249 240: A Plague of Phantoms XXIV

"I don't care of it's fifteen million. I'm over fucking suits!" I snapped. Jane glared at me and snatched the suit off the ground and marched over to me and shoved it into my arms.

"Well too bad! You are the president of our company and you will dress like one!" Jane snapped. I slapped the suit away and crossed my arms.

"I'm not dressing like a penguin and looking like every other American there!" I snapped. Jane grabbed my ear and twisted it yanking me down to her level. "OW! OW! OW! OWWWW!"

"You will dress in a nice suit and you will smile and like it or I will tear your ear off, wait for it to grow back and then tear it off again!" Jane snapped.

"IRIS HELP!" I cried out and tried to pull my ear free. Iris walked over and grabbed my other ear and yanked it. "ME! NOT HER!"

"You didn't specify!" Iris exclaimed in a mocking tone then her and Jane spun me around and dragged me back into the dressing room. "Put some clothes on and then we can talk about the suits!"

They both kicked me on my butt and sent me stumbling into the dressing room and nearly fell over. The girls closed the door behind me with a scoff. I growled low in my throat as I look back at the door, contemplating rushing back outside but that would have been pointless.

"Umm…Your majesty and Lady Philari?" A voice that I recognized as belonging to the owner of the shop, called out from the other side of the door. "If master Kingston doesn't want to wear suits because of the commonality of suits then my boutique offers plenty of other styles for a business setting."

Hearing that I perked up and poked my head out of the dressing room. The owner of the store, a man named Saviq, stood in front of Iris and Jane trying to calm them both down. He was a braver man than most, especially knowing that Jane was royalty, one word from her and his shop's reputation could be destroyed.

"Oh really? What sort of styles?" I asked. Jane and Iris both frowned as they looked at me. The owner, a pudgy Egyptian man in his late flurries to early fifties, smiled and clasped his hands together.

"Oh we have practically any style imaginable. Business casual, upscale, hinako, Bluescale, and like with the uniforms that you want to order from us, if there are any alterations or the like you need feel free to ask." He said in a pleasant tone that I instantly pegged as hos customer service voice.

"So…do you have any dashiki?" I asked. Saviq smiled and puffed his chest out.

"What self-respecting clothier and tailor in Egypt wouldn't have African styles. Dashiki's might not be popular over here in the east but they are still fashionable!" He exclaimed with pride before giving me a elaborate bow. "I will assemble some choices that are more business centric and be right back Master Kingston."

With that Saviq turned and headed further into his shop. I smirked and looked at Jane and Iris who both had annoyed looks on their faces.

"Happy?" Iris asked. I smiled smugly at her.

"Very." I replied before ducking back into the dressing room.

"Gods! I can't with him sometimes!" I heard Jane growl outside the dressing room, followed by hers and Iris footsteps walking away. I had a few moments to myself, something that was a rarity as of late. However that was quickly interrupted by the sound of heels walking closer to the dressing room door.

"Chase?" Madilyn's voice called from the other side. I took a breath to hold in a groan.

"Yes Madilyn?" I replied.

"While you have a second I'd like to ask your opinion about something." She said.

"Can this wait till I'm not standing in my skivvies?" I asked.

"You didn't seem too worried about everyone see your…skivvies a few moments ago." Madilyn replied in a hoity tone before changing it to a softer one. "Besides…it's about your family…your father."

"Thomas? What about him?" I asked, refusing to call that man father or parent ever again.

"It's almost a certainty that we'll see him at Evo-cution. He is the current CEO of Justice Technologies, while my grandfather is president, after all." Madilyn said.

"What's your point?" I asked coldly.

"My point is that you are going to come face to face with him and soon. Given how you reacted when you saw your mother I can only imagine your reaction will be similar with your father." Madilyn replied. I groaned inwardly and shook my head.

'She's right. Maria caught me off guard…' I thought to myself.

