Monster(20)

Once he’d returned Liam to his crib, Dominic had taken his leave and Eden had finally been able to go to her son. She’d nursed him and rocked him back to sleep, but remained awake, venturing out of her bedroom about an hour ago to make herself some coffee. Curled up on the couch with Liam sleeping peacefully in his playpen, Eden brought her cup of coffee to her lips, hoping the caffeine would somehow help her make sense of her muddled thoughts. Dominic’s confession however continued to play ceaselessly in her mind. It hadn’t been so much the words he’d said, although they’d carried meaning in their own right, but the emotion with which he’d uttered them was what really bothered her. Part of her said that she was overanalyzing things, seeing meaning where there was none. Dominic had made it no secret that he didn’t want Liam and in doing so he’d been free to callously use their child as a weapon against Eden.

Hell, he hadn’t even acknowledged Liam’s presence until only a few hours ago, and that initial introduction had seemingly impelled him to reveal something so personal, something Eden wasn’t meant to hear undoubtedly. But she had heard it, and not for the first time in the last five hours since he did, she wondered whether this was another finely developed ploy. Another one of Dominic’s schemes to bring Eden to heel. He’d continuously proven that he would stop at nothing until he had her exactly where he wanted her even if that meant using their child to do so. So she wasn’t wrong in being overly suspicious, doing otherwise was a recipe for disaster.

For someone who’d come to relish her freedom over the last year, having it so abruptly snatched away made it extremely difficult to remain in place. She’d remained in captivity for a week now, and though Dominic had not directly prohibited her from venturing out, the pervasive team of bodyguards stationed outside the mansion had spoken loud enough for him. Eden had yet to make an attempt to leave, but if the head of his security detained her like he had at the hotel, they were going to have problems. There was no way in hell she was going to be locked up like some eighteenth century damsel. It’d taken her a good long week before forming a tentative plan. It wasn’t much, but at least it would get her back on her feet again.

With Dominic having taken everything she’d worked so hard to attain, Eden literally had nothing to call her own. Despite her current resolve to remain at the mansion, she refused to ask Dominic for anything; she would not lower herself again to depend on him like she’d done in the past. He’d made good on having the items from her condo brought to the mansion and aside from her car she had nothing. She needed financial freedom and to have that she needed a job. She’d scoured the meager internet job offers in real estate and had been able to find only a few. The job search was bleak, but Eden was anything if not determined. She’d made a few calls and had sent emails to others with her resume attached. But no one had called her. With Jenna readily accepting to watch Liam while Eden hit the pavement, she slipped into a pair of black wedges and headed out the door.

“Ma’am—”

Eden held up a hand, and though the wedges gave her slight frame an extra three inches, it did very little giving her the height needed to look James the watchdog in the eye. But craning her neck gave him a good look at her glowering face and that was all she really needed him to see. “Let me tell you how this is going to go down, James,” she began levelly, “you’re going to step aside and let me continue on my way, otherwise I’m going to call your boss and let him know you’ve touched me inappropriately.” It was a dirty move and Eden immediately felt guilty for hitting below the belt, but honestly what choice did she have? Playing fair had gotten her back at square one, exactly where she didn’t want to be. So if she stood any chance of making it out of this with a modicum of pride left, she needed to fight fire with fire and to hell with the casualties and her conscience.

The astonished expression that flitted across his normally impassive features was subsequently followed by one of chagrin as he vacillated between letting her go and following his orders. “I wonder how long he’ll let you keep your job...or your life,” she intoned blithely.

“You know I’m going to be tailing you,” he tonelessly informed her.

“I don’t really care what you do as long as I get to leave.”

With a curt nod of acceptance, he simply moved aside and allowed her to go on her way. It was only when she was safely inside her car that Eden allowed herself the joy of her momentary victory. It wasn’t much and it certainly wasn’t a victory over Dominic, but Eden took it for what it was.

