Beauty is the Beast: Beasts Among Us - Book 1

by Jennifer Zamboni

  “Perfect. Next Thursday at two.” I noted down the service, balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  “Bye,” said Portia.

  “Have a nice day.” I hung the phone up and put the appointment books away and made it back for the end of the interview.

  “Okay. We’ve got a little scenario for you,” said Percy, pointing her pencil at me.

  I stood up. I’d teased my curls, making them frizzy and puffy.

  “Gretchen is a client. She wants to tame down her hair. She likes curls, but she’s got more than she can manage. What do you recommend?” Percy set up the scenario, and I sat down. I was merely a visual aid, and I would be the model for both the interviews. Curly-haired people tended to be the ones stylists wanted to change the most and had the poorest suggestions for.

  Meredith paused for a minute, studying me. “A perm on big rods and a deep conditioning treatment. I’d probably try to send her home with some moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, and a bottle of Biosilk.”

  Percy doodled and took notes. We wouldn’t be critiquing their answers in front of them—we wanted to know what they would possibly do if we weren’t around.

  A client came in, and Lacey left to do a cut.

  We formed our opinions almost right off, the questions being more of a formality, and Percy was taking down important observations for us to go over later so we wouldn’t really miss anything.

  We all took clients before the next interview. I’d loved to have seen them back-to-back for better comparison purposes. I wasn’t super excited about Meredith as a stylist, but she seemed sweet, if a little too quiet.

  Nicole, the second interview, read straight-up attention seeker on first appearance. Spiked heels, clothes suctioned tight to her curves, low-cut shirt revealing cleavage popping nearly up to her chin. She would not have been out of place in the brothel I grew up in.

  We went through several questions before Percy asked, “Why do you think you’re right for the job?”

  “I’m a hard worker. I can do any hours. I’m out of debt because I worked my way through school and paid for my car up front. I’m willing to learn whatever you need me to.” Nicole ticked off each item on a manicured fingertip.

  “Why this salon, in particular?”

  “Well, you’re hiring,” Nicole’s joke fell flat. At least, I think she was joking. “I think I’d get a lot of opportunities working with you. I think I could learn a lot from you. This salon has a reputation for holding on to its employees.”

  Yeah, and that might be because we all own the business.

  “Uh huh, all right.” Percy doodled.

  She signaled me, and I played my part again.

  “Gretchen wants a wash and wear look. She likes her curls, but she’s finding them hard to manage. What would you recommend?”

  Nicole studied my hair, tapping her tooth with an acrylic nail. “I think she should shorten it and lighten it up. The color’s too dark. It makes her look too black—not that that’s a bad thing,” she stumbled, “but I think she’d look more exotic with light hair.”

  I snarled silently when Nicole looked to Percy for her approval. Percy scribbled around on her notepad, then glanced over at me. I lowered my lip.

  Nicole turned to me. “No offense.”

  I hate when people say ‘no offense.’ It means that whatever they were saying, they knew it was offensive. If you know what you’re saying is offensive, find a diplomatic way to say it, don’t say it, or don’t preface it with ‘no offense, but.’ I was offended, and she couldn’t afford to offend the people in charge of hiring.

  Apparently, she didn’t get the fact that she was being interviewed by all three of us, not just Percy. We weren’t asking the questions, but our opinions each counted for a third of the vote.

  I was unusually happy to take my next client, whom I was able to talk into scheduling an appointment for highlights. It was that time of year. I personally liked to lighten up for spring and summer, and darken up with warm tones for fall/winter.

  As soon as we finished off that bout of clients, I flipped the open sign over and hurried to join the others in the kitchen.

  “So,” said Percy.

  “That was... interesting.” I hopped up onto the counter and leaned over to open the fridge.

  “That’s a word for it. And we only have to do it one more time.” Lacey referred to the interviews for a possible masseuse and joined me on the counter.

  “Thoughts, feelings?” Percy took a more adult position on a kitchen chair facing us.

