The hours ticked by with more moaning and groaning from the tall, brooding man, and the clock read 6:30pm meaning we had only a half hour of this arrangement left. Customers had trickled in and out of the store, which kept me busy at the register for the most part. I had chatted with a few regulars and even held conversations with some new customers who promised to visit again. Most had just asked who the new employee was. I was continuously afraid that he would be mean to them and chase them out of the store, but to my surprise, when he wasn’t glaring at me or folding clothes, he was actually smiling and helping out the customers. I didn’t know what to make of it, honestly, but I wasn’t going to complain. He was actually a good employee when he wanted to be, and even had some insight for some of the young girls trying to decide on what dress they should choose to purchase.
The store was currently empty and I had allowed Mr. Mitchell to take a thirty minute break, which he had just returned from. I saw him slam his phone back onto the register’s desk and make his way over to the box containing the winter collection, fumbling with its contents. I took this time to leave him be and saunter down to the basement and into my office. The contracts were held in my safe, and I figured I would retrieve them now before I forgot. A part of me felt guilty for being so mean to him, but the other part of me reveled in the pleasure of being able to boss him around, even for just a day. I collected the papers in my hands and locked my safe, returning to the main floor of the shop.
I was surprised to see all the mannequins had actually been redressed with the winter collection and the fall collection was sitting in the box. He was examining the navy blue winter coat that hung on the mannequin, smoothing its lapels out, and humming to himself. I coughed slightly to get his attention, making him jump slightly. He turned to glare at me and when he saw the stack of papers in my hands, I saw the first genuine smile from him appear on his face.
I let out a sigh before going up to him and placing the documents in his hands. “Here you go, I know it's not exactly seven yet, but you actually did good today, besides the moaning and groaning. I hope you know that a simple please and thank you would have gone a long way for you. I really did believe you were the best fit to take over my mother’s company.” He looked extremely shocked at my words, but nodded his head, grasping the documents tighter in his hands, and mumbled a small thank you before hardening his face and nearly sprinting out the door.
The bell chimed loudly and the door closed behind him. I waited a few minutes before I was sure he was gone and let my head drop into my hands.
“This has to count as the weirdest day of my life.” I spoke to myself giggling a little bit. I walked back to the register to start closing up.
The clock ticking was starting to bug me, but what plummeted me out of my focus was the loud and obnoxious ringtone coming from a phone. I looked at my own and saw that I had received no messages. That was odd. The ringing spooked me again and I watched in horror as Ford Mitchell’s phone was ringing on the desk beside me. I thought I had turned his ringer off, but he must have turned it back on when he went on his break. I groaned, not wanting to have to wait for him to return to get it. It was already 7:30pm and I wanted to go home. I was done with closing now, so I just pocketed his phone and made my way out of the door, setting the alarm system, and locking the door behind me.
The walk back felt longer than normal, and the air was biting my skin through my thin coat. I knew I should have worn a warmer coat, but none of my winter coats went well with this dress. It was nearing eight thirty when I arrived at the apartment to a worried looking Kansas. She shrieked when she saw my expression, and hurried to make me a cup of coffee. I admired her ability to recognize when I needed my fix, and smiled at her warmly. I took off my coat, and hung it on the rack before kicking my shoes off.
“You would not believe the day I had.” I said, flinging myself onto our burgundy couch.
“Kansas, Ford Mitchell worked for me today. It was insane.” I continued, throwing my hands up in exaggeration when I saw her luscious brown locks come back into view.
“You’re kidding, how? What? Why? Tell me everything!” She exclaimed, pushing my legs off the couch and taking their place.
“Oh, you know, he’s the total alpha male CEO/Owner of a multibillion dollar company. So it made sense that he would barge in my shop demanding those papers from me right? Well I put him in his place, and refused to give him the papers unless he worked under my management for the day.” I said flinging my wrist in the air with carelessness.
“Oh, my god, Alice you are literally a boss bitch, you know that right? I can’t believe he agreed to it.” She said, and I took a sip of my delicious coffee, basking in its warmth.
“Kansas, he was rude, arrogant, and he knew he was wrong. Those were my copies, and any self respecting lawyer or cop wouldn’t have done shit. It wasn’t my fault they couldn’t file their paperwork correctly, and seeing as how I was right, he had no other option. I wasn’t going to budge, and he knew it.” I was smiling with pride, and Kansas looked at me as if I was walking on water.
Eventually after the conversation died down, we said our goodnights to one another and headed to our bedrooms. I was dreading showing up to Mitchell’s office tomorrow, but I had gotten my fill of pettiness for the year, and knew that he did actually need it to run his businesses. I was just hoping that he would actually be there, but at the same time, I was dreading it if he was.
