Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Hello,” Nikki said.
“I swear if you had hung up on me, I was going to hunt you down, Sweetheart,” Darlene said.
“Good morning to you too,” Nikki said.
“Where are you? What do you mean, you got a new job? There is no way you got a new job that fast. I refuse to believe it.”
“I did.”
“Do I get to know what it is?”
“I’m serving burgers.” That was all she was going to tell her.
“Are you for real? You quit my place to go and flip burgers?” Darlene let out a little growl. “Okay, I feel like I need to come and slap you something silly. I know we were early into your training, but I am telling you, you have a gift, Nikki. You should not be flipping burgers.”
“There’s nothing wrong with flipping burgers,” Nikki said.
“I know there’s not. Trust me, I flipped burgers to earn an income, but you have talent. I know you’re being stubborn and I know Hawk hurt you, but come on, you’ve got what it takes to make it in this industry. You could be amazing, and you’re just starting out. I know for a fact some of the girls and the clients would love to have you practice on them. They love seeing your looks, and I looked forward to working with you this Halloween.”
Nikki hated letting anyone down. She loved working for Darlene. Loved being surrounded by all things beauty, but this was Hawk’s problem. She only got that job because of him.
“You were not even hiring or offering a college tuition.”
Darlene groaned. “You’re right. I wasn’t, and that is my bad. The truth is, if we’re being real, I didn’t want you working for me. I didn’t know if you could even do anything related to beauty. You didn’t even wear makeup, and yes, your skin looked lovely, but I knew nothing about you. Now I know more about you, and I’m telling you, Nikki, you’re being stubborn.”
“I can’t,” Nikki said.
“Look, I get it, Hawk’s an ass, and he has hurt you, and you’re going through this rough patch, but that doesn’t mean you should stop doing something you love. You love being here, don’t you?”
She was silent.
“Damn it, Nikki, stop being a pain in the ass. This job is perfect for you. You know it, and I know it. Hawk be damned, and I’m saying that as a club woman, okay? This position is still here for you. I would love to keep training you, and I’d love to see you flourish, but now it’s up to you.”
And with that, Darlene hung up. She checked the time to see she still had a few minutes on her lunch break. Blowing out a breath, she felt bad for letting Darlene down, but now she had another job. Dropping her head back onto her seat, she closed her eyes and took a breath. She didn’t have a clue what to do. Did she quit her courses and stop working for Darlene for the right reasons?
Nikki hated her own thoughts, because it all came back to one person—Hawk. The only reason she was giving everything up was because of him.
Opening her eyes, she saw it was close to her shift starting again, and she quickly climbed out of her car and headed back inside. It was still busy, and she got stuck working, so didn’t have time to think about Darlene and the beauty shop for the rest of the day.
By the time she made it back to her mother’s, she was exhausted. She didn’t want to think about Hawk, or anything else. Arriving at her home, she made her way to the front door and knocked. Within minutes, Ethel answered, and Sean was running around her feet.
“I didn’t know how long you were going to be, so I had the meatballs simmering in the sauce, and now I can get the pasta in. Would you like dinner now, or would you like to take a nice hot bath?”
Nikki glanced upstairs and the smells coming from the kitchen were making her hungry.
“I’d like dinner now, please.” That way she could luxuriate after food and not have to worry about rushing downstairs.
Ethel smiled. “Go and sit. I’ll be right in with dinner.”
This was all still so surreal to her—her mother cooking dinner. Sitting in her very clean childhood home. Even talking with her mother seemed like an odd experience. She hated that her mother had to go through a near-death experience to change, but it was hard not to be thankful for it. She had a mom. Finally, after nearly twenty-three years, she had a mom. She couldn’t ever remember a time in her life where her mother had been a good woman. That was how far her mother had fallen, and she was climbing her way out of the pit, and it was so wonderful to see.