Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
SUTTON
T his is the first time I’ve studied my outfit in the mirror before leaving for work.
The over worn khaki pants and shirts that do absolutely nothing for my figure didn’t seem like they needed to be checked out.
It was what it was and even if I wasn’t happy with it, which I wasn’t, there wasn’t exactly anything I could change about it.
But now?
Now, I want that change.
I’m kicking myself for not swinging by the thrift store after the beauty supply store to see if they had anything that sparked new Sutton’s interest. It’s just now dawning on me I can wear whatever I want.
I tug at the fabric of the white shirt stretched across my chest. The pants are a lost cause, but the shirt? I might actually be able to work with it.
Carefully, I remove the shirt, making sure not to mess up the light makeup I have on.
Not wanting the shirt I’m going to wear to touch the carpet that I’m sure is a breeding ground for who knows what, I lay down the only towel I have making a mental note to hand wash it in the sink tonight. I haven’t seen housekeeping once since I’ve been here.
Once I have the shirt spread out on the towel, starting at the collar, I slowly make a V cut with the old kindergartner style scissors I found in the nightstand drawer, cutting the V deep enough to show off cleavage.
It’s not the best job ever done, but I don’t think any of the guys or Ink will care, and it’s the vibe I’m going for. Based on what I’ve seen so far, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of dress code.
I’d be lying if I said my anxiety wasn’t through the roof right now with seeing Ink and Gage again.
I don’t think Gage would bring up what happened on Saturday with the paycheck.
He doesn’t seem like that type of guy. But just the fact that he knows now has me on edge because I don’t want him to pry deeper. I’d like my business to stay mine.
With the shirt on, I smile at myself in the mirror because I look good. The material stretches over, hugging every curve and showing about two inches of cleavage, making me feel like I have all the power in the world.
I look good enough for someone to put any sort of effort in.
Suck on that, Ink.
Gage lets out a low whistle as I walk past him on my way to the front desk. “I’m sorry, do I know you? My name is Gage, the man of your dreams.” He winks.
I give him a deadpan expression that lasts for all of three seconds before I bust out laughing. “Get out of here.”
“I had to take my shot!” Gage laughs. “In all seriousness, though, I’m diggin’ the new look, babe. I never thought the blonde was you. You look badass.”
A clamp feels like it just slammed closed on my heart. I swallow down the emotion that’s clogging my throat. To him, it’s a hair color, but to me, it’s symbolic. He’ll never know how much what he just said means to me or how much I needed it in that moment.
“Take your shot with what?” The voice I want to punch the owner of sounds from behind me. For such a large man, he moves extremely quietly. It’s honestly kind of creepy. “Did Sutton not show up?”
Gage shoots me an amused look as I turn around to face Ink.
Shock takes over as his jaw drops, rendering him speechless. I expect his eyes to roam my body, but they don’t. We’re locked in a stare down and I refuse to be the one to look away first.
“You better close your mouth, dude. You never know what someone might try to put in it.” Gage smacks him on the shoulder as he walks back to his room.
Ink immediately closes his mouth as the look of shock turns into a scowl. “Fuck off.”
“That wasn’t very nice,” I tell Ink, tilting my head to the side. The scowl on his face deepens to the point where I don’t think Botox could take away those lines.
“Let me know when my client is here,” he says, his tone dripping with annoyance.
“Good morning to you too,” I mumble to his back, that’s already halfway to his room.
The man’s moods swings are almost next level. Luckily for me, I have experience in this area because of Zach’s dumb butt. Violent mood swings top Ink’s, though. I can deal with him all day long. It’s almost like the last decade was preparing me for this.
Maybe Madame Salem is right—I am on the path I’m meant to be on.
“Sup, girl. Diggin’ the hair.” Tommy smiles at me as he walks in for the day, heading straight back to his room.
“Thanks.” I return the smile.
That’s one thing I love about him. He’s super nice but doesn’t do small talk. I don’t feel the pressure to keep the conversation going.
Once I’m left to myself, I busy myself with opening up the front.
Turning on the computer monitor, I wait for it to fire up so I can pull up the appointment book.
Bending down with my eyes still on the screen, I open the bottom cabinet and grab the duster.
I scan today’s schedule to get a feel for how many are on the books.
Gage has an appointment in thirty minutes for a tattoo, and the rest of the guys don’t have anything until midafternoon.
I try to make sure I’m always behind the desk when a client comes in. In my mind, it looks more professional than making them awkwardly wait and hope someone comes out to help them. In the meantime, I dust the decor around the lobby.
Various art pieces that all the guys have drawn litter the walls creating a gallery wall affect which I love. I’ve always been more of a maximalist than a minimalist. I could never decorate like that, though. Zach never liked clutter, and I always felt like our house never felt lived in.
After carefully dusting each frame, I make my way over to the large neon sign on the back wall that says “Get inked or get out” to clean that, too.
After that, I fluff the throw pillows that have seen better days on the small couch and spritz the area with the room spray I found in the desk when I was snooping around.
