Chapter 32 Sebastian
Sebastian
I walked my new hire, Mallory, through her job duties, or at least I tried to. The phone rang again, and I had to stop what I was saying to answer it.
“SD Ink. This is Sebastian.”
“Hi. Um, are you the Sebastian from TikTok?”
I pulled in a deep breath through my nose. The first time I had been asked that question was three days ago. To say I was confused and suspicious would be an understatement. Now, three days and over one hundred phone calls later, I was well versed in this.
“Yup. That’s me. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, that’s so cool. Um, I’d like to schedule an appointment for a tattoo.”
“We’re booking out into August. Is that okay?”
I took down her details, confirming she was at least eighteen years old, as I did with all of the TikTok referral clients.
So far about twelve of them were going to need to wait another couple of years before I would be able to see them.
Mariana, the client on the phone, confirmed she was twenty-two and explained the size of scope of the design she was thinking about.
I booked her for a one-hour consultation in early August and set a timeslot aside the week after for the session.
“Okay, sorry about that,” I said to Mallory after I hung up with Mariana.
“No problem. I saw you enter into the other program the add new client information. Do you have a list of—” She was cut off by the sound of the phone.
I let out a frustrated sigh, shooting a side-eye look at the phone, like the fact that it was ringing incessantly was its fault. “I can get it,” she said excitedly.
“Be my guest.” I waved her toward the phone and stepped back.
“SD Ink. This is Mallory speaking… yes, that’s right.
This is the same Sebastian… He’s a little tied up right now, but I’d be happy to take a message…
” Her eyes went wide, and she gestured wildly for a pen and paper.
I pushed a notebook toward her with a Sharpie.
“Oh, sure. I’ll let him know… Thanks for calling SD Ink.
” She smiled into the phone like the person on the other line could see it as she furiously scribbled a note on the paper.
“They didn’t want an appointment?” I asked.
“No. They just wanted to let you know that… and I quote… you’re so hot, and she wants to have your babies, and as soon as she turns eighteen, she’s scheduling an appointment here.”
“Oh, fuck. I’m sorry. Maybe this isn’t the best idea.
” I scratched my beard, heat creeping up my cheeks.
This was honestly embarrassing. Poor Mallory was going to be accosted by people trying to get to me, all because Lydia was too damn good at her job.
I wanted her to drum up business, but I didn’t expect her target audience to be young, impressionable woman.
“Oh my God. It’s fine. I worked at the Cove’s End Motel for years.
If I could handle their clientele, and I could, then I can handle this,” she said.
“Please. I really want this job, and I promise, nothing they say is going to bother me. It’s you that should be worried when a mob of ladies shows up to break down your door to get to you,” she laughed.
It wouldn’t really be fair to her to not give her a chance, and I really needed a receptionist to handle the calls and scheduling. It was hard enough to get two hours blocked off to run her through the programs before my next client.
“Alright. Let me walk you through it one more time before Annalise gets here.”
She picked up on the applications quickly, asking good questions and taking notes as I explained things.
Lydia showed up, and as soon as I saw her standing in the doorway, a grin broke out over my face.
Her hair was tied back in a messy knot, jean cutoff shorts showed off her tan, toned legs, and a black, oversized T-shirt was rough-cut and frayed around her waist. When she smiled back at me, my heart tripped over itself.
I had never been this happy in my life, and I was a pretty damn happy guy most of the time.
The life of the party, the flirt, the good-time guy…
but fuck, I had no idea what I was missing all this time.
“Hey, hot stuff,” I said, waggling my eyes at her.
“Don’t flirt in front of the new hire,” she sassed, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “Hi, Mallory.”
“Hi, Lydia. Sebastian, I think I’ve got everything done if you want to get ready for Annalise’s appointment. She should be here in about ten minutes. Do you need me to print out her design on the thermal paper?”
“Thanks, Mallory. That would be great.”
Mallory started clicking through the application, occasionally having to back out of one screen to find the right one.
