The laws of love, lust, and lies

CHAPTER SIX

ALICE

A slight , but consistent satisfaction settles inside me when I see Dominic's face completely transform the moment I come out dressed in a little black dress , that has a square neckline that frames my breasts in a masterful way , his eyes almost went out of their sockets and that , for some reason , is the reaction I was expecting , because if he was surprised when I tried on the first dress that was white and then he asked the salesperson to change it for a larger size , I knew that his reaction was not going to be any different with this dress , which I chose a size smaller than what I usually wear on purpose to see what kind of reaction he was going to have , and I must say I was not disappointed.

His eyes go directly to my breasts and then down to my legs which are exposed from a couple of inches above the knees , however , he stands up suddenly , and although at first , I think he is going to ask the seller about three sizes more of this dress , what he does next surprises me even more.

“ Done, that's it , we will take the clothes that have already been tried on and the ones that she is wearing, ” he says in a tense tone and then simply heads to the cash register to pay while the salesperson follows him happy , I guess for having achieved a large commission for this sale.

I go back into the changing room in a trance state because I have no idea what just happened , I thought he was going to react differently and that he was going to ask me to change the size of my dress because this is clearly not appropriate to go to the office , but to go to a nightclub or something like that , why would he want to buy me such a dress? Not that I am complaining as I have never owned anything like it , in fact , I have never been to a bar or nightclub of any kind,  George is quite strict and overprotective , so he rarely allows me to stay out of the house after ten O'clock.

Once we leave the clothing store , he is carrying most of the bags because he refused to let me carry any , and this is something that does not go unnoticed by the people who are in the shopping center , especially the women , who after looking at him with desire , they give me an envious look and some seem judgmental , as if they think I am some kind of gold digger exploiting this poor man and forcing him to buy me clothes.

" I assume you don't have a favorite shoe store either , do you? " he suddenly asks me , and I shake my head.

" Okay , so we will go in here , go try on some shoes while I go to the car to put these bags away and I will be right back, " he tells me before he drops me off in front of a fancy shoe store and turns to head back to the parking lot.

When I enter the store , I am completely ignored by the saleswomen who give me dismissive glances once they notice my old shoes and my outfit in general , I wish Dominic had left me with a couple of bags from the other store , which was also expensive , so at least they wouldn't think that I don't have a way to pay for this , or even worse , that I came in here to steal or something.

I decide not to pay much attention to the dismissive glances of the saleswomen and I just start walking around the store looking at shoes while I wait for Dominic to come back because I am sure they will not ignore him but on the contrary , they will probably start to fight to see who will attend to him , and while that happens , I am making a mental list of the shoes that I like and would like to try on.

However , when fifteen minutes have passed without Dominic coming back , I start to wonder if he suddenly forgot the store where he left me and I decide to call him at the number Kim gave me , after the first few rings , he answers the phone with a professional tone:

" Hello , Mr. Pemberton , this is Alice, " I say quietly.

" Oh Alice , I didn't have your number saved , is everything okay? " he asks me changing the tone to a more casual one.

" Yes , I just thought that maybe you didn't remember the store I was in and decided to call to confirm, " I replied.

" Oh no , I do remember the store , it's just that I stopped by another store first to buy something else , but I am on my way there , have you picked out the shoes yet? " he asks me.

" Uhhhh , I haven't tried any yet, " I reply.

" Why? Are you waiting for me to come back? You don't need my authorization, just pick ones that are suitable, ” he tells me.

" No , it's not that , it is just that... " I say , doubting whether to tell him about the situation with the saleswomen , I don't want him to think I am a softie, " I was wondering if maybe we can go to another store , this is a little ... " I continue , but I am not sure what word to use to describe it.

" I already told you not to worry about the cost of things , if you have doubts about the p*****t , let's just say that the firm will assume half of the costs and you pay the other half in installments as we had agreed, " he tells me.

" No , it is not because of the price , it's just ... " I start to say when I hear some heels behind me , and then one of the salesgirls says to me in a somewhat rude tone.

“ Look , I don't think this store fits your preferences , why not try the department store downstairs instead? My boss is already getting a little nervous about your presence in the store , and just between us girls , I really don't think you can afford shoes here … ” she starts to tell me , and I am vaguely aware that Dominic is speaking on the other side of the line , but I can't hear what he is saying.

" No , I am going to buy , I was just looking first, " is all I can say.

“ Oh honey , every day we see girls like you who only come to look and cannot buy , and we allow it because one can only dream about it , right? But you have been here a long time now and you better go, ” she says , and I feel a sudden pang of anger and sadness , I want to yell so many things at her , but I know the best thing is to just get out of this horrible place.

So , I turn around to leave the store and then I collide with Dominic who is standing with his face contorted with anger , and a completely rigid position , showing his full height in an imposing and almost dreadful way , he is looking at the saleswoman with the clear intention of wanting to yell at her too , but she seems totally enthralled with him and immediately smiles coquettishly and goes to his side to try to welcome him into the store , however , he raises his hand to signal her to shut up and then turns his face towards me , but before I can say anything, the saleswoman boldly says:

" Don't worry about her sir , she was just leaving, "

But Dominic ignores her completely and changing his expression from annoyed to one of incredible sweetness , he says to me: " Have you already chosen something that you like? "

The saleswoman looks from one to the other with her jaw almost touching her chest and seems to be suddenly speechless , so , giving her a murderous look , I reply to Dominic: “ No , actually , they were kicking me out of the store just before you came back, "

" No , I didn't ... there was a misunderstanding ... " she tries to defend herself , but Dominic simply tells her to call her supervisor as we are not going to deal with her anymore , and after the supervisor apologizes over and over again , she assigns us to a male salesperson who begins to serve us in a very friendly way , while the first girl looks at us from a corner looking like she wants to faint from anger and shame.