The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 31 - Crows and an apology

Teira's POV

I glanced at the entrance to the store, Whitley and her crows were standing there, giving me a look of disgust like they had just stepped in something smelly.

I didn't answer and kept looking through the dresses, grabbing a couple that might look decent, and headed towards the dressing rooms. "I'm talking to you!" Whitley yelled, but I continued to ignore her; she wasn't worth my time.

As I closed the door to the dressing room, I heard rustling in front of it. Then a knock sounded, "Ma'am? Are you alright in there?" a voice asked. "Yes, I'm fine," I said, trying on the dress. "Alright, please come to the front desk once you've finished." the voice responded. I paused, "Why? Is there a problem?" I asked. "No ma'am, just something the manager would like to discuss with you."

Now I was really confused, what would the manager of the store want with me? I had barely been in the store for ten minutes. I quickly changed out of the dress and hung it up, putting my clothes back on. I stepped out of the dressing room only to be greeted by a sales clerk and several of Whitley's crows.

The sales clerk smiled gently at me, "Please follow me, ma'am." she said as she led the way toward the register. An older man in a business suit and a smug-looking Whitley was standing there; the man turned towards me kindly. "I'm truly sorry, Miss, but there has been a complaint that you have tried to make purchases under someone else's card," he said gently. I glanced at Whitley and sighed. She just wouldn't leave me alone.

I smiled at the manager, "I take it, this young lady here has said I stole her card to make fraudulent purchases?" I asked dully. Whitley was taken aback by my attitude, but the smile didn't leave her face, "See? I told you she can't afford the dresses in here! I only just discovered my card was gone, and when I tried to confront her, she ignored me and ran into the dressing room! You should search her to make sure she hasn't stolen anything else!" she stated confidently.

The manager glared at Whitley and then gave me an apologetic look, "Miss, would you mind heading to the dressing room with a clerk? Just to clear things up?" he asked. I smiled at him, "It's alright, you're just doing your job. I-" I started to answer when a clear voice rang out, "She's not doing any such thing, Robert!"

Robert, the manager, looked in the direction of the voice and blanched, "Miss Valerie, what a pleasure it is for you to visit us today. What brings you here?" he asked, stuttering a bit. Val pushed Whitley's crows away from me and stood next to me protectively, several security guards were behind her, "I'm shopping with my friend today, Teira needs a dress for the upcoming Christmas party and came in to look while I took our bags out to the car. What is going on here?!" she asked, glaring at Whitley.

Robert explained the situation, and Whitley smirked; Val's eyes darkened with each word. "Let me get this straight, a customer comes in and starts browsing for about ten minutes when this girl and her friends start causing a scene about a lost debit card and pointing fingers at said customer but instead of searching the person who is causing a scene to make sure the card is really gone, you go along with the accusation?! Robert, did you even check the cameras?" she asked furiously. Robert paled, then bowed, apologizing profusely. Val waved him off, "Forget it. My staff will do it. You two go into the back office and check the tapes; the rest of you detain these girls. They've been harassing my friend for far too long, and I'm sure they have been shoplifting as well." she ordered.

Whitley's smile fell, and she shrieked as she and her squad were grabbed by the guards, "What do you think you're doing?! Don't you know who I am?!" she screamed until Val got into her face, "Don't you know who's mall you walked into? I own this mall and all the businesses in it. So I have the final say in who shops here and who doesn't. And you've earned yourself a spot on my blacklist." she murmured menacingly. Whitley looked like she was about to be sick, and I stared at Val in awe. No wonder the triplets wanted her to guard me.

The guards came back five minutes later, "The young lady just looked at the racks of dresses and went into the dressing room, it appears the other women tried to harass her but she didn't react and after she went into the dressing room, they started picking up several small items and stuffing them in their pockets, looks like one was trying to plant something on the young lady but failed when you arrived Miss James." the guard reported. Val glared at Whitley and her squad and nodded to a few female guards. The women started searching the girl's pockets, pulling out costume jewelry, earrings, brooches, and other small items.

Val growled, "They are to be taken to the cells on charges of harassment and theft. The Alpha will deal with their sentencing himself." she ordered, and the guards nodded, dragging a shrieking Whitley away along with her crying squad.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, but I was nervous that I'd be the one in the cells before Val or Kyle got back. Kyle walked into the store then, pausing at Val's glare, "What happened?" he asked. Val just scoffed and then turned to the manager, "Robert, I thought I trained you better than this. You always check the cameras when something like this happens, never just take someone's word for it. I should fire you for this!" she berated, but I put up my hands, "Val, it wasn't his fault. He was only doing his job, and he didn't accuse or belittle me in any way. He was very kind and apologetic about the whole situation. Please don't fire him!" I pleaded.

Val looked at me and smiled, "I said I should, not that I would. Seeing as how he and his staff treated you well, I'll let it slide. This time. Next time it happens, get all the facts first before believing one person's side over the other." she said sternly. Robert bowed, "Yes, Miss Valerie, thank you. It won't ever happen again; my deepest apologies to you as well, miss." he said, turning and bowing to me.

I looked at him, shocked; I didn't need an apology. Before I could tell him such, Val waved him off. "You can apologize to her by finding her the perfect dress for the party. We want one that will drop the jaws of everyone there," she said firmly. Robert straightened and looked at me with a critical eye, then nodded to one of the clerks, "Get the lady's measurements, then take her to the private dressing room. I'm sure one of the VIP dresses will do her justice." he said, and the clerk nodded.

Taking me by the hand, she gently led me through the back offices to a large, curtained-off room with a raised circular platform in the middle. The clerk had me stand on the platform and began to use a tape measure to measure my waist, chest, and height. After she wrote the measurements down on a clipboard, she disappeared behind another curtain, leaving me alone.

Val came striding in a few minutes later, huffing, "I can't believe he left you alone! He's supposed to stay with you when I'm not there! What possessed him to let you wander into a*****e without a guard?!" she ranted furiously, pacing. I smiled at her, "It's not Kyle's fault that Whitley tried something. She must've followed us from the packhouse when her ambush on the elevator didn't work." I replied, trying to soothe her anger. Val glared at me, "Of course she followed! She's been following you ever since her dinner with the triplets went south! That's why they assigned me to be your guard!" she exclaimed hotly.

I froze, looking at her stunned. Whitley had been stalking me? But why? "Why would Whitley stalk me? I'm nothing but the school loser to her, someone for her to bully and get to do her homework for her." I asked. Val sighed and slumped in a chair, "Whitley is the type of person who gets what she wants. She wants to be Luna, so she got the Luna on her side so she could get close to the triplets, but when the dinner with the triplets went bad, the Luna took away her support. She may want to pick her boys' mates, but she won't let them be miserable with someone who can't keep their interest. The Alpha knows this and assigned me to guard you when the triplets asked for someone to protect you." she explained softly.

Before I could reply, the clerk came back with several racks of dresses. Val stood up and grabbed a couple, holding them up against me, "No, that won't do...this one doesn't work with your coloring...this one washes you out..." she muttered as she tossed dress after dress on an empty rack.

Finally, she held up a deep violet ballgown. One that looked like a princess would wear it. Val smiled as she held it up, "Oh yes, this one will do nicely." she said, handing it to the clerk to help me put it on.

It felt heavenly, smooth, and fluffy, like wearing a cloud of purple silk. The clerk tied the back up tightly as it was corset-styled and moved a full-length mirror over so I could see myself. I gasped in wonder, I couldn't believe the girl in the mirror was me. I looked older, like a model instead of a regular, skinny girl. Val smiled and looked at the clerk.

"I think we found a winner."