She was smart though, and I had no doubt that she would figure it out in no time.
The phone rang again, and Mallory answered it without hesitation.
As I walked Lydia to the back of the room for a quick make-out session before my appointment, I heard her working through the scheduling demands.
Good. That meant it wasn’t another underage admirer to fend off.
I pulled Lydia into my arms, leaning in, my mouth just millimeters from making contact. “You need to stop posting those thirst trap pictures.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, her lips grazing mine intentionally.
“Because that damn phone won’t stop ringing, and it’s almost all women.”
Lydia smiled, her small chuckle like a breeze against my mouth.
“I’ve gotten multiple offers to have my babies.”
“Well, they didn’t come from me. Are you thinking about taking them up on that?”
I crashed my lips into hers, flooding my system with that happy hormone. Serotonin? Dopamine? Whatever. I was too focused on the feel of Lydia’s soft lips moving under mine to care what it was called. “I’m not thinking about anything but you.”
“Sebastian?” Mallory called from behind me. “Sorry to, um, interrupt. Annalise is here.”
“Great. Thank you. Tell her I’ll be there in just a minute,” I said.
As soon as she turned around, I stole another kiss from Lydia. I finished setting up my station before bringing her back to my chair.
Lydia circled us with her camera while Annalise and I chatted like old friends as I worked on her ink.
It was a book quote that had always stuck with her in neat cursive along her left ribs, right under her breast. Annalise sat back comfortably in her bathing suit top, her arm raised above her head, while Lydia snapped pictures and took some short videos.
It was a short appointment, made even shorter by Annalise’s comfort in the chair.
She never batted an eye throughout the process, and in the end, the ink came out great.
I gave her the aftercare instructions and we settled up in under forty-five minutes.
The rest of my day was booked solid with either consultations or full sessions.
I gave Lydia another kiss and a quick swat to her ass before she left for a dinner date with Lisa.
But as soon as she left, I was missing her. I loved what I did, and I was beyond relieved that business had taken such a sharp turn lately. But still, I couldn’t wait to get home later and crawl into bed beside her.
* * *
I kicked my boots off at the door, surprised to see Lydia still up. After a long, busy day at the shop, being able to walk into my house, to my girl, sent a shot of bewildered pride through me.
Lydia was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop in front of her. She looked up at the sound of the door, a look of excitement in her eyes from whatever she was working on.
“You’re already home?” She looked down at the computer, checking the time. “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize how late it was. I was so wrapped up in my next PR post.”
“So, you weren’t waiting up for me, is that what I’m hearing?” I laughed, making my way into the kitchen. I pulled a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water from my fridge. “Do you want something to drink?” I asked.
“No. I’m good.” She lifted a mug of coffee to her lips. How she managed to sleep at all was beyond me.
I brought my water to the table, leaning in to give her a kiss. The scent of coffee mixed with lavender and vanilla went straight to my head. I placed two fingers under her chin to lift her face to mine, kissing her again, deeper and dirtier than the first kiss.
I reluctantly pulled back from her, instantly missing the contact of her lips.
“What are you working on?”
She had some graphics on the screen with numbers and charts, text overlayed in a block font. My eyes narrowed, my vision ultra-focused on a single word as it floated in the air.
Bankruptcy.
“What is this?” My voice was hard. I tilted the computer to me so I could see better.
“I’m going to showcase how the business went from nearly going under to thriving,” she said. “It’s going to be an in-depth look at how to turn a business around to show how successful SD Ink is.”
My pulse beat wildly in my neck. Show the world that I nearly ran my business into the ground? If it weren’t for my best friend’s little sister posting thirst trap pictures of me online, I wouldn’t have a business at all?
I didn’t fucking think so. Not happening.
“You can’t post that,” I demanded. I pushed the laptop away from me. I didn’t even want to look at those images. The visual representation of me at my lowest.