  “If we hire the second girl, I’ll maul her.” I wouldn’t be able to help it. Any time spent with that girl would be hazardous for her health.

  “Lacey?”

  “I can’t say I’m a fan,” said Lacey.

  How diplomatic of her.

  “All right then, do we wait around for more applications, or do you think Meredith will fit?” Percy balled up Nicole’s application, shot it at the trash, and missed.

  “Well, as I have no magical superpower patience, I’m gonna go with Meredith just to spare us from another potential Nicole.”

  “I don’t have anything special as far as patience goes,” said Percy, scrunching her eyebrows together.

  “Yeah, but you’ve had centuries to hone them,” I pointed out.

  “True.”

  I suddenly felt young, a rare occurrence.

  “Now about Meredith, I’m all for giving her a shot,” said Percy.

  “I already said yes. And started the bunny trail.” I popped a hot dog into my mouth and swallowed after a couple of chews. Bad doggy, I know.

  “I guess I’m all right with her,” Lacey relented.

  “Good. I’ll give her a call and also offer her the receptionist position. And Gretchen, eat some real food,” Percy reprimanded.

  “Yes, Mommy.” I slid off the counter and perused the fridge face-on.

  Bread, peanut butter, jelly. If no one else had been in the room, I would have just dipped the bread into the jars. Since I was not alone, I toasted my bread and spread everything neatly, like a civilized human being. Sticky and yummy. It’s a good combination, almost like dessert. I shoved it down and cleaned up before returning to the salon.

  Meredith was able to make it back a few minutes after we reopened for the afternoon.

  The first client to come through the big double doors was Byron Ulm, one of Percy’s regulars. He came in like clockwork every month. He was one of the good reasons to be a hairdresser. Lacey-Marie and I smelled him coming. Delicious. There was another smell with him. A woman. We’d thought Byron was a perpetual bachelor. We both rolled a lip, then gained control.

  “I could eat him with a spoon,” Lacey-Marie muttered so only us girls could hear. She’d made him a subtle offer before, which he’d graciously turned down.

  “Well, I could bury her with a shovel,” I muttered in response.

  The woman with him was dressed for success in slacks, button up, and a blazer.

  “Ladies, this is my sister, Marcy. She wanted to check you guys out. Do you have time for a walk in?”

  “As a matter of fact, we do,” said Percy. “Meredith, do you have an opening?”

  Meredith took her cue that we weren’t letting on that she was new.

  “Absolutely! It’s nice to meet you, Marcy, I’m Meredith.” She greeted her potential client with a firm handshake.

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “What can I do for you today?” Meredith asked.

  “Just a trim, please.” She ran her fingers through her hair.

  “Great. Let’s get you a shampoo first, and we’ll go from there.” Meredith lead her to the shampoo area, conducting a short consultation as she went.

  Byron followed Percy to the last station, leaving Lacey and me to watch him go until the door opened. It was Lacey’s lucky day, in a sarcastic sense. Walter Hedigar was a fiftysomething truck
driver with a thing for Lacey.

  I smirked and left her to it. My smirk vanished as Scott walked through the front door.

  “Got time?” he asked, leaning over the front counter.

  Normally, I cut his hair at Austin’s house with the other guys.

  “Sure, come on over.” I led him to my station and motioned for him to take a seat.

  “New girl?” He indicated Meredith with a toss of his shaggy head.

  “Yeah, shh. We also have a new client, and right now she doesn’t know it’s Meredith’s first day,” I whispered at him.

  “Ah. Right.”

  “What do you want? I didn’t cut your hair that long ago.”

  “I’m thinking about going short,” he ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. He was lying. I could smell testosterone with a hint of fear on him. He was scared of me? Nope, this wasn’t a business call.

  “No, you’re not. You’re looking for an excuse to come here.” I figured him out.

  “Caught me.”

