Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Eva couldn’t help finding Mia kind as she watched the latter stand up for the salesperson, who’d also been scornful of them earlier.
Shelly scoffed. “Who do you think you are, Mia? It’d do you good to remember your place. This is a matter for the Barretts, which means you have no right to interfere. I want to see the manager!”
The manager soon arrived. “May I know what about our service is not up to your expectations, Ms. Barrett?”
Shelly pointed at Mia and Eva. “Kick the two of them out of here. They’re nothing but poor bastards who can’t afford any of the things in here. They’re just wasting our time and resources! In the future, don’t allow peasants like them in here. It’ll just ruin the mall’s reputation.”
The manager hesitated. “That’s not in accordance with the rules and regulations, Ms.
Barrett.”
Shelly shrieked, “How is that against the rules? My word is equivalent to the Barrett family’s rules!”
At this moment, a cold voice rang out. “Since when have you been able to represent the Barrett family?”
The voice immediately made the temperature in the store drop a few degrees. It was like a cold breeze in the winter.
Mia turned around in surprise at the familiar voice. Sure enough, she saw Timothy walk into the store. He wore a dark suit and was followed by a group of people. He led the group; the lights shone down on him, accentuating his perfect features.
No matter where he was, he would always be the center of attention.
Mia suddenly recalled that Timothy would make his rounds at the mall every month. There wasn’t a specific date or time for it; he would make surprise visits.
And every time he made his rounds, he dealt with many inexperienced staff. But it was also because of his strict management that the malls under Barrett Group always performed well.
Mia didn’t expect to run into Timothy at the mall today.
Shelly immediately dropped the obnoxious act when she saw Timothy. She lost her voice as if a hand had wrapped around her neck. She didn’t look too happy. Why was she unfortunate enough to run into Timothy making his rounds?
Still, she was quick to point fingers. “These two people came to the mall to cause trouble, Timothy. I only had the store manager kick them out for the sake of the mall’s reputation.”
Timothy stood there, looking like he already had a grasp on the situation. He gave
Mia a sidelong glance. “Is that so?”
Mia looked up at him. Was he asking her for her opinion? He’d never done this in the past whenever situations like this had happened. He would only believe what his family members said.
She pursed her lips. “No. We came to the mall to buy something, but Ms. Barrett started mocking us and insulting us when she saw us. She wanted to snatch the things we were interested in but didn’t have the money to pay for it.
“That upset her, so she wanted the store manager to kick us out. Is that how the
Barrett family conducts its businesses?”
“Shut up, Mia Bowen! What the hell are you talking about?” Shelly was incredibly diffident. She didn’t sound as confident and obnoxious as she’d been earlier.
Mia pointed at the surveillance cameras above them. “You can check the surveillance footage if you don’t believe me. All will be revealed then.”
At this, Shelly panicked. “I only did what I did for the mall’s sake, Timothy! Mia doesn’t deserve to shop here; she can’t afford anything here!”
Timothy’s expression was frosty. “Apologize!”
Mia gave him a stunned look. Who was he demanding an apology from?
Shelly was delighted. She gave Mia a smug look. “Didn’t you hear him?”
Timothy frowned. “Are you dumb, Shelly? I want you to apologize to our customers!”
“How is she considered a customer?” Shelly shrieked. Forcing her to apologize to
Mia made her feel worse than getting killed.
Timothy said coldly, “As a member of the Barrett family, your actions have severely impacted our image. If you don’t apologize, you won’t be allowed to set foot in any of the Barrett family’s malls in the future. Security, get her out of here!”
He was a ruthless, decisive leader. He didn’t give Shelly any leeway.
When Shelly saw the security guards approaching, she knew Timothy was being serious. If she were to get kicked out today and be barred from entering any of the
Barrett Group’s malls, she would be the laughingstock of the city.
In the end, Shelly shuffled over to Mia reluctantly. Her eyes were red as she glared at Mia and snarled, “I’m sorry!”