The morning sun was peeking through my pale pink curtains, and as usual I cursed myself for having that be my favorite color. Though they tied the room together nicely with the theme, a chic modern contemporary with whites, pinks and golds, they hardly allowed the sun to be shaded correctly. My shop was always closed on Friday through Sunday, Reece had another job on the weekends, and I wouldn’t do that to her. Heather, my other employee, only worked nights, and it wouldn’t make sense to open for such a short amount of time. I wanted to sleep in more, but I knew getting that man his phone as fast as possible would ensure that I would never have to see him again. I wanted to regret selling the company to him, truly, I did, but seeing as how he had made it one of his top companies, and kept it flourishing, I couldn’t say that I did. I constantly googled its progress the first few years and Carroll Publishing’s net worth doubled in the first year after he took over. Clearly he knew what
When I made it to my apartment, I knew that I had just enough time to wallow in the memories of my mother before Kansas sauntered into the apartment, and I would use that time accordingly. I shook off the putrid snowflakes from my body and shrugged my coat off, tossing it onto the rack before kicking my boots off. I made my way to the fridge and grabbed my carton of rocky road ice cream, and a small spoon. Criminal Minds seemed to make its way onto the television screen, and I used it as background noise to conceal the sobs that racked my body. I knew that they would resurface, but I had done my best to keep the memories of her buried in the back of my mind. They were too much to handle even now, years later. Amaryllis Carroll was my rock, my everything, and with her gone, I would always have a hole in my heart. She was a badass when it came to running her business, and she was the most loving when it came to me. She never made me feel like her business was more important than me, un
The wind whistled past our skin as we walked down the streets of Seattle. It bothered Kansas, who sported a smaller coat than mine, but I was okay with it for once. I was determined to drown my sorrows from this morning, and a little wind wasn’t going to deter me from such. When we arrived at the club, Adonis, I saw that the line was exceedingly long, and the bouncer was not having a good time. He was scolding a few underaged girls for having fake IDs, and they didn’t seem to want to budge, until one of the guests in line barked at them to leave. It was amusing to watch, and we made our way to the back of the line. Getting in didn’t take as long as I thought, and I held back a smart remark when the bouncer tried to say my ID was fake. Partly because no one had thought I would ever move back to Seattle, but when he saw that my ID was real with his blacklight, and that I was who I said I was, he let me in with an apology. I only nodded my head and walked past him. Kansas met me inside
Chapter 7 I would say that dancing with Ford Mitchell was less than spectacular, but the truth? He was excellent at dancing, and moving to the beat, and the way he swung me around had my heart beating rapidly. We had found a spot near Kansas and Arlo, and they seemed to be having just as much fun as we were. I was happy for her, truly, and in that moment, I was happy myself. Would I blame the alcohol tomorrow morning? Of course, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that now. Ford seemed to be watching me warily, as if I were a feral animal that may strike at any moment. When he brought me close again, he was hesitant to place his hands on my hips, and when he did, I smiled wider and moved my hips to the new beat that had started moments before. To say he was shocked was an understatement, but the shock was quickly replaced with a smirk, and he too, moved his hips to the beat. The alcohol had definitely taken its turn at the forefront of my mind, and for once I didn’t care. No other drunk
I could say that Sunday was boring, and uneventful, and normally it would be, but in reality, it was a whirlwind of adventures. It wasn’t even nine in the morning. I woke up earlier than I wanted at five, and almost forgot a few important papers for my meeting with Illiana.She was a stylish young girl, a foot or two taller than me, and I was almost always starstruck at the eclecticism that showed in her work. She had a certain finesse when it came to her clothing style, and there was never a time that I wasn’t impressed with her work. When I arrived at her studio, she had her collection laid out on her tables, and there wasn’t a stitch out of place. Illiana prided herself on having perfect structure when it came to her clothing. Her color pallet was impeccable, and the story her collection told was sophisticated in nature. A jumpsuit of oranges and reds, scattered with strips of perfectly, yet imperfect tulle lined the sides, a few button up shirts with reds, yellows, and browns ti
The next few days passed in a blur, and before I knew it, it was already Wednesday. I was standing at the register, mindlessly going over the inventory on the computer. I didn’t hate Wednesday, but it was the slowest day of the week, and there wasn’t much to do, seeing as how the boutique was absolutely spotless, and Reece had just gone on her break. I had the maintenance guy scheduled to come in tomorrow morning, but the lights were bugging me. They had gotten worse within the past few days, and they were driving me insane. I wanted to turn them off completely, but that would make customers think that we were closed, and as slow as it already was, I wouldn’t deter any potential customers. After a few grueling minutes on the computer, I decided to pull up our Yelp page and see if we had gotten any new reviews. Yelp had been one of the few sites that had helped with the growing traffic in our shop, and I liked to scan the reviews to see if I needed to make any improvements. However,
