Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
King
I can’t stop staring at her.
I don’t even know her name, but fuck if she doesn’t have my attention. Yes, she’s probably the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not even why my eyes are glued to her as she walks away from me.
I don’t know whether I’m more pissed or intrigued. I’m not normally the type of guy who is affected by an insignificant interaction like that. I’d normally brush it off and walk away.
But something about her made me react. It made me want to argue with her. It felt kind of like a rush.
I tried not to let it show, but her presence, her reaction—it all did something to me.
It was annoying, for sure. But also exhilarating.
It’s rare that I go out at night to bars or, frankly, anywhere if it’s not for Kade or Asher, who are both my employees and friends, dragging me out. I’d honestly prefer to be at home with my two daughters, Ellie and Willow, than be in this scene any day.
But tonight, they convinced me.
It was a fine night, just all of us getting a drink and hanging out. Kade and his wife, Logan, Asher and his wife, Demi, Gabby and her husband, Kyson, and their friend, Theo.
Gabby has kind of become my friend over the years, too. I wouldn’t say we’re super close, but I honestly wouldn’t say that I’m super close with anyone.
A few years ago, Gabby went through some shit, and I was there for her. Since then, she’s always tried to reach out to me and include me in everything the same way that Kade and Ash do. Sometimes I wonder if she thinks that she owes me for helping her. She doesn’t, but it’s still nice of her to want to include me.
You’d think it’d be weird with all of them married and me and Theo being the odd two out. But truthfully, I don’t mind it. Although Theo seems to always end up with someone by the end of the night, where I’m normally alone.
I was married once, but it didn’t work out. Besides, I don’t have time for dating, and I have my daughters to think about.
That’s not to say I haven’t had the occasional hookup over the years, I’m not a saint. But I definitely don’t fuck around the way Asher did before he met Demi.
I’m not necessarily looking for someone, but I guess I’m not against it either. Although I’d be pretty shocked if I actually found someone who’d make me seriously consider a relationship.
I’ve had women come up to me before, flirt, and show their interest. It even happens at work sometimes. Some of them will sit through an entire tattoo session flirting even when I give them no response.
But I’ve never been truly interested in any of them past a physical attraction. I was with my ex-wife, Jillian, for so long, and then once she left, Ellie and Willow were the only two girls I felt I had room for in my life. They still are.
Since I’ve had no attachments since Jillian, she was also the last woman who I’ve argued with. Although, that was a very different scenario than the one from tonight. But, even with that in mind, I can’t say I’ve ever had a woman flat-out yell at me before in the middle of a bar. Especially after she spilled her drink all over me.
Although shorter than my six-foot-four frame, she’s tall, and the way she carried herself made her seem even taller than she was.
Her green eyes bore into mine as she essentially told me to go fuck myself, and for a second, I had to stop myself from getting trapped in her stare. Even now, as she walks away, I can’t seem to look away from her. I don’t know if it’s just shock that won’t let me, or if I’m actually intrigued by her.
It has to be shock.
“You okay?” Gabby asks, finally jerking my attention away from the tall, copper-haired woman.
She hands me a napkin, which I take from her.
“Yeah.” I nod, shaking myself out of it. “I’m fine. Thanks,” I say.
I wipe my wet shirt off the best I can, the small napkin doing next to nothing. We were getting ready to leave when the woman knocked into me, so I finally turn my attention back to everyone else, following them out of the bar and saying my goodbyes.
I walk to my car, unlocking it and sliding into the driver’s seat. Once settled, I pull my wet shirt over my head and throw it onto the passenger seat, not wanting to sit in the sticky alcohol-covered shirt for the drive home.
Then, I reverse out of my spot into the parking lot, putting my car in drive and pausing as my eyes catch onto her again. She’s walking through the parking lot with a dark-haired woman around the same height as her. Her friend says something, and I watch as she throws her head back in laughter in response.
Watching her laugh… it’s kind of mesmerizing.
A honk sounds behind me, and it’s only then that I realize I’m sitting in the middle of the parking lot, blocking the road. It seems the honk gets her and her friend’s attention too, both of their eyes flying toward me.
Her eyes widen for a second as they catch mine through the windshield, then immediately narrow. She forces a fake smile, unlike the real one I just saw when she was laughing, and holds both of her middle fingers up at me.
“Fuck you,” she mouths, followed by a kiss.
Normally, I’d just drive away. She’s just baiting me, and on any other occasion, I wouldn’t give her attention. But fuck, if she isn’t rattling me, and for some reason, I can’t seem to let it go.
The person behind me honks again.
I roll down my window, my eyes locked on hers, and the fake smile drops from her face.
“Fuck you too, sweetheart.” I wink at her.
I don’t give her a chance to respond before I drive away. I tell myself I’ll be happy if I never see her again, but for some reason, even the thought feels like a lie.
Probably because it is.
“Why are we here?” Ellie groans as I pull into the parking lot of Blackheart Ink, the tattoo shop I’ve owned for the past fifteen years.
“I thought we were going to the movies,” Willow yells from the back, overdramatic as ever. I can’t say she gets that from me.
“We are, I just have to grab a sketchbook that I left here. We’ll go right after,” I tell them, turning off the car.
“Ugh, I hate making stops,” Willow says sassily.
“You’ll survive.” I chuckle at her. “There should be some ice cream in the break room if you stop complaining.”
“Done.” She smiles, unbuckling her seat belt, jumping out of the car, and heading straight into the shop.
“Will you make sure she doesn’t eat too much, please?” I ask Ellie, who’s still sitting silently in the passenger seat, large headphones over her ears.
“Yeah, whatever.” She rolls her eyes before getting out of the car.
