CHAPTER 21: Doting on me
Julia’s POV:
The big strong grasp of arms that held me tight from behind belonged to none other than Damon, who at this point in my life had truly become my knight in shining armor.
I was still shaken up from fear as I could’ve badly injured myself with the fall, but Damon’s warm taut body pressed against my back held my shivering body as a solid support until I managed to calm down a little.
Slowly, being embraced by him, Damon helped me sit on a small couch near them, while the second salesgirl hurriedly fetched me some water. Before I could say a word, Damon knelt down before me on the floor in front of all the keen employees watching us and took off the high heels from my legs.
To my surprise, after taking them off, he gently massaged my feet with his bare hands, and the sharp pain I felt around my ankle from the sudden jolt miraculously vanished with his soft touch. After he was done with his observation, Damon lifted his gaze at my face and bore a guilt-stricken expression when he conveyed, “I am sorry, Ms. Julia. I shouldn’t have made you try these high heels before asking about your discomfort.”
“O-Oh, no, it doesn’t matter, Sir.” I was touched by his kind and gentle approach, but when he sounded remorseful, I tried to reassure him with a polite smile.
“I just wanted to help you choose the best one but I should’ve told you before that I can’t wear this kind of shoes. And…you saved me from a bad fall too, so I am really grateful for all your help, Sir.”
“How could I let you get hurt when I am right here beside you?”
Damon sounded quite firm while asserting his words, but his bold assurance couldn’t help but make me feel giddy from inside, as in my eyes, he was the best definition of a true gentleman.
While Damon continued massaging my bare feet and magically disappeared my ankle pain, holding a brief anticipating silence, he uttered, “Thankfully you didn’t sprain your ankle, or else it could have gotten worse. But, Ms. Julia, you don’t have to try on these heels anymore…I can’t afford to put you at any risk.”
Shuffling his dark big eyes towards the public anticipatedly watching us, Damon heftily declared, “Pack all the shoes displayed to us. I will buy them all.”
Four giant men working for Damon were instructed to carry those large number of shopping bags since he didn’t let me hold anything, but now hearing his command to buy all those shoes, I could see those men held anxious looks on their faces and even dialed someone asking to send more men over there to carry those extra shopping bags.
I was also quite surprised by his crazy shopping spree, but the store manager seemed really ecstatic to make such a huge sale in one day.
The rude first salesgirl, Ruhi, and the polite second girl both helped in packing those large number of heels but before they were about to prepare the bill, the store manager offered us some tea and light snacks. She even sat close to me and asked in a concerned tone, “Ma’am, are you sure you’re not in pain? I can call a doctor for you if you still feel any discomfort.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Damon surprisingly agreed with her statement but their concerned conversation was making me quite flustered in front of public eyes.
I wasn’t used to this kind of princess-style treatment. Even after being years in a relationship with Marco, he never made me feel special like this no matter where we went. In fact, I was the one who had the last vacation with him in Hawaii, and surprisingly, that jerk chose that as the perfect spot to showcase his nasty betrayal.
But right now, when I was with Damon, even though I was just an ordinary employee for him, he was doting on me in front of everyone as if I truly meant something else to me. He didn’t hesitate to massage my feet after saving me from the fall, without worrying about his reputation in the public as my Boss. Each and every little affection he showered on me couldn’t help but make my maiden heart thump faster for him.
Thus, I had to hide my flustered reaction with a fake clumsy smile, as I mumbled at them, avoiding my eye contact with Damon, “I am really okay, so please…do not worry about me. I…don’t want to cause any inconvenience to anyone here anymore…”
Surprisingly none of them didn’t urge me anymore but for a few seconds, I could feel Damon had fixated his intense gaze on me. When the bill was prepared, he paid it all off with his ‘black card’ which I had only seen used by celebrities or supermodels in documentaries until now. When we were about to exit the shopping complex, Damon halted his steps for a moment when he turned around to that store manager lady, “Thank you for helping us today. And…”
Pausing for a second, he pointed his finger towards the second polite salesgirl and declaimed in a hefty voice, “Include all the bonus credits of today’s sale under her account along with the tips that I have left for her. She should deserve the reward after treating us politely here.”
His surprising revelation startled everyone present there, including the first salesgirl Ruhi who seemed overly joyful until now, as she must’ve assumed all the credit bonus for those shoe sales would be credited to her account. But now, watching the second girl had snagged it from her, she deliberately rushed closer towards Damon and pleaded in a somber voice, “Sir…a-are you still angry with me? Please…I am truly sorry Sir—”
“I am still being generous to let you work here…is this still not enough for you, Ms. Ruhi? I hope you’ll learn your lesson today and will behave properly with your customers from now onwards.” But when Damon curtly interrupted her words, she couldn’t muster the courage to talk back to him anymore.
As much as I was deeply moved by his sense of generosity, the second salesgirl walked a bit closer to us and bowed her head, “Thank you very much, Sir. I wish you both…have a lovely date for the rest of the day!”