“I’m sorry but we no longer have those bags.” The attendant’s smile did not falter.
“Oh!” Lily nodded before she pointed at another customer who was holding the same type of paper bag that she wanted. “Then what are those?”
The attendant turned towards the other customer before she answered. “Those are limited bags for our VIP’s. I hope you understand. We can’t just give the bags to nonpaying customers. However… you can always look around. We would encourage you to look around and check out our watches. Don’t worry… we don’t discriminate people who don’t buy from us.”
Lily immediately lifted an eyebrow. She wanted to rebut, but she decided against it in the end. She figured that they are here to enjoy and have a wonderful time together. She would not waste her time entertaining a woman like the attendant. “Alright, then can you please take me to see your latest collection?”
Alice stared at Lily. “That is only for our VVIP customers and Black Diamond cardholders. But we have other collections at lower prices.” The woman started walking into one of the display glass boxes. “For instance, this one is made of Moissanite instead of diamonds. It still looks like diamonds, but the price is much cheaper than the real one. Look at that sparkle under the light… this one is perfectly crafted to look like a real one.” She smiled.
“I am not looking for a woman’s watch. I would like to see your collection for men’s watches, please.” Still, Lily ignored the sarcasm in the woman’s tone. She decided to test her patience and see until when she could hold on.
“Oh!” The attendant nodded and led them to the opposite side of the store. “Then… this should be good enough for you.” She pointed at one of the silver watches. “This is made of real cubic zirconia. It’s a full blinged watch that is perfect if you want to show off during an event.” She then eyed Zhou Jingren. “This would fit him perfectly.”
“I don’t like it,” Lily said.
“Oh… is it too pricey for you? We also have…”
“I prefer to see this year’s collections.” The gentleness in Lily’s eyes vanished.
“May I know if you are one of our VIP or VVIP customer?” the attendant did not mask the mockery in her tone. She eyed another couple entering the place and continued without waiting for Lily’s response. “Miss… I already informed you earlier that only the most elite customers could see our latest collections. It is not for ordinary people who can’t even afford our cubic zirconia watch.” The attendant’s voice was sweet. However, it did not hide the sarcasm in her tone. “If you please excuse me… I will go ahead and attend to the new customers.”
“Wow,” Lily said. She eyed Zhou Jingren before looking at the back of the woman who is now walking towards the new couple inside the store. “What a rude human being.”
“Hmmm… Do you want me to take care of it?” His gaze was focused on Lily’s face.
“I thought it wasn’t worth it.” She responded as she looked at the other busy attendants in the store. “Look… no one is even looking at us. How did they know that we don’t have money?”
“Moments like this make me want to have some milk tea,” Lily added as she walked towards the nearest attendant.
“How about we call the owner of the company? Fernando is a jeweler… I am sure he knows who owns this.” Zhou Jingren said, his voice low as he followed his wife.
“Excuse me. Is there a way that I could talk to your manager?” Lily asked the attendant. This time the attendant was not as young as the previous one.
“Excuse me,” the attendant excused herself from the previous customer that she was attending and looked at Lily. Unlike the previous woman, she did not check Lily or Zhou Jingren’s clothing. “Is there something that I could assist you with?”
“I want to talk to your manager.”
“Oh, then please give me a minute, I will go and get— “
“Lin, please ignore them…” Alice, the previous attendant, chimed in. She walked towards Lily and Zhou Jingren. “Please leave this place before I call the security to escort you out.” Her words were clear and loud that it immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
Disbelief flashed in Lily’s eyes as she turned towards Zhou Jingren. “Can you believe this?” she asked him. In response, he shook his head and dialed a number from his phone. Not long after, he spoke.
“Hey, do you have the personal number of the CEO of Crystal Crown?��� he said. His deep voice immediately reached the ears of everyone near them. “Yes, the watch company.” He added. “Alright… thanks.”
“I am calling the security,” Alice said the moment she saw Zhou Jingren end the call. “Schemes like this will not work in this store. Schemers these days will do everything just to make people believe that they are somehow influential.”
“Alright…” Lily pursed her lips. She crossed her arms and let out a frustrated sigh. “I think… I am done being nice.” She walked towards the attendant. “Take me to see your manager.”
“I— “
“This will be your last warning.” Lily interrupted her. “Take me to see your manager or… “
The attendant scoffed. “I don’t think you are in any position to threaten me.” She said. A woman like Lily would not intimidate her. She narrowed her eyes at Lily and frowned when he noticed Zhou Jingren went out of the store. “Your boyfriend already left. Clearly, embarrassed by your actions. Please leave the store or I am calling the security.”
“So you are calling the security because you thought we couldn’t afford to buy anything in this store?” It wasn’t a question. Since Lily and Zhou Jingren walked inside, this woman treated them differently compared to how she treated the other customers. Lily eyed the customer to her left, who started taking a video of the commotion. She made her voice a little louder this time, “So you are trying to say that this store discriminates people base on their clothing.?”
“I — that is not true. We do not discriminate against people! But we do not tolerate scammers who only take images of our products so they can post it on social media!” Alice immediately said when she noticed the customer phones pointed at them. She would not want to ruin the reputation of the store just because of a pretentious woman!
