10
After William and I left Bloom Apothecary, he went to Eden's Place to get ready for the night, and I went back to the Civella Mansion to get ready. I had initially pushed to go to my own home, but explaining my new uniform to Grams would have been impossible. One of his men showed me a guest room tucked away on the first floor. Inside was all the makeup, hair tools, and beauty supplies a girl could ever need. Most of it still had the wrapping and price tags on it, and I couldn't help but wonder how often Malice had girls getting ready in his home that he needed to be stocked like this.
It only took about thirty minutes for me to get ready. I kept my makeup light and innocent, then curled my long hair. William was very clear about what made an Eden’s Girl so unique. There was not a trace of pretense in her. She was confident and completely herself. As we made more lingerie selections, I realized that shopping for my uniform was more about what made me feel beautiful. Aside from the one outfit that William insisted I buy, everything else was selected based on my comfort level. Of course, it was all designer and chic. But it was uniquely me. It was an unusual experience to discover myself in a lingerie shop.
Something told me that William intended for it to be that way. He indulged in my secrets and collected them like gold tokens.
Keeping an eye on the clock, I spent my evening pacing the room while calling Grams and telling her that I was staying at Dick’s for an extra shift. Her immediate reaction was to complain that I was working too much and needed a break, but her bingo buddy, Linda, stole the cell phone and told Grams to shut up and focus on the game. I giggled while listening to them bicker. The two of them played bingo at the community center once a week.
Although it might have escaped her notice tonight, I knew that she would soon be asking questions about where I was all the time. I wasn't sure how I would navigate that.
Around seven o'clock, someone brought me dinner. Shockingly, it was my favorite dish: a medium rare steak and a loaded baked potato. I couldn’t recall when the last time I had a meal like this was. I wondered if William was responsible for getting it delivered. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe he was once again showing me how well he knew me. I was questioning everything he did.
By nine, Hale collected me from my room and took me to a blacked out Escalade. The Civella Mansion was close to Eden's Place, so it was only about a five-minute drive. Although it felt like forty-five minutes, thanks to Hale's obvious stares.
There was something not right about that man. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other kept running over his greasy head and tugging at his pants. His beady eyes kept staring me down in the rearview mirror, and I wanted to claw them out of his skull.
Despite covering up with a cardigan and some jeans, the lacey outfit I wore still peeked through my clothes. I made a mental note to ask them if there was a locker room at Eden's Place for me to get ready there so I wouldn't have to travel in my work uniform—and I used the term uniform very loosely.
I wore a one-piece lace romper that clung to my body. It was a beautiful, bright red, the color of fresh blood, and it was so thin my nipples practically cut through it. It showed off the bottom half of my butt cheeks and accentuated my long legs. I paired it with some bright red pumps, but I knew I would regret my shoe choice within the first hour of my shift. Despite my aversion to wearing high heels, I couldn’t help but feel sexy in them. I just prayed I’d figure out how to walk by the end of the night.
"Stop staring at me," I snapped at Hale when I caught his piercing gaze in the rearview mirror. He looked at the road but then right back to me. Dick. I knew that I needed to get used to being stared at. The entire purpose of this club was for men and women to gawk at the people working here. But there was something about Hale that made my skin crawl. It was like he didn’t look at me appreciatively. He looked like a man imagining all the ways he could strangle me and hide the body.
I didn’t like him. I didn’t trust him.
Eden's Place was in an unpopulated part of town nestled in the business district. It was inconspicuous and didn't even have a parking lot, though I noticed a lot of luxury vehicles pulling around the back and disappearing through an alley.
Hale followed the drivers and pulled into a nearby parking garage that was hidden underground. I pressed both palms to the window as I stared out at the line of expensive cars and men in suits. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead. We parked, but Hale didn't unlock the door. "I don't want to be your babysitter," he growled.
"That makes two of us," I replied boldly.
"I think you need to learn your place around here. Just because you’ve got a nice pair of tits doesn’t mean you have any power over me, you understand?" he said. "I’m the boss. You listen to me."
My tits had nothing to do with how I’d gotten here today. I’d killed a man. I’d navigated this new job with Malice and made decisions concerning my life without fucking Hale’s input. I wouldn’t let him diminish my abilities to having a nice rack.
"I listen to Malice, William, and Anthony," I quickly snapped back. "I listen to the people cutting my checks. And from the look of your shitty suit, I’m willing to bet you couldn’t afford me."
Malice’s words rang through my mind. Know your worth.
I didn’t bother being polite to Hale. My gut was rarely wrong about people, and I trusted this man about as far as I could throw him. Hale growled and twisted in the front seat to glower at me. "When we get inside, don't do anything stupid. I'll introduce you to Kelsey, and she'll show you the ropes."
I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want Hale to be the one teaching me about this place. "Great," I replied in a snarky tone. Hale balled his hand into a fist, as if he were picturing crushing me in his palm.
"Boss wants to see you before we go," he said after a lingering moment before getting out of the Escalade. Boss? Which boss? I almost followed after him, but the passenger door across from me was yanked open, and Anthony slid inside, arriving with a grin on his angelic face.
"Well, look at you," he said with a smirk while scooting closer to me. Anthony had lost his beanie and was wearing dark jeans and a white undershirt. The outfit seemed out of place for an establishment like this, but something told me that Anthony didn't care about looking like he belonged. The shirt fit him tightly, showing off every defined muscle in his torso. He reached over to brush his knuckles along my cheek and pull at the cardigan I was wearing so he could see the outfit underneath. "I am so glad to see you. I wanted to take notes on the lye suggestion you made. What if your body doesn’t fit in a fifty-gallon drum, should I like chop him up and liquify him in pieces?"
Anthony pulled out a notepad and pen and waited for me to answer him.
I blinked.
"Whatever is easiest."
He scribbled some more notes before speaking again. "And do you think it’s environmentally irresponsible to pour the remains down the drain? There’s not much research on it, but I think we should look into better waste management if this is the route we’re going to take moving forward."
I gaped at him, speechless.
"You know what? I’ll read up on it and get back to you. I’m so excited to test it out." Anthony pocketed his notepad and beamed at me.