The young woman startled from her perch against the desk where Wade stood keeping her occupied.
“Thanks, man,” Cliff acknowledged with a friendly slap on the back. “I’ll buy your lunch today.”
“Thanks,” Wade grunted then moved away from the desk as Alexis skirted behind it.
At first, Cliff thought that he was going to have an issue with Wade being around Alexis. His new hire had this particular look about him whenever she was near, but as the days went on the look drifted away. Now, he barely made any eye contact with her, or with a
nyone.
“Okay, Dominque, I hear you want a navel ring?”
The barely-an-adult- woman clapped her hands gleefully as she nodded. “Yes! It is my eighteenth birthday present to myself. I promised my mom it wouldn’t be a tattoo yet, but my cousin, Tamara, and I are working on her. Tamara said you are the very best and if someone is going to shove a needle through my skin, I want the very best,” the woman said in one breath.
Tamara was the pharmacy technician working down the street at Everleigh Connelly’s pharmacy. She’d been coming in for years to add to a design she had wrapped around her ribs. He was pretty proud of the piece.
“Sure, now while I set up the booth, Alexis here is going to go over the aftercare paperwork. It will be just a minute and I’m sorry about the wait.”
“Thanks! And no apologies. Sometimes love takes us over,” she said with a wistful expression.
It wasn’t love, but lust had the same effect.
Just as Cliff finished pulling the equipment from the autoclave, Wade peeked his head into the booth. “Hey, I need to take a phone call. I’ll be out back.”
“Sure.”
Cliff didn’t feel the need to micromanage the seasonal staff. They were more than just temporary help; they were valuable to his business.
After setting up the tray with sterilized equipment, Cliff returned to the waiting area and motioned for Dominique to follow him back. Her dark brown skin was a stark contrast to the silver clamp. It was a beautiful shade that he may try to replicate by mixing ink colors later.
“Alright, you’re going to take a deep breath, then when I tell you to, you’ll release it at the same time I set the piercing. Sound good?”
“Yes, Mr. Walker.”
“You can call me Cliff, sweetheart,” he said with a smirk.
“Oh, that must be the smile Tamara was talking about. Said you could melt panties off a nun.”
Well, that was an unexpected compliment.
Ignoring her statement, Cliff instructed her to take a deep breath, then at the release, he pierced the needle through the skin. A small hook piercing followed the needle and in two minutes, Dominique’s birthday present was complete.
“Wow, that didn’t hurt at all. You’re really good, Cliff. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going to clean up here and Alexis will ring you out upfront. And make sure you come to me when you and Tamara convince your mom for that tattoo.”
The thin woman swung her legs off the table. “Would do.” As she waved goodbye Cliff began to clean up his station. He knew that after lunch he had two tattoo appointments. Luckily, they were both small and common designs by new clients.
Grabbing his phone, he sent a text to Harlan and Ryker Connelly to see if either of them wanted anything added to their pieces. He had an itch to design, and though he drew during his downtime, he liked it when it had a purpose and didn’t just sit in his portfolio.
Back out front, he watched Alexis wave goodbye to Dominique before turning her gaze toward him. His heart started pounding in his chest as she smiled as if he was the sunlight during a storm.
“When was your birthday?” Cliff randomly asked, earning himself a confused gaze and tilt of her head.
“Um, November seventeenth. Yours?”
“April fourth.”
“What is this? Twenty questions?”