Chapter 11 #2
Lucy said that Gucci was the only one available on such short notice. They weren’t going to come in the beginning, but she had made a call to her guy in Italy to pull some strings. I couldn’t help but wonder, what would it be like to have all these brands available to you at the snap of a finger?
I watched the staff giving us an introduction to their latest products.
Lucy decided that every single one of them was made for Jenny.
Either they went well with her eyes, or her hair color, or her skin tone.
Don’t get me wrong, it was very sweet of her to compliment her best friend.
Retail therapy is a thing, and I know a lot of people do find joy in that.
Jenny was mesmerized by the introduction of each of the items. She studied every one of them carefully when they were passed around for us to see.
I even saw her sniffing one of the dresses.
I thought luxury items would be like everyday items to someone like her.
Clearly, she really appreciated the craftsmanship of a good designer item.
Lucy occasionally pointed a few items my way, but I wasn’t planning to shop on impulse. I make terrible choices when I do, and I wasn’t familiar with this kind of shopping. I wouldn’t know how to return an item if I didn’t like it later.
“That gown would be perfect for you.” Kai creeped up behind me a little while after he left us to have our fun . His words.
“I’m not sure.” I gasped. The skintight wine-colored gown didn’t seem like something anyone could just slip on.
You would need a helper to get you into it.
It was very much like a hold-your-breath tight mermaid wedding dress.
That was what Chloe wore at her wedding, and I had helped her whenever she needed the toilet at her wedding.
“Good eye, Mister Li. This is a one-of-a-kind dress. This is the only one in New York.” The brunette lady who seemed to be in-charge explained.
Kai nodded but didn’t say another word.
I felt bad about not buying anything from them. They had brought up their entire collection to show us, minus the sold-out items of course.
“Pick anything you want.” Lucy said nonchalantly, before looking back at the woman in charge. “Just add it to my account.”
I shook my head hard and repeated the words no several times. “I haven’t really seen anything yet.”
“No, honestly. I haven’t even finished my credit from 2019.”
“Forgive me. What do you mean credit?” It might sound like a stupid question to her, but I really wasn’t familiar with what she meant.
“Oh, can you explain Samantha.” Lucy answered. I only realized then that Lucy and the lady in charge were on a first name basis. Though why Samantha couldn’t come to us when Lucy called the first time, was a mystery to me.
Samantha smiled lightly – though I couldn’t tell if she was just being polite or if she was laughing at me.
“Miss Zhang’s family currently hold the largest account in the world with Gucci.
Every year, Mr. Zhang will top up an amount of store credit for Miss Zhang to use.
Members can choose the desirable amount of credit to top up and that will determine the tier of membership they are in.
Credits are not refundable and can only be spent with Gucci. ”
So, the first name basis thing was only one way. Lucy was still Miss Zhang to Samantha.
I remembered reading about this but didn’t know that the membership tiers actually existed. “Of course, I know about that.”
But I wasn’t going to admit that this was the first time I’d ever witnessed it in real life.
I had known many billionaires in real life.
My brother was one, though he made it very clear that his money was his – and Chloe’s of course – and I had to make my own.
But I didn’t remember them shopping like this.
I made a mental note to ask Chloe in the future – and if that was the way she shopped, and I wanted to know why I wasn’t ever invited to one.
My insecurity had started to creep in. I could feel Samantha eyeing me up with judgment.
I knew she thought that I wasn’t able to afford anything.
She wasn’t wrong though. Although I was the head of the fertility department at the Bennet hospital, the whole Bennet Medical Group actually, the reality was that I had to be careful with money after spending a fortune on my apartment and my Tesla.
“I think I’ll take that limited edition bag.” I pointed at a pile of bags, at nothing in particular, wishing that I had chosen one of the cheapest of the pile.
“The Katerina Tote Bag?” Jenny asked, obviously knowing the brand very well. “Good choice.”
I had no idea which one Jenny meant. But at least I knew it was a good one.
Asking about the price seemed like a socially unacceptable thing to say here.
Samantha never said anything about the price and the girls never asked either.
The only things they would say were things like “I’ll try that,” or “I’ll have that,” before they’d move on to the next items that caught their attention.
“Do you have something smaller?” Perhaps it would be cheaper if I just got the smaller one, right? My common sense led me to believe that.
“That was the smallest we have,” Samantha added. “It’s fifty-nine thousand.”
Suddenly, all eyes were on her as if she had just sworn at us.
“She didn’t ask you.” Lucy snapped. “Has money ever been an issue for me? Or for my friends?”
Samantha’s head went down.
“I’m sorry. Your friend might–,”
Kai cut her short with a cough. “She will take the gown, the princess bag and one each of every item you brought along today.”
Fuck. How much was that going to cost?
“Just add it to my tab.” Lucy volunteered.
“No, Lucy. Add it to my tab.” Kai also had a tab? I felt a little lost here as two nice, or very egotistical people continued fighting to pay for things that I didn’t even want, while defending the pride that I didn’t know I was lacking.
“Just stop!” Kai spoke with such authority that Lucy looked taken aback. “Over my dead body will I ever let a woman pay the bill at my house.”