Taking his cut

There was one client Leo dreaded more than anyone else¼

Leo was having a lovely day until Gloria strolled into the salon.

I wasn' t expecting to see you here,' he said. Gloria grinned.

It' s the big charity dinner at the Grand

Hotel tonight. Sheila

Benson can' t go her husband' s poorly so I managed to grab their tickets.'

Leo forced on a smile. Everyone else had already left. He' d been hoping to close early, but as Gloria owned the salon, there wasn' t much he could do.

Even before she had settled in the chair, she started talking. About how important it was for her to look her best, and about her late husband, who must have been a saint, as well as one of the wealthiest men in the county.

Leo had heard it all before, many times.

All he' d ever wanted was his own salon, a place he could run as he pleased, but he' d never been very good with money.

When Gloria offered to help him out, he just couldn' t say no.

So what do you want me to do today?' he asked.

As he waited for her reply, he held his breath. The rest of his customers were happy to take his advice. He was a gifted hairdresser with a knack of knowing at a glance what would and, more importantly, what wouldn' t suit a customer.

Unfortunately, Gloria didn' t take advice not from anybody and definitely not from a hairdresser.

Over the past year, she' d tried several styles and colours, none of which suited her. Leo kept trying to suggest that she needed a light, layered cut to soften her features.

Leo waited with bated breath as she pulled a glossy magazine from her bag, turned the pages, then pointed to a picture of a model.

I want to look like this,' she said.

Keeping his smile in place was starting to make Leo' s face ache. The model had to be 25 at the most. The hairstyle suited her to perfection, but he wasn' t sure what it would look like on Gloria.

Gloria was in her early 60s. She had good bone structure, but her hair had suffered having been straightened, permed and dyed many, many times, and had become thin and fragile.

He' d suggested not dyeing her hair for at least a year, so that it had time to recover, but Gloria didn' t want his opinion.

She never listened to anyone' s opinion except her own.

I' ll do my best,' he said, as brightly as he could. You' re the boss.'

Sometimes he wished he' d never been tempted by Gloria' s offer, let alone accepted it.

Say yes,' she said, and you can run the salon. Think about it. You' ll be your own boss.'

That was a joke. Gloria did more than expect free appointments at any time, she also insisted on checking all the paperwork too.

He worked on Gloria' s hair, doing the best that he could. In the end, she seemed happy enough with his efforts, which was a huge relief.

While he was locking up, Gloria opened up the till and took out a wad of notes.

The business was doing well, but most of the profits ended up in her deep pockets. As she owned the salon, all he could do was watch.

Come on, Leo,' Gloria said sweetly. You need to get ready for the dinner. I' m not going on my own.'

As they left the salon together, Leo sighed as he realised something. Using his star sign as his professional name had been his idea.

It was the only suggestion Gloria had taken any notice of since the day they were married, five long years ago.

Gloria didn't want his opinion. She never listened to anyone's opinion except her own