“Um, let me see.” She drew out her purse, wondering as she did so if there was a dollar coin to be found—who even carried cash these days?
Then before she knew it, he’d leaped up and snatched the purse.
“Hey! Give it back! Thief!”
She rushed after him, then slipped on the cobblestones, landing hard on her knee. “Ow!”
Another figure appeared near the restaurant, and the thief was rugby-tackled and sent flying to the ground. Her purse was flung towards her, and she scrambled to reach it as her hero straddled the thief’s back, bending his arm back like a policeman’s grip.
“Thank you,” she called, peering through the darkness. It was hard to see his features. She opened her purse, and a quick check showed all was accounted for. “Thank You, Lord.”
“Hey, you don’t need to call me Lord,” a voice she recognised teased.
She stepped closer, then blinked. “Neil? Wh–what are you doing here?”
“Saving the day, obviously.” He grinned, then stood upright, jerking the man to his feet. “Do we call this a citizen’s arrest?”
“Um …” She glanced at the homeless man, whose head lowered.
Compassion twisted within. No, she didn’t want to encourage the man to seek criminal activity, but how could she dismiss him so quickly when she had so much and he obviously had so little? What good would it do to see him reported to the police? “No.”
“No?” Neil asked. “Emma, he tried to rob you. He’s a thief. He’ll do it again.”
She bit her lip, then shook her head. “I hope he won’t.” She drew closer to the man. “You need money?”
He scowled at her, then jerked his chin. As Neil protested, she looked to see if she had a spare twenty-dollar note; then the door to the bistro burst open, spilling light onto the pavement.
“EJ? Is that you?” Gwen called.
“Um, yeah.” EJ turned to Neil. “Are you here for the dinner?”
He nodded as Gwen rushed over, peppering them with questions.
EJ internally sighed as Neil started explaining for her. Giving money to homeless people probably wasn’t the way to show these people she was ruthless and deserving of their investment.
“Oh my gosh, EJ! Come inside! You need a drink after that.” Gwen lasered the homeless man with her glare. “People like you should be locked up!”
Gwen’s Dolce & Gabbana perfume enveloped EJ as she lightly hugged her. “Poor thing. Come on. Let’s get you inside. You must’ve been so frightened!”
EJ allowed herself to be escorted inside as Neil continued to share, making it plain he was the hero of the hour and agreeing with Gwen that the homeless were a scourge on society and more should be done about it. She was torn between wanting to agree and wanting to go back to give the man some money. Itseemed so wrong to be in this expensive place, wearing designer clothing, knowing the man out there likely had nothing to eat.
“Oh, EJ!” Gwen glanced at her horrified. “Your suit is ruined.”
“What?” She followed Gwen’s gaze to where her trouser leg was stained and, yes, torn. Suddenly her compassion for the man outside dissipated. Great. This would cost hundreds of dollars to replace.
“Come on,” Gwen said. “Let’s get you to the bathroom so you can wash yourself up and get yourself sorted.”
She followed meekly and did the best she could to repair the damage as Gwen tried to reassure that people wouldn’t really notice. Oh, what a terrible way to make a good impression.
“There. You look almost as good as new.” Gwen smoothed back EJ’s hair.
“Thanks.” She winced as she saw her grazed hands.
“Don’t worry about it. Nobody will notice,” Gwen soothed.
Hmm. Hard to believe when Gwen had just noticed it, but she’d have to hope for the best.
“Now, I know that you are probably not quite feeling like you want to do the presentation—”
