Chapter 34 Unless You Can Earn This Lady's Forgiveness
The nanny immediately rushed forward obsequiously. "Mr. Hayes?"
Alexander asked, "Where's Liam?"
The nanny replied, "Ms. Foster and Liam are inside." After a pause, she added, "Max is with them too."
Alexander frowned, simultaneously hearing the sounds of an argument coming from inside the boutique.
"My clothes aren't dirty!" That was Grace's voice.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Grace surrounded by a group of staff members.
The scarf around her neck was askew, and her clothes had been pulled and wrinkled.
Liam was protectively guarding Grace, looking aggrieved. The moment he saw Alexander, he suddenly burst into.
"Daddy!"
He ran toward Alexander and threw his arms around his legs. "They... bullied... Grace."
The little guy was clearly furious, his speech broken and choked with sobs.
Seeing Grace being bullied made Liam even angrier than if he himself had been mistreated.
Alexander lovingly picked up Liam, soothing him. "Baby, don't cry."
Anyone who made Liam cry was unforgivable.
Liam pointed at Jane, pouting. "I hate her!"
Jane didn't recognize Alexander, but seeing his distinguished appearance and expensive suit, she couldn't determine his identity and asked warily, "Who are you?"
Liam declared, "My daddy!"
This man was the father of these two children?
Which meant he was Grace's husband?
Impossible!
Grace's entire outfit cost less than three hundred dollars, while his suit alone was worth tens of thousands—they clearly weren't from the same social class.
Alexander looked at Grace, seeing her clothes nearly torn from being pulled. Jane held a pet collar in her hand. Max angrily explained, "They bullied Mommy! She put a dog collar around Mommy's neck."
Jane stammered, "I..."
Grace bit her lip, feeling utterly humiliated.
In that instant, she suddenly realized how important money and status were for a woman's dignity.
Without money, without status, people would bully and look down on you. There was no dignity whatsoever.
She didn't want to depend on a man for money and status, which meant she'd have to work much harder to earn others' respect.
The store manager approached. "Sir, may I ask what your relationship is to this lady?"
She maintained a polite attitude out of caution, noting Alexander's obviously wealthy appearance and beginning to speculate about his identity.
Alexander glanced at Grace. He'd originally intended to be truthful, but when the words reached his lips, they suddenly took a different turn.
"She's my wife."
His former wife was still his wife.
Everyone was stunned.
Alexander could see the situation clearly—Grace had been looked down upon and bullied at the Hermès boutique.
Hermès customers were typically from the upper class, so naturally the staff, accustomed to serving the wealthy elite, wouldn't think much of Grace.
But he had to protect Grace.
Otherwise, Liam would be angry and heartbroken.
Grace was somewhat dazed—she hadn't expected Alexander to say that.
Alexander walked up to Grace and asked, "You came to Hermès to buy a bag? Why didn't you tell me?"
His tone was casual yet carried an barely perceptible tenderness that made Grace feel momentarily confused, as if they were a loving married couple.
Grace replied, "I didn't want to buy a bag."
Max chimed in, "I wanted to buy one for Mommy!"
The money in Grace's bank account had been transferred under the name of Grace's former boss.
Max had taught that disgusting old man a lesson, and he'd promised to pay Grace compensation. But he was just a mid-level company employee—where would he get three million dollars?
Max had simply transferred the money to Grace's account under the man's name. He hadn't expected Grace to be too reluctant to buy herself nice clothes, instead buying several outfits for him and Liam.
Passing by the Hermès boutique, Max thought his mommy should have such a beautiful bag too. He never imagined she'd be bullied like this.
Alexander said, "So, who's going to give me an explanation?"
His brow furrowed with natural authority.
Everyone couldn't help but shiver.
Seeing the complete silence, Alexander asked coldly, "Who's the store manager?"
The store manager stepped forward trembling, steeling herself. "I am."
Alexander said, "My wife was bullied in your store. As the manager, you bear responsibility. How do you plan to handle these employees?"
The store manager glared hatefully at Jane, calling her out by name. "Jane! Give this gentleman an explanation!"
Jane said guiltily, "I..." She looked at Alexander suspiciously. "Sir... are you really her husband?"
Alexander countered, "What gives you the right to question me?"
Jane quickly explained, "I'm her college classmate! I heard that after she dropped out of college, she got divorced. She can't possibly afford Hermès! I think she saw that I work here and wanted to pretend to be rich to humiliate me."
Alexander was startled but showed no reaction, only saying coldly, "Using baseless rumors to judge customers—is this Hermès' standard for customer service?"
Jane said, "I..."
Just as she was about to say more, the store manager, afraid she'd say something else wrong, snapped, "Jane! Shut up!"
Jane protested, "I'm her classmate—wouldn't I know? She's not a good person at all!"
The store manager, unable to bear it any longer, slapped her across the face, then immediately turned to Alexander. "Sir! I'm terribly sorry. As the manager, I failed to properly supervise my staff, allowing them to gossip about your wife and provide poor service. The individual employee's behavior doesn't represent our brand."
Liam suddenly pointed at the collar and said to Jane, "Put it on."
Jane was stunned.
Alexander commanded, "Put it on."
Jane protested, "This collar is for dogs. I accidentally grabbed the wrong thing earlier—it wasn't intentional."
Max narrowed his eyes. "You did it on purpose! You deliberately wanted to humiliate my mommy."
Alexander said, "Do I need to repeat myself?"
Jane looked to the store manager, who glared at her. "Put it on!"
If Jane offended customers again, even she as manager would face consequences.
Jane tearfully and reluctantly put the collar around her neck, feeling deeply wronged.
Alexander said, "I can see this employee has no remorse whatsoever. In my opinion, she should be fired immediately."
The store manager replied, "Yes, we'll report to our regional manager for approval."
Alexander said, "Joseph Miller? Call him over now."
The store manager was dumbfounded.
This man seemed to have serious connections—he knew the regional manager's full name.
But she couldn't possibly disturb the manager over something like this, so she quickly said, "Mr. Miller is traveling on business these two days. Sir, how about this—we'll provide your wife with our most attentive service going forward, and we'll proceed with terminating the involved staff member."
"Store manager..." Jane's eyes widened.
Working at a Hermès boutique was a well-compensated position.
She couldn't lose this job!
The store manager said, "Unless you can earn this lady's forgiveness!"