Page 1 of Second Time Around

One

Jenna pulled off the black cape and said, “Ta-da!”

“You’re like a magician,” her client Rita said, beaming at her reflection in the mirror.

Jenna laughed, although she felt like one sometimes.

“I look like a new woman!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Can you show me which products you used so I can buy them?”

“Of course. Follow me.” Jenna led Rita over to the shelves, crammed with hair products, at the front of the salon. She pointed out a shampoo, conditioner, styling product, and hair spray, thinking Rita wouldn’t possibly buy them all. She was wrong.

“I’ll take them all!”

Jenna led Rita up to the front desk so she could check out with Lexie, the salon’s receptionist. “Thanks a lot, Rita, and if you have any problems with your hair, let me know.”

“I will.” Rita hugged Jenna like she was either her best friend or a relative instead of her hairstylist.

This reaction wasn’t unusual. Many of Jenna’s clients came into the salon needing a pick-me-up and left feeling like a new person. She was happy to provide that for them, even if it only lasted a little while or until their next hair appointment.

She went back to her station to tidy it up before her next client arrived. While she was doing so, her phone buzzed in the drawer where she kept it. Since she had a few minutes, she pulled it out and looked at it. “Not again,” she accidentally said aloud.

“Something wrong?” asked Crystal, the stylist at the station next to hers.

Jenna sighed. “This guy won’t stop texting me.”

“I wish I had that problem,” Crystal teased.

“I just want him to quit.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Not in so many words. I’ve been trying to ignore him instead.”

“He’s persistent. I like that in a man. Of course, I would take just about any man at this point.”

Jenna laughed. “You can have this one.”

“If you’re willing to give him away, he must have done something wrong.”

“You could say that, but it was a long time ago, and I’m over it.” She put the phone back in the drawer and tried not to slam it shut since Crystal was still watching her.

Lexie’s voice came over the speaker. “Crystal, your client has arrived.”

“Showtime,” Crystal said.

She sashayed away to greet her client, and Jenna smiled when she saw it was an attractive male. Then she went up to the front desk to speak with Lexie.

“What’s up?” asked Lexie.

“Have you taken any calls for me from a Beckett Montgomery?”

“Is he a client?”

“No.”