Breaking Into the Business (19 page)

“That’s
amazing. Keep it up and you will be ready to write before you know it.”

“Hopefully.”

“Do
you want to run anything by me for advice?”

“Not
yet,” I said. “I want to get through the outline and rough draft and then maybe
I’ll let you read it.”

“Just
‘maybe’?”

“I’ve
never liked anyone reading a work in progress. I’ve got to get the whole thing
out and then I will let you read it.”

“You’re
one of
those
people,” he laughed.

“I
guess I am.”

“So
you ready to set a date for our trip yet?”

Being
a Madam was going to make a vacation next to impossible. Last night over wine,
I would have agreed to anything, but now that I was sober and had my wits about
me, I realized that the practically implications of an extended stay away from
my new work cell phone would be next to impossible.

“Let’s
hold off on that,” I said. “The kids will be out of school soon, and then I can
talk to my parents about watching the kids. They’re retired, but they travel a
lot and sometimes they can be hard to pin down.”

“No
problem,” Jeremy said. “Just keep in mind that we need to try to get it
scheduled soon.”

“Sure.”

“In
the meantime, you can think about all the places we’re going to visit in Paris.”

“That
will be very nice.”

“I
also wanted to see if you were available this weekend for dinner,” he said.

“Sure,”
I said. “What night?”

“How
about Saturday?”

“Sure,”
I said. “Pick me up at seven?”

“Sounds
lovely,” he said. “I will see you then.”

“Goodbye,”
I said, and ended the call.

I
walked back to my computer and sat down. I held the mouse over the escort
schedule and just stared at it, dreaming of a day when it would fill up. There
was a lot at stake for me with this business. Not only was I risking legal
trouble, but also I had propositioned most of the men in my life into joining
the company.

The
doorbell rang, and I knew that Greg had arrived. I walked to the front door and
opened it. There he was, smiling at me with his crooked grin.

As
he walked into the house, he kicked one of his legs back to close the door. He
snatched me up in his arms and lifted me off the ground. Before I could resist,
he pulled me in for a kiss.

I
squirmed, but then finally settled in. I loved the feeling of his arms around
me and his mouth on mine. As his left hand ran up my back, I could feel
electrical impulses running up my back.

Finally,
he set me down and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a fat wad of bills.

“What’s
this?”

“My
money from last night,” he announced. “I made four hundred from the one you
booked, and then I went to a bar and got another two hour gig. My grand total
last night was eight hundred.”

“That’s
amazing!”

“I
know, right. So your portion is one hundred and sixty.” He counted out the
twenties and then handed them to me.

“My
portion’s only eighty,” I said. “I only booked the first gig.”

“No,
you get the full amount. One of the perks of your job is that you get your
portion on jobs I book on my own.”

“I
don’t feel right doing that.”

“But
that’s how it is,” Greg said. “You get twenty percent of whatever I make.”

“That’s
awesome,” I said, pushing the cash in my pocket. “Thank you for coming all this
way to bring it by.”

“I
wanted to see you, too.”

“Greg,
you know what I said about us just being friends.”

“It
doesn’t mean that friends can’t have a little fun from time to time.”

“I
don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“I
do,” he said as he came closer to me.

“I
need to talk to you,” I said, holding up my hand to keep him back.

“Okay,
what do you need to talk about?”

“Come
in here,” I said, leading him to the living room. I plopped down on the couch
and patted the seat next to me.

“Is
everything okay?”

“Yeah,
it’s great,” I said. “I wanted to let you know that I have found four more guys
for the business.”

“That
awesome. Good job, Lana.”

“Well,
we’re going to have a meeting tonight, and I was hoping that you could come and
help the guys with the basics.”

“I
would love to,” he said. “What time?”

“Seven
o’clock. It’s important that they get a good tutorial because Ray has a job
tonight at nine.”

“You’ve
already booked him? That’s great.”

“Well,
Ray is a special case. He’s not the typical escort guy. He’s five feet four
inches tall and weighs at least two hundred and fifty pounds.”

Greg
chuckled. “You may want to let the client know in advance. That’s not the
normal kind of guy they’d expect.”

“That’s
the crazy part,” I said. “The other night Pearl told me that her cousin wanted
to be an escort, and I told her there was no way. And then I get this phone
call from someone answering the ad who said that a guy just like him was her
ultimate fantasy and none of the other services could provide one.”

“To
each their own,” Greg said. “I’ve seen many women who are into very strange
things.”

“I’m
just hoping I can book him enough business to make it worth his trouble.”

“I’m
sure you can. We can work on changing the ad to mention some of the guys that
you have hired.”

“I’ve
booked you some more clients and then I’ve booked one each for Mike and Derrick.
You’ll meet them tonight.”

“Good,”
he said. “Sounds like this will start picking up.”

“Let’s
hope so.”

“So
now I have something to talk to you about.”

“Shoot.”

However,
he didn’t say anything. Instead, he leaned across the couch and went in for
another kiss. I was so preoccupied with his mouth that I didn’t realize his
hands were inside of my shirt.

He
was such a pro with undressing women. An expert lover, he was able to unclasp
my bra and pull my shirt up over my head in one sensual movement. I smiled
while he continued kissing me.

