Free Counsellor (Acquisition Series Book 1) by Celia Aaron Page A

was in a wing toward the back of the house. It was in what seemed to be a converted sunroom. The walls and ceiling were made of paned glass, letting in natural light and warmth. It was an open area with river stone floors, a sunken hot tub in the center of the room, a large wood sauna set to one side, and massage tables to the other. It smelled wonderful, like expensive bath oils and some sort of woodsy incense.
    Two men and two women stood waiting for us. Renee went in first and introduced me down the row of staff.
    “This is Alex. He’s from New Orleans. He’ll be in charge of your hair and makeup for the night.”
    He was a young man with a bright orange faux hawk, multiple piercings in his eyebrows, peacock-colored eyeshadow, and colorful tattoos on each arm.
    “Nice to meet you, Ms. Rousseau. When I’m done, you are going to be the belle of the ball.”
    I looked at Renee, my eyebrows high. “Does everyone know about the ball but me?”
    Alex placed a well-manicured hand on my arm. “Oh no, honey. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement longer than my di—um, longer than my arm, just to get this job, and I still have no idea what you’re up to.” He winked. “I just know that whatever it is, you are going to look fabulous.”
    Renee moved me along to the next person. “This is Juliet. She’ll be buffing your skin and doing your nails.”
    “Buffing my skin?”
    “Gets rid of all the dead skin cells, makes your skin look like an 18-year-old’s.” She ran her fingers down my neck and peered at me almost scientifically. “Doesn’t look like you’ve gotten much sun. Perfect. I’ll have you shined up like a new penny.” She took my hands in hers and examined my nails. They were permanently stained various colors from my paints.
    She frowned, her blonde bob falling against her plump cheek as she surveyed the damage. “These will take some work. We may need to use gel to cover the staining.”
    “Okay I guess?” I’d never really paid much attention to things like my fingernails.
    She flipped my hands over and pushed up my sleeves, inspecting further. When she saw the scars along my wrists, she dropped my hands.
    Her light blue eyes found mine. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
    “It’s fine. That was a long time ago.” I didn’t know these people. Still, they were people, and like Renee, they seemed to want to help me. I smiled at her. “It doesn’t bother me. You can look at them.”
    She reclaimed my wrists and ran her fingers over the raised skin. “I think I may have a few tricks to make these less noticeable.” She returned my smile, seemingly at ease again.
    The next woman had dark hair, a unibrow, and was by far the shortest person in the room.
    “Yong will do your waxing.”
    I whipped my head around to Renee. “Wait, waxing?”
    Yong nodded and put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me down so she could inspect my face. “Brows need work…lip looks okay…I’ll do full face anyway. Everything else looks fine. When’s the last time you had a Brazilian?”
    My thighs clenched together involuntarily. “The wax? Never. I don’t generally wax anything.”
    Yong frowned, her unibrow like a dark caterpillar encroaching on her eyes. “I can tell. This will take some work. When I’m done, you’ll be smooth as a baby everywhere.”
    “Um, thanks, I guess?”
    She grinned. “I’ll go start getting everything ready. It’s going to sting some, but you’ll love the results.”
    She passed through an adjoining door, walking quickly and with purpose.
    “And this is Dmitri.” Renee introduced me to the last person in the row. He stood almost seven feet tall and seemed built of pure muscle. His head was shaved, though dark hair obviously grew there in abundance. He took my hand, his beefy palm swallowing mine whole.
    “Very nice to meet you.” His Russian accent was so thick it made his words almost unintelligible. But like the others, he had a smile and warmth for me. I appreciated any compassion