Page 64 of Brutal
“They’ll be fully booked,” I point out. “And a dye job takes hours. Literal hours, Drake. Your day trip would be spent waiting on my hair.”
“Let me worry about them being booked,” he asserts. “And so what? We’ll stay the night! We can go to the boardwalk tomorrow. I can order takeout for the whole salon, and we can party it up while they turn you into a stunning mermaid or whatever.”
“Mermaid?” I have no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s already heading into the salon.
As I predicted, it’s full. Even the little waiting area is packed, with several college aged women leafing through pictures on one end, and a few older women—with brightly dyed hair of their own—on the other.
This place must specialize in colorful dye jobs, if the posters are any indication. My eyes catch on an ombre blue, light at the top and dark at the bottom. I’d always wanted a dye job like that, but I didn’t trust myself to do an ombre and I certainly couldn’t afford a professional.
Drake keeps pulling me along, dragging me to the receptionist’s stand. “Hi!” he says brightly, grinning like some lovesick fool instead of an angst-ridden, drugged-up CEO. “I’m willing to throw a grand at someone who wants to give up their appointment so my girl can get her hair done,” he announces.
“What?” I gape at him and shake my head. “No!” I turn to the receptionist. “Ignore him. He doesn’t know how much of an entitled dick he is.”
The receptionist looks between us, her expression bewildered. She’s probably not used to this kind of behavior in a high-end establishment.
Drake doesn’t seem to give a fuck, though.
“Is he serious?” one college-aged woman hisses to her friend.
Drake picks up on it and flashes a charming smile at her. “I absolutely am. Ignore Mimi here. She doesn’t know how to let herself be spoiled.”
“I don’t need to get my hair done,” I protest. “Drake, seriously, let it go. We can book an appointment when we get back.”
He looks uncertain for a second, and I can see the start of some serious puppy eyes when the woman who’d whispered stands up.
“I’ll give up my spot,” she says, shrugging. “I can always get an appointment when I get home.”
Drake is still looking intently at me, though.
I stand taller and tell myself not to be intimidated. “You can’t just throw money at every problem,” I say steadily.
“He can throw money at this problem though,” the college student says. “I could use an extra thousand bucks.”
“Well, I can’t go back on my word,” Drake says. “So either way, I’m out a grand.” He pulls out his wallet and counts out the bills. “It’s up to you whether you take advantage of my incredible generosity and free up this young lady’s day so she can enjoy herself.”
I groan and squeeze my eyes shut.
The stupid thing is, I do want to dye my hair. I want to get rid of the orange and make it mine again.
“Fine,” I say, glaring. “But I choose the hair color. And you can’t complain about how long it takes.”
The woman takes the money, and she and her friend leave like they expect him to try to change his mind.
I could’ve told them he won’t, though.
“Okay,” he says, going back to relaxed and satisfied. Smug, even. “I’ve got my phone. You go gossip and get your hair done. I’m gonna catch up on the news.”
“You’re not sticking around?” I ask, confused. “I thought you’d want to watch the whole thing.”
He looks just as confused as I am. “You want me to?”
The receptionist is watching our exchange just as raptly as the rest of the salon, which seems thoroughly invested in the drama that’s unfolding in front of them.
I try to imagine what a bored Drake might do, and even if a few hours to myself getting pampered might not be bad, I wouldn’t be able to relax. “Sure,” I say steadily. “Just don’t distract the hairdresser.”
“I would never,” he says, mimicking crossing his heart. He turns to the receptionist. “So yeah. Whatever she wants to do to her hair. I’ll pay extra for the inconvenience and the last-minute shit.”
“Rachel will take care of you,” the receptionist assures us. “Don’t worry; we’re used to impatient boyfriends who’d rather be out on the water than here.”