Love & Business: Part II

Shopping Day

I wore a grey sweatshirt with matching sweatpants. I planned on staying home today since I didn't have any meetings. The minor stuff could be done at home. Unlike me, Hunter wasn't so lucky today so he left early.

I walked downstairs where I saw Moya playing with Blaze and Chip. She wore a crop top with grey, baggy cargo shorts. When she saw me, she started trailing behind me.

"Hi."

"Hi," I replied while throwing out my morning coffee into a cup. "I'm spending the day at Hibiscus Mall. Do you want to come?"

Her mouth dropped when I mentioned the name of the mall. Hibiscus Mall was the largest and most expensive mall in the city. It was an indoor, outlet mall that had almost every brand you could think of. It would take you four days minimum to go into all the stores there.

I knew the mall owner, and he had almost the same network as me. He started the mall with only around ten stores and the numbers multiplied within months. He was the epitome of success.

"Sure but on one condition," she says giving me a devious smile.

"What is it."

"You have to match with me today. I bought this outfit from a store there."

I was hesitant at first but nodded. I didn't want to shop by myself and Moya wanted to be friends with me. It was a win-win.

...

We got to the mall and the first place we headed was the store Moya bought her outfit from. Blaze was peacefully sleeping in his stroller, not caring where he was.

"Ah-ha! Found them!" Moya exclaimed as she picked up the crop top and pants that were in my size. "Try them on."

I frowned a little as I hesitantly took them from her and headed to the changing room. I quickly put them on and it was safe to say they fitted. The short shirt hugged my bust showing my curves underneath while pants hugged my waist but widened further down. I smiled because I looked at myself.

When I walked out of the changing room, I started feeling conscious. I had never worn an outfit openly revealing my stomach in forever and was unsure if I was allowed to do so or not. People talk. Someone once wrote an article calling me a slut for wearing shorts in public. After that, I never wore shorts in public ever again. No one knew how much it affected me but it did. I was still a virgin, so it made me feel even worse. It may not seem like a big deal but it was to me.

Moya shifted her gaze from Blaze to me with a smile. "Why are you frowning? You look awesome! How do you manage to pull off any style?"

I wrapped my arms around my stomach. "I don't know if I feel comfortable in this Moya."

She tugged my arms down. "Embrace your body sis. You're too hot not to."

I smiled sheepishly. Hunter would probably catch a fit if someone took a picture of me and posted it online.

She pulled my arms as she pushed Blaze's stroller forward. "Let's go pay. We have a whole mall to concur!"

When we reached the cashier, she pulled out her credit card to pay.

"Oh no, I can pay for myself."

She turned to me with a smile. "I know you can but it's the least I could do for my boss."

I looked at her hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I'm only paying now so you can pay for the expensive shit later," she said and I started laughing. She had already planned ahead. I didn't even feel offended.

As we walked out of the store, I noticed heads turning to us. Some people smiled while others just stared like they have seen a ghost.

We walked into the fragrance store next door called Lune.

As we tested out the different scents I started up a conversation. "So my assistant told me you want to be a lawyer."

She nodded as she smelled her wrist. "Yes, I'm just saving up. I'm almost finished."

"Why not start now? If you don't mind me asking. Your salary so far could easily pay for a semester."

"I told you my mom had a lot of kids and guess who has to take care of them." she pointed at herself. "This girl."

I gave a sad smile.

"My friends back home call me Fiona Gallagher," she said and I laughed at the Shameless reference.

"What law school do you want to attend?"

She thought for a moment. "I thought about Greenlaw for a moment but knew I would never get accepted even if I had the tuition."

"Greenlaw? The dean and I went to college together. We're on good terms, I could definitely put in a word for you if you'd like."

Her face brightened up. "Really?"

I nodded as I rubbed some of the test lotions on my hands. "You're a hard-working person and I think you deserve to go after your dreams. I did and look where I'm at."

She smiled. "Didn't daddy just pass down his title to you?"

I laughed and shook my head. Marrying Hunter wasn't the only thing I had to do to become CEO. "My dad didn't believe in that. His exact words were 'if I had to work for it so should you'. I used to be the first one there in the office and the last one to leave. I lost count of the number of people I had to bring coffee to."

She gave me an impressed look. "Maybe Miss Spoiled Brat isn't so spoiled after all."

I shook my head before Blaze woke up and started crying again.

"Feeding time." Moya and I both said simultaneously. We laughed it off.

She rubbed her belly. "I'm hungry too. Let's go to the food court and we can feed him there."

I nodded feeling quite hungry myself.

...

"Here ya go," Moya said as she placed a container of jerked chicken and rice. Blaze had just finished his bottle so I was now gently tapping his back to allow him to burp.

A loud noise came out of his mouth and both Moya and I smiled.

"He's getting to be such a big boy."

"Yeah and I don't like that. My friend Lynda has two five-year-olds and I pray to God Blaze doesn't reach that stage so fast. I'm not ready for that chaos." I said and she laughed.

I placed him back in his stroller so I could eat. My mouth was watering while my eyes had already devoured the meal ten times. I quickly dug into my meal and all the flavors and hot spices on the jerked chickened savored in my mouth. Moya had bought the meal from her favorite Caribbean restaurant here.

She must have seen me enjoying it because she stopped eating to watch me. "Taste good. doesn't it?"

I nodded. After our delicious meals were eaten, we headed back to the stores. We bought, more perfumes, clothes for us and Blaze, matching sneakers, and a handbag for Jannette. I even picked out an outfit that I knew Hunter would love.

Not going to lie, asking Moya to spend a day with me was one of the best decisions I've made all week. We had a blast.