Page 5 of Rayna's Daddy

“Some guy in New York.”

“Psst. New York.” Mario rolled his eyes again and went to work on the aforementioned hair.

“Rayna, come sit,” she said, patting the chair next to her. “This is Mindy. She’s amazing with makeup. She’ll have you looking like Sabrina Carpenter in no time.”

Mindy didn’t speak, just went straight to work on my face. She chatted in Italian to Mario and Natalie. She tested three different foundations shades on my pale skin. It was the dark freckles on my nose that made it hard to find the perfect match. I didn’t usually wear much makeup. I’d throw on some mascara and lip gloss, and I was good to go.

“Finally.” Mindy announced with a condescending tone of triumph and continued with the rest of my makeup.

“Aww, what do you think?” Mindy stepped aside, gesturing toward the mirror. “Beautiful, no?”

I stared at my reflection and blinked a few times to make sure it was me looking back at me. My eyes were smaller and lined in a dramatic fashion. The dark eyelashes made my eyeballs itch. I couldn’t stop blinking. The angles (on my face) were contoured to create a sunken cheek look and my lips were painted brilliant bright red. They went with the Sabrina Carpenter on ketamine.

“I think the lip sticks is too much.”

Mindy’s face dropped. “No, you look fabulous.”

Natalie’s hair was slicked back and put in a high ponytail. With some gel, she could have done it herself. She gushed to Mario and hopped up.

“Mario will do your hair now.” She turned to Mario. “Make her look sophisticated. No more teenage girl.”

I frowned and climbed into the chair.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mario pulled out my pig tails and brushed out my hair. He used a flat iron to make ringlet curls. I sipped my champagne and watched. Once he was done with the curls, he proceeded to pin each one in an intricate up do. He left a spiral curl hanging in the front at an awkward spot. I would be pushing it out of my face all night.

I took another sip of my drink. Hoping it would soften the bright red lip color. It didn’t budge and didn’t leave a stain. I touched my lips. The lip stick didn’t come off on my fingers. I held in a groan. I would have to live with blood-stained lips for the rest of my life.

My heart was racing as Natalie once again grabbed my arm and pulled me into another room. It was lined with dresses and other girls in different stages of dress.

Some of them squealed when they saw Natalie and rushed to hug her. Other stood quietly to the side. They were all so thin and painted up, much like me. Dramatic, but off. I kind of trended towards a younger look, but tonight, I was going to look like a grownup.

I hoped I did a good job of acting like one.

CHAPTER3

Josh and I strolled through the casino, taking it all in, while we killed time before heading upstairs. Once this mess was over, we were seriously considering buying the whole building.

“I think we can salvage it.” Josh pointed to the ceiling. “It’s got a good shell.”

“And, how do you get the negative vibes out of the place?” I looked around. “I say we tear the whole damn thing down.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He shrugged and sniffed his collar. “We been here thirty minutes and I feel like I need a shower.”

I turned to him.

“Who’s the snob, now?” I chuckled.

“Hey, this fucking place is ruining my suit.” He straightened his jacket. “You can mess with me, but not my clothes.”

I shook my head.

Josh’s phone rang.

“Yo.” He answered and nodded. “Okay. On our way up now.”

I headed toward the elevator. Josh falling in step beside me. We rode up to the penthouse in silence.

As soon as the doors opened, Albert greeted us.

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