Spring for Tiger: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifter Seasons Book 2) (4 page)

“
Crystal’s coming over,” Zeke grinned. “She should be here in about…” Zeke glanced at his watch, “twenty minutes or so.”

“
That’s awesome, I can’t wait to meet her. You’ve talked about her so much.” It was obvious that Zeke doted on Crystal. She was his stepsister Eileen’s twelve-year-old daughter. Eileen was a single mom and she would often drop Crystal off at Zeke’s on Saturdays when she worked. Eileen wasn’t the only one working Saturdays. I hadn’t had a chance to meet Crystal before, because although Zeke and I had been dating for several weeks, this was the first Saturday I’d been given off since I had started working at Courtland’s.

“
I was thinking we could take her to the movies.”

“
That sounds great.” I knew Crystal was important to Zeke and I was looking forward to meeting her. It was another big step in our relationship. Things were getting more serious between us, and I knew it was time to come clean with him. I wanted Zeke to know that I didn’t really need the job at the jewelry store and I wasn’t struggling financially…I knew that he liked me for me and not for my money since he didn’t know I had any to begin with. It was time he knew who Janet Sayer really was.

“
Zeke, I uh…I need to talk to you.”

“
Sure, babe, what’s on your mind?”

“
Well, I…” I didn’t know how to do this.

Zeke smiled at me, his rich amber eyes warm and loving. “What hon?”

“
I, uh…”

Just as I was getting ready to blurt out my confession, there was a rap on the door.

“
Come on in, Crystal,” Zeke called out. “She’s early,” he said to me.

Crystal came in the door and gave Zeke a quick hug. She was big for her age and a pretty girl, but from the messy way she wore her hair and the sloppy, tattered tee and jeans she wore it appeared she didn’t care much about what she looked like.

“
How are things going?” Zeke asked.

“
Alright, I guess,” Crystal muttered.

“
This is Janet, my girlfriend,” Zeke said to Crystal. “Remember I told you about her the other week?” He glanced over at me. “Janet, this is my niece, Crystal.”

“
Hi, Crystal,” I gave her a little wave. “Your uncle has told me wonderful things about you.”

She eyed me warily, “Ok.”

“
Are you hungry, kid?” Zeke asked.

“
Yeah,” Crystal muttered.

“
I’ll make you a sandwich if you like.”

“
Ok,” Crystal said.

“
You want the usual?”

Crystal nodded.

“
What about you, Janet? What kind of sandwich do you want?”

“
Oh…I’ll take whatever you’re making.”

As Zeke went into the kitchen to fix lunch, I tried to make small talk with Crystal, but it was like pulling teeth. She was quiet and withdrawn, answering with a ‘yes’, or ‘no,’ and not much of anything else.

I was relieved when Zeke finally called us into the kitchen to eat. He had set out a plate for each of us with celery sticks, chips, and open faced peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I saw Crystal’s face light up when she saw the smiley face Zeke had made with the jelly on the bread.

“
That’s so silly and childish,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Despite her comment, I could see she was happy that Zeke had gone to the effort to try and please her.

“
Here you go, my dear, gourmet dining for you.” Zeke handed me one of the plates with a flourish.

I grinned as I slapped the top piece of bread on the smiley face jelly and peanut butter. It wasn’t like having Hilda cook lunch for me—that was for sure! But at the same time, somehow it was just as tasty.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty calm. We took Crystal to the movies and then went out for ice cream when it was over. After the movie, Crystal was like a different child—discussing scenes, acting out her favorite parts, and talking about the actors. As the sun started to set we took her back to her home and I met Eileen, Zeke’s stepsister. Eileen was an attractive woman with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes, but she looked frazzled and tired. She would talk to Crystal and Crystal would either ignore her or talk back. It was obvious they were not getting along well with one another.

“
Eileen, what’s up with Crystal?” Zeke asked as Crystal ran up the stairs to do her homework. “She seems down in the dumps. I thought it was just a phase but every time I see her she seems worse. She didn’t open up till we went to the movies.”

