Eden's Pleasure (Pulse Book 1) (35 page)

He leaned over, melting his lips over hers, lingering long enough with the purpose of stirring her heart. What he couldn’t see was that he had her heart beating a fevered pitch from the moment he said hi.

“Baby, you’re mine, and I’m yours.”

She watched him walk across the room to the exit. He left without looking back. She wanted to run to him, to stop him from leaving but held back. She needed to explore her head and her heart before speaking to him again, and there were those impending texts.

***

“My next step? I was hoping you could help me with that one, my friend.” Chase smiled.

“Are you sure you want to do this, man? I mean she fucking trampled you. Now you want to save her?” His words were unkind, but Mason didn’t want to see his friend hurting.

The sad cruelty of it all was that Mason secretly adored Eden. She held a very special place in his heart, and he would have fought for her, for a little piece of her, but he and Chase went way back. They met in high school in wrestling class and went on to study Mixed Marital Arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and kickboxing together. Mason became Chase’s bodyguard after being shot in the line of duty when he was special ops, then assigned a desk position. They were tight, and if it came down to it, he’d take a bullet for him.

“You didn’t see her, Mason. I need to help her get her life back first, and then we’ll see what happens from there.” He slid papers into an envelope and sealed it with the twined closure.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing, that’s all. It could backfire and blow up in your face.”

Chase handed Mason the large envelope and instructed him where and when it was to be delivered. Mason listened closely, nodding his response.

“Thanks for doing this, Mason.”

“What are friends for, man?” Mason slugged him lightly on his uninjured shoulder in his he-man show of support and left.

Chase sat back in his office chair, taking his blackberry from his shirt pocket, and hit the speed dial.

“You have reached the Dean residence, please leave a message at the tone,” the automated voice instructed.

“Hi, Mom. Sorry I missed you. Mason’s on his way with the envelope. I just hope it works. There’s a lot riding on this, so cross your fingers. I’ll let you know how it goes. And thanks again, Mom. Love you.”

Chase disconnected his call and then quickly sent a text before pocketing his phone. He walked across the room, taking the crystal cork from its decanter and pouring a small amount of cognac into a snifter. He swirled it around in deep thought.
It has to work, this will be a good move for everyone,
he thought, holding the snifter up to eye level as he swirled it again and then drank it in a complete shot, feeling it slowly burn its way down.

***

When Eden finally woke, it was already past four in the afternoon. She didn’t have a lot of time before she needed to be in the club. It was Friday night, the busiest night of the week, and there were two private parties booked along with the regular club area to run, so it would be a very busy night with a lot of preparations to take care of.

She pushed the button on the coffee maker, breathing in the aroma of the most welcoming hot liquid ever created, and took a mug from the rack, waiting in anticipation. She glanced over at her cell phone that sat fully charged by now, wondering what awaited her. She filled her mug and took a mouthful before disconnecting her cell and sinking into the sofa.

There were sixty-two text messages, most from Chase, a few from Mr. Hawthorn, and the rest, she would get to in time. She deleted the ones from Hawthorn. He definitely had nothing to say that she needed or wanted to see. Scanning back to the top of her list, she was surprised to see a text from Deanna Dean. She quickly opened it.

Hello Eden, I just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about your position with McLean & Associates. I’d like to help if at all possible. Please give me a call. Deanna Dean.

She was surprised but not at all shocked that Mrs. Dean had found out about her losing her job. Chase had more than likely told her. At the top of the list, the first six texts from Chase had come shortly after she left the hospital and into the next morning.

Baby please call me, I need to know you are alright. C.

Eden call me? C.

I’m hoping that no call means you’re resting. C.

I know it’s late but baby I’m worried. Call me in the morning? C.

Did you sleep well? Please call if only to say you’re ok. C.

I miss you so much baby. C.

Her heart was heavy with guilt. He only wanted her to answer. His texts seemed to get more and more desperate. She never thought to look at her text messages, a mistake she knew better than to repeat, but it wouldn’t have made a difference in her decision. She read through, so many of the same texts begging her to call, texts from different times of the day. It was the last two texts that she read over and over as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Eden I miss you.

I miss your laugh,

I miss your smile,

I miss the way you blush when I whisper in your ear,

And the way you bite your lip when you’re nervous.

I miss everything about you. Come back to me? C.

I cannot and I will not give up on us!

But this will be my last text.

Love Chase

A heavy knock at the door startled Eden. Who would be knocking? No one from the club ever knocked. The apartment was like a revolving door for friends and staff, like Grand Central Station most of the time. When she opened the door, she couldn’t help but crack a tiny smile at the tough-as-shit look on Mason’s face. She had missed this tough-ass. Before either of them said a word, she wrapped her arms around his waist and cuddled him tight with her cheek to his chest. He pried her from him and took her chin with his huge hand, scowling at her.

“You look like shit, sweetheart.”

“Thanks for that,” she said, slapping his hand away playfully. “Coffee?”

“Sure, black. Here, this is for you.” He handed her the envelope as he had been instructed, trading it for a mug of hot coffee.

She looked at Mason, questioning. “What’s this?”

“An envelope.” His vague, smart-ass answer was so like him.

“I can see that. Did Chase ask you to bring it?” she asked, hopeful that Chase was still interested in his pursuit. It was a selfish thought, making her feel somewhat ashamed of herself.

