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"Fear is useless, so are the people who lead with it." - Unknown

After last night I was more than ready to get out of here. The date had ended so horribly and by the time I got home Clara was already sound asleep. I guess I woke her up too early. It was pretty early in the morning currently. I was walking around the hotel room trying to find all my clothes that we had strewn across the tiny living area. Soon enough I had my bag fully packed and I was adding the final touches to my makeup. I was ready to have this Bridal show over with. This one had been for the books, the worst books.

Clara walked meekly around the room as well. Obviously she wanted to be tucked away in bed. I wasn't sure how she got up to come into work. I smiled to myself because I wanted to be right where she wanted to be. Tucked in my very own bed at home sounded better than the world's best coffee right now. That reminded me, I turned on the coffee pot making sure to brew up something before Clara got too grouchy with me.

The coffee began to bubble in the machine making the room smell good. Like cheap hotel room coffee but still good.

"Are you excited for this to be over with?" I question, my voice came out softer than I had meant it too. She nodded her head walking up beside me to get some of the coffee that was now finished.

"Do you agree that this was probably one of the worst shows we have been to?" Her face scrunched up as she smelled the contents of her cup. Before she could think any further she threw the cup back, drinking all of the coffee as if it was a burning shot. Her face twisted and contorted as she tried to force it down. Obviously that had woken her up. "Whoo! I'm ready!" She shouted still twisting at the pain from the heat.

"I now understand how you make it to work on time." I mumbled mostly to myself but plenty loud enough for her to hear as well. She looked at me with a side glance. She had no clue what I was talking about.

"How was your date last night?" Clara questioned me while throwing some pants on. It was kind of weird that we were such good friends she would just dress in front of me. It wasn't my style but for some reason our little work relationship had grown so comfortable with each other.

"Worst. Date. Ever." I mouthed through gritted teeth. That might have been a little dramatic...No that was definitely the truth. I'd rather sit on a boring date for twelve hours straight than sit with a man who disrespects people who are 'below' him. I shook my head remembering the night I had had last night.

Clara's eyes grew all wide as she stared at me. I knew she was waiting for more information but I had no clue what to tell her. "Well..." She rolled her hand through the air ushering me to continue on with the story.

"Disrespectful to the waitress. Made me wait for over thirty minutes before he even arrived, when he did finally arrive he was frustrated and angry with me for having already ordered an appetizer." I rushed through all of the words, not really wanting to start my morning off the same way my night had ended.

"Those are the worst kind of guys! So what did you do? How did you sit there and handle that?" Clara knew I wasn't the type to walk away or make a dramatic exit. She knew I never really stood up for myself in situations like this either. I shrugged my shoulders, I needed to figure out how I was going to share with her the news.

"Well you inspired me with your hot tub exit." I smiled, I could see the gears in her head trying to figure out exactly what I meant by that.

"You slapped him?" Her heart beamed for a minute and I could feel the excitement she held. She really had wanted me to slap Stephen for being an asshole. I shook my head though, she was going to have to deal with the disappointment because I wasn't like that.

"No, should have. Honestly I just left. He was so busy yelling at the waitress that I didn't really pay much attention and left. I'm not sure he even noticed. I just wish I would have done something to help that waitress out because no one deserves that treatment." My heart did ache a little. I may live in New York but I still believed waitresses deserved the utmost respect. Anyone who deals with your food before you consume it sure as hell does.

"Well at least you did something. I would have been so mad if you just sat there like a broken girl." Clara winked at myself before heading into the bathroom to shower. I rolled my eyes. Laying on the bed I was also proud of myself for leaving when I did. I didn't deserve to be put through that. Looking around the room, It appeared that we had everything all cleaned up. I grabbed both bags and tucked them away closer to the door. We were going to have to put them in our rental car since we were leaving late tonight. Clara finally left the bathroom her hair perfectly curled like every other day. We each grabbed our bags before heading down the hallway towards the lobby. We needed to check out and pay for our hotel room. It didn't take long before we were in our car on and on our way towards the show. We were going to have to find somewhere to park today. I found an empty spot on the side of the road that was just across from the venue.

We hopped out locking the doors and quickly running across the road. We were a few minutes late for the opening but honestly I couldn't say I was worried about it. I was ready to be home, this show was terrible. Walking through the doors my heart sank. I wasn't sure how we were going to make it through the day.

Clara grabbed my arm and led me through the crowd. We weren't really walking too fast or like we had a destination in mind. We were wandering through the crowds of people mindlessly. I glanced at a few of the vendors in the area around us. There was a new designer who was trying to break out. I decided to take a gander at some of the designs she had. Anything to pass the time at this moment.

I made my way over to the booth grabbing one of the magazines that were spread out across the table. Beautiful designs were scribbled on the blank pages. This designer may not have broken out yet, but it was only a matter of time before they did. Clara leaned over my shoulder looking at the designs. We hadn't been standing there very long before there was a familiar voice behind us. Clara and I both turned at the same time only to hear the man speaking.

