Page 56 of Mister Jeweler

“You have a beautiful family, Denali. They look just like you. And happy too. So you must be doing this mother thing right.”

“Thank you,” she replied bashfully, groaning as a call came through from someone named Blaze. “One second. It has to be important for him to be calling me while I’m at work.”

“No problem.”

So she had a man?

Of course, she had a man.

She was too beautiful and sweet not to.

Elite needed to get going. His stomach was about to hit his back. Looking around the store, he grabbed a few things quickly and waved down the woman that was standing nearby so she could ring him up. He hadn’t planned on buying anything, but hearing that Denali was only getting paid off commission changed that.

“Hi, did you find everything okay?” she asked.

Elite looked at her nametag.

“I did, Harmony. Actually, I wanna buy everything you have in stock right now.”

Blinking rapidly, Harmony’s mouth opened. “You what?”

“Everything you have in stock. Donate it to the women’s and homeless shelters in the city. And make sure Denali gets the commission on this, aight?”

Looking over at Denali, Harmony smiled. “She’s great.”

Elite chuckled as he pulled out his black credit card. “I keep hearing that, so I’m starting to believe it’s true.”

“For a purchase of this size, I’ll need to do an invoice. Is that okay? That way, you’ll also be able to file it on your taxes as a charitable donation.”

“That’s cool.”

“Okay, follow me to the back and I’ll get this taken care of for you.”

“Aight, ’preciate it.”

As Elite followed her to the back, he couldn’t help but look back at Denali over his shoulder. Her face was covered with distress as she paced and massaged her temple, and Elite wished he could hold the load of whatever she was carrying. Since he couldn’t, he hoped the commission from this sale would at least help her out financially.

sixteen

Denali

Denali was conflictedthe moment she made it home. She was happy, grateful, and impressed that Elite had cleared the store out and gave her the commission. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until the end of the month to get that large check. Since Blaze was shot, he hadn’t been working. He’d called her while she was at work to ask her to bring him a box of bandages on her way in.

He said he’d bumped into something when he was out with the guys, but Denali didn’t quite believe that. It was swollen, bloody, and in far worse shape than it was when he left. As worried as she was, Denali told herself that was no longer her priority. She would be there for him as long as he was healing like she promised, but she couldn’t suffer because of his suffering. Those days were over.

As happy as she was to get home and see Blaze spending time with their kids, the late notice for her rent put a damper on her mood. It was the first time she’d ever been late with her rent. Though her landlord was being gracious, it still had Denali’s stomach in knots. All she could think about was having to take her young children to a cheap hotel when Blaze was locked up because that was all she could afford on her own. Denali was willing to do whatever she had to, to make sure that never happened again… but she was tired.

Between pulling in double shifts at the boutique and working for Cassie, Denali barely had time for her own kids. She didn’t know how much longer she could operate like this. All she kept repeating was that her bonus from Elite’s purchase at the end of the month would pay her rent up several months in advance, but the thought of how tight money would be until then had tears steadily pouring from her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Blaze asked, pulling her into his chest.

She might not have wanted him to be the person who was comforting her, but that didn’t stop Denali from wrapping her arms around him.

“I’m tired, Blaze,” she cried. “I’m not getting as much sleep and rest as I need. I’m stressed the hell out over these bills. Harmony has fucked with my money yet again.” Huffing, Denali shook her head and held him tighter. “I’m just tired.”

“Why won’t you quit?”

“Because I’ve been working there for years. Harmony lets me come and go like I need to in case something happens with the kids. Plus, the insurance coverage is great. With Amir’s asthma, I’m not trying to risk it. It’s getting better as he gets older but still. I just hate that she’s not getting as much business, because she’s changing things for her employees just to make sure she stays afloat.”

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