Page 90 of So Wild

“Yeah, like how you’re a hot chick running a tattoo parlour with her sisters and you don’t take shit from anyone.”

“How do people know I don’t take shit from anyone?”

A snigger went around the table.

“I mean it,” Sam protested. “How are the wider public supposed to know I don’t take shit from anyone?”

Gill shook his head. “You’re a classic, have you even looked at the studio snapchat?”

“No.” Sam glared at Tabby. “What have you done?”

“Nothing,” her sister said innocently. “Anyway, what do you think about leaning into the girl power? I could hone in on the fact that it’s a friendly, female-run business with two highly qualified lady tattooists on staff.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because then girls can feel safe that we won’t grope them even if they’re getting an ass tattoo or an under the boob tattoo.” Tabby’s eyes lit up. “Ooh I should take a photo of the three of us, like all the sisters. People would love that.”

Sam looked to Nicole. “What do you think?”

Her twin smiled. “That sounds—”

“Hold up,” Gil protested. “Let’s go back to the fact that I wouldn’t grope anyone, even if I had the chance.”

Tabby rolled her eyes. “Yeah, good for you, Gil. Gold stars all round, but don’t act like you haven’t heard the stories.”

“What stories?”

“Um, the stories about artists groping girls on the table or saying creepy shit about their bodies or asking them out while they’re holding a fucking needle and not thinking ‘hey, maybe this affects their ability to say yes or no in any meaningful way?’”

Gill frowned. “That shit always gets blown out of proportion. I’ve never seen it happen. And I shouldn’t be cut off from female clients just because I’m a guy.”

“Ah,” Tabby said wisely. “The hashtag ‘not all men’ defense. Love it.”

“We’re not cutting you off from any women who want to see you,” Sam said, glaring at her sister. “We could just make it clear we’re a female-friendly company.”

“Women do seem to like the idea of seeing a female artist,” Nicole said. “I’ve been here less than a fortnight and I’ve had girls call reception asking if Sam does finishing work because a guy who started their tattoo turned out to be a pervert.”

“Okay, so you go all feminazi,” Gil said hotly. “Where does that leave me and Noah?”

“You can tattoo the dudes,” Tabby said. “Truckers and old guys, especially.”

“I don’t wanna just tattoo old guys,” Gil said, clearly missing the joke. “Noah, help me out here?”

Noah put down his fork, his expression impassive. “It’s a dangerous world. Women should do what they need to do to feel safe, and men shouldn’t take it personally.”

He looked right at Nicole as he said this. On a practical level, that made sense. Her sister was always scurrying past him as though he shanked those who paused before him. On an impractical level, it kinda felt to Sam like he was reassuring her, which was weird. Noah had never expressed any interest in reassuring anyone, before.”

“Yeah, but men get hurt, too,” Gil said loudly. “And if I only wanted to tattoo men, you’d say that’s discrimination. The way you girls talk about guys is sexist, too. It’s more sexist because—”

“Gil?” Noah said.

“Yeah?”

“Stop seeking.”

Tabby burst into hysterical peals of laughter and Nicole stopped blushing long enough to dismiss the meeting amidst general ill will and the sense that nothing had been accomplished—a typical meeting experience in a nutshell. Everyone headed downstairs to open Silver Daughters, but Sam stayed behind to help Nicole clear the breakfast things.

“What happened to you in the meeting?” she asked. “You went all quiet and left me to deal with Tabs and Gil.”

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