I finish just as the bell above the front door chimes, signaling a client is here.
“Hi.” I smile politely at the man as I walk behind the desk. “Are you Derrick?”
“I am.” A sly smile takes over his face as he approaches the desk.
I take him in as he towers over me. He has to easily be over six feet tall.
His shaggy brown hair curls at the ears, giving him a boyish innocence, but anyone with two eyes can tell that’s anything but the case when you take in the rest of him.
A black muscle tee hugs his body, outlining every dent and ripple and holy cow is he ripped.
His arms are covered in tattoos, making me wonder where he’s getting tatted because from where I’m standing it doesn’t look like there’s any open skin left.
As my eyes make their way back up his body, I take in the smirk that’s surrounded by little dirty blonde whiskers, letting me know he hasn’t shaved in a couple of days.
Derrick winks at me when I finally meet his gaze again.
Busted.
A rush of heat flushes my cheeks from being caught checking this man out when he’s right in front of me. Could I have been any more obvious?
Clearing my throat, I try to contain the burn on my face but instead, it only intensifies. “Your appointment is with Gage, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll let him know you’re here. You can have a seat and he’ll be out shortly.”
I don’t wait for him to respond before I turn on my heel and walk the fastest I can without turning into a run to Gage’s room.
Knocking on the door frame as I stick my head in, I tell him his client is here.
“Are you alright?” Gage asks, looking up from the drawing he’s working on.
“Yeah,” I squeak out. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You look all flushed and fidgety.” Gage narrows his eyes as he examines me. “Did Ink do something again?”
My face scrunches up at the mention of him. “Other than get on my last nerve, no.”
Gage lets out a loud laugh. “Don’t let him get to you. I know I’ve said this before, but I swear he isn’t usually this grumpy. Let Derrick know I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Will do.”
Derrick either didn’t hear me or decided not to take a seat because he’s still standing in the same spot I left him in.
“Gage will be out in just a minute,” I tell him, trying my best to not make a fool of myself twice with this man.
Derrick rests his forearm on the desk as he leans against it. Tapping his fingers on the metal surface, he looks around casually before turning his attention back to me. “So, you got a boyfriend?”
Uh… what’s happening ?
My heart starts thundering in my chest at the turn in conversation.
“Ah, no. No boyfriend.”
“What time are you off?”
Every safety precaution I taught myself flew out the window the second this man started talking to me. “I’m off around eight.”
“You doin’ anything after?”
“She’s fuckin’ busy, Derrick,” Ink growls, closing in behind me. He’s so close to me I can feel the heat radiating off of him and onto my back. “Gage is ready for you.”
“Geez, aren’t we testy today. I was just going to ask her to dinner. Another time, babe.” Derrick winks at me again before heading toward Gage’s room.
He was going to ask me out.
Oh. My. Gosh.
He was actually going to ask me out!
And my butthead boss ruined it.
By the time the two seconds pass that it took to whip around and face Ink, I’m seething.
“Was that really necessary? I’m perfectly capable of deciding what I’m going to do with my free time.”
Ink’s scowl deepens. “I know you are, darlin’. But it’s not going to involve that piece of shit.”
Excuse me?
“Where do you get off on thinking you can dictate who I spend my time with?”
“Don’t be fuckin’ stupid.” He bites out.
“Oh, so now I’m stupid again?”
“You don’t know that guy from Adam and you want to go out with him?”
He can’t be serious right now.
“I don’t know, Ink.” I throw my hands up in the air. “You didn’t give me a chance to answer for myself. Unlike you, some people think I’m worth the effort. ”
“You think Derrick will put in the effort?” Ink asks, venom lacing his voice, sending a shiver down my spine. “He’s been to prison for beating the shit out of his girl to the point she was breathin’ through a tube. You think that gives off ‘puttin’ in effort’?”
Oh.
“He has?” I swallow, my voice sounding small even to my ears.
All I can think about in this moment is that could have been me. Is my red flag detector defective? Why am I attracted to such crappy men?
“Yeah, Sutton. Don’t assume any motherfucker that comes into this shop is a good guy.
You might have finally got in touch with your wild side and colored your hair, but don’t forget that you aren’t from this world.
Guys like that will chew you up and spit you out with pieces of yourself permanently missing.
There won’t be any patching yourself together. They’ll destroy you.”
I hate how much of what Ink just said hits home. A giant, prickly ball of anxiety has settled in the pit of my stomach.
I can’t believe I told this guy when I get off work.
“Well, I didn’t say I was going to go out with him. I just want you to know it’s not your place.” He has to know that he can’t run my life and make decisions for me when none of it has anything to do with him. Even if the guy was bad news. I know myself. I would have said yes and then bailed.
“You work in my world, so that makes it my place, Sutton. It’s best you remember that.” Ink starts heading back toward his room but not before calling over his shoulder, “Oh, and I’m takin’ you home tonight.”
This time I don’t argue because I know I messed up on telling Derrick when I was getting off. Just exactly how much of our conversation did Ink overhear?