“What has that got to do with anything?”
“It was with my brother’s best friend.”
“Isn’t your brother ten years older than you?”
“Yeah. It’s not like it was my dad’s friend.”
“Can we get back on topic?” said Hassan.
“How about we just drop this conversation completely, and I’ll go back to bed?”
“Project Daddy!” suggested Sarah.
Hassan snorted; Kieran glared at him. The last thing he needed was for Sarah to turn him into one of her projects. She might be a hot mess, but when she set her mind on something, she achieved it. If she decided Kieran and Derek were a thing, then she’d do everything she could to make it happen. Which was the last thing Kieran wanted. He didn’t even like the man, let alone the bizarreness of pursuing his teenage crush. Thankfully, Sarah didn’t know the type of guys he fucked. If she knew they all looked like they were related to Derek, she’d be even more determined to interfere.
It was the middle of the week, and he’d barely seen either of his flatmates as they’d both been working nights. Hassan had said plenty over text, and was encouraging him to at least hear what Derek had to say. Milo must have gotten to him, because Hassan had been on Team Kieran until recently. Sarah had been quiet, and hadn’t come up with any new project names, so that was something at least. Kieran couldn’t help being curious, but he’d put Derek is his cunt box a decade ago and wasn’t prepared to let him out. It didn’t matter what his reasons were. He had betrayed Kieran’s trust.He hadn’t explicitly told Derek not to say anything to his mum, but it had been heavily implied.
“Your next client’s here, Kieran,” said Jez.
His boss seemed in a bit of a mood today, so Kieran wasn’t doing anything to antagonise the guy. This was just a consultation, so it shouldn’t take long. With custom pieces, the client sometimes came in, but most of the time it was done by phone, video, or email. Once the design was agreed on, the session was booked in.
Kieran walked to the front of the shop and stopped in his tracks.
“What are you doing here?” asked Kieran.
“I’m your two o’clock,” said Derek with a smile.
“Like fuck you are. I’m not tattooing you.”
Derek’s smile disappeared, making Kieran feel guilty.
“You came highly recommended by a mutual friend,” said Derek.
“Who?”
“Langdon.”
He’d be having words with Langdon, but then he didn’t know the history between him and Derek, so he probably just thought he was doing a good thing.
“I can see if someone else is available for your consultation,” said Kieran, although the thought of someone else tattooing Derek made him feel funny. What the fuck was that all about?
“I don’t want someone else, Kieran. I want the best, which is you.”
“I think the others might have something to say about that.”
“Kieran, what’s going on?” asked Jez, appearing from the back.
“Is someone else available to do this client?”
“What are you talking about? He booked you.”
“I don’t want to do it.”
“Why not?”
Kieran didn’t want to get into their history with his boss, but he’d need to say something or it would look like he was just being a dick about a customer. Before he could speak, the door opened, and Grant walked in. Derek’s eyes widened, like he recognised him, but he said nothing.
“Go through to the office. I’ll be there in a minute,” said Jez to Grant.
