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Hanging up the phone, I leaned back in my chair, drumming my fingers on my desk. The message was a computer-generated voice, simple and to the point. She gave nothing away. No hours of operation, no location, not even the name of her shop. The only way to contact her was through phone or email. She could easily trace those avenues to verify a client’s locale.
The woman was smart.
I’ll give her that.
Turning to my computer, I brought up a search engine and typed in Venom Ink. Instantly, thousands of pictures of her work appeared.
The woman was a genius. Her work was next level good. Unlike anything I’d ever seen before. If I was honest, I wouldn’t mind having one of her designs myself. The woman was that good.
Scrolling through the search, I found her website. Simple and discreet. No pictures of her, not even an artist’s page. Just her work and an email to get in touch with her.
The woman was a ghost. Secretive and very talented. Clicking over to her comment page, I read from client after client about how wonderful it was to meet Venom, how excited they were to have an original Venom design. There were hundreds of comments and after hours of reading them, I noticed one thing. Not one comment ever gave away that Venom was a woman.
In fact, when they mentioned her, they used the moniker Venom. People reading the comments would never know if Venom was a man or woman. Only by meeting her would they know, and they were happy enough with her work, that when they left a comment, they respected her enough to not disclose her identity.
She intrigued me.
Dialing the coffee shop, I knew Beth would be cleaning up. I also called because her coffee shop was directly across from the tattoo shop and she would know if the place closed for the evening. I waited until Beth picked up before I said, “Hey Beth.”
“You sir, are in big trouble.”
Grinning, I leaned back in my chair and chuckled. “What did I do this time?”
“You pissed off Bailey.”
Frowning, I had no clue who Beth was talking about. I didn’t know a Bailey. “Who?”
“Bailey. When you left her shop this morning, I saw you. I was bringing her coffee, and she told me you were not nice. I don’t know what you said to her, but you owe her an apology. That girl doesn’t have many friends in this town and could use your support.”
I dropped my feet to the floor, sitting up quickly.
It couldn’t be this easy. No fucking way.
Of course, Beth would know the bitch and, of course, Beth would think she was sweet as candy. Beth liked everyone. There wasn’t a person in town who didn’t fall victim to Beth’s caring nature.
“Beth, are you talking about the new tattoo artist? The shop across from you.”
“Who else would I be talking about? Did you piss anyone else off today that I don’t know about? Boy, don’t make me come up the mountain. I’ve had a busy day and I’m tired. Sarah has talked Mike into gallivanting across Europe. I need to do damage control. Just make nice with Bailey. She’s a sweet girl.”
“Does Bailey have a last name?” I carefully asked.
“None that I know of. I’m sure if you apologize, she will tell you. She’s really sweet King. In fact, I was going to see if you might want to take her out to dinner. I think the two of you would get along.”
Laughing, I said, “Woman, I can find my own dates. I don’t need you helping in that regard.”
Beth huffed. “Well, you are not getting any younger. It’s time you settled down.”
“Beth, I love you and as long as you keep making that delicious coffee, I will love you forever, but my personal life is off limits. What time does the tattoo shop close?”
“She doesn’t have set hours. Not like the rest of us. She opens and closes when the mood suits her. She lives above the shop, though. Hang on, let me see if the lights are out. Yeah, she’s done for the day. She’s probably upstairs. If you want to swing by and apologize, I’m sure she would like that.”
Smirking, I rubbed my hand down my face. God, I loved Beth. She was everything my mother was and more. Sweet and kind, Beth was the heart of the town. People gravitated towards her and no one could tell her no. Taking a deep breath, I sighed. “All right. You win, Beth. I will apologize.”
“Thank you, King,” she said sweetly, and I knew she was smiling and grinning from ear to ear. “I knew you were a good boy. Now, I need to run. I have a daughter I must talk to.”
“Bye Beth.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
