once again.
“It’s been a long day, for sure. But a good day. I’ve been busy.”
Delilah nodded. “Same here. You’ve got a killer location. Much better than that last shop I was at.”
Marguerite, the other stylist, came in to grab a drink from the fridge. “I agree. This is the best spot. Easy to get to, and traffic brings in walk-ins. I love it here and so do my clients.”
Hannah smiled. “I’m so glad. We love having you here.”
“Thank you. And you’re much nicer than the last salon owner I worked with. She was terrible. Always giving me orders like she was my boss, telling me I had to work late, clean up, wash all the towels.”
Hannah frowned. “You just rented booth space, didn’t you?”
“Yes. But that woman, she didn’t seem to understand that all her stylists were independent. I was happy when Delilah told me you were looking for people.”
“Hey, I was glad to get you out of there,” Delilah said. “Maybe once she loses all her stylists she’ll figure out she’s the problem.”
Marguerite laughed. “I doubt it. She’s not what I would call self-aware.”
Hannah shook her head. “I ran into that problem with salon owners before I bought my own shop. They think stylists work for them. If you’re not paying them a salary, they don’t.”
“Either way, we’re happy to be here with you, where you treat us like equals,” Delilah said. “And where we all pitch in to keep the place clean.”
Hannah smiled. “You’re both so great. I’m so thrilled to have you here with me.”
“And we get Josephine on Tuesday,” Marguerite said. “You’re going to love working with her.”
Their new manicurist was Marguerite’s cousin. Hannah had interviewed Josephine and even had her do a mani/pedi on her. She’d done a thorough and beautiful job. Delilah knew her as well and had used her services before. It was important to Hannah that all the stylists got along, because she’d worked in shops before where personality clashes caused conflict and tension, and clients always picked up on that. She didn’t want that in her shop.
She was confident that wasn’t going to happen here.
When her client was done, Hannah rinsed and styled her hair. It turned out great, shades of blond highlights in her beautiful light brown hair. The client was delighted, and Hannah was satisfied it had turned out well. And the client booked a follow-up appointment, which was even better.
Since that was her last client for the day, and both Delilah and Marguerite had finished up as well, they put towels in the laundry and cleaned up the shop. After the women had left, Hannah waited for the towels to finish, then turned out the lights and locked up, happy to be finished earlier than she expected. She called her mom to see if she wanted Hannah to pick up dinner for Oliver and her. She told Hannah she already had dinner planned, so Hannah drove home.
When she got inside, Oliver was watching TV. She went over to plant a kiss on the top of his head.
“Hi, Momma,” he said, his gaze focused on whatever cartoon show he was watching.
“Hey, kiddo. Good day?”
“Yup.”
She put her bag down on the table by the door, then went into the kitchen.
“Something smells good.”
“I’m making enchiladas for dinner.”
“Oh. I’ll be sorry to miss those.”
Her mother slanted a smile at her. “There’ll be leftovers.”
“Good. I’m going to go take a shower.”
She’d much rather slip into her shorts and a tank top and veg on the sofa with Oliver and her mom tonight, but she’d made this date with Kal, so she was going to have to follow through.
After her shower, she did her hair and makeup. Kal had told her to keep it low-key and casual tonight, so she put on flowered capris and a short-sleeved T-shirt, then slid into her tennis shoes, hoping what she wore wasn’t too casual. She put on earrings and a bracelet and called it good.
When she came out, the smell of the enchiladas made her stomach growl. “I’m so hungry.”
Her mom cocked her head to the side. “Did you eat today?”
“I had a salad and some apple slices.”
“Okay. Where are you going for dinner?”
She shrugged. “No idea. Kal said it was casual.”
“You need casual, not fancy and dressed up. Especially after a long day at work. I’m sure you’ll have a good time.”
“Hopefully.”
Her mom sighed. “You could maybe go into this date with a little more enthusiasm.”
“I guess. I don’t know, Mom. Do I really have the