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“Dexter it’s Cora, I need help.”
“Hang that phone up right now!” The manager demanded again.
“Cora? What’s going on? Where are you?” Dexter stressed from the tone in my voice and the bellowing neanderthal actively trying to rip the phone out of my hand.
“I’m at a store called Penelope Lace. They’re accusing me of stealing and the manager keeps assaulting me, he ripped my purse off and threw all of my stuff all over, and now they’re calling the police.”
“Stay right there.” Dexter demanded. “I’ll be there in less than five minutes. I’ll grab Mav on the way.”
“No!” I begged. “He’ll lose his damn mind if he comes here right now, Dexter.”
“Fuck.” He growled. “Okay, four minutes. I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you.” I said right before the manager finally got ahold of my phone and ripped it from my hand, taking my earring with him, ripping open the hole in my ear painfully. “Ow, you son of a bitch! Oh my God!” I yelled before the man ended the call and tossed my phone on the counter with my pile of belongings. “I didn’t steal anything!” I clutched at my ear, pulling my hand away to see blood smearing my finger. “Fuck.”
“Mrs. Valentine is a very honorable woman and longtime customer here; she wouldn’t make up a lie about a nobody like you.” He sneered and the employees nodded in agreement.
“Mrs. Valentine?” I asked, as my blood ran cold in disbelief.
The manager nodded to the woman who had accused me, and I searched her face for something familiar, but I had no idea who she was.
But then it clicked.
The trying to seem better off than she was, and the severe facial features.
“Jake’s wife.” I accused and she scoffed at me. “How fitting.”
“Do not say my husband’s name like you’re familiar with him.” She accused, looking down her nose at me. “You’re pathetic, coming into a place like this when you clearly couldn’t afford anything and then having your cheap knock off friend trying to distract everyone while you tried to steal lingerie like some common criminal.”
The front door opened and in walked two uniformed police officers, assessing the scene of chaos in front of them. One was male and one was female, the male shook the hand of the manager and looked at me like he already assumed I was guilty, while the female police officer eyed the manager and Jake’s wife speculatively.
“Thank you for coming so quickly.” The manager said to the officers. “She called someone before I could get her phone from her.” He said nodding to where my belonging laid. “She was seen taking multiple pieces of high-end lingerie into the dressing room and came out to pay for only one. I believe she’s wearing them under her clothes.”
“Ma’am, I’m going to need to see your ID.” The male officer said, reaching over and digging through my things on the counter.
“I don’t have one.” I said bitterly. “It was stolen last week.”
He cocked his head to look at me and then pursed his lips, “Convenient. I don’t see a wallet here, how were you planning on paying for the items you tried on today if you didn’t steal anything?"
"I have a credit card to use."
"Where?" He asked, looking down over my things again.
“In my phone case.” And he grabbed my phone, fumbling with it to get the case open. “He assaulted me.” I accused, pleading to the woman officer with my eyes to help me while also watching the front door, aching to see the familiar face of Dexter coming to help me. He was a lawyer; he’d know what to do.
“Did you rip her shirt and injure ear?” The female officer asked the manager with a disapproving glare, stepping closer to see my injury better.
“She fought me when I tried to recover stolen merchandise, it was her own fault.” The middle-aged man shrugged like it was a ridiculous notion to even think about holding him accountable.
The front door opened, and I looked past the officers to see the two domineering and scary faces of Dexter and Reid as they walked to my side, staring everyone down until they all cowered a bit. “I don’t know about you, but that sounds a hell of a lot like admitting to assault.
What do you think Dex? You’re the high paid lawyer.” Reid said, and I sagged with relief as he put his arm around my shoulders, turning me to see my ear before handing me the square from his suit jacket to put on it so it would stop dripping down my neck. “What do you think you could get out of a woman beating piece of shit in a civil court case for this kind of injury?” He asked, as the others looked on in shock.
They might not know who these men were by name, but they could tell they were important.
“For an average person,” Dexter shrugged his shoulders as he slid his hands in his pants pockets, looking at ease even though I could feel the anger swelling inside of him. “A million, maybe two.”
The manager scoffed as his eyes bugged out of his head. “Now wait just a minute. She’s the thief here! I’m not paying her a dime!”
