𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐥. ✄ 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞

16 • Problem and Solution

"...I love you too!"

Brittney's heart fluttered again, she hung up the phone with a smile on her face. Courtney ran over, excited to see what the big deal was. She grabbed her arm and clung to her as they walked to their car.

"So...what happened?! You're smiling like an idiot again!"
"Nothing much...he just said I love you," Brittney blushed
"Aw, that's so cute!"
"Only if you make it one," she chuckled, "But let's go home, I'm tired."

Two Weeks Later.

As the days passed, more people applied for a job at the new boutique. Courtney even started on the staff uniforms since a good amount of people would be working for them. About four or five.

Though their business was small, they were willing to watch it grow. That was the fun part!

Courtney had been at home all day actually; papers, pencils, markers, and thousands of sketchbooks were all over the apartment. She had her notes in one area and rough drafts of clothing designs in another. Yes, she knew the apartment was messier because of her sketches but she planned on cleaning up before the girls got home. If not, she would've gotten an ear full.

Now that she thought of it, the girls were meant to be coming home soon. Lexi was designing flyers and finding a place to get them printed. Brittney was at the building doing who knows what. She decided to clean up and get the apartment looking normal again. She was almost done with the staff uniforms anyways. She needed to discuss some things with the girls but other than that, everything was completed.

•••

Brittney went to the new building to check in with the contractors. The girls helped finish with the painting of the walls and let the men complete the harder tasks. The new flooring had just been installed and the light fixtures got replaced.

The new building was starting to look better each passing day!

Brittney got a call from the company she was buying racks and shelves from. The furniture was meant to arrive in the next few weeks. Then a new shipment of clothing was coming within a month. Just as she was about to leave Brittney ran into someone.

Literally.

She felt her body stumble once she realized she accidentally hit someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Not again, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the woman said

After dusting herself off, Brittney looked to see who she had bumped into. It was a taller woman whose grip on her coffee cup from Starbucks was tighter than her dress. She seemed..."nice".

"Just please watch where you're going next time," she almost walked off

But she stopped immediately once she realized who Brittney was. The woman turned around and walked back up to Brittney. Without any word, she looked at the unnamed building that was a work in progress. A grin was then stapled on her face.

"You're the new owner of this building right?" she asked
"Yes, one of them."
"That's cute."
"What is?" Brittney asked confused
"This whole thing, starting a business with friends I assume? But that's a bit risky."
"Why?"
"You're opening a business on one of the busiest streets. With the most people. That's a lot of competition."
"Well, a little competition shouldn't be bad right? It's a little hard to avoid while being a business owner."
"Sure...you can say that."
"What are you getting at in this conversation?" Brittney started
"I'm sorry?"
"You know you don't have to pretend to be nice. It's rather...rude in my opinion," she mocked, "I'd rather you be a bitch instead."
"I was just making small talk, Dear. You're my neighbor after all!"

Brittney rolled her eyes.

"But I wouldn't put so much faith into this kindergarten project you call a boutique. Most businesses like yours fail on the first try. I wouldn't be surprised if you guys barely lasted a week."

The lady quickly walked off, strutting as if she had done something. All she did was make Brittney angry, she was even more determined to prove many people like her wrong. She closed the door and walked off to her car with smoke coming from her ears.

After slamming her car door, she heard her phone ring. It was Jimin again, probably calling because he getting ready to go to bed. She stormed off to the driver's side of the car and got inside. Brittney answered the phone and put Jimin on speakerphone.

"Hello?" she answered sternly
"Uh, is this a bad time? You sound less than happy."
"Ugh, I'm just frustrated," she sighed
"Wanna talk about it? I've got time," he said kindly
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am!" he giggled
"It's just, I've been trying my best and working hard with all this new business thing. I'm arranging all of the behind-the-scenes stuff like finding contractors, ordering furniture, making sure the clothes get here one time. I love doing this but I just wish, things were easier. Then this bitch whose supposedly our (business) neighbor made snarky comments and talked down to me! Acting like I don't know what I'm doing and I'm doing all of this for nothing! I'm just...tired, you know?"

Brittney's head was resting on the car window. Jimin's silence was helpful to some extent, she was feeling a little better now that she got her emotions out.

"I want you to know that I'm always going to be proud of you no matter what. This is better said than done but don't let people like that lady get you down. You're a hard worker and the best friend anyone can have. Everything is going to be fine, I promise."
"Thank you," she smiled

Brittney lifted her head off the window.

"But this gives me an idea," Jimin said

•••

Lexi and Courtney were waiting for Brittney to hurry back home. Courtney was in the kitchen getting a snack and Lexi was on the couch watching TV.

The door opened to an excited Brittney.

"We're going to Korea again!" she said

•••

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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: ̗̀➛P. Pinkuu