The Stipulation (2 page)

Chapter Three

A
fter my last class, I waited in my dorm room for Tara so we could see Jerome. I had thought about the situation all night and during the entire day today. I was frightened to say the least, not because of the situation, but that I wouldn’t be good enough. I had worked myself up and told myself this was the best thing for me, for I’d get to leave the store and be able to pay my bills. Now though, I feared he would look me over and say I wasn’t good enough to be placed with his clients. After all, these were all wealthy or powerful men, though I wasn’t sure what powerful meant. There was a big difference in being a senator and being the manager at a supermarket. For all I knew we were on very different pages on the meaning of these words, but Tara made it seem as though they were well-to-do men. I just had to hope they thought I was good enough, because I was screwed if I wasn’t.

***

“Okay, we’re almost there. Let me do all of the talking. Jerome doesn’t like newbies going and talking like they know him or the business. Only try and answer him if he asks you a question directly,” Tara said as we pulled up to the building where Jerome was.

The building was
just off campus, and no farther than ten minutes from my dorm. I was surprised that it was so close by, considering I was expecting this Jerome character to be a middle-aged man who was running this out of some office or something. Instead it was out of an apartment building near campus that was also the location of many parties in town.

Tara and I walked to the door and went inside, the apartment building not having separate entrances, but rather stairwells and long hallways, almost like a dorm
. The nerves started to fill my body, my legs somehow still moved as the butterflies fluttered about in my stomach. I wanted to throw up, but I wasn’t sure I could allow myself to do something so disgusting before talking to Jerome. If I couldn’t even handle meeting him and getting interviewed, he would know I definitely couldn’t handle being set up with some guy, not to mention a guy that was powerful in some way or another.

Tara knocked on the door three times, almost like a secret knock to tell the people inside she was one of them and not some cop or landlord looking to find them doing something illegal or wrong
. The door opened, with a chain preventing it from opening too far, as to keep the apartment even more protected. The man standing guard noticed Tara, closed the door before unlocking it, and opening the door all of the way so we could walk inside.

There were a few girls inside, but none of them looked like what I
expected. They all really just looked like normal girls, doing their homework or on their phones or computers. Nothing was really out of place, and you wouldn’t guess this was the apartment of a man setting up college girls with older men.

“Tara!” Jerome exclaimed with a smile as he came out of a room,
maybe his office.

“Hi
, Jer, how are you?” Tara asked as she hugged him, their friendly relationship showing to everybody in the room.

“Is this the new girl you were going to bring me?” Jerome whispered to Tara, although I could hear him.

“I know it isn’t Jillian, but she’s a cute girl and she has a lot of potential,” Tara whispered back, once again not that quietly.

Jerome walked up toward me, but didn’t say a
word. Instead, he circled me, looking me up and down, as if inspecting me like a piece of meat to see what quality I was. I stood there awkwardly, fidgeting with my hands as my future and ability to pay my bills were on the line. While I wasn’t jumping up and down to become a sugar baby—a term I still wasn’t positive the meaning of—I needed the financial freedom this opportunity would give me. Besides, my grades would only improve with leaving my job, and if I didn’t keep up my GPA I’ll lose everything.

“Nice butt,” Jerome said as
I caught him looking directly at my supple and round butt.

Jerome walked in front of me and continued to scan me up and down, as if taking mental notes for future reference.

“Breasts are nice. Not too big, not too small,” he said.

“What do you think?” Tara asked as she hung off Jerome’s arm.

“I think she’ll do just fine. What is your name?” He looked me in the eyes.

“Natalie,” I said, clearing both my throat and my nerves
.

“I think I have someone in mind for her
. He’s new to our little service, and is a bit of a mystery to us still. He seems to really value privacy, and his assets certainly speak for themselves,” Jerome said as some man handed him a file, presumably of my potential date.

He opened the file, looking over all of the man’s information
. I snuck a peek, and the area where a picture would normally go was empty, as if even they didn’t know what he looked like.

“His name is Roman Parker,” Jerome said as he continued to look over the man’s file.