  “I’m gonna cut your hair anyway because I’m working right now.” I pulled out the clippers. He wanted to play at this, and I needed him to back off. Maybe if I pissed him off enough he’d lay off the flirting.

  “Uh, okay.” He settled back in my chair.

  I clipped him right down to the skin before he could protest, starting right down the middle so he had to let me finish.

  He scowled at me in the mirror. Score one for Gretchen! The ball was in his court now.

  “Thanks,” he said when I finished, not leaving my chair.

  Crap, there goes my point. “What else can I do for you?” I put on my professional voice. My professional hairdresser, not my professional prostitute. Those are very different voices.

  “You know what you can do for me, Gretch.”

  “Besides go out with you. That’s not an option.” I took off his cape and tossed it into the laundry basket, crossing my arms and maintaining my distance. This wasn’t good. I wanted to stay friends with him. The whole band thing would work better that way.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Positive. If you need a date, ask Lacey-Marie.”

  Scott’s shoulders slumped as he stood from my chair and walked out. I didn’t charge my boys for their haircuts. It was all for the band.

  “Who was that?” asked Meredith, putting the finishing touches on a smiling Marcy’s style.

  “That was Scott. We’re in a band together.” I watched out the window as he drove away. “I’ll introduce you sometime.”

  “Cool.” She gave Marcy a light coat of hairspray. “What do you think?”

  “I love it. You did a great job. Can I have your card?” Marcy stood up and tossed her hair. The smile stayed in place.

  Toni wandered out of the back room and slipped Meredith a blank card that she’d already doodled on the front of.

  “Absolutely. Come on up front, and we’ll get settled up,” said Meredith, leading the way. She wrote her information on the card and handed it to Marcy.

  “Would you like to schedule your next appointment now?” she asked.

  “Sure! Any Tuesday next month?” Marcy asked, pulling out her planner.

  “How about the second Tuesday at ten a.m.?”

  “Perfect!”

  Meredith wrote it down in her new appointment book. Her very first client would be a steady customer. It was a good jumping off point.

  Percy had been out all morning commissioning a new sign and logo for us. We ’d be ordering new business cards, which meant the ones I just received were useless. I could technically hand them out still—the actual information was the same—but if they got passed on to potential clients, I wanted them to say: “Olympian’s Salon and Day Spa.”

  Meredith was settling in nicely. One day of working here was hardly anything to judge by, but still, so far, so good. We’d shown our color-coded tool system to her while letting her know it was perfectly fine not to follow it, and all the walk-ins would be hers for the time being.

  I studied the calendar, feeling as if the pack were collectively breathing down my neck. They hadn’t given me a deadline, but I wanted my mind made up before the next new moon when I’d be at my most vulnerable. I could only hope they’d respect my decision.

  “Percy?” I stood relaxed, propped against her station during a lull.

  “Yes, hun?”

  “I need a vacation.” What I wouldn’t give to be able to run away from the building storm. I knew very well that I couldn’t. Like it or not, I knew deep down that it was my duty to deal with the sickness invading my home.

  “Don’t we all?” she said with a rare flare of sarcasm as she patted my arm.

  “You’re getting one soon.”

  “Living in Winterland with my husband for three months is not a vacation. It’s work.”

  We rarely talked about her marriage. She never brought it up, but I was feeling curious in my frazzled state, especially with the man in question staying with us.

  “Is it really so bad, living with a dark fae? I mean, you’ve been married for eons. Do you hate him?” I drew myself upright and took her hand.

  Percy was quiet as she patted my hand and deliberated. The other girls were busy finishing their cuts for the day, or at least the new girl was. Lacey would be working with us until seven, but the new girl, being part time, only worked until three.

  “No, I don’t hate Hades. I’ve learned how to love him over time, despite our radically different outlooks on life. It’s the Winterland that I hate. It’s not an eternal land of snow and ice, but it might as well be, as sick and twisted as it is.”

  “So what is Hades in charge of, really? He’s cast as the god of the dead, but he’s not really, is he?”

