Page 99 of Mayhem
“Thanks, Dad. I can’t take too much of the credit. It’s thanks t—”
The door opening cut off Erin’s words. She turned her attention as Cruz and Paetyn walked in.
“It’s thanks to them,” she finished, and her dad turned to them. “Paetyn, Cruz.” She gestured to them. “This is my dad, Morris. Dad, these are my boyfriends, Cruz and Paetyn.”
Her father turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “With an s?”
“With an s,” Erin confirmed.
Her dad held his hand out and shook her boyfriends’. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“You as well,” Cruz responded.
“I know we’re all here to celebrate Erin’s new venture, and there’s likely some setting up that needs to happen, so I’ll wait for the stereotypical getting-to-know-you questions.”
“If the two of you are free tomorrow, we can have dinner,” Paetyn suggested.
All three men looked at Erin. Tonight was her opening event; tomorrow, she would be open during the regular hours she’d set. So, she understood they were letting her decide since it would be her first official day open, and while she hoped all went well, there was no telling.
“Tomorrow works. We can meet at eight.”
With the plans set, they began to set up for the opening. Her father hadn’t asked any questions, but Erin knew that he would, and she knew him well enough to know that he would wait until dinner to question all three of them.
The turnout was better than Erin had expected. Dozens of people were in attendance; others had come and gone earlier in the evening. She was booked for consultations and tattoos overthe next few weeks, having done some consults there. Erin had even booked some appointments for Dahlia. Torei, her other hire and fresh out of school, also secured a few. So far, it’d been a good evening.
She tried to get around to speaking to everyone in attendance. There were a few she hadn’t been able to get to, one that seemed to move around whenever she got close. At first, she found it odd, but then she realized they were looking at different portfolios or taking a look at her live models. They were gone when the crowd began to thin.
A few men attempted to flirt with her while asking her about her work, and she could feel her men’s eyes on them when it happened. Erin wasn’t even sure how they knew she was being flirted with when they were on the other side of the room most of the time when it happened.
She also hadn’t missed several women flirting with them, hands attempting to linger on the tattoos she’d given them longer than necessary. It was amusing to watch, even more so when they were turned down as quickly as they showed interest. She was going to check on her dad, who was talking to Nik and Kieran when she passed another woman flirting with Paetyn.
“No, I’m in a relationship.”
“That’s the first time I’ve been turned down without the usualSorrythat proceeds it from most men.”
“I’m not most men, and an apology would mean I didn’t want to be tied down by the person I’m with,” Paetyn glanced at Erin as she passed. “And I do,” Erin smirked as she continued.
“Hey,” she greeted the three men. “You good over here?”
“We are,” her dad responded. “Nik was just telling me about his lounge. We should go while I’m in town.”
“Sure. I’ll put on my best wing-woman hat,” Erin teased.
Her dad rolled his eyes. “I don’t need you trying to hook me up with someone every time we go somewhere together.”
“If I don’t do it, who will?” she asked, poking his cheek with her index finger, and her dad thumped her chin, causing the other two men to chuckle.
She stayed with them for a few minutes before checking in with Chayse and Alijah and mingling for the last half hour of the opening. All-in-all, she would call it a success.
Paetyn sat beside Cruz in one of the smallerAefinityrooms. He’d planned on them going to a restaurant that wasn’t his, but Erin asked them to go there. He assumed it was because they could talk in private, or maybe she wanted them to be able to take their time with the discussion without feeling like they were hindering other patrons. Either way, he hadn’t had an issue with it.
They’d shown up early, which for Paetyn was typical, but this time, it was to ensure everything was set up. He knew it would be and had never had an issue with his staff, but this was different. While he and Cruz had met Erin’s father the night before, they hadn’t officially met him. They didn’t do much conversing then, and Paetyn knew it was purposeful on her father’s part.
He could understand that. They were there to celebrate Erin’s accomplishment. It wasn’t the right time for the three to have the conversation and questions to be asked, but Paetyn knew they were coming.
It was eight on the dot when Erin and her father were shown into the room. He and Cruz stood as Morris held his hand out for both of them to shake.
“Nice to see you both again.”
