"Axel! Trixie!" someone called from outside of the room.
"Coming!" Axel yelled. "Sorry, got a couple of deals to make. It was nice to see you again, Jupiter."
"See you later, honey," Trixie said, following Axel out of the door. I turned back around to face Kian and JC, who I was now stuck talking to.
"Just here to say hi, huh?" Kian asked. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"This is bullshit, bro. I'm hopping back in with the homies. You have fun with this. Nice to meet you, Saturn," JC said, flashing me another genuine smile before walking back to the circle of people they'd been with when I walked in.
"Yes. To say hi. Nothing more," I said, Urging into Kian's eyes.
"Oh. Well, hi. You planning on coming around again?" he asked. I sort of had to for the sake of finding Axel.
"Yeah, maybe a few times," I responded.
"Good," Kian said.
"Good? Why?" I asked.
"I like your vibe. You don't seem like you take shit from anyone, do you?" he asked.
"You can't take any shit if you want to survive a job like this, buddy. The sooner everyone else knows how you work, the sooner they'll do what you need them to," I said
"And are you a part of that 'everyone else'?" Kian asked.
"If you're asking whether I'm one of the people who will do what you want and wait at your beck and call, then absolutely not," I said. "I have my own people to take care of."
"And who takes care of you, angel?" he asked.
"No one. I manage myself," I replied.
"Everyone needs someone to look after them," Kian said.
"Great, maybe I can look after you, then," I said, trying to get under his skin. Guys like Kian didn't like it when someone suggested they were more competent than them.
"Oh, no. I'm doing just fine taking care of all these crazy kids on my own," Kian said, motioning toward the circle of people behind him with a chuckle. "Could always take care of one more, though," he added with a wink. Jesus Christ. This guy wasn't going to give up, and I'm guessing he usually got his way. He was attractive enough and pretty smooth.
I sighed. I had to go along with this for now. If Kian didn't like me, this operation would be a lot harder.
"Well maybe you can convince me that you've got something you think I'm missing out on," I said.
"I think I could manage that," Kian said.
"Wonderful. I've got somewhere to be, so I'll see you later. It was nice to meet you, Kian," I said.
"You too, angel," Kian said, giving me one more wink before I turned around and walked out. I headed back down the hallway to the door and ran into Trixie before I could get outside.
"Sorry we couldn't talk for long. You know how business gets. Look, we're having a dinner tomorrow night at Kian and JC's place. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you joined in. I'll send you the details, yeah?" Trixie said.
"Oh! Yeah, I'd love that," I said.
"Perfect! I'll see you tomorrow, J," Trixie said. She reached out and lightly squeezed my hand before walking past me down the hall, back toward the inside of the building. I made my way out and spotted Colby, leaning against a car in the parking lot. I looked around to make sure we were alone before calling out to him.
"Hey," I called across the parking lot.
"How'd it go?" he asked, walking over to me.
"Good. Got a plan," I said.
"Perfect," Colby said, bending down to kiss my cheek. I heard the back door of the salon open behind us from the other side of the parking lot. I ducked out of his way and he stared at me for a second, hurt in his eyes. "Did I do something?"
"What? No, no. I just... I don't want them to know I'm with anyone. It's a vulnerability thing, you know?" I said.
"Oh. Yeah, I get it," he said. I believed him that he understood it, but not that he agreed or supported the idea.
"Axel and Trixie think that I don't get into relationships like this. Because before you, I didn't. I can't let them know anything is different. I'm Saturn again," I said.
"Why can't you just tell them you met someone?" Colby asked. Damn it, I wish he'd just let it go.
"Uh... well, I could, but they weren't the only ones there," I said. "And my reputation is going to be very important in this process."
"Who else was there? I think they'll still hold the same respect for you that they did when they were working for you, no?"
"Yes, the people who worked for me would. But there's, uh, there's some new people. Two new people. And they're there as my replacement," I said.
"Okay... so why can't you just introduce yourself as a person who's with someone?" Colby asked. I really didn't know how Colby would react to the idea I'd decided to go with.
"Because I met them, Kian and JC, when I was still sort of saying hi to Axel and Trix. Didn't want the new guys to know that I'd changed since I'd been in charge. I don't want them to think that I have any new weaknesses or that I've lost my edge," I explained.
"Kian and JC? Are those guy names, or...?"
"Yes, Colby. They're guys," I said.
"And you don't want them to know we're together," he said.
"That's not...it has nothing to do with you. I don't want them to know I have this new family with all of you and this new big group of friends or that I'm 'dating' anyone. The more things I care about, the more weaknesses I have. The more things they know they can take away from me," I said. Colby looked at me for a second and studied my face. He didn't say anything for a long time, so I listened to what he was thinking.
Who did that? Who hurt her so bad that she had to put up these walls?
"It's not like anyone's ever taken advantage of knowing that I care about something. But I've seen Axel and Trix do it to other people. If they catch onto me or us and figure out that something is going on, I know they won't hesitate to come after you or any of the rest of us," I said in a way that wouldn't expose that I'd been listening to him.
"Oh. Well, good," he said. I offered him a small smile and nodded in the direction of the car.
"Come on, let's go," I said, starting the walk. He followed behind me, not walking next to me. I turned around to look at him and walked backward for a moment to look at him. "I don't want them to know that I'm dating someone, not that I just know other people. Come up here," I said. He nodded and took a few big steps so that he was right next to me.
"So, what was the plan you have?"