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Hair dryers buzzed, scissors clipped, and the smell of dye and coconut shampoo filled the air. Lush hanging plants hung over the marble walls. The renovated space and the new name represented everything I’d dreamed of in an outstanding salon. An independent woman. Appointments booked months in advance, and five long years after my reputation was tarnished, Gracie’s Salon was thriving. After I dumped Hunter’s sorry ass, I squeezed all the lemons in my life into lemonade. It turned out, there was nothing better for business than gossip and bad publicity. At least, I liked to spin it that way. And technically, I didn’t dump Hunter, because I knew he’d come back. Except he didn’t. He left, thinking a phone call would fix things. His family had told me he was working somewhere in South America on an operation. And so I moved forward, not back.
I pulled my pants and underwear down over the right side of my buttock and pushed in the needle.
Breathe.
The IVF injections unnerved me ever time I poked myself, but this was the last one in the cycle. After my egg retrieval this Friday, the wait would be over. Nearly. My pre-babies would be frozen until I found the right donor, efficiently selected from a list of reputable candidates.
I removed the needle from my skin, disposed of the syringe, and pulled up my pants. Someone knocked on my door.
“Come in.”
Frankie popped his head inside my office, his purple tips shimmering in the light. “Hey, Emma’s here with a weird appointment. I think you should check it out.”
“Define weird.”
“It looks like it needs the works. Definitely not a celebrity. More primitive. There’s something raw about this caveman.”
Emma’s unannounced visit to the salon with a homeless-looking person wasn’t her first one. She dragged in these off-the-street cases, all costs covered by her family’s company, and, well, she was my best friend, so I couldn’t say no. Besides, I trusted her, so I found no reason to reject the work.
“Why can’t you take the appointment?”
“She requested you do the job specifically.”
“A caveman, you say?” I raised an eyebrow.
Frankie’s forehead creased. “I called dibs, but Emma wants you.”
“You should’ve said I’m in a meeting. Thanks, Frankie. I’ll take it.”
But only because it was Emma’s request.
I closed my office door, crossed the spa and the salon, and took the glass staircase to the waiting area. A nauseous stench caught my attention before I reached the front where Emma was standing with what, in fact, did look like a caveman.
What the hell is that?
I should’ve left the job to Frankie. If that thing showed itself amongst my clients, I’d lose my business. I ran downstairs to the front before they could come upstairs. I approached with caution, but Emma had already set her warrior puppy eyes wide, reminding me I was going into a battle we both knew I would lose. Emma always won. Always.
“What is that?” I pointed to the Neanderthal. He towered over us both, like an animal. The growth on his face hid most of the skin. Thick dreads fell down onto his forehead. I had no idea how he could see anything. He was wearing a dirty coat and giant army boots, both well worn and out of date.
I shuddered and lifted my gaze back to the tumbleweed of a beard.
Is that a feather in there?
The smell of alcohol drifted over on his breath.
Oh, the stench!
I backed away.
“It’s fucking Pepé Le Pew.”
Except Pepé Le Pew looked presentable. This caveman looked like a gorilla; no offense to gorillas.
“He’s drunk. He was celebrating a recent assignment and got carried away, but he’s safe. I promise.” Emma nudged him forward and the full weight of his body fell into mine, knocking me off balance. I straightened and shuffled around him towards Emma.
“Ems, you should have known better. This thing is… I don’t know what it is. Is it human?”
He twitched.
