by Vi Keeland
“Is it something I did?”
“No.” It wasn’t a lie. What bothered her was what she might have caused him to think, not anything he’d done.
“Is it something I can fix?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little…surprised at myself.” It was the truth, even if it did sound stupid. She despaired as his full mouth turned down, hinting at a frown. When he reached out to touch her face, her heart leapt.
He gently stroked the curve of her cheekbone, his eyes locked with hers as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s all right. I’ll take you home.”
It had only been a few days. Sometimes it felt like it had been years, and other times, only minutes since she’d last seen Eric. After their date he’d dropped her off at her apartment, as promised. At the time, she’d been grateful for the escape he’d given her. She’d gone home and attempted to collect her thoughts, but to her surprise, it hadn’t worked. They were still whirling, and the feel and taste of him were just as vivid as they had been several nights ago. She should have been glad he’d sensed her discomfort and taken her home, but instead she was almost regretful. She still longed to see him, to feel his touch and to taste him…
“Mina?”
She turned, doing her best to shove her sudden fantasy from her mind as Amy approached her. “What is it?”
Amy had a strange expression on her face, almost as if she were attempting to suppress a smile. She kept her voice low. “Chris wants to see you in his office.”
Mina’s heart froze then sped. “Chris?”
Amy nodded, her eyes gleaming.
“Do you know what it’s about?”
“No, but I’d bet anything it’s about the junior loan officer position. I mean, he’s certainly been taking his time choosing someone, don’t you think?”
Mina nodded mechanically, hope rising up in her heart even as she tried to stop it. Maybe the reason Chris wanted to see her had nothing to do with the position. Maybe there’d been a mistake with her check – that had happened once – or he needed her to sign something, or—
“You’d better go,” Amy said. “I’ll take care of things here.”
Mina drifted toward Chris’s office in a half-daze, and she couldn’t help glancing toward the cubicles as she went. Maybe she was about to be given one of her own. Soon she was standing in the open doorway to Chris’s office, feeling as if her stomach had tied itself in about a dozen knots. “Amy said you wanted to see me.”
Chris nodded. “Come on inside.” He waved a hand toward the chair across from his desk as he stood and closed the sturdy oak door.
Mina eyed it apprehensively. He almost always kept his office door wide open. What did he have to say to her that was so private? Her nervousness spiked. Maybe this was it. Maybe when she walked back out the door, she’d be a junior loan officer instead of a teller.
“Mina, there’s something serious I need to talk to you about.”
Mina nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“Another employee brought something to my attention this morning, and it needs to be dealt with.”
Mina’s high hopes plummeted. This didn’t sound like a preamble to a promotion. It sounded downright ominous. “Is it something to do with me?” She wracked her mind for anything she might have done that could have gotten her into trouble at work. Nothing came up. She was a model teller – punctual, honest and attentive to her duties. Chris knew that. In fact, he’d told her that was why he was considering her for the junior loan officer position.
He nodded, gave her an unnervingly solemn look and opened a desk drawer.
Mina waited on pins and needles as he pulled out a piece of paper. “This is the issue.” He laid it on his desk and smoothed out a few crease lines that marked where it had been folded.
Mina leaned forward, her hopes that Chris was being overly dramatic and that the problem wasn’t really about her evaporating as she laid eyes on the paper. “Where did you get this?”
“Like I said, the problem was brought to my attention by another employee.”
She was silent for a moment, eyeing the paper – obviously a computer print off – and the pictures it displayed. “And this is really a problem?”
Chris nodded. “As an employee, you’re a representative of this bank. This is not an appropriate representation.”
Heat flooded Mina’s cheeks as she glanced at the paper again, unable to look away for long. “I wasn’t working at the time. I wasn’t aware that I was expected to let my employer dictate what I do outside of work.”
Chris shook his head. “What you do on your own time is your business. But these images are being displayed publicly, and not far from here, either. Customers may see them and consider them offensive.”
Annoyance tinged Mina’s nervousness. “I doubt that anyone would notice and put two and two together.”
Chris waved his hand over the paper. “Someone already has noticed.”
Mina couldn’t help but mentally substitute ‘someone’ with ‘Ashley’. She couldn’t imagine who else among the staff would have made a big deal out of the photos. She curled her hands into fists as she remembered Ashley listening to her phone conversation with Karen. Mina hadn’t thought much of it then, but now that she considered it, Ashley had probably been plotting a way to use what she’d heard against Mina ever since that day. And apparently, she’d succeeded.
Chris sighed. “Look, Mina. This sort of thing is bad for the bank. Look around.” He gestured toward the window. “There are dozens of other banks out there, and if something we do offends customers, they won’t hesitate to go to them instead. It’s difficult enough to remain competitive without something like this driving customers away.”
A thick knot of anxiety had formed in Mina’s throat. She swallowed it. “What does this mean?”
“It means these photos have to disappear from public view, or you’ll be dismissed.”
