5
EDEN
I WOKE THE NEXT MORNING to the smell of bacon and the sounds of movement in the kitchen downstairs. Stretching, I welcomed the morning feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Peeling the blanket from my body, I climbed from my bed and headed downstairs.
“Good morning,” Aunt Kennedy sang with her back to me as she cooked.
I stepped into the kitchen space and sniffed at the delicious scent coming from her frying pan. My stomach groaned, and I rubbed at the hunger pangs.
“Morning. Smells amazing.”
I moved closer, hovering over her shoulder to get a better peek at what she was cooking.
She chuckled, turning over a piece of bacon with a fork.
“Breakfast food is the one thing I can cook without screwing up. How hungry are you?”
“I’m pretty sure I could eat my entire weight in bacon right now.”
Aunt Kennedy laughed as I moved away from her and took a seat at the counter. I rested my chin in my palm while she whipped up breakfast. The smell of bacon and scrambled eggs made my mouth water and my stomach rumble and beg.
Despite the amount of takeout food Aunt Kennedy had ordered the night before, I found myself feeling as if I hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Sadly, I realized that was true.
With a plate full of bacon and eggs in hand, she moved across the kitchen and sat beside me at the counter.
“I realized I might have jumped the gun yesterday when I said you had a job at Empire,” she said as she scraped a few more pieces of crisp bacon onto my plate.
I wasted no time, snatching up a strip and stuffing it in my mouth. I was disappointed I didn’t have a job with her, but the bacon made the blow less painful.
“It’s fine,” I mumbled rudely around the bacon in my mouth. “I plan on job hunting all day today.”
She frowned for a second and then laughed. “No, sweetie, you misunderstood. The job at Empire is yours. I just meant I didn’t even ask you if that’s what you want.”
I paused, the second strip of bacon dangling from my two fingers. “Of course, I want it!”
“Well, then, it’s yours.”
She had mentioned the day before about my having a job at Empire Sevens, but I didn’t know if it was a done deal.
“Just like that?”
She nodded, sipping her coffee with a grin. “Just like that. Ever waitressed before? Kade and Zander run a tight ship over there. Do you think you can handle it?”
Allen would never allow us to work. He controlled all aspects of our lives, which meant I’d never had a real job, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead, I lied, nodding my head and looking away to let my eyes settle on anything else but her face.
“Yes. I can handle it. I didn’t think you were serious about hiring me at Empire yesterday. I’m grateful, Aunt Kennedy.”
“We’re family, Eden. I’ll always do what I can.” She set her coffee cup on the counter with a clink. “Finish your breakfast. Then let’s get dressed and get the day started. We’ll get you all settled at Empire before I get my workday started.”
After breakfast, I cleaned the breakfast dishes while Aunt Kennedy went to her room and got ready for work. I didn’t have much to do to myself. Mostly, I just brushed my hair or pulled it up to keep the back of my neck cool in the heat. After that, I made sure my clothes were clean.
When she came out, she was dressed to perfection without a hair out of place. Instead of a white pants suit, she was wearing a navy one. Her heels clicked across the expensive flooring as she walked toward me.
“Here,” she said, tossing something at me. “Wear this.”
Opening the emerald green fabric she had tossed at me, my eyes landed on the words Empire Sevens across the center in gold glitter. Information on Empire littered the back in black wording.
“It’s just until we get you to the hotel and into a uniform.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled. “Are you ready to go?” she asked, her eyes shifting over my bare legs.
All I had were cutoffs and old T-shirts. To say I was happy she had given me a shirt to wear to work was an understatement.
My thoughts must have been written clearly on my face because Kennedy smiled and said, “This weekend, we’ll go shopping and get you some new clothes.”
I smiled, a bittersweet feeling seeping from the center of my chest. On the one hand, I loved feeling the sense of security my aunt offered. She didn’t make me feel like I was some charity case she had picked up from the streets. She wanted to help me because I had always been a priority for her and, once upon a time, my mother.
While I wanted to be able to take care of myself, I knew I needed her help to start. I knew once I got a steady paycheck, I would be able to save to get set up on my own and pay Aunt Kennedy back for everything she spent on me. It would be a slow start, but it was a new start, and that was all that mattered to me.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. We’ll make a girls’ weekend out of it. I haven’t had one of those since your—” She stopped talking, sadness moving across her expression but only for a second. “I think that’s exactly what we need. Don’t you?”
I nodded. “I’d love that.” I held up the shirt she’d given me. “Just let me swap shirts, and I’m ready to go.”
I walked past her, and my eyes moved over her outfit once more. She looked so stylish and beautiful, and I suddenly felt very self-conscious in my ratty old shorts. I didn’t want to embarrass myself or, more importantly, Aunt Kennedy by walking into Empire Sevens looking like this.
“Do you think maybe you have some pants I could wear?” I asked, not looking directly at her.
Her smile was warm. “Of course. Let’s go see what I have in my closet.”
Her closet was massive. It was nearly double the size of my room back home. While she searched through her drawers for pants, I rummaged through everything else. Designer bags, high-end labeled clothes, shoes in every style and color, and expensive jewelry filled the space. I vowed that one day I would have a closet just like hers.
“Here,” she said, standing up. “These should fit you perfectly.”
“Thank you.” I took them, and she left me alone to change.
They did, in fact, fit perfectly, and as I stared at myself in her floor-length mirror, I felt much better about my outfit. I wanted to make a good first impression.
Twenty minutes later, we were inside Kennedy’s sleek black sports car. She drove the city streets like a pro, passing slower traffic and getting us to Empire Sevens within a few minutes. Like Kade had the day before, she pulled up at the front of the building and handed her keys to the valet before we went inside.