I pulled open the box of the larger pair I included with her purchase. “Was there a prob—”
“Yes. Yes there was a problem. I need to pay for these,” her tone was firm and loud.
I blinked. “You don’t have to do that. They were—”
“No, they weren’t,” she muttered sharply, pulling her gaze from me. Her long fingers dug into her purse before her eyes shot back to mine. “There was no sale. I don’t know why you felt the need to tell me there was, but I don’t care. I just want to pay for these.”
“Why?” It was all I could ask.
“Why not? I can afford it. I’m a doctor—p-practically. A PA actually, I do just fine. But the point is I don’t need handouts. Especially not from some… some store cashier. I probably make more money than you do. Maybe you’re the one who needs a handout.” Her face grew redder and her voice louder.
I glance behind her.
Now. Now Tisch decides to show up.
My sister stood shocked in place, staring at the frantic customer before bouncing her brows at me and disappearing in the other direction.
Huh, blondie actually scared Tisch away.
“I’m the owner. But I have the feeling you already knew that.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She blinked rapidly and gritted, “Alright Mr. Sporting Goods, I’m either paying for these, or leaving them.”
I nodded. “These are for Jax, correct?” I was one hundred percent sure that was the kid’s name but felt appropriate to ask.
“Obviously.”
I licked my lips and leaned in. “Tell you what; if he ends up not playing next year, you can return the unused pair. We have a one-year return policy for unused items.”
She reached and snatched the framed return policy stand on the counter, reading it, then set it down.
“If he does, then by all means, you’ll owe me ninety-seven dollars. ‘Course by then, these will be on clearance, so roughly twenty-eight bucks.”
She jerked. “What makes you think he won’t be playing next year?” she asked defensively.
“Call it a hunch.” That kid was not into baseball. It was clear the minute I met him. He didn’t care for the shoes or any other part of the baseball wing of the store. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way. To be honest, it was more for encouragement for your rising athlete.”And because I wanted to help. You were about to spend a hundred bucks on a pair of shoes your kid would probably rarely use.But clearly that sent the wrong message.
After studying me, she asked “Why me? And Jax,” she added almost immediately.
And because I had no answer, I lifted the store intercom mic. “Attention ladies and gentlemen this weekend only, all athletic shoes are buy one get one free.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Nice. There’s like seven people in the store.” Then she reached over the counter and snatched the mic from my hands. Her cool fingers brushed mine briskly and I fought the urge to pull on them to feel more of her silky skin. “Tell your friends,” she added with a mischievous grin.
“What a great idea,” Tisch appeared again beside the register, shooting me a wide grin and a look that read I’ll need to tell her what this was all about later. “I’ll post it on the website.”
Tisch disappeared into my office before I could stop her.
I turned back to find blondie wincing. “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“My pride just cost you a shit load of inventory…and you were just trying to help.”
“Too little too late. You’ll have to get a part time job here to pay it all back.” I winked. “It’s cool, I’m overdue for a good sale.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes turned soft and she flushed. Then stared at the shoes. “Probably wasn’t even worth it. I don’t think Jax is going to use these next year.”
“Where is the little guy, anyway?”
