“Looks like that wasn’t the end of it.” I tucked my phone back into my pocket. My chest felt tight. This place was important to me. If my handling of a tough customer gave the competition a leg up, I could have signed the death certificate on this place. I’d only just gotten far enough into my apprenticeship to tattoo on people. I couldn’t lose that.
“The question is what are we going to do about it? We can request that the reviews be removed, but I’m not sure if they can actually do that. In the meantime, our average has now dipped below four stars. There is no way this isn’t going to impact business. We aren’t the only show in town.” Dane said, running a hand over Roxy’s back.
“We need a lot of positive reviews and fast, at least that woulddrown out the shitty ones and push our average back up.” Roxy said.
“But how do we do that?” I asked.
“I think we need to bring someone in. Hire a marketing person to help pull us out of this mess. We were already suffering with Tat Shack offering low-prices and poaching our walk-in customers,” Dane suggested reasonably.
Roxy played with her lip ring for a moment before nodding. “Alright, put out an ad. We’re hiring a marketing manager to get us out of this mess.”
Chapter Two
Meredith
“They fired you?” Rosalind exclaimed as I fought back tears. “Of all the shit they’ve done, this has to be the lowest.”
Truthfully, I was surprised it took them this long to fire me. Officially, I was an assistant. Pick up dry cleaning, make a few calls, the usual. Unofficially, it was my job to keep an eye on Rosalind and Violetta, the two adult daughters of the Huxley family. Huxley, as in Huxley Enterprises, the biggest entertainment company in Vegas.
A stupid task considering they were both almost thirty.
“I’m so sorry, Mer. This is my fault. I started all of this.” Rosalind’s shaky voice came through the phone.
“Stop, it is not. You fell in love. That isn’t exactly a felony.”
When one daughter, Rosalind, ran off to live in Canada with a contractor she had drunk married, they didn’t fire me. They expected nothing but bad press from Rosalind anyway andseemed okay with tucking her out of sight.
When thegood daughter, Violetta, ran off to Canada to be with a mechanic, well, they gave me my walking papers.
So, what is my master plan?
Also running off to Canada.
Not for a man, although I hooked up with a fucking sinfully sexy guy last time I was there. No, I planned to move here for a few reasons. One, I was a dual citizen of Canada and the US thanks to my Canadian mom. Two, I have friends there now that Rosalind and Violetta had relocated. Three, my US currency goes way further up north.
“So, what are you going to do?” Rosalind asked.
I sniffled as the tears dried up. “I was looking through job sites and figured since the Huxleys kind of run Vegas, I’d need to find a job elsewhere. I replied to an ad, and I got the job. It’s a short-term contract helping a tattoo shop do some rebranding.”
“Mer, that’s great! Is the shop on the strip?”
“A little north of that.”
“So, downtown Vegas then?”
I laughed for the first time since I’d been fired a week before. “Keep going north, like all the way to Springwood.”
“Shut the front door! You’re moving here?”
“I’m packing as we speak. I’m going to load up my stuff and drive. My new job starts next week, and the owners even helped me find an apartment.” It had been an emotional rollercoaster the last week. The shame of being fired, the fear of not knowing what to do. Now I got to enjoy the high of having a half ass plan.
Rosalind let out a girly scream. “I am so excited! I can’t wait until you get here. Whatever you need, you know Vi and I will help you out.”
I did know that. I may not have my ridiculously good paying job anymore, but I have real friends. Starting over was going to be rough. Being fired stung like a bitch, but I could do this. I was strong and smart and capable and all that self-talk bullshit. I could make this work.
******
I was scheduled to begin my new job at Think Ink tattoo shop at eight o’clock the day after I arrived in Springwood.
