7
EDEN
ONCE WE WERE BACK at the casino, I followed Kennedy around as she explained my job duties and gave me a tour of the massive building.
Empire Sevens was the real deal.
So much more than a casino, it had a full spa and resort, as well.
Lavish hotel rooms swathed in beautiful shades of emerald green and gold. The bathrooms were luxurious with golden sinks and large whirlpool baths. Massive king-size beds centered the rooms, and large flat-screen televisions hung on the wall in front of the bed. Each place we passed had its own beautiful view of the city, and the world outside those windows looked green, thanks to the tint on the glass.
After showing me the essential parts of the casino, the bar, a few of the rooms, and the relaxing spa, I followed her outside.
While I had thought the inside of the place was gorgeous, the outdoors really stole the show. Scantily clad woman surrounded the tropical getaway just outside the casino doors. A large pool with a waterfall on the side centered the space, and shaded cabanas and palms filled every available space. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have sworn I was on the coast instead of in the middle of the desert.
“Wow,” I said as my eyes scanned the sunny space, taking in the tiki bar and the waitresses as they passed with trays full of tropical drinks.
“I know, right? A lot of the workers spend time here on their days off. You’re welcome to do the same,” Aunt Kennedy said.
After the full tour, we ended up in a locker room of sorts where the waitresses changed into their uniforms.
“This will be your locker,” Kennedy said, tapping her perfectly manicured nails against a locker at the end of the row. “You can store all of your things in here while you’re working.” She popped opened the locker so I could see inside. “See? Plenty of space. Now, let’s get you a uniform.”
She moved around the lockers and into a back room, and I followed, smiling at the workers I passed.
Once in the back room, she began digging through a few boxes lined against the rear wall. “We usually keep a few uniforms in every size in case one of the girls needs to change, so I should have something here for you.”
She went through the sizes until she found a shirt, vest, and skirt for me to change into.
“This should work. Why don’t you try it on, and I’ll get started on the paperwork, okay?”
I nodded, taking the clothes from her. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Do you think you can find your way back to my office?”
“Yep.” I wasn’t entirely confident I could, but I needed her to think I could handle this without her holding my hand.
I already knew my aunt; she would want to protect me, and I loved her for that, but I didn’t want anyone else to think I was getting special treatment.
It didn’t take me long to dress because the uniforms weren’t anything outrageous. A white button-down shirt, a black vest with the EMPIRE SEVENS logo on the front, and a black skirt that went nearly down to my knees. I was happy it wasn’t anything too Vegas cheesy.
Putting away my clothes in the locker, I didn’t worry that someone would steal my pants and Empire T-shirt as I closed the door without locking it.
Stepping out of the locker room, I looked up and down the hall, trying to remember which direction we had come in. Both ends looked relatively similar, so I had no choice but to guess my way out of here. I would either end up in Aunt Kennedy’s office or Emerald City.
I went left because I was pretty sure right would take me out onto the hotel floor, and I made my way down the long hallway. Coming to an end, I could either go right or left. I was about to randomly choose a direction when I saw someone wearing an Empire Sevens uniform.
“Excuse me,” I called out, stopping a guy dressed in something similar to what I was wearing minus the skirt and instead a pair of dark slacks.
He turned toward me, and I quickly moved in his direction.
“Hi,” he said with a smile. “Do you need help with something?”
“Hi. Yes, please. I’m looking for Kennedy Vaughn’s office. Could you point me in the right direction?”
He chuckled. “This place is massive. How about I take you there instead?”
I smiled, feeling a massive amount of relief. “I don’t want to keep you.”
“You’re not. I’m actually on a break. Come on,” he said, starting in the direction opposite of what I was about to choose.
“So you work here?” I asked.
It was a silly question, seeing as how he was dressed in the Empire Sevens uniform and had just told me he was on his break, but I was nervous, and I tended to talk a lot when my nerves got the best of me. But he seemed nice enough. There was something about the softness of his brown eyes, or maybe it was the way his dark hair fell over his forehead.
“I do. You?”
“Yep. Today’s my first day actually.” He was tall, and I had to look up at him.
“Well, welcome to Empire Sevens. You’ll like it here. It’s a nice place to work. I’m Luke, by the way.”
“Eden Vaughn.”
He stopped, looking at me sideways. “Vaughn? Are you related to Kennedy?”
“Would you believe it’s just a coincidence?”
He laughed. “Okay. So are you from Vegas?”
“No, Arizona. You?”
“Born and raised, but I’ve been to Arizona a few times. It’s nice.”
“It’s okay, but I was ready for a change.”
“Have you ever worked in a hotel and casino before? I know they have some in Arizona.”
“Never, but I’m excited. How about you?” I asked, turning the questions on him. “Have you worked here long?”
“About two years. Right now, I’m a bar back, but I’m hoping to become one of the bartenders soon.”
“Bar back?”
“Yeah. I basically work behind the bar. Keeping it stocked. Making sure the alcohol and glasses are full. Stuff like that.”
“That sounds interesting. All of this is new to me.”
“I assume you’ll be a waitress?” He eyed my uniform.
“Yep. I’ve never waitressed before, so I’m a little nervous.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great. Zander and Kade are really cool. Strict but cool. You’ll like working for them.”
“I hope so.”
“Well, here we are.”
