Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“ S till can’t believe you made Ms. Fancy Thing a member of the Inked family,” Diesel says while walking into my office. “You gonna keep her around?”
I drift my eyes past his shoulder to Clara manning the front counter before lifting my shoulders into a shrug. “She seems to be doing all right.”
Clara has slipped into her makeshift role at Inked surprisingly well. She’s a little uptight, but the male clientele has had no complaints—they’re too busy enjoying the view to be angry about her occasional smart mouth. The female customers, on the other hand… they’re not as appreciative of the qualities Clara brings to Inked.
Thankfully, our male-to-female ratio at Inked sits at around seventy to thirty.
I turn my eyes back to Diesel. “Have any of the guys said anything? Got any concerns if we keep her on?”
He lowers himself onto the couch, crumpling the paperwork Clara has sprawled across her ‘desk’ before locking his eyes with mine. “I wasn’t talking about keeping her around as an employee.” He stares at me with a jeering grin etched on his face. “I was talking on a more personal level.”
A whizz of air parts my nose. “The only reason Clara is standing behind that counter is because she’s here for the dollars. Hell would freeze over before anything personal happens between us.”
The mocking grin on Diesel’s face enlarges. “Don’t go acting like your cock hasn’t stood to attention every time she greeted you with a bit of lip. You’ve always liked them with attitude. That’s why you’re always hiding out in your office the last two weeks… so your desk can conceal the stiffness in your jeans.”
I smirk but don’t refute his claim. Diesel and I have been friends since fifth grade, so he’d see through any ruse I dangled in front of him. I’m also not one for lying. Even with Clara giving me as good as I’ve been dishing the past two weeks, she just needs to nibble on the end of her pen, and my cock is paying careful attention to every move she makes.
I’m endeavoring to keep my head in the game —the head on my shoulders, not the one between my legs— which ensures our little tit-for-tat routine will never be anything more than an employee and employer having a difference of opinion. Now I just need my cock to get the memo .
Diesel cranks his neck to the side just as Clara bends over to gather a register roll from the lower shelf of the cabinet in the foyer. “Damn! I’d even take a bit of lip for an ass that fine.”
I sink deeper into my chair. “You’ve got to get the bar bunnies out of your bed before you’ll ever have the opportunity to get a woman of Clara’s standards between your sheets. Besides, Inked has rules on the crew not messing around. When that happens, shit gets complicated.”
Diesel chuckles. “Fuck the rules. We’ve never had a woman like Clara work for us. If we did, the rules would have been broken years ago. And while I’m being totally fuckin’ forthright, you would have been the first to break them. You had a fondness for bending the rules before you were out of diapers.”
I smirk. What he’s saying is true. Not just on my rule-breaking, but on the previous female employees of Inked. Other than Charity, none had Clara’s sexpot beauty. They were interesting and had great personalities, but they were hired solely based on their credentials.
Does that mean I only hired Clara because she makes my dick twitch? No, not at all.
What? For someone who doesn’t like lying, you’re doing a mighty fine job of it, Brax .
In all honesty, at the start, Clara was offered a position solely because she’s beautiful. But she remains a member of Inked because she has a strong work ethic. Her looks are merely an added bonus. What Clara said during her impromptu interview was true. This situation is a win-win for us both. By keeping our clients happy, they will return again and again.
The visual of Clara prancing around the shop in skintight designer dresses keeps my clients happy.
I scrub my hand over the few days of stubble on my chin while saying, “There’s a difference between bending the rules and breaking them. Tapping Clara would be demolishing them.”
“She’d be worth the hassle. You’ve always said it is the rich girls who are wilder in the bedroom. Clara is making me want to test your theory.” Diesel’s voice is a mix between playful and determined.
I glare into his hanker-filled eyes. “Are you gonna make a move on Clara?”
He rubs his hands together as his mocking grin switches to eagerness. “You got any objections if I do? ”
The first thought to enter my mind is, fuck yes, I mind. The second is, why do I even care? Although I’ve been using the no-messing-with-the-crew clause as my excuse to stay away from Clara, it isn’t set in stone for my crew. It’s not in their employment contract, and it is not mentioned during the hiring process, so Diesel is well within his rights to ignore it. But even knowing this, I still don’t want him touching Clara. She isn’t mine, and she will most likely never be mine, but for some reason, unbeknownst to me, the thought of Diesel treating Clara like she’s a bunny annoys the shit out of me.
Before I can reply to Diesel’s question—or compile a reason as to why I object to his request—a flurry of blonde scurrying past my office door catches my attention.
After rolling my eyes at her imperfect timing, I say, “Come on in, Princess, you’ve never been concerned about knocking before, so what’s changed now?”
Clara’s red pumps enter the frame first, closely followed by the rest of her enticing body. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a look of concentration on your face. I wasn’t sure if you were holding a serious discussion or needing to use the bathroom.”
Diesel’s deep laughter fills the office.