"He might try to use any feelings you have for him against you. For most of your life you did think that he cared for you." Madilyn continued, taking a brief pause before adding. "…I realize I'm the same as you with seeing my grandfather…well anyone in the Justice family. I want to know that you won't fly off the handle and compromise the plan."

I took a second to think of my reply not much could be said to dissuade her fears. They were justified, I had a tendency to react off emotion where my past or family was concerned. Taking a deep breath I poked my head out of the dressing room and leveled Madilyn with a stare.

"I can't tell that I won't because I don't know for sure if I will. I want to say all that shit is in the past and I can handle it but…it's not. The pain of betrayal they all dealt me never really goes away. I'm sure you know that more than anyone. Which is why…I'm trusting everyone, including you to notice when I'm losing the plot and reign me back in." I said.

Madilyn stayed quite for a moment, a look of genuine surprise popping up on her face. It was clear she hadn't expected that answer. Honestly I wasn't sure where it came from but it was the truth. I was going to have to trust all of them, even her of our plan was going to work.

"…Huh…that's strange…" Madilyn muttered after a second. She placed a hand on her chest and cocked her head to the side, staring off into space for a few moments. "…I'd almost forgotten what this feeling felt like…when you know you can trust someone…"

Without another word Madilyn turned and made her way back to the others who where being shown mark ups of the uniforms at this point. I started to retreat back into the dressing room again when Saviq reappeared with another one of his employees in tow carrying what should have been an impossible number of clothes in her tiny arms.

"Master Kingston, I found several Dashiki in a variety of styles and colors…would you like to try them on?"

***

"I can't believe after everything you could have bought in that store all you bought were Dashiki!" Jane grumbled as we walked into the shop, her arms filed with shopping bags. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Angie's desk leaning against it as I watched her and Iris stumble over to the back rooms to store their haul.

"And yet you two bought enough crap for the entire company." I said with a mischievous chuckle. The girls both shot me daggers as they disappeared into the back rooms.

"Starlight, ya don't go antagonizing a woman 'bout her shopping." Grandpa Seamus said as he walked through the front door with Colossus in arms. The little porker now had two leather cuffs on his front legs that Grandpa insisted he needed when he saw them in the store. So naturally I bought them.

"Chase doesn't know anything about women." Haws, Louie, and Angie all said in unison as the came in behind Grandpa, their owns arms burdened by several bags apiece. More clothes that I also paid for.

"I know enough to know that only applies to women you are interested in. Not pushy princesses and three-eyed brats!" I said, nearly shouting it towards the back rooms.

"EAT A BAG OF DICKS CHASE!" Iris bellowed back, poking her head out from behind the door. Jane's head appeared behind Iris's.

"AND CHOKE ON THEM!" Jane added. Iris slammed the door shut hard enough to shake the whole foundation it seemed.

"Gods above what is it with you three? You've been at each others throats since the boutique." Astrid scoffed as she walked in with Damon, Alberto, Bo, and Chad. All of them carrying a fee bags apiece. My classmates clothes weren't paid by me.

"They started it with insisting I wear a suit…" I grumbled and then pointed towards the door. Bo set his bags down and shook his head.

"Considering Iris is going to be leaving for her brother's funeral don't you think you should be a little nicer?" He asked shooting me a disapproving state. I froze then huffed.

"Fuck…you're right…I'm an ass!" I groaned.

"Yep…" Bo said with a shake of his head. I groaned and scratched my head.

"It's not like I only bought those dashiki. I made an appointment to have the suit that Madilyn bought me tailored, I even bought some suits but left them there because they were going to be tailored too…" I grumbled.

"Yeah…but they were trying on dresses while you were doing that…" Astrid said. I frowned and looked towards the backrooms.

"Yeah…" I said when suddenly Iris and Jane burst out of the back rooms.

"CHASE!" Iris and Jane both yelled as they ran towards me.

"OH SHIT!" I screamed and flinched as they both came screeching to a stop in front of me. Then thrust a small dagger made from manacite in my face.

"What the hell is this?"