Lavender Lipstick Lies: A Mystery of Makeup & Mayhem by Mary Maxwell Page A

through my mind as Felicia continued sharing her thoughts about
the situation. When I realized that Emma was glaring at me, I blinked a few
times to dismiss the daydream and reconnect with the present moment.
    “…do want you to know that I value
you as one of our top image consultants,” Felicia was saying as I shifted my
attention back to the conversation. “And I’m not sure what our next step will
be, but I can assure you that I want everyone in the Splendora family to treat
one another with courtesy and compassion.”
    “I know what it should be,” I said.
    Felicia smiled. “What was that,
Abby?”
    “Our next step. While we’ve been
talking, I got an idea. It’s something that may help me prove my claim that
Amanda Woodworth is making up these lies and sending the anonymous notes.”
    After Emma asked me to explain,
Felicia glanced at her phone.
    “I do apologize to you both,” she
said. “But I have a conference call with our European leadership team in
fifteen minutes. What would you say if we met again tomorrow afternoon?”
    “That will be too late!” I protested.
“You’re presenting Achiever of the Year during the banquet tonight. I want this
resolved before you make the announcement.”
    She stood up and smoothed her
skirt. “That’s a good point, but I don’t see—”
    “Trust me,” I suddenly told her.
    A curious grin came up on her face.
“Trust you?” she said. “With what, dear?”
    “With my idea,” I said. “It’s
really pretty simple.”
    “You know what?” Felicia said,
turning toward the door. “I do trust you, Abby. And even though you and
I haven’t met before, I’ve heard nothing but glowing reports about you from our
Midwest team leads. Your sales performance continues to grow each year. Your
willingness to share your knowledge with new consultants is well-known. And
your attitude here this afternoon is more than impressive. There’s a confidence
about you, dear. A very, very notable confidence.”
    I blushed and glanced away. “Thank
you,” I said, fixing my eyes on her once again. “I really appreciate those kind
words.”
    I walked with her to the door and
watched until she’d disappeared into the elevator. Then I turned back to Emma
and giggled.
    “What do you have up your sleeve?”
she asked.
    “I think it’ll work,” I said. “But
I need to call Trevor Cole first.”
    “Well, great!” Emma smiled. “When
do I get to hear your top secret plan?”
    “I’ll tell you everything while we
wait for Trevor,” I said, walking toward the mini-bar. “In the meantime, how
about something cool to drink?”
    “I’d kill for a margarita,” Emma
sighed. “But I don’t think that’s a good idea if we’re going to the banquet in
a couple of hours.”
    I opened the little refrigerator
and plucked one of the bottles of coconut water from inside. “How about this?”
I held the selection up so Emma could see the label. “Or we also have a bunch
of soft drinks, orange juice or some kind of mocha coffee thing.”
    “Coconut water is great,” she said.
“Now, hurry up! I’m dying to hear what you’ve got in mind for catching the
freak that’s been sending the threats.”

Chapter 22
     
     
    Two hours later, Emma stood beside
me in the hallway outside our suite as I opened the tube of Lyrically Luscious
Lavender.
    “Do you really think this is going
to work?” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder nervously at the empty
corridor.
    “Yes,” I said. “If the person
responsible for the threats is serious about getting me to withdraw, I really
think this will do the trick.”
    A door opened at the far end of the
hallway.
    “Someone’s coming!” Emma hissed.
“Put that away!”
    I quickly put the cap on the tube
of lipstick and hid it in my hand.
    “Pretend you’re checking your
makeup,” she suggested.
    “Great idea,” I said, winking at
her. “I was already one step ahead of you.”
    As I gazed at my reflection and
pretended to