Strut the Mall (Love at Westbrook Mall #4)

45. A Gift

45

A Gift

During my next shift, I brought in some parting gifts. After all, I didn’t know if Andre would fire me or if I’d have two more weeks to ride out my discount. I strutted through the warehouse with three Fancee’s bags dangling from my arms.

My first delivery was for the guy who skimmed Zeezy’s. He was digging through the new inventory as always. He didn’t even notice me standing there.

I tapped the barrel with my boot. “Find anything good?”

He jolted upright, then eyed me. “Not yet.”

At least he was honest.

I gave him my most plastic smile and the smallest bag. “Thanks for lending me those shoes the other day. I know Zack already got them back to you already per your demands, but here’s my end of the bargain.”

He rummaged through the bag. “What’s this?”

“Spray, cleaner, and backup laces. I also threw in some odor protection.” I winked. “Only the best for Zack’s friends.”

“The best what?” Zack boomed from somewhere in the depths of stock shelving.

I smiled. How’d he hear any part of that? Was I loud too now, just like my man?

I propped my hand on my waist. “Protection.”

“What?” He laughed, strolling over with a dolly cart. “You’re such a brat.”

“It’s stuff for my shoes, man,” the Zeezy supplier said, wheeling away the inventory to rummage in private.

“I figured.” My boyfriend grinned and propped his arm on a shelf, the smell of stale warehouse dust replaced with a burst of Old Spice. “Anything in those bags for me?”

“Your present wouldn’t fit in a bag.” I laid a hand on his bicep for balance, then leaned over to peck his lips.

His eyes crinkled around the edges. “Thanks, babe. I love it.”

I arched my brow and grinned. Babe ?

Somehow, it didn’t feel weird coming from him. It wasn’t used to butter me up or avoid saying the wrong name. Besides, he usually called me Nic.

I patted his arm, enjoying the extra flex. “We’ll work on the pet names. I have to go deliver the rest of these presents.”

“Why? Did Shelby recruit you into some kind of secret Santa service?”

I pulled the bags away from his curious gaze. “I’m not a party princess yet. I just want to close some chapters and make sure Cassandra will survive the shift without her favorite coworker.”

“You’re a nice person,” he said.

My insides fluttered. No one gave me compliments like that. Most people commented on my appearance. Maybe he just saw the best in me.

“I’ll see you later.” I squeezed his arm, then hid my bags in the shoe repair station. But when I went to check our notes for the day, the white board was blank. Was Andre not in yet? I peered up the stairs. “Hello?”

I strained my ears for any trace of a snore.

Nothing. Weird. But whatever. I sorted through the new inventory for a few minutes, at which point expensive shoes clipped across the concrete warehouse floors in a power walk.

Andre slipped in an attempt to swerve around a stock barrel, then caught himself on a shelf and glared at the piles of shoes. “Why is this here?”

“Stock? I’m still working on it.” I moved the barrels aside to clear a path.

He slid sideways and knocked half of them on his way through. “Well work harder.”

“Okay, we just opened, but sure.” Asshole. I frowned and followed him through the stacks. “I need to talk to you at some point today about something important.”

“Later.” He ran up the stairs, each step pounding as he went.

What was his problem? That man could use a dose of class.

I stayed busy helping customers and sorting stock for a few hours.

“Good morning,” Cassandra crowed on her way in. “How are you, Nini?”

I pushed off the back desk. “Fine. I actually wanted to tell you something.”

“Me? Really?” Her chipper tone nosedived, and her eyes popped wide. “Did I do something?”

“Not that I know of.” I wouldn’t put it past her to categorize something wrong something though. I led her to the shoe repair cove. “So, this is kind of a secret, but—”

“Zack got you pregnant?” She grinned.

“No.” I yanked her wrist down and glanced through the stacks. Hopefully, that rumor didn’t get back to him. “I’m putting in my two-week notice.”

