Chapter 3: Cellphones and Contracts

The hours ticked by with more moaning and groaning from the tall, brooding man, and the clock read 6:30pm meaning we had only a half hour of this arrangement left. Customers had trickled in and out of the store, which kept me busy at the register for the most part. I had chatted with a few regulars and even held conversations with some new customers who promised to visit again. Most had just asked who the new employee was. I was continuously afraid that he would be mean to them and chase them out of the store, but to my surprise, when he wasn’t glaring at me or folding clothes, he was actually smiling and helping out the customers. I didn’t know what to make of it, honestly, but I wasn’t going to complain. He was actually a good employee when he wanted to be, and even had some insight for some of the young girls trying to decide on what dress they should choose to purchase. 

The store was currently empty and I had allowed Mr. Mitchell to take a thirty minute break, which he had just returned from. I saw him slam his phone back onto the register’s desk and make his way over to the box containing the winter collection, fumbling with its contents. I took this time to leave him be and saunter down to the basement and into my office. The contracts were held in my safe, and I figured I would retrieve them now before I forgot. A part of me felt guilty for being so mean to him, but the other part of me reveled in the pleasure of being able to boss him around, even for just a day. I collected the papers in my hands and locked my safe, returning to the main floor of the shop. 

I was surprised to see all the mannequins had actually been redressed with the winter collection and the fall collection was sitting in the box. He was examining the navy blue winter coat that hung on the mannequin, smoothing its lapels out, and humming to himself. I coughed slightly to get his attention, making him jump slightly. He turned to glare at me and when he saw the stack of papers in my hands, I saw the first genuine smile from him appear on his face.

I let out a sigh before going up to him and placing the documents in his hands. “Here you go, I know it's not exactly seven yet, but you actually did good today, besides the moaning and groaning. I hope you know that a simple please and thank you would have gone a long way for you. I really did believe you were the best fit to take over my mother’s company.” He looked extremely shocked at my words, but nodded his head, grasping the documents tighter in his hands, and mumbled a small thank you before hardening his face and nearly sprinting out the door.

The bell chimed loudly and the door closed behind him. I waited a few minutes before I was sure he was gone and  let my head drop into my hands. 

“This has to count as the weirdest day of my life.” I spoke to myself giggling a little bit. I walked back to the register to start closing up. 

The clock ticking was starting to bug me, but what plummeted me out of my focus was the loud and obnoxious ringtone coming from a phone. I looked at my own and saw that I had received no messages. That was odd. The ringing spooked me again and I watched in horror as Ford Mitchell’s phone was ringing on the desk beside me. I thought I had turned his ringer off, but he must have turned it back on when he went on his break. I groaned, not wanting to have to wait for him to return to get it. It was already 7:30pm and I wanted to go home. I was done with closing now, so I just pocketed his phone and made my way out of the door, setting the alarm system, and locking the door behind me. 

The walk back felt longer than normal, and the air was biting my skin through my thin coat. I knew I should have worn a warmer coat, but none of my winter coats went well with this dress. It was nearing eight thirty when I arrived at the apartment to a worried looking Kansas. She shrieked when she saw my expression, and hurried to make me a cup of coffee. I admired her ability to recognize when I needed my fix, and smiled at her warmly. I took off my coat, and hung it on the rack before kicking my shoes off.

 “You would not believe the day I had.” I said, flinging myself onto our burgundy couch.

“Kansas, Ford Mitchell worked for me today. It was insane.” I continued, throwing my hands up in exaggeration when I saw her luscious brown locks come back into view. 

“You’re kidding, how? What? Why? Tell me everything!” She exclaimed, pushing my legs off the couch and taking their place. 

“Oh, you know, he’s the total alpha male CEO/Owner of a multibillion dollar company. So it made sense that he would barge in my shop demanding those papers from me right? Well I put him in his place, and refused to give him the papers unless he worked under my management for the day.” I said flinging my wrist in the air with carelessness.

“Oh, my god, Alice you are literally a boss bitch, you know that right? I can’t believe he agreed to it.” She said, and I took a sip of my delicious coffee, basking in its warmth.

“Kansas, he was rude, arrogant, and he knew he was wrong. Those were my copies, and any self respecting lawyer or cop wouldn’t have done shit. It wasn’t my fault they couldn’t file their paperwork correctly, and seeing as how I was right, he had no other option. I wasn’t going to budge, and he knew it.” I was smiling with pride, and Kansas looked at me as if I was walking on water.

Eventually after the conversation died down, we said our goodnights to one another and headed to our bedrooms. I was dreading showing up to Mitchell’s office tomorrow, but I had gotten my fill of pettiness for the year, and knew that he did actually need it to run his businesses. I was just hoping that he would actually be there, but at the same time, I was dreading it if he was.