Elena's gaze shifted to her. It was such a hassle to stand in the same space as those bitches, but she couldn't afford to provoke them as her job will be on the line immediately.
She was yet to meet Mark and start up her plans with him so in the meantime, she needs to be able to put food on the table and take care of her family.
"Excuse me, are you ladies here to shop or to inquire about my personal affairs?" she smiled at them while trying to ignore the pang of pain in both cheeks.
Elena didn't know that fake smiles could bring so much pain just to strike a huge difference from genuine ones.
The three women scoffed at once, but she did not give them a chance to retort as she continued still with that fake smile on her lips, "I really do not mind if you end up not buying anything from the store, but you have to at least pay for my services, both professional and otherwise. The clock is ticking."
What Elena meant to say was as simple as the English alphabet. They actually have no choice but to buy stuff from the store. And she was not afraid of their verbal lashings.
Even if they flared up or scolded her, at least those who didn't know would think she was being all nice to them with that polite smile. They would be the only ones seen as rude and entitled. And she would be the one getting the upper hand in this ugly exchange.
The three women were not in their best state, especially with how unfazed Elena was even after they had tried to rile her up by bringing up her most touchy painful past. But they were not about to let her go scot-free.
It has now come to their minds that they must see her eyes bleed painful tears before their shopping rounds were over.
A new goal and achievement needed to be unlocked, and the trio agreed after exchanging glances.
Mirabelle was the first to offer Elena a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Of course, we are here to shop, and you are here to assist us. Now lead the way to the latest items. We have a ton of time to waste, and the money to make up for it."
There was a hint of threat in her last statement which did not go unnoticed by Elena.
Of course, she knew what she was signing herself up for since their first greeting was to terrorize her with sensitive topics that should never have been any of their business
Her only prayer was that she be able to contain her anger and not jam her fist into their faces and be arrested while being sued for physical assault.
Elena was quite sure the bitches would never let her off. Maybe, that was the plan they secretly had underway, to rile her up and force her into violence that would end up ruining all her meticulously crafted plans.
'No!' Elena quickly shook off those violent thoughts. 'I can't let them get me.'
Elena deeply exhaled before leading the way. "Would you like to use the VIP room or would…" Elena knew they were VIP clients that had membership cards with the store. She was smart enough to overhear two of her colleagues talking about it.
"The VIP room is perfect for assault and murder." Kate, the woman in a short flay gown laughed with a hand over her lips to stifle her amusement.
Taking the hint, Elena led them towards the hallway. 'The perfect place to capture a crime scene,' she thought to herself. She had refused to indulge them in any kind of conversation that had nothing to do with the shopping they came for.
Stella, the woman in a body-hug dress smiled in contempt as her gaze came to rest at the back of Elena's head. "How the mighty have fallen," she said in a small voice that reached past their ears.
Elena stiffened.
Like seriously, did they not have anything better to talk about other than using her past to taunt her? She could remember how high her family used to be up the ladder and how jealous those trios were but would wear fake smiles on their faces when they greeted her.
'How the mighty have fallen' was the right adage given their intertwined fate.
Arriving at one of the VIP rooms that were smaller than the rest since Elena didn't think they were worth any effort plus premium treatments, she opened the door and let them step in before she followed after and shut the door behind them.
Mirabelle's gaze darted across the room as she took in her environment. There was only a three-seater couch with a centre table and a thick black curtain behind the couch, hiding the changing room.
Unsatisfied with what she was seeing, she turned on her heels and wrapped her arms below her chest, pushing a non-existent ample of flesh out.
No offence for that statement, but this isn't what body shaming looks like.
"You know very well we are VIP clients with a yearly membership, why bring us to this kind of room?"
Hearing that, Elena took in her surrounding within three seconds before returning her gaze to her. "Is it not to your liking?" she asked with an innocent gaze that annoyed the hell out of Mirabelle who no longer had any reason to accuse her of mistreatment.
Fortunately, Kate stepped in at that moment. "This place is not to our liking, but the most important reason we wanted a room was for us to sit and watch you running back and forth getting all our orders and returning the ones we don't like."
To think that Elena thought about letting out a deep breath. She swallowed it the second the last word reached her ears.
Watching the smirks playing at the corner of their lips, Elena took in every expression before deciding to stop smiling altogether.
She was not going to keep up the stunt that physically hurt her while catering to entitled bitches that pricked on her emotionally.