Chereads / Harem app / Chapter 17 - Scam

Chapter 17 - Scam

With jealousy burning in her eyes, Eva stared at me with such intensity that my heart raced, my pupils widening. My mind raced through possible responses, but I gradually steadied myself. I had no reason to be nervous, after all, her jealousy was unfounded. 

Regaining my self-confidence, I looked straight at the girl who "innocently" asked:

"But he has a pretty sister, right?"

"Helena? I don't know her, but she's quite similar to her brother." I feigned absolute disinterest. "You two got along well, right? Maybe it's good for you to make a new friend. Make sure to get in touch with her later. I don't know her well, but she seems a bit superficial. Though she might be a good friend for you."

With that, I completely dodged the question, turning the conversation back to Eva, who proudly denied my assertion that she had no friends, but deep down, we all knew I was right. 

For now, at least, I seemed to have dodged the jealousy of that small feral cat, though I wasn't sure how long it would last.

"By the way, I need to buy some new clothes, want to pick a shirt for me?" I casually suggested.

"You just want to go to a clothing store to try and convince me to wear perverted things, isn't that right, you pervert?" Eva puffed out her chest proudly, playing the detective role. She even "smoked" an imaginary Sherlock Holmes pipe.

"How could I resist wanting to see a girl as beautiful as you in provocative clothes?"

The girl blushed at my comment, lowered her head, and whispered that, if it was for me, maybe she'd wear a few things. So, we went to the clothing store to buy something for me. Of course, my choice was resolved in less than 10 minutes, with me buying the cheapest shirt possible; I just wanted to fulfill a mission, after all.

After that, I was astonished when suddenly the girl called me to show off some outfits. I had truly hit the jackpot that day! Then she pulled me into the fitting room to show me a bikini she had chosen to wear.

It was simply gorgeous, magnificent, with such a powerful design that I was transported to a beach. I felt the strong sun on my skin, the sound of the waves and the paradisiacal landscape forming in front of me. 

The charming girl, in all her beauty, seemed to transport me to a new world, where the sand could vividly be felt sticking to my feet and between my toes.

Then I admired the girl in front of me and all her beauty. Her short, free black hair danced delicately with the salty breeze, like ebony strands caressed by the golden rays of sunset. 

Her slim silhouette and soft curves, barely covered by any clothing, were so sexy I could barely control myself. Her small but elegant breasts defied gravity with ease, and through the thin fabric of that bikini, her pointed nipples attracted me in a supernatural way.

"What do you think?"

The girl's intense eyes pierced me, pulling me out of my dream and bringing me back to reality: I was in a small, cramped fitting room, nearly touching a beautiful girl wearing a tiny bikini that did little to hide her sensuality. My body reacted as it should, with blood being vigorously pumped to a single point.

"You're so beautiful, I can feel the sea breeze and admire the most beautiful sunset. I feel like there aren't even words to express how gorgeous you are," I commented, letting myself get carried away by the moment.

In response, the girl's lips hesitated for a moment before curving into a shy smile. Her eyes, unable to meet mine as they had before, dropped to the ground, and she blushed timidly. She was indeed the cutest thing in the world.

"Well, if you liked it so much, I'll buy it. You can also pick something else for me to wear, if you want…" She suggested shyly, giving me a chance to enjoy paradise.

We spent some time in the store, during which I was amazed by all of Eva's cuteness and beauty, and she became more embarrassed with every compliment. 

After wasting some time in that place, we decided to move on and end the date by going back to the arcade, but an unusual crowd caught my curious eye.

The center of the commotion was a wine and luxury goods store; it was the kind of fancy place I would never have the chance to enter. But the issue wasn't the store itself, but rather a strong man, nearly two meters tall, elegantly dressed and starting a commotion, complaining about something.

From a distance, my eyes met the man's, who was yelling at a beautiful clerk, who seemed unsure of what to do in front of the whole mess. Looking into his eyes, I sensed something was wrong. I was confident in my ability to read people's intentions through their gaze, and that guy was a liar.

Analyzing the scene that now held my interest, I noticed that in his hand, he held a wine bottle, complaining about its quality and accusing the store of fraud or something like that. 

