032 Express Delivery (3)

The blonde pulled open the door and came face to face not with a delivery man but with a little kid who looked like he had been doing something bad.

"Oops! Sorry!" The young boy said, dashing off down into the stairway.

"What the heck?" Eden shook her head and retired back to her apartment with a confused look on her face. Who was that? Just some kid? If he lived here then he couldn't have made a mistake, this apartment used to be empty before Eden moved into the unit.

The doorbell rang again and this time Eden opened it to find a man with a stack of papers and magazines.

"Express delivery for Eden Marshall," The man said, pushing the stack towards her.

Eden nodded, holding out her hands to accept the bulk that showed up on her doorstep. The delivery guy handed it off and left without asking her for anything else.

Eden set the stack on the kitchen counter, ready to peruse through the information that would be at her fingertips, her phone was alright but until she got a new one, the lag would slow her down. Plus she couldn't cut out bits and pieces of information she found interesting if she scrolled on her phone.

"Let's start with Business Daily," She said taking the first newspaper out of the pile to read.

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"As I suspected Minxy Toys is number one and just recently opened up equity, I could actually buy stocks at Minxy if I want," Eden noted. She took out a pen and noted that down for later when she wanted to go to the bank to ask for a business loan.

"Next up Whimsy Works, they're not doing to bad. Their draw string dollies are selling pretty well but I think the voice lines are severely limited, still not bad," Eden said writing it down in her book.

"Playhaven," Eden winced, seeing they had fallen spectacularly in popularity the last few months, she had been keeping an eye on their plushies but they simply had too many quality control issues, Even Marshall Toys could over take them if Lily tried hard enough. "Still not quite there huh?"

Next up was of course the company she had left behind, Marshall Toys, they were floundering just barely able to keep afloat. The paper reported they had been facing several challenges lately including a loss of human resources and craftsmen and a recent explosion on one of the floors opening them up for a lawsuit.

"The more I think about it, the more it becomes a blessing in disguise," Eden said, throwing her head back in laughter.

She read through some more companies before moving on to the other newspapers for some entertainment news and celebrity gossip, even Eden wasn't above a little fun chit chat, she used to discuss things with the younger maids at the estate but now she only had herself to talk to.

She flipped to the next page of the Skyline Post and nearly dropped the paper in shock at the announcement.

'Youngest Son of the Abbott Family to Marry New Heiress Of Marshall Toys,' The headline read.

"What?" Eden gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. She read the headline again and again until she was straining her eyes. How long had Daniel pushed back their wedding until she had inherited the company and now he was marrying Lily because she got it?

Eden looked at the smiling face, the picture was taken at the Marshall Estate with Fredrick Marshall and Daphne Abbott in the background laughing joyously.

Eden glared hard at the woman's photo, of course she wanted Daniel to marry Lily, Lily was who everyone loved appearance-wise after all.

Eden flung the newspaper away in anger, breathing hard. It was getting hard for her to focus with nothing in her stomach. Her vision swam, she needed a drink but didn't have a cut.

"I've got to pull it together," she said smacking herself against the face and standing up.

The first think she decided to do was run to the nearest store and get a few pots and pans then groceries so she could have something warm and home cooked to eat.

"I need to buy a scale," Eden sighed. If she was committed to improving herself then one of the biggest factors that would influence it was her weight. Eden knew she was portly, but that didn't excuse how people treated her. Weight could always be gained or lost but a person's attitude was much harder to change.

Her stomach rumbled loudly again, forcing her to pay attention to her plight.

"Alright, Alright I'm moving," She said, suiting up. Eden was about to casually throw on her overalls again when she paused and remembered Amanda's words.

She searched through her clothes and came up with a long flair skirt that was flattering on her frame, then a black stretchy top.

"I look...cute," Eden said sheepishly. She liked how she looked in the mirror this time but she would need to do something about her badly cut asymmetrical bob. "I need a hair dresser and maybe I could learn how to do makeup? Ack! That's a lot I'll think about that when I eat something,"

She grabbed her keys, purse and phone then hurried down the stairs to find her breakfast.

Eden was not alone in the stairwell as she walked down the steps she came across a young boy sitting on one of the steps despondently, he pushed a broken toy car with a sad sigh prompting Eden to approach quietly.

Upon closer inspection she realized it was the same boy that had rung her doorbell and ran away once she opened the door.

"Hey," she said softly, the boy turned swiftly and stood up ready to run away when Eden caught him by the hand. He struggled fiercely within her grip, Eden knew if he didn't stop struggling, he would rip his cardigan.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad about this morning," she said softly, "But I just wonder, was there a mix up or something?"

Seeing she wasn't upset the boy looked up at her then started explaining himself. She tucked his hands behind his back shyly and spoke.

"Sorry, I used to hide out in that old apartment. I didn't realize someone had moved in y'know," He said.

Eden nodded.

"I understand,"