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9
EDEN
“I THINK MAYBE this week we’ll go buy some new towels and stuff,” Aunt Kennedy said while we sat at a red light waiting to turn left.
I didn’t want to tell her there was no need to buy more of anything for my sake. I hadn’t told her yet that I didn’t plan on staying with her long.
While I appreciated Aunt Kennedy letting me stay with her, I could tell she was used to living alone. She only had enough towels for one person. That was also true for dishes and everything else a person needed in their home to survive.
It didn’t seem to bother her that I was there. In fact, she seemed excited to have another person in her home, but I was actually looking forward to being on my own for a change. I had spent my entire life under my mom’s roof, and I was ready to take that next step to adulthood. Which meant I needed to get my own place.
It didn’t matter what kind of place it was as long as it was affordable and it was mine. I took every shift available during my first two weeks at Empire and picked up extras when someone called in. I spent more time working than anything else. I would eat when I could and sleep when time and my body allowed, but mostly, I earned as much money as I could, waiting until the moment I could thank Aunt Kennedy and afford a deposit on something of my own.
The following night, I worked a double, throwing myself into the job and making Aunt Kennedy proud.
She had even made the comment that I was one of the fastest learning new hires she had ever had.
Working a lot also meant I made new friends with my co-workers. Jena, one of the bartenders, and I became fast friends. She was my total opposite.
Dark to my light.
Tall to my short.
Her makeup was dark and perfect. Meanwhile, I had attempted a tiny bit of clear lip gloss. She wore her uniform two sizes too small, and her skirt, which came to my knees, was short enough to show her black garters.
She looked mean and sexy, but she was quite possibly the sweetest person I had ever met.
“You’re up, Eden!” she called from across the floor.
I moved to the bar with my tray ready to pick up for table two in the VIP section. The gentleman at that table had ordered a massive selection of drinks that were going to weigh my tray down, but I felt confident I could do it.
I set my tray on the bar and began loading it, and as I did so, I could feel his hot stare on my back.
He was always there.
Watching me as if he was waiting for something.
Zander Hale.
I steered clear of him as much as possible just like Kade and Aunt Kennedy had suggested, but it never seemed to be enough. Honestly, I had hoped I would never see him again after he had been so rude to me at our first meeting, but sadly, that was next to impossible since he owned the casino.
He was everywhere, lurking in the corners. His brooding eyes leaving a scorching path all over my body from across the room. He made me feel nervous and inept as if I was doing everything wrong or seconds away from making a mistake. I worried that having his eyes on me would screw me up somehow until finally, it did.
After loading my tray, I made my way across the bar, holding the heavy weight of the drinks with all five fingertips.
It was a busy night, and everyone was hustling to keep the customers happy. I had gotten the feel of the bar space, memorizing the step up VIP areas and then making sure I didn’t actually trip over the steps.
I looked over as I was taking my tray to table two, and when I did, my eyes connected with Zander’s. The side of his sinful mouth lifted into a grin and seeing his smile made me completely forgot about the step down just before table two.
I missed the step, and the most embarrassing thing ever happened.
I tripped over my flip-flops. Honestly, they weren’t the best thing to wait tables in, but it was all I had. I had never been more relieved than the moment when Kennedy didn’t mention required footwear for work. Most of the girls wore heels, but none of them matched in a uniformed way. Luckily, I didn’t even think she noticed that I wore my flip-flops everywhere.
They weren’t even cute flip-flops and had long popped, but I had taken the time to tape them back, using the black duct tape so no one noticed.
I had plenty of money in tips to get myself a new pair of shoes, and at some point, when I wasn’t working, I would make the time to pick up something more appropriate. Until then, though, it was old, taped flip-flops.
Unfortunately, the duct tape wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, and the strap to my right flip-flop popped yet again as I stumbled over the step. As hard as I tried to keep my tray in the air and the drinks from spilling, I failed.
