A Broken Forever(9)

"Oh, honey, are you okay?" Tyler asked.

I nodded vigorously and smoothed down the front of my shirt. Casting a glance from him to the girls I smiled again. "Just fine."

Five minutes into work and I already regretted coming in.

The bulk of our day passed with only a few casualties. I slipped on a pile of hair on the floor that I had just swept up; got tangled in the straightener cord-still not sure how I did that. Then, to top it all off, I spilt a bowl of red hair dye all over Kacie's leg. Thankfully nothing happened to mine or anyone else's client, but there were still a few hours of work to go. It was a little after four in the afternoon and things were starting to slow down, but now I was completely starving. Usually I had a bag of chips shoved in my purse, but I had forgotten to bring some today.

"You should come and get some food with me and Devin," Kari said excitedly.

Kari's shift was almost over, and every day her rocker boyfriend Devin always picked her up. The two of them had been on a complete rollercoaster ride this past year, and it was good to see the waves had settled.



       
         
       
        

"Oh, I don't know. I'd hate to intrude, plus I shouldn't leave your sister alone to run things," I said, picturing all the ways I could embarrass myself in front of Kari and Devin. Right now I was a walking hazard and needed to stay here.

Kacie laughed as she styled her client's hair. "Trust me, Grey, I can take care of things for an hour while you go. Not to mention it might be nice to have a break from being on edge with you here."

My mouth dropped open and my eyebrows shot up. "What are you trying to say?" I asked, trying my best to pretend I was hurt by her accusation.

"I'm not trying to say anything. I'm telling you that you're a bit of a disaster today, and it might be nice to not have to keep an eye on which way the tornado's coming. Get what I'm saying?" Kari and Kacie's client laughed, but I just rolled my eyes and turned up my nose.

"I am not a disaster."

"Uh huh," Kacie added.

I turned my back to her and gave my full attention to Kari.

"I'd love to get something to eat with you and Rock God." This was the name we lovingly gave to Devin, just like how Richard was Silver Fox. Apparently the three of us were unable to call guys by their given names.

"Yay!" Kari plopped down in her chair and opened the tabloid magazine her client left behind and began leafing through the pages.

"Anything good happening in the world of the rich and beautiful today?" I asked after a few minutes.

Kari let out an adoring sigh. "There are just so many delicious men in here."

I laughed and nodded my head. "Always," I said, grabbing my phone from my purse.

There was a message waiting for me from Richard, and a sudden spike of guilt took over my heart. It didn't make sense. I had nothing to be guilty of … right? I mean, sure, I had spent the night crying over my ex, but it wasn't because I wanted him back. It was only because my dream mind was apparently incredibly sadistic and liked torturing me. Nothing I personally should be worried about.

I shook off the feeling and went back to my message.

RM: Hello Beautiful, I hope your day is going well. I'll give you a call later this evening once you're off work to check in. Miss you darling.

My teeth bit down on my bottom lip to hold back the little quiver that almost escaped. What the hell was my problem??

"Oh, here's your boy with yet another woman," I heard Kari say as I finally tuned my own depressing thoughts out.

Kacie was just walking back to her station after taking her client to the front to ring her out.

"Oh yeah, anyone good?" Kari flipped the magazine around and my cell phone dropped to the ground. I didn't even move to get it as I was stopped dead, looking back at the same blue eyes that had haunted my dreams. There was a reason I refused to pick up and read any tabloid magazines that filled our waiting area. I didn't want to see … him. 

Because there he was, plain as day in colored ink just a couple feet away, was the man my heart wouldn't forget. He was dressed in a black on black tux, a slight stubble-that I knew he loved-which covered his prominent jaw and surrounded his luscious full lips. The smirk behind those impeccable, dazzling blue eyes said he loved every minute of what was happening. Once I finally was able to see past the man in front of me, I noticed the rest of his surroundings.

It looked to be another charity fundraiser that I knew his multi-billion dollar company frequented. A mass of people surrounded him, cameras flashed from every angle, and holding onto his arm was another vixen. Skin tight dress, big boobs, little waist and a look that said 'we had sex on the way over' was plastered across her big red lips. My insides twisted with a strange yet unmistakable twinge of jealousy.