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I laugh as I walk toward him. “Always is. This is ointment to keep it moist, make sure you use it and no pools or sun until it’s completely healed.”
I rub the ointment on and when I’m done, I pull off my gloves, admiring the tattoo. Even with all his moving it came out great.
“Come pay upfront and I’ll get you out of here,” I say.
He follows me and just as he finishes paying, the door opens. I glance up and see Lucas walk in. My heart begins to pound as my stomach drops. It’s late and I know he’s had his dinner with Corbin already.
He’s here to either make me or break me.
“Thanks, Leah. I’ll be back,” William says.
I hope not, but I smile as I nod. Lucas smiles as he walks toward me. “Great tattoo.”
“Thanks, not a very easy client,” I say, laughing through my nerves.
He nods his head for me to step out front with him and I do, wringing my hands together. I can’t remember a time I’ve been this nervous.
As we step outside, I see Corbin and my stomach sinks.
He fucking beat me.
“Here’s the thing,” Lucas says, looking between us. “There’s absolutely no way I can choose between these two designs. They are both amazingly unique. So I’ve come up with an idea. I would like for you two to collaborate together, combining your ideas, to come up with the ultimate design. I’ve visited many tattoo artists and none even come close to the talent you both possess. So, what do you say?”
What the actual fuck? Work with Corbin or lose my chance. It’s actually something I need to think about because I’m not sure either of us would survive working together. We had to do it once but we never collaborated together. That’s another beast entirely.
“If Leah is willing, I am,” Corbin says, giving me a smirk.
Asshole. Thinking it through is no longer an option. I will never allow him to look like the better person. I smile back and hold out my hand. “I’d love to.”
Corbin shakes it and we have a couple of seconds of a stare off and I know this is going to be fucking horrible.
“This is amazing. I’ll give you guys two weeks to come up with something. I’ll be back with some of the cast and crew to review it all and hopefully begin our tattoos. You both have my card so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call,” Lucas says, holding his hand out for me to shake before extending it to Corbin.
As if on cue, his car pulls up and he steps off the curb as the door is opened for him. “I’ll be in touch. Blow my mind, guys, I know you can.”
With that, he gets in the car and drives away. I sigh before turning my attention to Corbin. He has his arms crossed as he stares at me.
“Well, I guess we start by showing each other the design we made,” I suggest.
“What time you done?” he asks.
Alright, this isn’t so bad so far. Maybe he’ll continue to act human, and we will get through this with minimal damage.
“My last client left; I just need to do some cleaning up. What about you?” I ask.
“I’m done. I only had one client after my meeting and when he left, Lucas came in,” he replies.
I nod as a small grin hits my lips. He’s being human, holy shit it’s a miracle. A miracle I will not question.
“Well, how about you go grab your design and we can go over everything while I clean up?”
He laughs a humorless laugh and I sigh. “Oh no, princess. We’ll be working in my office.”
“Your office? Why? My shop is brighter and cheerier than yours. I have a private room we can go in or we can use the space by the stations,” I say.
As I’m speaking, he’s shaking his head and it’s pissing me off. “My shop is edgy and industrial, yours is girly. I can’t think in that shit. I need to be around things that inspire me,” he says.
I roll my eyes and grab onto the handle of the door. “Well Corbin, one of us is going to have to bend and since neither of us like doing that, we’ve already got a problem. Do you really think collaborating together is gonna work?”