  She took her hand back and hugged her arms around her middle. “He is, in a way. He rules over the creatures that love the night and the Necromancers who create zombies. All technically dead. Well no, that’s not right. The vamps like Lacey are technically dead, but the pureblood fae that are in charge of changing them are alive. The necromancers are alive as well. Just the zombies are dead. There are some weres under his rule, but most of them live elsewhere.”

  I shivered. I’d never met an alpha vamp changer, but Lacey had described the one who made her. They sounded dead enough to me. Her metamorphosis was what would be termed a rape. There was no communication, but instead violent communion. She’d woken up in the closet of her college dorm room and killed her roommate without a moment’s consideration.

  The alpha werewolf changer responsible for me was scary, yes, but I assumed he gave most of his victims the choice he gave me, and I didn’t feel even a little bit like a victim. He saved me and ruined me all in one go. I’d annihilated an entire brothel full of family, friends, and captures, then burned the place to the ground when I came to. I’m not aware of my actions during full moons when the wolf is completely in charge. The rest of the month, my humanity is mostly in charge.

  My conversation with Percy was interrupted when Meredith approached us to say goodbye.

  “Have a nice night,” I said in response to her farewell.

  “I will!” she said, flipping her straight hair over her shoulders and hiking up her purse.

  “Bye,” said Percy, giving her a little finger wiggle wave.

  “See ya.” She shifted her bag again and walked out the door.

  I turned back to Percy. “So is the place where you live crawling with dead people?”

  She shook her head. “Not usually. The part of the castle we live in is kept separate from where Hades keeps his council.”

  “Castle?” I latched onto that idea right away, giving her a toothy smile.

  “Fortress, castle, whatever you’d like to call it.” She rotated each hand palm up with each option as if weighing them for the most correct description.

  “Do you want to split a pomegranate?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and keeping my grin.

  “You’re a regular com
edian today, aren’t you? Absolutely not.”

  “Aw, you’re no fun.” I bumped her shoulder with my own.

  “You don’t even like fruit, Gretch.”

  “I do so! I like blackberries, apples, and bananas.”

  “And I’ve given up pomegranates. They take me places I don’t wish to go.”

  Like an arranged marriage and Winterland. I was still a little unclear on that story, but I had a feeling it was time to drop that line of questioning, which was fine because there were people. I was flipping over the sign for the evening when a tall, thin, bland looking man pushed the door open, leading two others.

  The bell tinkled merrily, and I scowled. “I’m sorry, we’re closed. We open at nine a.m. tomorrow. Would you like to make an appointment?” I asked, blocking his path. Old death and magic rolled off him in potent waves.

  “No, thank you. I’m looking for Lacey-Marie.” The low tenor of his voice chilled me to the bone, making me feel dirty and unnerved.

  “We’re closed,” I said again, trying not to show my fear.

  “I’m not here for a haircut, so the fact that you’re closed means little to me, wolf.”

  I growled low and quiet. He turned his gaze away from the back of the salon and fixed his red eyes on me. Vamp. Crap. His scent was so intense that I hadn’t equated it with my friend’s smell.

  “What name should I give Lacey-Marie? I’ll let her know you’d like to speak with her.” I fought to hold my ground and not piddle on the floor in terror.

  “Just get her.” His stony continence gave me no room to argue. He hadn’t moved, but it was clear that he was far more dominant than I.

  “I’ll be right back.” I spun on my toes and stalked towards the back. If I’d gone furry, my hackles would have stood on end. As it was, the little hairs on the back of my neck were doing their best.

  Lacey was seated on the counter with a mug of blood in the kitchen when I found her.

  “There’s someone here to see you, a vamp,” I growled at her, still fighting my own animal instinct to run.

  “There’s a guy out front,” said Toni, poking her head into the kitchen. “He’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “He’s for Lacey. I’ll walk you out to your car. I’ve still got to finish close out,” I said to Toni, motioning her back out.