Clear Skies Ahead, Chapter One

Chapter One: Homecoming
Isla Killian

———

A sports car zoomed down along the highway, a gorgeous view of the ocean out to the west as the car hurtled at high speed towards its' destination. The sports car was a bright green color, bold and flashy, just like its' owner. Skylar Wayne sat in the driver's seat, blonde hair whipping in the wind as she drove one-handed. Her other hand was holding her phone up to her mouth, while in the passenger seat, Isla was sat with sunglasses on, her gorgeous dark locks also whipping in the wind. She was flipping through a Grayson Global magazine while on the phone was none other than a Grayson himself.

"Please tell your mom sorry for me, OK, Peter?" Skylar was saying, biting her lip as she drove. It was the day after the missed meeting with Mera Grayson, Peter's mother, and Skylar finally had found the time to give Peter a call.

"Mom's not that upset about it, don't worry, Sky." Peter Grayson replied. "She actually said to tell you she was sorry she had to cut out and run. Look, if you need help with models, I can try and talk with Jessica for you. I know how much this summer shoot means to you."

"I think I'll be alright, actually." Skylar said with a grin. "I've got a plan."

"Don't you always." Peter chuckled. "I'm glad things are still going alright for you. If you do need help, let me know. Redwater's not too far from Coral Sands."

"I'll actually be in Amethyst Shore for the next week or so." Skylar admitted. "It's part of my master plan."

"Let me guess, beach photoshoots?" Peter tried.

"Oh, definitely. But I also know lots of girls here who might be willing to help out and model." Skylar said with a shrug. "That's the hope at least."

"Oh, wow, so it's a homecoming for you, huh?" Peter realized. "You haven't been back there in a while, have you?"

"Nope, not for more than like a day or two at a time. I've been living in Coral Sands for four or five years now. Ever since I started going to college there." Skylar explained. "Hopefully Mom hasn't renovated my room or something. It's been like a year since I last visited."

"Busy at work, huh?" Peter asked, and Skylar could almost hear the grin over the phone.

"Busy with work... and other things." Skylar grinned. "As you well know."

"Indeed I do." Peter said wistfully. "You coming back anytime soon?"

"I might stop by after I finish up here in Amethyst Shore." Skylar shrugged. "We'll see what happens."

Peter's family ran Grayson Global, who were one of the most renowned modeling companies around these days. He had been very happy to help Skylar when she was setting up Clear Skies Lingerie, and he'd had some very valuable insights. He'd also absolutely fucked her brains out multiple times during that help, and Skylar did miss him. And his cock.

"Hope so. I've been busy with the Angel, so I haven't been able to visit much, but if you swing by, I'll make time for you." Peter assured her.

"Oh, you better." Skylar smirked. "Alright, I gotta go, but I'll let you know what my travel plans are."

"You better." Peter said. "Been missing that pussy of yours, Sky."

"Just my pussy?" Skylar asked innocently.

"Oh, god." Isla muttered, and Skylar glanced sideways at her assistant, giggling.

"Isla doesn't wanna hear our dirty talk, it seems." Skylar laughed. "We'll talk later, Peter. Bye-bye!"

"See ya." he replied, and Skylar hit the hang up button.

"You two filthy rich pervs gonna get together at any point?" Isla asked, glancing over towards her.

"Me and Peter? Hmm, I don't know. We're just having fun right now, I'm only 23. Not looking to tie any knots anytime soon." Skylar shrugged.

"Your friends in Amethyst Shore have tied some knots." Isla pointed out. "Remember those wedding invites you got? The ones you responded no to?"

"Ouch, I did do that, didn't I?" Skylar winced. "I was really busy at the time!"

"I know it's not my place, but why did you basically cut ties, anyway? Was there drama?" Isla wondered. Skylar glanced towards her gorgeous assistant, tilting her head back and forth as she weighed her words.

"No, there wasn't drama." Skylar finally shook her head. "I don't know, I just... I didn't wanna go back to that little small town. Too full of memories and I just felt so... restricted. Coral Sands lets me be me, and all my old friends just decided they were happy with that small town life."

