Alright guys I'm sorry that it's been taking me so long to update, but I'm also working on my own novel on the side, as well as trying to be a good mom, fiancé, friend, and employee. My life is a little bit crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing in it. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thank you for your continued support.
Disclaimer: 50 Shades of Grey and all original characters and storyline thereof belong to E.L. James.
I check the clock as we arrive in Portland, its 12:07, which means we have plenty of time to head to the mall.
"Did you want to do lunch before we head over? Or did you just want to shop?" Cavin asks.
"Shop! I say immediately. "We can just stop at the food court if we get hungry. Also I would kill for a Starbucks right now!" I say, realizing that I might be slightly addicted to caffeine.
"I can take you to somewhere better than Starbucks. It's only a little ways away from the mall, and they make awesome coffee!"
"Better than Starbucks?" I ask skeptically.
"Yep, tons better!" He smiles smugly at me.
"Fine, but if I hate it you owe me big time."
"You won't trust me!" He said, and then started to drive towards the pearl district.
He pulled up to a brick edifice with a small sign that said Sisters Coffee Company out front. I looked at him puzzled because I had never heard of it.
"Just trust me Phoebe! I came here one day while I was here on business, and I will never go to Starbucks unless I have to."
I look at him skeptically, but follow him inside. I'm surprised to see how many people there are considering I had never heard of it before.
When it finally comes time for us to order I get my usual, a large iced four shot caramel macchiato, with extra caramel sauce, and also get a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Then Cavin and I made our way down the counter to wait for our drinks.
"Your so boring!" I teased him when they called out his drink order-an Americano with room.
"I'll give you a taste of mine, and then you'll understand why I don't need any flavoring in it." He said as he stirred a bit of half and half into his black coffee.
I grab my drink, and take a long pull from the straw. I don't want to admit it to Cavin, but it's good-really good!
"Here try this!" He hands me his as he puts the lid back on his cup. I take a sip, and am surprised. Usually I hate coffee without sugar in it. It honestly taste like dirt to me. But this was smooth, and I could taste the smoky accent it had to it.
"Okay, do you have to be right about everything?" I giggle, and take another quick sip of his before handing it back.
"Better than Starbucks?" He asks, laughing a little at me.
"Better than Starbucks." I tell him reluctantly.
We head back out to the car, and I begin eating my bagel. I don't realize that I'm so hungry until I'm finishing the bagel just a few seconds later.
"We could have stopped somewhere and gotten food if you were that hungry." Cavin said.
"I didn't realize I was. Our housekeeper Gail made some seriously delicious quiche before I left, and I had a ton of that." I flush, slightly embarrassed because I've always had a fast metabolism, and I'm not afraid to eat, but sometimes I feel like people think it's gross.
"Hey don't worry about it! I like the fact that you eat like a normal person."
I don't know how to respond to that, so I just keep quiet, and stare out my window at the passing buildings.
Moments later we're pulling up to the mall, and I can feel my spirit lifting. My Aunt Mia gave me a serious passion for fashion when I was 15, and the mall just felt like my second home.
"We have about an hour to kill before we need to head over to the college." He said, looking at the mall with a terrified expression on his face.
"I can work with that time frame." I say smiling, then add, "You're about to get a crash course on how to shop…Phoebe Grey style."
I hear him groan quietly as I get out of the car, and can tell that it's because he's not looking forward to this, not even a little bit.
"Oh don't be such a baby. It's not going to be that bad. I'm an expert shopper, so you won't have to deal with the whole going in and out of every single store. I know what I want and I know where to get it. We're going to hit Tiffany's, Juicy, Louis, and Coach first, and then we'll go from there."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better somehow?" He asks, and I realize that coming from a small town, he probably has never stepped foot in any of the stores I just named.
"Just follow me, and you'll be fine. I need a new wallet, so we'll stop at Coach first, then we'll go to Juicy because I'm in serious need of some new sleepwear, especially if you and I continue our sleepovers."
"Well I like the sound of that, but what about the other two stores?" He asks.
"My mom has had her eyes on this gorgeous Louis Vuitton handbag for the longest time, and I'm going to get it for her birthday gift, and I'm going to get her and I matching necklaces also. I even had the picture and description of the one I want printed out, so unless they don't have it, it shouldn't take long to get it, of course if they decide to do a credit check it might take a little longer."
"Credit check? For jewelry?"
