Chapter 70
Chloe’s laughter was infectious, and I laughed with her as well. Neither of us know that Natasha and Lucy were bolling in anger back inside the shop.
“Are we just going to let those two bitches talk down to us and slip away, Natasha?” Lucy said through gritted teeth.
A mean look descended upon Natasha’s pretty face. “They still haven’t had their comeuppance from that time before. Hold on.”
Natasha then approached the appraiser to talk to him.
“Yes, Ms. Lambert had brought a fair number of quality goods to be appraised,” he said in reply to Natasha’s question.
“Could you show us the items that she brought you? There might be something that fits my tastes,” Natasha said.
The appraiser immediately became more respectful. “Alright, please come inside to survey the goods, Ms. Varde, Ms. Lowe,”
Natasha and Lucy entered the room, only to be taken aback. Scores of designer bags could be seen on the table. Several of them were also from limited runs.
Lucy discreetly tugged on Natasha’s arm. “We can’t afford these.”
Natasha signaled for her to be quiet before turning to giggle in a fake manner at the appraiser. “I have a friend who is fond of this particular line of bags. Let me give her a call so she can see the bags herself.”
With that, Natasha left the room to make a phone call. A few minutes later, she walked back in, pleased.
‘My friend will be here soon. By the way, I’d appreciate it if you could notify us if Ms. Lambert comes back to your establishment with more itens to sell. We’re very interested in the bags that she’s parting with,” Natasha said with a sly sinile.
Meanwhile, Chloe and I waited for our food in a barbecue restaurant downtown. I took a look at all the smoke around me before inching closer toward Chloe.
Chloe had ordered a plate of ribs and a plate of chicken wings. She had also ordered a dozen bottles of beer.
I was shocked. “Chloe, you drink?”
I
Chloe cracked open a bottle like she was used to it. “Of course, why? Oh, right, I forgot that you had amnesia. You must have forgotten that I like beer.”
She let out a self–deprecating laugh. “It wasn’t until I started working that I realized why people like beer so much. It makes us forget all our worries for a moment.
“My dad’s a deadbeat, my mom is useless, and my brother is spineless… And then there’s me, toiling and slaving away every day…”
I couldn’t help but comfort Chloe when I saw she was in low spirits. “It’s okay. Look at me: my life the past seven years has been a big mess, and I even ruined my own reputation… Do you feel a bit better now? Knowing that my life is a bigger joke?”
Chloe laughed before pointing at me. She was about to say something, but then her smile turned bitter. “That’s a weird way to comfort others, you know. Man, at least you still managed to retain some money in your name. I don’t get any money when I’m tired.”
I patted her shoulder. “Let’s move forward to happier days.”
Chloe perked up and clinked her glass against mine. “Exactly! Let’s drink to that! To happier days!”
Chloe then downed her glass of beer in one go. Meanwhile, I suffered as I took a small sip.
“Gross…” I whined. “Why do people like this?”
Chloe guffawed at my response.
A few large, hulking men from the table next to ours were watching us. Their eyes roved indiscriminately over my body. I quickly shrank back.
Chloe didn’t notice them, as she was facing away from their table. She egged me on to eat.
This meal was a surprise to me. I had never eaten food that the average person would eat. Or as far as I could remember, at least.
However, Chloe’s cheer made me loosen up gradually, and I opened a few bottles of beer for myself as well.
Our bill came up to 203 dollars. I was surprised. “That’s cheaper than I thought.”
Chloe rolled her eyes at me. “This one’s my treat. You probably have never had such cheap meals before. Welcome to the land of the common man, mademoiselle.”
I giggled shyly.
from the
Just as we were about to leave the restaurant, one of the men table earlier approached us and blocked our path. He wore a sleazy grin on his face. “Hey, pretty ladies, why don’t we exchange numbers?”
Chapter 71