“
You know how she loves her movies,” Eileen said. “She’s been having problems with some kids at school. I think they’re bullying her—she comes home in tears a lot.”

“
That sucks,” I shook my head.

“
Did you try talking to a school counselor?” Zeke asked.

“
I keep meaning to do that, but, well…” Eileen shook her head. “I just haven’t had a chance to get in there.”

“
Eileen…I know it’s tough for you,” Zeke said gently, “but you have to talk to someone at the school.”

“
Talking is not going to do anything!” Crystal cried out.

“
Crystal! I thought you were doing your homework,” Eileen turned towards her daughter.

None of us had realized that Crystal had come back down the stairs and heard everything we’d said.

“
Why are they bullying you, hon?” Zeke asked gently.

Crystal pursed her lips. “I don’t know.”

“
Crystal…what is it?” Zeke continued to probe.

“
Alright...they call me a fatty and a cow, and…” Crystal’s eyes welled with tears, “it sucks!”

Zeke threw his hands up in the air, upset. “Why do kids bully other kids?”

 
Crystal was a big girl so that was probably it. The over-sized tee and sloppy jeans she was wearing did not help. I could only guess that her mom, being a single parent, had trouble paying rent and putting food on the table, let alone buying trendy clothes and shoes for a growing pre-teen.

“
Would you like me to take you shopping, Crystal?” I chirped. “I’ll buy you some new clothes. Duncan’s has some fantastic things,” I added. Duncan’s was one of the town’s upscale department stores and my favorite. They had a great selection of beautiful clothes and accessories. It always made me feel great when I had pretty new things to wear, so I shopped at Duncan’s often.

Zeke smiled. “That’s what I love about you, Janet. You are a kind and caring person. But Janet, you can’t afford to buy Crystal clothes.”

Shit! I hadn’t been thinking when I had made the offer. I was still supposed to be ‘broke’.

“
But, I’d be happy to buy you some,” Zeke continued, “if it’s ok with your mom, that is.”

“
I like my clothes,” Crystal said, pulling at her jeans. “They’re comfortable; and besides, if people only like me because of the clothes I wear, I don’t want to be friends with them anyway.”

I raised my brows. The kid was right. I watched as she turned and marched back up the stairs. I knew that clothes and shoes were important, especially to kids, but she wanted friends that looked past that. She deserved them.

“
Darn, she’s stubborn,” I muttered.

“
Crystal’s a lot like me,” Zeke replied. “She’s not into showing off, phony people, and liars.” He nodded his head in approval, “she likes to keep it real.”

“
So she’s being bullied in school and I offered to buy her clothes at Duncan’s Department store, no less.”

“
Eeeks,” Susie said, “couldn’t you have said Savemart or somewhere else that’s cheap at least? Everyone knows only rich folks shop at Duncan’s. I can’t even afford to buy socks in that store!”

“
I know, I know. It just slipped off my tongue.”

“
So, what did Zeke say when you offered?” Susie asked.

“
He said I was a kind and caring person.”

“
Well, there you go,” Susie said, “it was nice of you to offer.”

“
He said it because he thought it was generous of me—especially considering I am supposed to be flat broke.”

“
Rich or poor—it was generous of you to offer to buy clothes for his niece,” Susie said firmly.

“
I guess…it just feels wrong to mislead him. I really feel like I need to tell Zeke the truth.”

“
You like him a lot, huh?” Anne chimed in as she sprayed cleaner on the glass of one of the jewelry display cases.

“
More than a lot,” I admitted.

Anne looked up at me curiously. “Why, Janet Sayer…you’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

I nodded. “I can’t stop thinking about him.” I’d fallen hard and fast for the burly apartment manager. I spent my days and nights thinking about him. I wanted to feel his lips on mine and his body pressed tightly against me. I wanted to eat with him, laugh with him, sleep with him…do everything with him…I had to admit it. I was crazy about the big tiger shifter.