I stood there nervously, remembering not to speak unless spoken to. I was almost into this exclusive club, and messing up my future just by saying something stupid wasn’t an option.

“When is she going to see him
? I’ll help her get ready and prepare for her date,” Tara said.

“Tomorrow night
at seven.” Jerome closed the file folder and looked directly into my eyes, as if trying to ingrain that time into my head so I didn’t miss it and mess up his operation.

“Sounds like a plan
. I’ll see you later, baby.” Tara kissed Jerome’s cheek and grabbed my arm, pulling me outside into the hallway, signaling we were leaving so quickly after we had just arrived.

“Is he always like that?” I asked as we walked down the hallway.

“Like what?” Tara asked, clearly confused.

“So frightening,” I replied, not sure how she could think otherwise.

“Naw, Jerome is cool. He is just reserved around new girls. He likes to separate business from pleasure, if you know what I mean.” She said with a smile.

***

I walked back into my building after Tara dropped me off, my mind filled exclusively with the thoughts of this Roman Parker. Who was he, and what did he want? Well, I guess I knew what he wanted, but why? Was he some reclusive billionaire that just wanted some cute college girl to occupy his time in between hostile company takeovers? Was he the general manager of some supermarkets and didn’t give his picture to Jerome because he was so ugly that he was afraid he wouldn’t get a girl? I was hoping for the first option, but planning for the second. With my luck, I knew my chances of getting some sexy billionaire were not in the cards.

I luckily missed
Trevor as I came off the elevator and onto my floor. Previously I had thought he just sat in the lobby waiting for me all day, but I guess not today, for I got into my room without any problems. I slipped off the short heels I had worn to see Jerome. I had hoped they would exude some vision of sexiness to him, making him demand I become a sugar baby, and pairing me with some guy.

As I sat there,
visions of tomorrow night filled my mind. What were we even going to do together? Was he going to expect sex, or were we just going to go on a date and get to know each other? Maybe he was a gentleman and would take me to dinner and dancing before whisking me back here and kissing me good night. I guess that was a little farfetched, considering this arrangement, but a girl could dream. I should admit that the thought of some mysterious and handsome man tossing me onto his bed and having his way with me did turn me on a little bit. I’d never had a guy make me his play thing, and my panties were getting a little wet just thinking of him being like an animal and having his way with me. I didn’t even know what he looked like or who he was, but I was already having visions of him in my head, trying to dream about what tomorrow would be like.

“I should look him up,” I said aloud, the thought quickly coming to my mind.

Jerome didn’t have a picture or much information on him, but with the advent of the Internet and search engines, I could just look him up. He had a pretty unique name, so he must have himself out there somewhere. Everyone is on social media these days, so maybe he is as well. I wouldn’t add him or contact him, but I could at least know whom I’d be going out with. This was like a blind date, but I at least wanted a little vision of tomorrow night, even just a glimpse.

I opened up the Internet and typed his name into a search engine, only to be shocked by what I found
. Nothing. I found nothing. All that came up was a bunch of random websites and links to things totally not related to any single person at all. It was like he didn’t exist; like a ghost.

I decided to open up Friend Gawker, which was the most popular of all social media sites
.

I typed
Roman Parker
into the search bar.

One hit came up, but it was for
a man living somewhere in Spain, clearly not him. Why was there nothing about him anywhere on the Internet? Was he in the witness protection program? Was he some international spy that couldn’t have his identity anywhere? Was Roman Parker even his real name? It would make sense he would give Jerome a fake name so his real identity wouldn’t be known. Being a sugar daddy or having a sugar baby would probably be a little embarrassing, especially if you were in some position of power or control. After all, he could be someone high profile, needing to secure and protect his identity at all costs.

I closed my laptop, putting it on my desk
, and tried to mull over all of my options. I could just not go out tomorrow night, instead rejecting Jerome’s help and running for the hills. I hadn’t signed any kind of contract or anything, not that you likely could for this sort of circumstance, so I had no reason to be obligated to go out with Roman.

