The Escort (2 page)

“I – I love you
too.” Julie answered. She was still stunned at what had just
transpired and she followed Mary to the front door in a daze.

Mary paused on
the doorstep and gave her a hug. “Take a chance, Jules. You deserve
to be happy.” She whispered. She kissed her on the cheek and ran
down the front steps to her car parked in the driveway.

Julie watched
numbly as she drove away before shutting the door and leaning
heavily against it. What the hell just happened?

Chapter 2

She was sitting
on the couch watching daytime television, eating a plate of raw
celery and carrots and wishing that it was ice cream, when her cell
phone rang. Her heart jumped in her chest and she muted the
television before reaching for it. The only person who ever called
her was Mary and she studied the strange number, her pulse
beginning to pound. She knew without a doubt that it was the escort
agency and, feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience,
she pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Winslow?”
A woman’s voice, warm and professional sounding, spoke into her
ear.

“Y-yes.”

“My name is
Meagan. I’m calling from Vanessa’s Escort Agency regarding your
earlier email.”

“Oh yes, hi.
Um, listen there’s – “

“We’re so glad
you called us. Now, we do like to meet our potential clients in
person so is it possible for you to drop by our office?” Meagan
interrupted smoothly.

“Well, I –
“

“We promise we
won’t take up much of your time. Does tomorrow at three work for
you?”

“Okay, sure.”
Julie replied in a soft voice. Years of living with her domineering
father, of having him constantly belittle and chastise her for her
choices, had turned her into a dyed-in-the-wool people pleaser. She
should never have answered the damn phone.

“Great!” Meagan
replied. “I’ll send you the email with our address and we’ll see
you tomorrow at three.”

She hung up
before Julie could reply. Julie set her cell phone down and stared
blankly at the television. She was going to an escort agency
tomorrow. What did one even wear to an escort agency?

She took a deep
breath and called Mary.

* * *

She stood in
front of the open elevator and bit her lip indecisively. It wasn’t
too late. She could simply turn and walk out of the building.

Coward
.

She winced at
her inner voice.

Do you want to
be alone forever? You may not want to admit it, but Mary was right.
Part of the reason, a big part, you’re afraid to meet anyone is
because you’re ashamed you’re a virgin at thirty. Do this. Lose it
to someone who’s anonymous, who’ll say all the right things, and
make you feel pretty. They’ll show you what to do and you can stop
worrying about sex and all its mysteries, and start worrying about
finding the right guy. Do you really want to die alone, surrounded
by cats?

No, she most
certainly did not. Never mind that she was allergic to cats and
couldn’t go near one without breaking into hives, the principal of
the thought was sound. If she didn’t do something, didn’t change
something, she really was going to die alone. Exactly as her father
predicted.

She squared her
shoulders, remembering the disgust in her father’s voice when he
had repeatedly ridiculed her for her weight and told her no man
would ever find her attractive with an ass the size of hers. He
might be right. Hell, she might never find a man who found her
attractive or find the courage to go on a single date. She could
possibly die a lonely, sad spinster despite what she was doing, but
at least she wouldn’t die a lonely, sad,
virgin
spinster.

“Excuse me,
ma’am? Are you going to get in the elevator?”

She jumped and
turned to give the man behind her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry.
Yes, I am.”

She faced
forward and marched into the elevator. The man joined her and she
hit the button for the twenty-fourth floor with a trembling finger.
The man pressed the button for seventeen and they rode in
silence.

“Have a nice
day.” He gave her a friendly smile and she forced herself to return
it, smoothing her hands anxiously over her skirt.

“Thank you. You
as well.”

The elevator
doors closed and she was alone. She took a shaky breath and studied
herself in the reflection of the elevator doors. Mary, nearly
vibrating with excitement, had helped her pick out her outfit. She
was wearing a dark navy skirt that stopped just below her knees, a
pale pink tank top and a grey blazer. She had left the blazer
unbuttoned but after a quick look at the way her muffin top was
visible, she quickly buttoned the blazer.