We stopped in front of Kennedy’s office door. I realized I probably should have paid more attention to how we got there.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Eden Vaughn, no relation,” he teased with a wink.
“Nice to meet you, too, Luke.”
I stood at the door and watched him walk away before I took a deep breath and tapped on Kennedy’s office door.
“Come in,” she called. I pushed open the door and slipped in. She looked up with a smile on her face. “You look great. Everything fit okay?”
“Everything fits perfectly.”
“Good. Sit down, and we can get started.”
I signed the new hire paperwork she had drawn up for me, and within thirty minutes, I was thrown out on the floor like a seasoned professional waitress.
Even though I wasn’t seasoned or professional.
I had never served so much as a drink to anyone in my entire life unless you counted the many times I fetched a beer from the refrigerator for Allen and his friends. I surely didn’t count that as experience, but that didn’t stop me from throwing myself into my new job.
I learned everything I could, sucking up information like a sponge, and I followed every bit of advice the other waitresses gave me. Amy, a waitress Kennedy had paired me with, moved through the motions, allowing me to shadow her until I felt like I was ready to strike out on my own.
Two hours into the job and I felt like I had the hang of things. I was moving around the casino and memorizing the table numbers. I was learning what the different parts of the casino were named and where in the building I would be working.
Mostly, they were keeping me close to the bar, which I appreciated since I was still learning.
After taking an order from a group of three on the right side of the room, I moved back toward the bar and shouted out my order to Dell, the bartender running the morning shift.
He threw together the drinks quicker than I could comprehend, and before I knew it, my tray was loaded up and ready.
With a full tray, I turned and gathered a handful of napkins and a few straws and added them to my tray. Then I took my time and folded the receipt into the diamond shape I had been taught with one hand. I probably could have gotten it done better if I had set my tray down, but I found that once I set my tray down, it was hard to pick it back up when it was full without spilling.
“You’re doing that wrong,” a deep voice sounded at my side.
I jumped, almost spilling the drinks on my tray before turning and looking at who was possibly the most intimidating man I had ever seen.
He was tall, towering over me like a stone statue. My eyes traveled over his suit covered chest, so vast his suit was tugged tight, before resting on his thick neck. My gaze slid over the bronze skin of his neck before rolling over his masculine chin and landing on his plump lips. They were thick and smooth yet unsmiling and stern.
A quick trip over his perfectly shaped nose, and my eyes were lost in his. I sucked in a breath, feeling as if the oxygen in the room had been sucked away.
His eyes were amazing.
They were as green as the room around us.
Emeralds.
The color stood out against his russet skin and dark, disheveled hair.
He glared down at me, angry and unmoving. His lips were tight, making his sharp cheekbones pop out. The dark hair surrounding his luscious lips spread lightly across his cheeks before blending into his sideburns and disappearing into the mess of wavy hair on top of his head.
He was beautiful, but I couldn’t seem to look past the fury carved into his expression.
“Excuse me?”
His hard jade eyes moved over my face, pausing on my mouth before he was once again staring me directly in the eye.
“I said … you’re doing that wrong. Set the tray down before you waste the expensive liquor in those drinks while you attempt to figure out what to do with the receipt. If you want to keep your job, I suggest you learn how to do it right, and you better learn fast.”
Who was this man?
And what made him think he had any right to tell me how I was supposed to do my job?
“And you are?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. I had no time to put up with the hotel concierge on some power trip.
“I’m the fucking owner of this place, and if you want to keep working for me, I suggest you do the job correctly or move on.”
I swallowed.
I remembered Kade and Aunt Kennedy telling me there was a third person … another owner.
I tried to remember what they had told me about him.
Stern.
Strict.
Omnibus.
Those were just a few of the words they had used to describe him when they told me to steer clear of him. But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what they said his name was. And then it ripped through my mind clearly, echoing off my brain and shocking my senses as if I’d been zapped by electricity.
Zander Hale.
That was who was standing over me, looking down at me with a menacing expression that spelled out total danger.
Quickly, I dropped my hard expression and smoothed out my tight lips. If he was my boss, I had to listen. Either I listened, or I lost my much-needed job. There was no way I would let that happen. I needed to work. I needed the money to support myself. Otherwise, I would have to run back to my mom with my tail tucked between my legs.
I would never go back.
Never.
Clearing my dry throat, I nodded and looked away from his angry stare. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. I’ll be sure to do it correctly from here on out. It’s my first day here, so I’m trying to figure out …”
“Stop talking,” he growled, running his large fingers through his thick hair. “What’s your name?” he asked, surprising me.
My mouth opened, but no words escaped, and for a second, I actually forgot what my name was. “Um … my name’s Eden.”
His hard eyes moved over my face once more, the emeralds behind his lashes glittering with heat.
“Well, Eden,” he practically hissed. “I don’t want hear any excuses. Just do the fucking job.”
And then he was gone, leaving me standing there shocked and hurt with my mouth wide open and my chest feeling crushed.
I needed this job, but I could do the job without ever finding myself in the presence of Zander Hale again. He was rude and angry. Honestly, I didn’t understand how someone so hateful could run a hospitality business, but I figured maybe Kade and Kennedy did most of the friendly talk.
Still, he owned the place, so I would listen, but listening didn’t mean I ever had to speak to him, which I never planned on doing again.