"One necklace costs over a thousand dollars, they want to make sure they are going to get their money. But usually when they find out who I am…or more like who my father is, they usually decide to skip it."
Cavin is starting to look a little faint so I drag him into the mall, and straight to the coach store.
"Just hang out here, and I'll be done soon." I say, and walk off to find the nearest overfriendly sales woman.
"Can I help you miss?" A middle aged woman asks and I can tell she is looking down on me, big mistake lady.
"Yes I was looking for a new wallet."
"Perhaps you should try the J. Crew. They have a nice selection of wallets there, that may be…a little more suited to what you're looking for."
I scoff at her and say, "Thanks but no thanks, I think I'll look here for a bit."
"Very well. Let me know if you need any help today." And then she disappears into the back, no doubt to tell her manager about the stubborn teenager, who by no means would be able to afford anything in the store.
Sure enough a few moments later an older, yet still handsome gentleman walks out, with miss bitch peaking around the corner behind him. I glance back at Cavin and roll my eyes, he has a shocked yet amused expression on his face. No doubt because he knows that I'm not one to be treated like this without saying something.
"Excuse me miss is there anything I can help you with?" I look at his polished name tag. It read Michael, Manager.
"Actually I think there is something you can do for me. You should probably teach your sales associates the proper way to greet and handle a customer, no matter who they may be."
"I'm sorry miss I'm not sure I know what you're saying."
"The sales associate who no doubt when back there and told you I was out here being difficult, needs to learn the just because I may appear like a normal teenager, I am far from it. And she should have probably helped me find what I was looking for before suggesting that I go elsewhere to find it."
"I'm very sorry that Angela was unpleasant to you miss. Could you start from the beginning so I can ascertain exactly what happened, and properly sort this out."
"Very well. I walked into this store looking for a specific wallet that I still am hoping to buy, despite the rude way I was treated, although I am giving serious thought to just picking one up from Louis Vuitton when I go there.
"Anyway your sales associate approached me asking if she could help me, but they way she was looking at me made it very clear that she felt she was above me. And when I told her I was looking for a wallet she suggested I go to J. Crew to find something. When I told her that I was going to stay here and look around for a little while longer she went into the back to find you."
"I am very sorry Miss…?"
"Grey, My name is Phoebe Grey."
I could tell immediately that he understood exactly what that meant. "Miss Grey. I'm terribly sorry for the way you were treated, and I assure you that Angela will be punished for her actions. And I hope that you will my sincere apology, as well as 50% off your purchase today."
"Thank you Michael. I do enjoy this store, and it would be a shame if the actions of one individual kept me from shopping here."
"I agree. Is there anything I can help you personally find?" He asks, but you can tell he's relaxed a bit.
"I'm actually looking for the pink Legacy double zip accordion wallet in the signature fabric if you have it, and since you've so kindly thrown in the 50% off I think I will take the matching hobo bag as well."
"We actually have both in stock Miss Grey let me grab those for you. Is that all that you were looking for today, or would you like to shop around a little bit longer?"
"That will be all today Michael, but thank you."
He gives me a quick nod, then goes to the back. I can see the look that he shares with Angela, and it makes me smile.
"Remind me to never piss you off okay?" Cavin says walking up behind me.
"I don't like being treated badly just because I'm a teenager." I say simply, but am a bit embarrassed by my tirade.
"Hey you were in the right here. That saleswoman should have helped you like any other customer."
"Thanks." I say, and then make my way over to the register where Michael is waiting with my items.
I ended up only spending 258 dollars from a total of 516. There was always perks of being treated like crap, but I am still pretty pissed about it.
"Alright let's get to Juicy. I'm just gonna grab some stuff there, and then we'll get my mom's gifts. How much time do we have left?" I ask, because I know that Tiffany's will take a bit.
"Forty-three minutes." Cavin says.
"Alright then we'll hustle, and if we have time we'll head down to the bottom floor."
I didn't spend much time in Juicy, just enough to grab a few pairs of sleep shorts and a cami or two. I didn't even try them on because I shopped here so frequently that I knew how they would fit.
Louis Vuitton was easy too. Which left us a good thirty minutes for Tiffany's, and I hoped that we didn't need all of it because I really wanted to check out Aldo and try and find the pair of to die for studded black ankle boots that were on their website.
When we got to Tiffany's I was no nonsense. I found the nearest sales rep, and showed her the picture of the small heart pendant that I was planning on getting both my mom and I. "Do you have two of these in stock?" I ask
"I believe we only have one of the open heart pendants. Is it this one specifically you're looking for?"
