Second Chance Addison

"Mr. Addison, I'd advise you to wait and buy back your car through honest and anonymous means. Allowing Mr. Flynn to steal it back will indeed only cause an increase in your number of pursuers. Hiding your identity for the purchase will offer more protection from those who currently want you eliminated." Lola provided his own analysis and what he believed to be the best course of action.

"Thank you." Though not directly solicited, Lola's recommendation was certainly his best bet.

"You are welcome, Mr. Addison."

Lola resumed his usual silence and didn't add anything else. In the few days Chance had known him, that was the most that he had ever heard Lola say. It was certainly the first time he had spoken out on his own.

"So, we're just gonna leave the car here and walk away?" While Koty agreed with Lola, he felt it regretful to just leave the car behind.

"I'm afraid so." Chance also didn't feel it was right to have to leave it behind but life can be cruel. To find his most prized possession and then have to walk away from it was just flat out harsh. "Let's head inside. We weren't here for the car anyway."

Lola pulled out of the space he was parked in and drove over to the mall entrance. The two other men alighted from the car and went into the mall.

"Why are we here?"

"To shop of course."

"Are you secretly a woman? What could you possibly need to buy in person? You could easily send someone else or simply order it." After seeing the daughter of an unsavory individual enter the mall, Koty was in a heightened state of alert. Just because they were outside of the city, it did not mean they would be any safer.

"Why does it matter? You are here to keep me safe. Just do your job and ask fewer questions."

Chance did have a purpose for coming. He wanted to check out a few stores and see how many stocked books published by his company. He didn't feel that explaining himself to Koty would be necessary.

"Yes boss." Koty snorted and Chance rolled his eyes.

As they walked through the mall, Koty scanned their surroundings. Since it was the weekend, the place was packed with people of all kinds.

After working through their fourth pack of teenagers, they finally ducked into a store. It sold a variety of pop culture items: books, comics, collectables, toys, and even clothes.

Chance headed straight for the comics and books to look for the Lovewell Publishing logo. He didn't have to look for very long. One of their most popular novel series, Requiem, had a display of its own front and center. The display featured the books and a myriad of spinoff merchandise.

This novel series was one that Chance was particularly interested in because the author was set to be the biggest attraction for the upcoming celebration.

She was among the first few authors to ever sign with Lovewell Publishing and she was also the most popular. Countless other companies had approached her to try to convince her to leave but she remained fiercely loyal to the one that gave her a chance when she was still a nobody.

Her fans were nearly as dedicated as she was. Over the years she had worked closely with them to build the Requiem fandom. Even with pre-orders, the first round of printing for each book would sell out almost instantly.

"This is Nev's favorite series." Koty instantly recognized the cover of the third book. It had taken him weeks to get his hands on it when it first came out.

Chance nodded, "The author is one of the top sellers at the publishing company I am now managing."

Satisfied by the attention granted to Requiem, he continued to look through the books and found a few others by Lovewell before he turned and left the store. He repeated this process a few times and Koty started to catch on.

Or at least, Koty thought he had figured it out when all of a sudden Chance entered a girl's clothing store. He started to ask and then realized he wouldn't explain it to him anyway so he just followed closely behind.

A sales manager approached the two men to see if they needed any help. It was not common for two tall and handsome guys to just waltz into her store. Especially not together.

"Is there anything you gentlemen are looking for?" She gave them an overly sweet smile and paired the two in her mind. "Something for your daughter perhaps?"

The way that she spoke to them gave both of them chills. They each instinctively stepped away from the other. She looked a bit disappointed at their reaction but kept the same smile on her face.

"Do you have any more dresses like the one on the mannequin in your front display?" Chance finally gave in an asked. The sooner he found out, the sooner he could check out.