Chapter 2

I met Lynette's gaze without backing down. Then, I turned to the flustered cashier behind the counter. "Could you please get me the manager?"

The cashier looked troubled. "I'm sorry, sir, but our store manager is at a meeting at headquarters today."

"Then, get the manager on duty. I—"

Before I could finish, Lynette slammed her hand against the counter, having finally lost her patience. "Enough! How much further are you going to push this? Must you make a scene and turn the neighborhood office into a laughingstock?"

My heart sank. Burning with anger, I clenched my fists.

She knew perfectly well how much I had sacrificed for this volunteer team. Yet now, just to save her own precious reputation, she was willing to throw me under the bus without even bothering to find out the truth.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. "I'm not making a scene, Ms. Watson."

I picked up the jug of peanut oil from the counter and held it out to her. "I only picked this up on my way out. I never intended to charge it to the donations. It has absolutely nothing to do with the supplies for our charity event.

"I just want to prove that I haven't done anything wrong."

My explanation somehow infuriated Lynette further. "Is this how you prove yourself? By talking back to me and making a fool of yourself in front of everyone?"

She suddenly swung her hand and slapped mine away, so hard that I lost my grip on the jug. The plastic container flew in a wide arc, hurtling straight toward the display cabinet beside the checkout counter.

A loud crash sounded.

The jug slammed into the exquisite crystal sculpture displayed inside, the store's prized centerpiece. The sculpture toppled from the cabinet and smashed against the polished tile floor, shattering into a million pieces.

At the same time, the plastic jug burst open, spilling golden peanut oil across the floor and mixing with the crystal shards. Everyone stood frozen in shock.

The young cashier yelped, her face turning deathly pale. Staring at the mess on the floor, she cried out, "The crystal sculpture is broken! That's our store's prized display piece, worth tens of thousands of dollars!

"None of you is allowed to leave! Security! Security! Block the entrance! Someone has smashed the crystal sculpture!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the electronic lock on the entrance clicked shut. Several uniformed security guards hurried over and surrounded us, making the atmosphere instantly hostile.

At that, Ryan stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at me, shouting righteously, "Everyone saw what happened, right? This man couldn't get away with stealing, so he lost his temper and smashed the store's most expensive merchandise!

"That crystal sculpture is worth tens of thousands of dollars! He's trying to drag our entire team down with him and make us take the blame!"

He practically sprayed spittle as he spoke, as if I had committed some heinous crime.

Lynette finally recovered from the shock of seeing the broken sculpture. She immediately backed up Ryan's story, washing her hands of any responsibility.

"That's right! It's all his fault!" she exclaimed. "You caused this mess, Will! Deal with it yourself!"

After a pause, she put on the self-important air of an official and made a grand show of being fair. "Here's what you'll do. Pay for the sculpture out of your pocket, and…"

A greedy glint flashed in her eyes. "Buy two 100-dollar shopping cards from this store and deliver them to the family living at the very end of the alley. That should make up for your mistake.

"If you do that, I'll consider the matter settled and forgive you for your recklessness tonight."

I remembered that the family at the end of the courtyard alley was her aunt's household.

Lynette had smashed the sculpture yet expected me to clean up her mess. And now, she wanted to squeeze more out of me. How could anyone be so shameless?

I was just about to speak when Margaret Lowe, one of the elderly women I had helped before, spoke up beside me, "Well, Ms. Watson, aren't you something? Why don't you take the jug of oil I received, too? Save yourself the trouble of accusing me of being greedy and stealing."