The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) Read Free Page B

the worst.
    * * * * *
     
    Kellie scrolled through the So Inked Twitter account. Social media wasn’t really her thing, but they got a lot of attention online, especially since the fire. So she’d pulled up her big girl panties and learned the ropes. Usually Autumn manned the Twitter and Facebook accounts, but she’d yet to show up for work, besides a few days after they’d acquired the new building following the burning of the original So Inked.
    Technically the shop wasn’t open yet. Their Grand Re-Opening party wasn’t until Monday, but they’d been working out of the new building almost since they’d gotten the keys. Kellie had had an appointment to do a back piece, but the client had gotten sunburned earlier that week and Kellie couldn’t work on her. Autumn was supposed to be working, but she was still missing.
    As much as Kellie loved Autumn as a friend, she couldn’t keep her employed if she didn’t work. With no appointments and no one to shoot the breeze with, Kellie had a full day to work on the finishing touches around the shop, and she didn’t mind being alone. It seemed as if lately she was never by herself. It was nice for a change.
    She sighed and rolled a few feet over to where her sketchbook was laid open at the receptionist desk. Maybe she’d get lucky and have a walk-in. She could do with some cash in her pocket.
    Another geisha-samurai image stared back at her from the page she’d been working on. There was open real estate on her calf she wanted to fill in, but couldn’t decide on a pose or colors. She excelled at Asian tattoos, but working with someone else’s vision was easier at times. This was one of those times.
    In the sketch, a refined version of the traditional samurai crossed blades with a geisha. It was a lover’s portrait. A fanciful version of what she thought her grandfather and grandmother might have been like. Before his death and her Alzheimer’s.
    The new bell chimed above the door. She took a moment to add a line to further define the samurai’s brow before glancing up.
    “Hi, welcome to So Inked.” She tossed in a smile for good measure and gave her potential client a head-to-toe once-over.
    He was tall, an inch or two shy of six and a half feet, with thick brown hair and intense blue eyes. His right arm was wrapped from wrist up under his shirt sleeve in vibrant ink. She leaned forward as she recognized the style as Japanese. He wore shorts and one of the TapouT t-shirts popular with mixed martial arts enthusiasts that molded to his chest, announcing to the world that here was a god in flesh.
    She barely kept from rolling her eyes. The muscle-bound numskulls were the biggest pussies. He would probably whine and moan and complain if she actually had to tattoo him.
    “Hey.” His gaze finally landed on her, though it immediately skipped down to her cleavage. Typical.
    She leaned back on the stool that was currently serving as the front-of-house chair. “See something you like?” she drawled.
    Color bloomed on his cheeks as his eyes locked on hers. “Nice shop.”
    “Thanks.” She chuckled and twirled her pen between her fingers. There were still boxes lined up against the wall, bags of trash and clutter on the counters, but it was almost complete. “So are you interested in getting a tattoo?”
    “Maybe. I had an appointment on Friday with Kellie, but it was rescheduled. I’m Quin.”
    Oh great. He was her reschedule.
    Quin approached the desk and leaned against it. He tilted his head to peer at her sketch. “That’s cool-looking. What is it?”
    “A doodle,” she lied and flipped the book closed. “I’m Kellie.”
    He stuck his arm over the desk, leaving her no option but to shake it.
    “Did you have something in mind?”
    “Not really. I’m more of the in-the-moment kind of guy.” He flashed her a smile that had undoubtedly caused plenty of panties to drop. Too bad she hadn’t bothered with any today.
    She smiled politely in return and gestured