“It’s no problem.” She took a sip of coffee. “I am a little worried about you, though.”
“I don’t need you to be worried about me,” he snapped. He bit his lip as she looked a little offended by his words. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t need everyone to treat me like I might break at any minute.”
“Understandable,” Faye mused as her expression softened. “But with everything you’re coping with… Do you need to reduce your hours?”
“No.” Jared couldn’t afford to work fewer hours.
The room he rented swallowed most of what Faye paid him, especially as bills weren’t included. Between buying proper food and travelling in and out of town every day, he was stretched pretty thin financially. He did have a trust fund, which had matured when he’d turned twenty-one, but he’d never touched it. It felt wrong to take money that had been saved up by a family he didn’t remember and had no emotional connection to.
Faye didn’t look overly convinced. “Your health is more important than a job,” she cautioned.
“I’m fine, honestly. I’m getting better every day.” That was completely true. His recovery seemed to come in fits and starts, and recently he’d felt like he was stuck on a never-ending plateau.
“Okay,” Faye said slowly. “But if you’re feeling unwell, you need to tell me.”
“Of course.”
“I can’t afford for you to fuck up tattooing someone if you’re not up to it.”
“Whenyou let me go solo, I won’t ink someone if I can’t concentrate,” Jared promised, which was the truth.
As he was able to take on more work, he knew his headaches would possibly become a problem, but he’d deal with it then. Right now, he only worked under Faye’s supervision and observed her the rest of the time. Sometimes he fielded customers in the reception area, but that was hardly taxing. He’d already proven that he had a steady hand and didn’t make mistakes, and that was all that should matter. Perhaps if he’d kept his brain injury from her, she would have a right to question his ability to do the job, but he’d been upfront right from the start. Mostly, anyway. She didn’t know about the memory loss. He didn’t feel that she needed to, as it had no impact on his ability to work. Maybe he wouldn’t know silly details, like what an Adonis was, but that was hardly an issue.
“Do the doctors think the headaches are going to be a permanent thing?”
Where had that question come from? He’d worked for her for a month without her prying too deeply into his health.
“They don’t know. They’d hoped they would clear up within six months, but they didn’t. Now it’s just a wait-and-see game.”
“It must be tough not knowing how much better you’re going to get.”
Jared shrugged. “It is what it is. I can’t change what happened, only work on getting better.”
Faye smiled. “That’s a very pragmatic attitude. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here, okay?”
“Thank you.” Jared dipped his gaze. It was easy to sound realistic, but he didn’t always feel it. Sometimes, the uncertainty surrounding him was hard to deal with.
Faye finished the rest of her coffee and then stood, squeezing his shoulder. “I’m going to go and open up. You’re helping me with colour work first thing, yeah?”
Jared nodded eagerly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The client who was coming in was having a massive back tattoo of cherry blossoms done. He’d watched Faye do the outlining during his first week at the shop, but now the lady was coming back to have the colour done. The tattoo was going to be absolutely stunning when it was finished.
“Faye.”
She paused at the top of the stairs when he said her name.
“Thank you for taking a chance on me.”
She smiled. “I like you, and you’ve got talent. Downstairs in fifteen minutes, okay?” She walked down one step and then paused. “What you said about people treating you like you might break… is that why you moved here?”
“Yes.”
“Why Leeds?”
“I closed my eyes and put my finger on a map at random.” It pained him to lie to her, but it was no crazier than moving because of a note he couldn’t remember writing.
“Are you happy here?”
