“That seems to be the theme of the season. Join the club, cuz.”
King huffs and looks at me through the phone, taking a deep breath. I know whatever comes next, I’m not going to like it. “Talking about the woman who has brought you some gray hair lately, I decided to hire Soph yesterday.”
You could hear a fish fart after that announcement. That’s how silent it is in my head before all my thoughts explode all at once.
“No way. You didn’t even ask me!” I get up from my chair to pace around my office space. “How could you do that? She’ll be working in my shop forme, not you! And you didn’t even care to ask me.”
“First of all, this is a work call, so stop acting like a petulant child.” His tone is controlled, even though I know he’s close to losing it. “If I remember right, I still own the majority of the company and your location, so I can make decisions whenever it suits my company’s needs. And yesterday was one of those days whenIwas the one making the call. It would be for the best if you had someone, and I honestly feel like Soph is the right person for the job.”
Frustrated, I drag a hand through my hair. “And why would you say that?”
“She’s smart and hardworking, and her recommendations were outstanding before the accident. And she knows something about running a business, thanks to her parents’ bakery. I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t have hired her. She might even be overqualified for the role.”
“She stole my bike and crashed it. How can I trust her? How canyoutrust her?” I ask and sit down in my tattooing chair to calm my racing heart.
“Soph clearly regrets her actions and wants to make amends. We should give her a chance to do so.”
He’s making sense, but I’m still unsure if I’m comfortable working with her daily. “I don’t know. It’s hard to forgive something like that. It’ll take months to fix Isla since there’s a manufacturing delay on one of the spare parts and I won’t get it till December.”
Silence hangs between us. We both frown at each other before King speaks. “I get why you’re upset; I do, but let’s give it a go. It’ll be good to have someone you don’t want to sleep with as your assistant.”
Oh, if only he knew… There are no rules about fraternization within the company, but after the mess that Tiffany left behind, I don’t blame my cousin for saying that. It still stings that he had to bring it up. It’s like he doesn’t believe I can make decisions without my dick.
Hanging my head in defeat, I whisper, “Okay then.”
“Wait, did you just say okay?” My cousin wonders, like I just grew an extra head or something.
“Yeah, but if you keep pulling yourI’m your boss, so you must do whatever I saycard every time we disagree on something, I won’t be too happy.”
“But I’m your boss, and it should mean something.”
I’m so over this conversation. “And I’m a manager for one of your shops, and you just hired someone without consulting me.”
“Fair game. At least you have two more weeks to calm down before she starts.” King tries to cheer me up.
“Like that’s enough time.”
“Well, it needs to be. Enough about Soph, I've got good news on Seattle. Now that we have been in business for a month, it’s safe to say that our investments are paying off. Like with our Brooklyn location, you’ll receive your part of the profit payments at the end of every quarter.”
Not many people know this, but I own thirty percent of the Brooklyn location and some other company shares. It was my goal from the beginning. Instead of paying me my full salary, King put a notable portion aside from every paycheck for the first five years. Now, whenever King thinks of a new extension location, he asks if I want to be a silent partner. Brooklyn is different since I’m also the shop manager, but the other two locations we have opened after, both Seattle and San Antonio, are in my portfolio.
We discuss the business more before it’s time for me to prepare for my only client of the day, who arrives in thirty minutes. And all I can think of is that Soph will join our team.
Fucktastic.
The Brooklyn location of King Tattoo is smaller than our other locations—we wanted to see if it got enough hype and customers before expanding our business space. The neighborhood has other well-known tattoo shops, so we took a risk setting up a shop here. Looks like it’s paying off because we’re breaking some company records like most bookings during the first week and the best average rating by clients. I'm currently looking for fresh talent, but until I find someone to match the chemistry of our crew, I have four employees working at the location. Now that excludes Soph.
I greet Spade and Johnny Rogue, sitting in the front room, when I walk out of my workspace after my client leaves. “After I’ve cashed out, let’s catch up. I got some news for you.”
“Yeah, I heard from the Chicago location that King already found someone to replace Tiff. That was quick,” Spade states.
Edmund Spade, one of my closest friends in the business, goes by his last name. He’s over six feet tall, a hefty ginger with more tattoos than I have, and is well-known around these parts. He’s originally from Staten Island and spent years at our Chicago location before moving back to the city when we expanded to Brooklyn.
“And so is the grapevine of this damn company,” I mutter.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, mate,” Rogue laughs and gets more comfortable on the couch next to Spade.
Johnny Rogue is a British lad from Brighton, the brilliant seaside city south of London, who moved to the States earlier this year to be with his American partner and was looking for a gig. Being the outspoken bloke he is, Rogue just walked in one day and asked if we needed more staff. And I said,‘Sure, if you show me your work.’The rest is history.
