Chapter 1
Dallas, Texas — June 2026
The alarm went off promptly at 5:30 a.m. on an already warm morning.
Texas has two temperatures: hot or not hot, and as Isabella Genovese, aka Bella, rolled over to turn it off, she realized too late that for some reason she was on the edge of the bed and had rolled off onto the hardwood floor.
Landing with a thump, she quietly said, “Ouch,” and wondered why she was being quiet when she lived alone. Alone except for the reason she had been on the edge of the bed to begin with: a Corgi named Primrose, who loved treats, chasing cats, and taking up all the room on a king-size bed. Primrose leaned over to look at Bella lying on the floor with a look on her foxy little face that seemed to say,Whatcha doing down there, Mama?
Dusting herself off and getting up off the floor, Bella lifted Primrose off the bed (Corgis have short little stumps for legs, so they sometimes need help, but don’t tell them that—they think they can do anything) and headed toward the kitchen to turn off the house alarm, let Primrose out in the yard, and get the coffee going.
She pulled her favorite mug out of the cupboard—the one that saidIn My Bad-Ass Era—a gift from her daughters Angela and Madeline. They knew their Swiftie mom all too well.
Pouring a good glug of her favorite vanilla creamer into her cup of coffee, Bella poured Primrose’s kibble into a bowl, something the Corgi heard all the way from the back of the yard and through a closed door somehow. Bella put the dog bowl on the floor, then took her coffee into the living room, passing family photos and gold records on the wall. The gold records were courtesy of her late husband, drummer Jasper Wilde from the renowned heavy metal band Iron Fist. Jasper had been Bella’s second husband. Her first marriage had ended shortly after Madeline’s birth, but it had been amicable, and they still spoke often, occasionally spending holidays together as a family.
Jasper was an unexpected blast from Bella’s past that worked out. They had met years prior to her first marriage, dating briefly before losing touch for many years. After reconnecting 12 years ago, they quickly realized they were crazy about each other and got married, with Bella and the girls moving to England (Jasper was British). Bella and the girls even became dual citizens. They had been married 10 years when Jasper suffered a fatal heart attack while on tour two years ago. The only comfort was that it happened while he was asleep in his hotel. The thought of it happening on stage, being filmed, and then shown all over the internet repeatedly horrified Bella. She joked that Jasper’s timing was impeccable, as always, even in death, ha ha. He had no children of his own, so Bella was his sole heir, inheriting his many drum kits as well as the rights to all his music royalties—royalties that would continue to be paid out for 75 years after his death.
Bella didn’t really need the money—her family was well off, and she was a successful saleswoman—so she had set aside aportion to establish a charity providing musical instruments to disadvantaged young people. Jasper would have liked that, she thought. His drum equipment, along with other various gear, were all in a climate-controlled storage unit. She knew she couldn’t keep them forever, but getting rid of them felt like letting go of the last piece of him. She had recently agreed to donate one of the sets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a permanent heavy metal exhibition they were curating. Making a mental note to arrange the shipping for that, she moved on through the house.
She missed him and their life in England. Madeline had loved it so much she was returning for school, but Bella had come back to the States to be closer to her parents and help them out as they grew older. Truth be told, they probably helped Bella more than she helped them.
Taking her empty cup back into the kitchen, Bella headed to the bathroom for a quick shower and to get ready, as it was looking to be a promising day. Her VP of Operations, Carrie B. Shaw, had set up a meeting with a possible new account that she promised would blow Bella’s mind, so she was excited. Carrie wouldn’t share more details than that, but she was rarely wrong and had killer instincts for business, so Bella knew she needed to bring her A game to the meeting.
After her shower and going through her closet, she knew what she needed today was red. Red was her favorite color, a power color, so it was her go-to when she needed something a little extra. Pulling out a vintage red-print Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, she paired it with a pair of strappy red Manolo Blahnik sandals and settled in to apply her makeup. A classic red lip with an understated eye complemented both the outfit and Bella’s blue eyes and dark hair, which had streaks of blonde. Her daughters called them “skunk stripes,” but Bellaloved them and thought they looked good on her. They made her feel like she was still a rock star’s wife—once a rocker, always a rocker.
Crinkling her nose up and sticking her tongue out at her reflection in the mirror, Bella said to herself, “You are smart, know your business like no one else—these people are lucky to get a meeting with us!”
As Bella headed toward the garage, Primrose came running to jump into the car. Bella had a dog-friendly office, and normally Primmy went with her every day, but with a big meeting on the schedule today, Bella had arranged for her friend Jackie to come over to hang out with Primmy and take her for a walk.
Primrose was the sweetest dog, but had zero understanding of boundaries, so most visitors to the office ended up leaving covered in dog hair—or “Corgi Glitter,” as Angela called it.
