Chapter 8 Kitchen Assistant

EIZA'S POV

As Vinton stood up from the breakfast table and kissed his wife on the mouth, something ugly curled through me, and I gripped my fork with more force than was necessary.

When he leaned down to kiss Tilly's cheeks lovingly, I fought back the tears that sprang to my eyes.

This was exactly how Father had acted with me and Mom. We may never have had the sort of wealth that Vinton did, but we had each other, and that was enough.

Here was the man whose thoughtlessness had killed my mom, enjoying the joys of love and family.

But not for long. I smirked darkly to myself and stabbed the eggs on my plate with fake gusto.

Without so much as a glance in my direction, Vinton Crost waved his family goodbye and left for work.

As soon as he turned the corner, Anna turned those malicious eyes on me.

"Is this how you were raised? To linger at the breakfast table for over an hour? Everyone is done eating, yet your gluttonous self cannot seem to have enough."

"I'm done." I replied, standing up quickly. I was well aware that Anna was just being rude to try to get under my skin. But I wasn't going to let her. Right here in this household, I needed to have the upper hand.

I looked up at her and smiled sweetly." Breakfast was great. Thank you for letting me sit at your table."

Anna was taken aback by my words. She wore a look of shock and couldn't seem to stop blinking.

I didn't wait for her response but began to make my way towards the stairs.

"Come back here." She called out.

"Why are you leaving the dirty dishes? Did you pay anyone in this household to clean up after you?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Crost." I apologized as I returned to the dining table and began to clear the dishes.

"Here, Liza! I can help." Tilly chattered excitedly as she jumped down from her high stool, but her Anna grabbed her before and pulled her close to her body.

"No, honey. What did we say about after-breakfast etiquette?"

Tilly pouted sadly but answered anyway.

"You said I should always rinse my hands and mouth and make sure to use my sugar-free breath drop."

"Very good, honey. So, that's what you're going to do right now, alright?"

Tilly nodded.

Anna patted her hair fondly. "Now, off you go."

As soon as Tilly was out of sight, Anna turned again to me and looked at me with irritation and complete disdain.

"You're like a dog that I would have to train." She remarked coldly.

"I'm not anything close to a dog, Mrs. Crost." I answered politely, even though I felt completely and utterly insulted.

Anna's contemptuous look deepened. She clearly did not like my response.

"Stop acting like an untrained dog, and maybe I'll stop thinking of you as one." She snapped. "Now, take those plates to the kitchen and meet me in the living room, we have things to discuss."

I nodded and grabbed the plates and took them to the kitchen.

The kitchen was bigger than my father's entire apartment, with tasteful appliances and sleek, spotless tiles that looked custom-made.

Of course, someone as ultra-rich as Vinton Crost was going to have everything custom-made.

I dropped the plates into the sink for the first rinse-off.

"Thank you for bringing the plates. I can take over from here." The cook said behind me.

I turned to her and gave her a small smile. She was a woman with soft curves that filled out her uniform, her eyes were warm and kind, and her slumped shoulders hinted at exhaustion.

" Don't worry, Ms. I can do the dishes." I reassured her.

The woman looked like she was going to argue but, on second thought, decided to let it go.

"Thank you...uh"

"Eliza." I supplied.

"Thank you, Eliza. My name is Miriam. And I am the cook."

I grinned. "Oh, you're the cook? I almost couldn't tell!" I teased.

The woman broke into a small smile, and I felt satisfied.

"Breakfast was great, I really loved the scrambled eggs." I complimented.

"Thank you." The cook nodded gratefully. "I was so afraid my Mrs. would complain."

I frowned at the cook's words. Was Anna Crost a bitch to the cook too?

Gosh.

"Come on, don't doubt yourself, Miriam. You are a great cook. You still wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Miriam shook her head sadly as she came to help out with the dishes.

"My Mrs. tells me every time that she will fire me. And if she does, I don't know what I'd do."

The woman's sadness and fear pulled at my heartstrings. When it came to Anna Crost, the universe had really favored the wrong person.

"I don't think you should think about getting sacked, alright? Enjoy every single moment you get to cook, and don't let fear rule your life. Even if Ann—I mean, 'your Mrs' decides to fire you, you will still get something better."

Miriam nodded, although she still looked sad.

"Will Mr. Crost be having dinner at home tonight?" I asked, hoping my question wasn't suspicious.

To my relief, Miriam's answer was immediate. "Mr. Crost has dinner every night at home. Sometimes he likes to be served in his study."

I mentally shelved the information away.

If Vinton Crost had dinner all by himself, how was I going to get my hands on his plate before it was served to him?

Maybe, I could convince Miriam to let me take Vinton's meal to him?

"What about a kitchen assistant? Don't you need one?" I suddenly asked Miriam.

"My Mrs doesn't pay for a kitchen assistant." The cook answered truthfully.

"Well, you don't have to pay me. I can help you around the kitchen, chop onion, garlic… Help take the food to Mr. Crost?"

Miriam looked surprised at my words. Like no one had ever offered to do anything kind for her. "You would really do that?"

"Of course," I answered.

"Oh, miss, that would make me so happy. I have a bad knee, and sometimes, climbing all those stairs makes it hurt even more."

"Then I'll be more than happy to take Mr. Vinton's meals to him on your behalf."

"Buddha really brought you to this household because of me." Miriam said with a happy grin.

"Yes." I answered as I mentally began to prepare myself for tonight.

Tonight, Vinton Crost was going to take the first dose of contaminated injectable and was going to be on his merry way to being crippled for life.

It was time to call Father.