Once the lights were fixed in the boutique, I felt a lot better about the atmosphere it created. I was also in a better mood, and even gave Reece the rest of the day off. She was ecstatic, of course, and because it was Thursday, it meant that she would have another long weekend. I, however, was swamped with new customers coming in shortly after by the boatload. It’s not to say that I wasn’t thrilled, I was just overwhelmed. I was currently ringing up one of the last customers of the wave, when the same lawyer from Ford’s company approached my register. I gave him a curt nod, and handed the woman her card and her receipt before addressing him. “Can I help you?” I kept my voice even, and uninterested with my arms crossed over my chest. When I saw that he had reached into his briefcase and pulled out a familiar manila folder, I raised my eyebrow. “Here are your original documents from Mr. Mitchell, I apologize for our previous interaction, please, have a wonderful day Ms. Carroll.” Wel
The sirens blared at full capacity as the cop cars sped down Walker Street. Deputy Halden pressed his right foot onto the gas pedal harder, and the car’s engine revved violently. These were the cases that broke even the hardest men down, and he knew that this one would be no different. He sighed as his partner placed a hand on his shoulder, they had to stay as calm as possible, and Halden knew it. He stopped the car once they reached the address the dispatcher had given them. This was it, and there was no going back. With one hand on his gun and the other on his walkie talkie, he advanced towards the beaten down door. A man was being dragged out in cuffs, and hurtling crude words towards the officers restraining him, and Halden had to suck in a deep breath to keep from losing his cool. Officers were lining the streets, and residents were clamoring out of their houses to see what was going on in their quiet neighborhood. Halden told a few of them to remain on their own property and t
Once the lights were fixed in the boutique, I felt a lot better about the atmosphere it created. I was also in a better mood, and even gave Reece the rest of the day off. She was ecstatic, of course, and because it was Thursday, it meant that she would have another long weekend. I, however, was swamped with new customers coming in shortly after by the boatload. It’s not to say that I wasn’t thrilled, I was just overwhelmed. I was currently ringing up one of the last customers of the wave, when the same lawyer from Ford’s company approached my register. I gave him a curt nod, and handed the woman her card and her receipt before addressing him. “Can I help you?” I kept my voice even, and uninterested with my arms crossed over my chest. When I saw that he had reached into his briefcase and pulled out a familiar manila folder, I raised my eyebrow. “Here are your original documents from Mr. Mitchell, I apologize for our previous interaction, please, have a wonderful day Ms. Carroll.” Wel
The next few days passed in a blur, and before I knew it, it was already Wednesday. I was standing at the register, mindlessly going over the inventory on the computer. I didn’t hate Wednesday, but it was the slowest day of the week, and there wasn’t much to do, seeing as how the boutique was absolutely spotless, and Reece had just gone on her break. I had the maintenance guy scheduled to come in tomorrow morning, but the lights were bugging me. They had gotten worse within the past few days, and they were driving me insane. I wanted to turn them off completely, but that would make customers think that we were closed, and as slow as it already was, I wouldn’t deter any potential customers. After a few grueling minutes on the computer, I decided to pull up our Yelp page and see if we had gotten any new reviews. Yelp had been one of the few sites that had helped with the growing traffic in our shop, and I liked to scan the reviews to see if I needed to make any improvements. However,
I could say that Sunday was boring, and uneventful, and normally it would be, but in reality, it was a whirlwind of adventures. It wasn’t even nine in the morning. I woke up earlier than I wanted at five, and almost forgot a few important papers for my meeting with Illiana.She was a stylish young girl, a foot or two taller than me, and I was almost always starstruck at the eclecticism that showed in her work. She had a certain finesse when it came to her clothing style, and there was never a time that I wasn’t impressed with her work. When I arrived at her studio, she had her collection laid out on her tables, and there wasn’t a stitch out of place. Illiana prided herself on having perfect structure when it came to her clothing. Her color pallet was impeccable, and the story her collection told was sophisticated in nature. A jumpsuit of oranges and reds, scattered with strips of perfectly, yet imperfect tulle lined the sides, a few button up shirts with reds, yellows, and browns ti
