(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 311: Too rich for this

"Maxwell fucking Beckett! That crazy man! How am I not really surprised?" Maria said, her eyes sparkling and her breath pillowing around her, filling the air. Andrew’s face burned as even Amir was staring at him, all smiles, his eyes sparkling from behind his glasses.

"Maria." Zack warned, and Maria flushed as she realised she swore around her daughter. "With that said, that is exciting. So you two are moving forward? Are you feeling rushed?" Zack asked. Maria reached over and smacked his shoulder, glaring at him.

"Zack! You shouldn’t ask him that in the middle of the street!" Maria scolded, and Andrew just found himself laughing.

"Alright, I agree with you on that. We were going into the jewelry store here, and we apparently have an appointment. Did you want to join us so you can ask all of the questions that you wanted?" Andrew offered and that apparently seemed to be exactly what they wanted.

"We were going in the same direction. We were picking up a birthday present for Kailey from there as well. We also have an appointment." Maria said with a grin. She looped her arm through Andrew’s, grabbing Kailey’s hand once more and turned everyone towards the store. "Let’s not keep them waiting too much longer!" Maria sang, her eyes bright and Andrew glanced towards Amir and his grandmother. He worried that he’d made the wrong call, but where he expected to find some trepidation, he instead found warmth. Kindness.

Amir and his grandmother didn’t appear to be upset at all. They seemed to be welcoming Maria’s behaviour, along with Zack and their daughter. Kailey seemed to know exactly how extraverted her parents were, and it also appeared that she wasn’t that. Andrew hoped that she was okay with him hijacking her day. He’d check in with her later.

~

Andrew felt overwhelmed as soon as he stepped into the store. He’d never been inside of a store that had a receptionist before. Amir took the lead, his stature straightening as he brought up the name of the reservation with the woman who was there, along with the time.

Andrew watched as Amir’s grandmother’s hand on Andrew’s arm tightened as the woman glanced from Amir, to the elderly man on Andrew’s arm, and then up to Andrew and back to the reservation.

"Um, I just wanted to confirm-" She spoke quietly before Amir’s grandmother spoke up.

"Call over Jennifer." He said. His voice brokered no argument, and Andrew wondered what line had been crossed. Were they being judged because of the colour of their skin? Because they weren’t dressed in the same fashion as Maria? Andrew thought he was pretty dressed up. Maxwell had helped him dress so that he could speak to his Mom.

He also didn’t think Amir and his grandmother were underdressed. They were just dressed down, but even Andrew could tell that everything they were wearing was expensive. What was the reason?

The lady rushed off, glancing at Maria and her family, and the way that Maria was holding onto Andrew’s arm. When Andrew glanced at Maria, she wasn’t smiling.

"Fucking bigots." She said quietly enough that her daughter couldn’t hear, but Andrew did. Andrew hid his laugh behind a cough, and Maria gave him a tight smile. It was a few minutes before anyone showed up, and when they did, it was with a woman who looked like she never smiled, and the nervous receptionist.

When the woman spotted Amir, and Amir’s grandmother, her whole body stiffened before she rushed over. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"My goodness! Why didn’t you say that it was Mr. Desai and his grandson!" She told the receptionist, giving her a look that could curdle milk. The receptionist wilted, while ’Jennifer’ began cooing over Amir and his grandmother. That was the only way Andrew could describe it.

He was disgusted by it, the way she was able to change on a dime and make the receptionist out as the bad guy, but Andrew supposed this was how some of the world worked. Amir looked stiff, angry, while Amir’s grandmother didn’t react.

"We were hoping to show our precious Andrew around the store." He said stoically, proudly, and Jennifer didn’t even flinch.

"Oh? Is Andrew also a part of the family?" She asked and Andrew didn’t even need to think about how money obsessed she was. Amir smirked, chuckling. Jennifer’s brows furrowed in slight confusion, as Maria also chuckled.

"You could say that." Amir’s grandmother said cryptically and Maria threw Jennifer a bone. Not because she liked the other woman, but because she wanted to brag about her friend.

"Andrew here is a Doctor and his Mom is very well known in town." She said, her eyes sparkling. Jennifer glanced at Maria, her eyes narrowing for a second before she seemed to glance at Andrew with a new appreciation to her eyes.

