Stella & The Playboy

Stella & The Shoplifter

Chapter 10

The trip was still weeks away but I needed a whole new collection of outfits to wear. The last time I had gone on a vacation trip, I was still wearing training bras. I had a couple of bathing suits, but none that seemed suitable for a trip to the Bahamas. And I needed to get beachwear for the warm Caribbean weather. So I decided today I would go shopping, and I invited Sheila to come with me.

It had only been a week since the engagement party and I hadn't talked to Julius since. I also hadn't heard from Josie, which I was grateful for. I had spent most of my time working and occasionally hanging out with Sheila during downtime.

Today was Friday and we had plans to shop until we dropped. I didn't have any serious problems with paparazzi. I saw more than usual but not enough to irritate me. A few occasionally took my picture when I left work, and others when I went anywhere besides home. But they weren't bothersome, yet.

I pulled up to Sheila's apartment complex and texted her that I was outside. She comes down the stairs wearing an oversized jean jacket and black leggings, with her bag hung on her arm. The weather was slowly starting to warm up but still got cold at night. I wore a cropped black jacket and some leggings, something casual for our outing.

She waves at me before getting into the car. "I've had this gift card to Victoria Secret forever and now I finally get to use it." She says as she takes a seat.

"I don't know if there is a Victoria Secret at the mall we're going to" I say as I start to drive.

"Are we not going to Manhattan Mall?" She asks. I shake my head, "Brookfield Place."

She gasps, "The mall where snobby rich people shop?" I quirk my eyebrow and she laughs, "Besides you of course."

"I've never been to Manhattan mall, should we go there instead?" I ask.

She shrugs, "If you're used to Brookfield we should go there, but if you can't find anything we'll go to Manhattan." I nod in agreement.

We finally get to the huge high-end mall and head toward the entrance. "Wow." Sheila mutters as we step into the building. The beautiful glass ceilings brought sunlight from outside into the mall. Huge pillars could be seen inside the coliseum-like building. There were a lot of people going in and out as they explored different stores. Brand names like Hermès, Gucci, and Micheal Kors could be seen in the mall.

"How about we start there." I say pointing at the Givenchy store building. She nods before following me in the direction of the store. We enter the store and see a selection of purses and other accessories on display around the store.

"Welcome to Givenchy, may I assist you in finding anything?" A black-haired female worker asks as she approaches me. I shake my head, "Just looking for now, I'm thinking of getting some sunglasses."

The worker smiles, displaying her pearly white teeth. "Over here we have our newest collection of handcrafted frames." She says as she motions to the table behind her. I walk over to the table and start looking at the different options.

"What do you think of these?" I ask Sheila as she approaches next to me. "They're fabulous!" The worker says from behind.

Sheila nods, "I agree."

We spent about 30 minutes in the shop before I walked out with two sunglasses and a new clutch. We began walking around the mall, trying to decide where to go next. "What about that one? I see some cute stuff in the window." Sheila says as she points to a store called Luxulia.

"I've never been in here before, but we can try it." I said with a shrug. We enter the store and it looks fairly new, with mannequins all around wearing luxury dresses. "Welcome." A woman says curtly as we enter the store. I nod before passing her to go toward the swim department. Sheila was somewhere near the tops, searching through the racks.