Mia raised an eyebrow and gave Timothy a surprised look. She hadn’t expected him to actually force Shelly to apologize to her. Or was he only doing this for the Barrett Group’s sake?
Eva asked calmly, “Is that really considered an apology? With that sort of attitude?”
Shelly almost snapped the nails that she’d just had done. What else did they want?
Timothy’s gaze was icy. “It only counts if the customer accepts your apology.”
Shelly was almost in tears. She lowered her head and said, “I’m sorry.”
Eva still wasn’t very satisfied. “How about this? We’ll forgive Ms. Barrett if she serves us today.”
This was the last thing on earth that Shelly wanted to do, but one look at Timothy’s expression told her what she needed to know. She had no choice but to remain rooted to the spot.
Timothy didn’t leave, either. He stood to one side as he looked at Mia. “To express our truest apologies, I’ll stay here to keep an eye on things.”
Mia was stunned. What was wrong with Timothy? Wasn’t he a busy bee? Why did he suddenly have time to stay here and keep an eye on things?
On the other hand, Eva was pretty pleased by this. Timothy looked like a pest, but he was rather principled when it came to doing business.
“Mia, come and try this on,” she said.
Mia had no choice but to walk over to Eva. She looked at the evening gown before her, saying in a low voice, “Why don’t we just go, Eva?”
She couldn’t really handle trying on evening gowns with Timothy watching.
“What are you afraid of, Mia? We’re customers here. By the way, do you know the
Barretts?” Eva asked. Shelly had obviously been picking on Mia.
Mia’s breathing hitched. Had Eva noticed something? She answered in a low voice,”
I worked as a carer for an affluent family, remember? I cared for Mrs. Barrett Senior, so I’ve met all the Barretts.”
“Oh, okay. No wonder it looked like you guys knew each other. Don’t be scared, Mia.
You’re not working for them anymore, and we’re paying customers. Remember your identity.”
Eva pushed Mia into the changing room. Mia looked at the evening gown in her hands and sighed. Soon, the salesperson who’d been slapped followed her in. “Allow me to help you with that.”
“Oh, uh, sure. Thanks,” Mia said.
The salesperson crouched down before her. “I should be the one thanking you.
Thanks for speaking up for me earlier.”
Their gazes met. They understood what the other meant.
Mia soon stepped out of the changing room in the evening gown. The salesperson had pulled back her hair in a loose bun. Tendrils of hair framed her face, giving her a cheeky, spirited look,
She stood before the large mirror outside the changing room and looked at her reflection. The evening gown was indeed beautiful.
Mia turned and subconsciously met Timothy’s gaze. She turned away to look at Eva, “
How’s this one?”
Eva beamed. “It’s gorgeous. You have such a nice figure and temperament that everything looks good on you.”
Shelly, standing to one side, rolled her eyes. What was so nice about them? They were nothing but two country hicks. She only dared to think this, though. No way would she have the guts to say that out loud. She didn’t want Timothy to hear her.
Timothy appraised Mia from where he stood and narrowed his eyes slightly. The evening gown seemed like it’d been tailored to fit her. It hugged her in all the right places and showed off her figure. Still, wasn’t the bold cut-out in the back exposing too much skin?
He frowned at her. “Where are you wearing this dress to?”
Why was Mia suddenly buying an evening gown?
Before Mia could say anything, Eva beat her to it. “For an awards ceremony, of course.”
Awards ceremony? Timothy recalled the list of finalists for the Fleur International Design Competition. Indeed, Mia had gotten through to the finals. He hadn’t expected it.
When Laura had insisted on getting Mia a spot in the competition, Timothy hadn’t believed that she would get far at all. His gaze landed on Mia as he said in a low voice, “Congratulations.”
Mia looked calm. “Thanks.”
Timothy switched tacks. “But that evening gown doesn’t suit you.”
“Why not? I think it looks pretty nice.”
“It’s revealing too much of your back.”
Mia was lost for words. The dress had been designed to have cutouts in the back. Of course, it would reveal her back.
Eva glanced at it, then said, “It does. Let’s look at some other ones.”