Nicola took her last breath, as her skin took on a glossy sheen. There was a sickening crunch as it began to gather her flesh into a ball, but somehow, James was spared the sight of her body doing all the horrible things a crushed body should. Rather, it just blurred together, first into a pleasing peach, and then simply whiteness, translucent at the surface, opaque on the whole. The pressure made her body a small, perfect sphere soon lying in her clothes, not unlike the one she'd broken. Meredith picked it up, and inside was a tiny Nicola, naked, beating against the surface, before she vanished into the mist. Meredith put it on the now-vacant stand.
Meredith turned to James. "As for you, you're barred. Let this be a lesson as to the company you keep."
James knew it would be mad at this point to do anything but leave, but he couldn't bear to just leave Nicola like that. "Wait! Can't I at least buy her?"
"Eight thousand pounds. Cash only, unless you have gold or silver. And before you ask, diamonds are too common nowadays, and platinum is only precious to humans."
"...then... maybe I can come back? Just one time, with the money?"
Meredith regarded the pathetic human with the tiniest bit of pity, then thought of a game she might play with him. She smiled.
"I'll make you a deal. Work for me for at least forty weeks. My normal salary for a human clerk-stroke-dogsbody is four hundred pounds a week, tax-exempt you'll find; I'll halve that until she's paid off. When the time comes, I'll even restore her for free if you like, although frankly, I expect you'll have realized by then she's more useful this way."
"Anything."
"Let me finish. You've seen that this store has only just appeared; in truth, the shop has been open for centuries, but the door has only just appeared. In week or two it will disappear and appear again somewhere else, and even if you're not in the shop, if you're contracted to me, you will go with it. Maybe America, maybe Mongolia, maybe not even Earth. For that reason, for all practical purposes, you will cease to be a Briton, which is the real reason your salary will be tax-exempt. Of course you should escape your lease as quickly as you can, and collect your things. Basic lodging and free translation services will be provided, but if you ever wish to see your friends and family again, you will need to pay for transport yourself, quick enough to report to work after. It should go without saying that you'll be under an NDA."
James paused to reflect on these words, then repeated himself - "anything."
Meredith smiled. "Well, in that case, I'll get the contract." Taking Nicola from her perch, Meredith darted off and returned with a contract and a pen-needle-thing designed to draw his blood while being held like a normal pen, because of course the contract had to be signed in blood. He almost asked if it was sanitary, but stopped himself from such a silly question. He signed.
"Brilliant," said Meredith. "Oh, and I should probably mention - look over there." James followed her finger to a door that looked like it should go to a supply closet or dressing room, not far from the counter. "That's where most of our business comes from. The front door is mainly just for laughs."