I wish I could say her attitude is a surprise, but it’s not. While Willow is only ten years old, still at the age you can easily entertain and distract them, Ellie is fourteen and definitely embracing the full teenager moodiness.
She’s grumpy ninety percent of the time. To be fair, Ellie has always been a bit grumpy, something she probably gets from me, but I swear the older she gets, the worse it becomes.
I get out of the car, following her across the parking lot through the back entrance to the shop.
Blackheart Ink has become my life’s work over the past decade. After my ex-wife got pregnant with Ellie, I knew I wanted to do something that would make sure our child would have the best life they could.
We hadn’t planned the pregnancy; we were still kids ourselves. Jillian was still in college, and I’d dropped out the year before to pursue a tattoo apprenticeship. I was just finishing the apprenticeship when Jillian found out.
The second I learned that I was going to be a father, something inside me flipped. I grew up in an instant. I wanted to give Ellie the world from the moment I found out she existed.
It wasn’t the same for Jillian, but that’s a story for another day.
Once I finished my apprenticeship, I used the money my late grandmother left me to open this place. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but it’s become something I’m extremely proud of. The work we do, the employees—it’s everything I could’ve hoped for back when I opened it fifteen years ago.
I pass by the break room in the back, where Ellie is now scrolling on her phone while Willow sits next to her, a large tub of ice cream with a single spoon in her hand.
I walk past the multiple rooms and see Asher’s door open.
“Hey,” I say, peeking my head inside, finding him sitting on a stool in front of his computer, a sketch blown up on the screen.
“Shit, hey.” He looks up from his screen. “I didn’t see you. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be off today?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Just passing by to grab a sketchbook I left here. I have to finish up a few more designs later tonight.”
“Got it,” he says. “You with the kiddos?”
“They’re in the break room if you want to say hi,” I say. “I told Ellie to make sure Willow doesn’t eat all the ice cream, but I’m sure she’s halfway through the tub by now while Ellie blissfully ignores her.” I roll my eyes.
“I love those girls.” He chuckles, already standing from the stool. “Do me a favor and let me know if my appointment gets here before you leave,” he calls out before walking past me to go see them.
I nod at him, hoping he’ll stop Willow from getting a complete sugar rush, although, knowing Asher, it’s not likely. In fact, he’s more likely to encourage her.
I stop in my room, grabbing the sketchbook sitting on my desk, before walking to the lobby to say hi to Darla, who’s been my receptionist for Blackheart Ink from the very beginning.
She’s in her late sixties now and has been with me through it all. From opening the shop to having both my girls, Jillian leaving me, and everything in between. She’s been a second grandma to the girls and has helped me in so many different ways over the years.
I first met Darla the week after I opened Blackheart Ink. I was lucky that we got a lot of immediate traction from the moment the shop opened. Probably more than I knew how to handle at first.
I had one other artist and one piercer working for me at the time, but no receptionist. I was running back and forth in the middle of appointments to handle the front desk and the phone, and it was pretty obvious I was overwhelmed.
That’s when Darla came in with her husband that week. He’d made an appointment with me to get a new piece, and she had come along with him.
Within twenty minutes of being in the shop, Darla noticed how much of a mess I was. She asked if we had a receptionist, and when I told her no, she took matters into her own hands. She stepped behind the desk, essentially scolding me to get back to my appointment and that she had it handled. She’s been here nearly every day since.
“Hey, boss.” Darla smiles up from the desk. “Couldn’t stay away from work for one day, could you?” she teases.
“Just grabbing this.” I hold the notebook up for her to see. “Wanted to say hi before I head out.” I smile at her.
“Well, now that you’re here, I actually have been meaning to talk to you,” she says, moving her glasses to the top of her head, a serious look on her face.
I move to stand right in front of the desk. “Everything okay?” I ask, concerned.
“Everything’s great, don’t you be worrying about me.” She smiles brightly. “But you know David retired a few months ago, and we’ve been wanting to travel…”
“Are you leaving me, Darla?”
“Not until I find you the perfect replacement,” she promises. “And you know I’m picky.” She winks at me.
“That you are.” I chuckle. “You know I hate to lose you, but I know how long the two of you have been wanting this. I’m excited for you guys,” I tell her genuinely.
Over the years, Darla’s talked about how much she wants to travel with her husband, David, but with both of them working, they could never find the time. But now, with him retiring, it only makes sense for her to follow his lead so they can finally explore the world together.
Although I don’t particularly want a new receptionist and it’ll be strange to not have Darla here every day, I’m happy for her that she’ll finally get to go and enjoy herself.
“We’re excited too.” She smiles. “Thank you for understanding. We aren’t planning on going just yet, so I still have plenty of time to find someone and train them to be the next me.” She jokes.
“I don’t think you’ll ever find someone as good as you, but a close second will do,” I say.
“You give me too much credit.” She rolls her eyes. “Now get out of here and go spend your day off with those sweet girls of yours.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” I raise my brow at her. “I’ll see you later.”
She nods at me with a smile as I walk away.
I make my way back to the break room and find Asher chasing Willow, who has chocolate ice cream dripping from her chin around the room. As expected, Ellie is still sitting on the couch, her headphones on and her eyes closed, completely ignoring them.
Blackheart Ink is not only a second home for me but also for my children and my employees who have become my extended family.
I’ve had a lot of new employees over the years, and I’ve been lucky to have a great relationship with every single one of them. But Darla has been our receptionist since the very beginning, and she’s the one who keeps us all sane. Having someone new come in to fill her shoes is unnerving.
But she’s picky, and I trust her.
All I can hope for is that whoever she finds to take her place will fit in perfectly here, just like everyone else has.
I mean, that shouldn’t be too hard… right?