(Book II in the NSCM series) Rowena Flores has troubles... and we're not just talking about her lackluster love life.
Just when her life is finally getting back to normal, newly discovered hexing witch Rowena Flores is volun-told to participate in a...
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Jeremiah's left eye twitched as he stared down Angelina. "We had this in the bag until she showed up."
Rowena stopped herself from putting on another layer of lipstick. "Are you saying Angelina is going to beat me?"
"Rowena, we're friends so I'm going to be honest. You're beautiful but Angelina is gorgeous. Blind men would give her a second look if she passed them on the street."
"For your information, blind men have looked at me too, Jeremiah," Rowena huffed. She tilted her head to one side. "Well, to be fair it was my fault they were blind." She lowered her voice. "It was a pepper spray experiment gone wrong. Don't ask for details. Let's just say it's never a good idea to buy pepper spray at a flea market."
Jeremiah's mouth fell open.
Rowena sighed. "Fine, it wasn't so much them looking at me as them looking for me. You'd hide too if some Italian mobsters were after you for blinding their henchmen."
"What are you talking about?" Jeremiah whisper-hissed, looking around them to make sure no one overheard. "Beauty queens don't hang out with mobsters!"
Rowena crossed her arms at her chest. "Stop getting upset with me. It's not my fault Angelina rejoined the contest. Can't we appeal to the judges to get her disqualified or something?"
"On what basis?"
Rowena shrugged. "I know a guy who can edit a video to make her look like she's kicking a puppy."
"What?" Jeremiah's brows rose.
"If not a puppy, maybe a baby pig? A cat? What about a koala? People love koalas."
"Rowena, I'm not sure that would be enough to get her disqualified. Besides, have you seen the judges? Your boss may vote in your favor but the other two are regular customers in my line of business." Jeremiah dropped his head and slightly hunched over in despair.
Rowena knew Jeremiah's job as a professional escort brought him both male and female clients. "Are you saying they prefer men?"
He scoffed. "No, but my female co-workers have told me they're lecherous. They'll vote on the contestant with the biggest chest."
Rowena looked down at her chest and pushed her chest up. "Should I add some padding?"
She grabbed a box of tissue and began stuffing her bra with tissue paper. "Do they look uneven?"
Jeremiah shook his head. He looked up with a strange glint in his eyes. "I have another idea. "I'm going to have to resort to the tricks I learned in my pageant days. It's going to take me a few minutes to prepare."
"Is it something you learned from your pageant days?" Rowena asked. "We aren't going to do anything illegal are we? I'd rather not get arrested again tonight."
He shrugged nonchalantly before reminding her to answer her question from the judges slowly. Rowena watched him scuttle out of view.
Sylvia sauntered next to Rowena. "Flores, are you sure you want to compete tonight? You're looking a little pale."
