Teased(36)

Chapter 12





The tattoo shop managed to keep everyone busy, which made it easy for Vida to ignore Colton.

The door opening had Vida glancing up to see one of Colton’s fuck buddies coming through the door.

“Does Colton have an opening?” she questioned.

“Yes, he does.” Vida gave Tessa the client she had scheduled for Colton, penciling in Wanda for his next job.

“Have a seat; he’ll call you when he’s ready for you.”

“Thanks.” The girl smiled at her as she took a seat.

Tessa came out, ignoring Vida as she looked through the appointment book. Vida knew the exact moment Tessa noticed she had given her Colton’s next client.

“Why did you give me Colton’s client? I should have the client you gave him,” Tessa questioned her sharply.

Vida pointed to Wanda. “She requested Colton. The client I gave you didn’t. Colton said I should try to fill requests if it was possible.”

“She requested Colton?” Her gaze sharpened on Wanda.

“Yes, she did.” Tessa’s face turned red as she snapped out the name of her client. She stood, talking to him about which tat he wanted for several minutes, her eyes never leaving the other woman who was becoming uncomfortable under Tessa’s hateful glare.

Tessa gave the client directions to her room then walked over to Wanda. Vida sat, watching the oncoming confrontation, debating if she should get Colton to mediate.

“My husband will be with you in just a few minutes. He was almost done when I came out.” Tessa’s fake politeness didn’t fool Vida, but it succeeded with Wanda.

“Your husband? Colton didn’t tell me he was married.”

Tessa smiled in satisfaction. “We’ve been married four years.”

Wanda rose angrily to her feet, returning to the counter.

“Cancel my tattoo; I don’t have the time to wait.” Wanda left without waiting for a reply from Vida.

Tessa didn’t try to hide the vindictive smile on her face as she left to finally get started on her waiting customer.

Colton and his client came out then, talking with Reverend.

“Did you take a picture of it? That one needs to go on the wall,” Reverend said, taking a seat next to Vida.

“Took one in the room,” Colton said absently, gazing down at the appointment book with a frown.

“Next time, Colton.” The client waved as he left.

“Later, Kyle.” Turning to Vida, he asked, “What happened to Wanda? I see her name marked out.”

Vida shrugged innocently. “She waited for a while then said she couldn’t wait any longer.”

Reverend called his next client, looking at Vida and Colton quickly before escorting his client to his room.

Colton pulled out his cell, moving away from the counter as new clients came in the door. Vida fit them into the schedule, having to turn a few away for the moment and rescheduling those, while watching Colton as he talked on the phone. His expression becoming angry. He ended the call, striding furiously from the room.

Vida sat tensely behind the counter, becoming even more nervous when she heard raised voices from the back. A sudden loud noise sounded before Tessa came running out. Leaving the shop without a word.

The clients in the waiting area sat staring at one another until Colton returned.

“Who’s my next client?” he asked grimly. Vida pointed to a heavyweight man sweating profusely. Colton called the man’s name. She listened as the man described the tattoo he wanted that would take several visits. Colton led him away as Vida made future appointments to complete the desired tattoo.

Tessa reappeared with a cup of coffee, giving everyone the silent treatment for the rest of the day. Colton and Reverend worked without taking a break as Tessa got her revenge by taking huge amounts of time between clients. When the door closed at the end of the day, both men looked exhausted.

“You and Tessa need to get your shit straight, and you need to hire another artist. Word is out that you’re out of prison. We can’t do our best work if we keep pushing it with customers.”

“I’ll look around for another artist. The divorce will be final next week. Once Tessa realizes it’s a done deal, she’ll settle down or I’ll fucking fire her.”

Reverend looked skeptical, but didn’t argue. “I’m going home to call a bitch to come and massage me down.” Turning to Vida, he gave her a wink. “Unless you want to come home with me then I’ll give you the massage.”

“No, thanks. I think I’ll just go to the apartment and fix dinner,” Vida laughingly declined. “See you tomorrow.”

Colton turned out the lights as Vida grabbed her backpack. Holding the door open, his eyes lowered, watching her walk toward him. Vida felt self-conscious as she walked to the motorcycle with him following, his gaze on her back. Putting on the helmet, she waited for him to get on before climbing on behind him.