31: Trouble at Work - Part 1

Liam reached his work in record time. He parked his bike nearby in a safe location and headed to work.

Since he had left early and also used a bike, he was not surprised to see that he reached his work first. Boss Lucas was just opening the store, and he let out a sigh of relief as soon as he noticed Liam heading toward him.

"Liam, welcome to work. Come, I will show you what new stuff we have in stock today. You don't have to do much, but you should still know which section the goods are stored in in case the customers ask."

It was good advice, so Liam followed his boss around for some time before his shift officially started.

Aria had arrived by that time as well, and she looked just as confused looking at the counter as she did yesterday.

Sigh

"I had hoped that this girl would have grown out of role-playing after one hard day, but it seems she decided to come back. Liam, I am leaving her to you again today. Make sure you keep an eye on her."

The boss's words were final, and even if Liam did not want to, he felt like he needed to keep an eye on Aria. There was… just something about her that needed constant supervision whenever she was around delicate things.

Like currently… when she was trying to open the counter to check something but was unable to open it.

'Shit, I should hurry up and help Aria out before she ends up breaking the counter or something.'

Liam sighed before he headed toward the older female and helped her open the counter. Aria's expression did not change, but she did look a little grateful toward Liam (even if her mouth refused to say the same).

"Tsk, I could do this on my own. I was just testing to see if you would help me out or not. Looks like you passed the test."

Aria spoke with confidence as she looked at Liam, and he could only shake his head.

He did not know what was more impressive—Aria's ignorance or the fact that she didn't even feel embarrassed by what happened. Just thinking about it was enough to make Liam's face go pink from secondhand embarrassment.

"I think it would be better if I help you out today as well, Miss Duskwood. I am sure that you will adjust to your work by the end of the day."

Liam spoke with confidence, not showing how he actually felt toward this female. But just as expected, Aria did not catch on to anything more than what she wanted to.

"Hmm, you don't need to help me out. I can take care of the counter by myself."

Aria assured him, and Liam did not reply. He did not want to tell her that his decision to stay with her was not for her sake but for the customers, who were too afraid to come close and shop when she was at the counter.

The customers looked relieved to see Liam taking the counter, and they quickly came forward with their purchases. Liam quickly approved them, and the transactions continued.

During lunchtime, Aria went to have lunch first since she looked famished.

"I will be back soon. Make sure you keep the place safe. Call for me if you need help."

Aria spoke with so much confidence that even Liam felt taken aback and wanted to know if Aria knew something or not. But the next second, Aria collided with the counter, breaking the mysterious aura around her, and Liam just sighed in relief.

He watched as the female disappeared into the employee's room before he started to process people's purchases. He was almost done with the last person when someone slammed a metallic vase onto the front table.

"Hey, man! I need to return this vase I bought a few days ago. This does not work, and I spent quite a lot on it. I want all the money I spent to be given back to me."

Liam blinked as he looked at the angry customer, and even at first glance, he could tell that this person was a scammer trying to get Liam to give him money for returning something useless.

Not only did the vase not have any magical properties, but the man in front of him also had none.

"I am sorry, but are you sure you bought the vase from here? Can I see a receipt for it?"

Liam asked, and the scammer looked taken aback. But he seemed to have prepared thoroughly and took out a receipt to hand over.

"Here, take it. Now, give me my money."

The man asked, and it was Liam's turn to outsmart this man.

"I am sorry, but our store does not do paper receipts. We only have digital receipts. You would know this if you actually bought this vase from here. But since you didn't, please head back out now."

Liam just smiled as he looked at the customer.

Seeing how he had been bested, the scammer got annoyed, and he grabbed Liam's shirt to pull him closer.

"Listen, man! Don't you dare try and be smart with me. You don't have an idea who you are dealing with! Our boss is not someone you want to mess with. Just give me the money for the return, and no one will have to get hurt."

The scammer threatened, and by now, Liam was getting tired.

And so were the customers standing in line behind the scammer.

Luckily for Liam, the one standing right behind the scammer was a well-built magician, and he seemed not to want his time wasted here. So he grabbed the scammer's shoulder and pulled him along.

"Darling, you process our item. I will go and have a small 'talk' with this man about holding others up."

The magician gestured toward his wife to buy what they came here for, and the woman just giggled before pressing her purchase toward Liam.

"Here, please process this for me."