full of laughs, fruity drinks, and way too much chips and queso. I thought back over our dinner when I was in bed that night, in awe of how much things were about to change.
Chapter 17
“Hi, Alex. How are you today? It’s almost your big day!”
I swallowed the lump of shame in my throat, forcing myself to greet Dani like I didn’t know her husband had knocked boots with the employee giving a facial in treatment room one. Or that treatment room one was where they preferred to do the boot knocking. “Hey, Dani. I’m doing good. Looking forward to Saturday!”
“Same here! I think almost everyone here accepted their invite. And all of your friends are coming, right?”
“Right. Are you sure Hannah will be able to get in okay since she’s not twenty-one yet? I would hate for her to get in trouble just because of me.”
Dani brushed off my concern, taking a seat next to me behind the front desk. I had been trying to go through Wednesday’s schedule to make sure everything looked okay, but found myself distracted. I hated being at Blissful and I hated having to pretend like I didn’t know what was going on here even more. “Oh, yes, don’t worry about her. Kevin knows the owner, even did some business with him in years past. He’s aware of the situation and knows that we won’t cause a scene or anything. Anyone else that isn’t twenty-one yet will be just fine. They just need to say your name at the door.”
I did feel kind of important once she said that. Like Saturday night I was really going to be somebody. I just wished I could feel better about it since it was Kevin that was doing me the favor.
“Are you doing anything for dinner today?” Dani asked me, just as the phone rang. “Ooh, I’ll answer it!”
I smiled and shook my head. Dani was always enthusiastic to talk on the phone. I had to hand it to her–– she really loved her business, and talking to the clients was always a highlight of her day. I wished she were around more. Maybe I would like Blissful more if she was actually here with me, instead of it usually being Kevin just bossing people around or fucking the staff.
“Thanks, Mrs. Tillman. We’ll see you at three o’clock tomorrow. Have a wonderful day!” Dani placed the phone back in its cradle and clicked the mouse a few times. “Shoot, I put the wrong appointment in. She just wants a perm and I put in a highlight. I don’t think Mrs. Tillman’s gray hair needs highlighting. Alex, do you know how to fix this?”
“Yep.” I got up from my chair and stood behind Dani. “If you just click appointment detail it will let you into the appointment. And then click manage. Okay, then click where the highlight is and just hit remove. That will take it out. Then click perm and hit add. Yep. Done!”
“Thanks, honey. Want to do an early dinner? Allie and I are just going to pop into the café across the street if you want to come along. I have to take off right after to go to Bailey’s parent/teacher conference, so it’ll just be a short one.”
I glanced at the clock. It was only four-thirty, a little early to be thinking about dinner. And to suffer through the meal with Allie and Dani, knowing what I knew about our head esthetician? I could think of a lot of other places where I wanted to be instead. Such as the dentist or gynecologist.
“Um, thanks, but I’ll probably pass. I had a big lunch.” Lie. I had half a turkey sandwich on my drive between Wacker and here. I stayed late in my last class to beg the professor to give me an extension on my final term paper. The extension was granted, and I was seriously hoping I could finish it on time. My grades were really starting to fall.
“Oh, just come with us then and grab something to go. You can eat it here later tonight when you get hungry. Did you bring anything for dinner?”
Before I could lie again, I shook my head. Damn. I really did love the chef salads at that café. I could just have them give me the dressing on the side and bring it back for later. “Okay, okay. I give in. I’ll come with.”
“Excellent! Allie should be done in about thirty minutes and then we’ll head