“Girl, they can’t even touch you. Your job is to pretend to be their girlfriend through giggling and flirting. Or be an ear for them to trauma dump to. It’s like a therapist with tips.”
“And booze.”
“Exactly.”
Eden contemplated that for exactly one second. “Maybe I’d like to get on that list. By the time something opens up, I might need a job.”
“Haven’t you figured out what you want to do yet?”
“I’m just now figuring out what to do with that money.” She had paid off the rest of her lease and paid off her phone and smaller credit card bills, but that still left about eighty grand. As tempting as it was to pay off her student loans, too, her new financial advisor at Ike & Sons convinced her to hold on to that debt for now because her interest rate was so low for her age.I mean, I do need something on my credit…Their next appointment would go over her investment options, but that wasn’t for another week. “I’ve gotta keep my options open.”
“Well, your having been a Butterfly and having my recommendation will get you an interview, at least.”
Blair was a font of information, and not just about making money. She offered to introduce Eden to a group of friends who spent most of their days lounging around “being hot” because their partners were loaded. Only a couple, like Blair, actually worked for money. “You’ve got the fallen heiresses like my girlfriend,” Blair explained, “and girls who have done sex work but don’t anymore. Then there are the total, absolute sluts.” She said that with a lowered voice. “There’s this one insufferable girl named Helena who has somehow gotten into the group. I mean, I don’t want her going anywhere because she’s an amazing trainwreck, but ten minutes with her and you’ll realize how well-adjusted you are. She’s pissed that her girlfriend won’t let her be a Butterfly for a weekend.”
“There’s a lot about what you just said that I need to take in. Also,” she squared her shoulders, projecting confidence she didn’t quite have, “what’s wrong with sluts? I’m a total slut.”
“There’s a difference between liking being called a slut, hon, and actually walking the walk. Oh, and Helena’s still too young to be a Butterfly. She lied about her age to get her girlfriend. Real class act.”
“Tell me more, please.”
Toward the end of their meal, Eden looked up and recognized one of her boyfriends entering the restaurant with two other men. When their eyes locked, Benson almost tripped over himself before coming over.
“Whoa,” Blair whistled. “It really is him.”
Benson faced Eden, who opened her arms for a hug, but only had eyes for Blair’s roots. “Have we met?”
“La Mariposa, bro.”
He stiffened beneath Eden’s embrace. “She was in black,” she reassured her boyfriend.
“If you hang out at The Dark Hour, though, you’ve still probably seen me naked.”
“Blair!” Eden cried, slightly scandalized. “This is myboyfriend.”
“Nothing’s sacred.” Blair flashed her stomach at them both. “Especially these bad girls.”
“You have eccentric friends,” Benson said, rubbing Eden’s back before shifting his coat from one arm to the other. “Anyway, what a surprise seeing you here. I won’t keep you. I’ve got a business lunch in one of the rooms in the back.”
Two older men shuffled by, both peering over Benson’s shoulder at the two young women giggling and clattering metal utensils against porcelain dishes. “Friends of your daughter, Ben?” one asked.
“Oliver.” Benson moved to the side so he could introduce his business partners to Eden. “This is Eden. You remember her.”
He was slightly embarrassed to say he did. It was the other man who lingered behind. “Pleasure,” Desmond said, before glancing at Blair. “Uh…”
She clicked her tongue and fired a finger gun at him. “Your wife’s birthday party, my dude. I was one half of the entertainment.”
A man had never hurried away so quickly.
“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” Benson asked.
“His wife’s birthday party, huh?”
“Melissa Lark,” Blair mouthed. “Big ol’ bisexual.”
“Is that so?” Eden asked her boyfriend. “Did you just learn something about your business partner’s wife?”
“It’s hardly a secret. Anyway, I must be going. Damage control, apparently.” When he hesitated saying goodbye to Blair, she reminded him of her name, and he courteously shook her hand before sneaking into a back room.