She gasped. “No kidding. You’ve got another job lined up?”

“Freelance stuff,” I said. “Model-adjacent.”

She raised her eyebrows, her mouth wide open. “Congratulations. Can I give you a hug?”

“Yes.” Today would be a nice little exception.

She squeezed me tight and rocked us from side to side. “I’m gonna miss you so much. I always knew you were too much of a superstar to stay here forever. Good luck, hun.”

“Thanks. And same to you.” I patted her shoulders. She was the nosy aunt I never had. If I did marry Zack, I’d have a handful of them. Not that I was holding my breath on marriage. Still, some tiny part of me clung to Cassandra’s genuine excitement about chatting with customers, bonding with me, and going home to her family. Maybe she told them stories about me. Now, I had my own special person who’d listen to me, someone who knew Cassandra, who cared about the Fancee family. Maybe I could ask Zack to update me on her life, see if she was still misplacing things or if she finally learned how to use the internal search system. I was sure she’d ask him about ‘Nini.’ Would he even know that was me?

I sniffled. I was moving onto bigger and better things, but it still felt like I was losing something. The old me. Memories of my first ‘real’ job. Growing pains, maybe.

Cassandra tutted. “Aw, don’t cry, honey. We can still keep in touch. I’m on a few social sites. Now, how do I search for you?”

I chuckled and wiped my face. “I’ll add you.”

Maybe something good would come of it. When Shelby left for the season, I never thought I’d see her again online or otherwise, and now, she was on her way to being one of my closest friends.

Cassandra poked her screen. “I post a lot of dogs and my grandbabies. One’s having a birthday party in a few weeks, a princess theme. I’m still trying to decide what to get her.”

“Have you ever heard of a party princess?”

She widened her eyes. “No. That sounds perfect.”

“I’ll send you the info. Oh, and speaking of gifts, I got one for you.” I grabbed her designated bag.

She placed a hand over her heart. “For me?”

“Just in case Andre gets on your ass.” I handed the gift to her, my stomach tightening. What if she thought it was weird or mean? I hoped she’d find it funny. Or use it, at least.

She peered inside, then burst out laughing. “Belts?”

“Yeah. There’s a gift receipt, but–”

“Thank you, Nene.” She hugged me, then rummaged through the bag again. “I bet designer brands look good on me.”

Hopefully, she liked them enough that she'd use them regularly. “Work it,” I encouraged.

She showed off her belt all day. Every time she bent over to grab a shoe box she’d run her hands along the embroidered leather and say some variation of, “Do you see this belt? Designer. Friend got it for me. Still getting used to it, keeping everything where it’s supposed to be. Now, I can bend over as often as I like. Much less breezy.”

Maybe this special piece would be a bright spot in her day. I smiled and snuck a peek at my phone for the cute lock screen pic of me and Zack. Even when we couldn’t hang out at work, it was nice to see him. He was my bright spot every day.

Oh, I had a text.

Bells tinkled toward the shoe section. Was that Shelby?

I walked around the shoe counter and peered over the displays. Sure enough, I spotted a cute girl with reddish-brown hair strolling our way. But she wasn’t with her giant boyfriend today. No, she had a whole family entourage.

Her mom marched beside her, her chin up and gaze straight ahead. Zack’s mom, Coral, was in the middle, chatting, whereas May and Joon dragged a woman I guessed was their mom in different directions every time something caught their eye.

I tried to read the text before they got here.

Shelby: Run while you still can! Or take lunch. Fair warning, fam on the way to Fancee’s [heart emoji] Maybe I’ll see you in a bit?

My heart pounded.

Shelby caught my eye and waved, her smile bright even from fifty feet away. Her cheeks were tight, almost like she was faking it. Did Zack tell her about my feet? What about our fake dating? Our fight and reconciliation? How much did the rest of the family know about our relationship?

I dashed into the stacks.

If I had to face the music, I definitely needed Zack.