted. “You sound like you have a lot of experience in this.”
“Honey, I didn’t make it this far without learning a thing or two about rich-ass women. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t into me.” He winked. Alicia giggled.
“Thanks. Think I’ll see where it goes first.”
Rayne rejoined them after the seamstress left with a huff. “First place you need to go,” Renaldo said loudly, holding up Alicia’s ponytail. “Is Pauline’s. We don’t have any time to waste. It’s time to get you a new hairdo. Now.”
Pauline the hairstylist spent an inordinate amount of time staring at Alicia’s reflection and a picture of her in the dress the other stylists had picked out for her. Rayne kept throwing around the words “bun” and “braid,” but every other phrase made the redhead flinch.
“This kind of face needs a symmetrical haircut, but notthatsymmetrical.” Her accent was so thick that Alicia couldn’t place it. “Leave me. I need to consult with my art.” As soon as Rayne was gone, Pauline continued to mumble, “Had to get her out of here before she summoned Laryette.” Then, louder, “Now, how about we chop off these lovely locks of yours?”
“No!” Alicia knew she shouldn’t have shouted with scissors so close to her head, but what else could she do? “I mean… please don’t. Trim it if you want, but don’t chop it.”
Melodrama was the theme of the day. Pauline blew out a torrent of hot air through her mouth and nostrils before putting down the shears. “Fine, but don’t blame me if your look falls flat because you’re obsessed with your own hair color.”
Alicia was tired of these people making assumptions about her. “Next, you’ll be telling me that you want to dye my hair.”
“What? No way. You’ve got the natural blond tone we’re always trying to achieve for our dark-haired clients.” Pauline ruffled the top of Alicia’s head for emphasis. “It’s noticeably blond, but not outrageously so. We call thisConservative Blond. All the heiresses applying to law school crow for this color. Yet they want us to do it in a way that won’t fry their hair? Technology hasn’t caught up to us that well yet. Although…” She carefully parted Alicia’s hair, scoping out both her roots and the way her hair grew gradually lighter the longer it fell. “If you wanted to dye it one day, we could do a really soft brown. Not quite chestnut, but almost there. Your skin tone is perfect for it.”
Alicia considered it for one hot second. “We, huh?”
“You keep that Danica Moreau wrapped around your pretty finger and I’ll be happy to keep doing your hair, sweetheart.” Pauline picked up a tiny pair of scissors. “Now, about these bangs and disgusting split ends…”
There wasn’t much time for conversation when Pauline was pulling her hair – and not in the sexy way – clipping dangerously close to her ear, and trying every updo under the sun. Rayne came in and out of the hair studio, asking “How much longer?” and whether Pauline had any more of that sparkling champagne left. Alicia was never offered any.
All these people think I should milk the woman dry. The thought had occurred to her more than once, but only as an outrageous fantasy. Alicia was not into the idea of using someone for their money. She wouldn’t want to be used for her body, would she?Yet that’s probably what I’m signing up for.Classic Mommy-baby relationship. Except that Danica wasn’t that much older than her. A whole two years! When she and Candice researched as much as they could on the internet, that was the most shocking thing. The woman was born in 1995. Alicia’s parents may not have met yet, but they were already heading on that path by ’95.
Yet Danica Moreau felt so much older. Her older gravitas. That wizened aura. The woman was more forty than she was thirty. Her mom looked a lot older, too. Alicia shivered, conjuring the wrath of Pauline since she had almost sliced someone’s ear off. Memories of Russell Moreau and that one strange moment they shared stuck with poor Alicia. She hoped she wouldn’t be seeing much more of the family while she became a blip in his daughter’s dating life.
Pauline finished her trimming and styling. In the end, she left Alicia with an updo that was more beehive than twist… and a video demonstration so she could recreate the look the next day.Yeah, right.Alicia couldn’t wait to get the thing off her head already. She knew that bees were endangered, but did she have to be the one to cart them around in her hair?
Renaldo must have had the same thought as she collected her bags and headed for the taxi the three of them shared. “Careful, don’t get stung.” He opened the door to the cab and allowed her to hop in first. Rayne was already inside.
Sad thing? Alicia was counting on getting stung. If she wasn’t after Danica for her money, then she had to be after her for something. What did Alicia know? She was still naïve in the world of sex.
Chapter 9
Alicia stood in front of her mirror, in awe of how expensive she suddenly looked.
“Damn, mama,” came a whistle from the doorway. Candice appeared, nodding in appreciation. “Look at you! Who knew that Barney’s could be so sexy!”
Indeed. When Alicia received the dress that morning, hemmed by the professional on-site seamstress, she was in awe that it had come out so well. Instead of plummeting to her ankles, the skirt hugged her legs above her knees, showing off her sturdy calves and, yes, what little ass she had. It also managed to give glimpses of her breasts without being garish. Since she didn’t have any expensive jewelry, though, she struggled to decide how to accessorize.
She wasn’t as lost as she was with her hair, though.
Candice had seen the pictures and agreed that it was absurd. She also took one look at the video demonstrating how to recreate the look and laughed into the back of her hand. “Girl,I’ve got you covered. I do hair on sets all the time. I work well in a pinch.”
Alicia glared at her. “I don’t want porn star hair.”
“Why not? They have some of the best-looking hair! Besides, would you rather have the Leaning Tower of Pisa sculpted onto your head?”
“Well, no.”
“Then sit your sexy ass down. I want you to remember me as only helpful when you’re Mrs. Moreau and delegating your wife’s assets to your poor friends.”
“It’s not like…”
“Joke! It’s a joke!” Candice threaded her fingers through Alicia’s hair. “We’re going to make you so pretty, girl!”
