Chapter 10

Helen let go of a deep sigh of relief when Eli finally vacated the building. She sat down in the chair where he previously sat to take the picture to stretch out her legs and arms. Now she could relax and finish off what she came to do today. "Make sure you post it by the end of the day. Use the best-paid promotion option to get it out there. Also, make sure those men outside do their job correctly. They were hanging up the sign before they spoke with me."

"I had a brief conversation with one of them and told them to put it where they thought it would look good," Marc admitted. He didn't think she would mind considering she liked most of his ideas. He also liked the sign in the middle.

"Marc,"

"Yes ma'am," He answered when she called his name.

"I love you as a person and how you handle things here but please remember. You are my employee, my manager and every decision for essence must come to me before it could be approved. I don't mean to offend you because I know you meant well but you have to talk to me first. Is there anything other than the sign you've approved without me?" Helen questioned. She liked Marc but she took note of how he sometimes loved to play boss.

There was only one person passing the final judgment in this place and that was her. She allowed him to be a manager but he seemed to forget to report things back to her and she did not like it. If she wanted someone to make decisions alongside her she would've gotten a partner.

"The settings for the lights and the choice of music you picked. I'll have them changed by the end of the day," He said apologetically. Marc honestly did not believe she would even care.

"This business venture is my baby Marc and no one likes it when you change things about their baby without asking. Lucky for you, I believe in three strikes you're out. First strike Marc," She warned him.

"Yes," He apologized once more. "I'll rearrange them right away and report back to you."

"Carry on," She flickered him off with her fingers. Watching Marc walk off to undo his mess, Helen wondered why people picked and chose who they listen to. Take Eli King for example. She was sure no one around him did something without his word.

She gave him credit for entering a room and commanding it with his confidence. She on the other hand had to deal with people second-guessing all her decisions. Did they think because she was a woman she needed to go along with whatever they told her? That she had to throw away her own plans and be like a fool listening to everyone? No!

"The disrespect," She sighed, wrapping a strand of her hair around her finger. When she put her foot down she was called a bitch. To be honest, it didn't hurt her being called a bitch. From today on they could call her all types of names because she would be putting her heels right down on their necks.

Helen worked too hard for people to take her lightly. "This ruined my mood for the whole day."

"I'll bet. Why was that fancy guy doing this?" Cody questioned approaching Helen. He figured it was best to come back out when the man and his servant had left. He couldn't believe his boss was considering going on a date with that man. Not one but three. "Are you going out with him now?"

"No! The date was just for the deal and he thought the land was still available for sale. Next time be nicer to people even if you don't like them. I don't want there to be another instance where I repeat this."

"I'm sorry but it looked like he was annoying you which meant he wasn't welcome here. There's no reason why the boss should feel uncomfortable in their own business. Plus this is a good vibes place and he has infected it with negative energy," He explained. "I'll kick him out for you if you ever need me to."

Helen felt her heart warmed at his words. She also found it hilarious and knew she could always depend on Cody to have her back. If she were to have jumped on Eli to knock some sense into him, Cody might've most likely helped her hold the man down. Such a cutie.

"Cody, everything at home is okay right?" She questioned knowing a bit about his awful past. It was one of the reasons she hired him. To be able to escape an abusive past took strength and in her eyes, she knew beneath the tough exterior the twins liked to portray, they resembled scared little kids.

Cody's chest ached and his hands started to fidget. "It's going well. Thank you for what you've done for us."

"You can always come to me at any time."

Words couldn't explain how overwhelmed Cody felt having someone who cared for him and his brother. Helen showed them kindness others did not and they never expected anyone to hand out anything to them. In Helen's words, she didn't hand something to them. They had potential so she hired them. She truly believed everyone should have the chance to do or experience something great in their life. For her kindness, Cody and Jacob vowed to protect her from any creatures and bad humans who might walk into her life.

"Thank you, boss," He answered, feeling pumped up to work hard and make her proud.

"Where is Sasha?" Helen asked the whereabouts of her head chef. Helen had no talent when it came to food so she hired Sasha Larson whose food ideas matched her vision. As long as you had the money and a vision you could just hire the right people to get your business started.

"She stepped out for a moment to talk to a company about the products they need to deliver shortly. She finished their lists of everything she needed for the opening and the weeks after. Sasha said she would only be a few minutes," Cody informed Helen.

"So the kitchen is done, the inside is finished, decorated, the sign is almost up and the promotions have been working pretty good. Once the final cleaning is done we'll be right on time to open in the next three days," Helen clasped her hands feeling good about what she set up so far. "Success!"

"Success!" Cody also cheered for her.

The very next day when the sun had set, Helen was in the middle of preparing for her first date with Eli when Isabelle arrived completely confused about the entire situation.

"If I have this right, two days ago his car hit your car, and the day after he showed up to your restaurant, asked you out and you said yes? Did I get this entire thing right?" Isabelle couldn't fathom the fact that Helen was going on a date with Eli freaking King. The same man who was trending at the moment.

She was even more shocked when she saw him on the essence social media page sitting in their chairs. What kind of sorcery was this? Was she in another world where this should somehow make sense?

"You're overreacting," Helen said looking at her fitted black dress in the mirror. It really commented on the figure she earned from working out countless days. The black also matched her black hair and nails she painted black. "I look like a villain with all this black. Nice," She whispered.

"That's not overreacting, this is overreacting, "Isabelle started shaking Helen's shoulders, making her also tumble backward. "Do you realize you're going on a date with a guy who is loaded?"

"Do you realize he's going on a date with your awesome friend?" Helen retorted, smoothing out the dress where it rolled up. "Plus, I'm a self-made millionaire in the making."

"Yes yes but aside from the money which is the elephant in the room, you disliked Eli King two days ago, or did you just happen to forget that? Believe me, I want this to work out so much to the point I should just be shoving you into his arms but I'm concerned. What if he pisses you off?" Isabelle voiced her concerns.

"Excuse me?" Helen asked.

"You know when you're pissed off or annoyed you can get pretty brutal with your words. And you've got a strong right hook as a weapon. What if he does something inappropriate and you knock him out, which is good but the law works in favor with those who have money-"

"Isabelle!" Helen exclaimed, stopping the rambling. "You're really freaking me out right now. Thank you for being concerned and thinking of all these bad scenarios but I'm fine," She paused, seeing her cell phone screen light up and his name showing up. She saved his number on the alternate phone when he called her earlier.

"That's him. Don't wait for me. And don't worry, if something goes wrong I'll bury his body. He won't have the chance to sue or harass me," Helen added then laughed like a maniac.

This only made Isabelle even more worried but now for Eli King.