"So you think you just outgrew them?" Isla wondered.

"Jesus, Ise. You my therapist or my assistant?" Skylar grumbled.

"I'm both." Isla said with a laugh. "And your friend too, I hope."

"You definitely are." Skylar affirmed. "Probably my best friend these days."

"Aww, high praise!" Isla laughed.

"Trust me girl, you held my hair back after that awful New Year's party. We're bonded for life." Skylar shuddered, making Isla laugh again.

"That was a rough night." Isla agreed.

“Tell me about it.” Skylar agreed.

The drive continued in silence for a few moments before Isla spoke again.

“Do you think your friends will be willing to do this for you?” Isla wondered. “If you’ve drifted away from them, how many would still be OK being in our collection?”

“I don’t know.” Skylar admitted softly, barely audible over the roaring of her sports car and the wind. “I hope a lot of them.”

———

Isla Killian looked around with wide eyes as the gate to the Wayne Estate slid open. The guard on duty had looked thunderstruck upon seeing Skylar pull up to the gatehouse, but he had waved her through without trouble. Isla expected that the guard had radioed the main house, but she put that aside as she got her first real view at the ridiculously lavish estate that her boss and close friend had grown up in.

The main building was several stories, a big white manor house with lots of windows, prominent marble columns, and elegant arches. A grandiose staircase led up to the main doors, white marble steps as well, mind you. The area in front of the house was a circular road that wrapped around a... a courtyard? It was a neatly trimmed circle of verdant grass with a gorgeous fountain at its' center. She knew that Skylar was stupidly rich, but it was one thing to know that, and another to actually see the place her stupidly rich family lived at.

A man in nice clothes was waiting at the steps, and when Skylar pulled the car up, he came forward to open the doors. Surely Skylar's family did not have their own valet, Isla thought incredulously, but sure enough, Skylar got out and handed the man her keys.

"Thanks, Tony." she winked, and the man gave her a wry, familiar nod.

Isla got out of the passenger side quickly, and moved to grab the boxes out of the backseat.

"Oh, Tony can bring those in." Skylar waved a hand towards Isla.

"It's alright, it's only three boxes." Isla assured her boss, but the valet, Tony, looked back at her.

"Ma'am, I can bring the boxes in, don't worry." he said in a pleasant voice.

"There's suitcases in the back, too." Skylar said cheerfully.

"I'll take care of those as well, Ms. Wayne. Is your guest staying here?" Tony asked.

"Oh, yes, she is. Put her in... is the east room with a view of the pond still a guest room?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is." Tony nodded.

"Put her in that one then." Skylar nodded back, and Tony drove the car towards the building that Isla realized quickly was their garage. Jesus Christ, this family was just made of money, weren't they?

Skylar started ascending the steps, and Isla followed her. Today, Skylar wore a cropped white shirt that was hanging off of one shoulder, revealing the lacy pink strap of the bra she wore, and a pair of tiny light denim shorts. Isla couldn't blame her for the skimpy clothes, it was extremely warm here in Amethyst Shore, though there was a nice breeze from the ocean out to the west. Surprisingly, the estate wasn't beachfront property, though Isla imagined the Waynes had some kind of beachfront property somewhere. They wouldn't be a proper filthy rich family without it.

Isla herself wore a sundress, a blue one with yellow flowers along it. Isla didn't have the biggest breasts, but her sundress was showing off some nice cleavage despite it. Her long dark brown hair was a bit of a mess from the drive in the convertible, but she tried to tame it with one hand as she climbed the stairs. She wanted to make a good impression when she met the Waynes. She wasn't actually sure how many family members that Skylar had, her boss rarely spoke of her time here in Amethyst Shore. Isla knew very little about the reasons Skylar had left, or the people she had left behind. It was a bit of a question mark, but it hadn't come up much until now.

