Inked in the Steel City Series(10)
Her water bottle cap spun off the table and bounced onto the floor. She stooped to pick it up, and when she straightened in her seat, a peroxide-blond woman was eyeing her from across the room. Ashley. She glared down her button nose at Mina as if talking on her phone while being off the clock and in the small break room was a crime. Unfortunately, lunch wasn’t the only time of day Mina was forced to spend in Ashley’s presence. Ashley was the bank’s newest teller, which meant that Mina usually passed the entire day in the small area behind the counter with her. “What?”
“Eric loved the pictures,” Karen said breathlessly.
Mina’s heart fluttered, her senses spiking at the sudden mention of Eric. “Pictures? I thought you only sent him one.”
Karen made a sound of dismissal. “There were at least a dozen shots that turned out great. I sent him the eight I thought were best.”
“OK…” She resisted the urge to say something idiotic, like ‘what did he say’?
“Have you checked your e-mail lately?”
Mina shook her head before realizing that the gesture was useless. Ashley smirked at her from across the room, as if she’d noticed. She probably had. The nosy girl spent most of her time scrutinizing her co-workers – particularly Mina – watching for something to laugh at or make a snide comment about. “No. I didn’t think you’d have the pictures ready so soon.” Karen insisted on editing her photos to perfection before sending them to anyone. Mina hadn’t thought it necessary for a simple snapshot of her tattoo, but she’d known that wouldn’t stop Karen.
“I finished editing them yesterday.” Her tone softened, a little of the enthusiasm going out of her voice. “I haven’t had a client in over two weeks, so I had plenty of time.”
“Sorry.” Mina knew how badly Karen wanted to take her photography full-time and quit her waitressing job, but photography was a flooded field and drumming up enough business to scrape a living wasn’t easy. Nevertheless, Karen was determined to become one of the best.
“It’s all right. I just got a new client today.” Mina could practically hear Karen grinning at the other end of the connection.
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“A guy who owns a little tattoo studio called Hot Ink.”
Mina nearly dropped the cap again. “Are you serious?” Hot Ink was the shop where she’d just had her new tattoo done – the place where Eric worked, her quickening heart reminded her.
“One-hundred percent. They want me to take some pictures of their artists’ work – you know, to use for advertisements and stuff like that. And that’s not all. Guess what else they asked me?”
“What?”
“If you’d pose for some of the photos.”
“What?” Mina’s voice climbed an octave or two, and Ashley shot her a censorious look from across the room, frowning primly as she stirred an almost microscopic spoonful of dressing onto her salad.
“Eric showed the photos I sent him to the studio’s owner and he thought they were amazing. He wants you to represent Eric’s work.”
Mina took a sip of her water, stalling for a little time to mull it all over. Her, in advertisements? Would that make her a model? She nearly laughed at the thought. At 5’5” and now with a considerable portion of her body covered in ink, she’d never imagined herself as one. “So, he wants to use the photos you took in some ads?”
“No, he wants me to take new photos of you.”
“What was wrong with the old ones?” Mina remembered sitting topless on the stool in Karen’s studio and shivered.
“Nothing. I just told the owner that if he was really serious about using photos for advertisements, he’d let me take some specifically for that. We can have your make-up professionally done, style your hair and all that.”
“He wants my face to be in the photos?”
“Of course. Mina, it’s not just about your tattoo. It’s about you – you know, the person, the whole visual package and the woman behind the ink.”
“Did you think that sales pitch up off the top of your head?”
“It’s not a sales pitch. It’s my vision for Hot Ink’s advertisements.”
“OK, well, what did you say when he asked you if I’d pose for the photos?”
“I told him I thought you’d be really interested.”
Mina sighed. Of course she had. Not that she didn’t like the idea of Eric ‘loving’ the photos, though she doubted he’d used that exact word, but it was a little weird to think that someone wanted to use her image to advertise their business.