That thought entered and lingered around my mind, but I rejected it quickly after looking down at my smock and nametag from my job
. They taunted me and almost laughed in my face, as if telling me I couldn’t hack it and would be back in front of that cash register in just two nights. I couldn’t go back to that damn store. I needed to get away—while I still had the chance.

I
would get all dressed up tomorrow night and meet Roman Parker, going wherever he wanted to go. He was going to take care of me and I was going to give him companionship, for however long he wanted me to be around. A couple fun dates and I could have half of my semester’s tuition paid off, meaning I could focus on keeping my GPA up and not being kicked out of this school or losing my all-important grants.

I l
ay back in bed, crossing my legs and placing my hands behind my head, propping it up. As the loud sounds of partying college kids passed by down below my window, I imagined Roman pulling up in some sports car and picking me up, shocking everyone outside and letting their mouths hang wide open. I was going to do it; I was going to be a sugar baby.

Chapter Four

The next day I went to class, wondering if all of the students and teachers around me knew of my plans for tonight
. There’s something about sneaking around where you always think other people knew what you were up to, even if there was no possible way for them to know. Your heart would beat faster, and any weird too long of a look people gave made you sweat and instantly felt like they knew what was up.

My nerves
were present for the entire day. My time in class, which was normally filled with taking notes and paying close attention to every word that came out of the professor’s mouth, was now taken over by the thoughts of Roman. I really had no clue what we were even going to do tonight, and the curious side of me really wanted to find out. Sure, I wanted a little surprise and mystery like all girls, but I also wanted to know if he was expecting me to put out already. The thought of him, and his hopefully muscular arms, grabbing my blond hair and pulling it from behind while he thrust himself into me did turn me on a little, but I still was hoping he would at least try to woo me. Even though I was now a sugar baby, I was not a piece of meat, and I hoped he realized that I was not just his little plaything. I’m a woman, and I wanted to be treated like such outside of the bedroom.

***

Tara was slated to get to my dorm an hour before Roman was supposed to arrive. She said she wanted to help me get ready, as if I couldn’t myself, and wanted to dress me up like a true sugar baby, whatever that meant.

After she arrived, five minutes late I should add, she immediately got to work, doing my makeup and hair
. She told me that I had to have a smoky look on my eyes, for it drove all of the guys crazy. I needed to look sexy without looking like a slut, just in case Roman and I ran into one of his friends or business partners in public. She said there was nothing worse for a sugar baby than looking slutty and running into these kinds of people. They would get suspicious and your sugar daddy might not want to take you places at all or as much, and you could lose him altogether. She told me that he would care more about his reputation and job than me, which I guess was expected. After all, I wasn’t marrying the guy or anything, so I’d be a little expendable.

“So what happens if I meet another guy?” I asked as she combed through my hair to make it presentable.

“Don’t do anything unless you want to go back in front of that cash register,” Tara said as she chuckled while Jillian watched on.

“But don’t you have two sugar daddies?” I asked, clearly in confusion about how she could have two guys and I
would only have one.

“Yeah girl, but I’ve paid my dues
. And you’re right; I have two sugar daddies. I don’t have a boyfriend or normal guy on the side that I’m seeing. My sugar daddies know about each other and they share me; in more ways than one,” Tara said with a smile.

“You have threesomes with them?” I asked in astonishment.

“Well, once we did. It was their idea, and I just went along with it. I rarely say no to either one of them unless they are asking for something totally over the top. They both said they liked it, but neither has asked for it to happen again. That’s the thing about guys—they get too possessive. Having a threesome sounds great in theory, but once it happens they both want me, but can’t have me at the same time. You’ll find that out soon enough,” Tara said.

“Do you think I’ll ever get two sugar daddies?” I asked out of curiosity, not necessarily out of hope I would get two.

“Why don’t you just worry about your one for now? If this date doesn’t go well then you won’t be getting another call to meet with him again. Besides, you have to pay your dues and prove yourself in your sugar baby responsibilities before you can just go out and find another one. I was with Charles for nine months before I even got the opportunity to also see Ryan,” Tara said, as if coaching me on the responsibilities of being a sugar baby.

