CHAPTER HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN

RICHARD'S POV

My phone rang in my pocket, a familiar vibration that sent a jolt of anxiety through me. It was my father, and judging by the long line of increasingly worked up messages that followed, whatever it was, it couldn't wait.

"Look," I said, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice (and failing miserably). "I need to pay for that bracelet. Now."

She barely glanced up from admiring her reflection in the glass countertop, her perfectly manicured fingers tracing the line of a diamond necklace – one she hadn't paid for, I might add. "Darling, I told you, I’m still deciding. You can wait till I'm done.”

The audacity of this woman. This wasn't even a queue; I was trying to buy the damn thing! A low growl built in my chest, but I swallowed it down. There is no time for this nonsense. "With all due respect," I said, my voice tight, "I'm ready to purchase right now. While you’re still… considering.”

She finally turned her head, a slow, condescending smile spreading across her