14. Bonus Scene
HARPER
I push open the door to In the Pink, and the familiar aroma of scented candles and perfume washes over me as I scan the store for Zoe. She’s been out of pocket for five days, ever since she met with the Becker brothers, and has failed to give me the play-by-play of their meeting last week. After hounding her daily, via phone, text and email, she promised to return to help me discuss a new product line I’m introducing over Christmas. She better not come up with another excuse.
As I march toward the back of the store, I spot her arranging a display of silk scarves and looking suspicious as fuck.
"Zoe!" I call out, waving as I weave between racks of flowy dresses and shelves of costume jewelry. “Where the hell have you been? Is this what I can expect from my new VP of marketing?”
Zoe turns, her eyes widening slightly when she sees me. "Harper, hi," she says, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "You’re late. You said you’d be here at 9:00."
"Don’t you dare try to turn this around on me. I’m ten minutes late. You’ve avoided my calls and waited until the middle of the night to send me cryptic voicemails. I’ll repeat, Where have you been?” I try to keep my tone light, but there's an undercurrent of frustration I can't quite mask.
Zoe's shoulders slump a bit. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I've been… preoccupied."
I raise an eyebrow. "Preoccupied? With what? Or should I say, with whom?"
A blush creeps up her neck. "Harper, I… was in Paris."
I freeze in my tracks, too stunned to talk and move simultaneously. "What? You were out of the country, and you didn’t tell me? Why? Alone? Since when do you travel anywhere alone?"
Zoe takes a deep breath. "I wasn’t alone. I was with the Becker brothers. We left the morning after our meeting and only returned late last night."
The words hit me like a slap in the face. Are they poaching my best worker? Why would they fly her to Paris? “Are you quitting? Please don’t tell me they hired you to work for them. I can match whatever they offer you. At least, I think I can.”
Zoe shakes her head, then drops her gaze to the floor. “It’s not about business. We’re…kind of…together.”
I raise an eyebrow. "Oh my God. Spill now."
"So, the business dinner with Rolf and Karl went amazingly well," Zoe begins, her words tumbling out rapidly. "We got everything worked out and I sent the paperwork to your lawyer’s office for review. But that's not even the best part. Afterward, they invited me back to their penthouse for drinks."
My eyes widen. "Both of them? And you went? Zoe Annelise Howard, have true crime shows taught you nothing? Why would you go to a penthouse with two men you’ve just met?"
Zoe slaps my forearm to force me to stop rambling. "This is different and they’re not crazy. But let me tell you, those Becker brothers know how to show a girl a good time. We're talking mind-blowing, earth-shattering, seeing-stars kind of sex. With both of them. At the same time."
I feel my cheeks grow hot as I process this information. "I’m speechless. Except for that. And this." I attempt to clarify.
Zoe fans herself dramatically. "You have no idea. I'm still tingling all over. And you know that’s not the kind of girl I am. I was with one guy in college who could never make me climax and truth be told, he hardly tried. But these guys—no, those men—made me come over and over. I could hardly catch my breath between screams. The next morning, Rolf thought it was a good idea to fly to Paris to spend quality time together and solidify our new relationship."
“Relationship? You were supposed to work out a business deal and you wound up having a threesome with two German executives—brothers, no less—and now what? Are you committed to both of them? How is this possible?” I’m still too stunned to piece it all together.
Zoe nods eagerly. “I’m in love, Harp. They’re so hot and sweet and smart and romantic and oh my God, they know my body as if I handed them a map to each one of my erogenous zones. They’ve asked me to move in with them and I think I will. But first, I need to tell my mother who will probably kill me or drag me to church, maybe both. I know she will have a problem with the fact that they’re twenty years older than me.”
“And don’t forget there are two of them. Your mom may have a problem with you moving in with not one, but two men.” I offer some advice and silently wonder how my news concerning Silas suddenly became second-rate and boring.
“Yes, I know! But I don’t need to tell her everything all at once. It’s better to hit her with one shocking detail at a time. I wouldn’t want to put her in the hospital.” Zoe exhales loudly, then turns to me with what feels like fake enthusiasm. “Hey, you said you had wild news. What’s your tea?”
Feeling upstaged and cornered, I spill my stale tea with only a few words. “Oh, I’m seeing Silas Fraser.”
“Jesus, Harper. I knew that already.” Zoe rolls her eyes and walks toward her office, leaving me in the middle of my pink store with nothing more to say.
Lucky for me, Silas’s office is only a block away.