Page 47 of Velvet Sin
“I did pull that one lot, didn’t I?”She looked proud of herself but shook her head.“Not this time.I won’t pretend I’m thrilled with the way you make your money, but I’ve learned to live with it.So long as you never invite me to visit one of your… er… establishments, I’m sure we will be fine.”
The world as I knew it was crumbling around me, and she sat there smiling.Proud of herself, even.When I found my voice, I asked, “How could you possibly know?”
“Do you think just because I’m a certain age, I don’t know anything about the world?”When I continued gaping at her in stunned silence, she chuckled.“I won’t name names, but a couple of the younger men around here went on a trip to Los Angeles a couple of years ago.They’re adventurous, you could say.When they got back, one of them had the nerve to ask if I approved of my son running…”
“Don’t say it, Mom, please.”There were only so many things I could handle hearing come out of her mouth in the course of a single afternoon.“How could you know and never say anything?”
Standing, she took my plate.“I’ve prayed about it.A lot.You know what I realized?”
“What?”
“There are worse ways to make a living.And if you’re spending it to take care of me in my later years, it’s going to a worthy cause."Of course, I didn’t believe her, and she knew it.She turned her head and winked.“We don’t get to decide the packaging God’s blessings arrive in.What matters is you’re a good man with a good heart.”
I had a hard time agreeing with that.“I don’t know, Mom.It’s been a long time since we were close.”
“A mother knows, and this mother knows you have a bad habit of getting in your own way.You kept your work a secret from me because you assumed how I’d react.”She gave me a wink, discreetly leaving a couple of cookies in front of me before going to the sink to fill her tea kettle.“Get out of your own way, son.You can’t receive all of the blessings you deserve if you’re always standing in the way of them.”
“Is there anything else you’re dying to tell me about myself?”I asked, laughing.“I mean, while I’m here and everything.”
She pretended to think about it, then shook her head, setting the kettle on the stove.“No, I think that’s enough for today.”
I never would have imagined a ham sandwich and a brief conversation would be what it took to get my brain moving again.Now, it hummed the way my blood hummed in my veins, ideas brewing, new plans taking rudimentary shape.Had I forgotten who I was?What I was capable of accomplishing?
I had to get out of my own way.
And I had a feeling what the first step should be.
20
ELEANOR
“Are you sure you gave me the right address?”I swear, if this is a joke, it might be the last straw.It might be what breaks me.
It had been a week since everything fell apart.A week I had spent working my ass off to find a job, any job.I had decided to go the employment agency route, performing a few skill tests to show I wasn’t lying when I said I could type and handle basic office software.
“That’s the place,” the agent confirmed when I rattled off the number on the front of the office building.It didn’t look like anyone worked there.The first floor was empty behind big, plate glass windows.There were no curtains or blinds on any of the windows spanning the three upper floors.
“I don’t feel good about this,” I confessed.Frankly, I was starting to not feel good about any of it.I had no information about the company or what the job would entail beyond office work.That could’ve meant anything.“Can you maybe reach out to them and ask if there’s someplace a little more public we can meet up?There’s a café two doors down.I would happily meet them there.”
“I can try.”She didn’t sound very sure of herself.“But the interview does start in ten minutes, so they might consider it short notice.I’ll put you on hold and try to get in touch with them.”
I thanked her, chewing my lip and looking up at the obviously empty building.I was desperate for a job, but was I this desperate?Was it too much to ask for an interview conducted in an actual office setting rather than some empty building, even if it was the middle of the afternoon?Or was I looking a gift horse in the mouth?
The line clicked.“Eleanor?They’re waiting for you inside.Trust me,” she insisted when I groaned.“If I thought this sounded like trouble, I wouldn’t send you.They’re in the process of opening one main central location for their business, but they have locations across the country.That’s really all I can tell you as per their request.”
This was getting stranger by the second.What wasn’t strange was the balance in my bank account.No, that was bleak.Dire.I decided to keep my phone in hand, prepared to call 9-1-1 the second things seemed sketchy.
The large glass door was unlocked and heavy enough that it took effort to pull open.The air inside was chilly, telling me the air conditioning was working—a good sign.If everything had been hot and musty, I would’ve gotten the hell out in a heartbeat.
Still, there was nobody inside, as far as I could tell.“Hello?”I called out.Was this ridiculous?I should’ve known an administrative job in a large company was too good to be true.
Somehow, the sound of footsteps didn’t make me feel much better.I peered farther back, squinting against the darkness there, afraid to step deeper inside what would eventually be a lobby.It seemed safer to keep close to the door.“I’m here for an interview,” I called out.Amazing.I didn’t sound terrified at all.
A deep voice responded.“I know.I arranged it.”
My heart plummeted.I should’ve known.I really should have.It was too good to be true, after all.“Dammit, Dante,” I whispered as he stepped into the light streaming through the front windows.The son of a bitch was even more handsome like being without me for a week was good for him.Sex on two legs, wearing one of his bespoke suits, every dark hair perfectly in place.Almost as if he was conducting an actual interview with a job candidate, projecting the image of confidence.
I couldn’t say the same for myself.It took a hell of a lot of magic in the form of moisturizers, concealers, and highlighters to make myself look semi-human after a week of misery over our fight and my dead-end life.
