Page 39 of Christmas with Four Tattoo Artists

"I lost my last job," she continued, her eyes welling up. "The office said they had to downsize, and just like that, I was unemployed. I've been trying so hard to find something new, but nobody's hiring."

Adele's hands shook as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "My landlord's threatening to evict me if I don't come up with the rent. I don't know what to do. I've got nowhere else to turn. There’s work I can do, but it’s not the kind of work I like, if you know what I mean. And I know it’s the kind of work that you guys don’t like me doing.”

She looked up at the guys, her eyes wide and pleading. "I know what happened before was messy, but I've changed. I've learned my lesson. I just need a chance to prove myself. Please, if you could find it in your hearts to give me a second chance, I promise I'll be the best employee you've ever had. I'll do anything, absolutely anything, to make it right."

Adele's performance was complete with the perfect balance of desperation and determination. It was a story designed to tug at the heartstrings, and from the looks on the guy’s faces, it was working.

“Oh no,” Maddie said to me. “Don’t tell me they’re going to fall for that.”

The thing about sob stories, though, is that they only work on those willing to believe them. And as I watched from the sidelines, my gut churned with the sense that Adele was playing them all. Her story was too perfect, too convenient. But what could I do? Call her out? Accuse her of lying? I didn’t even know the woman aside from the rumors I’d heard and the terrible first impression she’d given me.

"Come on, boys," Adele purred, leaning in close to Finn, her hand trailing down his arm. "You know I'm the best at what I do. Let me prove it to you."

“The best,” Maddie scoffed. “Come on.”

Adele must’ve heard Maddie’s comments. She shot a withering look over her shoulder in our direction.

“Mind if we talk in private, guys?”

The men shared a look.

“Fine,” Kai said. “Just five minutes. And no promises.”

“That’s all I ask.”

I watched as they walked into the meeting room. Thankfully, they left the tint off so I could still see inside. They sat down, Adele going right back in to her sad tale, her arms gesturing wildly.

“Ridiculous,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “I’ll give Adele this much—she may be a mediocre tattooist and a total garbage person, but she sure has a skill at wrapping those guys around her finger. I don’t know what it is they see in her.”

I said nothing, watching the group speak in silence. The guys had hard expressions, but at the same time, there was no doubt there was a softness there, a kindness they didn’t let just anyone see. Was Adele about to exploit it?

I didn’t have much time to mull it over. The door opened, and the group came back out.

"Alright, Addy," Finn said, his voice kind yet guarded. "We'll give you another chance. We'll start you off part-time, see how things go."

Adele's face lit up like she'd just won the lottery, and she threw her arms around each man.

“Thank you so much! I promise, I’ll be the best damn employee you ever had!”

I watched as Adele floated around the shop, her eyes sparkling with victory, introducing herself to the staff, acting like she was everybody's best friend. It was nauseating.

I caught Finn's eye, and he shot me a reassuring smile, as if to say that everything would be fine. My gut told me another story, however.

This was not good. Not good at all. And I had a feeling that things were about to become a whole lot more complicated.

Chapter 16

Kai

Aweek had slipped by since Adele's reentry into our lives, and I couldn't help but sense a shift in the dynamic of the studio. The days flowed smoothly enough, with Adele settling back into her role as a tattoo artist, taking on clients and handling the day-to-day tasks that the job entailed. She was friendly, cooperative, and did her best to fit in with the team.

But I knew there was more to it.

I could see it in Adele’s eyes every time she looked at Julia; a flicker of doubt, a trace of unease, a tinge of envy. We hadn’t said a word to Adele, or anyone else for that matter, about what was going on between us and Julia. But Adele wasn’t stupid, and no doubt she’d noticed the way we were with each other at work.

I wanted to believe that we'd made the right decision in giving Adele a second chance, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. And I knew Julia felt it too.

Finn and I had talked it over, weighing the pros and cons. We'd both long moved past our history with Adele, and we wanted to believe that people could change. But that didn't make the decision any easier. I found myself questioning our motives, wondering if we'd let sentimentality cloud our judgment. Still, when she told us that she was out of options, that it was either work for us or she went back to porn, it was hard not to want to give her the benefit of the doubt.

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