Rylee fussed with straightening the tracing paper, already perfectly centered on her desk, frowning. “Oh, stop being so dramatic. Did you come in my office for a reason or just to bug me?”
Her friend hopped up on her desk, overturning the cup of pens and pencils beside Rylee’s computer. “Well, a little of both. Your next client is here, Cynthia McLoughlin. And do you want to go to Jack’s Place for dinner tonight? It’s been so long since we’ve been out. You know, since your house guests descended upon you.”
Frowning, Rylee straightened out the pens and pencils and smiled at the completed accomplishment. It had been a while since they’d done anything together. And Rylee chose to ignore Cora’s snipe about her sister. They had differing opinions. “Sounds good. I should be finished by five.”
“Why don’t you ask Nate to join us?” Cora asked, much too innocently.
Leaning back in her chair, Rylee stared at her friend. “Cora, I love you. But don’t you think if something was going to happen it would have already? He doesn’t feel that way about me. Now let it drop.” There’s no way Nate found her attractive. She was the poster child for average. Average height, mousy brown hair, and plain brown eyes. The only thing about her that was above the norm was her weight, which tipped the scales at about fifteen pounds above average for her height. She blamed most of that on her friend who owned Tasty Tarts and Sweet Brews, and, well, her own lack of willpower when faced with one of Joyelle’s decadent treats. And her aversion to anything physical. No, that wasn’t exactly true. She enjoyed one physical activity, but it had been a long time since she’d “worked out.”
Cora’s shoulders sagged as she shook her head sadly. “Oh, Ry. Denial doesn’t look good on you. Nope, not one little bit.”
Rylee pushed up from her chair and stepped around her desk so she could stare her friend down. She couldn’t handle any more Nate taunting. She lowered her voice and confessed. “Okay, fine. You want me to admit I have a thing for my boss.”
Cora’s eyes widened, but Rylee had to say her piece. “Yes, I think Nate is the hottest man I’ve ever seen, and he makes my panties wet just by smiling. And I swear I have an eargasm when he says my name in that sexy accent of his.”
She was on a roll and completely ignored Cora’s wildly shaking head and the look of horror on her face. “And he’s the one that tips me over the edge when I’m alone at night with a fresh set of batteries. Which, by the way, has been way too long with my sister and nieces in the next bedroom. You know how loud Buzzy Lightning Rod is and how thin my walls are. But…”
When Cora repeatedly nodded toward the door, Rylee finally got the message. Her mouth snapped closed, her back shot straight up, and cold terror made her shudder. Her eyes stuck on Cora’s and she mouthed, “Is he…”
One nod from her friend was all it took to turn her legs to jelly and engage her flight instinct. But she was trapped with nowhere to go.
She cringed when a very familiar voice from behind her said, “Um, excuse me. Rylee, your next appointment is waiting.” Her eyes fluttered closed and if a sinkhole had appeared, she would have jumped in.
“I’ll just show her in.” Cora gave her a deer in the headlights look before sprinting from the room.
Rylee closed her eyes and tried to remember to breathe as she straightened her posture and slowly turned around to meet the amused eyes of Nate Kensington. Her mouth opened to explain, apologize, lie…she wasn’t sure which, but no words came out. She had no clue what to say to her boss. Instead of doing any of those things, she gave him a nod and in the most professional voice she could muster, said, “Thank you for letting me know.”
Nate gave her one of his megawatt smiles and smirked, “Get to work… Rylee.” He put extra emphasis, as well as a bit heavier accent, on her name, chuckling when she gave an involuntary shiver. Her lips thinned as she glared at his retreating back.
She fell into her office chair and buried her face in her hands. Today would certainly go down as most embarrassing day of her life. She loved her job. Helping people feel better about themselves by creating meaningful designs to cover scars or burns was deeply satisfying. And working with a client to create a memorial design always touched her heart. But now, she didn’t know if she could work there anymore.
“Oh my gosh, you should have seen your face,” Cora said, holding her belly to ease the pain of laughing.
