Chapter Three

Cordelia's POV

Three days later, two in the afternoon.

The glass doors of Éclat swing open and Bianca walks in with five women, all done up to the nines. They chatter over each other, and the smell of perfume floods the whole place in seconds.

"Wow, Bianca, this is the store you said we could pick from? None of this stuff is cheap!" One of them, dressed to show plenty of skin, stares hard at a limited-edition bag in the window.

Bianca lifts her chin, pleased with herself. "Of course. My man's got a stake in this place. I basically own the place. Everybody grab whatever you want today, don't hold back on my account."

A couple of the staff trade looks and glance over at me behind the register.

I set my coffee down, get up, and walk over with a professional smile.

"Ms. Reed, welcome. All these friends today, planning a big shopping run?" My tone comes out surprisingly warm.

Bianca eyes me, wary, like she wasn't expecting the shift. Then she decides I must be scared of Garrett's divorce threat, so she gets even cockier.

"Smart of you." She lets out a cold little huff. "Cordelia, I brought the girls to shop for a dinner party. You'd better pull out everything newest and most expensive you've got. Serve us right and I'll put in a good word with Garrett, and we'll call it even on that whole thing."

"Sure." I nod, smiling, then turn to the staff. "Open that bottle of Romanée-Conti in the back and pour a glass for our guests. And open the VIP room. Bring out the whole couture line that just came in from Milan this season."

The staff freeze. One of them drops her voice, anxious. "Boss, that bottle costs a fortune, and those couture pieces are..."

"Do what I said." My voice leaves no room for argument.

Soon the wine is poured into crystal glasses, and Bianca and her plastic girlfriends are lounging on the silk sofas in the VIP room, getting the royal treatment.

"Bianca, this is so classy! The service here is unreal."

"Right? The salespeople at the big designer stores never fussed over me like this."

Riding the flattery, Bianca points down a row of couture gowns, high on it all. "This one, this one, and that one with the little diamonds, wrap them all up. And those crocodile bags over there, bring me three colors."

"No problem." I go over myself and lift each piece she points at onto the display table. "Great eye, Ms. Reed. This one with the diamonds took a French artisan three hundred hours by hand. A hundred eight grand. The three crocodile bags are ninety each."

The others suck in a breath at the prices, but Bianca just waves a hand. "That's it? Wrap them. What are you girls standing around for? Go pick something."

With her go-ahead, the women swarm the priciest corner of the store like they haven't eaten in days.

"I want this mink coat!"

"This diamond brooch is mine!"

"These heels, the limited ones, get me my size!"

The whole store turns into a madhouse. Pricey clothes get tossed on the sofas, lipstick smeared on collars, snags pulled in the fabric while they try things on, and I act like I don't see any of it, just tapping each piece into the system on my tablet.

The number climbs fast on the screen. Fifty grand, two hundred, five hundred, eight hundred...

Half an hour later, they finally wear themselves out, shopping bags piled up around each of them.

I carry the tablet over to Bianca, still smiling warm. "Ms. Reed, everyone all set?"

"About it, that's the lot." Bianca takes a sip of wine and waves me off, impatient. "All right, get all this loaded up for us, we've got somewhere else to be."

"Of course. Before we load it, though, our VIP process needs your signature on this confirmation form." I hand her the tablet. "Everything you picked today is couture and limited edition. Once it's confirmed and leaves the store, no returns or exchanges. You're good with every piece?"

Bianca doesn't even glance at the list. She smirks. "Cordelia, what are you playing at? A signature? I'm not paying for any of this anyway."

"Just procedure. It's a big amount, that's all," I say lightly.

"Fine, fine, I'll sign, God, so annoying." Bianca snatches the stylus and scrawls her name on the screen.

Looking at that signature, I give a small smile and step back. "Great. Ms. Bianca Reed, signature confirmed."

"So are you going to get someone to carry our stuff or not?" Bianca stands and picks up her bag, ready to head out.

I look at her, and it's almost funny. "Happy to carry it out. But first we settle the bill."

"Excuse me?" Bianca stops, frowning at me. "Cordelia, is something wrong with your head? I just told you, I'm here to take things, not buy them. Didn't Garrett tell you?"