they were nearly black, a slim nose that would make any plastic surgeon wish they were talented enough to sculpt it, and well-shaped lips that belonged on the face of a lingerie model. Her eyelashes were so long that they looked fake, but I knew they couldn't be because she wore not a single speck of make-up. Which made me envious because her light brown skin was smooth and flawless.
It was as if she didn't want anyone to notice how beautiful she was but there was no hiding it. Not unless she wore a paper bag over her head.
Her clothes were understated, a crisp white shirt with short cap sleeves and light gray slacks with a sharp crease down each leg. On her feet, she wore a pair of incredibly cute peep-toe Mary Jane pumps in gray suede one shade darker than her pants. There was a little bow above the open toes and light pink polish on her toenails.
She looked like a magazine version of a woman going to a job interview.
"It's good to see you again, Lee. It's been a while. I think the last time I talked to your mom you were about to graduate college."
Lee smiled but it was shy and nearly hesitant, as though she didn't do it very often. "I graduated two years ago. Right now, I'm looking at graduate programs and saving my money to go back."
"Really? What do you plan to study?"
Lee licked her lips before she answered. "I'd like to get my MBA."
Cam's brows lifted. "That's great. I wish I'd had the right temperament for grad school because an MBA would have helped me so much when I started Crave. But four years was enough for me."
Lee smiled again and this time it was wide and genuine. Holy cow, with her working here, every available man between the ages of fifteen and ninety would be in here to buy ice cream.
"I loved school," Lee admitted.
Cam nodded. "I'm sure you'll do extremely well in a graduate program." She turned to me. "Lee, this is my partner, Sierra Watkins. Sierra, this is Lee Prescott."
I held my hand out to her and she took it. Her handshake was firm without being painful and her palms were slightly damp.
So she was nervous and she didn't give dead fish handshakes. I liked that.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Watkins," she said.
"Please call me Sierra. Ms. Watkins doesn't wear t-shirts with writing on them and Converse."
Lee gave me the same sincere smile she'd given Cam. Whoa. Why was this woman still living here instead of making millions of dollars modeling all over the world?
Not my business, I reminded myself.
Cam gestured to the hall that led to her office. "Let's go talk in my office."
Lee nodded and followed Cam. She wiped her palms against her thighs and I could see the fine tremor in her fingers. I knew how nerve-wracking it was to go into job interviews and I wished there was some way I could put her at ease. But it also showed that she cared very much if she got this job or not, which I liked.
I followed the two of them down the hall and plopped on the small sofa I'd persuaded Cam to buy so she could sit or nap if she needed to. Or that I could use when I actually came to town.
Hey, I was a night owl and sometimes I needed a little nap to make it through the day. Some people drink, I nap. It is what it is.
Crap, now I was using that saying. I hated it as much as Cam did.
Cam sat in the chair behind her desk, but she leaned back in it. "Your mom was very proud when you graduated college but she never told me what you studied."
Lee shrugged one shoulder. "I think she was just glad one of her kids made it through without the threat of being kicked out."
Lee laughed. "I think having kids has taken most of the excess energy they used to put into playing pranks and partying."
"I'm sure your mother appreciates that."
That bright, sincere smile appeared again. "She definitely does. Especially now that she can send the grandkids home when they start to act like their fathers."
"I'm sure," Cam said with a laugh. "So what did you end up getting your degree in?"
"Marketing with a minor in business administration."
Okay, so maybe Colette's friend, Natalie, knew what she was talking about. But also