Rylee dunked one of Cora’s fries in ranch dressing and stuffed it in her mouth. She usually stuck to boring…healthy salads, but tonight called for the works. All that remained of the bacon double cheeseburger was a few scraggly pieces of lettuce, a smear of mayo, and a greasy place where the fries used to be. “I totally blame you for this,” she said, stealing another fry.
Cora frowned and moved her plate further away, “You should be thanking me. I did you a favor. Now he knows you’re interested.”
Rolling her eyes, Rylee scoffed. “Right. And he’ll either take out a restraining order or sue me for harassment.”
Cora shook her head. “You didn’t see his eyes when he walked in. He’s interested, okay?”
With an elbow on the table, Rylee rested her head on her upturned palm, debating a course of action. Really, there was only one thing to do. “I’m thinking of moving to a new country.”
Cora snorted. “Now who’s being dramatic? Honestly, Ry, it’s not a big deal. Men like Nate get propositioned all the time.”
She knew that was true, but she didn’t like to think about it. “I do know that. He’s had plenty of offers from customers, but have you ever seen him take someone up on their proposition?”
Cora shrugged. “How do we know that? He could make plans to meet up with them after work,” Cora offered as a possible explanation.
It didn’t matter. Since Rylee had been working at Wicked Ink, Nate hadn’t shown any signs of interest in her. “I have no idea how I’m going to face him again.”
Cora shrugged. “He’ll probably ignore it. You’re too good at your job for him to make it uncomfortable for you to work there.”
Six months ago, Nate had seen an ink cover she’d designed, sought her out, and offered her a substantial raise if she’d work for him. The first time she’d laid eyes on him, she had been instantly drawn to him. She’d felt a connection right from the start, and she thought he had, too. Once she’d started working for him, though, it was like he didn’t even see her. So hearing her basically declare her lust for him was incredibly embarrassing for both of them. “But he will still know. And I know that he knows.”
Pulling her brows into a questioning arc, Cora reached for Rylee’s glass. “Hey, I’m cutting you off, you’re getting a bit tipsy.”
“I’m drinking lemonade, Cora.” She tried not to smile when Cora sniffed her drink for proof. Grabbing her bag to dig out her wallet, Rylee said, “We need to go because I’ve got to stop by the grocery store for Grace before I can go home.”
Cora tossed her napkin in her plate and gave a frustrated sigh, “Are you still running errands for your sister?”
This was another point of contention between them. “She’s still upset, Cora.”
“She’s been living with you for two months now. Everyone gets dumped. She needs a kick in the ass to snap her out of her funk.”
Checking the receipt, Rylee stuck her card inside the leather folder. “She’s looking for a job.”
“Hmm umm, sure. And how long has she been looking?” Cora didn’t sound convinced.
Rylee was beginning to think the same thing, but then she took one look at the innocent faces of her three nieces and knew she’d do whatever it took to keep the smiles on their precious faces. “There’s just not been anything available in her field.”
“She doesn’t have a field! She could get a job waitressing—that doesn’t require any skills at all.” Cora threw up her hands in exasperation.
Rylee smiled at the sneering waitress who returned their cards and receipts, and hoped she hadn’t heard Cora’s rude rema
rk. But by the way she tossed Cora’s card on the table, she doubted it. “It’s not that simple. She needs a job where she can work her schedule around child care.”
Cora chuckled and snarked, “You mean she can only work on the days you’re off and can keep the kids?”
“You know how expensive daycare is,” Rylee said as she signed the bill, adding a larger tip than normal. “It’s not her fault that her husband is in prison.”
“That’s another thing…how can you not know your husband is selling marijuana out of your garage?” Cora barked, chortling. “You need to have a talk with Grace. She has always had an entitled attitude and it’s time she thinks of someone other than herself.”
In the past, Rylee would have agreed with Cora, but Grace had been a wreck when she’d asked to move in. Rylee hadn’t hesitated; she was her sister, after all. “Let’s give her a little more time to adjust. This has been hard on her.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t, but that doesn’t give her the right to take over your life. You live in a two-bedroom apartment that’s not big enough for five people plus a thirty-pound dog. There’s so much stuff and bodies in there you can’t even see the floor.”
