Nodding dully, Alice reached behind her to shift a pair of pointy-toed heels away from her back. She pitied the person who’d end up wearing them; they’d most likely gouge a hole in the first thing they touched.
“Good. After you close for the night, you are to go to the new property and clean it from top to bottom. I want it ready by seven tomorrow morning.”
Alice opened her mouth to ask who’d be working there, but her vocal cords had gone on strike for the moment. Mimi watched her clinically. “You will, of course, report back here tomorrow morning. As much as I’d love to ship you away from my store, my lawyer says you have to work at this particular location to meet the agreement I made with your father.”
Alice’s breath came out in an audible whoosh and she rested her head on the shelf behind her. She wondered if it would be sacrilegious to pray that Mimi would take up residence at another shoe store. “Who’s going to be the manager over there?” she asked, staring up at the ceiling.
Mimi moved toward the gate and stared at Alice pointedly, tapping her foot. “Elsie. Open the door. I want to make sure everything’s being cleared out.”
“Elsie?” Alice stopped in her tracks and stared in horror at her employer. “You’re letting Elsie Maverick take care of your business?”
Mimi’s eyes narrowed even further. “Yes, I am. She and I go way back.”
Alice knew that. She also knew that there wasn’t enough sense in Elsie’s head to wet a noodle. “I hope she does well,” she said, and bent over to lift the gate.
Mimi watched her struggle for a few seconds before letting out an irritated sound and pushing her away with one foot. “Can’t you do anything right the first time?” she snapped, and threw the gate up.
As soon as it hit the ceiling there was a loud crash, and the next thing Alice knew, the sign that had been installed only a day before was on the ground in front of them. It was in too many pieces to count.
Mimi said several very unladylike words and kicked at a particularly large piece. It skidded across the floor and hit the opposite wall, leaving a brown trail in its wake. “Get that cleaned up,” she barked in Alice’s direction. “You’ll be paying for this one, too. How hard is it to make sure that a simple sign is installed correctly?”
They both looked up at the old sign, still firmly attached to the front of the shop, and Mimi shuddered. “Order a new one,” she said. “And don’t forget–I expect you to clean the new store so thoroughly that the Queen herself wouldn’t find fault with it.” Then she sniffed once, glanced back up at the sign, and stomped away.
The funny thing, Alice decided later that afternoon, was that Mimi truly believed that it was her fault the sign wouldn’t stay firmly nailed to the wall. Maybe that was the real reason she wasn’t insisting that Alice move on to the new store. She was afraid Alice would increase her hex on The Glass Slipper until the whole place spontaneously combusted.
As long as Mimi was the one that imploded, it wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe she’d look into getting an evil eye in her spare time.
***
Brittany finally made an appearance ten minutes before closing. “Where’s Mother?” she asked irritably.
Alice, who’d been restocking a shelf of sandals that a toddler had pulled down, shrugged without glancing at her. “Beats me,” she said. “She didn’t say when she’d be back from the new place.”
The scowl on Brittany’s face would have aged cheese instantly. “Well, she’d better get here soon because–”
“Who had better get here soon? Alice Riverton, what do you think you’re doing?”
Alice shoved the last sandal on the shelf and sat back on her heels. “Repairing a three-year-old child’s damage.”
Mimi waved her hand dismissively. “I wonder if I can ban those creatures from coming in here,” she said, half to herself. “I’m getting tired of picking up after them.”
Alice was pretty sure it had been six months, at least, since Mimi had touched a shoe that she didn’t already own. “You’ll lose a lot of valuable customers that way,” she told her mildly. “Of course, it’s up to you.”
“Mother, stop talking to her. I heard something interesting this afternoon.” Brittany’s eyes were calculating. “I was going on my normal rounds, trying to see if anyone had put out something new, when I ran into a bunch of people whispering together in the atrium, so I hid behind the elevator.”
From the corner of her eye, Alice saw Whitney sneak in. She took one look at her family and rolled her eyes. Alice knew just how she felt.
“What were they talking about?”
Pausing for greater effect, Brittany took a deep breath. “They seemed worried that you’re trying to take over the mall.”
A startled bark of laughter popped out of Whitney’s mouth, but she promptly turned it into a cough when Mimi glared at her.
“I’m not trying to take over the mall,” she said huffily. “Just because I happen to own two respectable shoe stores doesn’t mean anything.” She stopped to think for a moment. Alice could have sworn she saw something crafty in her expression, but it was gone so quickly she was sure she’d imagined it. “Now, what did those old biddies say, exactly? Were they trying to plot my ruin?”
Brittany’s eyes narrowed. “Actually, they were trying to think of a way to get us out of here so Alice could take over. Like that isn’t the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” She sniffed and turned her head, pausing when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She ran her tongue over her teeth and smiled at herself. “Pretty as a picture.”
“Of course you are, darling. It seems we have some rumors to quell.”
“Why don’t you hold a block party?”
Three pairs of surprised eyes turned in Whitney’s direction. “Did you say something, Whitney?” Mimi sounded shocked.
