Page 51 of Her Paramedic (Men in Uniforms #3)

T alia unpacked the supplies she’d brought with her as the other three stylists from her shop did the same.

There was an hour until the hair show started, and she hoped the last case Alivia had gone to the car to retrieve had the holding spray she preferred in it.

She hadn’t seen it in any of the other beauty supply cases.

When her friend returned with the last case slung over her shoulder, she was optimistic that it was in there. She’d made a list of everything she wanted to bring with her and packed it all the day before. With it not being in any of the other cases, it had to be in that one.

Alivia put the case in the chair beside Talia, and she opened it, looking through it.

She didn’t see it, and thought maybe she’d overlooked it.

So she took a deep breath, and looked again, but it wasn’t there.

Then Talia remembered she’d removed it from the case for a walk-in at the end of the day yesterday, and she must not have put it back.

It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if the style she was doing didn’t require a strong hold, but it did.

“It’s not in there?” Alivia asked when Talia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“No, and the show starts in an hour.”

“There’s a hair store a couple of miles from here. Maybe they have it in stock or something similar. Send me a picture of what it looks like and any substitutes close to it, and I’ll go get it,” Alivia said, already turning to head from behind the curtain.

Talia pulled her phone from her pocket and sent Alivia a picture of what she wanted and two substitutes.

They wouldn’t work as well, but she’d just have to use enough of them to get through the presentation of the style and the poking and prodding the judges were likely to do.

You would think it was a cook-off with the way they touched and maneuvered the hairstyles.

She hoped the hair store had what she needed.

Going back to her shop to get it wasn’t an option.

It was across town, and with lunch traffic, there was no way she could make it there and back before things kicked off, and she wasn’t sure that if she called Monique to bring it, it would arrive in time.

Alivia would find what she needed and be back quickly.

It didn’t take Talia long to finish setting up.

She’d organized everything as she’d packed it up the previous day with her friend’s help.

The other woman had left work early to help Talia ensure she had everything she needed because it never failed that she’d pack and unpack the carriers several times because she wouldn’t remember putting something in them even though she’d marked it off her list. Having the two of them checking off two lists saved time and kept her from doing that.

Too bad they’d checked their lists before the walk-in.

She sat in the styling chair as she waited for Alivia to return.

If all else failed, and they didn’t have either of the sprays, she could change the style she’d planned to do.

The organizers of this hair show allowed the stylists to choose their own styles instead of assigning them like some hair shows did.

However, they provided random models to ensure that the stylist didn’t bring someone that they’d already prepped.

There were twenty-five minutes left until things kicked off when Alivia returned, Slate trailing behind her.

“I found your beau outside, and thought I’d bring him back,” Alivia said, handing Talia the bag.

“They didn’t have the big bottles, but they had smaller ones.

I got four in case you all needed one. There’s also a few more bags of braiding hair.

I think it’s the same as what you’re using,” she directed at Nesha.

“I saw some models on my way out, and they have thick hair. So, I got those just in case.”

“Thank you. The last thing I want to do is run out of hair,” Nesha responded, taking the hair Talia passed her.

“Thank you,” Talia replied, then turned her attention to Slate. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey, gorgeous,” he responded. He leaned down and kissed her. “Why do I feel you’ve been stressing?”

“I forgot something, but it’s all good. Alivia went and got it for me.”

“Good. Now you can focus on winning.”

“You have so much faith in me,” she replied.

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m not speaking the truth. Are you excited?”

“I am. I always get a little nervous before. A bit of competition jitters, but I’ll be fine once I get started.”

“This crowd is bigger than the last one you were at, but that just means more eyes on what your salon is capable of,” Alivia said.

The two stayed with her until a person working the event came in and gave a ten-minute warning.

“You’ll do great,” Slate said before kissing her. “Good luck, ladies,” he directed to the other three, then headed to the door.

“You’ll knock everyone else out of the water,” Alivia said, pulling her into a hug. “You’ve all got this.”

A few minutes later, their models were shown behind the curtain, and they were introduced. It was a good call on Alivia’s part to get those extra bags of hair. Talia didn’t know what style Nesha had in mind, but her model had a beautiful thick head of hair, and they would likely be needed.

Talia spent several minutes before it started consulting with her model, and telling her what she had in mind. The curtain opened, revealing them and the five other salons taking part to the audience. She took a deep breath, preparing to work her magic.

“C ongrats,” Kaydence said, pulling her into a hug. After it was all said and done, Talia and her shop had won four sections. Journee soon followed suit, then Zuri, and Alivia. Once the four women stepped aside, Slate handed her the beautiful bouquet.

“You just knew I would win something, huh?” she teased after bringing the flowers to her nose.

“I did,” he responded, leaning down to kiss her.

“What do you all need help with?” Zuri asked.

“We’re just going to pack and reload everything. There’s a nail competition happening on the other side of the building, and I might stop in and check that out if it’s still going on. So, I think we’re good.”

She knew that the three of them needed to get back to work. Her sister had a wedding cake to finish that was being delivered first thing in the morning. Journee had an appointment with a client later that afternoon, and Zuri had a few more massages on her schedule.

“Are you sure?” Journee asked. “I don’t mind helping you load things up.”

“I am. I’ll put these two to work and get it done pretty quickly,” Talia responded, bumping Slate with her hip, and pointing to Alivia, who was already packing her station into one of the carrying cases.

“If you’re sure,” Kaydence said. “I’m going to head out then, but I’ll text the group and figure out a good time for us to get together to celebrate.”

The three women said their goodbyes and left.

Talia went over to where Alivia almost had everything packed into the first case.

Once it was packed and zipped, Slate picked it up while they packed the other one.

It took them only ten minutes to get the four of them packed up, and then they were exiting the event building.

Alivia had picked Talia up and driven her, so they went to her car to load Talia’s cases in.

Whitney, Maya, and Nesha opted to head back to the salon, while Talia wanted to go look at the nail competition.

She, Slate, and Alivia ventured back into the building, and followed the standing signs to where it was being held.

It had started half an hour after theirs, so she hoped there would still be a few people there.

She’d been thinking a lot lately about expanding her shop’s services.

Currently, she didn’t have space where she was, and she was hesitant to relocate because she’d been there since she opened.

The location was convenient, but she knew if she wanted to be a full-service beauty salon, she would have to bite the bullet at some point and do so because she’d need more space.

It was clear it was winding down when they entered.

There were a few people still getting their nails done, and Talia walked around to look at them, as well as some books on other tables.

She grabbed a few business cards from tables or scanned their QR codes to follow them.

While she knew some of them likely already worked in shops, unlike with the hair show she’d taken part in, the nail technicians didn’t have to belong to a shop to participate, from what the sign outside the door said.

After several minutes of looking through the room, she headed back to the door where Slate waited. Alivia joined them a few minutes later with a bag.

“One of those tables was selling press-ons. I bought some,” her friend informed.

“You’ll have to show them to me later,” Talia replied.

They were heading towards the exit when one of the coordinators of the hair show, Angie, approached them.

“Talia, hey. I’m glad I caught you. Can I speak to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” she responded before turning to her boyfriend and friend. “Give me a few minutes.”

“Take your time,” Slate responded, while Alivia nodded.

Talia followed Angie back to where the hair show had been held.

“I wanted to see if you’d be interested in being a coordinator or a judge next year. You and your shop have been in several of our shows, and you always place well and take home prizes. I think you’d be a great addition.”

“I might be interested. Can you give me a bit more detail?”

“Of course,” Angie replied, gesturing to some seats. Talia took one, and the other woman began giving her a general rundown of what being a coordinator entailed.

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