"There's the beautiful girl I've been looking for all morning is." It was Stephen. He spread his arms out heading towards Clara with intentions for a hug. Clara shriveled up trying to pull away from him before he pulled her into him, squishing her face against his chest. A slight sense of anger began to build up in my stomach. I didn't really want to see him. I wanted nothing to do with somebody who was so disrespectful to women. Not even just women but anybody who wasn't as rich as him or high up as him. He gave Clara wide smile showing her all of his teeth. He glanced over at me and instantly his face fell ice cold. Clara whipped away from him taking a spot next to me.

"Well we sure as hell have NOT been looking for you." Clara responds folding her arms over her chest. Stephen looked slightly taken aback by her comment. I couldn't hold back the little snicker on my face.

"Feisty this morning." He paused for a moment. "That's alright." Clara rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here Stephen?"

"Well I wanted to come see how you were doing, I've never seen a girl as beautiful as you Clara. I really enjoyed taking pictures of you and I'd love to do it again sometime." He was turning the charm on, yet he wouldn't even look at me.

"No." Clara was simple in her response and honestly he didn't need an explanation. He knew she knew.

"Well, you know how to find me and I really think you should." I could see the gears turning in his head. He was getting frustrated that Clara was not swooning at her feet. If you thought about it though, this guy was seriously creepy. We met him randomly in a small cafe. The first interaction we had with him was weird. The next interaction was also weird. The date I went on last night was by far miserable. "I mean I could take you on an actual date, and show you thinks no other guy will ever be able to show you." His voice got soft as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She swatted him away taking a step backwards. This seemed to only make him angry.

"Yeah like the 'amazing' date you took Erin on last night?" She gave him a coy look. He was growing more and more angry by the second. Obviously Clara was really getting under his skin. This whole conversation was rather amusing but honestly I was getting frustrated with it as well. Stephen was nothing other than a jackass and I hated that he felt he could treat my friends and I this way.

"Well we don't need to worry about that bitch." He shot me a quick glance. The blood in my body was beginning to boil now. I've never been called a bitch before and he definitely had no right to be the first one. I wanted to pull a Clara on him and smack him across the face. Instead I stood there quietly. I knew Clara would be taking care of him for me soon.

"Um excuse me, that so called bitch is my best friend and doesn't deserve to be called that by a douchebag like you." We were officially making a scene. Crowds were starting to form. I could feel the color forming on my face. Clara stood confidently with her hand on her hip. She was shorter than Stephen but defiantly louder and more bold. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear again. I grabbed her am trying to pull her away from him.

"You two will regret this. I'm a powerful man. I get things done, and fast." Clara rolled her eyes. I grabbed her again, I felt we should probably not be in this situation.

"Whatever." I finally said.

I removed the two of us from the situation, leading Clara too a different building in the show. She was flailing about like a pissed off predator inches away from a kill. I knew she wasn't satisfied with the outcome. I was worried about what he meant. The whole situation left an awkward feeling fumbling inside me. He had pictures of us. Lots of them. I couldn't imagine what he was going to use them for. I also couldn't imagine him doing a whole ton of damage.

I decided it'd probably be smart to get Clara a drink, something to cool her off. I walked up to the lady standing in the food truck and quickly asked her for a coke. It was after lunch so the lines were short. Soon enough she handed me the drink, I thanked her, paid and then headed back to Clara.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out and searched the screen for whatever the notification was. I had a text message. I unlocked my phone to view the message, it was from Stephen.

'I said you would regret this. Give me 3 hours and check online. I said I was powerful and I am.' Inserted was an image of a well known Bridal magazine. There was a link below to their website. I shrugged it off, I couldn't worry about this too much. But for some reason this was really bothering me. I stared at the screen for longer than normal. There were too many emotions going through my body. I was scared for whatever he had in mind. At the same time my brain fought that fear and told me he was probably just making things up. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat.

~*~

Clara and I sat in the uncomfortable airport seats. We were waiting for our flight home, and honestly we were both excited to get out of here. I couldn't help but run over the events of the trip in my mind. Stephens text still ringing in my head. I pulled my phone out glancing over the text once more.

"Now boarding all first class flyers." The tired looking lady behind the counter said into the intercom. Her long nails brushed her curled hair back behind her ear. She stepped up to the ticket scanner, her jaw tensing as the first few flyers held their tickets out for her to take. Clara and I grabbed our tickets and headed towards the line. I tried to brush the text out of my head. So far nothing had happened and it had been hours.

I handed the lady my ticket, she smelled of champagne scented perfume. I scrunched my nose up walking past her. I followed Clara onto the plane heading to our seats. It didn't take us long to get settles in our seats. I pulled my bag closer to me, pushing it under the seat in front of me. Pulling my phone I unlocked the screen again. I couldn't get the text out of my head. I finally broke, clicking on the link that was inserted into the message. My phone quickly loaded a web browser, an article appearing on the top of the website.

Why New York Bridal Shop Owners Truly Are the Worst.

I couldn't believe what I was reading. This article was garbage. I clicked on it quickly opening up the story. I skimmed through the words that were all slandering Clara and I. Quickly I pushed my phone into Clara's face. She grouchily slapped it away from me before her eye caught a glimpse of the screen.

"He said what?!" Clara yelled.