Chapter 7 I would say that dancing with Ford Mitchell was less than spectacular, but the truth? He was excellent at dancing, and moving to the beat, and the way he swung me around had my heart beating rapidly. We had found a spot near Kansas and Arlo, and they seemed to be having just as much fun as we were. I was happy for her, truly, and in that moment, I was happy myself. Would I blame the alcohol tomorrow morning? Of course, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that now. Ford seemed to be watching me warily, as if I were a feral animal that may strike at any moment. When he brought me close again, he was hesitant to place his hands on my hips, and when he did, I smiled wider and moved my hips to the new beat that had started moments before. To say he was shocked was an understatement, but the shock was quickly replaced with a smirk, and he too, moved his hips to the beat. The alcohol had definitely taken its turn at the forefront of my mind, and for once I didn’t care. No other drunk
The wind whistled past our skin as we walked down the streets of Seattle. It bothered Kansas, who sported a smaller coat than mine, but I was okay with it for once. I was determined to drown my sorrows from this morning, and a little wind wasn’t going to deter me from such. When we arrived at the club, Adonis, I saw that the line was exceedingly long, and the bouncer was not having a good time. He was scolding a few underaged girls for having fake IDs, and they didn’t seem to want to budge, until one of the guests in line barked at them to leave. It was amusing to watch, and we made our way to the back of the line. Getting in didn’t take as long as I thought, and I held back a smart remark when the bouncer tried to say my ID was fake. Partly because no one had thought I would ever move back to Seattle, but when he saw that my ID was real with his blacklight, and that I was who I said I was, he let me in with an apology. I only nodded my head and walked past him. Kansas met me inside
When I made it to my apartment, I knew that I had just enough time to wallow in the memories of my mother before Kansas sauntered into the apartment, and I would use that time accordingly. I shook off the putrid snowflakes from my body and shrugged my coat off, tossing it onto the rack before kicking my boots off. I made my way to the fridge and grabbed my carton of rocky road ice cream, and a small spoon. Criminal Minds seemed to make its way onto the television screen, and I used it as background noise to conceal the sobs that racked my body. I knew that they would resurface, but I had done my best to keep the memories of her buried in the back of my mind. They were too much to handle even now, years later. Amaryllis Carroll was my rock, my everything, and with her gone, I would always have a hole in my heart. She was a badass when it came to running her business, and she was the most loving when it came to me. She never made me feel like her business was more important than me, un
The morning sun was peeking through my pale pink curtains, and as usual I cursed myself for having that be my favorite color. Though they tied the room together nicely with the theme, a chic modern contemporary with whites, pinks and golds, they hardly allowed the sun to be shaded correctly. My shop was always closed on Friday through Sunday, Reece had another job on the weekends, and I wouldn’t do that to her. Heather, my other employee, only worked nights, and it wouldn’t make sense to open for such a short amount of time. I wanted to sleep in more, but I knew getting that man his phone as fast as possible would ensure that I would never have to see him again. I wanted to regret selling the company to him, truly, I did, but seeing as how he had made it one of his top companies, and kept it flourishing, I couldn’t say that I did. I constantly googled its progress the first few years and Carroll Publishing’s net worth doubled in the first year after he took over. Clearly he knew what
The hours ticked by with more moaning and groaning from the tall, brooding man, and the clock read 6:30pm meaning we had only a half hour of this arrangement left. Customers had trickled in and out of the store, which kept me busy at the register for the most part. I had chatted with a few regulars and even held conversations with some new customers who promised to visit again. Most had just asked who the new employee was. I was continuously afraid that he would be mean to them and chase them out of the store, but to my surprise, when he wasn’t glaring at me or folding clothes, he was actually smiling and helping out the customers. I didn’t know what to make of it, honestly, but I wasn’t going to complain. He was actually a good employee when he wanted to be, and even had some insight for some of the young girls trying to decide on what dress they should choose to purchase. The store was currently empty and I had allowed Mr. Mitchell to take a thirty minute break, which he had just
A few days went by, and the weather just got colder and colder here in Seattle as November came to a grueling end. I was working on getting our fall collection out on the floor when I heard the bell at the front door ding. Reece was on her lunch break, and I saw that it was actually Ford Mitchell in the flesh. His midnight hair swept across his forehead, and sweat glistened on his perfect features. I only tilted my head in confusion until I remembered my conversation from a few days back with Mr. Grumpy Lawyer. A small smile formed on my face, and I thought he would be the same man that I had handed the company to. The meetings were actually quite enjoyable as we worked on the price and the negotiations. He seemed like a well fit man for the company, and he ran his other businesses with precision. My assumptions were made to be wrong, however, because as soon as he saw me, a scowl made its way onto his lips. “You.” He roared, stomping up to the register. Shock covered my face as I