Rylee nodded, forcing a smile. “I will admit it has been challenging.”
“You’re a saint. That’s all I can say. I would have kicked her out after a week. She’s never going to learn to stand on her own two feet if you keep babying her.”
After hugs outside the diner, Rylee stopped by the grocery and filled a cart from the grocery list Grace had texted her earlier in the day. As she handed over her card to pay, she knew Cora was right. But Cora didn’t understand what their life had been like, growing up with a mother they could never depend on and her mom’s boyfriends on a revolving door policy.
Rylee had a lifetime of saving Grace from one situation after another. As the older sister by only three years, Rylee had taken on the responsibility of making sure Grace had food to eat, clothes to wear, and whatever she needed for school. As the girls grew older, Grace had begun to resent her mothering ways, and that had caused discord between them.
It really wasn’t Grace’s fault that she was a bit…unprepared for life. Rylee had done the best she could raising her sister. Then Grace had gotten pregnant in her last year of high school. She’d never really liked Neil; he was older, but Grace seemed to really love him, and frankly, Rylee had been relieved that she’d no longer be responsible for her sister’s wellbeing.
Rylee thought all was well in her sister’s world until she’d showed up at her door saying Neil had been arrested for possession with intent to sell, and that she’d had no clue that was how he earned the money that had bought their five-thousand-square-foot home, designer clothes, and luxury cars.
With her two overstuffed grocery bags weighing heavily in her hands, Rylee debated taking a taxi home. Grace had needed her car, so Rylee had taken the bus to work. But it was only a few blocks back to the bus stop. She could make it.
Chapter 5
Nate
* * *
“Goodnight, Nate,” Kev, one of the artists, called out as he flipped the sign on the door to closed. “Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Joe’s off the books and we’re going to be here a while.” When the door closed, Nate remembered the nervous smile Rylee had given him when she and Cora had left for the day. She wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. The pink tinge still on her cheeks from earlier made him chuckle. He wondered if he’d ever get her words out of his mind?
Rylee wasn’t a one-and-done woman, but that’s all he had to give.
“Hey, do you want me to come back?” Joe asked.
Nate looked up at his friend, whom he’d completely forgotten about while he’d been lost in his thoughts. Reaching over his workstation, he pulled out two gloves and snapped them on. “No, man. Sorry. Let’s get this started.”
Joe chuckled. “Sounds like woman trouble if you ask me. Does this have anything to do with Rylee?”
Nate stopped preparing his ink and asked, “What?”
Joe rolled his eyes and grinned. “Come on, dude. Everyone notices the tension between you two.”
What was there to notice? He rarely even spoke to Rylee during the day. But he’d even caught himself watching her on stalker level. “I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”
Joe pretended to cough to cover his laugh. “So why don’t you ask her out? You do know there’s a pool going, right?”
Nate sat up straighter and gawked. “A pool? Like a betting pool?”
Nodding, Joe explained. “Yeah, I have money on February eighteenth. So if you could make that happen, I’d appreciate it.”
Cutting his eyes to Joe, Nate needed it spelled out. What were they betting on? “For what, exactly?”
“You know. Doing the deed.” At Nate’s confused look, he expounded. “Getting busy. Horizontal dancing. Hitting a home run. Bedtime boogie…”
Nate’s eyes grew larger with each horrible reference. “Okay, okay, stop! I get it. That’s just sick, man. And everyone is going to be disappointed because it’s never going to happen. Now be still so I can trace the design.” He was pretty sure it wasn’t going to happen.
Nate and Joe both jumped when the door to Wicked Ink flew open, followed by a loud, hysterical screech.
“I need ink. And I need it now!” A hysterical woman screeched from just inside the door.
His head jerked up from the sleeve tattoo he’d been tracing, and his eyes narrowed, because there was no way that shit was real. Without taking his eyes off the apparition currently glaring daggers at him, he asked, “Hey, Joe. Do you see what I’m seeing?”
