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Authors: Heather Longton
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are accusing me of being a thief.”
He pulled out an immaculate handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it into her palm. He then turned to the manager and gave him a penetrating stare. “Would you kindly tell me what is going on?”
It was soon established that Carlos hadn't actually paid for the gift sets. He frowned as he tried to remember the moment when he had bought the gift sets. He couldn't remember signing for them, all he could remember was the flirting and the chatter between him and Sarah. They had been so wrapped up in each other that neither of them had noticed that the card did not go through the till.
The issue had been compounded because he had forgotten to take the packages with him. The jealous supervisor, who was prone to seek out trouble, had seen Sarah in the changing room with the parcels and decided to do a stock check. There was clearly a discrepancy, they had not been paid for, so technically there had been a theft. It was store policy to prosecute all thefts.
“For goodness sake,” Carlos muttered under his breath as he spun on his toes, annoyed at the chaos which had entered his life. Just a little absent mindedness and yet potentially, an all too damaging outcome. He had been distracted by her beauty, that was all that happened. A man who was known for his sense of order and his ability to control a situation had for one moment acted impulsively, and now it seemed he would be paying the price for his impulsiveness. And what a twenty-four hours for Sarah. She lost her virginity and was being branded as a common thief. How she must be celebrating the day she met Carlos Rodriguez.
Recognising that neither his anger or his force of personality would help in this situation, Carlos adopted a tactful and diplomatic approach. He explained that there had been nothing more than a mix-up, repaid the money and managed to get the matter dropped.
Soon enough Carlos and Sarah were stood on the pavement outside the store, his driver sat patiently in the limousine by the kerb. He looked at her slumped and dejected posture. “Are you okay, Sarah?”
“At least I'm free. I thought they were going to get nasty and that I might end up with a criminal record.” She turned her red and blotchy face towards him. “Thank you, Carlos,” she said, feeling like some of the butterflies in her stomach had subsided, though she still felt a strange numbness. It was a strange sensation, as if everything was happening to somebody else. Another tear left her eye and rolled down her cheek and her voice had a stuttering gravelly tone. “Thank you so much,” she repeated. “I feel such an idiot.”
“Don't. There is no need, it was just a mistake.” Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close as she began to cry again. He could feel her tears soaking into his shirt and the soft shaking of her beautiful body as she gasped for air. Her helplessness and vulnerability pierced him with a sense of shame for mistaking her as a provocative gold digger just because she looked like an experienced lover. And because there was a strong attraction between them – an attraction he was only too willing to exploit – her reputation had been ruined.
He pulled his crumpled handkerchief from her fingers, tilted her face towards him and wiped away the new tears which had formed on her cheeks. “Don't be so hard on yourself. It's as much my fault as it is yours. I wasn't paying attention to what we were doing, neither of us were.” He looked into her face and wondered how she managed to look so beautiful even through the tears. “So, you've lost your job.”
“Yes, at least it was only temporary. But I am still so angry.”
“What will you do now?”
Sarah swallowed hard. While she had his arms wrapped around her she felt safe, but once she'd been released from his strength and warmth she became anxious of what lay ahead. It was bad enough having to leave Puxley's and now she would have to think about
He pulled out an immaculate handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it into her palm. He then turned to the manager and gave him a penetrating stare. “Would you kindly tell me what is going on?”
It was soon established that Carlos hadn't actually paid for the gift sets. He frowned as he tried to remember the moment when he had bought the gift sets. He couldn't remember signing for them, all he could remember was the flirting and the chatter between him and Sarah. They had been so wrapped up in each other that neither of them had noticed that the card did not go through the till.
The issue had been compounded because he had forgotten to take the packages with him. The jealous supervisor, who was prone to seek out trouble, had seen Sarah in the changing room with the parcels and decided to do a stock check. There was clearly a discrepancy, they had not been paid for, so technically there had been a theft. It was store policy to prosecute all thefts.
“For goodness sake,” Carlos muttered under his breath as he spun on his toes, annoyed at the chaos which had entered his life. Just a little absent mindedness and yet potentially, an all too damaging outcome. He had been distracted by her beauty, that was all that happened. A man who was known for his sense of order and his ability to control a situation had for one moment acted impulsively, and now it seemed he would be paying the price for his impulsiveness. And what a twenty-four hours for Sarah. She lost her virginity and was being branded as a common thief. How she must be celebrating the day she met Carlos Rodriguez.
Recognising that neither his anger or his force of personality would help in this situation, Carlos adopted a tactful and diplomatic approach. He explained that there had been nothing more than a mix-up, repaid the money and managed to get the matter dropped.
Soon enough Carlos and Sarah were stood on the pavement outside the store, his driver sat patiently in the limousine by the kerb. He looked at her slumped and dejected posture. “Are you okay, Sarah?”
“At least I'm free. I thought they were going to get nasty and that I might end up with a criminal record.” She turned her red and blotchy face towards him. “Thank you, Carlos,” she said, feeling like some of the butterflies in her stomach had subsided, though she still felt a strange numbness. It was a strange sensation, as if everything was happening to somebody else. Another tear left her eye and rolled down her cheek and her voice had a stuttering gravelly tone. “Thank you so much,” she repeated. “I feel such an idiot.”
“Don't. There is no need, it was just a mistake.” Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close as she began to cry again. He could feel her tears soaking into his shirt and the soft shaking of her beautiful body as she gasped for air. Her helplessness and vulnerability pierced him with a sense of shame for mistaking her as a provocative gold digger just because she looked like an experienced lover. And because there was a strong attraction between them – an attraction he was only too willing to exploit – her reputation had been ruined.
He pulled his crumpled handkerchief from her fingers, tilted her face towards him and wiped away the new tears which had formed on her cheeks. “Don't be so hard on yourself. It's as much my fault as it is yours. I wasn't paying attention to what we were doing, neither of us were.” He looked into her face and wondered how she managed to look so beautiful even through the tears. “So, you've lost your job.”
“Yes, at least it was only temporary. But I am still so angry.”
“What will you do now?”
Sarah swallowed hard. While she had his arms wrapped around her she felt safe, but once she'd been released from his strength and warmth she became anxious of what lay ahead. It was bad enough having to leave Puxley's and now she would have to think about
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