4. EVE
4
EVE
F ive boxes and six bags clutter the living room when I arrive home from my last shift at the diner. Apparently, Ashton thought my wardrobe only comprised of the tight pink suit I wore for the interview.
"It took great restraint not to tear into these while you were at work." Macy stands beside me, her mouth drooling at the potential clothing she could borrow from me. "The blue box first." She grabs the large light-blue box with a red ribbon holding its contents safe. A card taped to its top says, "For Eve."
I rip the card from the box, wondering if this was his actual handwriting. No, he'd be too busy to take the time to write me a note. I tear it open to find a handwritten note.
Pleasure meeting you today. Thank you for waiting patiently for me to finish my meeting. I think these should work for the next two weeks. Don't be late tomorrow.
– Ash
Heat rises at the reminder of his “meeting.” I distract myself by analyzing the messy, almost-illegible handwriting and wonder if it is his after all.
"Open!" Macy shoves the box to my chest.
I smile and carefully pull the ribbon from the box, lifting the lid to reveal an emerald evening gown dotted with crystals.
"What the?" Macy grabs the dress from me and holds it up to her body. It looks to be my size; thankfully, too big for her. "This is designer, Eve!" she squeals.
I sit back on my feet on the ground next to the mountain of boxes and bags. What the heck would I need an evening gown for?
"Next!" She shoves another box in front of me. "This is so exciting! Like a Cinderella story! Or even better! Pretty Woman !"
I hadn't told her what happened before my interview, only that I was on probation for two weeks. I don't know why I didn't want her to know, maybe because it would cheapen the experience. I remove the ribbon on the next box and find two dresses from an expensive boutique close to their offices. "Wow." Holding it up, I couldn't help but be impressed that he had gotten my size right again and had impeccable taste.
"Wanna tell me what you did to get all this?" As she leans forward, I can see the anticipation in her eyes. She's clearly waiting for me to spill the tea.
"I think he took pity on me for having to obviously borrow clothes or that I recently gained weight." I chuckle, thinking of his tattoos and those fucking shoulders…
"What was he like? He's the youngest, right?"
"No, I think there's another that is younger. There’re four of them." I handle the two dresses delicately as I place them back in the box, feeling the smooth texture of the fabric beneath my fingertips.
"And… Was he like they say?" She paws at the floor in front of her and purrs. "Meow!"
"No. He was rather professional." The guilt of my lie is evident as my cheeks, turning a rosy shade, betray me. "He was actually very sweet."
"Sweet? As in?"
"He could see I was shy, so he didn't push too hard. I still have two weeks, so the job isn't mine yet," I remind her and myself.
“Despite all these gifts, I’m not sure you should do this. This all seems too much. You met the man for what, twenty minutes? And you get all this shit?”
I look away so she can't see how badly I want tomorrow morning to be here, his body the only thing filling my brain since this morning. I swear, I almost got fired today from daydreaming too much about what it would feel like to touch him, be under him, suck on him… I shake my head to snap out of it. What was wrong with me? I’m clearly not his usual type.
"Eve? I lost you for a second."
"Just nervous for my first day." I quickly gather my hair and secure it into a ponytail, hoping to cool my overheated face.
We settle in, and I open the rest of the boxes and bags: more dresses, jackets, matching purses, and jewelry.
"There's one left." Macy snorts as she reaches behind the couch and brings out a bag from Victoria's Secret.
My face flushes even more. Lingerie? What was he thinking? What if I had a boyfriend? This was bold of him.
"It’s heavy.” She plops it in front of me, then crosses her legs, waiting for me to dive into the bag. “Well! Open!”
With a slight cough, I reach into the bag and pull out the paper, my gaze immediately drawn to all the colors. Macy takes charge and begins rummaging through the bag, pulling out bras, panties, and even some sleepwear—all far from suitable for the workplace.
She holds up a black see-through number with fake fur around the bottom. “Wonder what work function this is for?” She relishes in my embarrassment with a mischievous wink and a hearty laugh. Out of the two of us, she was the more racy one.
I grab everything she’s thrown on the floor and quickly put it back in the bag. “This must be a mistake. It can’t be for me.”
“Pretty sure it is.” She grabs the bag from me and dumps it on the floor again. “You need to wash these tonight. What if he checks to see if you're wearing it tomorrow?” With a theatrical gasp, she opens her mouth and places her hand over it. “You know what those McKenzie brothers' reputations are like.”
“He’s not like that.” He’s worse than the rumors, but my instinct was to protect him despite that. Not that a billionaire Mafia member needed anything from me. I grab what I can from the floor and take it to the bathroom.
Macy follows me to the bathroom and grabs the clothes I just shoved into the washer, pulling them out. “Tags.” She holds up scissors.
I nod and watch her cut through the tags like she worked in the store. In no time, they are all tagless and in piles on the floor, sorted by color.
“I hope he pays for dry cleaning too.” She holds up the evening gown.
I grab it and take it back to my room—or rather the couch. Macy is behind me with a hanger. “Here.”
“Thank you.” I carefully hang it, then hear the soft buzz of my phone. Two missed text messages.
Dereck: Please pick up. We need to talk. I’m so sorry about how I acted the other day. I love you.
Delete.
And the other…
Ash: Hope everything fits. Looking forward to seeing you in them.
I can’t help but smile and wonder what exactly he wants to see me in.
“Everything okay?” Macy says, looking down at my phone.
“I need to wash the red dress first.” I push past her, assuming she already started a cycle. I’ll do one load, shower, and get to bed. I need to look fresh in the morning.
“It’s already in,” she calls from behind me.
“Thank you!” Needing a moment, I run to the bathroom anyway, his handwritten note in my pocket. I close the door and take it out, looking for any other clues as to what he thought about me. I run my fingers along the edges where he would have touched it. I hold the paper close to my face, desperately seeking even the faintest trace of his scent.
A knock on the door breaks my concentration. “We have to talk.”
I reach for the doorknob, but she opens the door first.
“I hate to break up all this fun, but something happened today when I came home. I didn’t text you because I wanted to talk about it when you got home, and I didn’t want to scare you.” Macy takes my hand and leads me to the couch.
She doesn't even have to tell me what happened. It had to be Dereck. “Are you okay?” My voice cracks.
“He was waiting for you.” She clears her throat. “Luckily I noticed him first and you weren’t with me. I had security call the police.”
“The police?” I swallow hard, fearing how he will make me pay for this.
“We need a wall around you. So, he can’t get to you. I wish you would have let me call the police that night.” Macy wraps her arms around me.
“He’ll find me somewhere, Macy. He always does,” I try to say between gasps of air, my shoulders shaking involuntarily.
“Perhaps the only reason good enough to work for the McKenzies. He’ll know better than to fuck with you then.”
“I can’t tell Ash—”
“Ash?” She pulls back from me, narrowing her eyes. “Are we on an abbreviated name base already with the boss man?”
“Everyone calls him Ash. Anyway… he can’t know about Dereck. I don’t want him to see me as being weak.”
“You are not weak. He slammed your face into a wall. He’s physically stronger than you and can’t stand that he doesn’t have control over you anymore.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, please.” Today was the first good day in a while. He hadn’t contacted me in a couple of days. I thought maybe he was starting to move on, a glimmer of hope sparking in my heart despite the lingering doubt.
“Security has his photo now. At least he can’t come on this property. You’re safe here. Now I just have to worry about you working there.”
“Thank you.” I half smile, not wanting her to think I was ungrateful. But I gotta figure this out on my own. I just need to get through tomorrow—if the anticipation of seeing Ash in the morning doesn’t kill me first. “I promise if things get weird, I’ll leave.”