Mina’s ire rose. Dismissed? “Over this?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. I know I was considering you for the junior loan officer position, but—”
Mina barely heard the rest of his sentence. Was considering. He’d said was, not am. “You mean I’m no longer in the running?”
He shook his head. “Sorry.”
Mina couldn’t help the frown that pulled her mouth down at the corners. Now that the possibility was gone, she realized that she’d been counting on getting that job. It was supposed to have been her ticket to out from behind the counter, not to mention the higher pay, which she needed badly. The weight of the loss descended on her like a storm cloud, darkening her outlook. The thought of returning to the tellers’ counter with her tail between her legs, knowing that she’d blown her chance at advancement, made her feel physically sick.
Chris must have noticed her chagrin. “Honestly, if no one else knew about the photos, I’d be willing to sweep this under the rug if you took care of things. But the employee who brought this to my attention also brought it to the HR department’s.”
Mina’s stomach twisted as a wave of anger washed over her. “Right. So I’m really going to be fired over this?”
Chris raised his eyebrows. “Not if the photos disappear from public view.”
Mina gripped the arms of her chair. “I can’t do that. They’re advertisements. I was hired and I signed a model release and everything.”
Chris frowned. “Then I’m afraid your other job conflicts with this one.”
Mina started to say that modeling wasn’t her other job and that it had been a one-time thing, but stopped. It wouldn’t be any use. There was nothing she could do about the photos. She couldn’t even return her pay and beg Hot Ink’s owner to stop using the images of her. She’d already spent the money on Jess’s homecoming dress. Besides, it would devastate Karen if her prized photos were returned. She could feel her emotions and her temper quickly spiraling out of control. “Fine,” she said, pushing her chair back and rising. “It doesn’t l
ook like I have a choice, does it?” She strode quickly out of his office, grabbing her jacket and handbag on her way out of the building. Within moments she was outside, leaving a bewildered Amy behind without answering her questions.
She ducked out of the biting wind and inside her car, jamming her keys into the ignition. As she backed out of the parking lot, she couldn’t help but think of the one thing she’d left behind – the little silver star plaque inscribed with her name and ‘three years of service’. She’d left it on the counter beside her register. Three years of working her ass off at the bank, of Chris telling her that she was the most competent teller…and it was all gone. She had nothing. No money, and now no job. And it was all because of a couple photos. She took a hard right, steering not toward home, but another section of town. She had to see the images that had damned her for herself.
Fifteen minutes later she was standing on the sidewalk in front of Hot Ink, the cause of her sudden unemployment staring right back at her from a glossy poster that took up nearly an entire pane of storefront glass. In it, she and Eric were entwined, their lips almost touching. The photo had been taken the moment after their kiss had ended, and the desire she so vividly remembered was written across their faces. As for the rest of their bodies, the poster ended at their waists, but nearly everything above was exposed. The angle showed off half of the dragon on Eric’s back. Her own new tattoo was almost completely revealed. The length of red silk Karen had given her ‘for modesty’ was trapped between her and Eric’s bodies, useless except for the splash of color it lent to the image. Mina glanced up at the shop’s neon sign. Hot Ink – Karen’s photography definitely lived up to the name.
As Mina stood staring, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was the glamorous looking woman in the photo, a pang of regret lanced through her. Anyone who walked by Hot Ink or caught sight of the photo online would see the moment of passion she and Eric had shared. Just like them, the image would be the only tangible tie she’d have to that kiss. If it weren’t for the tingling in her lips and the remembered taste of Eric, she would have felt even more like an outsider; as if it were some other woman in the photo instead of her. She glanced at the poster one last time and turned away. Knowing that Eric might be inside the shop was too much. She hadn’t had any contact with him since he’d taken her home early after their date.
She pulled her jacket tighter as she strode quickly down the sidewalk, unsure of why she was hurrying. The poster had already lost her job for her. What else could it possibly do that could be worse? A lingering sense of longing answered that question: it hurt to look at the poster. Or rather, it made her want Eric so badly that it hurt. She hastened her step, and when a voice called out to her, she almost thought it was a product of wishful thinking.
“Mina?”
Eric appeared at her side, slightly breathless, but definitely real. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and she stopped dead in her tracks. “Eric.”
“I thought I saw you standing outside the window.”
A moment of silence stretched between them.
“Do you need something – a touch up on your new tattoo? Or did you come just to see the posters?”
Mina’s heart fluttered at the thought of Eric’s hands on her body, even if it was just to touch up her tattoo. “I came to see the posters.”
A hint of a smile curved his lips. “Well, what do you think?”
Her throat tightened ominously, and she cringed at the way her eyes stung. No way was she going to lose it. Not now and not here in front of Eric. But it had been hard to keep it together at the bank, and even now, almost all she could think about was that in a few hours she’d have to pick up Jess from school and tell her that she’d lost her job.