“Yes and no…it’s actually from Mrs. Dean. But do me a favor and wait till later to open it?” Mason asked.

“Ok. So, how are
you
doing?” she asked, topping up his mug. He reached out and took a gentle hold of her wrist, surprising her because he was not at all a touchy-feely person. She sat next to him before he let go.

“What are you doing, sweetheart? Is this really what you want? Don’t you care about him anymore?”

“Of course I care. I...it got complicated, Mason. I always knew that it would.” She tried to make him understand with as few words as she could.

“Listen to me, sweetheart. I wouldn’t normally tell you this because I’m not into all this mushy shit, but…he’s got it real bad for you, he’s hurtin’!”

“But he doesn’t want a relationship…and I think I do.” She came clean to him, not wanting to deny it any longer.

“Well I think that’s bullshit! He misses you…he doesn’t sleep in his room you know. Actually, he doesn’t sleep. He wanders around the apartment all night, barely eats a thing, and he’s been drinking again…a lot! And you don’t look like this break up is doing much for you either.”

“You don’t think I want to come back? That I’d go this minute and pack my bags if I thought that he wanted more with me? I love Chase…” The room went silent when she realized what she had just revealed. Her face went pale, and she bit the inside of her lip, wishing that she could take it back.

“Holy shit!” Mason smiled at her.

Her hand clamped onto his huge arm, wide-eyed and pleading. “Mason! That has to stay between us, ok? Promise me you won’t say a word,” she demanded in a panicked voice.

“Only because it’s you, sweetheart, I promise. But you gotta tell the man, put him outta his fucking misery.”

“I want to, I really do but…”

“He deserves to know. All this lovey-dovey bullshit is giving me a headache. Just fucking tell him!” He walked his mug to the sink and rinsed it out, adjusted his jacket, and met her at the door.

“I’ll see ya around, sweetheart.” He leaned in, kissed her cheek, and winked before closing the door behind himself.

She had finally admitted her feelings to someone other than Mikala and herself. The thought of telling Chase was torture. She had to tell him, Mason was right. Even if he didn’t share the same feelings, he had to know. She vowed to tell him when the time was right. For now, she needed to deal with the ominous envelope.

October 30
^th
, 2012

Dear Eden Fox,

Let me take a moment to ask that this proposal be kept as a private matter between myself Deanna Dean (Party I) and you, Eden Fox (Party II).

It has come to my attention that the employment contract between yourself and McLean & Associates has been terminated. Please be assured that the reasons for the said termination are of no concern to this company.

Dean Construction Enterprises believes that it would be very beneficial to both Party I and Party II to take advantage of this termination by forming a joint venture. In combining our specialties, the need for sub-contract negotiations would be eliminated, therefore creating a strong in-house workforce.

An initial investment need not be a concern to Party II. Dean Construction Enterprises would embody any and all material investments and all costs incurred.

Please read the enclosed contract. It is recommended that you have your lawyers read it over.

Sincerely,

Deanna Dean

Eden, please consider this a very serious proposal. It would make me very happy to have you as part of our team. Call me personally to arrange a meeting when you reach a decision. 617-555-8550.

She slid the contract from the envelope and scanned it quickly. This proposal was serious, very serious. Eden would have to think long and hard concerning such a monumental undertaking. This was far more than she had ever considered as part of her career.

***

The clean up after the evening’s events had taken the better part of two hours. Eden was exhausted and sat with her feet on one of the coffee tables, cuddled back into the overstuffed sofa. Mikala brought over a much-needed bottle of water and threw it to her.

“So I never got a chance to ask what the gorgeous blond hunk wanted,” Mikala said, curling up next to Eden.

“What blond?” Eden asked, closing her tired eyes.

“That came looking for you today…I sent him up to the apartment. Surely you didn’t miss him. He’s built like a brick shithouse. Mason, right?”

There was that mouth again, always so eloquent and graceful. Eden was glad that Mikala had brought up Mason. She needed to talk to her, regarding the contract. “Yes, that was Mason. Don’t pretend you don’t know him. He’s Chase’s best friend and bodyguard,” she explained.

Mikala nodded, slipped her hand between her legs and moaned with a smile. “He’s hot. Do you know any ugly men, honey?” They laughed, and Eden shook her head.

“He brought me a contract proposal from Dean Construction. It’s a really big contract, I mean really
big
Mik.” She emphasized “big” with her hands like a man exaggerating the size of the fish he caught.

“A design thing? Chase wants you to design something?” Mikala asked, not really aware of what exactly it was that Eden did, except draw beautiful rooms.

“Actually, it was Deanna Dean, his mother. She sent the proposal.”

“His mother? This is going to be interesting, keep going.” Mikala settled into the sofa more comfortably. Eden sat up, cross-legged, facing her.

“Basically, what it proposes is that I would be working for Dean Construction Enterprises but running the entire design department.”

“So they have a design department but contracted you to do designs for them…I’m confused.”

“No, they don’t have a design department. What they want is to create a design department of their own and have me run it. Do you understand now?”

“That’s fan-fucking-tastic, honey! So, you’re going to say yes, right?” Mikala asked with an air of excitement.

Eden ran her finger over her lower lip in thought. “I don’t know what to do, Mik. I’d love to say yes right now and sign the contract. It would be a great opportunity for me, but I’d be working for Chase. I don’t know if either one of us could handle that.” Eden’s happiness was now replaced by doubt and uncertainty.