Shifters were finicky about eye contact, but it really depended on what kind of shifter. The beast people were all about formal speech… though I had no idea what that entailed.
As I internally panicked, I didn’t hear the door to Monstrous Ink unlock and open until Effie’s voice broke through my anxious thoughts.
“You’re early, Daphne,” she said, her green brows furrowing for just a moment before she offered me a friendly smile.
I blinked at her like an idiot. While she’d been dressed in rocker chic yesterday, today she looked like a fifties pin-up model.
The deep green pleats of her vintage dress swirled around her legs as she came close with a worried look. “Are you all right?”
Shoving down every single worry, I mustered up a smile. “Yeah, just a little nervous for my first day.”
“Don’t be, you’ll do great.” Effie offered me her hand. “Come on, Daphne, I don’t bite. Though some of the guys do.”
A little shudder ran down my spine at that. Why did she have to make it sound like it was part-threat and part-innuendo? It had become abundantly clear to me during our interview yesterday that the woman in front of me didn’t have any sort of filter.
Letting her lead me inside, I watched as she turned on all of the lights and made note of where they were.
“So you’ll be here most of the time, though we’ll also have you help us organize the kitchen and the supply closets. The guys are in charge of keeping their tattooing booths clean, so don’t let them harass you into picking up after them,” Effie said as she put a file box that was on the desk onto the floor. She gave it a haphazard kick, sending it sliding across the floor.
“I’m usually upstairs for most of the day doing my own thing, but I’ll hover today and make sure you’re getting used to everything,” she continued, scribbling something onto a sticky note. “This is your login and password for the scheduling software. We’ve got a pretty light load today, so it’s the perfect day to train. Go ahead and try to log in.”
I sat down in the desk chair and began to type on the computer, logging in and becoming immediately overwhelmed by all of the tabs and alerts.
Effie took one look at my face and chuckled. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t usually look like this. It’s been two months since our last receptionist quit and none of us are very good at clearing old appointments after we finish them.”
She began to explain the software, clearing the dashboard until it looked more manageable. The more I clicked through things, the calmer I became. It was pretty similar to the calendar software that my university job used—though there were more options to click.
“Today Cash, Dallan, and Fiero have appointments. You can see what kind of monster species are coming in as well as what tools they will need. As you get more comfortable you will be in charge of restocking our supply closets,” Effie explained.
“Diamond tipped needles?” I asked, my eyes scrolling down the supply list for a Talos named Greg.
“Yep, Talos are made from different kinds of stone. Greg’s a bronze Talos, so his skin takes a more heavy-duty needle to deposit the ink, not to mention a stronger power output.” Effie pointed at what looked like a car battery on the list.
I nodded, trying to wrap my brain around how different monsters could be tattooed. “So I guess normal tattooing needles don’t work for most monsters?”
Effie shrugged. “Depends on the monster. Some of them just need special ink, which we make in house.”
“How do you make ink in-house?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
The tops of Effie’s cheeks flushed a surprising shade of green. “Well—”
But whatever she was going to say next was cut off by the bell over the door chiming as a group of monsters piled into the shop.
Six
“Effie, why was Farrow giving us such a fucking hard time at the coffee shop this morning? He seems to think we’re going to bully our new receptionist.” The man’s words were edged with a Scottish burr as he stepped further into the coffee shop to let the rest of his companions come inside.
He was tall, towering over us at the desk as he put his coffee down on the counter. He was dressed like a typical hipster with a pair of gray jeans and a black Henley stretched across his barrel chest. But other than that he was far from any hipster I’d ever seen.
I’d never seen a monster like him before in my life. The sleeves of his Henley were pulled up to his elbows, exposing two arms completely covered in tattoos. The parts of his skin that weren’t inked were a mottled gray-green color that seemed to shift and change as I stared.
But the thing that really made him different from the rest was the octopus tentacles on his face. They looked a little bit like a beard, but extended from his cheeks and mouth.
“Maybe because you walk everywhere shouting?” Effie shot back, putting a hand on her hip. “Now all of you introduce yourself like normal people, or I swear to the Goddess I’ll hex you into next week.”
I watched as the two seemed to share an entire conversation with one look. The man’s shoulders sank. “Sorry, lass, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t scare me,” I said, finally managing to find my voice. “I’m Daphne Clarke, it’s nice to meet you.”