The elevator
dinged softly and the doors slid open with a quiet hum. Expecting a
hallway, she jerked with surprise when they opened into a reception
area. A blonde woman, her hair pulled into an elegant chignon, was
sitting behind a large wooden desk. She looked up from her computer
as the elevator doors opened.

“Hello! You
must be Ms. Winslow.” The woman came out from behind the desk as
Julie stepped into the waiting area. She held her hand out and,
wiping her sweaty palm on her skirt first, Julie shook it
tentatively.

“Um, yes. I
am.”

“It’s lovely to
meet you. I’m Meagan. We spoke on the phone?”

“Oh right. Of
course. Hi, Meagan.”

“Why don’t you
have a seat? Vanessa is just finishing up a phone call and will be
right with you. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Tea? Glass of
water?”

“No, thank
you.” Julie nearly fell into the oversized chair Meagan was
directing her towards, and clutched her purse nervously. The
waiting room was sparse but tastefully decorated and she glanced
around curiously as Meagan returned to her computer.

The minutes
ticked by and her anxiety grew. What she was doing was madness and
she couldn’t go through with it. She stood.

“Excuse me, I
think I – “

A door to her
left opened and a tall, silver-haired woman stepped into the
waiting area.

“Hello, Ms.
Winslow. My name is Vanessa Michaels. Please, come into my
office.”

Julie glanced
at Meagan. The woman gave her an encouraging smile and she smiled
weakly in return before following Vanessa into her office.

“It’s nice to
meet you, Julie. May I call you Julie?” The woman asked as they
shook hands.

“Of course.
It’s nice to meet you as well, Ms. Michaels.”

“Call me
Vanessa.” She sat down behind her desk and Julie perched nervously
in the leather chair in front of the desk.

Vanessa folded
her hands on the desk and stared at Julie for a moment. “So, tell
me a little bit about yourself, Julie.”

Julie blinked
at her. “Oh, well my name is Julie Winslow – I guess you already
know that – and I’m um, thirty years old. My father just passed
away recently.”

“I’m sorry for
your loss.” Vanessa said gently.

“Thank you. I,
um, I live by myself and I uh – I’m um – I’m looking for an
escort.” She finished lamely. She realized with dismay that she
couldn’t think of a single, interesting thing to say about herself
but the woman was still staring at her silently, waiting for
more.

“I – I like to
read.” She said desperately. She was struck with sudden
inspiration. “And knit! I’m very fond of knitting.”

Vanessa smiled
at her. “I myself, never learned to knit. I always wanted to but
I’m afraid I’m rather hopeless at crafty things.”

She opened a
file folder that was sitting on her desk. “Are you looking for an
escort for a particular event? A wedding, perhaps? Or maybe a high
school reunion?”

Julie shook her
head. “No. I just wanted a date. A regular, um, date.”

She wondered if
that made her look even more pathetic and desperate but Vanessa
just nodded.

“Very good. I
assume you’ve seen our website. Was there someone in particular
that caught your interest?”

Julie wiped her
hands down her skirt again. “Yes. I think his name was Cal?”

Vanessa nodded.
“Excellent choice.”

She pushed some
papers across her desk. “There is a bit of paperwork to go over. We
do a background check, of course, on all of our clients. The safety
of our employees is our utmost concern. If you pass the background
check, we will email you information about the escort of your
choice. All of our escorts are personally recruited by myself and
extensive personal background and criminal checks are completed on
them before they’re hired to work for my company. You don’t have to
worry about mental illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, or
anything of that sort. You’ll see all of their medical history and
the information from the background check in the documentation we
email you.”

She turned the
page on the stack of papers in front of her. “We also ask that you
sign a confidentiality agreement. It’s a standard agreement but I
suggest you take it home and read through it carefully. If there’s
anything you don’t understand, just give Meagan a call and she’ll
explain it to you. Alright?”

Julie nodded as
Vanessa handed her a pen. “Why don’t you get started on filling out
the information for the background check while I explain a little
about the company?”

