The Business of Beauty

Chapter Twelve

"Whose truck is that outside?" 

Nicole's voice echoed through the house as Cameron finished the white cat-eye she'd been struggling with. So focused on finishing the look she didn't hear the question. There was glitter scattered on her bathroom sink, but there wasn't time for her to clean it.

"Cousins, not sisters," she muttered, blinking a couple of times. Not her best work, she could admit, but better than nothing. Her make-up for the day was inspired by TLC, with light blue eye-shadow darkening into blue, some glitter on her lids, and then lip-liner and a clear gloss. Her outfit matched, with a blue pantsuit, white corset top, and matching blue sandals. She'd been testing the samples for the fall and winter line and writing notes. 

She cleaned her mess and hurried to the kitchen, where a clear Tupperware container of fruit awaited her on the counter. She gave Callista a kiss on her cheek, then hurried to where Nicole was standing, looking out the front door with her hands on her hips. Ever the nosy neighbor.

"Who is that outside?" she asked, tilting her head toward the vehicle.

A quick glance outside made Cameron pause, and then keep from cursing out loud as Elliot confirmed the previous night's expectations. There he was, sitting in his blue, giant-ass truck, waiting along the curb.

"Remember the coworker that dropped me off last night?" Cameron said, kissing her other mother on the cheek. "That's him."

Nicole whipped her head around so fast her braids hit Cameron square in the face. She rubbed her stinging cheek.

"You didn't tell me that the coworker that brought you home was a man," Nicole said in an accusing tone. "And that he was picking you up."

Cameron thought back to the night before and realized that her mom was right. Cameron had explained why she'd been so late, and let her parents know that a coworker had brought her home, but nothing else.

"I didn't think that he would pick me up, to be honest," Cameron said. "But I don't know how long he's been waiting outside and I don't want to run late. Can we talk about this later?"

Nicole's eyes narrowed. "Yes," she answered, her tone making Cameron shiver with dread. "But when you get home we will discuss this and you will tell him today that there's no need to pick you up and drop you off. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Cameron replied. She wasn't going to argue with her mother that she was twenty-six and not a teenager, not when it looked like her mother would drag her back to her room and scold her.

"Go ahead," Nicole said, "and text me when you get there. I'll pick you up when you get off."

Cameron nodded and hurried outside, her heart thundering in her chest. Elliot was on his phone when she knocked on the window, a frown on his face, but looked up at the noise and unlocked the door. He absently picked up his thermos—she could smell the coffee—and took a sip from it before placing his phone on the console and focusing on her.

"Should I be worried about the woman in your doorway?" he asked.

"No," Cameron said, hurrying to put on her seatbelt. "It's just my mom."

He nodded and then pulled onto the road.

Much like the previous night's ride, it was dead-silent in the truck, the only noise the roar of the engine. The cabin smelled like coffee and cinnamon, and cold air circulated around the two of them. Cameron, for all of her bravado around the man, felt unbelievably awkward, like she had last night. She stared out the window for the majority of the drive, wondering just who was going to see them getting out of the car together. It was a pointless worry because people were going to talk regardless, but she didn't want the embarrassment of having to get a ride from a coworker not on her team.

Elliot broke the silence first.

"Usually I'm the first one in the office, and we're earlier than normal today," he said, eyes still on the road. "I've already called the towing company so they should be meeting us there."

"How much is it going to be to tow my car?" Cameron asked. She was already mentally calculating the cost of getting the car towed home, with and without using insurance.

"Don't worry about it," Elliot said. He stopped at a red light and Cameron's stomach dropped.

"What?" she asked. She looked at him, incredulous. "No. It's my car, my responsibility. This is enough, and I really appreciate it."

The light turned green and Elliot continued, effectively ignoring her.

"Elliot," Cameron said. He continued to ignore her, but she did notice his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. She glared at him. "I'm not going to rely on you to do this and I don't expect you to do anything else for me."

The man stayed silent and Cameron huffed, leaning back into her seat and crossing her arms. The rest of the ride was quiet and as soon as they arrived in the parking lot, Cameron hopped out of the truck and made a beeline to her car. They had an hour until work started and there was only one other car in the parking lot beside her own and Elliot's. Usually, by this time, she'd be done getting ready and eating breakfast with her parents.

The tow truck had arrived at the same time they did, and she immediately when up to the man. She had explained the situation and given over her insurance information before Elliot could even take a step from the car. By the time he made it over, it was handled.

After Cameron got some essentials from her car—her overnight back she kept in the back, an umbrella, a pair of shoes, her favorite sunglasses, and a tube of lipgloss—she told the nice man where to drop her car off and turned to Elliot, who was glaring at her.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"I can take care of myself," she retorted.

"You wouldn't have had to pay anything. Silas, the driver, owes me a favor."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Well, he can continue to owe you a favor." She turned back to Silas, who was waiting patiently with an amused look on his face. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," the man said. He turned back to the tow truck and got in, getting ready to maneuver it so that he could get Cameron's car on it.

As she watched, her mind started racing. She knew her moms were going to offer her rides, and she'd already anticipated needing a new car soon, but that timeline had moved up. She knew that she wanted a Toyota, but hadn't even visited any dealerships. Thankfully, she had enough money in her savings for a down payment on a car, but it was seriously going to put a dent in it. While she was stuck in her head, she didn't notice Elliot walk over to Silas and start a conversation.

Even when she did notice, it didn't matter. She was still thinking about having to get a car, the heaviness of her overnight bag on her shoulders, and all of the other things she'd gotten from her car that was still in her hands. Logically, she also knew that she didn't have to take all of that stuff out of her car, but she had wanted to get out of that car and away from Elliot.

"Are you ready?" the man in question asked, looking back at Cameron.

She nodded. Where was she going to put her things?

Elliot nodded once to the man and walked back toward her, checking his watch.

"People should start coming soon," he said. "And I don't think you'll want to be seen holding all of that. We have some staff lockers if you want to use them."

"Definitely," Cameron said. She looked at Silas again and nodded her thanks. He waved a dismissive hand. "Take the lead."