“Why not? People love a story like yours. A real person who went from nearly being bankrupt to running a successful business in a few short months. It’s a feel-good story, and pair it up with the pro bono work, and it shows your character and good nature.
You didn’t have to do that, especially when you were struggling, but you did. And now look at you.”
“Are you fucking crazy?”
Fire lit Lydia’s eyes, and she snapped her head to mine. I couldn’t look at her though. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from my failure mocking me from the screen.
“Don’t call me crazy. It’s the truth,” Lydia gritted out.
I ran my hand through my hair, tugging at the ends. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s the truth. I’ll deny it anyway. With the way things are going, no one’s going to believe it.”
“You would tell everyone I’m lying and I’m crazy?”
Danger alarms rang out in my head, but I ignored them.
My blood was pumping through my veins too fast. Panic clawed under my skin.
The world couldn’t know how close I was to losing everything.
Not when things were just starting to look up.
I had a real chance to be successful, to continue doing what I loved, to create art that people displayed proudly on their body.
All of that would disappear if people found out that it was all a facade.
The viral posts and internet fame, it would go away, and I would be left with people who couldn’t put their faith in me, not after seeing my failures written out so clearly in neon graphs.
“I’m not going to let everyone think I can’t run a business, Lydia. Not when things are just starting to turn around,” I basically growled.
Lydia pushed her chair back and stood. I pulled my eyes away from the screen to see her jaw tight and her nostrils flared.
But it was the tears filling her eyes that nearly gutted me.
I wanted to wrap her in my arms and wipe them away, but I couldn’t make myself move.
Anger that she would want to embarrass me, humiliate me like this for the world to see, still made my blood run hot.
“Wow,” she said on a rough swallow, shaking her head. “I thought you and Blake couldn’t be more different, but I should have known better.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Lydia stepped around me, heading for the door. She grabbed her bag from the counter and jammed her feet into a pair of sneakers.
“Where are you going? It’s almost 11:00 p.m.”
She turned toward me and, with a heated glare, spit out, “That’s not your concern, Seb. I’m not your concern. I won’t be in another relationship where I’m constantly being told I’m crazy and I’m the problem. Don’t worry. I won’t be your problem anymore.”
She slammed the door behind her.
I let out a frustrated yell. What the fuck was that? I grabbed my water and took a long swig. My shoulders were tight with tension. I tried to stretch them out, rolling them back and crooking my neck to each side. How could she think it was a good idea to post about my financials?
My feet wore a path up and down the hallway and into the kitchen. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally, with a heavy sigh, I put my glass in the sink and grabbed my phone.
Me: Just tell me where you’re going for the night?
She didn’t respond to my text right away. More pacing continued, but as the minutes ticked by, the frustration turned to worry.
I shot off another text to the guys group chat with Wyatt, Luke, Wes, and Reid.
Me: Lydia and I had a fight. She just walked out. Let me know if she shows up at one of your places.
Me: Please.
Wes: Do you need me to look for her?
Me: No. She was just mad. I don’t like not knowing where she is though.
Luke: When did she leave?
Me: Ten minutes ago
Luke: She isn’t here. I’ll call her now. See if I can get a hold of her.
Wyatt: She’s probably just driving around to let off some steam. Let her be.
Luke: She didn’t answer my call.
Wes: Are you sure you don’t want me to track her down?
Wyatt: You are all insane, do you know that? She’s been gone TEN minutes. Relax.
Me: Thirteen minutes now.
Reid: Two things. First, I’m with Wyatt. You’re all way overreacting. Second, she’s fine. She’s here with me and Claire. Pissed. But fine.
I ran my hands through my hair again. At this rate, I would be surprised if I had any hair left by tomorrow. A part of me felt a sense of relief. She was fine. She was at her brother’s house. But another part of me just felt… empty.
I locked up and went to bed, leaving the light on in the kitchen in case she decided to come back in the middle of the night.
Me: Good night, little wild. I love you.