THE GUSTAV EMPORIUM

Alexander closed the door, slammed it actually, then faced the entrance of Gustav's emporium, which was the name of the popup shop where he wanted to buy the outfit.

He started his confident stride forward when suddenly, from behind him, he heard one of the car doors open.

"Hmm?" Alexander grunted, quickly taking a halt in his march to the shop.

He turned around, only to see that the driver had come out of the car.

"What are you doing? Why are you outside?" Alexander asked.

"What? Wait, did you think I was just going to allow you to go in there by yourself?" The driver said, smiling mischievously.

Alexander shrugged "And why don't you want to do that? Do I look like I need you to hold my hand as I go in or what?" He asked, frowning slightly.

The driver locked the door, walked around the car, and met up with Alexander before saying "What if you run away?"

Alexander grimaced, confused about the driver's ridiculous statement.

"What if you go in there and leave through the back door? You could just have wanted me to give you a free ride to this area, and now you're trying to run away the moment I take my eyes off you, so no. I'm going to stick to you like glue, and I'm going to watch you try to keep your end of the deal, which I'm sure you are going to fail to do," the driver said confidently.

Alexander looked at the overconfident man standing in front of him, seeing that he still didn't believe him after all the times he had made it clear with all his statements that he had a lot of money.

In the end, Alexander smirked. He couldn't wait to see the shock on the driver's face when the man later realizes just how wrong he was, and so, if coming into the shop with Alexander meant that that would happen a lot sooner rather than later, then Alexander had no problem with him coming along.

"Alright then. You're free to do whatever you like, so follow me, and I'll show you just who you're dealing with. I hope you brushed your tongue before leaving your home this morning because you're about to lick my shoe until every single piece of dirt is cleaned off," Alexander said, then turned to face the entrance once more, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and started heading towards the shop.

The driver followed behind, chuckling and thinking that there was no way Alexander had any money to his name. He was waiting to see the young multimillionaire fail, or so he thought.

After walking a couple of steps, both Alexander and the driver finally got to the door and then Alexander, who was in front, pushed it open.

Both men went in, and immediately, the driver became amazed by how luxurious the interior of the shop was.

After gawking and drooling at the sight, the driver looked at Alexander, who wasn't at all impressed and he frowned.

"What? Are you going to pretend like this isn't the most amazing sight you've ever seen in your life? I know your heart has been racing since after walking in here, so stop putting up an act" the driver said, sounding and looking annoyed by Alexander's calm and collected demeanor.

Alexander shrugged, "It's cool, but I've seen better," he said.

The driver rolled his eyes, saying "Oh really? Where?"

"That's none of your business, so don't bother trying to ask again," Alexander said, shutting down any further questions about his past.

After living in the Dove family mansion for years and accompanying his father when he went on errands for the family, Alexander had seen his share of very impressive places. Places that were way more impressive than the shop they were in, and so he wasn't as amazed as the driver was.

The driver had wanted to say something back but then was cut short when a very beautiful lady, wearing a navy blue pantsuit and a very welcoming and warm smile approached them.

"Welcome to The Gustav Emporium, Sirs. The one-stop shop to get the right customers looking sharp and dapper for any high-class event. My name is Laura Preston, but you can just call me Laura. So, what can I help you look for?" Laura greeted, her hands clasped.

"Yes, I would like to see your—" Alexander said, but suddenly the driver cut him off, walking past him and intentionally bumping his shoulder.

The driver went to stand between Alexander and Laura.

"Excuse me sir, but the young mister was talking to me about—" Laura said, looking confused and annoyed by what the driver just did but Alexander, who knew exactly why the man acted the way he did, gestured that she shouldn't bother.

Laura listened to Alexander and no longer addressed the improper behavior showcased by the driver's rudeness.

"This young man behind me is bragging about being able to afford clothes from this shop. I mean, look at him. Does he look like someone who's able to do something that impressive? How ridiculous?" the driver said and then chuckled, wanting to make Laura laugh with him, but she was straight-faced the entire time.

Feeling embarrassed, he cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I know how much your clothes cost so for him to say something like that is just ridiculous and a straight-up lie," the driver said, pointing at Alexander at his back with his thumb.

Laura looked at Alexander and how calm the secret multimillionaire was and Alexander gave her a charming and confident smile.

She blushed and smiled back, then looked at the driver.

"I don't know. Mr. Gustav told us to never judge a book by its cover, so anything is possible." Laura said.

The driver rolled his eyes and scoffed, saying "Whatever."

The driver cleared his throat and continued "Anyway, I felt insulted when he said he could buy clothes from you guys, which is something that even after working as an Uber driver for years now, I can't do. I mean, I make okay money but with all that I can't still afford the cheapest thing here"

Alexander, from behind, crossed his arms and said cockily "Then you had better get a new job, or maybe the problem is just you."

Immediately after hearing his taunt, the driver looked at Alexander, glaring meanly, but then heard Laura giggle at what Alexander said.

The driver, who was trying to impress Laura because of how good-looking she was, became even more annoyed that Alexander was unintentionally and effortlessly getting her on his side.

"Let's see how much more your mouth runs after I do this," the driver said, smirked mischievously, then faced Laura once more.

"The thing here is, the punk and I made a deal, and if he's able to spend fifty thousand dollars and upwards of seventy thousand to buy a three-piece suit and a pair of shoes from you guys, then not only will I drive him anywhere he needs to go buy I'll also lick the dirt of his shoes"

Laura's eyes widened when she heard about the existence of such a deal.

She looked at Alexander with concern on her face because, though she wanted to believe that he had money, the way he looked with the dirt and blood on his rumpled uniform wasn't very encouraging.

However, Alexander's nonchalant demeanor gave her a little change of mind.

"Sir, are you sure you agree to this deal?" Laura asked, and after looking around the shop for a few seconds and then staring back at her, the young multimillionaire shrugged.

"Don't worry about me. Everything is fine," Alexander said, sounding very relaxed and making her feel assured that he wasn't going to lose the bet.

"You see. Such a two-faced liar, this kid is. As if any of us grownups would believe that you have a penny to your name. Even if you try to overcompensate by acting confident, the truth will soon prevail" the driver taunted, but Alexander couldn't care less.

He knew the truth and soon so would the two in front of him.