“You aren’t fooling anyone with that attitude.” Nelly leans back against the door frame, crossing her arms.
I shrug dismissively and turn back to what I was doing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You like her, don’t you?”
I know where this is going, but I still act like I have no idea. “Who?”
“Soph, who else? Everyone can see that when we’re around you two,” she responds matter-of-factly.
I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms and inhale a deep breath before speaking. “For fuck’s sake, she’s my employee. Nothing less, nothing more. Can you give me space to finish working on this design, or do you want to keep gossiping about nothing important?”
“Keep telling yourself that, Jackie boy. But remember, I know you too well and can smell lies floating around you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Get out of here, now.” I wave my hand in a dismissing gesture.
“You can’t hide your feelings much longer.”
“There are no feelings to hide.”
“I won’t stop until you admit I’m right.”
“Get. Out. Now.”
All I hear are her giggles as she leaves the room, and I’m left wondering if King made a colossal mistake hiring Soph.
There’s a knock on the door as I finish cleaning my client’s new ink. Today was all about touch-ups. It’s taken us close to seventeen hours over four sessions, and I’m beyond relieved that Banks loves my work as much as I do. He hasn’t stopped looking at it with awe in his eyes. It never gets old seeing my clients admire my art.
Checking the time, I realize it’s past five. I look up from where I’m working to call out towards the door. “Come in.”
The door opens, and as expected, my newest employee walks in, smiling and swaying her hips. I swear the air around us gets thicker when she comes closer to me, and the faint smell of her perfume or body lotion makes me want to do bad things. “Hi,boss. I was wondering if there’s anything else you want to go through before I head home for the night?”
Fuck me—Soph calling me boss does something to me. I don’t want to think exactly what, but I’m sure my dick can’t grow any harder without my skinny jeans feeling way too tight. Maybe it’s time to get new clothes with more crotch space.
It’s impossible to get any wise words out with how I feel, but I still try my best. “That’s all for today, thanks.”
“Okay then,” she says nervously.
I try to shift my focus back on Banks and his ink, but it’s nearly impossible with her standing in my space. “I’m going to finish cleaning this up, and then I’ll cash him out and close the shop. See you tomorrow, Sophia.”
“Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do before leaving for the day?”
I stop cleaning the art that looks even better than two hours ago and glance at her. “You’re free to go home whenever you want. You did well today.”
She laughs. “Oh, wow, I had no idea you could say something nice.”
Banks snorts next to me, and I give him ashut the fuck uplook before turning back to her. “Don’t get used to it.”
“I’ll try my best to remember that.”Smartass.
Soph finally leaves the room, and I notice Banks checking her out. I don’t blame him—her outfit today was marvelous, hugging her magnificent body. Those damn pants will haunt my wet dreams for a while.
“I like her, Jax. You should keep her around.”
I scoff. “You’re married, dude.”
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the beauty of different people who aren’t my wife…and if I had to guess, you aren’t immune to her spell either.”
“Whatever, I can’t get involved with someone who works for me...again,” I remind him. Banks met Tiffany when she still worked at King Tattoo, so he knows what I mean by that.
