"What did he take, Mike?" I glanced at the security guard. He pulled out a $500 watch from the table behind him and handed it to me. I shook my head in disgust. "What's your deal?" I looked at Aaron Carter. He shrugged and continued to stare at the table.
"Look at her when she's talking to you, man," Nick sounded just as distraught as I was over this. Aaron continued to stare at the table. "Listen, I am so sorry about all of this. I really don't know what's gotten into him. I'll pay for the watch and pay anything else you need me to. I swear this will never happen again."
"I'm afraid you're not going to be able to go through me, Mr. Carter," I said curtly. "I'm going to have to call the police and have him arrested. You can deal with them," I glanced at the watch in my hands. "And by the looks of it, the watch is still in new condition and the tags have not been removed. So you won't have to pay for the watch."
"You're calling the police?!" Aaron exclaimed and slammed his fist down on the table when I nodded. "You don't understand what this is going to do to me! I didn't even get away with stealing the damn thing!" He yelled loudly and stood up from his seat. Mike adjusted his belt and grabbed his cuffs to restrain Aaron but I held my hands up.
"Sit down, Mr. Carter," I said firmly and leaned across the table. I may be small, coming in at 5'5", but when someone tried to steal from me, all hell broke out of my bones. "You listen and you listen good. You have enough money according to your apparel to buy anything in this store. I'm sure one of your fancy credit cards has $500 on it. If you really wanted that watch you could have paid for it. And yes, I do understand what this will do to you. They'll throw you in jail for an hour or two until your brother can get the bail off his credit card, and then you'll be home free without even having to spend an entire twenty-four hours in a jail cell. The people that buy from this store are good people, Mr. Carter. If you ever try to steal anything from here again, I will make sure you serve time." Aaron's shocked expression was enough for me. "Mike, watch him for me. Mr. Carter?" I glanced up at Nick. It was confusing, considering they were both Mr. Carter. "Can I speak with you outside for a minute?"
Nick nodded and followed me outside the door. I sighed heavily and rubbed my temples to try and allow a small smile to appear. I could tell Nick was genuinely sorry. "Listen, I still can't believe this happened. I really want to do something for you. You can call the police if you want, maybe what he needs is a wake-up call..." Nick rambled. By now a small crowd had formed -- teenage girls began to squeal as they realized their pop star hero was standing before them.
"Let's go back into one of our offices, okay?" I sighed and lead him into my office room -- a small, cooped up room with an oak desk not any bigger than four feet long with a lap top on the surface. "I really don't want to call the police. Tonight's crazy to begin with. I just wanted to scare him a bit."
"I understand," Nick nodded. I could tell he was appreciative that I wasn't going to involve the authorities. It would draw attention to the store and the media would come. Once the news got word that Aaron Carter had taken something from the store, the magazines would get notice. All hell would break out in my store.
"Usually in these situations, we ask that twenty hours of community service be done. It comes to about five hours a week, so it would be for four weeks. But in this case, that's obviously really difficult, considering your situation," I sighed. People in entertainment always seemed to push the wrong buttons with me.
"No, please do not make any excuses for Aaron. He will do the community service. I'll make sure of it, Miss..." he looked around my desk for a nameplate.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I realized I hadn't introduced myself. "Cooper...Collette Cooper."
"Okay, Miss Cooper. Please, do not make any excuses for my brother. He needs to know what he did was wrong and if making him realize that is with community service, than so be it. No offense, but you lecturing him isn't going to make a difference. God knows I've lectured him time and time again, but still, nothing comes out of it," Nick sighed.
I bit my bottom lip. I wasn't so sure I should trust them. They were in entertainment and I never could trust stars to follow through with anything. But oh well. If he showed up for the community service, then great. And if he didn't, life would go on. "Okay then. He can start on Monday."
Author's Chapter Notes:
As promised, here's chapter 3! Reviews are appreciated!!
