We went to the Black Widow, which was my favorite store. I gathered an armful of clothes and went to the fitting rooms. Gerard sat and patiently watched me go through my outfits. I showed him each one and judged what I wanted by his reaction. As I was on my fifth outfit, Gerard cleared his throat and came to stand beside me.

“I like this shirt.” He motioned at the white, silky tank I was wearing.

“Me too.” I smiled at him through the mirror. When I looked at his face, however, pain was etched into it.

“Gerard, what’s wrong?”

“Irina, I know I’ve only known you for a two days, but will you come with me to my grandmother’s funeral?” I watched his hazel eyes sweep to mine and wait for my answer. I felt my heart grow heavy with compassion and hurt for him.

“Of course. I’ll just pick up a black dress in here.” He looked relieved, as if I had taken a great burden from his shoulders.
“Thank you.”

“Welcome. Now, let me go change and find a black dress real quick.” I skipped back to my dressing room and put my clothes back on. I gathered everything I wanted and pushed out.

“Here, let me carry these for you.” Gerard said as I came out.

“I got…it” He had already taken my load. I shrugged and started to go through the racks to find a black dress. It took ten minutes, but I found a lace black dress with a red ribbon around the waist. It was perfect I thought. I tried it on for good measure. I walked out and did a little twirl for Gerard, laughing as I did so.

“Perfect.” He said. I felt a blush creep into my pale cheeks. I muttered a thanks before going back to change again. I gathered all my purchases once more and went to check out. Right as I was about to hand the chasier my money, Gerard slammed his card down.

“Gerard,” I rolled my eyes, “I can buy these.”

“Yeah, I know. But as you are accompanying me Saturday, I figured you should be rewarded.”

“That’s sweet, but this is a lot of stuff.”

“Saturday is a big deal. Get over it.” I just sighed loudly and gathered my bags from the cashier. She giggled slightly as she looked at Gerard and me. Did she think we were a couple? God, he was gorgeous and sweet, but could I handle a relationship? I pondered. We walked through the hustle and bustle of the crowd towards the food court. I carried my bags and Gerard carried my dress. We sat down at a table away from others, but I still searched for him. The man that had hurt me. Gerard laid the dress in the chair beside himand looked at me concerned.

“Irina, what’s wrong? What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“He’s still out there. Looking for me probably.” I strained a smile as a group of boys past by.

“Irina, come on. We’ll go to my favorite restaurant. It’s close and quiet”

“Okay.”

He took bags and my hand and moved us towards our car. We put everything in the back and drove out to the restaurant. We arrived in less than fifteen minutes. As we walked inside, Gerard greeted people by name and people smiled in his general direction. We took a booth near the back. Just as Gerard said, it was quiet. People sipped from mugs and typed on laptops. There was an empty stage at the other end of the restaurant. The waiters wore casual clothing; many had piercings.

“Irina, Welcome to Helena’s!”

“What? Isn’t that your grandmother’s name?” He grinned mischieviously.

“ My grandmother opened this place up and then gave me the reins when I turned twenty.”

“You own this place?”

“Yep! Everything here is free for us. I took a couple days off when she became sick. Other than a few calls, my manger has handled the place for me.”

“Wow.” I was awestruck. Gerard was taking over a huge business at a young age. He smiled as a waiter came and took our order. Throughout the wait, he told me about how he was getting ready to remodel. I listened to the passion in his voice and nodded encouragingly. Our food arrived and it was mouthwatering. We ate quickly and Gerard left to talk to his kitchen staff and waiters. I quietly sat and awaited his return.

“Hello there.” I jumped. A short, black haired guy leaned against the booth opposite from me. His eyes watched me carefully. I began to panic and was suddenly scared.

“Hi.” I managed to sqeak out.

“Gerard will be here in a moment. I’m Frank, his manager.” I relaxed slightly, but not completely. I still didn’t trust him. He wore a black dress shirt and a red tie, which was loosely tied to his neck. Black skinny jeans hugged his lower half ending with red converse on his feet.

“I’m Irina.” I offered no more. A hand came down on my shoulder and I flinched.

“Irina, it’s me.” Gerard said. He bent near my ear as he said it.

“Frank, I see you have met Irina. Irina, this is Frank my manger.” Gerard proffered his hand to me and helped me up. I hid behind him shyly. Frank flashed a white smile and began to laugh.

“Gerard, I think I might’ve frightened her. I did sneak up on her.”

“Frank…” Gerard said tiredly. “Stop scaring the customers. They’ll never come back. I smiled and walked out from behind him. I could tell they were close. I relaxed my guard.

“Hi Frank. I can say I will be back, as the food here is amazing.”

“See Gerard. I don’t scare everybody.” We all laughed and moved towards the door.

“ Frank, I’ll be back on Monday. Can you hold down the fort til then?” Gerard said.

“Aye, Aye Capt!” He winked and smiled.

“Bye Frank. Nice meeting you!”

“Goodbye Irina. See ya soon.”

Gerard and I got into the car and drove home. At home, I put away all my new clothes and lay down on my bed. I never realized how tired I was until consciousness slipped from my body and I fell asleep.

Notes

Here's another chapter. Gerard runs a business at a young age; He's so successful at such a young age. What made him so passionate about work? Keep reading to find out!
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