Hailey, the café owner next door and Sloane’s girlfriend, walked in at that moment and tilted her head. “Maya Montgomery, are you being mean to my man?”
She edged up to Sloane and kissed the top of his bald head. He grinned at her before leaning to her front and sighing. The change in his demeanor was so drastic it caught Maya off guard for a moment. She was so damned happy for her two friends. They’d spent far too long away from each other, and now here they were, together and adorable. And Maya didn’t use the word adorable lightly.
“Just a little, but he deserved it,” Maya said with a laugh.
She sighed, knowing she was just stalling at this point. Austin was at his son’s school for an event of some kind, so she was the one in charge. He’d given her permission to hire Blake if Maya felt it was right, and Maya wouldn’t take that role lightly.
“Anyway, Blake,” Maya said as she turned her attention. “We like what we see in terms of your skills on paper. Once we have the place ready, I’ll want to see you in action, but all of that isn’t the whole thing.”
Blake nodded, a little hope in her gaze. Good. She wasn’t just a ball-busting bitch. Montgomery Ink already had that, thank you very much.
“We’re a family here,” Maya continued. “Literally in some cases, but all the ways that matter in the other ones. So Austin and I are prepared to hire you on a trial basis. If you don’t fit in, then you’re out.”
Blake tilted her head. “So I need to make friends?”
Maya shook her head. “No, but there’s a flow to the shop, and since I’m part-owner, I want to make sure that flow continues to work. It’s never going to be the same year in and year out. When we add new blood, things change. And when people have to leave? It changes too. So you don’t need to make friends, but you need to work with us. We’re good at what we do. Damn good. And we have a reputation for being fucking incredible. I don’t want our piercer to fuck that up.”
Blake smiled then. “I get you.”
Maya nodded. “Good. We can talk specifics in the back, but for now, welcome to Montgomery Ink.” She held out her hand, and Blake took it, that smile still on her face.
Maya smiled back, knowing that Montgomery Ink was changing ever so slightly, but with change came new ideas and new energy. She could work with that.
She hoped.
By the time Blake headed out, Maya only had an hour or so left on her shift and hadn’t had a client since lunchtime. The walkins were slow today since it was the middle of the week, and Sloane had taken care of them easily. Maya had spent most of her day with paperwork—her least favorite part of the job.
She sighed and made her way to her station, getting her mind back into art and out of numbers. She had a few sketches to finish up for new clients and wanted to get them as perfect as she could before she showed them off.
When the bell above the door rang, she looked up and was out of her chair in the next instant, leaving behind all thoughts of art and numbers.
“What happened?” she asked as she tugged on Jake’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
Jake shook his head. “It’s been a fucking shitty couple of days.”
Maya took a closer look at him and knew it had been more than shitty. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of weeks, but even then, he hadn’t even bothered to take care of his beard. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he must have run his hand through his hair enough that it stood on end in some places. Without thinking of the worries that had gone through her head these past few weeks, she put her other hand on his chest and leaned forward.
“Jake.”
He gave her a sad smile and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
She didn’t know why that hurt so much to hear. She should be a safe place. She’d always been a safe place for him. What had she done to break that? Damn it. No matter what happened in her life and her thoughts, she and Jake were a unit. Screw the idea that she couldn’t have that anymore.
Maya tugged on his arm again, and this time, he let her lead him. While she might have been able to take on a guy twice her size, it was hard to move Jake when he didn’t want to.
She led her best friend back to the office and tried to ignore the pointed look Sloane gave her. The man was far too observant for his own good. She flipped him off for good measure before closing the door behind her and Jake.
“What’s wrong, Jake?” she asked. She didn’t know what Maya to be with him right then. Should she tell him to suck it up? Or hold him because he was in pain? She wasn’t as callous as she acted for others, but sometimes people just needed that kick in the ass. For now, though, she wasn’t sure she could find that inner strength to be tough when Jake looked like this.
Jake sank onto one of the chairs and rubbed a hand over his face. “Lots of crap, that’s what.”
Maya let out a little growl and crouched in front of him. She ignored the position it put her in, considering she practically knelt at his feet and was dick height at the moment. Fucking thoughts ruining the way she acted around him.