Chapter 181

Inside the boutique, Janet emerged from the fitting room, blinking her wide, innocent eyes.
“Juniper, what do you think?” she murmured.
Juniper finally glanced up from her phone, her gaze sweeping over Janet before a frown settled on her face. “Try something else.”
Janet was clean-cut and pretty, with a refreshing air about her, but the outfit did nothing to complement her natural charm.
“Okay.” Janet nodded obediently and slipped back into the fitting room.
“Take your time,” Juniper called after her, returning her attention to the game she was playing while lounging on the sofa.
Over the next while, Janet tried on several more outfits, but Juniper found each one lacking. It was then that she pinpointed the core issue with her apprentice’s design philosophy. The clothes were stunning at first glance, but they lost their magic the moment they were worn. They had a strong sense of design, but an overabundance of elements stripped them of their aesthetic appeal. It was clear she needed a few more lessons.
“Miss, you’ve tried on so many. Is there nothing you like?” the sales associate asked, rolling her eyes with undisguised contempt.
There was a protocol for serving customers; she was stuck with this group until they left, which meant she couldn’t move on to the next client. If these three nobodies hadn’t walked in, she would have been assisting Yolanda, a woman known for her lavish spending. In fact, Yolanda was currently trying on the million-dollar bespoke trench coat that no one else dared to touch. The commission on that sale alone would be staggering.
At that thought, the associate’s expression soured further, and she wished she could just sweep the three of them out with a broom.
“No, there really isn’t,” Juniper replied without looking up, her fingers flying across her phone screen. Her tone was dismissive. “Jennie’s designs this season are just not up to par.”
“What?” The associate let out a derisive laugh.
“Jennie is one of the hottest young designers out there. She just won a gold medal for design in Paris,” she retorted sarcastically. To claim the head designer’s work was subpar? That was laughable.
“Miss, if you can’t afford it, just say so. Don’t slander our boss.”
Before Juniper could respond, Yolanda chimed in from across the room, her voice dripping with condescension. “Exactly. If you can’t afford it, you should just leave. Don’t make things difficult for the employees here.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sherwin,” the associate said, her eyes full of gratitude.
Yolanda adjusted the expensive trench coat on her shoulders, crossing her arms as she addressed the staff. “Can you have the manager handle this? Having such riff- raff in the store is really ruining the mood.”
“Of course.” The associate nodded awkwardly and quickly fetched her manager.
After a brief explanation and a cursory glance at Juniper’s simple attire, the manager made his assessment. She certainly didn’t look like someone who could afford their brand. Yolanda, on the other hand, was a major client who spent a small fortune in their store every year and was now considering a couture piece. Her satisfaction was clearly the priority.
With a strained smile that didn’t reach his eyes, the manager approached Juniper. “I’m sorry, but our service time is limited. You three have been here for quite a while, and it’s disrupting our normal business operations If you havent found. anything you like, I’m going to have to ask you to leave for now.”
“A long time?” Juniper finally switched off her game, tilting her chin up. “I recall correctly, she “INT came in at the same time we did,” she said gesturing toward Yolanda. “Besides, we’ve only tried on three outfits.”
And all three, she noted silently, had been deliberately ugly choices picked out by
the sales associate. It would be a miracle if anyone liked them.
“Ms. Sherwin has the means to make a purchase, so she isn’t wasting our staff’s
time,” the manager said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “As for you three… I don’t think I need to say more.”