Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 41 -

The next day, I shopped with Allegra. One store to another, she had me in the search of the perfect dress. The only problem was, I wanted to go back to the apartment and hide behind closed doors. This was the one part of town Tally frequented often.

High-end boutiques. Gourmet coffee shops. Fancy restaurants. I was out of place.

"Oh, my god. Stop worrying," Allegra groaned for the hundredth time. "If we run into them, who cares? They can't do anything to you."

"I know, I know. I just don't want a confrontation with them," I sighed as I tried to contain my emotions. "It's hard, ya know..."

"Actually, I don't," she admitted with a laugh. "I don't take shit from anyone, and I don't date. I like to f*ck around too much, and swinger parties are way more fun."

"So, are you going to tell me you don't want a family or kids?" I asked her with a raised brow. "I saw how much you fawned over your cousin's new baby the other day..."

Allegra went silent for a moment and nodded her head. "I wish I could, but I can't."

I was quiet for a moment as I took in what she said. "Oh, Allegra..."

It made sense now, to be honest. Allegra couldn't have kids.

"It's okay," she replied, waving it off. "I came to terms with it years ago. I was in a car accident when I was a teenager, and a shard of glass ended up in my abdomen. It was so deep, it damaged my uterus, and they had to take it out to stop the bleeding."

I was shocked at the admission. I had never realized someone like her could have gone through something horrific like that. Allegra was a kind person, and to know her life changed at such an early age was horrible. "I'm so sorry, Allegra," I whispered as we stopped outside another shop.

She turned to me with a small smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't be. It just means that I'm meant to do something else. Fate has a purpose for me, and one day I will figure it out."

With the last of her words, we entered the store and began looking around. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to wear to a gala event, but all the dresses in this store were more than I would pay on rent up north. "Holy shit." I looked at a price tag. "These are expensive."

Allegra glanced over at the tag I was looking at and smiled. "Actually, that's decently priced."

"Five thousand is decently priced?!" I exclaimed. "That's outrageous."

Laughter escaped her throat as she pulled a deep emerald green dress from a rack.

"I guess it's a good thing you're not paying for it then. Now here, go try this on."

Sighing, I took the dress and made my way towards the changing area. A pretty blonde Allegra knew let me into a dressing room, and as I slid the dress on, I heard a voice I had hoped I wouldn't. It was Tally, and she wasn't alone.

"I hope this event isn't like it was last year," Tally remarked from another stall.

"I'm sure it will be better. Perhaps we can replace you a nice, rich husband there, Tally," her mother added on, causing Tally to scoff.

"I already have a man, Mother."

"Oh, do you? Do you mean that northern boy you can't stop texting?" Allison snapped.

Northern boy? Who the hell was Tally seeing from up north?

Slipping on the dress, I admired myself in the mirror, hoping to get through this as quickly as possible without them knowing I was here. However, luck wasn't on my side as Allegra called out to me. "Becca, will you hurry up and show me already?"

Shit. Why does fate hate me so much?

Stepping from the stall, Allegra took me in and smiled, but the sound of opening stalls made her smile fall. I knew who it was behind me without turning around, and taking a deep breath, I pushed back my nerves and stared at myself in the mirror.

The best thing to do was to ignore them.

At least that was what I was trying to do.

"Are you f*cking kidding me?" Tally said from behind me as I continued to admire the dress. It fit snug to my body, and the back dropped low with a high slit up one side.

It was beautiful, and the way it fit me made me feel beautiful.

"Excuse you!" Tally shrieked, causing me to turn and glance over my shoulder at her.

"Yes?" I asked, as if her speaking to me didn't faze me at all. "Did you need something?"

She stood there in a black and purple dress with her mother in a red one. Both of them were furious at the sight of me. "What the f*ck are you doing in a place like this?" Glancing over at Allegra, I saw the anger in her eyes. She was not pleased with how they were speaking to me, and neither was I, but this was the last place I was going to start something. Looking back at Tally and Allison, I shrugged. "Shopping. Why else would I be here?"

"You can't afford this place," Tally laughed. "What are you going to do? Steal it?"

