Smith actually looked intimidated, especially when Rhys pushed his way through the door followed by a slightly older man who was equally imposing. Carys came in afterward, with a smug grin curving her lips.
When her father glanced her way however, that look of triumph turned to one of contrition. “Daddy, I’m sure it was amistake that the CD was in Sadie’s bag. I mean when she dropped her bags all her stuff spilled out on the floor. She very well could have picked it up by mistake.”
Sadie’s mouth fell open. That little snake. There was no way she could put that CD in her bag. She was more convinced than ever that Rosemary’s baby had done it.
“See? That’s a logical explanation, isn’t it? Carys said there’d been some CD’s strewn on the floor so it was obviously a mistake anyone could have made,” Rhys explained.
“I just know Sadie wouldn’t do something like that. My father would never get involved with a thief, after all.” Carys was laying it on pretty thick and Sadie was speechless as she watched the melodrama unfold.
Just then someone else burst into the already cramped booth. “Sadie are you alright?” Lily rushed over to her and gave her a huge hug. And then she stood up. “Which one of you dickheads is accusing my little sister of theft?” She placed her hands on her hips surveying everyone in the room until her eyes fell on the stranger standing next to Rhys. Lily’s eyes widened. “You! What are you doing here?”
“You two know each other?” Rhys asked, seeming to be as confused as Sadie.
“Yes, Ms. Flowers is the head of my Human Resources Department. I thought Rhys’s Sadie looked familiar and the last name should have given it away.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it enough that I have to deal with you on the weekdays?”
“Perhaps we should take this outside?” Lily’s boss said.
It finally dawned on Sadie that this was Rhys’s brother. There was a slight resemblance and he did mention his brother working out of his North Carolina office for the rest of the year.
Lily glared at him. “Not a chance. I’m not leaving my sister to these incompetent boobs.”
“And I’m not leaving until this mess is cleared up. It’s obvious some mistake was made and unless you have some evidence like a videotape of her actually taking the alleged item, I say let her go.” Rhys was in Smith’s face and Lily shot glares between the hapless security guard and her boss.
Smith held up his hands. “Look, I don’t want any trouble okay? Maybe it was just a mistake, but this is mall procedure.”
“And I’m sure you can bend the rules at your discretion. Look buddy, you can make it easy on yourself right now and let her go, or my brother will own this mall by the end of the day and your job will be the first to go.”
“He can do it you know. Uncle Colin is stinking rich,” Carys chimed in.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Or I can just kick your ass and take my sister out of here,” she threatened.
“All that fire,” Colin said in a voice not much louder than a whisper, but Sadie heard him and Lily obviously did too because she glared so hard at him, her eyes were practically closed.
Smith sighed. “You’re all crazy. Fine. I’ll let her go with a warning, but if she shows up at the mall again, she’ll be watched very carefully.”
“Pardon me, mall cop?” Rhys took a step forward as if he was going to toss Smith against the wall, but the other man backed away.
“Just go, before the police get here and I have all of you arrested.”
Sadie was numb as Rhys grabbed one hand and Lily the other as they guided her out the security guard booth. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.
As she was being led out, she looked behind her to see Carys grinning her little demonic ass off. She’d underestimated this kid. Carys wasn’t Satan’s spawn.
She was Satan.