Chapter 22
Kerry
It takes everything within me not to get this sales associate fired. She dared to turn her nose up at my leannán. I’m tempted to do whatever it takes, bribe the management, lie about what she did, or buy the whole goddamn store to fire her.
My sweet little love is what stops me. Those big brown eyes looking up at me, begging me not to shoot the girl…
it makes me want to laugh and hold her close all over again.
It’s amusing that she assumes that’s what I’d want to do and she’s not entirely wrong.
But I need to treat Amy gently. She thinks I’m like her grandfather, and I’m not.
If someone dared to lay a hand on her, I’d kill them without a second thought.
But I live more by an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
This sales associate didn’t physically hurt Amy, so she won’t get physical retribution from me.
No, she’ll get humiliated and disgraced just like she tried to do to Amy.
I go over to a grouping of sales associates.
Amy described the girl that snubbed her, and I see her in the mix.
I immediately grab their attention. Dressed in my ten thousand dollar suit, I should hope so.
They all perk up and immediately approach me, asking if I needed any help.
I’m pretty sure they’d all start kissing my shoes if I asked them to.
Amy’s words echo in my head, about her not belonging in this world.
It angers me that, in some aspects, she’s right.
These worms can tell she’s not made of money and so they treat her differently.
They can tell I am wealthy, and so they pander to me.
I find it revolting. Things will soon be changing for you, little leannán.
I won’t let the world devalue you. They’ll see the worth that I see in you, or they’ll pay.
I kindly ask several of the associates to go help my fiancée with getting whatever she desires, directing them back to where I left Amy in the shoe section.
I hold my hand up to the woman Amy pointed out.
My sweet leannán hadn’t really wanted to tell me, since she didn’t want to get the woman in trouble.
The woman deserves to be in trouble, it’s simply the consequences of her actions, leannán.
I told her while stroking her cheek gently.
She still always looks wide-eyed and surprised when I do that.
It makes my heart race in a way it hasn’t in a long time.
The offensive sales associates pauses, looking up at me with a saucy grin, obviously enjoying the idea of getting special attention from me, especially when my fiancée is within the store. Little bitch. “Not you. You and I need to have a conversation.”
Her smile widens as she bats her eyelashes at me. She’s so opposite to Amy that it makes me despise the creature even more. “Yes, sir?” She purrs, grating in my ears, like a goat screeching. “How can I help you?”
I chuckle, flashing her a charming smile.
Hers widens as she lowers her defenses. Perfect.
I want her off guard so my words are like a punch to the gut, making all of the air rush out of her lungs.
I want her to feel the heat of humiliation climbing up her back and seizing her by the throat, just like she did to my sweet Amy.
“You could start by quitting. It would save us all the trouble of having to deal with your miserable existence and pathetic excuse of an employee. If you’re going to be a shit human on top of a shit employee, why even bother?
Why not just quit and save us all the hassle?
I mean, really? I can’t imagine you’re paid much more than minimum wage and yet you’re using your minor position of power to make someone else feel inferior? How stupid can you be?”
She pales, her face falling. “P-Pardon me?”
“Yes, you should be begging for a pardon. Not from me, but from my beautiful fiancée you practically spit in the face of. You can’t even bother to get boots down for someone?
Are you that terrible at your job or are you just that much of a lazy slug?
” I keep my tone icy and venomous, enjoying watching her squirm.
“You really think I came over here, to what? Flirt with you?” I laugh and look down at her name tag.
“Do you really think you are anything of substance, Savannah? Come on. Let’s not lie to ourselves.
” I snarl. “The character you have shown today reveals how miserable, ugly, and pathetic a person you are. I strongly suggest you quit. You’ll get a head start on making a new life for yourself, because once I’m done with you, the life you have now will be destroyed. ”
A flicker of horror, confusion, and humiliation crosses her face. Good. “Y-You can’t…I didn’t mean to…I was just making sure she really wanted it, and it didn’t seem like she did! I was just double-checking!”
I tilt my head at her. “That’s not what my wife said.”
She scoffs. “Then she’s lying!”
My threat of ruining her life had been mostly empty, meant to scare and humiliate her.
Until she said that. Now it’s not a threat, but a promise.
I pull out my phone, not even dignifying the beast with a response.
It doesn’t take long for me to find out the details of who owns this store, and pull some quick strings.
It also doesn’t take me long to figure out who this bitch is, and see she’s going to Columbia University for law.
I laugh, guessing she’s probably wanting to become a politician.
America, you can thank me later for sparing you from having to deal with this wench as a politician later on.
She scoffs and crosses her arms. “What are you laughing at?”
I don’t even look up from my phone as I answer her.
“Trying for a career in law? That's a lot of hard work. You won’t even get shoes down from a shelf. I don’t think you’re cut out for it.
” I look up just in time to see her face pale even further.
She stutters for a moment in shock. I want to put her in deeper waters of humiliation, so I cut her off before she can make more of a fool of herself.
“Funny how swift karma is. You didn’t even need to become a politician to get canceled.
I saved you the hassle, since you inevitably would, with shitty character and an even shittier attitude.
