Chapter 10
The trip was still weeks away but I needed a whole new collection of outfits to wear. The last time I had gone on a vacation trip, I was still wearing training bras. I had a couple of bathing suits, but none that seemed suitable for a trip to the Bahamas. And I needed to get beachwear for the warm Caribbean weather. So I decided today I would go shopping, and I invited Sheila to come with me.
It had only been a week since the engagement party and I hadn't talked to Julius since. I also hadn't heard from Josie, which I was grateful for. I had spent most of my time working and occasionally hanging out with Sheila during downtime.
Today was Friday and we had plans to shop until we dropped. I didn't have any serious problems with paparazzi. I saw more than usual but not enough to irritate me. A few occasionally took my picture when I left work, and others when I went anywhere besides home. But they weren't bothersome, yet.
I pulled up to Sheila's apartment complex and texted her that I was outside. She comes down the stairs wearing an oversized jean jacket and black leggings, with her bag hung on her arm. The weather was slowly starting to warm up but still got cold at night. I wore a cropped black jacket and some leggings, something casual for our outing.
She waves at me before getting into the car. "I've had this gift card to Victoria Secret forever and now I finally get to use it." She says as she takes a seat.
"I don't know if there is a Victoria Secret at the mall we're going to" I say as I start to drive.
"Are we not going to Manhattan Mall?" She asks. I shake my head, "Brookfield Place."
She gasps, "The mall where snobby rich people shop?" I quirk my eyebrow and she laughs, "Besides you of course."
"I've never been to Manhattan mall, should we go there instead?" I ask.
She shrugs, "If you're used to Brookfield we should go there, but if you can't find anything we'll go to Manhattan." I nod in agreement.
We finally get to the huge high-end mall and head toward the entrance. "Wow." Sheila mutters as we step into the building. The beautiful glass ceilings brought sunlight from outside into the mall. Huge pillars could be seen inside the coliseum-like building. There were a lot of people going in and out as they explored different stores. Brand names like Hermès, Gucci, and Micheal Kors could be seen in the mall.
"How about we start there." I say pointing at the Givenchy store building. She nods before following me in the direction of the store. We enter the store and see a selection of purses and other accessories on display around the store.
"Welcome to Givenchy, may I assist you in finding anything?" A black-haired female worker asks as she approaches me. I shake my head, "Just looking for now, I'm thinking of getting some sunglasses."
The worker smiles, displaying her pearly white teeth. "Over here we have our newest collection of handcrafted frames." She says as she motions to the table behind her. I walk over to the table and start looking at the different options.
"What do you think of these?" I ask Sheila as she approaches next to me. "They're fabulous!" The worker says from behind.
Sheila nods, "I agree."
We spent about 30 minutes in the shop before I walked out with two sunglasses and a new clutch. We began walking around the mall, trying to decide where to go next. "What about that one? I see some cute stuff in the window." Sheila says as she points to a store called Luxulia.
"I've never been in here before, but we can try it." I said with a shrug. We enter the store and it looks fairly new, with mannequins all around wearing luxury dresses. "Welcome." A woman says curtly as we enter the store. I nod before passing her to go toward the swim department. Sheila was somewhere near the tops, searching through the racks.
As I was looking through the rack of clothes in front of me, I could feel eyes watching me from behind. When I turned around the worker woman was nearby, but looking at something on a shelf. I shrug it off before walking over to Sheila at a clothes rack. "See anything interesting?" I ask her.
She shakes her head, "Not for either of us. I'm hungry."
I laugh, "You wanna get something to eat before we continue?" I ask.
She nods, "Sounds good to me." I adjust my bag on my shoulder before heading toward the store's exit with Sheila following behind me. "Excuse me, ma'am." A whiny voice calls from behind us. I turn around as the sound of clicking heels gets closer. The worker from earlier approaches us with her walk-in talkie in her hand.
"Yes?" I ask.
"I would just like to check your bag." She says with her arms crossed. I quirk my eyebrow in confusion, "For what?"
"You're leaving the store without buying anything, so I'd just like to be on the safe side." She says. Sheila and I look at each other before turning back to the woman. "You think I stole something?" I ask.
The worker shakes her head, "I never said that, please follow me to the counter ma'am."
Sheila scoffs, "Aren't you going to check her bag too?" She asks as she points to the woman who had just walked past us out of the store.
The worker was getting visibly frustrated and begins talking to her walkie-talkie, "I have a shoplifting suspect here. Call for backup."
I begin laughing, "Back up? I didn't steal anything!"
"What's going on here?" A familiar voice says from behind me. I turn around to see Josephine entering the store with shopping bags in her hand. The worker smiles at Josephine, "Good afternoon Ms. Adams! Don't worry I'm handling the situation."
