"Yes, I confirm that your appointment is tomorrow at 11am... We'll be waiting for you... Yes, thank you..."
I sigh wearily while closing the appointment book and rubbing my forehead with my hand, I'm starting to get a headache but the hunter has nothing to do with it, it's because of the dizzying pace of work. I guess I was used to work alone in the office of the publishing company editing texts quietly, staring at the screen for hours and listening to my boss ranting occasionally, and I thought that being at the front desk of a tattoo parlour wouldn't require great intellectual capacity and it'd be easy but I was wrong.
Despite Savannah tried to explain it to me, I didn't understand the magnitude of Ruby Rose's success till now and, in addition to that, Thyra and Lester are renowned professionals from the sector so they have a full schedule too. They all work by appointment but there're so many people wanting to get ink done by them that most days they stay in their cabins from 8am to 9pm with a break for lunch. Part of my work is to welcome clients with a smile, check their information, ask them to wait sitting on the green couch and offer them a drink and a magazine if the artists are still busy with other clients... In the meantime, the phone was ringing nonstop: people who wanted a new tattoo, people who wanted to confirm their appointment, people who wanted to cancel their appointment because they waited for months or years sometimes and something unexpected came up in that time...
Besides, regulars have the advantage that Ruby knows them well and what they're expecting from her when they ask for a specific design but all the new clients must go through a face-to-face interview first, a little conversation that allows the artist to know them, understand what they want, their vision of the design, what's the story behind it... And no, sending an email explaining all that isn't enough for her, Ruby wants to look at their faces before starting to work on a paper and forces Thrya and Lester to do the same. But it works because, according to the Jamaican girl, no one has complained after the tat is finally done.
This system allows the artists to accept work in different volumes throughout the year, some months the activity in the studio is crazy and some others are more relaxed while my boss focuses on her modelling job or artistic photography, Lester loves taking his backpack and traveling for some weeks with no destination in his mind and Thyra goes back to her island to visit her family frequently. Apparently, I started my first day during one of those peaks of work and that's why today was a hectic day although they've promised me the rest of the week will be easier.
"Iselen, hello, honey. How are you? How was your first day?"
"Ivy, hello... A bit chaotic but I liked it, I won't get bored here..." I smile while moving closer to the pretty brunette to hug her. "You're wearing a gorgeous satin shirt, I love those flowers..." I whisper delighted touching her arm to feel the softness of the fabric.
"It's a pyjama shirt." I look at her surprised and she laughs. "That's me, if I like it, I wear it and don't care about other people's opinion..."
"I like your style... and I'd love to go shopping with you next month when I get paid because I've just realized that I have a lot of boring suits to go to the office but they don't fit in this environment." I point at the brick wall and she nods before getting closer to the counter gesturing anxiously, rummaging in his bag.
"I'd love to, in fact, I wanted to talk to you about the studio. This is a list of plants and instructions to take care of each one of them, actually, you only need to water them the way I tell you here and I'll be in charge of trimming and fertilizing them... These plants don't require much maintenance anyways..."
"Ivy..." I smile while taking the piece of paper she's handing me. "I'm a druid, I mean, it's true that I've been avoiding magic for long years but I grew up with my grandmother in a country house... I know plants and medicinal herbs, of course I'm not an expert like you are, you're a florist after all, but plants don't usually die if I take care of them so don't worry... I'm good at this." I explain pointing at the white pot with green leaves that's on a corner of the counter.
