Chapter 8 (because 8 is great!)
I was drowning. In bags, hats, scarves, shirts, shoes, pants, skirts. DROWNING. I'd never shopped so thoroughly in my life. And the places Kagome had picked for us to shop at… Well, I'd never dreamed of shopping here. Everything was so expensive. Hell, I now owned a shirt that cost $1,300. Why would a shirt ever be that expensive? I couldn't believe I had purchased it. I wouldn't have, honestly, had I not received an email from Sesshomaru (which popped up on my Android phone), tell me to 'look presentable. Money is no object.' He'd also told me the limit on the credit card, and if I needed another one, to let him know so he could have it delivered.
This lifestyle was going to kill me. If it wasn't death by shopping bags, it would probably be death by hanging…used with $2,000 scarves.
Kagome shrieked obnoxiously, yanking a purse off the wall in the Coach store we were visiting. "Oh my gosh, Rin! Look how fabulous this is!"
"Yeah, it's nice." Although I personally thought the bright orange color was too bright to make the bag look decent. Kagome did have an interesting taste in bags though. "If you want it Kagome, get it. I highly doubt Sesshomaru will notice."
A sales clerk approached me, her heels tapping away on the white tile. "Excuse me, ma'am. Did you say, Sesshomaru? As in, the Lord Sesshomaru Taisho?"
"Yes, I did. Do you know him?" I asked politely. Her eyes widened, mouth forming in a little 'o' as her blonde hair hung loosely at her shoulders.
"No, ma'am. It's just… You're human, correct?"
"Yes…" I responded, silently urging her to continue.
Pam, as declared by her nametag, cleared her throat. "Are you a friend of Lord Sesshomaru's? I'd read somewhere he was very ill mannered towards humans, but you speak rather fondly of him." I stared at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to overstep my boundaries!" She waved her hands frantically.
Kagome started giggling and I had to admit, the situation was oddly comical.
"Well Pam," I ushered her closer. "Can you keep a secret?"
Pam nodded emphatically. "Oh yes, of course ma'am!" I leaned in closely before whispering into her ear.
"I've been his lover for months. He actually just asked me to marry him this afternoon, and he's let me go shopping to my hearts content as a celebration to myself! How thoughtful is that?"
Pam's eyes widened impossibly. She dared a quick glance at my left hand. "Oh my lord! Is that a Tiffany's Emerald Cut three stone engagement ring?" Uh… I had no idea. It was from Tiffany's…
"Um, yes, yes it is." She grabbed my hand, bringing the giant rock closer for her to inspect.
"Oh my. It's so beautiful! And it's got to be a custom design. Tiffany doesn't normally add sapphires into their Emerald Cut Three Stone rings. And the karat size. That's got to be at least 2 ½ karats. Probably closer to 3 or 3 ½. Did he pick out the sapphires for any particular reason?"
"It's my favorite stone," I said shyly, wanting to blush at the scrutiny my ring was under.
"That's such an expensive ring. You know, I have the perfect bag that would match that ring."
"You do?" Pam nodded again.
"Definitely. It's in the back, we just got it in today, and it's not even supposed to hit the stores until next week. But I doubt my manager would mind the press it'll get if you're wearing it a little early." I smiled gratefully.
"Thank you so much!"
Pam rushed behind the counter and into the stockroom. Kagome came to stand at my side.
"Why did you tell her you got engaged? I thought Lord Sesshomaru wanted to wait until after all the interviews were finished for tomorrow?"
"I know. But did you see the fear in her eyes when she mentioned him? I thought it would be better for people to start seeing how happy I am, and to think better of him. That's what I'm doing here, after all."
"Oh, you're so right, Rin. I just hope you don't make Lord Sesshomaru upset. I can't imagine him acting nicely if he's in a bad mood." Kagome shuddered reflexively.
"Don't worry, Gome." I rubbed her arm soothingly. "He'd never do anything to hurt me. If I only know one thing, it's that."
Pam came rushing back out, bag in hand. It was stunning. A deep blue that almost reflected the sapphires in my ring perfectly.
"It's the newest Legacy bag from Coach. It's a large tote, it has the side pockets here. It's also a limited edition, so we won't be receiving any other shipments for it once it's been sold."
"You have to get it," Kagome gushed. "That's a gorgeous bag, Rin!" It truly was. I'd never seen a bag I had desired as much.
"It comes with a matching wallet?"
Pam handed it to me. "It's the legacy 'double-zip' wallet. Do you like it?"
"I love it," I breathed out, hand rubbing the leather tenderly. I'd never owned anything made from actual leather before. "I'll take it."
"Great!" Pam said. "Would you like to check out our sunglasses? How about flats, or high heels? We have some that would match your bag."
"Well, if I got shoes to match the bag I'd have to wear them everyday." Pam stared at me. "What?"
"You only have one purse?"
"Well… Yes?" Kagome and I stared at Pam as if she had two heads. More than one purse? What for?
"Oh ma'am, if you're going to marry Lord Taisho, you're going to need at least a few more handbags. Something. He's a billionaire, afterall. The rag magazines in Tokyo would freak out about how he makes you suffer and how horrible he is for keeping his money away from you. They're vipers."
I looked to Kagome. "Do you really think they'd paint him in a bad light if I only owned ONE purse?" Kagome shrugged.
"I would like to say no, Rin, but we live in a very materialistic world. If they caught you with that bag often enough, they might start speculating over if the big bad Lord Sesshomaru lets you purchase anything with his money, or if you have to use your own." I sighed.
"What should I do?"
