Shit.The male voice was definitely not Harper’s.And now he was stuck talking to whoever it was.“Speaking.”
“Hey, Trent.This is Michael Cooper.I’m a producer in LA, working on a reality game show featuring amateur tattoo artists with the prize being a lease to their own studio.”
He suppressed a sigh and for the second time that night put his pencil down.He looked around the office.Which he owned.“Sounds great, Michael, but I already have a studio.”The guy at the end of the line laughed.
“Yeah.I know that.We don’t want you to enter.We want to see if you’d be a good fit as a judge.”
A what?A judge?Trent ran his hand along his jaw and under his chin, momentarily stunned.How on earth had he ended up on this guy’s radar?
“Our researchers narrowed down a group of phenomenal tattoo artists with a distinctive back catalog of work.We sent a scout to visit your studio.The guy whose leg you worked on with the dragon, he was one of my production assistants.The tattoo was phenomenal, man.Totally loved it.Loved the vibe and your style.We’d love to get you in front of a camera with another one of our judges.Huge rock star.You’ll meet him if you can come out to LA.”
“Wow.This is a lot to take in.I’m totally flattered.I’m not quite sure what you say to something like this.”
Michael guffawed.“Usually people shout, ‘Yes Michael, pick me!’but I understand your reservations.Can we set up a time to talk about this?”
What did he have to lose?No harm ever came from a conversation.
“That would be pretty awesome.”
Trent put the phone down and shook his head at the craziness of it.Pursing his lips, he thought of Yasmin.She’d love this shit, and her not being able to share in it would be the ultimate one-finger salute for the misery she’d caused him.And his parents?Though they’d seen his passion for tattooing start to pay off, they still didn’t really understand it.Getting this role would be the ultimate proof to all of them, wouldn’t it?He had amounted to something.
***
“And how was our resident hottie?”Drea asked, peering over the top of her wineglass, a momentary flash of amusement brightening her features.She sat in the solitary chair across from the sofa, her wavy hair loose over her shoulders.
“Trent’s fine.”Harper tried to hide the smile forming on her face by taking another sip of wine.“Hey,” she squeaked as she tried to deflect the beaded throw pillow aimed in her direction before it knocked the glass out of her hand.It would be a waste of the lovely Zinfandel that Drea had brought to accompany the dinner Harper had cooked.
“Don’t give me that, Miss Scrabble Genius.”
There was no arguing.Harper knew she was pretty transparent on the best of days, and Drea was unrelenting.Might as well just go with the truth and skip the interrogation.
“You know how it is.You’re the only friend I have who knows any of this.I still jump a mile if anyone walks behind me.I finally just let someone touch my back for the first time in four years.And to top it off, I just got another letter from Illinois.Nathan is being considered for parole.I’m not in any place to start something.”
“I thought you said he was in prison for a while.”Drea moved from the chair to sit next to Harper on the two-seater sofa, tucking her legs underneath her.
“He was supposed to be, but he’s done all these rehabilitation courses.Anger Management for Psychos or something.They do enough of them, they can graduate early.”
“That’s bullshit,” Drea said.“What’ll happen if he gets out?”
“He’ll try to find me.He already threatened to.But he doesn’t know I’m here.”Harper took a large swallow of wine.
“But he’ll have to see a parole officer, right?And the police will watch him too.Won’t he be on some offender list?”
Harper laughed, she’d been that naïve once.“The same police who witnessed Nathan’s father offer me money to drop the charges, but told a courtroom full of people I made it up.Those police?”Cynicism laced her words.
“Seriously?Oh my God, Harper.So what are you going to do?”
“I can’t do much about it.They asked me to attend the hearing.”
Drea reached out and put a gentle hand on her arm.“Are you going to go?You know I would go with you in an instant if you wanted me to.”
Harper put her wine down and cautiously placed her hand on top of Drea’s.“I know you would, honey, but I still can’t face him.I contacted my lawyer today about submitting a victim impact statement for consideration.Lydia is going to help me pull it together.”
Which was why her tattoo was so important.It was time to move on and she needed to get rid of the permanent reminder, reclaim that part of her.Otherwise Nathan was always going to own her.
Her mind wandered back to Trent working away on her design.She imagined him in a fitted T-shirt like that first night and those dark jeans that hugged his butt.He always seemed to have his baseball hat on, but she imagined him without it.Every ounce of his concentration focused on his sketch.
This time the pillow did hit her square on the shoulder.“Back in Trentville?”Drea questioned with a laugh.
