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Cassie smiled with a glint in her eye. “Oh hi, Dad. Curtis was just telling me he wouldn’t mind cleaning the bathrooms a few times a week.”

Cord stopped. He stared at me, then at Cassie, maybe trying to decide if his leg was being pulled.

“That’s right,” I said, choosing to play along. If this girl thought she could fluster me with junior high level games then she had another thing coming. “I was just telling Cassie all about how I’m always happy to pitch in where I’m needed around here. I know what it means not to have everything handed to me and I’m just grateful for the job.”

“I appreciate that, Curtis,” Cord said. He seemed content to take my statement at face value. “And I like your attitude.”

Cord asked me to follow him back to his office. I wondered if I might be in trouble for some reason but no, he just wanted to lend me some books he had on the art of piercing. We talked about Emblem for a little while and I noticed he’d grown much more at ease than he was the first time we met for my interview. Maybe he’d finally come to the conclusion that I was as sincere as I said I was.

Of course he might have changed his mind about me if he knew I’d popped a serious boner during a short conversation with his daughter.

After I left Cord’s office I went to go track down Zach because Cord said even if I wasn’t going to do ink myself he still wanted me to be familiar with the process. I had held up my heavily tattooed arms and said I was actually pretty familiar with it but I was glad to watch the experts.

Cassie was right where I’d left her. She didn’t acknowledge me when I walked by. I could admit she had a little bit of spice to her but she was still mostly vanilla, packaged in a brand that was completely off limits. And I only felt a little bit guilty that yesterday evening I took a shower just so I could beat off while thinking about her hot little body.

What’s more, I was pretty sure I’d do it again.

There was no harm in it. She’d never ever find out.

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