Julie nodded
again as she took the pen. She filled out the paper in front of her
as Vanessa leaned back in her chair. “I started this company eight
years ago. We employ a small group of men who are dedicated to
ensuring that a woman not only enjoys their date but is treated
with the utmost respect and courtesy that she deserves. If, after
your date, you are unhappy in anyway, we will refund your money no
questions asked. That’s a guarantee.”

She crossed her
legs and brushed away a piece of lint from her skirt. “Unlike other
escort agencies, we also provide a free-of-charge ‘getting to know
you’ appointment. You’ll meet your escort at a location of your
choosing for a half hour meeting. It gives you a chance to get to
know them a little better and decide if he’s the appropriate one
for your event. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll set you up with
another escort of your choosing.”

She paused. “Of
course, as you’re not looking for an escort for a particular event,
I’m sure Cal will be more than appropriate for you. However, we
still believe the introductory meeting is a good idea.”

“Do uh, do many
women use an escort for just a regular date?” Julie asked.

“Of course.”
Vanessa smiled at her and Julie wondered if the woman was lying.
“Our clients utilize our services for many different reasons,
Julie.”

“Right.” Julie
bent her head and finished filling out the background check before
handing the papers to Vanessa.

“So um, how
much does this cost?” She asked awkwardly.

Vanessa gave
her a thoughtful look. “We have a flat rate fee of five hundred
dollars for the first four hours. Anything over four hours is
charged on an hourly basis of two hundred per hour.”

“Alright.”
Julie, mentally calculating the cost of losing her virginity,
didn’t respond when Vanessa spoke to her. Vanessa reached forward
and touched her hand.

“Julie?”

“I’m sorry. I
was woolgathering.” Julie apologized.

“That’s fine. I
was saying that payment is made directly to the company. You are
not, under any circumstance, to give your escort money. All
expenses will be paid by your escort and if the event lasts longer
than four hours, your escort will notify us how long the event
lasted, your credit card will be billed the following business day
and a new invoice will be given to you. The charge on your
statement will show as a numbered company, not Vanessa’s Escort
Agency. Clear?”

“Yes.” Julie
replied.

“Excellent.”
Vanessa smiled at her. “Take home the confidentiality agreement,
read it carefully and if you agree to the terms and conditions,
sign it and email it back to us. Once your background and criminal
check have been cleared, we’ll contact you to arrange your first
meeting with Cal. Alright?”

“A-alright.”
Julie gave her a weak smile and Vanessa patted her hand
lightly.

“It’s okay to
be nervous, Julie. It’s natural. If at any time, you change your
mind just let us know.”

She stood and
Julie stumbled to her feet and gathered the papers and her purse.
Vanessa shook her hand, walked her to the elevator and waited until
the elevator doors closed. Julie let her breath out in a trembling
sigh and stared at the papers in her hand.

Chapter 3

“I need your
help, Court.”

Court sighed
and switched his cell phone to his other ear before dropping to the
sofa. “Hello to you too, Cal.”

“I’m serious,
Court. This is an honest to God emergency.” His twin brother’s
voice was filled with urgency.

“What is it
this time?” Court asked.

“I need you to
meet with one of my clients.”

Court sat up.
“What? No. Not a chance, Cal.”

“Court please.”
Cal begged. “I’m on thin ice with the agency as it is and if I miss
this meeting, I’ll be fired for sure.”

“Just
reschedule the client meeting, for God’s sake.” Court said
harshly.

“I can’t. The
meeting is in an hour and if I try and reschedule or cancel,
Vanessa will straight out fire me.”

“Jesus Christ,
Cal!” Court ran his hand through his dark hair. “What is wrong with
you? First you even take a job at an escort agency and now you
can’t even keep it? If Mom knew about this…”

“She’s not
going to find out.” Cal interrupted impatiently. “Please,
Court.”

“What’s so
important that you can’t make your – what the hell do I even call
it – fuck session?”

“It’s not like
that, Court! I have the chance to meet with a guy, someone who can
change my life, man. If this goes well, I won’t even have to work
at that stupid escort agency.”