Page 16 of Tell Me It’s Right

“Why is that?”

“I—it could make a difference in bringing in new clients, and if you grow a platform, that could potentially bring in some other revenue. And you’d do well on it.”

My lips twitch. “And why is that?”

Her cheeks pink, and she waves a hand, gesturing to the shop around us. “It’s…photogenic in here. And you’re…you know…and people would…” I can’t help it. My smile grows with each of her failed sentences. She sighs. “Forget it.”

“No, no. You’re the fancy college grad. I trust you know more about this than I do. Like I said, you’ve got free rein. Just make me look good.”

“You’d have to participate in the social media stuff,” she mumbles. “People like…putting a face to things.”

Literally nothing sounds worse, but seeing her excitement as she talked about it, the way her eyes lit up with ideas, it’s the first time I’ve seen her like that since she got back here. I can’t very well tell her no. And I know she’s right. If I want the shop to start doing better, I have to be open to trying things I haven’t done.

I rise from the chair and grin at the way she bristles and shifts her weight, like she’s bracing herself for whatever comment I have coming next.

“You tell me when and where, Little Leo, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

Chapter Seven

GRACIE

There’s a weight to the words and an intensity in his eyes that I don’t quite know what to do with. Probably trying to make me squirm for his own amusement. I roll my eyes and step back to put more distance between us. “I didn’t bring my laptop. Are you done with that?” I gesture to the computer. “So I can look around at what you have?”

“All yours.” He glances at his watch as he grabs whatever he just printed, then slides the papers onto the desk in front of me, pops his eyebrows, and wordlessly heads to the back of the shop.

“What’s this?” I call after him.

He doesn’t answer, naturally.

I flip through a few of the pages, freezing at something particularly eye-catching on page three. It’s paperwork for me—namely, my wages and places for me to sign for taxes.

“You’re paying me forty dollars an hour?” I blurt.

Liam’s head pops out of the door in the back, his eyebrows lowered. “Is that not enough?”

“Not en…” I swallow hard. I’d been mentally preparing for a crisp minimum wage. This lookslegit.I can’t imagine getting a better offer for an entry-level position, well, anywhere. “Liam…” I shake my head. “It’s too much.”

“Think of it as motivation then.” He flicks his wrist before disappearing into the closet. “Blow me away. Earn it.” His head pops back out, and he points a finger at me, wincing. “Poor choice of words. That was not me coming onto you.”

I let out a strangled laugh, my cheeks flaming at the implication. “Noted.”

He nods once before ducking through the doorway yet again.

How much money is his shop bringing in? I suppose his dad could be funding things, but I’d be surprised. Both because of who Liam’s dad is, but also whoLiamis. Despite his family, he’s never seemed content to coast along on a trust fund the way some of his siblings do.

He wouldn’t offer if he couldn’t afford it, right? But he hadn’t been looking for someone, that I know of. He’d only hired me out of pity. Maybe he feels like he can’t pull out now, like he’s obligated to help me since we grew up together, since I’m Leo’s sister, like he’d been joking when he’d offered but?—

“You done with those?”

I lurch back in my chair, my heart in my throat. Liam is standing directly in front of the desk, the raised eyebrow suggesting he’s been there for a while.

“I—yeah.” I quickly scribble the last of my signatures and slide the papers across the desk to him.

He tucks them into a folder, which he shoves in the filing cabinet, then heads to the first station and starts pulling supplies from the drawers.

I frown as he arranges everything on the counter. It’s barely past eight, and he said his first client isn’t coming in until ten. I know absolutely nothing about tattoos, but there’s no way it takes that long to set up.

I turn to the computer and typeBrooks Tattoosin the search bar. The website is the first to pop up. It’s not bad. Clearly madefrom one of the easy templates provided by the host, but it could look worse.

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