Preview | At His Discretion #2
“A buzz cut would be easier for the summer,” I say, keeping my face deadpan as I brandish my clippers. “You want a one or a two?”
Immediately, her throat convulses nervously, and I smile to make it clear I’m kidding.
“Alright, fine,” she grumbles, “don’t shave it, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Did you buy that serum I suggested?” I ask, running a comb through the base where knots have formed.
“Yeah, but it just looks oily when I use it,” she says, her voice taking on a whining tone.
“Alright, well, I’m happy to show you again,” I say with a grin.
The salon door opens with a thud, and there’s a clatter of heels as a tall, gorgeous brunette tumbles over the step and almost faceplants. Her bag flies off her shoulder and skids loudly across the floor, lip gloss and makeup spinning in all directions.
“Whoa, one sec,” I say quickly to Hailey, bending down to help pick up the designer bag that has come to rest by my feet.
“Jesus, who put that step there?” the brunette mutters, frowning and brushing her hands over her skin-tight dress before turning to me.
“Hey, Violet,” she says brightly, standing up to her full height, which is a lot taller than me.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any openings tomorrow, would you?
I’ve left everything until the last minute, as per usual. ”
I go to the computer, my heart sinking, because I’m pretty sure tomorrow is blocked out. Bethany tips like a queen, and I’d love to fit her in. But as I check the screen, I realize one of my regulars has rescheduled overnight, and I nod enthusiastically.
“Yeah! Ten o’clock okay?”
“Really?” she says, her red lips breaking into an enormous smile. “Awesome, thank you. I’m dying for more highlights before summer really hits.” She flicks her long ponytail over her shoulder and grins at me.
“I can totally make that work,” I say.
“Perf!” she says, waving at Lewis. “Thanks, hon, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She trots out the door again, running across the road, getting an appreciative look from a guy walking by as she tugs at the hem of her dress. I chuckle as I put her details into the schedule and go back to Hailey.
The salon is beyond busy for the rest of the day, and I’m proud that I’ve managed to deal with all my clients on time for once.
By the evening, my feet are aching, and my shoulders feel as if they’ve had a huge weight on them for hours, but I leave in a good mood. I always love picking Kitty up from school and hearing about her day. She’s a little ray of sunshine in my life.
Things aren’t always an idyllic little rainbow, but the last few days have been awesome. She’s starting to get good at reading, and story time before bed is becoming my favorite thing. She’s so clever, and I’m beyond proud of her.
By the time I reach the school, I’m late, and Kitty is standing by the pick-up zone with the afterschool staff. She’s the last one there, and I run across the road, apologizing profusely, as I look at the sour expression on Mrs. Felton’s face.
“Sorry, Baby,” I whisper to Kitty as we walk home through the park. “I got held up at work. How was school?”
“It was good,” Kitty says, kicking a stone ahead of her that skips away down the street.
“Anyone mean to you today?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual.
“No. Lisa said I had pretty hair.”
“Well, you do,” I concede, noting that one of the red ribbons that was in her pigtails has disappeared, and the other is coming loose down her back.
She walks ahead of me as we make our way through the park, the sound of children squealing and dogs barking a constant backdrop.
As we near the house, I’m rummaging through my bag for my keys when Kitty lets out an excited squeal, making me jump.
“Ooh, Mommy, look! What’s that?”
I glance up as she runs forward, frowning at a huge box that someone has placed on our doorstep.
What the heck?
Kitty runs up the steps, examining the box with interest. There are several labels on it, and most of them are in Chinese.
My stomach clenches as I see the address. The box has been sent to Kitty, not me, which means it can only have come from one person.
God fucking damn her.
I open the front door, trying to hide my fury from Kitty, who manages to pick up the box despite her tiny frame, and lug it inside.
She rips it open before I can stop her and pulls out a little purse. It’s hideous, with a huge bow across the front.
I grit my teeth as I see the word “Dior” written under the bow and pull out my phone as Kitty puts it on her arm, twirling in the center of the hallway.
My fingers shake with rage when I Google the description. The purse alone is worth $1,700, and there are several other items in the box, too.
“Look, Mama!” Kitty shouts, her dark eyes sparkling with a new kind of wonder that makes me want to drag the box out onto the sidewalk, light a match, and watch it burn.
“It’s beautiful, sweetie!” I force out. “You wanna go get changed out of your school clothes, and I can put everything somewhere safe?”