Whitney cleared her throat and flicked her gaze at Alice worriedly. “A block party. You know, like the kind they have in the summertime. You could invite all the shop owners, and maybe even their employees, feed them a hot dog or something, and they could see that you’re just like everyone else.”
Mimi pursed her lips. “It would work better if I was like everyone else. I could act, though. I did take all those drama classes back in high school.”
Whitney rolled her eyes again but kept her mouth shut.
“I’ll do it.” Mimi’s voice was decisive. “Alice Riverton. Whitney. Take care of the details. I want this thing to happen next Friday, after the mall’s closed.”
“But that’s only eight days away!”
Mimi stared at her daughter pointedly. “Next week, Whitney. I don’t want to hear any excuses. Come, Brittany. Bring your sister with you. We have a lot to discuss. What are you going to wear to impress Adam at the party?”
Whitney mouthed a, “Sorry,” to Alice as her sister pushed her out the back door, and glanced at the phone with raised eyebrows. Sighing, Alice nodded, wondering how two people who’d scarcely exchanged twenty words in a year could have had an entire conversation without saying a single one.
The door had scarcely shut behind Mimi and her daughters before Adam sauntered in. “Hello, Alice.”
Alice’s mind was still stuck on the logistics of planning a block party in mid-April in Michigan–in only eight days. “Hey,” she said absently. “Are you here for your shoes?”
Shooting that knee-melting smile down at her, Adam leaned against the counter. Alice only spared him a glance before dodging around him and moving toward the window display. It was rather disheartening that he’d gone back to that smile, she thought. She much preferred the genuine grin. He’d probably be offended if she told him that, though.
“Here you go.” She handed over the box and watched as he flipped open the lid and looked inside. “What do you think?”
He shrugged and closed the box. “Looks good to me. What do you say about dinner?” His smile intensified. The heat radiating from his charm could have fried an egg on the pavement outside. And
it was only forty degrees.
It was hard to resist the urge to roll her eyes, but Alice somehow managed it. “I can’t,” she said a little impatiently, and regretted her tone as soon as she’d said the words. After all, it wasn’t like Adam knew what her schedule was like. “I have to go clear out the new shoe store for Mimi tonight.”
Adam’s expression froze. “What?”
Had the man never been turned down by anyone but her? “I can’t,” she said, more slowly this time in case he was having an old-man moment and couldn’t keep up with the conversation. “I have to work.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat and glanced around the immaculate shop. “Is this some sort of way to politely tell me to get lost?”
“Adam. I have to clean the store Mimi bought before the new manager shows up in the morning.”
The frown lines around his mouth eased up a bit. “Why didn’t you say that in the beginning?”
This time her eyes did roll. “I did. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get going. I have no idea what state that place is in.”
Adam was gone when she emerged from the back with a bucket of cleaning supplies, and she sighed. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not that he’d taken off.
The mall was silent save for the click of her shoes on the floor and the distant whine of what she could only assume was the heater kicking on. Evidently, it stayed on all night. She gave a mental shrug. The whining steadily became louder and higher the farther she walked, and she shivered. This was a little eerie.
“Hey, wait up!”
Nearly jumping out of her shoes, Alice shrieked and dropped her bucket. She reached down and snatched up the first thing her hand landed on, firing it off blindly in the direction of the voice. There was a startled yelp, a sound that reminded her strangely of skidding tires, and the next thing she knew the Windex had been wrenched out of her grasp.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Adam’s voice was incredulous. “Were you trying to blind me?”
Alice sat heavily down on the wall around the fountain. “I was defending myself,” she said weakly, squeezing her eyes closed and taking a deep breath in an effort to calm her racing heart. “You snuck up on me.”
Adam didn’t say anything for a long time. “You’re right,” he said, gentler this time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
The fact that the great–according to Brittany, anyway–Adam Wentworth didn’t know what to say, told Alice a great deal. “It was my fault,” she said ruefully, getting to her feet. “I should have looked before I assumed I was being attacked by a rogue…” She cleared her throat and started to collect her scattered things. “Anyway. What exactly are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on your way home?”
“Shouldn’t you?” He handed her the ammonia she’d missed–thank goodness she hadn’t sprayed that in his face–and gestured toward the machine behind him. “I was trying to offer you a ride. It’s a long way between your shop and the new one, and I thought I’d offer you my assistance.”
Alice blinked up at him. Was he trying to be kind to her? “Oh. Um, thanks. I didn’t know the mall owned a–what is that, exactly?”
Adam patted the cart fondly. “It’s a glorified golf cart, really. Dad uses it when he comes here so he can get around faster. He says it makes him feel cool.”
Alice laughed, and shook her head in wonder. She thought it was pretty cool, too.
“Come on, hop in. I promise not to sneak up on you again.”
It took a surprisingly short time to get to the new shop. She’d have to ask what they were going to call it. There was always a chance Mimi would give up on renaming The Glass Slipper and focus on stamping her name somewhere else. Alice smiled at Adam gratefully. “Thanks,” she said as she slid out of the seat. “And I’m sorry I attacked you with my Windex.”
Adam followed her in and waited while she fumbled for the light switch. They stood silently and looked at the empty room. “Well, at least there’s no furniture to move,” he said finally. “That would make our job a lot harder.”