“Hey.” Eric laid his hand on her shoulder, and his touch was comforting, even through the layers of Mina’s jacket and top. “Are they really that bad?”
She shook her head, swallowing the thick feeling in her throat. “The posters look great.” She tried to smile. “Karen is a fantastic photographer.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I…” Her eyes stung again, and she tried to blink away the feeling. “I lost my job. Just a few minutes ago.”
His gorgeous eyes clouded with concern as he frowned. “What happened?”
She tipped her head in the direction of the shop. “One of my co-workers saw the posters, took photos of them and turned them in to my boss and the HR department. They said that either the photos had to come down for good, or I’d be terminated.”
He shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. Come on though – I’ll take you to talk to Jed. He’s the owner, and I’m sure he’ll understand—”
“No.” She cut him off, shaking her head. “I can’t ask for that. Karen would be devastated, and I already spent the money Jed paid me.” She sighed. “Besides, it’s done. My job is gone. I can’t even truthfully say that I want it back.”
He took her hand, enclosing it within the warmth of his own. “Do you want to go somewhere? I don’t want to leave you alone.”
She bit down on her inner lip, debating. She wanted to go with him – anywhere or nowhere, it didn’t really matter where. She didn’t want him to let go of her hand and go back inside the tattoo shop, leaving her alone on the sidewalk with her misery. But after the way she’d embarrassed herself last time she’d seen him, she was almost afraid to say yes. Maybe it would be smarter to call Karen. If she hadn’t gone in to work yet, Karen would commiserate with her, and maybe even help her get started on her search for a new job. Eric was looking at her with those blue eyes – she had to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to say no. “I don’t know.”
A little bit of the light went out of his eyes. “Look, about last time… I didn’t realize I was making you uncomfortable. I guess I read your reactions wrong. I’m sorry.” He gave her hand an almost imperceptible squeeze.
She shook her head. “No, you didn’t.” She’d practically jumped into his lap in the car. How was it possible to misread that? “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He arched an eyebrow at her in question. “Really? You seemed pretty upset.”
“I was, but with myself, not you.”
He took a step toward her, invading her personal space.
Mina’s heart skipped a beat as she was reminded of the hard heat of his body pressed against hers, first in the studio and then in the car. Hopefully she was just imagining the way her hand seemed to be shaking inside his.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
She flinched as a cold gust of wind sent her hair flying. “It’s not really something I can explain standing here on a sidewalk.”
“That’s fine.” He tightened his hold on her hand, taking a step forward. “I’ll take you someplace else. Just say where.”
She let him guide her up the sidewalk, and couldn’t help but turn to stare at the posters in Hot Ink’s windows as they approached them.
“Pretty nice, huh?” He stopped beside her to admire their poster, still holding her hand. The husky tone of his voice suggested that ‘nice’ wasn’t exactly what he meant.
A wave of heat swept through Mina as she stood, entranced by the image of their entwined bodies and almost-touching lips. She could vividly remember how the firm planes of his stomach had felt pressed against hers, with little more than a thin layer of silk between them. And his heat…she could feel it even now, the warm rush of his breath against her cheek as he spoke, so close beside her. “Yeah,” she replied, her eyes glued to the tattoo winding across Eric’s toned back. That same body was pressed against hers now, firm even beneath the thick layers of their clothing.
“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but I really like this one, too.” He stepped to the side, indicating the poster displayed in the window on the other side of the door.
Mina followed his gaze, her lips cracking open in surprise as she looked closely at the poster for the first time. There was just on
e person on this poster – a glamorous woman inked from shoulder to hip, a soft cut of red silk wrapping around her body, not quite managing to hide the curves beneath. It was her. She hadn’t realized that when she’d first stood in front of the shop – she’d been too distracted by the image of her and Eric together. It was obvious now, though the way she looked in the picture wasn’t exactly how she pictured herself. “Karen is a real artist,” she said.
“Why do you say that?” Eric was still admiring the poster, his eyes slowly tracing the curves of her body.
Heat warmed her cheeks. “Well, look at me. I don’t look that good right now.” Not that she wasn’t happy with her appearance, but the glamorous woman she’d been transformed into for the sake of the photo shoot was bound to turn more heads than she did as her everyday self. Of course, that was the point.
He surprised her by looking away from the poster, turning to face her instead. His gaze swept from her head to her toes, and though she was more than modestly dressed in her work clothes and high-buttoned jacket, she felt as if she were wearing nothing but the red silk again. “Yes you do,” he said, his voice firm and sure.
She was suddenly hyper-aware of his hold on her hand, of his closeness. All it would take would be for either of them to lean a few inches, and their lips would be locked as solidly as they had been half a moment before the picture on the first poster had been taken. The thought released a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
He began moving again. “Let’s try the whole coffee thing again.” His clear blue eyes met hers and one corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. “What do you say?”
“All right.” How could she say no to coffee? It was innocent, even if her secret thoughts weren’t.
