Page 17 of Ink Wars

Alright, this isn’t bad so far. Maybe he’ll continue to act human, and we will get through this with minimal damage.

“My last client left; I just need to do some cleaning up. What about you?” I ask.

“I’m done. I only had one client after my meeting and when he left, Lucas came in,” he replies.

I nod as a small grin hits my lips. He’s being human, holy shit it’s a miracle. A miracle I will not question.

“Well, how about you go grab your design and we can go over everything while I clean up?”

He laughs a humorless laugh and I sigh. “Oh no, princess. We’ll be working in my shop.”

“Your shop? Why? My shop is brighter and cheerier than yours. I have a private room we can go in or we can use the space by the stations,” I say.

As I’m speaking, he’s shaking his head and it’s pissing me off. “My shop is edgy and industrial, yours is girly. I can’t think in that shit. I need to be around things that inspire me,” he says.

I roll my eyes and grab onto the handle of the door. “Well Corbin, one of us is going to have to bend and since neither of us like doing that, we’ve already got a problem. Do you really think collaborating together is gonna work?”

“I think I want this more than I care about working with you, princess. So just meet me at my shop when you’re done,” he says and walks away.

Oh, this mother fucker.

I make quick work of cleaning up and grab my folder before turning off all the lights. Normally I would stay open, but tonight I want to get a start on this design. The sooner we get it done, the sooner I won’t need to be around his asshole attitude.

As I walk to his shop, I stop and grab a coffee and I think about getting him one like an olive branch, but I don’t even know how he takes his coffee. I opt for a donut instead and once I pay; I continue to his shop.

I don’t want to be here. I’d rather be at mine but he’s going to learn how to compromise. I’ll give it to him tonight but tomorrow he’ll come to me. I’m not some chick who’s going to lay down and let him walk all over me.

Maybe he forgot what it's like to work with me, but he’ll soon remember.

I don’t take his shit.

When I get to his shop the door is locked and I shake my head. “What an asshole,” I mumble.

I bang on the door continuously until he reaches it. “Christ, what the hell,” he yells, opening it.

I push by him and walk inside. I’ve looked in but never stepped inside here before. It feels strange like I’m walking into enemy territory, waiting for someone to take me down.

I’ll admit the exposed brick and ductwork look a lot like my apartment and I do like that. The dark furniture and artwork hanging is definitely not my style.

It screams Corbin.

I spin around and raise an eyebrow. “You knew I was coming, and you locked the door?” I ask.

“I didn’t know how long you’d be, and I didn’t want anyone thinking I was open, damn,” he says, locking the door.

“Funny I thought the closed sign spoke volumes,” I retort.

He sighs, running his hand through his hair. “You want to do this or what?”

I hand him the donut and nod my head. “Yeah, lead the way.”

He looks inside the bag and back at me. “A donut?”

“I got coffee and didn’t know how you liked yours, so I grabbed you a donut. You can say thank you, that’s the usual reply,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee.

He folds the bag back down and puts it on the receptionist’s desk. “Thanks, let’s sit and look at these designs.”

He moves to the waiting area and my eyebrows dip. “Wait, don’t you have an office we can work in instead of your waiting room.”

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