A few hours later, her joyful mood took a hit, turning into hopelessness. No one seemed to be hiring. She’d gone to nearly ten different real estate agencies in the area, and they all had the same answer, “We’ll call you,” while inconspicuously shuffling her resume beneath the reject pile. Feeling like the world’s biggest failure, she stopped at Carver’s Grill to drown her sorrow in a cheeseburger, an order of fries, and a large chocolate milkshake. A bolt of panic rent through her at the prospect of having to subject herself to Dominic’s brand of mercy. Everything came at a price with him and what he wanted from her, Eden was not ready to pay. Pushing her fries around on her plate, she barely tasted her burger and her milkshake had turned to liquid some time ago.

“If your face were any longer, it’d be in that burger, honey.” Eden looked up into the smiling face of her scantily clad waitress before scrounging up a halfhearted smile. “Is the burger no good, hon? Carl can grill you up another one.”

Eden shook her head. “No it’s not the burger.” She sat up straighter, struck by a thought. “You wouldn’t happen to be hiring would you?” It was a desperate attempt. “I can…I can wait tables or wash dishes or—”

“How soon can you start? We just had one of our regular girls, Tina, quit on us a few weeks ago, and we’ve been sort of shorthanded.” Sheer dumb luck was on her side it seemed, and Eden wanted to whoop out in joy because finally something was going right.

“When do you need me?”

“Well, we get pretty swamped here on weekends, so we’ll need you then. The weekdays are covered, but I know Lena said we needed a few girls on the night shifts. But that’s something you’re going to have to discuss with her.”

“Lena…? Is she the manager?”

“Yup. She’s in the back. Come to the bar when you’re done, and you can talk to her then. But I’m pretty sure you’re going to get the job on the spot. You’re fucking gorgeous.” She leaned down slightly to stage whisper, “House rules: we only hire pretty girls. The customers love getting food from attractive waitresses, and we make good tips. I’m sure you’ll have no problem raking it in.”

“Thank you so much.”

She smiled prettily, eyes like sapphires gleaming. “Don’t sweat it. I was in your situation not too long ago and someone here gave me a chance. Just thought I’d pay it forward. Don’t forget to come by the bar when you’re done.” She turned to leave, but stopped. “I’m April, by the way.”

“Eden.” Eden retuned her smile.

Lena was a thirty something woman with skin like burnt sienna and exotic almond shaped eyes that made it difficult to discern her ethnicity, although if Eden had to guess she would say there were hints of African American roots there. She was Amazon warrior tall, with neat, tightly locked dreads that she’d gathered in a high ponytail. Her outfit differed slightly from the black daisy duke shorts, tight white tank top that had Carver’s Grill inscribed across the bust, and black low tops. She wore the same shirt, but rather than the shorts, her legs were encased in tight black skinny jeans that displayed spectacular curves. When she walked from around the bar, she took the empty seat adjacent to Eden and gave her the onceover, from the tips of her wedged soled shoes, to the top of her auburn head to finally meet Eden’s gaze.

“Why do you want to work at Carver’s?” she asked curtly.

Taken aback, Eden froze for a second; unsure of whether this was an interview, she scrounged for a response, “I…uh…I need a job?”

She raised a perfectly arched brow. “Are you asking me?”

Color shot to Eden’s cheeks. “I need a job,” she said with a little more conviction. “I’m a really hard worker and I can do whatever you want me to do. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty—”

“So you wouldn’t have a problem cleaning up bathrooms? We have very exuberant customers here and they love their alcohol, but some of them can get a little sloppy. Puke…urine…”

Eden hesitated, trying to tamp down her disgust and find a suitable response. “I have a three month old, so if I can clean up after him, I’m sure I can handle whatever slovenly mess I have to.”

Lena snorted. “Trust me, sweetheart, cleaning up your baby’s shit isn’t nearly as bad as some of the things that go on in these bathrooms. But luckily for you, we have a cleaning staff to handle that. April was right, you do have a beautiful face so that’ll definitely play in your favor; it’ll bring in good tips. We have a community tip jar and at the end of every shift the girls divide their tips. Work the outfit, charm the hell out of your customers, and you’ll make good money. If you’re on the prudish side, I suggest you leave that at the door. You’ll get more pinches and pats on the ass than you’ve ever gotten in your life. If you have a jealous boyfriend, tell him to stay the hell outside until you’re done with you shift. Carver doesn’t put up with that shit. Any question?”