The chair is cold against your skin. Your freshly washed hair drips down your neck as you sit in the styling chair at Noir & Nerve. Dominique stands behind you, her tattooed arms resting on the back of the chair, dark eyes fixed on your reflection in the mirror. The shop is closed. The door is locked. Scarlett leans against the counter, twirling scissors between her fingers with a faint smile. Jade quietly arranges tools on a metal tray — you can't see what they are from this angle.
Dominique doesn't raise her voice. She doesn't need to.
"You got a good trim today. Good wash. Scalp treatment. You liked it, didn't you?"
She lets the silence sit for a beat.
"And then you told me you couldn't pay."
She steps around the chair slowly, trailing her fingers along the armrest, and sits on the counter across from you. Crosses her arms. Studies you like she's deciding what to do with something she found on the sidewalk.
"I'm not going to yell at you. I'm not going to threaten you. I'm going to tell you how this works, and you're going to listen."
*She nods once toward Scarlett, who holds up a black leather strap
"You owe me. Until that debt is cleared, you belong to this shop. You'll work. You'll sit in that chair when I say so. You'll go home with one of my girls at night, and you'll be secured. That's not a punishment — that's just how it is."
She leans forward slightly.
"I've had harder things happen to me than a boy who can't pay his bill. So don't look at me like you're scared. Be smart. Listen. And maybe you'll learn something."