Susie grinned. “Aww, that’s so sweet. See, I knew this lifestyle trade would work out!”

I made a face. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do. He told me he can’t stand phonies and liars and…I guess that’s exactly what I am.”

“
No you are not!” Susie stated firmly.

“
Look,” I admitted, “this has made me realize how much time I’ve spent wondering about what people are wearing, how they look, and how much money they make.”

Susie and Anne exchanged glances and I could see written clearly on their faces that I was right.

“
I was that bad, huh,” I commented softly.

Anne grimaced. “We love you, Janet. But yeah, you could get wrapped up in your
things
at times.”

I hung my head. I felt so ashamed of myself. I’d been placing so much value on what I and other people had instead of who they were.

“I feel terrible...h
ere I am lying to Zeke about my true lifestyle,” I muttered.

“
So? How bad would it be to find out someone is really rich?” Anne asked.

I shook my head. “You don’t know Zeke. Money is not important to him. So long as he has a roof over his head, food in his belly, and his family around him, he’s happy. It’s not about me having money…it’s about me pretending to be someone I’m not. I’ve been lying to him.”

“
Ok,” Susie said dubiously. “All I know is that if I thought the man I loved was flat broke and then I found out he was actually really rich, I…uh…I think I would like it!”

“
I know what you’re saying, but it’s different with Zeke. Trust and honesty—that means more to him than all the money in the world. Once he finds out I’ve been lying to him, well…”

“
Could I get some help over here?” A tall woman wearing a fur coat interrupted.

“
She’s all yours,” Anne whispered.

“
Of course, I’m happy to help,” I replied, making my way over to the woman.

“
I’d like to look at those diamond necklaces,” she pointed to one of the cases. “That one, and that one, and that one…”

“
Sure, let’s start with these,” I said as I pulled out two of the pretty necklaces and placed them on the black velvet display area on top of the case. “They are really beautiful.”

“
What about that one?” the woman asked, pointing to another piece inside the case.

I spent an hour showing her one necklace after another. Just when I thought she would never make a decision, she finally chose one of the sparkling necklaces.

“
Would you like earrings to go with your new jewelry? We just got in a white gold pair that features a filigree design. They are gorgeous and they would look beautiful with the necklace.” Samantha Courtland, the owner of Courtland’s gems, had taught me to never miss an opportunity to offer an add-on sale. After the customer made their decision on which piece of jewelry they were going to buy I would always suggest another piece of jewelry. They didn’t always buy, but sometimes they did.

The woman didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take a look.”

Minutes later, I rang up the sale for both the necklace and the earrings.

I was proud that I was doing so well at Courtland’s, but it was a harder job than I’d expected it to be. At first I thought it would be fun to show people jewelry, but once I started working in the shop, I realized that some people would take hours and hours of your time in the store and still walk out with nothing. It wasn’t fun all the time, but I could handle it.

What was harder to deal with were the rude people who came in. There were folks who insulted everything in the store, complained, and were nasty towards me. Fortunately I hadn’t run into a ton of these customers, but I’d experienced enough of them to realize how difficult working for other people could be. It was sad to say, but I also recognized some of my own behavior in the customers. I could certainly be demanding at times. I cringed when I thought of how inconsiderate I had been of others, including Hilda, my housekeeper. I made a vow to be more considerate in the future. When I returned home, I would give her a week’s paid vacation!

Having a schedule was now also difficult for me. I was used to doing what I wanted, whether that was going to the spa or having a girl’s lunch. But freedom was now a thing of the past, since my schedule at Courtland’s included long days and weekends.

I’d asked for the weekend off, and this coming Saturday and Sunday I was totally free. Zeke and I planned to take Crystal to the opening of “Shifter in Love,” a new movie she wanted to see, and grab burgers afterwards. I was looking forward to a break from work, and even more so to spending time with Zeke and getting to know his niece Crystal better as well.

I was really excited about the weekend ahead!