Four days after the incident, Ava couldn't stay at home any longer. She was almost going insane from being all by herself when Maddie had gone to work. All she thinks about is how she was going to raise the money to pay Robinson back. And she knew she wouldn't be able to do that by sitting at home.
She was almost done dressing up to leave for work when Maddie came back from her shift at the diner.
"Where are you going?" Maddie asked Ava, surprised to see her getting dressed.
"To work," Ava replied. She knew Maddie was going to try to talk her out of going back to work yet, but she wasn't going to listen to her.
"Work? Why are you going to work? Brad already gave you the week off," Maddie said.
"I'm not going to the diner, I'm going to the sneaker's shop."
"Ava, what is wrong with you? You haven't completely healed, the bruises on your face are still very much evident. You need to rest, so you can recover," Maddie said.
"Maddie, I'm in debt. I can't pay Robinson back his money by lounging around the house, I need to get to work, so I can make some money. Even if it's only enough to pay him back the interest, it's something."
"I know Ava, but I still don't think this is a good idea," Maddie argued.
"Not to worry, I'm going to be just fine," Ava assured Maddie with a smile.
"How about I give you money for this new week's interest?" Maddie offered.
"No Maddie, you've done enough already."
"But I'm not complaining, I will give you the money to pay the interest, so that way you can use this week to rest," Maddie said.
Ava smiled, "thanks, but I'm still not going to accept it."
"I see you've made up your mind to go back to work," Maddie said.
"I'm grateful for your help Maddie."
Ava finished getting dressed in a polo and jeans, as required by the shop's salespeople. She gathered her belongings and prepared to leave.
"Be careful, okay?" Maddie said to her.
"I will," Ava briefly hugged Maddie before she left their apartment. As she stepped outside, she felt a bit lightheaded, as that was the first time that she was coming out after the robbery.
"Are you okay miss?" A man asked Ava as she leaned against a wall, trying to steady herself.
Ava responded with a nod, she leaned off the wall and hailed down a cab that took her to the Nike shop where she worked.
"Ava! you look a mess!" Nathan, Ava's colleague said to her when he saw her walk in.
"Thanks for being so blunt Natt," Ava said with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't know it was this bad. Are you sure it's a good idea for you to come back to work so soon?" Nathan asked her with concern.
"I'm good. Has the manager arrived?"
"Not yet," Nathan came closer and hugged her. "It's good to have you back."
"Not so tight Natt," Ava winced as Nathan held her right arm.
"I'm sorry," Natt apologized.
"It's okay," Ava said.
Some customers walked in, and Nathan went to attend to them. While Ava went into the locker room to keep her bag so she could get to work.
The door to the shop opened about an hour later, and the last person Ava expected to see walked in. Mason.
What exactly was he doing here? Ava wondered, then realized she was asking a silly question. Because he was clearly there to buy sneakers. He looked even better than the last time they met. He wore a two-piece suit that made him look very elegant.
Did he know she worked here, was it just a coincidence that he came to this shop? Ava considered hiding so he wouldn't notice her. She couldn't afford for him to see her in this light, but she wasn't quick enough because Mason had already noticed her, and when Nathan tried to help him, Mason ignored him and walked up to Ava.
"Good day," Mason said in a husky voice.
"Good day sir, you are welcome, what....."
"What happened to you?" Mason asked with a frown when he saw the bruises on Ava's face.
"I... I..., It's nothing," Ava said with a nervous smile. This guy made her nervous. Everything about him screamed power, and he looked so intimidating.
"It's obviously something, your face looks badly bruised," Mason said, his eyes not leaving her face.
"I am fine sir. Would you like me to show you our latest collections?" Ava asked, quickly changing the topic.
Mason didn't reply, he kept staring at her, his blue eyes giving out nothing about what he could be thinking.
"Sir..."
"Have you been to the hospital?" Mason asked her.
"Yes, I have. Now please if you will come with me, I will show you our latest collections which just arrived."
Mason slowly nodded, "very well Ava, show me your latest collections," he said.
Ava smiled, "please come with me," she hoped he was going to like them and at least get one of them, so she could get a commission. She could feel Mason's eyes on her as he followed her from behind. Even though she felt nervous and intimidated by Mason's presence, she was going to try her best to sell him one of the shoes.
"You don't have to feel nervous Ava, I don't bite," Mason said to her when he saw the way her hands were shaking when she held out a pair of sneakers for himself.
"I'm sorry, I'm not..."
"You don't have to apologize, you've done nothing wrong," Mason said.
Ava slowly nodded as he took the sneakers from her, "this is a...."
"Do you have it in size 45?" Mason asked.
"Yes we do," Ava replied.
"I will take it," Mason said.
"For real?" Ava asked in surprise. That was easier than she expected, she didn't even have to sell it to him.
"Can I see any other one you have?"
"Yes of course," Ava brought out more sneakers to show Mason and he ended up buying 10 new pairs of their most expensive sneakers.
Ava was overjoyed as she watched him make payment for them.
"What time do you get off work?" Mason asked her, as the shoes were being taken to his car.
"8 pm," Ava replied, "why do you ask?"
"Have a nice evening Ava," Mason said ignoring her question before walking out of the shop.
"Oh, my God!" Nathan gushed as he came to stand beside Ava and they both watched Mason get into his car.
"Do you know how much commission you just made?" Nathan asked.
"You need not tell me, I'm calculating in my head right now," Ava replied, her eyes still on Mason's car as he drove out of the parking lot.
"This is the type of customer that I pray for every day," Nathan said.
Ava turned to look at him, "I thought you didn't believe in prayers?" Nathan scoffed and walked away.
The rest of the evening flew by, and even though Ava didn't make any more sales, she was pleased because she had already made more sales than she usually does in a week.
"Goodnight Ava," Nathan said to her as they closed for the day.
"Goodnight Nathan."
As Ava walked down to where she was going to get a cab back to her place, a car pulled up beside her. The driver's window wound down, and it was Mason. He said, "get in, I will take you to your place."