The Other Side of Greed (The Seven Sins #5) - Lily Zante Page 0,21

fallen for his words. Me, I’d rather be more wary. I’m a control freak, too, which doesn’t help. But there is no way I’m giving him too much top-level work to do. “We’ll see. I’m not sure.”

Simona looks displeased. “Not sure about what?”

“About him. You’ve spoken to him more than I have. What sort of vibe do you get from him?”

“I like him. What’s not to like? He’s young and good-looking—”

I roll my eyes.

“He wants to help us, he’s happy to work for nothing. He has experience, and he wants to see what he can do for us and with us. Why can’t you accept a good thing for what it is, Kyra?”

“Because when things seem too good, they often are.”

Simona sighs loudly, then pulls out something from her bag. “They got engaged. He proposed!”

I lift my head because she sounds so excited. “Who?”

She opens up a magazine and holds it up so that I can see. I squint. I don’t take any notice of celebrities. They’re not on my radar. Shaking her head, she walks over to me and shoves the magazine in front of my face.

“Elias. He proposed to his girlfriend.”

“Oh.” I take the magazine and examine the photo, which looks like a paparazzi shot of Eli and his girlfriend, Harper. It’s a casual photo, probably taken without them knowing. They’re walking hand in hand along the street. I can’t help but smile. These two make a lovely couple. I’m really pleased for them. I like them both but if Simona hadn’t brought this piece of gossip explicitly to my attention, it would have escaped me. “That’s great news.” I hand the magazine back.

“You might get invited to the wedding.”

“Why would I?”

“You will get an invite. Eli loves you and what you do here.”

“That doesn’t automatically get me an invite to the wedding.”

It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s already planning their wedding in her head. It’s true though. Eli has shown great interest in Redhill. He reached out to us soon after he won the first fight and he came to the factory to meet everyone. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from Chicago’s favorite guy. That visit didn’t even make it into the papers. That’s why I know he’s a decent guy, and he didn’t do this for the publicity. He’s also become our biggest donor. This unknown boxer beat the heavyweight champion of the world against all odds and stole our hearts. He then lost the rematch and sent the city and everyone in it into shock. Now he’s staging a comeback; another rematch next month, and we have plans for that night.

I pray this man wins. We all do, because Eli is so good and so humble.

I go through the pile of letters on my desk, opening them one by one, and become fully engrossed in them.

“There you go, working too hard all the time. You’re so focused on helping everyone else, you’re in danger of forgetting what’s important to you.”

“This is important.” I see children in the food line sometimes. It’s rare for parents to bring children along but when they have no childcare, what are they supposed to do? I see the haunted look in their mothers’ eyes as they struggle to feed the family. The kids are too young to know any different, most haven’t known anything but the daily struggle to survive, but maybe some of these mothers have seen better days.

We were never so broke that we needed this type of help. My mom worked all the shifts she could get to make sure that didn’t happen. But she also taught us that despite how difficult things were for us, others had it so much harder.

I want to give hope back to these women and men, and teach them how to stand on their own two feet. I want them to have what I have, what I never take for granted—food and a roof over my head. Basic human needs.

The new guy comes in the next day, bright-eyed, and reeking of enthusiasm. I ask Simona to give him a quick tour of the factory and show him around.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do that?” she asks, a hint of hope in her voice. “I’ve got a lot of paperwork to wade through”.

She’s up to something. She’s always on top of her work. I had assumed she’d relish the idea of giving Mr. Hartley a tour. “I’m sure. You go. Brad will appreciate you giving him a tour.