"That's enough,” Allegra finally said, standing. "I am tired of your shit. So you can either f*ck off back to your dressing room or close your f*cking mouth." Allison and Tally stared, shocked at Allegra, who stepped next to me. It took everything in me to stop myself from laughing, but as I looked at Allegra, I smiled.

"What do you think? Should I get this one?" I asked her, acting as if Tally and Allison weren't there.

"I think it's perfect for Friday night," Allegra responded as I smiled and turned back towards the dressing room.

"Friday night?" Allison snapped. "You're not going to the gala.... No way..."

"The gala?" I smiled. "Yes, I'm going."

"There is no way that you are going... James is taking you?!" Allison shrieked as I laughed and entered the stall to change my clothes.

Her fists banged upon the door as the voices of employees came in, asking them to change back into their clothes and leave the store. I had no doubt Allegra had gone and told them they were harassing the other customers.

As I exited, I took the dress on its hanger, and made my way towards Allegra, who was now standing with a very pissed off James at the counter.

My steps slowed for a moment as his eyes connected with mine, and I glanced over to see Tally and Allison arguing with the store manager.

James lifted his hand and gestured with two fingers for me to come to him. As I reached him, he looked over me as if making sure that I was unharmed. "Are you okay?"

"Huh. Oh, yeah. I'm okay. I was just trying on my dress for Friday."

His eyes looked down at the gown in my arms, and a smile crossed his lips. "Green is my favorite color," he admitted, and a deep blush instantly set in my cheeks.

It was as if he was speaking to my body, because the ache between my thighs was crying out for him. Desperate to be filled once more. "What are you doing here?"

"Allegra called me and told me what was going on. I won't have them harassing you like this," he replied as I bit my bottom lip and nodded.

I wasn't too happy with the spectacle. Honestly, I would have rather he hadn't come and let me continue to handle things my own way. All this was going to do was make the situation worse and not keep me out of the line of fire. "She doesn't belong in this store!" Allison screamed. "She can't even afford anything in there. This should be against the law or something."

The outrageous comments she was making were out of this world. I couldn't believe the hatred Allison had in her. She didn't even know me.

James, however, ignored her. Instead, his gaze was on me, and he gently took the dress from me and laid it on the counter. The young woman behind the counter looked slightly uncomfortable with the situation and hurried to get the item rung up.

"Your total is five thousand three hundred and twenty dollars," she said to which James didn't skip a beat when he pulled out his wallet and swiped his card paying for it.

"You didn't have to do that..." I whispered as my eyes cast towards the floor.

His finger lifted my chin as he raised a brow. "Yes, I did. You're mine, Becca."

There it was again-his proclamation. I was his and no one else's.

As the sales clerk slid the bag across the counter with my dress neatly packaged inside, James picked up the strap and handed it to me.

"Allegra, please make sure she gets everything else she will need for tonight. I will handle the issues." Fishing through his wallet, he pulled out a black card and handed it to Allegra with a smile.

"I will take care of her. Don't worry," she replied, pushing the card into her purse and taking my hand, dragging me away.

I was too stunned to speak at the moment. The chaos unfolding was a lot, and as much as I tried to deal with it with a logical mind, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a movie as it all unfolded.

Moving from the shop, I looked over my shoulder and watched as James approached them. Tally kicked up a fuss, and James was quick to grab her elbow, dragging her closer towards the street.

Heated discussion seemed to unfold amongst them, but I wasn't sure what exactly was being said. It made me worry things were going to go more wrong than they already were, but before I could turn to say anything, Allegra stopped me. "Leave it be, Becca." She stared at me with a look I had never seen across her face before. It was a mixture between being serious and angry.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sighed, pushing a smile across her lips. "I don't care for Allison, and I don't like the way she was treating you. Now, James gave me a directive, so let's go get that taken care of."

Looking back one more time, I watched his eyes lift to mine, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips before he stepped into the back of a black sedan.

"Okay... let's go finish shopping. We have a lot to cover if you're going to make me high society ready by Friday."

Allegra laughed, but it didn't ease the knot in my stomach.

I had a bad feeling Allison and Tally would not make Friday easy for me.