Chapter 0036
BAILEE
“Bye, Bailee!” Lila, one of my employees, yelled as she jogged out of the shop. She was a good employee, but I refused to let her job come before her school and told her I would close for her so she could get ready for her school dance.
“Have fun!” I shouted as I adjusted my bun.
Ben had promised he would take care of Brinley until I got home. When I called, he confirmed she was finally napping, so I felt good about staying half an hour later than I usually would to give Lila the night off.
I wanted her to enjoy her time in high school and not miss any of the games or events like I had. I hadn’t gone to the dances when I was in school, and I had regretted it after.
I had just begun straightening the racks when the bell chimed over the front door, and I turned to greet two girls as they entered the shop.
“Hello! Welcome!” I greeted them as they walked straight toward me.
“You’re Bailey Evans, right?” One of the girls asked, and I nodded with a smile.
“I am. How can I help you?” I asked, moving toward the center of the shop to meet them halfway. As I did so, I discretely looked them over to get an idea of their size and style so I could make a recommendation.
The girl who spoke was leading the other in, so I figured she was the one wanting to shop today. With her long legs and toned arms, I would recommend a strapless, floor-length gown with a slit up the leg if she was looking for a dress, as most girls were this time of year with all the local high schools having homecoming over the next two weeks.
I immediately began going through my catalog in my mind but was caught off-guard when the two girls curled their lips at me with disgust.
“You’re Caleb Johnson’s ex-wife?” The other girl asked, looking slightly older than her friend but just as angry. “You’re disgusting.”
“Excuse me?” My eyebrows rose, and I glanced around the store, wondering if this was a prank. Since when did Caleb get a teenage girl fan base?
He was nothing more than the son of a politician.
Caleb had never talked to me about it, but I was pretty sure his business was failing, and he had no involvement in the community. I doubted the two girls followed politics, so it didn’t make sense for them to know who he was, let alone his ex- wife, unless they had seen the news report after our divorce hearing.
“You deserve this, you whore!” The first teenager yelled, throwing her smoothie. The lid popped off midair, and I lifted my arms instinctively as the cup of cold, thick liquid hit my chest, splashing over my face before dripping down my body. “Everyone knows what you did. How you slept with Alexander Kingston when you were still married to Caleb.”
“What are you talking about?” I shouted, furious as the cold liquid slid down my chest and the bell over the door chimed again.
“Get out!” The low growl of anger made me want to cry. Every time my path crossed with Alexander’s, he got to witness me hitting a new low.
I wiped the liquid from my face before forcing my eyes open to see Alexander standing behind the frozen teenagers. “Or I will call the cops.”
“Call them anyway.” I spat, looking at the mess on the carpet and the row of custom designs they had just ruined, not to mention what they had just done was considered assault. “They just destroyed thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Call the police.”
1/2
The girls’ eyes widened, and I flicked my hand down at my side to free it of the excess strawberry-banana smoothie.
“I’m sick of people getting away with treating everyone like shit, damaging personal property, and expecting no consequences. Didn’t your parents raise you to treat others with respect?” I said, staring them down and seeing the flash of fear in their eyes when I pointed to the security camera in the corner. “You’ll be paying for the damage to my merchandise, to have my shop cleaned, and if you’re lucky, they’ll give you community service or have you pay a hefty fine for assaulting me instead of jail time.”
“You can’t,” The teenager who threw the smoothie at me stuttered, and I shrugged at her.
“I can. Congratulations, you just got yourself a record and ruined your futures for something you know nothing about and have no involvement in.”
