The Seasons

Winter - Part Two

I hope you're enjoying your seasonal adventure! Let's get back to Vic and Dylan being adorable.

Love, Cam

♡

Part Two

Two days later, I noticed that business had started to pick up, and the new customers were of a very specific type. They were, as Ruby had so kindly dubbed them, the 'rich bitches'. They were snobby, condescending, until they found out that I was a guy, then they were suddenly fine with me. It was obvious who had sent them; Dylan Harrison himself. The reason I knew this, is because each woman managed to mention his name within the first few sentences, as if they were showing off how close each of them was to him.

"So Dylan Harrison recommended this place," one woman was smiling at me, sitting down next to the counter and looking at the tea. "He said he has the tea every night before bed and it helps him to sleep."

"Of course he did," I said, unable to stop my tone being a little sharp, and then gestured to the list. "Please take a look. Or you can tell me what you're specifically looking for in your tea and I can prepare you something personally."

"What tea did Dylan go for?" she asked.

I decided to take some liberties with that answer. "Five different blends," I smiled, lying through my teeth. "I can give you the samples to have a sniff and see if you like the scent?"

I handed the supposed blends Dylan had bought to her and allowed her to have a go through them all. When she was done she smiled and said, "I'll take all of them, thank you!"

I handed them over in the new 'gift boxes' I had prepared. It was literally the same item but in cellophane and ribbon with a little information tag about the blends, but I now charged double. It was the item that went purely to any customers that Dylan had sent her. They could afford it, and they were irritating so I felt I deserved extra commission for putting up with them.

"Thank you!" I waved her out of the store, and Ruby walked in just after. "Wow," she said, looking around at my half-empty shelves. "The stock, where did it go? Were you robbed? Who steals tea?"

"In the pockets of rich people," I groaned, thankful to see someone that was on my level of reality. "Or should I say, the Gucci purses of rich people. I've been overwhelmed by rich bitches. Save me."

Ruby giggled and handed me a bag of cupcakes. "Here, I thought you might want samples for them. Please mention that Dylan just loved my cupcakes. Two girls have been in today alone to buy cakes for parties after you talked me up the other day. I've got like a hundred cupcakes to make before Friday. I'm loving the orders, even if they are completely insufferable people."

I sighed. "Sure, I'll send them your way. They're really patronising at first, I'm just going to warn you now."

"Just add 'I am a man' to all your hellos and they'll stop being such dicks," Ruby told me with a huge smile on her face. "I've been doing it with 'I am a lesbian'. Once they know you're not after Dylan they're much more pleasant to you."

"Excellent," I grinned at the thought of Ruby announcing her sexuality the moment people walked in, and the door opened once again. It was another rich girl, I could tell just by the manicure, but she was more simply dressed without holding a million designer label bags. I decided to follow Ruby's example and said, "Hello, I am a man, how can I help you?"

"Hello," she said, unsurely. "I am a woman... looking for tea?"

"Sure, sorry," I sighed. "I've had a lot of customers thinking I'm a woman today, please do come in. Would you like a sample? I'm just about to pour a green tea with peach."