I imagine it’d be a juicy scandal. It’s a shame, I’m sure it would be quite entertaining to see you fall.
But I’d rather not drag it out longer than necessary.
It’s already done. Too bad you obviously don’t like retail, because you’ll probably be doing it for the rest of your life. ”
She scrunches her nose up in disgust and scoffs. “You’re bluffing.”
The door behind the checkout counter flies open, and a man in a cheap suit walks out, pale as a ghost. He sees Savannah and looks between us. He clears his throat. “Is everything all right here?”
I smile, feeling my chest warm with the knowledge that a good deed just got done. “It will be once you deliver the news to Ms. Brown about her employment. Please, go on. I’d very much like to see this.” I grin.
Savannah Brown’s eyes widen at my knowledge of her full name and I see a bead of sweat form on her brow. “Tim? What is it?”
The manager, Tim, looks nervously at me before looking back at her.
“Savannah. What the hell did you do? I just got a frantic call from our district supervisor. Her boss called her in a frenzy. All the way up the chain, they’re in a panic, talking about you.
Someone…” He pauses to eye me. “Someone sent an email all the way up the chain about you, about a horrible experience they had…they’re demanding you be fired. Someone powerful, Savannah.”
“Not just fired, but blacklisted from all stores and perhaps even the industry in this area.” I smile.
“Like I said, karma is swift. Perhaps you should check your phone, Ms. Brown. I imagine you may have an email from Columbia, too…all those internships and opportunities your daddy got you…down the drain. I’d say it’s a shame, but it really isn’t. ”
I step away as horror crosses over the girl’s face, smiling.
I did a good thing today. I protected my Amy.
And that’s all that matters. I walk over to the shoe section, watching Amy get lavished with attention from three different sales associates, smiling at the interaction.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I’m still smiling as I check it. The smile drops from my face.
Lorenzo De Matteis. Brother of Alessandro, the leader of the Nameless. Why the feck is this bastard’s name popping up on my phone? I grit my teeth as I answer it. “You better have a damn good reason for calling me, De Matteis.”
A deep laugh comes through on the other side of the phone, and then a rich Italian accent follows it.
“I do. I wanted to give you my congratulations for your new engagement. I heard the wedding will be soon. I’m sad I wasn’t invited, but considering I hear it’s a small affair, I’ll let it pass.
I hear she’s a cute little thing, a bit shy and frazzled…
not what I’d pick as your type, but maybe that’s a good thing. I like being surprised.”
I grit my teeth. “What the fuck do you want?” I growl, lowering my voice. Even though Amy is some distance away and occupied, I don’t want to risk her even catching a bit of this.
He laughs again, making me want to throw my phone. Or preferably, throttle the man whose voice is sounding from it. “Can’t I just express my congratulations? From one man to another? It’s hard to find love in this world. It’s a lovely thing.”
Panic tears through my chest. It’s not a good thing if anyone thinks I’m in love, much less this man. “Is it love? Or just business? You know the whole story by now, I’m sure.”
“Ah. Yes. She’s Astero’s granddaughter, right…so she’s not your type after all?”
“Not in the slightest.” I hiss, feeling the lie burn my throat. But I’d do what I’d have to do to protect Amy.
“Hm,” Lorenzo says thoughtfully. “An arranged marriage. Those docks are rather profitable…I can see why you’d want them. If the wedding never takes place, you’d never get access to them. It’d be a shame, really. So close and yet so far, si?”
A cold dread washes over me. “Yes, it would be. So it’s a good thing the wedding will happen.” I clench the phone so tightly that I know I’m risking breaking it or my hand, whatever comes first. But I don’t care. “Threaten me again, De Matteis, and see what happens.”
He laughs again. “Threaten? No, no. I’ve done nothing of the sort. I just threw out an obvious weak spot in your plan. Something we wouldn’t want to happen, capisci? No threats, Alasdair, no threats.”
I clench my jaw so hard that my teeth ache. “Leave me out of your family feud, De Matteis. I didn’t ask for this trouble. Leave your sibling bickering in Italy, between you and Alessandro. If you start a war, don’t be surprised when you get shot.”
He chuckles lowly. “What is the saying? You make your bed with my brother? Eh? You lie with him. You do business, you help each other, you’re in his little club…
that is asking for trouble, Irish Demon.
” He spits my title like a snake spitting venom.
“You should think about who you align yourself with before you complain.”
“So it is a threat.” I snarl.
“I said no threat. I meant it. It’s not a threat. Yet. When it’s a threat, you’ll know. You won’t have to ask. Now have a good wedding. Give your little American beauty a kiss for me, no?” He chuckles. “Ciao.”
Before I can even tell him to go to hell, he hangs up.
I feel clammy and cold, a sharp contrast to the blazing fire of anger that burns hot in my belly. I look over at Amy, seeing her laugh and try on different shoes. She’s so beautiful. All the more reason that I need to protect her. I need to protect us both.
And if that means hunting down anyone who threatens to harm her, then so be it. I won’t sacrifice our love because of some pathetic man on the other side of the world.