Page 4 of Plea
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he leaned forward, filling my nostrils with his intoxicating scent.
“Everything about you is beautiful,” he replied, making my heart skip a beat. “But seeing as I’m buying this for my woman and you have a big ass rock on your finger…”
“Oh no!” I shrieked, making him laugh. “I’m not flirting. I just… I’ve never looked into a pair of eyes as beautiful as yours before.” He licked his lips and released a sexy chuckle before running his hand down his neck. With lowered eyes, he stared at me until my alarm chiming pulled me out of his spell. I silenced it then asked, “What was your question?” His head tilted, as if he had no idea what I was talking about. “For the gift card.”
“Oh yeah. She gets quick weaves every three weeks. How much do I need to put on the card for her to be covered for the entire year?”
“It would depend on the kind and length of hair and customizations, but I’d say around five thousand for the installs. Color or extra bundles would be one to two thousand more. If she wants takedowns too, another twelve hundred.”
“Let me just do ten K. That way she can tip well too.” Impressed, I nodded as he went into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. “This salon is massive,” he continued. “Do you offer any other services?”
“Yes, actually. We do braids, nails, and makeup as well.”
His eyes locked on mine briefly before he pulled out a black card. “Okay, so put enough money on the card for her to get her nails done every two weeks as well. She gets a full set with lots of designs, and that’s the only language I know to use.”
With a snicker, I accepted the card. “I can work with that. I can also keep the card unlocked. That way if you needed to adjust the amount you can.”
“Sounds good.”
After setting the card up, I handed both to him and logged out of the register since Jayla was on her way back.
“Thanks for your help,” he said as I grabbed my coat and bag.
“You’re welcome. Have a great day.”
As we both headed out, Jayla said, “Boss lady, did you need me to reschedule your two o’clock interview? If you’re leaving now, you might not be back in time to make it.”
“Oh shoot. I forgot I had an interview with a potential stylist.” Well, I hadn’t completely forgotten. I’d remembered this morning until Trevor asked me to meet him for lunch. “Yes, please push the interview back to three if she can make it. If she can’t, check my schedule tomorrow and put her anywhere I have an opening.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you! And let me know if you ladies need anything before I get back.”
They both agreed as I headed out. I smiled and graciously thanked the man as he held the door open for me.
“You own this place?” he confirmed.
“I do. I’m Venus.” Extending my hand, I ignored the chill that shot up my spine when his hand connected with mine.
“Carson. Nice to meet you.”
“You as well.”
“You have an amazing establishment here. I did a little research online before coming but what I saw online does this entity no justice,” Carson complimented, still holding my hand in his.
“Thank you. It’s truly my pride and joy. We’re getting ready to celebrate our one year anniversary, and all clients are invited,so if your girl books her first appointment before the party, you two should definitely come through.”
“Congratulations on your success, Venus. I will make sure she books so we can come out and support.”
“I’d like that.”
Our eyes remained locked for a few seconds more, and so did our hands. Had a horn not honked, I don’t know how long we would have stayed like that. Pulling my hand away quickly, I thanked him again before quickly crossing the parking lot to get to my G-Wagon. That was the finest man I’d ever seen in my fucking life, and I needed his girlfriend to come to her appointments alone, otherwise, the girls would have a time checking out her man.
Trevorand I stared at each other. For some reason, I assumed when he asked me to meet him for lunch, that he wanted to talk. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. The moment I opened my mouth to tell him about how I’d been feeling for the last few days he sighed and shook his head. At that point, my mouth snapped shut. The last thing I was going to do was talk to him about something that he clearly didn’t care about. What was so baffling to me was why he cared so little.
“Are you mad at me about something?” I asked. “Did I do something to hurt you?”
“Of course not, bae.”