Like the dumpster.
“It’s from Christine!” she says happily. “And the box was addressed to me!”
She runs up the stairs, so excited in her haste that she leaps two at a time, missing the broken floorboard.
Once she’s out of sight, I grab the box, shoving it in the hall closet.
I could not have made this more fucking clear. This bullshit stops today.
I kick the box into place with a final jab of my foot and slam the door, gripping my phone and stalking to the living room.
Jabbing at the screen, I scroll to Danny’s name in my contacts, trying to get my irritation under control as it starts to ring.
CHAPTER TWO - VIOLET
The phone rings for a long time before I finally hear the call connect. It’s only then that I remember it’s 5 am in Beijing, but I’m beyond caring.
Danny is an early riser anyway, and, sure enough, once he answers, he sounds as if he’s already awake. He doesn’t speak for a few seconds, and I hear the sound of shuffling—a door opening and closing, and a heavy sigh.
“Vi, you have to stop calling me this early,” he says finally, his voice low.
“I wouldn’t have to call you at all if you would listen to me,” I say, some of my fury fading at the sound of his voice.
“What are you talking about?” he asks, and I hear a door sliding shut and the twitter of a bird.
“Are you on your million-dollar balcony?” I ask as he scoffs.
“It’s actually just a few hundred thousand.”
“Of course it is.”
“What’s up? This is early even for you.”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t really thinking about the time over there. Did I wake you?”
“Of course not.”
I smile affectionately, then remember the reason for my call and scowl into the phone.
“When we got home today, there was a big package on the porch,” I say, managing to keep the quiver out of my voice.
“What package?” he asks. “Is Kitty okay? Is she there?” his voice turns hopeful, but I refuse to be distracted.
“I told you to ask Christine to stop sending her this stuff,” I bite out. “It was a huge box, and one of the bags she sent is worth almost two thousand dollars. It isn’t appropriate for a six-year-old to have designer purses, Danny. Please ask her to stop doing this. Again.”
“She just wants to treat Kitty to nice things,” he says, his tone taking on the wheedling quality it always does when he talks about his wife.
“I get that. But Kitty doesn’t need all this stuff. One gift I could understand, but there were dozens of things in there, clothes, bags, shoes. She’s gonna get spoiled.”
“I don’t mind spoiling her, I want her to have a good life,” he says, and I lean against the wall, staring ahead of me at the peeling paint on the window sash.
“I’ve asked you to stop, and you keep sending them anyway.”
“I didn’t know about it, I swear. I’ll talk to her.”
I roll my eyes, even though I believe him. Danny doesn’t generally lie to me about things that concern Kitty, and Christine does what she wants, no matter what he says.
That bitch doesn’t care about my requests; she just wants a daughter to lavish with presents.
“I’m glad you called, actually,” he says quietly.
“Oh yeah? You just said I have to stop calling you.”
“I know, sorry, my phone ringing woke Chris up, and she’s grouchy in the morning.”
More like all the fucking time.
“Alright,” I murmur, moving away from the door. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Actually, I have a bit of good news. Or I hope it’s good news.”
“What?”
“Christine and I are coming to New York in a few days.”
I go still, the phone pressed against my ear hard enough to bruise. “Uh, how come?”
Danny chuckles. “Wow. You sound super excited about it.”
“Sorry,” I say, guilt rising in my chest. “I am excited. But this is really unexpected. You said you wouldn’t be able to come over until the end of the summer.”
“I know. The FaceTime’s are great, and I wanted to thank you for all the time you put into planning them. I know how hard it is for you to juggle your shifts, and with the time difference, I really appreciate it.”
“But?”
“But I fucking miss her.”
I slump against the wall, the catch in his voice doing weird things to my insides.
Danny and I haven’t been together for over two years, and it was absolutely the right decision, but I still care about him a lot.
He’ll always be Kitty’s dad, and he does the best he can with thousands of miles between them.
“I thought it would be nice for us to come over and for you to get to know Christine,” he continues. “You’ve gotten off on the wrong foot with her, and I think you would get along if you got to know each other better.”
Not a chance in fiery hell.
“I’d like that,” I manage.
There’s a long silence on the other end of the phone, and I swallow hard as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I always had a sixth sense with Danny when he was holding things back from me, and somehow it still works even over the phone.
“What’s going on, Dan? Because you don’t change plans like this without a reason. Are you okay?”