One
Christian
"Christian,"Corey yells from the back of the shop. "I need you to restock the bathrooms."
Mid-sweep, I groan and turn toward him. "Can it wait a few minutes? I'm almost done here."
"Yeah, but it needs to be done before we get our evening rush." He doesn't wait for a response. He heads toward his office, knowing I'll do it. It's kind of annoying. He's clearly not doing anything. I don't understand why he can't take the five minutes and do it himself. When you own the shop, you do whatever you want.
This isn't exactly the job of my dreams. It was Sophia's job until she joined her boyfriend at conventions. They are showing the world what Life in Ink can do. And I'm stuck doing work I don't particularly enjoy.
My sister, Bianca, practically begged me to work here for the summer. It wasn't like I had a lot of options, though. It was do plumbing work with the company my dad works for, which belongs to Bianca's boyfriend's family, or work here. The choice was simple. Working with them meant spending hours in the Texas heat. At least, here, I have air conditioning.
I sweep the last bits of trash into the dustpan. You'd think it would be clean. But people come in here, leave their trash, or sketches, behind when they walk out the door with their new ink. Leaving me to clean up after them. Maybe we can reinstate some sort of rule about picking up after themselves. I mean, we're all grown ass adults. My mom would make me go back to pick up the trash.
Bathrooms are next. Please, don't let them be a disaster. The supply closet is right next to it, and I leave the broom in there as I grab paper towels and toilet paper. I reach for the cleaning supplies, but decide against grabbing them. If they need spot cleaning, I'll come back.
Bianca and Charleigh are in the break room. I can hear them chatting before I close the door to the bathroom behind me. It's spotless. I replenish the paper stuff and leave the room. Now for the next one.
Before the door closes, I hear a voice I recognize and stop in my tracks. It'sher. The person I've had a crush on, but knew I could never have. Peeking around the corner, I see her. She's at the front desk talking to Bianca. What is she doing here?
She glances my way, and I slam the door behind me. Wren is here in the shop. I haven't seen her since she graduated, and Walker doesn't talk about her much. If he knew I had a thing for his older sister, he'd lose his shit.
Putting the towels on the counter, I notice the makeup all over the sink. I don't want to blame anyone, but I'm pretty sure this has Charleigh's name written all over it. I need the cleaning supplies. But Wren is still in the shop and I don't want her to see me. Damn it, I knew I should have grabbed them to start with.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to text Bianca for help, but the door slams open and I fall backwards, hitting the floor with a thump.
"Why are you hiding in the bathroom?" Charleigh looks at me as if I lost my mind.
"I'm not," I huff. Grabbing the counter, I pull myself up. "I was restocking the bathroom, but I have to clean it now, thanks to your mess."
"How do you know it wasn't your sister?" She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Because she does her makeup at home like a sane person."
"I don't like mornings. Sue me."
Why is she always so argumentative? "Can you get the cleaning supplies for me so I can do my job?"
"Why don't you get them yourself?"
I glance toward the door, and wince when I still hear Wren talking to Bianca. "Because you are closer?" It was supposed to be a statement. I've always been nervous when Wren is around.
She moves until she's a few inches behind me. "There, now you are closer. Unless there's a reason you don't want to leave the bathroom."
This is the part that sucks about working with family who also are friends with all their coworkers. They all start treating you like a little sibling they can push around whenever they want.
"Please, Charleigh," I plead. "If you do, I'll never make a big deal about your makeup mess."
She taps her finger against her chin. "I could, but I have a feeling you don't want to walk out there because of a certain woman talking to your sister."
Damn. It didn't take her long to figure that out. Though, why else would I stand here arguing with someone who drives me as insane as my sister does?
"Fine. Sheisthe reason. Now, please go get it for me?"
"Sure," she grins. Opening the door, she takes a step out and stops, turning back toward me, mischief written all over her face. "But you know you won't be able to hide in here forever when she works here."
Before I can respond, she slams the door shut. A few seconds later, I hear a few things thunk against the floor outside the door. It's just like her to drop a bombshell like that before walking off. When I started working here, I didn't think I'd get another pain in the ass sister figure.
