I knew it was only a matter of time before I heard sex noises coming from the back, especially when those two had words.
Teeny winked at me and bounced back to her station, humming some sort of “I’m gonna get cha” type tune. “Don’t let him get to you, babe.” She shook her head as she prepared her station. “You know how those boys are. He’s just taking the fact you’re all grown up now a little harder than normal. He’ll get over it.” She explained.
“And if he doesn’t?” I asked earnestly.
“I’ll beat it out of him.” She laughed. “You know my boobs used to look like that once…” She trailed off, walking away with a wistful sigh and leaving me to smile in her wake. I’d always liked Teeny, but even more so now she had my back or a crush on my boobs. Either way, it worked for me.
“I’m sorry, sir. I just can’t find it. Are you certain you called ahead?” The phone was pressed tightly between my shoulder and ear trying as hard as I could to hear the male voice between static sounds. “I’m having a lot of trouble hearing you clearly. Can I call you back shortly?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and cringed. I’d dealt with more morons in one day than I had in the last month. I didn’t think anything else could go wrong for a first day. First, I’d dropped an entire dish of ink while setting up Teeny’s station. Then I’d gone to help the delivery driver get in the door with a shipment of supplies only to trip over my own two feet and take him down with me. I’d double booked Trip by an hour and a half. Luckily, Teeny had time to fix that mess and then I’d insulted some lady who’d come in to have a small piece added to her ribs, asking her, “Would you prefer one of the artists to draw something up.” I was about ready to go bury my head in a bucketful of piranhas; it’d be much less painful I was sure.
As if it were possessed, the phone kept ringing. I struggled to keep up with all the flashing lights. Geez, I knew Needle’s Kiss was successful, but damn. Picking up the next call greeted me with a god-awful screeching sound. I wasn’t sure if actual words were being spoken or someone was strangling a cat. Putting my finger in my ear, trying to block any cross noise, I listened for what the request was.
“Okay, no need to scream. I’ll have to see what I can do. Okay, yes. Please hold.” I pressed the Call Hold button and put the receiver down, releasing a big breath. Why were people such asses? I’d always had respect for people in customer service, but after today, even more so. Being abused and yelled at for no good reason, spoken down to and made to feel stupid were the themes of the day apparently.
The front door chimed and I looked up to find a party of three college students coming toward my desk. “I’ll be one moment, sorry.” I held up my finger and dashed off to find Teeny.
“FUCKING HELL!” I screamed, slamming the sketch room door behind me as I ran back out of it. I’d found her all right, bent over a desk in a very compromising position, a position I was sure would leave me with nightmares.
“Sorry ‘bout that. What’s wrong?” she asked, tucking her shirt back into the band of her still unbuttoned jeans.
“I… umm… I…” I stumbled over my words, still thrown off at just having walked in on my brother diddling his wife. At. Work. A place where I was no less!
“Come on, out with it,” she told me, fluffing up her hair so it didn’t look like it’d just been pulled. “Everyone has sex, sweetheart.” She smiled.
“I… the… the phone… umm…” I shook my head and tried again. “There’s a customer on the phone who claims to have an appointment with you this afternoon, but I have no booking for him.” I followed after her toward the front of the shop and paused long enough to say, “You two are fucking gross.”
Teeny simply poked her tongue out and pushed her boobs up for effect before picking up the phone and putting on a professional demeanor. Still shaken and feeling like I needed a bleach bath, I busied myself helping the collage kids find what they were after, hoping the day didn’t get any worse. One of them picked a small fairy to go on her ankle while the others took a seat.
I handed the image off to Trip and passed him the signed consent form. He looked unbothered that I’d just seen him having sex. In fact, he just chuckled and took his client to the other end of the store to work.
Teeny stood up from my seat and put the phone back on the base. “All sorted. His appointment was for next Wednesday. His girlfriend booked it in under her name apparently.” She changed the name in the appointment book and leaned down on the glass counter.