CHAPTER 78: BULLIED GIRL

Leah’s face flushed with shyness. She gave him a charming glare, bit her lower lip, and suddenly pinched Luis’s waist when he took her hand.

It wasn’t very hard, just like a playful act, but Luis still pretended to jump in pain, then said with a wronged expression, "Baby, what did Brother-in-law do to deserve this?"

"Don’t play dumb."

Leah said with a red face, "You messed up my bra. No matter how I adjust it, it won’t sit right. I’ll have to fix it properly when I get home."

"Hehe, it’s fine. Brother-in-law will buy you a new one."

"The prettiest style. By the way, the set I picked for you last time would definitely look beautiful on my little princess. Next time, wear it properly and show Brother-in-law, okay?"

Teased all the way, Leah hummed in extreme embarrassment.

Right now, she was probably just pretending to be angry. But the fact that her Brother-in-law had given her a foot job and even came on her face felt surreal. At her young age, she still needed some time to process this reality.

He took a taxi and dropped her off at her building. Leah first brought the newly bought bedding home to wash.

Luis, on the other hand, took a taxi directly to the brand store in the mall. The same salesperson from last time greeted him. When she heard Luis wanted to buy three Apple 14 Plus phones and one top-configuration iPad worth over 1,000 dollars, she was stunned.

"Maria, let me take care of this guest."

Suddenly, a male manager in a suit walked over, handed over his business card, and said with a smile, "Sir, I’m the sales supervisor of this store. If you could provide a contact method, it would facilitate our after-sales service."

The one he called Maria was a somewhat inexperienced young girl, slightly pretty but especially delicate-looking. With a plain face and wearing glasses, she looked either like a student or someone fresh out of the ivory tower.

Maria froze for a moment before being pushed aside by the manager. She watched as the manager enthusiastically launched into his introduction.

She bit her silver teeth as if holding back grievance, her eyes slightly reddened. Though clearly angry, she still took a step back.

"Who are you?"

Luis suddenly felt very irritated. Seeing her timid and obedient demeanor, he was reminded of the times his wife complained about being bullied during her days as a nurse.

Luis said without courtesy, "I came here to buy from her. It’s not appropriate for you to overstep like this."

The manager straightened his tie and said with a smile, "Sir, you might not be aware, but Maria is just a summer intern here. She isn’t even considered a salesperson. Her usual job is to distribute flyers for our store."

"Today is her last day as a summer intern. She already completed the offboarding procedures this morning."

"If we were to calculate her sales commission, it would be very troublesome. Besides, after today, she won’t be working here anymore, so she won’t be able to provide you with proper after-sales service."

Every word sounded reasonable, but it was clearly a blatant attempt to steal the credit.

Originally, Luis didn’t want to meddle in other people’s business, but seeing the helpless, resigned expression on the face of the girl named Maria, he felt a surge of anger. He looked disdainfully at the well-dressed but shameless man in front of him, glanced at the business card, and sneered, "Manager Connor, right?"

"Yes!"

Manager Connor stood up straight again and said, "I can introduce you to other products under our flagship store."

Just then, Maria seemed to have made up her mind. She gritted her teeth, raised her head, and said, "Manager Connor, I’m not even in your team. Even if my internship ends today, any sales I make should still count toward our team leader’s performance."

"Both my team leader and I would get credit for the sales. She’s off today—aren’t you just bullying me like this?"

Manager Connor was momentarily stunned, then sneered, "Maria, I suggest you get your head straight. You’re just a summer intern. You have no right to talk to me like that."

"Besides, your completion paperwork was signed yesterday and approved first thing this morning. Technically, you’re not even staff here anymore. You have no authority to make sales here."

Maria clenched her silver-white teeth and said, "Our team leader said there were many people absent today and asked me to work an extra day to help you out. I didn’t even ask for pay for this day, but you can’t treat me like this."