"Buy a few more. I don't think he'll mind, especially if you did it to please him."
"Yeah, you're right." I whispered before turning back around to face Pam. "Alright, Pam. Show me what else you've got." She smiled wickedly, and I felt a black hole forming in my Sesshomaru's back account.
~*~
Two gruesome hours later, Kagome and I escaped the Coach store with so many bags, wallets, accessories, that Tony had to drive the car around and load everything into the back of the SUV.
"Thank you so much, Tony!" I looked at my watch. "Oh, it's so late. Has Lord Sesshomaru already gone home?"
"No ma'am. He's still at the office. Would you like me to bring you there?"
"Sure, Tony. I doubt he's eaten anything since lunch. We can pick him up and force him out to dinner. How does that sound?" Tony smiled, fangs flashing at me.
"It sounds like a plan, ma'am."
Kagome hopped into the backseat with me, and we were off.
Reaching the building I was strangely starting to view as a second home, we entered the human elevator (it felt odd taking Sesshomaru's without him being there, plus I felt he wouldn't want another human's scent besides my own to linger there) and made our way to the top floor.
When the door pinged and we stepped out, I felt… Odd. Something didn't seem to be right, not at all. I also noticed Kagura wasn't at her desk.
A cold pit started to form in my stomach, twisting and weaving. I wanted to throw up. Something. My entire body seemed to go cold. I could feel the cold, but I wasn't actually apart of it.
Kagome stared at me, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Sh," I whispered. If the bastard was going to cheat on me, only 7 hours after proposing, he was going to get it. I was going to kill him.
But he wouldn't, a voice whispered in my head. I latched on to that voice, wanting to believe, more than anything, that something inside of me was right; he wouldn't do that to me.
Stepping into my office, I noticed his door was ajar. Not hesitating, even though I was practically crying on the inside, I rushed to his door silently, and then ripped the damn thing open.
Surprise had me stopping right inside the room, staring dumbfounded at the spectacle before me.
"What the fuck," Kagome rasped out. Exactly. What the fuck?
"Get back, Kagome. Now." What was going on?
Standing inside the gigantic office, Sesshomaru's beast was lurking. His form was massive, and I then understood why his office was so huge. In case he transformed. His beast was all white; his blood red eyes were staring at me, his tongue rested outside of his jowls. He almost looked as if he were grinning at me. But it wasn't the demon standing in front of me that had me in a state of confusion. It was Kagura, pinned to the ground in a heap by one of Lord Sesshomaru's giant paws.
Kagura wasn't looking so hot. She'd been crying, obviously. Mascara and eye shadow were marring most of her face, her hair was in a tangled mess and she kept her eyes wide open. I had almost thought she was dead until she started crying again.
"What happened, Kagura?" I asked, coming forward slowly. Lord Sesshomaru started growling, his head jerking in my direction and then back to Kagura's form.
"He…I…" she whimpered as he brought his mouth down closer to her, breathing heavily on her face. She cried out in fear. "I'm sorry," Kagura whispered. What the hell was going on?
"I don't understand. You have to tell me, Kagura." She pointed a quick glare in my direction.
"I don't have to tell you anything, human." She spat out, only to cry once more as Sesshomaru applied pressure on her stomach with his paw. "Fine, fine!" She called up at him. "I tried to seduce him sometime after you left."
My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I could almost hear my blood boiling. Jealousy ate at me like an acidic disease. "Excuse me?"
"It didn't work, even if he had wanted it. His beast has already mated you. It attacked me almost as soon as I propositioned myself to him." His beast growled down at her, jaws smacking together furiously.
"Good, you stupid bitch." I just wanted to slap her in the face. What was it with women in this day and age? None of them knew how to respect boundaries! "Sesshomaru, will you please let her up." I stood right in front of him now, pointedly staring up into his eyes, craning my neck backwards with the effort. "Please," I added, when nothing else seemed to be working.
Reluctantly, Sesshomaru's giant paw lifted, allowing Kagura to stand hastily.
"If you expect me to say thank you, human, you're wrong." Kagura sneered. Before Lord Sesshomaru even had time to pin her down again, I was in front of her.
Without a second thought, I punched her straight in the face, catching her when she would have fallen backward. Then I punched her again, letting her fall to the floor. "He is mine. MINE. Do you understand me, demon?" I sneered the word back at her. "If you so much as bat an eyelash his way again, I'll take care of you myself. Somehow I think you wouldn't want that at all."
I reached down, yanking her by the hair until she was forced to look into my eyes. "There's a reason his demon chose me, bitch. Do you know why that was?" Kagura just stared at me, the terror evident on her face. "It was because, human or not, I have no problem putting little shits like you in your place. In fact, clear your desk. I think Lord Sesshomaru would agree that you and you services "I growled out, "are no longer needed. You have five minutes to get out of this building, and never come back. Time starts now." I let go of her hair. Kagura crashed down to the floor again, before scurrying up and running from the office.
Kagome stood, stunned. "What," I asked gruffly.
"Wow, Rin. You must really like him." I shrugged my shoulders, neither confirming nor denying it. I turned to Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru, I thought you might have been hungry. It's gotten late and you should eat. If you want to change back, Kagome and I will wait out in the lobby." Without thinking, I blew him a kiss before taking hold of Kagome's arm and leading her out. I really hoped Sesshomaru didn't get upset that I had fired one of his staff. Just because I was going to be his wife, didn't mean I was going to run the company. He was probably upset. I hung my shoulders. Great, all I'd wanted to do was stake my claim, and now he was going to rip me a new one. Figured.