Wicked Ever After (Wicked & Devoted #2) - Shayla Black Page 0,64
by all of Hollywood and half the country. I’m on internet gossip sites and trashy tabloid TV. They’ve made me into an object of pity and ridicule. My name and my child will forever be attached to a scandal I had nothing to do with. And you have the right to say I’m no worse for the wear?”
“Goodness, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Mrs. Wood bristled.
“Let’s not pretend you thought of me at all,” Brea blurted, then realized Pierce was rubbing off on her.
Saying what was on her mind really was ridiculously freeing.
The older woman sat up in the chair, gaping. “That’s not true, honey. I just—”
“I’m not your honey and I don’t like liars.” She skimmed a glance over the clock on the wall. “You know, it seems I don’t have time to do your hair after all. So sorry. Maybe someone else in the salon would like to finish Mrs. Wood?”
None of the other five stylists said a single word.
“Or not.” Brea flashed a saccharine smile at the older woman. “Sorry.”
“You can’t leave me like this. I can’t walk out of this salon with wet hair. Everyone will see me.”
“You’re not worried about ‘everyone.’ You just wanted to be pretty before you drove on out to the Rodeway on the north side of Lafayette to shag Pam Goodwin’s husband,” Rayleigh spouted.
Brea gaped. Had Mrs. Goodwin been right about her husband’s affair after all? Never mind why the man would pick someone ten years older. Brea knew well the heart couldn’t help who it wanted. But she couldn’t fathom why the elementary school principal would choose someone so vile when his wife was such a doll.
“That is not true.” Mrs. Wood stamped her foot. “You take that back right now.”
“I will not.” Rayleigh crossed her arms over her chest. “I know full well you’ve been sinning with that man for the past two years. I saw you two coming out of that motel myself.”
Holy cow. Since she was single, Mrs. Wood might be entitled to have sex with whomever she wanted, but that didn’t make it okay for her to help a married man commit adultery. Brea wouldn’t tell Mrs. Wood how to live; Lord knew she had sins of her own. But that didn’t mean she had to continue dealing with the woman.
“Liar!”
Rayleigh was a lot of things, including a gossip. One thing she’d never been? A liar.
Brea calmly dried her hands on a nearby towel. “I’m afraid I’ll no longer be fixing your hair. I suggest you find another stylist.”
“In fact, why don’t you find another salon? You’re no longer welcome here, Theresa,” Rayleigh said. “Buh-bye.”
The rest of the salon erupted in applause. Not surprising, Brea supposed. No one liked the woman anyway, but when Mrs. Wood huffed her way outside, Brea was astonished that the small crowd remaining—hairdressers and clients alike—rushed over to her with hugs and smiles, all congratulating her for standing up to that horrible woman. She blinked at Rayleigh in confusion.
Her boss laughed. “You’ve been too nice to her for too long. We all have for your sake, but now that you’ve grown a spine and cut her loose…”
Was that how they’d all seen her? Spineless?
Brea winced. She supposed it might appear as if she had been. She’d meant to be polite, give others the benefit of the doubt, turn the other cheek as a good Christian should. But some people simply stopped deserving chances. Telling them so felt wonderfully liberating.
Yet another way Pierce had rubbed off on her. And honestly, that made her happy.
“Thanks, y’all. I’ll try not to take on any more disagreeable clients.”
“We’d appreciate that,” said Li Na, a gorgeous Chinese stylist with purple streaks and swagger, as she winked.
Impulsively, Brea hugged her. “My pleasure.”
When she turned, Rayleigh waited, arms outstretched.
Brea embraced her boss. “I’m sorry about my attitude earlier.”
“For suspecting me of telling the world your secret? It’s all right. In your shoes, I probably would have suspected me, too. But I’m on your side.”
“I appreciate that more than you know.”
As the others returned to their clients and blow dryers started whining again, Rayleigh pulled her aside. “You looked so sad when you came in. I didn’t have Joy schedule you a six o’clock. I had her call Cutter. I thought you could use a friend.”
Thank goodness he was back in town, though she hadn’t seen him. “I really could. Thank you.”
“It’s all right. Let me know if you need anything else.” Then she dropped her voice. “But