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The sun was beaming down onto my face as I got out of my car and locked it, finally arriving at the studio. It was Saturday afternoon and I have to work a twelve hour shift, even if I didn't want to. "Hey guys." I said as I walked into the studio and dropped my things off behind the reception desk. Both Mary and Michael turned from their stations, giving me a small smile. "Where's Ana and Elise?"
"Elise called in sick, and Ana is upstairs. I think she's on a business call." I gave Mary a slight nod and turned to the stairs that led to our loft area, going up to hear Anas voice get louder with each step. "I can't run this anymore, I made the wrong choice. I told Catherine that she could get the new one, and that it's under her name but I put her name under this one as well. If I were to leave, there would be no problem. This would all be hers and I know she needs it."
I didn't say a word as I approached her, her back facing me. "Yes dad, I know. I know I should have been more careful but this just isn't my sort of thing. I thought I loved doing tattoos but it's so much work and I think I could do better doing something that I actually love."
She continued to talk to her dad over the phone while I listened, every bit of detail confusing me more and more. Why hadn't she told me, or everyone else anything? Why would she hide something like this?
"I'll see what I can do, bye." She hung up the phone and was now facing me, a look of shock on her face. "What, wait how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know that I practically run this place now." I crossed my arms over my chest and quirked an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to say something. "Catherine, out of everyone I think you'd understand me the most. When I bought this place and decided to make it a tattoo studio, I thought it was what I wanted but slowly I came to realize that it wasn't, and it never will be."
"So you decided to give me all the responsibilities? Ana, as much as I love being a tattoo artist, I don't have enough time to manage two studios. I was fine with managing the other one because it was only one, but this is two. You could've at least told me that you wanted to give it to me and I would have thought about it, but not like this. You committed a mistake and now I have to deal with it. I have to go get ready to work, just don't bother me."
She nodded without saying anything else to me, and I went down the stairs in a hurry, trying to forget what had just happened. The bell signaling that someone had come in rang and I walked over to the desk, welcoming them. "Welcome to MIA INK, what can I help you with today?" I smiled at the couple who were holding hands and looking around at everything in the studio.
After doing the couples tattoo, which were their initials on each other, I looked up at the time to see that it was 2:13 in the afternoon. Only two hours out of the twelve has passed by. "Cat, are you mad?" I shifted my eyes up to look at Mary who had a smoothie in her hand, and a concerned look on her face. I simply shook my head and continued to throw away the needles I had just used, just so everything was clean for the next client.
