Page 9 of An Epic Voyage (The Epic Beauty Salon Files #1)

Indy bit her tongue and glanced at Jordy, who was practically inhaling his bottom lip to keep from laughing.

Indy glared at him and reached for some foundation.

Her fingers hovered over one that would knock Jinger out for a few hours, but she refrained.

Instead, she went about layering on makeup, drawing inspiration from pictures she’d seen of Jinger, and altering the colors to complement the dress.

Jordy had been right about the crow’s feet.

She also had sunspots she ought to have checked by a dermatologist, but mentioning that was beyond Indy’s pay grade.

Instead, she applied the thickest fake eyelashes she had on hand.

Jinger turned to the mirror and examined herself after Indy was finished. “Wow. Very nice. Much better than Pammy. Now do my hair.”

Indy brushed, curled, and teased her bleached-blonde frizz into fat, flowing waves that tumbled glamorously down Jinger’s back.

Jinger gaped in the mirror, swinging her head from side to side. “My god, you’re a magician. I’m stunning. It’s like a professional did my hair and makeup.”

Indy gritted her teeth. “I am a professional.”

Jinger waved a hand. “You know what I mean.”

No, she didn’t. It was a putdown, no matter how you looked at it.

Jinger turned to Indy and clapped her hands. “I want you to work for me.”

Not in this lifetime. Or the next one.

“I’m firing Pammy. You’re hired.”

“I’m flattered,” Indy responded, “but I’m afraid I can’t accept. I’m only covering for Pammy for this trip.”

“Forget about Pammy. She’s done. The job is yours now.”

“No, thanks. I already have one that I love.”

Jinger waved a hand. “Nonsense. Everyone has a price. When I want something, I get it.”

Ha! Jinger would have to take it up with Indy’s boss, the president of the United States.

“Also, when we get to the island, you’re going to need to touch up my Brazilian wax.”

Jordy almost blew a gasket trying not to laugh out loud. Indy needed to find the damn nuke so she didn’t have to go anywhere near Jinger’s bikini region.

As Jordy fastened a necklace with diamonds the size of golf balls around Jinger’s neck, a knock sounded on the door. “Ms. Jenkins, it’s Whit Zisk. Mr. Van Houten is here for you.”

Indy recognized the name—he was one of Van Houten’s bodyguards.

Jinger stood and spritzed herself with perfume. Indy barely hopped out of the way of the spray. Jinger stopped in front of the full-length mirror and twirled from side to side. “I’m the most beautiful woman in the world,” she crowed to her reflection.

Indy considered calling Evangeline and bailing on the assignment. Okay, she wouldn’t really do that, but Jinger was a handful. Indy watched her sashay out of the room.

“Wow, darling, you look gorgeous,” Benedict praised.

“I know.”

After the door closed, Indigo turned to Jordy. “How do you put up with her?”

“My bank account.”

“Is it worth it?”

He didn’t even pause. “Yeah, it is. I have aspirations. I never dreamed I’d have so much cash.”

She hadn’t grown up with money, but she had more self-respect than to let a woman as vapid and shallow as Jinger constantly demean her.

“Do you want to watch a movie in the theater tonight? That is, if Benny and Jinger don’t use it.”

It sounded fun, but she had a job to do. “Thanks, but I’m pretty tired. I’m going to clean up here and then crash.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Indy watched him leave. She didn’t think the nuke was stashed in Jinger’s room, but wouldn’t that be a good hiding place?

With a quick glance to make sure everyone was gone, she set about conducting a search.

Half an hour later, she’d come up empty, but she had planted a couple of cameras.

If they were ever found, they couldn’t be traced back to the government, and she was careful not to leave fingerprints on them.

She wasn’t worried about accidentally witnessing Jinger and Benedict’s nocturnal activities since, more than once, Jinger had boasted about how she shared Benedict’s bed in his owner’s suite.

Although she’d told Jordy she was tired, Indigo decided to explore the boat. There was nothing suspicious about that. She wouldn’t have much time to check things out tomorrow if Jinger kept demanding her presence.

Before she closed her makeup kit, she glanced in the mirror.

She wasn’t the least bit vain, but Jinger’s barb about looking like a zombie stung.

A picture of Griffin appeared in her head, but she quickly blinked it away.

It didn’t matter what he thought. She would only be around him for a few days.

Still, she grabbed a tube of lip gloss and stuck it in her pocket.

After she stashed her kit in her suite, she changed into comfortable shoes, grabbed her phone, and went on a reconnaissance mission.

A warm wind whipped her hair around her face when she stepped onto the open deck. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She glanced at Evangeline’s face on her screen and walked to the railing to gaze at the dark, vast sea as she answered.

“Hey, Evie.”

“How’s it going there?”

“About as well as can be expected when you’re dealing with a cruel, demanding, narcissistic princess.”

“Ah. Jinger’s that bad?”

“Oh, no. She’s much worse.”

Evangeline chuckled. “Sorry about that. I’m guessing that means you’ve found nothing.”

“Not yet.”

“I wanted to let you know that the storm in the Atlantic is picking up steam and starting to rotate. It might be headed your way.”

“Great.” She had to deal with a hurricane on the water and one on the boat, in the form of a bleached-blonde nightmare.

“I don’t want you in the path of a natural disaster. If it looks like it’s going to hit close to you, I will yank you out of there.”

“Understood.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”