Alice kicked at a dust bunny the size of a Labrador and watched as it skittered across the ground. “It would.” She hadn’t missed the fact that he’d said our job instead of your job, and she wondered if he knew he’d slipped up.
Sighing, Adam rolled up his sleeves and grabbed her bucket. “Well, let’s get straight to the fun stuff. If we’re lucky, we’ll get done before the mall opens tomorrow.”
Adam wasn’t sure how he’d managed to phrase things so that Alice didn’t object to his help, but he wasn’t going to think about it too closely in case she changed her mind. At least she hadn’t sprayed him in the face with another cleaning product. He’d have to make sure they stocked up on non-abrasive solutions from now on.
He watched her as she worked, often having to stand on her toes to swipe at grubby spots on the wall that were ridiculously low. “What’s so funny?” she asked crossly the third time he snickered.
“Nothing.” His tone was innocent, but he knew his eyes were twinkling. They did that when he was trying to be cute.
She just shook her head and moved to a different section of wall. What had the previous owners been doing in here? He was of half a mind to track them down and make them pay to have the place professionally cleaned–or call them in as reinforcements. He hated cleaning.
If he tried really hard, he was sure he could ignore the fact that he was cleaning of his own free will and choice right now, thereby making his last thought a little ridiculous. He just didn’t want to think about why he was doing it.
Besides, if he left now, he wouldn’t have a reason to watch Alice’s ponytail bounce as she danced to the music on her iPod. He wondered what she was listening to. Probably something old and classy, like the kind of music they played in that dress shop next to hers. “What are you listening to?” he asked when he was sick of thinking about it. “It must be happy.”
She blushed and pulled it from her pocket. “I can’t believe how rude I’m being,” she said, and yanked the headphones from her ears. “Let me run back to my shop and grab my docking station. Then you won’t have to amuse yourself.” She grabbed the key to the cart from the corner and was off before he could tell her that he didn’t need anything else to ‘amuse’ him; he was having a perfectly entertaining time watching her.
Her cell phone rang when she’d been gone a few minutes or so, and Adam answered it with a smirk. “Alice’s phone.”
There was a long moment of silence. “Who’s this?” demanded a male voice.
“Adam Wentworth. Who’s this?”
Another long pause entered the conversation. “No, really. Who is this?”
Adam threw his rag toward the bucket, watching as it flopped over the rim. “Yes, really. This is Adam Wentworth. Alice had to run back to the shop for a second, and I answered her phone.”
“Well, duh. I hope you didn’t think you were answering your own, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Obnoxious”
This guy was terribly cheeky. Wait a second… hadn’t the phone been playing the same song the first time he’d spoken to Alice, back when he’d purchased his initial pair of shoes? “Is this her boyfriend?” he demanded. He didn’t like the way his own voice sounded.
The man let out an amused chuckle. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He would, actually, but the idiot on the phone hardly needed to know that. “If you’ll give me your name, I’ll be glad to tell her you called,” he said curtly, and kicked at the washrag. It just swung crazily for a second before coming to a limp halt.
The idiot chuckled again. Did Adam imagine it, or was the guy smirking at him? It was hard to tell over a cell phone. “This is Lewis. Tell her that if she finishes too late to go home, she’s welcome to crash at Lewis’s. She can even use my super-swell bathroom, as long as she hangs up the towels.”
Adam was still staring stupidly at the phone when the cart’s whining announced Alice’s return. He threw it hastily back in the
corner and tried to look natural.
Alice smiled apologetically at him when she ran in. “Sorry it took me so long,” she said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “My docking station seems to have disappeared. Brittany must have messed with the music again.” She placed her iPod next to her phone.
His shoulders twitched in a weird kind of half-shrug. “No problem. You can listen, if you want.” When she looked at him pointedly, he smiled a little. “Or not.” He let a few minutes pass before he cleared his throat and glanced sidelong at her. “Lewis called while you were gone,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “He asked me to tell you that you could crash at his place if it got too late.”
Alice didn’t seem terribly surprised by this. “That was kind of him,” she commented. “I may have to take him up on it; it’s already past midnight, and I need to be back here early tomorrow.”
“He said something about his bathroom. Evidently, you’re welcome to use it, as long as you pick up after yourself.”
Her eyes crinkled when she laughed. “He said that, did he? That was even kinder. He must want something.” Adam dropped the subject after that.
The store was finally clean just after three in the morning, and Alice and Adam stood in the middle of the empty room and wearily surveyed their handiwork. “I never thanked you for your help,” Alice said, turning to glance up at him. “I’d have been here all night without you.”
Adam smiled at her tiredly and rolled his shoulders. It had been a long, long time since he’d worked this hard on a cleaning project. “My pleasure. I would have felt bad leaving you here all alone.”
“Well, it was still very generous of you. I owe you one.”
This was as good as an open invitation. “You could tell me your last name,” he said. “I mean, we’ve just spent six hours all by ourselves in a deserted mall. I hope you still don’t think I’m going to come at you with a weed whacker.”
Alice laughed and tightened her ponytail. “You have a point. It’s Riverton.”
Alice in Glass Slippers Page 8