“Yeah, man. But I don’t believe it. Has Cora been using those special essential oils in here again? Maybe we’re hallucinating,” Joe offered, grasping for an explanation.
The vision standing just inside his shop clenched her fists and actually stamped her foot in a fit of temper. At least that’s what he thought she did, since her big poufy white dress was covering her feet.
“I mean it,” she shouted wildly, her raccoon eyes narrowing on Nate. “I need emergency ink. Stat!”
Evidently, she’d been crying, because her eyes looked like they were melting on her face as mascara ran down each cheek. A veil was pinned to her upswept hair that at one time had probably been beautiful, but now was disheveled, falling around her bare shoulders and looking lopsided and… nesty.
“Args!” the woman shrilled in frustration when Nate was still too shocked to move. “If somebody doesn’t help me, I’m going to do it myself.” She hiked her skirt up with both hands, exposing a pair of quality legs which Nate couldn’t help noticing. His appreciation disappeared quickly when the delusion stormed toward one of his vacant workstations. He jumped into action and cut her off.
“Hey, hang on. What’s up?” he asked and flinched when she twirled around and pulled the loose strands of her blond hair to the side.
“Make this go away,” she demanded.
Nate focused on the tattoo on her left shoulder. The entwined wedding ring design was small, just a few inches. Names were engraved inside each ring with today’s date beneath them both. His lips tightened; it was an okay design, but he could have done much better. “I take it the wedding is off?” he asked.
The woman snorted. “That is a very good assumption. Can you erase it?”
When she turned back around, there were tears in her eyes, and Nate didn’t do tears. “I’m afraid that’s not how tattoos work. I could lay a new design over the top to cover it up.”
She sniffled. “Okay, yeah. Do that before I lose my mind.”
“Well, that’s going to take multiple appointments,” he explained cautiously.
Her shoulders slumped and sniffles were coming at regular intervals. “I don’t have time for that. Just do something. I don’t care what,” she pleaded, her big blue eyes filling with tears.
Nate took a step back, and rubbed behin
d his neck, “I’m afraid I can’t do that. It will take at least two appointments to come up with a design. I can set you up with our design artist if you’d like.”
Her lower lip began to tremble, and Nate took a step backward. “Isn’t there anything you could do now? I really need this gone. I absolutely cannot go one more minute with it on my skin.”
Nate looked back at Joe, who was waiting on him to start his tattoo. Joe shrugged and nodded. “Oh, I don’t mind rescheduling.”
Nate leveled a piercing glare in Joe’s direction. “Yes. I guess I could, but I’d need to call in my designer and that could take some time. And since it’s after hours, the price will double.” He didn’t care about the money as he had more than he could ever spend, but he just didn’t want to call Rylee.
Her shoulders slumped even more. “I don’t care. I have nothing else to do.”
Nate heard a story there. But there was no way he was going to ask. After telling Joe he’d be right back, he went to his office and put a call through to Rylee. After he explained briefly, she agreed to come in.
When he came back, he found the woman sitting in one of the artists’ stools beside Joe, who gave him a pained ‘save-me’ look. “Rylee will be in shortly. Is there anything I can get you while you wait?”
She shook her head and more of her hair fell from its bundle. “No, thank you. And my name is Jennipher, by the way. With a ph, not an f.”
Nate blinked. “Got it. Well, Jennipher, why don’t you have a seat up front until Rylee gets here? I’m going to get started on Joe here until your design is ready.”
Jennipher glanced up toward the front of the shop and back at him and asked hopefully, “Would it be okay if maybe I sat with you?”
What choice did he have? “Sure.”
For the next thirty minutes, he worked on Joe’s sleeve with a sniffling bride across from him. He gave a sigh of relief when Rylee breezed in, breathing heavily, her beautiful face red. Then he noticed the two heavy grocery bags in her arms. He wanted to rush and take them from her, but he was gloved and in the process of inking.
Over Ruled: On the Wild Side Series Page 3
