Chapter 188

“Sir one of the sales associates whispered nervously to the manager, “who is that girl? Jennie seems… afraid of her.”
“Yeah, Jennie won’t even look her in the eye when she speaks.”
“She must be a major potential client,” the manager guessed, wiping sweat from his brow, though he couldn’t reconcile that with her simple clothes. “But her outfit doesn’t scream wealthy.”
“I know, right?” another associate chimed in, on the verge of tears. “I’m the one who called security on her. What if Jennie gets mad at me?”
The manager said nothing. He had his own neck to worry about.
“The neckline on this needs to be brought in by four inches,” Juniper continued her assessment. “And these pants… are they meant to be worn as a jumpsuit? The rise is absurdly high. You also need to be more inclusive with your sizing. This obsession with making everything for the stick-thin needs to stop. Healthy bodies are what’s beautiful.”
As Janet finished trying on her selections, Juniper moved through the store, and in just ten minutes, she had identified every major design flaw in the collection.
“That’s about it,” she said, taking a sip from her water bottle.
“I understand,” Jennie said, glancing around before leaning in to whisper, “Thank you, Mentor. I’ll make the changes.”
A good student always listened, and she couldn’t risk losing such an incredible teacher.
“Good.” Juniper finally cracked a small smile, and Jennie felt a wave of relief wash over her. At just twenty-five, she was still young enough to be flustered by her mentor’s approval. She beamed, showing a row of bright white teeth.
Juniper picked out four outfits for Janet from the ones she had tried on.
“Bag these up,” Jennie instructed the manager. Then she turned back to Juniper. “Please, pick out anything else you like. It’s on the house, a small token of my appreciation.”
“What?” The manager’s hands trembled, nearly dropping the clothes.
Did he hear that right? Not only were the clothes free, but she could pick anything she wanted. The staff stared, their eyes wide This was a real alt you-can-take offer, not like the empty promise Jerrold had made earlier.
Several pairs of eyes flickered toward the man in question. Jerrold frowned, shifting uncomfortably and adjusting his tie. He was starting to think that Jennie and Juniper knew each other. But how How could a lone orphan possibly be connected to someone of Jennie’s stature? He wasn’t the only one confused; the livestream audience was buzzing with theories.
The chat was now divided into two camps.
One was obsessed with Juniper’s mysterious authority: [LOL, Juniper looks like she’s a CEO inspecting her own store. Who’s the real boss here?]
The other was focused on Yolanda: [What’s she waiting for? Is she really trying to ditch the bill for that ruined coat?]
“Ms. Payne, this one, and this one, and this one… they would all look amazing on you,” Jennie said, eagerly pulling items off the racks, ready to gift the entire store to Juniper.
“Oh! And there’s a couture piece that would be perfect for you.”
She turned to find the trench coat, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on the woman wearing it. But as her gaze settled on Yolanda, her smile vanished,
replaced by a
k of horror There. on the front of her masterpiece, was
a glaring, ugly stain.