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work...”
    “Do you cut men's hair here?” a smooth voice inquired from a few steps behind Bekki. Bekki froze as she realized she hadn’t heard the ring of the bell over the door. When she turned slowly to face him she noticed that there were two other men lingering a few steps behind him. One had his hand wrapped around the bell over the door.
    “ Actually we do,” Bekki replied smoothly as she met the man's stone gray eyes. He was handsome in a regal way, appeared to be in his late forties, and was wearing a grim smile. “But I'm sorry, we're fully booked,” she added as she took in the sight of the two other men. They looked quite different in snug t-shirts, their muscular arms were covered in tattoos, and the expressions they wore were nothing but threatening. They looked similar to the men who had come looking for the supplies the day before. Menacing.
    “ I'm sure you could fit me in,” the man suggested with a kind smile.
    “ I'm sorry,” Bekki said again, more firmly this time.
    “ Oh, forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself,” he laughed theatrically. “My name is Jeff Barnes. I own the company that your friend Jasmine worked for,” he paused a moment and his expression grew darker. “Unfortunately, I am here to answer some questions that the police officers had. Apparently there's some discrepancy about the location of the supplies that Jasmine had with her.”
    Bekki's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She had heard his name in some of the social circles in New York, she couldn't quite place where or what was said about him, but his story seemed reasonable since there definitely seemed to be misplaced supplies.
    “ And them?” Bekki asked as she tilted her head towards the men who were still blocking the entrance of the salon. “Do they want haircuts too?”
    “ Oh no, they like the rougher look,” Jeff shrugged a little. “They're my bodyguards. They travel with me, you know how New York City can be, and it seems that Harroway might be just as dangerous.”
    “ It's not,” Bekki replied coolly. She was ready to turn him away, but he had already revealed something to her, and she wanted to know more. “I can do a quick trim,” she offered and walked over to her chair. Sammy had been staring at the entire exchange and when Bekki agreed to cut Jeff's hair she took a sharp breath.
    “ Boys, behave yourselves,” Jeff instructed as he settled into the chair in front of Bekki. Bekki sighed as she pulled a fine toothed comb through his dark brown hair, which was scattered with flecks of gray. She was doing her best to keep calm, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was telling the truth.
    “ So her products are missing?” Bekki asked quietly as she picked up a pair of scissors to trim the hair at the back of his neck. The two rougher looking men had taken seats by the door and were glowering in Sammy's direction.
    “ Yes, I sent her out with some samples to distribute,” Jeff explained in a relaxed tone. “As tragic as the circumstances are, those products are valuable to my company. I was hoping to get them back.”
    “ I see,” Bekki replied and snipped lightly at his hair. She glanced up at the two men in the reception area, keeping an eye on them as well. Sammy was sorting through the items at her station, trying not to look terrified.
    “ Did she happen to show you any of the items?” Jeff asked. Bekki could see the muscles of his shoulders stiffen in anticipation of her answer.
    “ She wanted to,” Bekki replied carefully. “But she never had the chance to.”
    “ Oh?” Jeff shifted slightly in the chair causing it to swivel a little. Bekki put her foot on the circle of metal beneath the seat of the chair to steady it and prevent the scissors from slicing off part of his ear.
    “ Sit still please,” she warned him. “Yes, I was unfortunately too busy to see the products.”
    “ So, she had them when she left here?” Jeff asked and again shifted causing Bekki to clip his