Chapter 42: PLEASE TAKE ME: The Mall Girl

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: PLEASE TAKE ME: The Mall Girl

"Thank you so much ma, we sincerely appreciate your kindness towards us" Grace said to Flora and handed over the black card to her,the other staff stood beside her and bowed in appreciation for the luxury gifts.

The gardener came forward and bowed.

"Ma, may God bless you," he said. "In fact, in my next incarnation, I will be a gardener and I will work for you even in the Garden of Eden." He held his bag tightly like a treasure.

Flora smiled lightly and whispered, "This man is really a clown," still smiling.

Flora held the card in her hand; her Cartier bracelet glittered alongside the golden lettering on the card that bore her name.

Everyone looked at it and felt grateful.

"You should not thank me," she said. "You all worked hard. This is your day."

They all bowed gratefully to Flora in unison.

"Thank you, ma."

Their happy chatter sounded like ASMR in the mall, their joy spreading and blossoming.

The mall lights shone brightly and the air conditioning cooled their bodies, yet their souls were warm with gratitude.They were carrying bags from Zara, from H&M, from the shoe store, and from the jewelry store.

Customers stood at the ends of each corner of the mall, looking and admiring. A few people brought out their phones and secretly recorded videos of them.

One black lady on her work uniform was at one corner, whispering, "I tap from this grace. This is how people will celebrate me when I finally make it in life. I know things are hard now, but it can only get better. If she can be a rich woman, I will also be rich. It’s just a question of time."

She said and gently gathered her cleaning equipment and entered a private section in the mall.

Maya came almost directly close to them, struggling with shopping bags, she bought so much. Her own pile was the biggest. She had three big bags in her left hand and two in her right hand. She had bought shoes, dresses, handbags, and even bought Piglet as companion for Winnie the Pooh at home. She looked tired and happy at the same time.

Flora looked at her and laughed softly. Then she asked, "Maya, did you buy the perfumes and shirts for the security men at home?"

Maya stopped walking. She quickly put her bags down on the floor of the mall. She opened one of the bags and brought out two small boxes. One box had a perfume inside. The other box had a packet shirt inside. She had bought two of each.

She nodded and said, "Yes, Mom. I bought them. I was about to pay at the counter , when the thought came to my mind,I had to go back to pick theirs.They deserve some gifts too."

Flora felt something move in her chest. She thought, _ She touched Maya’s shoulder and said, "Good girl. You have a good heart."

Grace and the other two girls were talking about what they will wear first. They planned to take pictures when they get home. People were looking at their many bags and the smiles on their faces.They could see that Flora was the boss.

One woman who was shopping with her husband whispered to her husband, "Look at them. They are so lucky to have such an amazing boss. She treats them like family." The man nodded. The happiness of Flora’s staff was so real that it made strangers happy too.

They were about to leave the store and go to the food court when everything changed.

A few minutes later, there was a small noise behind them. Everyone turned. A young lady in uniform was on her knees. She was one of the store attendants who attended to Flora’s staff upstairs. She was kneeling on the hard floor of the mall. Her hands were joined together like someone praying. She was begging and crying.

"Madam Flora, please take me... please take me with you!" she cried, tears streaming down her face, her voice shaking with frustration.

"This is my last week at the store! I can’t stay here anymore, I just can’t! Please, Madam Flora... just take me. Take me with you."

Her voice grew louder, and the light makeup that accentuated her sculpted face was ruined. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she shamelessly cared less.

Flora looked at the girl. She was dark-skinned like a Sudanese woman, very pretty and petite. She looked like a real hustler, and she didn’t care that everyone was watching.

She took a step back. Her mind was confused. She thought, _How does she know my name? She is even kneeling in front of everyone?_

"Please stand up," she said, but the girl refused to listen. She kept crying on the floor.

She looked at her staff. Everyone was shocked. Simon was standing outside, beside the car. Grace covered her mouth with her hand. Maya quickly dropped her bags again. Flora looked at them with eyes that were asking, _What is going on? Do you know her? Did you tell her something?_

Maya saw what was happening and felt pity. She could not stand to see a fellow young woman kneeling on the floor like that. She signaled her and said, "Please, stand up. Please stand up. You don’t have to kneel."

But the store attendant was still kneeling. She was still begging Flora. She was holding the edge of Flora’s dress now.

The girl drew attention, people inside the stores opposite them were watching.

Just then a tall man in a black suit came closer.He looked confused and shocked as well.

"Gabriella, what is wrong? Are you alright?" he asked. "Your supervisor told me you went to use the restroom. Why are you on the floor?"

He tried to help her stand up, but she refused. She kept looking at Flora.

People looked at her pitifully. They thought, _For a young woman to publicly beg for a attention like this, kneeling in front of strangers, she must be truly going through a lot. Life must have pushed her to the wall._

Flora was speechless. She stood there with the black card still in her hand. She looked at the crying girl on the floor, she looked at her own staff with their shopping bags, and the crowd that was now gathering. She wondered, _What is really happening today? I only came to make my staff happy with shopping. Why is today turning into something else?_

The girl looked exhausted and snot was running from her nose. Flora did not know what to say.

She reminded her of when she newly came to the UK as a student.

She had gotten admission to study Business Management. Life was hard for her, but with the help of her mother who was in Nigeria back then, she was able to scale through. Though her mother supported her, she was also working, because she was not lazy. In fact, she did menial jobs. She worked in care homes and worked as a cleaner in hotels and bars.

Men wanted to offer her a soft life because they felt she was too beautiful to work hard, but she decided to work hard and earn a decent living.

She finally asked the girl to stand up.

"Please, stand up," Flora said. "What is your name?"

"My name is Gabrielle," she said.

Flora asked, "Where are you from?"

"I’m from Nigeria," the girl said. "The western part of Nigeria."

Flora looked at her and asked, "Why do you want to stop?"

She started crying again, uncontrollably.

Maya walked up to her mother and then turned to the girl.

"Please, calm down," Maya told her.

The girl tried to calm down and continued...

The girl told Flora that she had tendered a resignation letter because her boss was trying to force her into a relationship, but she refused. Ever since then, he had been making things unbearable for her. Since she started, he had refused to pay her completely, even her holiday pay — he seized it.

She told Flora that she had recently graduated from her master’s degree and wanted to work and save money for her post-study visa, and that her rent would soon expire. She didn’t have anyone and she would soon be homeless.

And while all this was happening, the tall man in a suit had been on a call, as if he was talking to the main owner of the shop. The staff were at the corner, looking and feeling pity for her. Honestly, you would really feel for her because the girl looks too adorable to be suffering.

Flora felt for her and asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

She beamed with a hopeful smile and wiped her tears.

"Ma, please don’t forsake me," the girl said. "I want to work as your staff. I can clean, cook, wash, and do all kinds of jobs."

She told Flora that she could hand over all her IDs and passwords so that Flora would know she could be trusted, and that Flora could also do background checks on her.

Flora was speechless. She helps with charity, and looking at the girl, she felt empathy for her.

"Honestly, people are suffering," she whispered.

Then she asked the girl, "How old are you?"

As the girl was about to answer, they saw a huge man with security officers walking towards them, pointing at the girl...