Chapter 10- Simone
Dark sunglasses shielded my eyes upon arrival to Tainted Ink. The welcome sign was flashing in the window and the smell of coffee hit my nose as soon as I walked in. Mallory who was already on the phone and taking appointments for the day, gave a friendly wave. I smiled and waved back after hanging up my coat. Ax and AJ came in right behind me.
"Good morning, boss," they said in cheerful unison.
I quirked an eyebrow at them. "Or was it a good night?"
Before they could say anything, Rina ousted their asses. "Oh it was most certainly a good night, up until about forty five minutes ago."
"I can't with you guys," I replied and headed over to the coffee station.
I was in desperate need of some caffeine. Ms. Porter, Lucien's housekeeper and cook, had made me a small breakfast that I'd managed to choke down. Still feeling a little queasy, I hadn't eaten much. The coffee would probably settle my stomach a little better.
"Try this." Mallory smiled, coming out of nowhere.
Reaching into the refrigerated cabinet that the coffee rested on, a green bottle got handed to me and I read the side of it.
"Key Lime Cheesecake creamer," I read out loud. "Does every damn body just know I love Key Lime?"
"Yes," everyone in the shop shouted.
Mallory smiled and I opened the creamer and poured some into my coffee. Stirring in two drops of sugar, I flinched. Trying new stuff wasn't my thing. It went down smooth and the taste wasn't overpowering.
"Order as many bottles as you can find," I told her.
"So, boss..." Rina approached with a mischievous smile.
"Yes," I said as she began to follow me to the back office and I noticed Mallory was right behind her.
They closed the door as I sat down with the coffee and fired up my computer. My routine before tattooing anyone included checking emails and surfing the internet. I was not above celebrity gossip.
"Soooo, was that really your uncle last night?"
Confusion clouded my face and then flashes of Lucien standing at the bar entered into my mind. He had come over eventually.
"Little Angel...you were supposed to return home not come to a club and party....you haven’t been well, remember?" His words had caused my core to tighten.
Lucien was the last person on Earth that I wanted to be thinking about at this moment. The man was insane.
And you vomited on him,I reminded myself.
A flush of embarrassment crept up my neck.
"He's something like that," I replied.
"Well he's for sure Zaddy material," Mallory replied.
It dawned on me why they had come back here. They wanted to gossip. Being that I'd always been a loner, it was hard to realize that this was what women sometimes did.
"So...is he like single?"
A smile crossed my lips. "He is so damn single it's probably hurting his ego."
"Damn, really....you think you could slide him my number?" Rina asked. "I like older men and he definitely has that vibe to him."
I sipped my coffee. "What vibe is that?"
She looked a little shy but it came out anyway. "That he can fuck hard look."