“Not today, Primmy. But Jackie will be here in a bit, and you LOVE Jackie. Be a good girl, and I will see you this afternoon.”
Grabbing her keys and resetting the house alarm, Bella opened the garage door and headed to her car, a red Audi Q8 SUV.
There had been a TV show in England calledLife on Marsthat Bella watched on DVD by herself when Jasper was out on tour. The main character would dramatically call out, “Fire up the Quattro!” every time he got into his red 1983 Audi. Jasper would laugh when she said she wanted an Audi—he said she only wanted one so she could do the same—and honestly, he wasn’t wrong.
“Fire up the Quattro,” Bella said as she hit the start button on the car. “It’s carpe diem time.”
Chapter 2
BBella pulled into her spot at Bella Pelle, the skincare company she'd built from scratch two years ago, channeling grief into something she could be proud of. Bella Pelle roughly translates to "beautiful skin" in Italian—a play on Bella's name—and was one of the hottest up-and-coming companies in the beauty world. Cosmetics and skincare products had always been close to an obsession for Bella—she was sure she had Rouge status for life at Sephora—so it was natural for her to have her own line focusing on high-quality ingredients with proven results and amazing packaging. Bella knew how lucky she was to have the company be so successful right out of the gate, something she freely attributed to the two key people at Bella Pelle: creative director Jerome Nash and Carrie. She looked over to see Carrie's toy and favorite thing in the world, next to her daughter Madison: a new Mercedes G Wagon in pearl white with a custom leather interior in Carrie's favorite shade of pink. Of course, Carrie would be here already, although the office didn't open for another hour. Carrie was nothing if not prepared, so if the meeting they had for today was as big as she suggested, it made sense for her to come in early and make sure everything was ready for the possible client.
It amused Bella to no end that their latest product, which was taking the beauty world by storm, had come from a night of too many margaritas and Carrie's car. She, Carrie, and Jerome had been out one evening after a long day, unwinding with drinks, guacamole, queso, and chips at their favorite Mexican restaurant when Carrie remarked that the color of her leather seats would be the perfect shade for a lipstick, and the idea took off from there. They decided to offer a product for both lips and cheeks in colors that offered long wear, hydration, and other skin benefits. Jerome sketched out a design for a sleek white case on a napkin, and voilà—Carrie's Color Crayons were born. Naming all the shades after the women in their lives and the strong women they admired, the shades ranged from Carrie—a fun, playful pink to match her leather seats—to Chelsea, named after Jerome's daughter, a sweet dusty rose shade, to Bella's favorite classic red. They had been a huge success, something they all agreed was because they made sure they had colors for all ages and skin tones.
The best part for Bella was the fact that the profits from the Color Crayons were allowing them to build a licensed daycare on-site for employees. At some point, they had all been single parents and understood the struggles of trying to juggle work with care for younger children and after-school care once the school day ended. It was an important thing for all of them and would be offered free of charge to anyone at Bella Pelle who needed it. The process of getting a license was hard and involved, but worth it. Getting out of the car, Bella glanced over at the building that would house the daycare as she walked to the office door. It was coming along nicely, and the hope was that it would be ready by the start of the new school year in September.
Bella called out, "Hey, Carrie, I'm here," as she came in the door. Walking over to her office, she dropped her purse next to herdesk and jiggled the mouse, bringing her computer to life and revealing the photo of Angela and Madeline with Primrose that she had as her screensaver.
"Hey girl, are you ready for the day?" Carrie said as she poked her head into Bella's office. Carrie was a gorgeous blonde who turned heads everywhere she went. Men wanted to meet her, and women wanted to be her friend because she was so vivacious. Bella and Carrie had met one night at a sports bar while watching a hockey game. Bella's Philadelphia Flyers were playing Carrie's Dallas Stars, and after a night of fun trash talk, they'd stayed in touch and become friends.
Carrie was meticulous and thorough with her work, so when Bella Pelle was in the planning stages, Bella poached Carrie from her previous job, and it had been one of the best decisions she had ever made. They worked well together and had a ton of fun doing it—some days they wondered how they got anything done because they laughed so much. And when Jerome came on board, that just tripled—everyone at the office called them the Three Amigos, and it was true!
"Are you going to tell me now who this mystery appointment is with? I need to know what to prepare for. Are they wanting to bring our products into stores or what? Please tell me it's not another offer to buy the company—we are NOT for sale!" Bella replied.
Carrie laughed and said, "You know I just tell those people, 'Thank you, no,' when they call," as she slid a cup of coffee across the desk to Bella. "Anyway, our appointment this morning is with Dr. Phillip Campbell from NASA."
"NASA? Get out. Who is this with, really?" Bella said, certain she'd heard Carrie wrong.