Focusing more on the details, I noticed the clerk had a name tag on her chest; her name was Isabel, and she had been hired less than two months ago, or so her name tag said. In other words, that guy was trying to take advantage of a rookie, or at least that's what I felt.

Normally, I would've ignored something like that, as there was no reason to get involved in other people's problems, but... what had being a coward ever gotten me? If there's one thing I've learned in recent times, it's not to stay withdrawn in my corner. Taking a step forward, I decided I would be the hero of the day.

Approaching confidently, I waited for the right moment to reveal myself and analyzed the situation more carefully. I was pretty confident in my keen eye, and I quickly noticed something was off with the bottle's label. I quickly remembered seeing something about scams like this online: the customer would put a fake label on a product and use that to complain.

Scanning the surroundings, I quickly spotted the store's security guard, who seemed unsure of what to do as he tried to watch the growing crowd gathering to see the scene. He was probably more concerned about ensuring no one took advantage of the commotion to steal something than about helping the poor clerk. After all, leaving the clerk in trouble wouldn't get him fired, but allowing theft likely would.

Confidently, I approached the guard, who was also almost two meters tall, but unlike the rude customer, he was muscular, with a chest that looked ready to burst through his tight suit at any moment. Speaking with the guard, I asked only for him to protect me if the customer got aggressive, and also asked him to prevent the jerk from escaping once exposed.

The guard didn't necessarily trust me, but he said he would keep an eye on everything, which reassured me a little. He also mentioned that "reinforcements" would soon arrive and commented that if I could stall a bit, there would be at least one more guard, giving him more freedom to act. In other words, it would be ideal if I could buy some time.

Finally, I asked him to let me pass, and believing I might resolve the conflict, he allowed it. As I walked toward the epicenter of the commotion, I felt the powerful gaze of the guard behind me. Since I wasn't doing anything wrong, feeling that gaze relaxed me, and I grew more confident with each step.

"Excuse me, would you mind letting me take a look at that wine?" Placing myself between the angry guy and the clerk, I spoke calmly, with a simple yet confident smile.

"Who are you? Are you another employee from this shitty store?! I've already said that..."

"That label is fake," I stated confidently. After getting close enough, I was almost certain.

I could only confirm the label by holding it, but my biggest clue was how suspicious the guy was.

I quickly noticed how he had an expensive watch on his wrist, but his slightly sunburned, tan skin didn't have any marks. Where I lived, there were no beaches, and it wasn't vacation time, so it was unlikely he got that tan on a break.

Also, despite being slightly sunburned, his skin wasn't peeling, probably because he was already accustomed to the sun. Given all this, I guessed he was someone used to working under the sun and certainly didn't wear that expensive watch in his daily life.

There was also something odd about his clothes; normally, wealthy people wore tailor-made suits, but that wasn't the case for him. His cologne was very cheap, unlike what anyone who frequents that store would wear.

Moreover, his gaze seemed deeply suspicious, and the anger with which he spoke was clearly faked. Deep down, the man seemed quite tense and nervous about the whole situation, though he did a decent job of faking a certain calm and confidence.

But above all, the label on the wine bottle really seemed strange to me. I couldn't say for sure without touching it, but the paper seemed to be of lower quality. And, in a way, it wasn't perfectly aligned with the bottle. Something felt off about it, so I made the gamble.

And when I accused him directly, my suspicions were almost confirmed, given the look of desperation that briefly crossed his face. He then tried to ramp up the yelling, but I didn't back down for a second, asking him to let me examine the product.

Once I saw that more security guards had approached, I decided to provoke him a little more, making the idiot finally try to resort to violence. Immediately, I rushed to protect the clerk, in a somewhat

"Are you alright?" I asked the girl I had 'protected,' standing as a human shield.

She had a mysterious yet absolutely beautiful smile. Her short black hair, tinged slightly purple at the ends, gave her an extra bit of charm. And her eyes… oh, those eyes were the most stunning I had ever seen in my life, a blend of purple with the darkness of the night.

As the man was restrained, we locked eyes passionately, and the girl finally wrapped her arms around me, letting her delightful perfume invade my senses, and she gracefully said:

"Thank you so much for your help."