Safe In A Stranger's Arms

Chapter Twenty Seven

Caitlin's POV

The blinding rays from the sun beamed through the stained windows of the car, its brightness causing my eyes to squint as I looked up to the sky. A few weeks passed after the incident with Justin and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The fact that my trust issues made me believe he was cheating on me was pathetic but I was just glad that we were finally on good terms.

I woke up groggy that morning for a sample event. All the employees who were attending, along with the manager, were sitting with me in a mini van as we were making our way to the mall. We had looked extra special with our uniforms since we wanted to get a lot of promotion done.

The event was perfect to help the cafe get more recognition and awareness from consumers. Although business of the cafe was running smoothly, we still needed that extra push and this was it. Plus with more people coming to the cafe, I thought that it was a good chance to earn more shifts so I could finally make enough money to pay Justin back for all the things he had given me.

The sound of the girls chatting caused me to snap back to reality as I looked around all the employees. I was surprised we managed to fit everything in one car since there were so many of us here. A few more minutes of driving passed and I finally felt the car come to a halt as we were parked in front of the entrance of the mall.

"Okay girls, time to get everything ready!" the manager, Lexi, cheered as we all unbuckled our seat belts and made our way into the building. I was surprised by the weather and how it slowly started to get warmer. It made me feel more excited about going to Las Vegas because then I'd actually be able to enjoy the hot weather and not always leave the house with a heavy jacket.

Although I wanted to mentally plan everything for the trip, I had to focus on the event and make sure that we would get as much promotion as we could. I walked over to the trunk of the van and pulled out paper cups that were sealed in tight boxes.

"Is that everything?" a new employee asked.

I nodded before we all headed in and set up our table. After 40 minutes of hard work and constant bossing around coming from Lexi, we finally managed to get our area ready. I looked around and realized that other stores had started to come in and get their workplace set up too. Looks like we had some competition.

After 30 minutes of chatting passed by, we got told by Lexi to get ready since the customers were arriving soon. I straightened out my apron and made sure all the things we needed were prepared for use.

It didn't take long for us to get customers standing around our booth, reading the menu or looking at our small sample cups. It made me happy how much attention we got, compared to the other stores that came down.

"Hey Cait?" I heard Lexi call from behind me. "Could you take this tray of samples and serve it to the front?"

"Yeah sure, what flavor?" I asked as I took the tray from her.

"Mango banana," she replied.

I nodded my head before walking around the booth and standing close to the large group of people. Customers were swarming around me in a matter of seconds, the sample cups disappearing quickly. I continued to smile at the customers as they approached me but that's when I saw a familiar face that made my smile disappear. My heart dropped to my stomach when my eyes met the ones that I loathed so much. Derek.

I cursed under my breath as I tried my best to pull my hat down and cover my face. I looked at my tray and realized all the cups were gone, giving me a chance to head back to our booth. Not to get more smoothies but to hide from this prick, of course.

Every time I see him or even get a slight thought of him in my mind, I instantly go back to the night he had a gun pointed at my temple outside of the convenience store. It just made me realize how much I needed Justin at that time and how thankful I was to have him there that day. But this was different. Derek was standing a few feet away from me and Justin wasn't there to protect me and make me feel safe and secure, which was something I'd always feel around him.