Skylar strode through the double doors like she owned the place, which was no big surprise, that's how Skylar entered every room. Seeing the estate, Isla could understand how one might develop such a confident attitude. The double doors entered into a foyer with a very tall ceiling, with curved staircases off to both the left and right, the steps lined with green velvet. Past the stairs, the foyer melted into a spacious living room. It was circular, with the far wall fully made of glass, meaning the swimming pool was visible. At the center of the circular living room was a fine carpet, also circular. The couches curved around the edge of the rug, and each one had its' own coffee table sitting in front of it, though the coffee tables had surfaces of what looked like amethyst-flecked granite.

A fireplace dominated the wall off to the right, one that was stretched across the circular wall, with an absolutely huge TV hung above the fireplace. Past the fireplace was a black piano sitting on a low platform, and a vase of pink flowers sat on the piano.

"This place is gorgeous." Isla breathed.

"Why, thank you." an unfamiliar voice said, and Isla turned sharply to the left, where a woman was walking out of a doorway on the left side of the living room she hadn't noticed. Through the open doorway, Isla could see a huge kitchen that looked to be made primarily of that same amethyst-flecked granite as the coffee tables' surfaces.

"Mom." Skylar said with a nod.

"You could have called." Skylar's mother said with a slight narrowing of her eyes. "It's not like I don't want to hear from my only daughter."

"It slipped my mind." Skylar sighed. "There's a problem happening right now with my summer line, and I came here quickly hoping I could fix it."

"Ah, I see. So you're not here to visit, you're here for work." Skylar's mother replied curtly. She shook her head, then walked towards Isla.

"I'm Sophia Wayne, it's lovely to meet you. You must be one of Skylar's lingerie models." Skylar's mother smiled, holding out a hand.

Isla shook it. "Isla Killian. And no, I'm not a model, just her assistant."

Sophia raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I just assumed, I'm sorry. You certainly have the looks of a model."

"Thank you." Isla blushed lightly.

"It is good to see you, Mom." Skylar said stiffly, like the words were dragged out of her.

"It's good to see you, too." Sophia smiled. Sophia was just slightly shorter than her daughter, but she was also a tall, gorgeous woman. Her blonde hair was elegantly straightened, a difference from Skylar, who wore hers a bit wavy and loose. Sophia had the same bright green eyes as Skylar, and a pair of large breasts a bit bigger than her daughter's. Sophia also, Isla couldn't help but notice when she was wearing that tight red-violet dress, had a generous round ass that Skylar definitely did not have.

"Is Sam around?" Skylar wondered, glancing about.

"Are you hoping to see him? Or hoping you don't?" Sophia wondered, and Skylar hesitated, like she wasn't sure herself.

"He married my best friend, Mom, of course there's some tension there." Skylar huffed.

"So much tension you didn't even bother to go to your brother's wedding?" Sophia arched a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. Sophia was perfectly composed in every way, Isla marveled, a far cry from her more free-spirited and loose daughter. How odd, they could look so similar to each other but have such different personalities.

"I was busy." Skylar said, looking away from her mother.

"I'm sure." Sophia murmured. "Sam and Isabelle have a penthouse downtown now. He comes by often, but he doesn't live here anymore."

"Good." Skylar said with a firm bob of her head. "I think that's probably for the best."

"Am I expected to keep it a secret you're here?" Sophia asked tiredly.

"No." Skylar shook her head. "I need to talk to Isabelle anyway. I'll head that way in a little bit."

"This work thing... you're here to find models, aren't you?" Sophia inquired. "Only reason I can think of you'd come back here for work."

"I am." Skylar said, a touch haughtily. "I'm here for the gorgeous scenery and the gorgeous ladies."

"So... your plan is to come beg for help the people you left behind years ago?" Sophia wondered.

"I'm Skylar fucking Wayne. I don't beg." Skylar snapped, and she stalked back towards those staircases, long legs striding quickly away.

Isla hesitated awkwardly, left alone with Sophia. She started moving slowly towards the stairs, but Sophia spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to see us argue." Sophia said, suddenly the very picture of polite hostess. "Has Skylar told you what room you'll be in?"