“You’ll be cleaning the bathroom if you don’t watch it,” I grumble, glaring at Diesel, my mood still edgy from his disclosure of interest in Clara.
“Un-fucking-likely,” Diesel replies while sinking deeper into the couch.
After leaning back in my chair, I intertwine my fingers, striving to ignore the way Diesel’s eyes roaming over the dark green dress clinging to the curves of Clara’s body has caused a tick to impinge my jaw.
The clicking of heels bounces off the wall when Clara pushes off the doorjamb and ambles deeper into the space. “Charity has secured a walk-in, and Johnny has advised he will be indisposed for an hour.” A ghost of a smile stretches across my face from the disgruntled cloud her eyes got when she referred to Johnny’s unavailability. “The remainder of the crew don’t have any clients arriving for another hour, so I’m going to grab a quick bite to eat.”
My brow arches. “You’re advising me that you’re going to lunch?”
My eyes follow her hands when she runs them down the front of her dress before she nods.
“Why? You’ve never bothered the past two weeks, so what’s changed today?” I question after dragging my eyes away from her petite frame. It’s a hard-fought battle.
She stiffens. “I was just trying to be polite.” Her brows stitch together tightly. “I guess it was imprudent of me to believe manners held any place in a tattoo parlor.” With a sigh, she spins on her heels and saunters to the door. Just before she exits, she peers back at me. “You need to make a decision about converting my trial basis to a permanent position soon. It is highly unprofessional to leave such an imperative decision until the last minute.” Although her words come out stern, the bitchy smear of her tone can’t hide the desperation in her eyes.
“Actually, Diesel and I were just discussing your inclusion in the Inked family.” I gesture my hand to Diesel, who hasn’t taken his eyes off her ass since she entered my office.
Although my statement is slightly deceitful, it isn’t a total lie. Before our conversation veered off course, Diesel and I were discussing the possibility of extending Clara’s appointment at Inked.
Clara’s breathing quickens, but she remains as quiet as a church mouse as her wide eyes shift between Diesel and me. “And?” she eventually squeaks out, unable to harbor her curiosity any longer .
I quirk my lips. “I haven’t reached a decision yet. How about we extend your trial to a day-to-day basis until I’ve had time to decide?”
Anger spreads through Clara’s veins, giving her skin a red hue. The veins in her neck pulse so furiously, they nearly burst. When she glares at me in disdain, I’m primed and ready to cop the wrath of her fury, so you can imagine my surprise when she holds back her usually bitchy retaliation and storms out of the office without a single word seeping from her lips.
I balk and turn my shocked eyes to Diesel. “What the fuck did I just miss?”
“A prime opportunity.” Standing from the couch, he stretches his legs before striding to my open office door. After closing the door, he twists to face me. “She just gave you an in, and you shot her down like she has the clap.”
I stare at him with bewilderment all over my face. “She didn’t give me an in. She’s just sucking up as she’s worried about her position. Today is the last day of her trial.”
Diesel throws his head back and laughs. “Yeah, right.” He steps closer to my desk. “‘I’m grabbing a quick bite to eat’ is a bunny’s way of saying, ‘will you please fuck me over the lunch table?’”
I can’t help the smirk that crosses my face at the way he changed his voice to mimic the women he usually spends his weekends with.
“Maybe for a bunny that might be true, but Clara isn’t a bunny.”
There’s no way in hell Clara is a bunny. That name is solely reserved for girls who have no problems hopping from bed to bed. I may have called Clara a few choice names the past two weeks, but a bunny will never be one of them.
Diesel glares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “I knew you were off your game, man, but I had no clue it was this bad. Every woman is a bunny. Rich or not.” He shifts his hazel eyes to mine, his expression changing from cheeky to serious in a nanosecond. “How long has it been since you graced a woman’s womb with your seed?”
While glaring at him, I pretend I don’t have a clue what he’s referring to.
Not believing the phony look on my face, he continues, “I haven’t seen you take home a bunny once the past two weeks. Not even one of the high-class ones I saw sniffing around last week.”
“That’s because the shit’s gotten old. The game is overplayed,” I interject with an edge to my voice. “My dysfunctional cock has nothing to do with the fine tail that just left this office. It’s just tired of the game.”
Diesel bows his brow. “The only shit that’s gotten old is you, Brax. The game will never get old. Your dick gets cold, a bunny warms it. Your dick gets lonely, a bunny cuddles it. Your dick gets?—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. A bunny on my cock is the answer for everything.”
Diesel nods. “You’ve just got to decide if you want the high-class bunny your dick has set its radar on, or if you’re going to settle for something a little less fancy but a shitload less complicated.”
“My cock and its goals are no concern of yours.”
He continues talking as if he didn’t hear a word I said. “If you decide it isn’t the latter, let me know, and I’ll take a step back. But if a diamond-encrusted pussy isn’t what you’re chasing, step aside and let a real man show you how to seal the deal.”
Not giving me a chance to reply, he strides into the corridor, closing my office door behind him.