24 Enemy Customers
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"Where do you want to have your breakfast?" Eric inquired while driving them out of the underground parking lot.
He hadn't brought his car key with him to the dining room so he had no other alternative than to take his brother's own and drive.
"I'm not hungry. Just drive around so I can cool my head," Mark replied. His tone was much calmer now. He didn't look like someone in the heat of anger a few minutes ago except for the little frown on his face.
"On it," Eric replied and floored the accelerator. He was relieved that his brother had learned to control his temper otherwise by now, no one would have been able to handle him all alone.
***
Elena freshened up and left for Deluxe Store as soon as she finished tidying her tiny apartment.
As the store normally opened at 9 AM, she was quite early, hence she found other things to do until the time for the opening came.
Elena was quite busy from the morning till it was time for their lunch break. Apparently, the store manager saw the potential in her skills and threw most of the VIP customers her way.
Fortunately, lunch break came at last, giving her the opportunity to escape and rest her feet. But as soon as the break was over, she was back on her feet again.
Just as Elena had finished taking care of the customer that stepped out of the VIP room, she walked out while pounding the side of her thighs gently. It wasn't a good work ethic hence she tried to be subtle with her movement.
Just then, she lifted her gaze and saw three ladies in chic outfits and expensive accessories walk into the store.
At first, she didn't recognize them until one of them took off her sunglasses and almost immediately, her heartbeats increased by a few paces. Now everything was clear to her.
Elena wasn't afraid of anything, it's just that it was so sudden for her to meet someone from the social circle she used to belong to.
It's not like she was never prepared to bump into them while working in a luxury store, but because of the call she had with her mother in the morning, her thoughts have been flying around all day.
"Mirabelle," Elena mumbled to herself while staring at the bright young lady who had shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head, and was now smiling at the store manager.
She was one of the people on Elena's blacklist.
On the other side, the store manager was trying to take care of the three social class ladies that just walked into their store. She was more than happy to serve them since they always parked more than half of the items in the store while leaving.
"Would you like me to escort you to the VIP room?" she asked them with a polite smile.
"No way! We want to look at the items by ourselves today," Mirabelle rejected her assistance immediately. "Just send over a shopping assistant to follow us."
The first person that crossed the Manager's mind was Elena and immediately, she turned around to glance at the staff in uniform until she sighted the familiar figure already on the move to go in further into the store.
"Elena. Please can you come over here?" she requested.
Hearing her name, Elena exhaled deeply and made a quick mental preparation before making her way over.
As she was walking towards them in steady steps, the three ladies noticed her figure approaching them and all paused in wild surprise.
The other two ladies in short flowered dresses had to take off their glasses to be able to see well. Their eyes were wide in shock.
"Look who is here," Mirabelle said as the corner of her lips lifted in a grin.
The reactions of the young women when they saw Elena didn't go unnoticed by the store manager who felt that something was very wrong in the atmosphere. "Is there a problem? Do you know her? Would you like me to get someone else?" she inquired.
Quickly, one of them waved her hands to signify they were fine with the arrangement. "It's all right. We know Elena, she used to be a wealthy girl until things fell apart for her family and her father committed suicide in shame. You can leave her with us. Definitely, we have a lot of things to catch up on."
Elena felt as if someone was wringing her heart when she heard the words that came out from the lips of one of those girls that owed her an apology.
How dare they talk about her father in that manner? What gave them the right to talk about her family?
A wave of pain hit Elena in the chest as her fists clenched by her sides. She was deeply hurt, unfortunately, she couldn't show it.
Learning from the socialites that Elena, who was currently one of the best shopping assistants in the store used to be a part of the social circle, the store manager was enveloped with shock, but she had to compose herself and leave as the young women shooed her away.
Before bypassing Elena, she gave her a concerned gaze, but the latter wasn't even looking at her.
As soon as they were left alone, Elena was the first to speak. She tried really hard to smile, but she couldn't even fake it so she kept a neutral look. That just goes to show just how much she hated them.
"How can I be of assistance to you?" she asked, trying to sound polite.
"Wow! Everyone was saying you ran abroad to stay after your father killed himself, but we refused to believe the news. After all, where would you get the money to live there?" the lady in a body-hug dress said with a wide grin.
Her tone was twisted in mockery, but to those who couldn't hear her, she looked like someone happy to see an old friend.
"Do you have any intentions to shop today? If not, I will go help another customer. We are crowding the entrance as it is," Elena said to them calmly, totally ignoring their tactics to spark a flame in her.
Obviously, the three women were surprised that she didn't even flinch, or try to reply to them even after the provoking words they had already dished her. But they were not about to let their fun die when they haven't gotten started yet.
"Are you pretending to be strong?" the third lady in a short flay gown scoffed while letting her gaze move from the top of her head and down to her feet before a snigger escaped her lips.