Luis watched with great interest. Truth be told, you didn’t need some high-society drama to see this kind of thing—petty conflicts like this were common in small workplaces, and he’d seen plenty. But he was quite impressed with this young girl named Maria.

The last time he visited, Luis was unkempt—wearing faded, cheap denim jeans and a T-shirt with a logo that was clearly handed out for free at some part-time job.

The other salespeople had glanced at him and gone back to their own business without paying him any attention. Only this young girl named Yang had greeted him warmly.

Even though you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, in specialty stores like this, people often made assumptions based on appearance. This girl had been working here as a summer intern for a while and could still be so warm and enthusiastic. That alone made Luis feel particularly comfortable.

"Then you should take it up with your team leader. She broke the rules."

Manager Connor smirked and said, "Who asked you to work an extra day? Do you have any idea how strict our policies are?"

It was obvious he wanted to claim the sales credit and commission for himself. Maria trembled with anger. "Manager Connor, just this morning you told me that we were short-handed and thanked me for helping. You asked me to work until 6 p.m. before leaving."

"Did I say that? You must be hearing things."

Manager Connor looked down at her and snorted.

Maria was so angry she couldn’t speak. Just then, several salespeople came over, but it was clear they were all on Manager Connor’s side.

"Maria, why are you being so stubborn? You’ve already finished your internship and are leaving. Why make a fuss over such a small thing?"

"Exactly, the sales credit won’t even go to you. It’s not like you’ll get much money out of it. What’s there to fight over?"

"You’re just a summer intern, not a full-time employee. Sales aren’t even your job. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Oho, maybe she’s just trying to get the attention of this rich handsome guy and using this as an excuse."

Faced with all the sarcastic comments, Maria gritted her teeth, her eyes already welling up with tears.

Now it was clearly a case of ganging up on her. Maria, clearly inexperienced in dealing with such situations, was already overwhelmed. Her hesitant expression showed she was starting to back down.

Manager Connor smiled triumphantly and said, "Since you’re no longer an employee here, get out."

Then, he turned to Luis and said, "I’m sorry, sir. Please add me on Whatsapp and save my number. I’ll definitely provide you with the best service."

"But a summer intern causing trouble here? How outrageous. We need some time to handle this."

Luis frowned and asked, "Can your supervisor or team leader come back?"

"I, I don’t know!"

"Ask her now."

Maria, flustered and panicked, picked up her phone and made a call. The moment the call connected, her nervousness was evident.

"Um, Team Leader Blanche, where are you? Can you come over? I really need your help with something."

After hanging up, Maria lowered her head, looking both embarrassed and upset.

Manager Connor sneered and said, "How dare she overreach? A petty team leader thinks she can override me?"

"Take off your employee badge now, remove your uniform, and get out."

"What about my pay? When will I get it?"

Maria asked through gritted teeth.

"Pay? What pay?"

Manager Connor chuckled darkly and said, "We never hire temporary workers or summer interns here."

"You can’t bully people like this!"

Tears welled up in Maria’s eyes as she said, "You were the one who said you were hiring summer interns to hand out flyers. Then you said the store was short-handed and asked me to help with sales too."

"Where’s the proof? Did we sign any contract with you?"

Manager Connor sneered and said, "You’re not even in our employee records. As for the flyer distribution gig, you’ve already been paid for that."

"The flyer money only covered the first few days of the month, but I’ve worked all the way until the end of this month."

Tears of frustration streamed down Maria’s face as she said, "You said temporary workers didn’t need contracts. How can you go back on your word now?"

"Enough. Stop embarrassing yourself here."

Manager Connor snorted arrogantly and said coldly, "Do you even know what kind of place this is? If you keep making a scene, I’ll have security throw you out. Believe me."

"Now I get it. You’re nothing but a penniless scumbag who even withholds pay from a student working part-time."

Luis finally spoke up, his tone mocking.

Manager Connor’s face immediately darkened, and he retorted rudely, "Don’t you dare accuse me without evidence. If you claim she worked here, show me the proof."