"Is that so, Mrs. Johnson?" She said carefully and Andrew gave her a slightly unsure smile.

"Maria, it’s okay. I don’t need to justify myself to her. We’re only here for ideas anyways." Andrew’s words had her stiffening and Amir gave Andrew a look. Like he shouldn’t have said that, but Andrew saw no problem with it.

They were only here to look.

Andrew wouldn’t even consider buying from someone who they had to get a manager to confirm their reservation. Not like this.

Maria seemed pleased with Andrew’s words, chuckling to herself as Jennifer swallowed thickly. Andrew smiled warmly, but it didn’t meet his eyes. He was new to this ’having money’ scene, but that didn’t mean he was new to dealing with people who thought they could get something from him.

After all, he’d been alpha tall for a long time. So, Andrew flashed his teeth, showing her exactly what she had fucked up on. He watched as her already pasty skin went whiter.

He knew, as well as everyone else, how few true alphas there were who were outside of old-school wealth. Andrew might have had a tie to that world, but he wasn’t going to cash it in anytime soon.

"W-Well, let’s get you into the store proper so that you can have your...tour." Jennifer said, clearly scrambling to get control of the situation. She was clearly trying to figure out who Andrew was, and what family he belonged to. He felt his lips turn up more as he knew that she would be scrambling for a long time. "Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Johnson, we have your appointment and your usual jeweler over here. I can show you both to your showcases." Jennifer offered and Amir’s grandmother sighed.

"Finally." He said and Andrew watched as Jennifer flinched.

Andrew couldn’t laugh. He really shouldn’t. Maria coughed, her lips turned up behind her hand that she covered her mouth with and Andrew shook his head. At least Jennifer had her back to them.

Andrew had a hard time understanding why the room was so damn white. Was it to show off how white the jewels were? Was it to show how clean everything was? He honestly felt like he was in a hospital. Everything was white and silver. Clinical if it wasn’t for the sparkles.

Maria descended into a fit of giggles as she took in Andrew’s clearly unimpressed expression. It drew enough attention that Amir’s grandmother glanced up, and his eyes widened at his expression.

"Is there something here that you don’t like?" He asked carefully, but not quietly. Andrew sighed.

"I guess I just...thought it would be more colourful? This feels...like a hospital." Kailey, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up.

"I said that the first time I came here too." She said matter of factly and Andrew’s affection for the small girl grew. Jennifer was doing her best not to lose her composure, and Andrew was kind of proud of her for holding on as long as she had. She showed Maria and her family their little showcase, whatever the hell that meant, before showing Andrew and his companions theirs.

It was clear to Andrew that they had been given someone who wasn’t as experienced as the others. They looked nervous and Jennifer didn’t soothe them. Nor did her attitude. She practically fled and Andrew felt apologetic for the younger man who was serving them. Andrew could tell from the collar that poked out from around their neck that they were probably an omega. Andrew had no problem with that, nor did Amir or his grandmother. Andrew glanced around the clear glass container that they were guided to and noticed that most of the things inside were necklaces and bracelets.

Amir’s grandmother let out a heavy sigh.

"I told them we were coming to look for rings. What the hell is this?" He demanded and their...jeweler looked ill immediately.

"I-I will have everything changed over right away! Were we looking for something in particular?" He asked, nervous, but wanting to get it right. Amir’s grandmother spoke up for the group.

"Our Andrew isn’t quite sure what he wants. Why don’t you bring a selection, maybe two or three rings that you think are unique from each collection." Andrew watched as more panic filled his expression.

"O-Oh. Okay." He breathed before rushing off. Andrew glanced around, taking everything in as he watched their Jeweler run around. Amir’s grandmother sighed.

"I really need to stop doing business with folk like this." He murmured and Amir patted his grandmother’s hand.

"We won’t come back, that’s all. The paycheck is worth it." Amir told him and he chuckled.

"Is it? It certainly doesn’t feel like it when this is the third time I’ve been treated this way. You know my stance on this, Amir." His grandmother said and Amir turned to him, smiling.

"I know grandma. I know. You do what you think is best, I will always support you." Amir promised and he chuckled. He reached out, pinching Amir’s cheeks with affection.

"My cheeky little grandson. What a precious being." Andrew was glad to be a part of their moment. His own cheeks felt warm as he watched them. Hopefully the jeweler didn’t disappoint.