Chapter 6 The Cost of Keeping Up Appearances

The manager's office was small and smelled of Windex. Pat Mills clicked his mouse, and the security footage flickered to life on his monitor. The angle was perfect, high and clear. It showed Ginger deliberately ramming her cart into Hayley's, then lunging, and finally, crashing into the wine display all on her own.

Ginger's face turned a blotchy, furious red. "She provoked me! It's still her fault!"

Kieran let out a short, humorless laugh. "In legal terms, that's called assault and destruction of property. I'm sure the NYPD would be very interested."

Brad slammed the laptop shut. "That's enough." His voice was low and tight with fury. He knew they were caught. "This doesn't need to get any bigger. We'll pay for the damages."

Pat Mills cleared his throat nervously. He pushed a piece of paper across his desk. "The total for the damaged product comes to twenty-eight thousand, four hundred and fifty dollars."

Ginger gasped. She tugged on Brad's sleeve. "Don't you dare pay it, Brad!"

Brad ignored her. He pulled a black Amex card from his wallet and slapped it on the desk. The sound was sharp and angry.

Kieran placed his hand over the card, stopping Brad from giving it to the manager. "It's not just about the money."

Brad's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "What more do you want?"

"An apology," Kieran said simply. "I want your sister to apologize to my wife."

"I would rather die!" Ginger shrieked.

Kieran shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Fine." He started to dial. "I wonder how quickly a video of a Patton heiress having a tantrum in Whole Foods would go viral. That's not a good look for a family that's always in the society pages, is it?"

Brad's face went pale. The Patton family was obsessed with its public image, carefully curating every press mention. A scandal like this, so public and so petty, would be a disaster.

He grabbed Ginger's shoulder, his fingers digging in hard. "Do it," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Tears of rage and humiliation streamed down Ginger's face. She looked at Hayley, her eyes full of venom. "Sorry," she mumbled, the word choked with resentment.

"Good enough," Kieran said, removing his hand from the credit card.

Brad snatched the card and handed it to the manager, signing the receipt with a jerky, violent motion.

Pat Mills took the slip, his demeanor toward Brad now a careful mix of fear and deference.

Kieran wrapped an arm around Hayley's shoulders and guided her out of the office, leaving the Pattons to deal with the fallout.

In the hallway, Hayley looked up at him, bewildered. "How did you know that would work?"

Kieran gave a small shrug. "Good insurance salesmen know their clients. You learn what people are most afraid of losing. For people like them, it's not money. It's their reputation."

She accepted the explanation. It made sense. And it made her feel safe. The feeling of dependency deepened, a slow, creeping vine.

Outside the office, Brad's face was a thundercloud.

"He's a blackmailer," Jenna whispered, fanning the flames.

"He's a dead man," Brad corrected her, his voice cold as ice. He took out his phone and sent a text to his contact at McCall Insurance. Is it done?

The reply came back instantly. Termination processed this morning. He's out.

A cruel smile touched Brad's lips. Kieran Mccall had no idea what was coming.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the store, Kieran gently placed the container of black truffles onto the checkout conveyor belt, his expression soft and unreadable.