Sheila scoffs again from next to me. "There isn't a situation, I was just trying to leave. But no, you just had to stop the suspicious black girls!" I say, my voice full of irritation. The worker glares at me, "It has nothing to do with your race. I don't see color! Just let me check your bag and you'll be on your way."
Josie gasps, "Amy these are my friends! Do you even know who she is? She is an heir, and about to marry Julius Ashford in a few months! I will have my mother fire you for this kind of behavior. I don't see you checking anyone else's bags, you want to check mine too when I leave?" Josie asks angrily. The worker's face pales, "No ma'am I'm so sorry I had no idea." She turns to me, "My sincere apologies."
I scoff, "You will be when you hear from my lawyers."
I wasn't serious, I just wanted to scare her.
"Collect your things immediately, you're fired." Josie says. The woman looks like she's on the verge of tears before she turns around to get her things from the back. Josie turns to Sheila and I, "I am so sorry about that guys! It's so hard to find good employees these days."
I quirk my brow, "Since when did your mom change the name of her stores?" I ask. "These are new stores for her line of luxury wear." Josie answers.
I nod, "Well thanks for the save." I was still mad at her for what happened at the party. But at the same time, I was grateful that she had just stuck up for me.
She shrugs, "It was nothing. It shouldn't have happened in the first place."
The woman comes out with her purse, as she walks out of the shop with her head down. Josie sighs, "Now I have to call someone to fill in. Mom's not gonna like this." She places her shopping bags on the ground before going to the back room. She comes back out with a man in a tight button-up, with a pin on his shirt that read 'manager'.
"Where are your other workers?" She asks the man irritatedly. "Julia is on lunch right now Ms. Adams, but I will call someone to fill Amy's place for today."
She nods, "Good then hire a new employee this week. One that isn't racist this time."
He nods quickly, "Yes ma'am."
Josie struts back over to us before picking up her bags and smiling. "Since we're all here let's continue shopping!" She walks past us and toward the exit while Sheila and I both look at each other. We shrug before following her out of the store.
"We were going to go eat." Sheila says to Josie as we walk past several stores. "Perfect! I'm starving and I know the perfect place here." Josie picks up her pace and we follow her down the steps.
We wind up at a well-lit restaurant called Sant Ambroeus inside the mall. We were taken to our seats almost immediately and sat around a small round table. "Lunch is on me." Josie says as she picks up a menu.
I didn't know what to say as we all sat around quietly at the table. How do you say, 'I'm still mad at you for flirting with my fiancé at my engagement party' casually?
"So Josie, did you have fun at the party?" I ask. She puts her menu to the side, "I had lots of fun. I got like three guys' phone numbers." She says with a giggle.
"Oh was one of them my fiancé?" I ask casually, still looking at the menu. Her happy expression drops, eyes now narrowed at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
She scoffs, "It was simple flirting, it's not like I made out with him."
I roll my eyes, they were perfect for each other. "Regardless, it was embarrassing for me Josie! At my engagement party? Really?"
"Okay, I'm sorry sheesh!" She says insincerely. I let out an annoyed huff before glancing at my menu again. Sheila was quiet as she looked around the restaurant awkwardly. The waiter finally shows up to take our orders before heading back into the kitchen.
After a quiet and awkward meal, Josie parted ways from us, leaving Sheila and I to finish our shopping. "I feel exhausted already." I say with a chuckle as we walk through the mall.
Sheila nods in agreement, "I know right, and it's only 5 o'clock."
"One more store and then I think we'll call it a day." She nods as we enter into Dolce & Gabbana.
After almost an hour there we finally decided to go home. I dropped off Sheila and felt exhausted driving back to my house. All I wanted right now was a hot shower, a marathon of my favorite show, and my bed.
I finally got home I carried all of my shopping bags into the house and placed them on the ground in the foyer. "Looks like someone has been shopping for their trip." My mother comments when she sees me.
I nod, "Needed some new bathing suits and stuff".
She chuckles, "I see. I haven't seen Julius around lately?" She asks.
"He's been busy with work, I'll see him during the trip."
She nods, "Don't you miss him? Date nights are good for growing relationships."
I chuckle, "I know mom, we're fine. I'll see him soon." I grab all my bags and begin carrying them up the stairs to my bedroom. When I enter the room I throw them all on the floor before shutting the door behind me and laying down on my bed.
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Saturday update because I felt like it.
How do you guys feel about Josephine? She's a pretty bad friend, in my opinion. This won't be our last time seeing her.
The family trip next chapter! See you next week.
-AuggiePooh_