Chapter 280: A Meeting
"Ms. Melanie, there’s a woman here to see you. She..." The assistant hesitated, then lowered her voice as if unsure how to continue. "She seems to believe that you work here, and she’s insisting on meeting you personally so you can receive all the commission from whatever she decides to purchase."
Melanie raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at her assistant before shaking her head slowly. "Didn’t you explain to her that we don’t work on commission?"
"I tried... but she wouldn’t hear it. She just kept talking over me. It’s like she knows you-or at least knows of you. So if you have a moment, maybe you could speak with her?"
Melanie let out a sigh, already grimacing. She could guess. Her assistant looked entirely uncomfortable which meant that it was probably the same woman from the club she had met last week. The one who seemed entirely too interested in her. What was her name? Right, Marianne.
Melanie sighed and nodded at her assistant. "Fine. I’ll talk to her."
She walked out of the office and through the store and almost grimaced as she spotted Marianne near the fabric swatches, flipping through them like she belonged there. Darn. She had hoped she was mistaken and it had been someone else.
As Melanie approached, Marianne looked up and smiled as if they were old friends, even coming forward to hug her. "Melanie. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble."
Melanie returned the smile politely, barely sidestepping the hug as she said, "Of course not. Welcome to LuxeArt. How can I help?"
"I’m thinking of redoing my place," Marianne said, brushing her fingers across a roll of linen. "And the first name that popped into my head was yours. I remembered what you’d said at the club about this store, and I thought-why not come here directly? If anyone deserves the commission, it’s you, for helping me."