Page 6 of Becoming Cinderella

“I don’t know, that seems kind of silly.”

“Just pay close attention. Trust me.”

I can do that; I have nothing to lose at this point.

The light streaming in from the front door becomes shadowed as a figure steps in front of the door. A few hard knocks on the door make both Liam and I lean towards the door to see who it is.

“That should be my security team.” Liam stands, wiping his hands over his back pockets. “They were thankfully nearby.” He fixes his hat in case anyone is lurking outside.

I go unlock the door and let two large men into the studio. One is bald and looks like he can bench two of me, where the other has peppered gray hair and frown lines. They’re definitely two men I don’t want to cross.

“You’ll do the compliment thing, right?” Liam turns to me once he reaches the doorway.

I’m a little sad my time with Liam Taylor is coming to an end. I can’t wait to go tell Penn all about this though. “Yeah, I’ll give him a compliment.” I try to ignore his security as they step outside while they wait for Liam.

Liam gives me a hint of smile. “Brilliant. Thanks for your help, Carter the dancer.” Liam’s gaze goes back to the wall of pictures before he gives me a final nod goodbye and follows his security to a black SUV with tinted windows.

I lock the front door and spot Liam’s sunglasses on the floor where he was sitting. I pick them up and stare at them, like it’s my first time ever seeing sunglasses. Because these aren’t just any pair of black rimmed sunglasses, they’re Liam Taylor’s sunglasses. I gently put them in my bag like they’re made of glass before I make my way back to the store.

Once at the store the front door is locked. I knock and wave at Anna, the store owner, and Jared, when they both look up from the counter.

“Are you alright? Where have you been?” Jared asks as he lets me in.

I don’t know if the police were ever called, but at least Anna was.

“Heard you ran off with the boy.” Anna glances up from a paper she’s looking at. She doesn’t show any emotion, but I’m fairly certain she isn’t mad. “Some guy from Hollywood?”

Except it wasn’t just some guy from Hollywood, it was thee guy from Hollywood.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t see much of an option but to get him out of here.” I turn to Jared. “I’m sorry I left you alone.”

He waves a hand at me like it’s no big deal. I bend back to get a better look at the door leading into the stock room. It’s hanging off its hinges and has a crack near the knob. Man, fangirls are not to be messed with.

“You two can go ahead and head home early. I’m not going to open back up with only twenty minutes left until closing.”

“Okay, sweet.” Jared doesn’t need to be told twice as he slides past me to go get his backpack from the back room.

I watch as he emerges from the room coming back towards me as he slings his backpack over one shoulder. Give him a compliment Carter. There are a million compliments I could give him. Surface ones like I like his hair and the shade of his green eyes. Deeper compliments like how I adore the way he cares for his younger siblings or how I think he’s the overall best guy I’ve ever known; the nicest, smartest, and hardest working guy. But I don’t go with any of those compliments. I panic and go with the first compliment I can think of.

“By the way, I really like your shirt. Pink is your color.” He’s wearing a washed out pink graphic t-shirt under a faded denim jacket and it’s true, the pink really makes his blonde hair stand out. I could have gone with anything, I could have even complimented the way he handled the mob of girls, and I went with his shirt? What a horrible, basic compliment!

Except to my surprise, Jared’s smile grows.

“Yeah? You like it?”

I give him a nod, not able to keep my own smile from my face.

“I think it might just be my favorite shirt of yours.” Because of this moment we’re having, it absolutely is my favorite shirt of his.

He steps towards the front door, walking backwards to keep his attention on me. “Well, just so you know, you’re one of my favorite people. Ever.” He gives me a wink before turning around and going out the front door.

Now this I like. This might not be deep friend-zone territory after all. I can work with being one of his favorite people. I’m not sure how long that list is, and I don’t really care, as long as I’m on it. I smile to myself as I turn to Anna.

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”

She shakes her head, not looking up from whatever she’s working on. Anna scares a lot of the employees with her hard exterior, but somehow I’ve wiggled my way onto her good side. “Okay, well, I’ll see you on Thursday then.”

I call Penn the second I’m in my car. “Who would be the last person you expected me to participate in a foot chase with?”

---