Chapter 3

"It's done. I'll put it in your car so you can take it to the office," I said.

Just as I finished speaking, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bonnie striding over to Arnold.

She raised an eyebrow. "Arnold? Is this your girlfriend?"

Arnold blinked in surprise. ''Wait, Cousin Bonnie, you work here?'' Then he quickly added, "Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Salena."

Bonnie, who had been anxiously pacing just moments before, finally let out a sigh of relief when Arnold admitted we were together.

Her shoulders relaxed, and she immediately put on the airs of an elder.

"So it turns out we're all family here. That makes things much simpler," she said.

She turned to me with a lecturing look. "Salena, honestly, you really hold grudges. I was just complaining a bit earlier, no need to give me attitude. But never mind, I won't hold it against you. Let me swipe your card."

As she spoke, she reached out to take the card from Dana's hand.

Dana's face fell when she realized Arnold and Bonnie were family. She figured there was no way she'd land this big deal today, and was even about to hand the card over herself.

But before she could, I stopped her. "Don't mind her, just keep doing what you're doing."

Bonnie sneered, yanking her hand back and shooting Arnold a look. "See, Arnold? This is the girl you picked? Always putting others before her own people."

Her voice was so loud that everyone in the store turned to stare.

Arnold looked uncomfortable as all eyes landed on him.

He nudged my arm, his brows furrowed tight. "Cousin Bonnie works here, you know. Why not just let her have the sale? When she gets her commission, I'll have her treat you to dinner."

I shot him a look, honestly at a loss for words. "So what if she's your cousin? We're not even married, so she's not my family.

"Besides, she didn't just ignore me—she called me a broke loser behind my back. Why would I let someone like that cash in on me? I'm not some sucker!"

Seeing that I was about to lose my cool, Arnold quickly changed his tune and leaned in to whisper, "Hey, don't let it get to you. Bonnie just says whatever's on her mind. Just act like you didn't hear her today, alright?"

"Sure." I nodded.

Arnold looked relieved, thinking I was about to let it go.

But then I added, "I'll pretend I didn't hear her, and she can pretend she never saw me. No need for her to serve me."

Arnold clicked his tongue in irritation. "Salena, is this really necessary? Just snap back at me if you want, but don't make things hard for Bonnie. She looked after me when I was a kid, and now that I'm grown, I want to pay her back."

"Then go buy something yourself and let her ring it up. Help her hit her sales quota! Why are you trying to convince me? I don't owe her anything; she's not my family," I shot back.

We'd been together for three years, and I used to let him have his way sometimes in front of others. But if I backed down today, what about Dana, who always had my back?

As I wasn't backing down, Arnold's expression darkened.

Bonnie, still fanning the flames, called out, "Wow, Arnold, looks like you're already getting bossed around and you're not even married yet. If you can't keep your girlfriend in check now, what's gonna happen after the wedding?"

Arnold was pretty vain, and having Bonnie say that in front of everyone just hit his pride even harder.

Ignoring my protests, he snatched the credit card from Dana's hand and shoved it into Bonnie's.

"Forget about her! I'm the one who'll be in charge of the money in this house anyway," he said.

My temper flared. I shoved my hands into my pockets and sneered, "Go ahead, swipe it. But without my signature, let's see how you are gonna pull it off."

Credit card payment needed my signature. If I didn't pick up the pen, I'd love to see Arnold try to control my money.

Just as things were about to spiral out of control, the store manager, who'd been away at a meeting, hurried back in.

Once she got the full story, she gave Bonnie a piece of her mind, then told Dana to ring me up. And she promised me right there that the commission would go to Dana, no question about it.

"I'm so sorry about this! Our sales team clearly needs better training, and we gave you a bad shopping experience. To make it up to you, let me give you one of our hottest new lipsticks—it's been going viral lately."

The lipstick she handed me was blowing up online, and I'd heard it was super hard to snag.

Honestly, it felt like a genuine apology.