"Yes for my mother's birthday I'm going to get her and I matching heart pendants, and these are the ones I like."
"Well if you come back in a few weeks we can order another and have it here for you to pick up."
"I guess that will have to do." I say thankful that she is willing to work with me.
"Well just need a name, and phone number to contact when they come in, and we can set up a payment plan then."
"No payment plans will be needed. I plan on paying in full. Would you prefer that on a card or cash just to be sure when I come back."
"Cash is always preferable, but a card works as well."
"I will come back with the full amount owed in cash."
"Very well. Can I get your contact information?" The saleswoman asked.
"Yes my name is Phoebe Grey."
"Ah Miss Grey we already have your father's credit card information on file, did you want us to charge it to that…with his permission of course?"
"No thank you, that won't be necessary. I would prefer to pay for my mother's gift with my own money. Thank you though." Even though my money was still technically my fathers, because it was a weekly allowance, I still wanted to be able to say that I thought up and paid for the gift.
"Very well, can I get your phone number then?"
I jot down my number and give it to the woman.
"We'll give you a call as soon as we get the second one in Miss Grey."
"Thank you." I tell her, and then head off toward Aldo with Cavin trailing behind me like a lost dog.
"You know Phoebe if you weren't an exceptional writer I think you would be 0very good doing what your father does."
I laugh at that. "Yeah my dad always tells me that there's an internship at his company waiting for me if I want it, but that wouldn't really help me make a name for myself."
"Can I ask you kind of a personal question?" Cavin asks.
"Shoot!" I say because honestly this man has seen me naked, what can be more personal than that?
"You said you wanted to pay for your mom's gift with your own money. Does that mean that everything you've bought today you've paid for with your own money too?" He asks.
"Yeah, well kind of."
"Kind of?"
"The day I was born my father started giving me weekly allowances of 1000 dollars, and every year on my birthday or Christmas he would put in an extra 5000. By the time I had any interest in spending any of it I already had over 720,000 dollars saved up, not including the interest that had accumulated over the years.
"When I turned 16 my father got me a credit card that had no limit, and his only stipulation for having it was that I made sure the bill was paid on time every month using the money that I was given as allowance. He gave me the lecture about being smart with my money, and being financially sound.
"Every once in a while I splurge, but mostly I just spend a little here and a little there. The only time I make any big purchases is around Christmas time or special occasions. I want to know that money is going to be there when I need it most."
"You are so intelligent for a woman your age. Most girls I know would go out and spend every last cent on something that they didn't need in the first place."
"Most girls also don't have Christian Grey as their father. It's a blessing and a curse, because on one hand I don't really have to touch that money if I don't want to. I could have cut up my credit card and continued to use my father's money for everything. I mean even now, when I don't want to use my money all I have to do is ask my parents and I'll get it. Like today I could have easily just told that sales woman to go ahead and charge it to my father's card, and he would have been okay with it.
"I'm not saying that I'm independent of my parents and I only use my money, because I don't. They constantly buy me stuff, but I always buy what is important to me. Like Birthday gifts of Christmas presents, anniversary gifts, things like that I always make sure to buy with my own money, because it seems more genuine that way I guess. And I understand it's the thought that counts, but if I were to use my parents money to buy all that stuff it would be like it wasn't from me personally."
"Your parents wouldn't take that money away from you if they knew you were seeing me would they?" He asked suddenly.
"I don't think they would. They would be pissed, and may threaten to take it away, but I don't think they ever actually would go that far."
"I don't want to be the reason you suffer." His voice is pained, and I can tell he really is worried about me.
"Don't worry Cavin. Even if my parents cut me off I wouldn't be suffering. I am capable of getting a job, and living a life without my parent's money. Kid's my age do it all the time."
"But would you really be able to make that big of an adjustment?"
"I'm not saying it would be easy, but if my parents can't accept the two of us being together, then no amount of money they throw at me would make up for how miserable I would be without you."
"I feel the same Phoebe. I would give up everything I have for you." And after glancing around to make sure no one we knew was watching us, he leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
I smile up at him and say, "Let's hurry and get to Aldo so we can get outta here. I want to make sure we're somewhat early to the meeting."
"Sounds good to me." He says taking my hand. It feels good to be able to act like a real couple, and for the first time in a while I'm not worried about how we're going to make it work out between us. I'm just happy to be able to spend some time with him.