Not
wanting to waste any time, he moved down to my skirt, sliding it off before I
could protest. I knew that this wasn’t what we should be doing, but when he was
there, I just couldn’t stop myself.

Once
my panties were completely off, he started undressing himself. He threw his
shirt over his head and shoved his pants down to his ankle. I wasn’t sure what
he was going to do next, but I just sat back and let him take complete control.

Without
leaving my mouth, he slid both hands under me and scooped me up. I felt myself
flying through the air, still wrapped in his strong, solid arms. I slid against
his naked waist and our bodies pressed up against each other. His manhood
rested along me underneath. It was an odd angle, but I pressed myself
downwards, wanting to feel it the way I was meant to feel it.

As
I wrapped my legs around his waist, he gripped my ass with both hands. He
lifted me slightly and I could feel his hardness move up with me. It pressed
against me, begging for entry.

Deft
with his hands, he pushed me downwards onto him. I moaned into his mouth,
feeling the warmth of pleasure push through my body. Every extremity quivered
and I could feel my eye lids flutter from the intensity of him filling me.

Once
I was settled, I began rocking up and down. He was still on his knees on the
couch, and he fell back against the cushions as I continued my movements.

That
was how we started and how we finished. Even down there, I could feel his own
spasms and knew precisely when he was finished.

Spent
and sweaty, we sat like that for several minutes without moving. I cherished
the closeness that we both felt after making love. He nuzzled his face into my
neck, and I could feel his chest rise as he tried to regain his breath.

I
heard my cell phone ring.

“Shit,”
I said as I jumped up.

To
get to it faster, I bolted over the couch and grabbed the phone. I didn’t
bother to look at the caller ID, but I wish I had.

“Hello,
Lana,” the voice said.

“What
do you want?”

“This
is just a courtesy call to remind you that the money is due tomorrow.”

“Who
are you?” I asked.

I
had momentarily forgotten about Greg still being in the room. As I listened to
the husky voice on the other end, I felt Greg’s arms fold around me. He pressed
in close, but not too close to listen. I could tell that he was doing his best
to exercise a degree of respect of privacy while still being comforting for a
phone call he knew was stressing me out.

“That’s
none of your concern. Just make sure that you have my money.”

“Why
do I owe you this money?”

“Your
husband kept many secrets. Now that he’s gone, it falls on you.”

“I
don’t know where he is.”

“Doesn’t
matter. Have my money by tomorrow or else.”

“Or
else what?”

“Just
have my money. I’ll contact you tomorrow with details.”

The
line went dead. I didn’t even bother pressing my end call button. Instead, I
let the phone fall from my hands and felt myself go limp in Greg’s arm.

He
started to ask about the call, but then he stopped. It was then that I realized
I was crying.

We
stayed like that for a moment until I realized that we were both still naked.
In fact, I might have been sweating more from the call than I had when we had
made love.

“I’m
sorry you had to witness that,” I whispered.

“You
have nothing to be sorry for.”

He
didn’t ask me about the call. At least, not right then.

“You
want to go take a shower?” he asked.

“Sure,”
I said.

I
led him into my bathroom, where I stepped into the big shower and turned it on.
He stepped inside behind me and once the water had gotten warm enough, he led
me underneath the showerhead.

My
eyes were glazed over, and I knew that I looked like a zombie. I just couldn’t
do anything about it. The feeling of dread had replaced all of the happy
feelings that making love with Greg had brought.

What
if the mysterious stranger on the phone tried to harm one of my children? How
could I risk their lives or my own for just a few hundred thousand dollars? I
didn’t know how I was going to get it, but if it meant the safety of my
children, I would borrow money from every single person I knew, including my
parents to get the money.

Something
about what he said bothered me even more. The money pertained to Frank,
probably something he had done. Had he borrowed money from someone and didn’t
pay it back? I couldn’t escape the feeling that this might provide some sort of
clue as to why he left.

Greg’s
hands worked their way through my hair. I stared at the showerhead in front of
me, while he stood behind me and washed my body. His big hands moved all over
my body, and I felt myself yearning for him again.

I
knew that he was only an inch or less behind me, so I backed up slightly and
ground my ass on his pelvic area. As if by magic, he was standing at attention
almost immediately.

When
I turned to face him, I had expected that sly smile, but instead I got a look
of concern. Despite his erection, I knew that we weren’t going to be making
love again so soon. His face said that we needed to talk.

After
we finished showering, I turned the water off and we got out of the shower. I
took a towel off the rack and then threw another one to him that I retrieved
from the linen closet next to the sink.

“Thanks,”
he said. It was the first words he had spoken since the living room.

“So
you must think I’m crazy.”

“I
don’t think you’re crazy at all.”

“You
probably want to know what that was all about.”

“If
you don’t want to tell me, then you don’t have to. It’s your business, and you
can choose what you want to share.”

So
I told him all about the phone calls that had plagued me over the past few
weeks. I told him about the one two days ago that demanded the hundred thousand
dollars.

“So
was that your motivation for going into business with me?”

“Part
of it. But I also knew there was no way to make that much money in the three
days. I think the demand just made me realize what a precarious position I’m in
without Frank.”

“I
can understand that. If I had that much money, I would give it to you. In fact,
I will give you every available penny that I have.”