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xoxo,

Clover

REFORMED

Woman Feminizes Male Bully

Clover Cox

CHAPTER 1

It was strange how the sun shined the brightest after a devastating storm. Cindy stared at her wrecked cafe. Debris had smashed out her front windows. She wiped away the single tear that ran down her cheek before stepping forward to better assess the damage. She hated it, but she would have to call her contractor to fix the damage as soon as possible, hoping that her insurance would reimburse her for the costs when she filed a report.

“Cindy!” George spoke brightly when he answered. “How are you? Did the storm get you?”

She sighed. “Yes, I’m standing outside the cafe now. How long do you think it’d take to get me some windows?”

“I’m out of town with my wife right now, but I can send over one of my best guys to check it out. He doesn’t work for me directly, but he comes highly recommended.”

“Thank you, George. How’s your trip going?”

“Just peachy. We checked our video cameras, and everything seems in order at the house, so I can’t complain.”

“Glad to hear it. Thanks again for sending someone. See you later,” Cindy said and ended the call. She had been dying to redo her floors with a new stain, along with some other small repairs around the restaurant. If the windows took a while to arrive, maybe it would be the perfect time for some renovations. George sent her message that his associate would be over within the hour.

Cindy spent the time cleaning up what she could, careful to avoid the glass that covered the floor. She hated that the storms were getting worse and coming more often, but she had no option other than to pick herself up and keep going. Her employees and the community counted on her to serve them up delicious pastries and coffee. She was near the university in East Ridgewood, and the students needed their caffeine.

The hour passed quickly. Cindy jumped when she heard a knock at the door. She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw who was standing outside. Darrel. Cindy pulled out her phone to call George and give him a piece of her mind before she remembered that he was out of town with his wife. He wouldn’t care that her friend had been traumatized by Darrel’s behavior.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find the owner of Milk & Beans?” Darrel asked in a smooth voice. “I got a call to come here and help.”

“I’m the owner,” Cindy said and stepped closer to the open door. She searched Darrel’s eyes for any hint of recognition, but she was positive that he had no idea who she was. “Who referred you? Just checking for my own safety.”

“Of course,” he said with a sly smile. “George Nelson referred me. Said he was out of town with his wife. He apologized for not being able to make it.”

Cindy had it in her mind to go off on Darrel for how he’d treated her friend in the past, but she desperately needed repairs at the cafe, and she wanted to see about redoing the floors while they were at it. Once the floors were in, she would be able to deal with new tables, chairs, and paint.

“That storm last night was something else, wasn’t it?”

“I’d say,” Darrel said with a nod as he stepped into the cafe. He glanced around with his hands placed squarely on his hips to assess the damage. He looked so smug. Cindy could hardly stand it. She wanted to slap that smile right off his face. If he weren’t so handsome, he probably would have ended up behind bars years ago. Cindy didn’t know the man personally, but the stories Ellen used to tell her made her skin crawl. He would bang on her walls and tell her to quiet down before making mountains of noise himself. He used to bring over women and do things to them that weren’t anywhere near quiet, but Ellen never said a word. Cindy demanded her friend stand up for herself, but she never did. She let Darrel walk all over her when they lived next door to each other. He moved out after her first few months in the apartment, thankfully, but Ellen would never forgive the man for the trauma he caused her friend.

“Would you mind looking at the floors while you’re here? I would love to have them redone. It’s about time.”

“Sure, no problem. What kind of floors were you thinking about getting?”

“I want luxury vinyl plank similar to the color I already have, but these hardwoods squeak, and it really drives me crazy.”

“Excellent choice. Durable and beautiful.”

“Yes, thanks what I was thinking,” Cindy said and flashed the man a smile that betrayed how she truly felt about him. Darrel was scum, unworthy of her time and money, but she couldn’t wait for George to return from his vacation. She was tired of the old, ugly fake tiles that had been in the cafe ever since she acquired the building. “How are you at doing lighting? I have some lights in storage I’ve been meaning to hang. Might as well take care of everything at once if I’m going to shell out money for the windows.”

“Have you called your insurance company?”

“Yes, they’re going to pay, but they won’t cover the entire cost. Sometimes I don’t even know why I bother with insurance.”

Darrel shook his head, looking remorseful, but Cindy knew the truth about who he was. She couldn’t trust him. She had no choice but to let him renovate her cafe, but this didn’t mean she was going to forget what he did to Ellen. When the time was right, she was going to make him pay for how he treated her friend. He could tell that she didn’t recognize him, but it was for the best. This way it would be a complete surprise when she hit him where it hurt.

“Insurance has hurt many of my clients.”

“I can only imagine,” she said with a heavy sigh. “They charge us these high premiums and don’t want to give us a thing for it. Want to know what makes it worse?”

“Huh?”

“My cousin’s daughter works for one of those insurance companies, and all they do is take vacations! She’s gotten so much free junk over the years. We can hardly believe it!” Cindy grew animated, as she always did when she talked about insurance companies and how they were screwing everyone over.

Darrel nodded in agreement. “They’re terrible. I don’t know what we’re going to do when the weather gets worse.”

“Take care of each other,” she said, wishing she could take the words back as soon as they came out of her mouth. She didn’t want Darrel to think he was part of her community. Not after what he did to her friend. “Anyway, how long do you think it’ll take?”

“Hopefully the windows don’t take too long to arrive, but there’s no telling with all the damage that was done. I’ll take measurements and get an order in as soon as possible. The floors shouldn’t be an issue, and I have a guy who can install your lights.”

“Thank you,” she said, relief flooding her body. She wished the man who’d shown up to help her wasn’t Darrel, but life had a funny way of doing things. “I’ll clean up while you work. Just let me know when you have an estimate.”

“Will do. Thank you, ma’am.”

She ignored the word ma’am as best she could, trying not to feel old, but a strange mix of loathing and determination washed over her when she stepped into the kitchen to catch her breath. Darrel was going to pay, and she was going to make sure he didn’t like it.

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