"Um... she said the east room with a view of the pond." Isla recalled.

"I'll show you there then." Sophia said, and she began walking towards the staircases as well. Isla fell in beside her, and the pair walked in silence for a few moments. They were climbing the stairs (Skylar long gone ahead of them), when Sophia spoke.

"How is she doing? My daughter?" Sophia asked quietly.

"She's good." Isla said automatically. "I think she's enjoying running her business."

"Does she have many friends? Is she dating anyone?" Sophia pressed.

"Definitely not dating anyone." Isla confirmed. "As for friends... she has a few."

"More than just you?" Sophia asked skeptically.

"A couple more." Isla said noncommittally. Sophia seemed to take that as answer enough, and sighed.

"I worried she'd get too wrapped up in this business." Sophia confided. "She's like her father was, tends to throw herself into something to avoid dealing with emotions."

Isla thought a bit about what she knew about Skylar. The heiress drank a lot, fucked a lot, and the rest of the time she spent absolutely engrossed in Clear Skies Lingerie. She supposed that Sophia might have a point.

"I'm not sure." was what Isla said instead though. She wasn't gonna snitch on her friend to her mother. "Skylar stays busy, of course, but I don't think it's unhealthy."

"Hopefully some time back home will be good for her." Sophia murmured. "How long do you plan on staying?"

"Just a week." Isla told Sophia. "Enough time to get the photoshoots we need done and get back to Coral Sands in time to get everything ready for our summer special."

"I see." Sophia nodded. Isla didn't know the woman well, but there was an unmistakable plotting look in those green eyes of hers.

Sophia led Isla down the hallway, which was ornate beyond Isla's comprehension, but she couldn't even begin to describe how it looked, it was all so foreign to her. There was a lot of white though, that much Isla could see. She was led to a room not quite at the end of the hallway, but close to it.

"This is one of our guest rooms." Sophia said, pushing open the door and leading Isla inside. "Please, make yourself at home. We have cleaning staff, of course, so don't worry too much about tidiness, just don't make too much of a mess, please."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, ma'am." Isla shook her head. "I'm not messy like that."

"Glad to hear it." Sophia smiled. "Oh, and that black phone on your nightstand can call the kitchen if you need food at some point. We don't really do meals around here anymore with it just being me here, but feel free to call for food at any time. I expect we'll have a dinner tonight to celebrate Skylar's presence, but the other days likely won't have an official meal."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine. Thank you!" Isla smiled back.

"Of course. Antonio should be along soon enough with your luggage from the car, but make yourself comfortable. I hope you enjoy your time in Amethyst Shore." Sophia said warmly, and then she walked out of the guest room.

Alone in the room, Isla took the chance to look around a bit. It was a simple room, though not a small one. It had a comfy-looking queen size bed, a window that sure enough had a view of a pond, a bit of a ways out from the house across a grassy yard that Isla had to assume was their property still. Isla could also see what looked like a stable out in the yard, also a distance from the house. They must have so many acres. Isla wasn't exactly sure what an acre was, size-wise, but they had to have had lots of them.

Near the window was an armchair, and Isla dropped into it with a sigh. She texted Skylar asking if she needed anything, and the response came quickly.

No, I'm going to visit my brother. Hang out a bit, we'll make some plans for the photoshoots later today when I get back.

Isla sent back a quick thumbs up, then glanced around the room, her eyes falling on the large TV on the wall. Not anywhere near as big as the living room TV, this one was a much more normal human being size, but it was plenty big enough for Isla to turn on some reality TV. She had started watching it a bit ironically a few years ago back in her sorority days, but now she couldn't get enough of it.

With nothing else to do, Isla kicked back in the armchair and turned on the latest episode of her show, a fun one about a bunch of hot singles on a ship.

Antonio came partway through the first episode with her luggage, and she got up to thank him, but he refused to take the tip she tried to offer him. With a huff, Isla sat back down to continue watching, idly wondering how Skylar's sibling reunion was going.