Antonio watched from a distance as Evie posed with the other models. Between Evie and the original artist, they were able to generate designs using body paint that covered the women. While they probably wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny, that’s what the magic of Photoshop was for. Evie had convinced Graham to tone it down and he’d finally consented to her being clothed for the shoot, but the whole scene was still geared toward a masculine eye.

Irritation prickled down Antonio’s spine whenever he thought that Graham was getting a little too touchy with Evie as he physically adjusted her for some of the shots. He smirked when he caught her expression knowing that she was still itching to kick the man in the balls and it would be far more painful with those ridiculous, pointy-toed boots they put on her.

He’d been suitably impressed at how well Evie seemed to turn the initial concept around into something far less pornographic, but it had taken all his restraint not to punch Graham himself. Rather than drag her bodily out of here, he decided to see how this would play out and so far, he was only slightly irritated at Graham and still disappointed in Evie.

Between the body painting and the photo shoot, Antonio and Evie were at the studio for twelve hours. Antonio dropped her off at her apartment before he went home to bed. There was work to worry about the next day, and he needed his sleep.

After getting some shut-eye, he hoped that he’d see the situation in a new light. Everyone made mistakes, after all. Even head artists stumbled. The important part was that Evie had salvaged the situation, making a potential disaster into something better.

Antonio just didn’t know if what she’d done was good enough.

* * *

“Have you been able to reach my four o’clock at all?” Evie asked. She leaned against the front desk, looking across at him. Stubborn paint from the photo shoot still clung to her skin.

“No.” Antonio shook his head. “At this point, I think it’s safe to say we get to keep the deposit and move on. I think we’ve got a no-show.”

“That sucks.” Evie sighed. “I was looking forward to that piece. That was the client coming in with the old school Navy officer photograph.”

“It frees up a chunk of time I could take advantage of,” Antonio said. “Come around. I’ve got something to show you.”

Business at Bloom Tattoo was slower that day than Antonio cared to admit, but he had been putting his time to good use. With the money he’d won, he was ready to start renovating the shop. He’d already had Evie mock up an image board for what the renovations would entail and together, they had hashed out the order of renovations with some wishful items in between. Much of the more grandiose ideas that she had were dependent on whether Antonio could take over the retail space on either side or above them; more importantly, Bloom would have to be drawing in a bigger revenue to make it worthwhile. Until then, the majority of suggestions she’d made would have to be placed on the If-Then list, as she called it. If the retail space opened, then they could do it. Maybe, he’d cautioned.

Beyond the physical renos, Antonio was interested in stronger branding. Thorn Tattoo had risen to fame thanks to its artists and plenty of good luck, but Antonio was too logical to believe that he’d be so lucky twice. Bloom Tattoo was going to rise up based on its connection to Thorn Tattoo, but it would only stay relevant if it struck the right notes in the general public’s mind. And that photo shoot was not the direction he’d intended.

“Sexy,” Evie joked.

Antonio rolled his eyes playfully. “Not in that way.”

Evie stuck her tongue out and joined him behind the front desk to look at his laptop. “I’ve been looking at having some new logos made. We want something that says what Bloom Tattoo is about without words. Imagine elegance, professional service, incredible artwork, and just a little bit of spunk.”

“Okay, okay.” Evie nodded. “I think I get it. Let me see what you’ve found?”

“I’m still browsing,” Antonio said. “There are a lot of artists who are offering logo services, but the prices fluctuate wildly. I’m looking to spend no more than five hundred dollars for an image and that’s at the high end. But at the same time, I’m not opposed to spending up to that maximum if we find something that merits the money.”

He moved between tabs, showing her ideas for the images he’d like to see turned into logos. All of them were within his price range. Evie clicked her tongue as she observed them, and he saw her thinking it through.

“I’m not sure,” she said at last. “Nothing really jumped out at me. I think the logo really needs to be something special, right?”

“Right.” Antonio nodded. As he did, a group entered through the front door. Evie looked up at them, then back at the laptop.

“I’ll take this to my bay and browse, okay? I’m sure we’ll be able to find something. You take care of the front and I’ll be back with whatever I find.”

“Sure,” Antonio granted. It was the right choice. Without clients browsing, he felt comfortable having her at the front desk, but with the public there, the lobby area was just too small for so many people. Evie was better off searching for images in the privacy of her tattoo bay.

She picked up the laptop and headed off, and Antonio took care of the new clients. One of them was looking to get a piercing done, and after Antonio had them fill out the release form, he saw them off to the next available piercer.

Time ticked by. Clients came and went, some showing up for appointments with the shop artists, some looking to buy jewelry or get piercings done. Antonio handled them all expertly.

About an hour later, Evie emerged from her tattoo bay and returned to the front desk looking pleased with herself. She set the laptop on the counter and put her hands on her hips. “I found it,” she declared.

“Oh?” Antonio looked at the screen. She had it tabbed to a gorgeous design that fit Bloom Tattoo beautifully.

“I’m obviously not the copyright holder, but I did a little mockup of what the logo could look like once we get the font slapped on it,” Evie said. She navigated to an open graphic design program and brought up her work. Antonio was impressed. “I bet we could send this to the artist linked to the copyright design and get it mocked up this way. If not, I could totally do it.”

“Is the font available for commercial use?” Antonio asked.

“Well…” Evie pursed her lips. “I don’t know. We might need to buy a license if it isn’t.”

“And how much would it be?”

Evie blinked. She looked up at him like it was a crazy question. “I have no idea. I didn’t design the font.”

Antonio frowned, checked the name of the font and googled it. The license wasn’t all that expensive, but he needed to see how much wiggle room they had for spending based on what the copyright for the image would cost. He tabbed over to the image and checked the drop down option for transfer of copyright only to find that the image was being sold for several thousand dollars.

Evie let out a breath between her teeth, obviously surprised. “That’s where you have to look?” she asked in a quiet voice. “I just thought that it was as expensive as the other ones you had pulled up. I didn’t realize that.”

Antonio pinched the bridge of his nose annoyed that Evie had wasted several hours of her time for no reason.

“You know what?” Antonio asked. “Why don’t you go do inventory on the overstock in the back?”

“I’m sorry,” Evie muttered. “I really am. I didn’t realize—”

“Can you please go?” Antonio asked. “I need to get this straightened out. We need to figure out something soon, and I can’t afford to waste any more time.”

Evie dropped her gaze and left.

After she left, Antonio wanted to kick himself for the way he treated her. He shouldn’t have expected her to know her way around the stock photo site but dammit, her mockup was perfect for his needs. Except for the cost. Now anything he looked at would be judged against her design.

He needed to apologize.

Stepping around the counter, he was about to go find her when another small group walked in and headed straight to the body jewelry.

An apology would have to wait.