Page 20 of Chic Steel

“I demand to see them,” I say, squeezing her hand.

“I’ve got photos on my phone I can show you later.”

“Good.”

Charlotte pops our bubble. “Do you only pierce ears?”

Ella pulls away from me to answer Charlotte and I only curse her a little. “We pierce anything and everything. Some staff specialise in one thing.”

“So, did you pierce those, or did someone do it for you?” Josh enters our little circle, and his eyes flick to her nipple piercings and stay there.

Silence falls at the comment, everyone turning to stare at him in disbelief, or in my case, glare holes in him. It’s his first time at the suite, and from one comment—and the way he’s drinking—I’ve learned a lot about him.

Ella clenches my hand. “Be a bit hard to pierce my own nipples, don’t you think?”

“Yeah but?—”

Charlotte interrupts loudly, “What I was going to ask, was if you think I should get some piercings?”

Ella breathes deeply. “I always think people should get more piercings. What do you have at the moment?”

“My lobes.”

“Not even a helix?” Charlotte shakes her head and Ella’s eyes widen. “You need to come in so I can curate something for you.”

“Is that all you do? Pierce people? Is that a real job people have?” Josh scoffs. He turns to me and I narrow my eyes. “And you’re with her when you’ve got all this.”

Ella freezes on my lap, her body going taunt and her face tight. She blinks a few times at Josh, and I’m waiting for the reprimand I’m sure she’s about to give, but she doesn’t.

She turns to me and whispers, “I’m gonna freshen up.” She stands and heads into the room, leaving the balcony silent and my lap cold.

That’s fine. If she doesn’t feel up to defending herself, I’ll do it for her.

“What did you say, Josh?” I ask in a quiet voice.

“I asked if it’s a real job and why you’re with her. I get the appeal with the nipples and being wild but?—”

“That’s enough.” How dare he talk about her like that? About any woman? Charlotte must agree with my sentiment by the disgusted look on her face while she edges closer to Daniel. “Firstly, you never speak about women like that. Ever.” He inhales, but I cut him off. “Secondly, you know nothing about me or Ella, so keep your fucking mouth shut. Piercings are an expression of who a person is. And guess what? She pierces me. Every. Year.”

Josh’s eyes scan my face and ears, not finding the metal he’s looking for. Glazed eyes scan down my chest and settle on my crotch.

“Yep. There’s metal in my dick. You gonna sexualize me, Josh? In mycorporate suite in front of your colleagues?” He shakes his head. “Didn’t think so. Go home and sleep it off, and you better re-evaluate how you treat people before you come back to my office.”

Josh weaves towards the exit, and my shoulders don’t relax until the door slams behind him.

I turn to Charlotte. “Put a warning on his file for harassment.”

“You got it.” She sips her wine.

“Your office?” Daniel asks, eyebrow raised with an amused smirk on his face. “Thought we went in together? I’m hurt. And you didn’t tell me you had penis piercings. We could have got matching ones.” He pouts.

“Yep, my office. Just like Ella’s mine. And if you go anywhere near her asking to get your dick pierced, you better believe I’ll buy you out. She has other staff if you want one.” Daniel salutes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere else I need to be.”

And with that, I stand and exit the balcony, closing the glass door behind me to drown out the stadium noise, and aim for the bathroom.

She better still be here.

But it won’t matter if she left. I wouldn’t stop until I found her.

---