"Cut the crap and get to the point," Jennifer snapped.
The shopkeeper's face fell for a fraction of a second, but almost immediately, he launched right back into his sleazy, grating laugh.
"Oh, what a joyous day this is! The leader of the famous Tigers party, the Yellow Tiger Jennifer herself, finally found the courage to grace my shop. You honor us, beautiful lady!"
The shop owner was the kind of guy who could drop a compliment and a thinly-veiled insult in the exact same breath. He was also a total creep, but that was beside the point right now.
"I'd love to say it's good to be here, but I see I haven't missed much in my absence. I just want to know why my friends dragged me here. Can we get down to business?"
It suddenly clicked that we weren't the problem. If this guy could make someone as level-headed as Jennifer lose her temper, the issue was definitely with this squashed, bloated excuse for a shopkeeper.
