Chapter 18 - Talia's

The manager hated people who caused trouble in her store, which is why Sophia made up that lie.

She wanted the manager to chase this nasty woman out.

"You do realise that I can sue you for slander right?" Lina looked at her nails and said with a calm voice.

She acted like she was high and mighty because that was the only way to teach this woman not to judge someone based on their looks.

"Sue me? For what? I'm telling the truth manager! Look at her clothes, I don't think she can buy even the cheapest of our pieces." Scoffing at Lina, Sophia hurriedly explained to the manager.

"Ma'am, if you are not here to buy anything, Please don't disturb the ambience for others who actually want to make a purchase here." She spoke as if she was being lenient and nice but she was actually looking down on her.

'I thought at least the manager will have some sense of propriety, but looks like I expected too much from this place.' Lina's annoyance with this Talia's store grew a little more.

"Fine, I'll leave." She said looking at the manager who gave her a fake smile.

"There's nothing nice anyway, everything in here seems tacky and cheap just like the people working here." She said then flipped her hair like a boss bitch and walked out the door.

The customers inside the store were shocked at her comment, while the younger ladies giggled at what Lina said.

The Manager was fuming listening to the giggles and secret laughter around her.

"Ban that lady from ever entering our store!" She commanded Sophia then walked away angrily.

"yes manager!" Sophia ran after the manager to fulfill her task.

'I agree with the tacky comment that young lady made! Plus these idiots couldn't even recognise the brands that she was wearing and thought that she's poor. Why am I even wasting my time here? Let's go to the place that I love the most!!' Thinking this way, the pair of eyes staring at what happened earlier also walked out the door.

----

Lina, who walked out the door in anger, spotted Wade still talking on the phone and decided to leave him be and move to the cafe.

The cafe was right opposite to where Wade had been standing and hence his eyes caught Lina entering it.

'Something must've happened!' Wade thought and finished his call faster.

When he entered the cafe, he saw Lina eating a blue macaron.

Sitting in front of her, he picked up a pink one from the plate of neatly arranged colorful macarons.

"What do you know about the store called Talia's?" She questioned him after finishing her dessert.

She did not speak with her mouth full as she was in public and tried to maintain her image.

"Talia's? The store you just entered?" He asked, picking up the vanilla one. 

Lina also picked up the same flavor, vanilla with sea salt and nodded her head. 

"Not much, only that it is owned by Talia Zheng. She is the daughter of the Zheng family." Lina had heard about the Zhengs before, they were an old business family. 

" Though they were very influential once upon a time, their influence decreased after the Yangs, Mings, Luos and Huos came to power a few generations back. Now it's been stagnating at the same place thanks to their ancestral properties and old businesses." He gave information about the Zhengs but that was not what she wanted. 

"How much do you know about this Talia?" She made an angry face when she said her name. 

'This lady doesn't even know how to train her employees!' She scolded Talia for being a negligent business owner. 

Wade caught onto her change in expression and inquired about what happened. 

After listening to what had happened with Lina inside the store, he was very angry. 

'This wouldn't have happened if I tagged along! They treated her that way because they did not recognize her! I must talk to uncle Pat about this.' He decided. 

"How dare they treat you in such a way? I knew that Talia couldn't do anything right. Even her employees are as rotten as she is!" Wade then ordered iced coffee to calm his anger. 

"She is so spoiled and annoying. She throws colossal tantrums when things don't go her way. Everyone just tolerates her to give face to the Zheng family's power." He said, gulping the coffee that arrived. 

"Hmm.. So she seems like a brat according to what you just said. I'm eager to meet her!" She clapped her hands in excitement. 

Their situations were the same. Both Lina and Talia came from rich and powerful families, both had people who cared for them and both were in the same line of work. 

But looking at how different their personalities were, Wade shook his head. 

"Don't mess around with her. She's manipulative and can do whatever to reach her goals. So just stay away from her, at least for now. I know you will try to get competitive with her for sure!" He explained to her, looking at her wicked smile from before. 

"Yes boss!" Saluted Lina. 

'I won't provoke her. For now! But I will have a little chat with her about her employees.' Lina added silently. 

Thinking of this, she looked at Wade again. 

"Does Obsidia have a store here?" She asked in anticipation. 

"Not one, but two stores." He held up two fingers. 

"Both on the top floor. Let's go there after you finish eating." He said pointing at the two macarons left on the plate. 

Lina hurriedly stuffed them into her mouth and got up. 

"Let's go!" She said with her mouthful. 

She looked like a hamster with her cheeks full of food. Gone was the image she wanted to maintain, but she couldn't be bothered. She just wanted to see her store. 

-----

Standing in front of the Obsidia stores, Lina was filled with awe at the decor. 

'It looks so good outside. I wonder how it is inside.' 

Curiously she looked around the store that she entered. 

The black and gray walls gave the place a somber yet classy look. 

"I made them give the store the same look as the boutique in America." Added Wade. 

"Just like how I thought it would look like!" She was excited to finally see her brainchild. 

Lina had designed the entire look of the store but had never set foot in the store before. 

"All thanks to me for following your instructions to the dot." He said hogging the credit. 

"Big brother Wade is the best!" She replied and gave him a big warm hug.