Page 67 of Claiming What's His
“Here.” Nat said, pulling my attention back to where she stood a dozen racks away with an arm full of options. “Go try these on.” She pushed them towards me when I got close.
“These are way too many, I don’t have the time.” I said, scoffing at the half a dozen complicated sets in her hands.
“You’re right.” She paused, looking down at her options. “This one.” She said surely, handing me the baby pink one and pushing me towards the dressing room. “Go on but let me see before you take it off.”
I ran into the curtained dressing room and started getting undressed out of my simple navy-blue pants and white sailing top. I was just adjusting the straps of the bra harness when her phone rang, and I listened to her have a quick and curt conversation with someone on the other end.
“I have to go back.” She said, in a voice like it pained her.
“What?” I gasped, half naked and unable to just leave. “Why?”
“Some fire at the office they can’t put out without me, are you going to be okay to get back without me?”
“Well yeah.” I said, pausing with my hands on my hips as I stood on the other side of the curtain.
“I’m sorry! I want to hear all about how it looks when you get back!”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few.” I called back, shaking my head as I started taking off the outfit, knowing with only wearing half of it, that it was the one. A few minutes after I was back in my top and walked out of my dressing room to buy my wedding night lingerie.
I walked through the store to cash out, but when I got closer I saw the woman that had been glaring at Nat and I standing at the counter with two female employees and a man who looked like a manager. My step faltered when the first woman turned and glared at me again, staring down her nose at me.
“That’s her.” She said, and the employees turned towards me as more condemning glares flew my way.
“She came in with the woman that bolted out of here a few minutes ago.” One of the employees said to the man and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, as trepidation crawled up my spine. The man stepped forward and grabbed the pink lingerie out of my hands forcefully and tossed it on the counter.
“Where’s the rest of it?” He snapped.
“The rest?” I asked, confused, looking between the four of them as other patrons stared on in morbid curiosity.
“The other items you took into the dressing room with you. Are you wearing them under your clothes?” The man asked as he pushed my hand away from my body where I had my arms crossed over my chest. His hand grazed my breast as he did before he grabbed for the strap of my purse.
“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, backing up in shock as he reached forward again and tried to grab my purse.
“Give me the items you stole!” He yelled, attracting the attention of everyone else in the store.
Jesus fuck this was so embarrassing. Shame and anger burned my face as my skin turned red with mortification.
“I didn’t steal anything! I only took the one in the dressing room with me and came out with it two minutes later.” He reached for me again and got his hand around the strap of my purse and yanked it off my arm, ripping the neckline of my shirt with the force. “Hey!” I yelled and fought him for it. “You can’t do that!”
“Shut up.” He growled and shoved me backwards. “And riff raff like you can’t come in here and steal shit you have no means to pay for it. You were seen taking multiple sets into the dressing room and only came out with one. Where are the others?” He demanded as he opened my purse and dumped it onto the counter looking for the mysteriously missing lingerie.
“I didn’t take any others in there but that one!” I reached around him and grabbed for my stuff as he shoved me again, but not before I grabbed my phone off the counter as he tossed all of my things around, like a size 36 DD bra was going to hide under my lipstick tube.
I opened my phone and hovered over Mavericks phone number for a moment before closing out my contacts and dialing the main number for Jones Holding and stepping back as the man tried to grab my phone.
“Jones Holding, how may I direct your call.” The head receptionist answered.
“Reid Haskins or Dexter Chase please, it’s urgent.” I rushed on, begging that she would believe the urgency.
“One moment please.” There was a brief pause as I backed away again as the man scoffed, shoving my stuff off the counter in disarray.
“Hang up that phone right now!” He demanded, before turning to one of the employees who sneered at me, “Call the police.”
The woman who had accused me of stealing crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at me like she was winning the biggest prize in the world as I was threatened with jail time. “Looks like she stole from a knock off jewelry store too, judging by the size of that rock on her hand.” She sneered. I clung to my phone and tried desperately to keep my breathing normal so I didn’t fall into a full blown panic attack.
“Dexter Chase.” One of Maverick’s best friends and Lawyer answered, and I gasped in relief.