Even though Larissa was given expensive shoes by her fiancé, she didn't want Carabella to remain motionless. She was furious to hear her fiancé take the initiative to buy a gift for her assistant, even though they were on a buy-one-get-one basis. She could have bought another pair for her. Therefore, she now intends to exact revenge on Carabella once more.
Her right hand immediately pulled Carabella's hand then led her to sit next to her.
Carabella wondered what Larissa was thinking right now. Was she trying to bully her again? What was certain was that her current role was to be Jefferson's personal assistant. As per the agreement, she was to remain professional in all situations and was not to refuse, unless it would be detrimental to her.
"Carabella, how about I buy you some shoes?"
Her eyes immediately widened. "What?"
Her head nodded. "I'll buy it for you, not my fiancé."
Carabella still felt uncomfortable with Larissa's current behavior, which seemed overly pushy. She knew Larissa was jealous, so she was forced to step in and buy her a gift.
"Thank you, but I don't need any gifts from you or Jefferson."
Hearing that she, too, had been so bluntly rejected made her blood pressure start to rise. "Even though I'm more capable than you, you still want to refuse my gift."
Now Carabella understood why Larissa was suddenly being nice in front of her. Because Larissa wanted to humiliate her again. This was what made her not want to be openly weak in front of Jefferson either.
A sly smile spread across her beautiful face. "I don't need your gift because I can buy anything I want with my savings."
"But, if you buy all the items in this boutique–"
"I don't like wearing luxury goods. I'm just telling you that." Her eyes were fixed on Jefferson, who seemed to be holding back laughter. "I want Jefferson to know that so he won't buy me anything again."
"But, do you really not regret refusing my gift? I rarely give you proper gifts because you've helped me so much."
Carabella shook her head, gripping her enemy's hand tightly. "You don't have to repay me. Just seeing you still want to be my friend makes me grateful."
Jefferson was actually touched by Carabella's skillful handling of the situation. This way, he wouldn't have to worry so much about her being bullied as his personal assistant. Now that his date with Larissa was complete, he was a little annoyed that his plan hadn't worked out completely because Carabella had managed to make his heart race.
"Larissa, how about we end our date for today? I think you'll just have to give me one shoe. Is that okay with you?"
"You don't want to take advantage of that discount?"
"No. Because I think the discount makes me look like I can't afford it."
In the end, the three of them walked out of the shoe store, but before that, Jefferson stopped for a moment because he just remembered something.
"By the way, you guys go ahead."
"What's wrong, Jefferson?" Larissa asked, confused.
"My mom said she wanted to buy me some heels too. I'll be back in a bit."
"Then, I'll come with you."
"No need. I'll just buy a pair of shoes and then come back here."
Larissa simply shook her head as her fiancé hurried back into the shoe store. She grumbled internally that she had every right to help pick out shoes for her future mother-in-law. However, Jefferson seemed to be constantly preventing her from connecting with her parents.
What Jefferson actually did in the shoe store was buy a pair of cream heels that Carabella had seen earlier. Without thinking, he picked them up and asked the clerk to get them the right size for Carabella's tiny feet.
His eyes sparkled as he stared at the pair of heels being wrapped by the shop assistant. He imagined the sweet girl wearing her favorite heels and twirling around like a fairytale princess.
*****
Today was a tiring and quite challenging day for Carabella. First, she was suddenly offered the position of Jefferson's personal assistant. Second, she met Flint for the first time. Third, she had to face Larissa for the first time because she had promised Jefferson that she would never feel inferior to Larissa. And finally, she had to accept all the gifts Jefferson had given her, which were so numerous that her closet was overflowing.
Carabella stared at her closet filled with luxurious clothes and accessories, unsure of what to wear on her first day of work. However, she didn't want to focus on her clothes right now. She wanted to vent her anger at being insulted so much by Larissa that her chest tightened. She knew Jefferson's actions this afternoon were intended to intimidate her, but he used Larissa's presence to avoid appearing cowardly.
She immediately walked into the homeowner's study and closed the door quietly.
"It's rare for you to enter my room without me calling you first."
Carabella folded her arms. "Did you call Larissa on purpose to bully me?"
His brow furrowed as he heard himself suddenly being slandered. "Why are you accusing me so carelessly? I haven't done anything to you."
"Because I feel strange about what happened today. Especially since you openly bought Larissa a gift in front of me."
"Are you jealous?"
Her eyes widened. "Are you crazy? Why would I be jealous?"
"Actually, I can see it firsthand. You're jealous, but you don't have the courage to tell me openly."
"Jefferson, you're being so annoying today! I've been trying so hard to control my anger today!"
Jefferson folded his arms. "Why are you so angry? Shouldn't you be happy you got to meet Flint?"
"Meeting my old friend doesn't mean I'll be happy overnight! What's certain is that I—"
"You look so cool today, Ella."
The first time this annoying man called her "cool" made her lips immediately close. Jefferson had never complimented her before, so why was he suddenly complimenting her for no reason?
"I'm cool?"
"Keep up that cool attitude. You've managed to satisfy me again today." The sweet smile plastered on his handsome face made Carabella blush.