I went quiet after that, just letting Jillian and Tara tell
me the ins and outs of everything. They went on about what to say, how to act, how to react, and what I should do if we ran into any of his friends. I was dressed in a cute black dress that was short, but not so short as to give away what I really was. I looked cute, at least I thought so, and Tara said nobody should suspect I was his sugar baby, if he even decided to keep me after this date.

“Done,” Tara said as she stood back, Jillian getting up with her to look at me.

I stood up and looked in the full-length mirror that hung on our door. I looked sexy. My hair was down, but had enough volume to give this kind of dirty girl vibe. My makeup was done, smoky like Tara said, and really accentuated my cheekbones and made me look like some kind of cover model for a high fashion magazine. I slipped on my heels to complete the look, and turned back around to see their reactions.

“Well, you better get outside before he comes
. You have five minutes until he gets here, so be ready. He will pull up, you get inside, and have fun on your date,” Tara said with a smile as she helped me put my coat on.

I smiled nervously, walked out of my dorm door, and got ready for one of the most important dates of my life.

***

I stood outside in the cold, a little longer than the five minutes I was told I had to wait, before I saw a car
—one unlike any of the others at this school—pull up and stop in front of me. It was a sports car, a nice one, but black instead of the usual flashy red, as if Roman wanted to let people know he had money without screaming he had it. The car sat in front of me, the window not even rolling down for him to ask if I was Natalie. I remembered Tara’s advice and opened the door, sat down in the seat, and closed the door only to be whisked away before I could even get my seatbelt on.

“Hello,” he said, his deep voice resonating through my ears.

“Hi, I’m Natalie,” I said nervously.

“I know,” he replied, giving me a sense of both mystery and fear.

I wasn’t fearful of him by any means, but I was more fearful of the situation I was in. This all had happened so fast, and just the other day I was fretting about how I was going to pay bills and keep up in school. Now I was sitting inside a sports car that must’ve cost over a hundred grand, waiting to be taken to some dinner and who knows what else.

The ride was fairly quiet, with Roman not saying too much to me
. He was very handsome, with his strong arms almost bulging out of his button-down shirt. He was slightly tanned, but not so much as to look like he cared about sitting in tanning beds all day long. He had brown hair; not too long but not too short either. As I was aimlessly staring at him, trying to see the rest of his body, he looked over at me, his bright-white smile shining and almost blinding me.

“I booked us a reservation at a nice little French restaurant in town
. They’re the only restaurant I’ve found that comes as close to being in Paris as possible,” he said, as if he had been to France a thousand times before.

“It sounds delicious,” I said nervously, almost hoping I wouldn’t screw it up and say something stupid.

I didn’t know who exactly this guy was, but I needed to find out.

***

As dinner went on, we traded a few awkward questions before I finally mustered up the courage to ask him about himself. I wanted to know more about him, including who he was and why there was nothing about him online.

“So, what do you do for a living?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t pushing any boundaries and getting too personal.

“I built a few software companies a few years ago, and have been working independently for a few years,” he said casually, as if the question didn’t faze him in the slightest.

I guess that would explain why I didn’t find a trace of him anywhere online
. A guy who built software and some big company would know how to hide himself online, meaning there would be no trace of him anywhere.

“What about you?” he asked, as if interested in my schoolwork.

“Oh, well, I’m studying biology,” I said and took a sip of water.

“That sounds interesting
. The world always needs more scientists,” he said, in an almost reassuring manner.

“Why did you want to see me?” I blurted, almost as if I
were questioning why he wanted a sugar baby and why he wanted to go out with me.

He smiled and put down his glass of water, as if in a weird way he was happy I had asked him such a question
.

“Well, Natalie, I wanted to meet somebody
. With my job and my lifestyle, it is very difficult to find women who truly care about me and want to be in a relationship with me because they like me. I figured I might as well have a great companion who might someday turn into a girlfriend instead of just crawling around bars and finding women that way,” he said.

“I’m sorry if I offended you
.” I wiped my mouth nervously.

“Not at all
. I understand why you would ask such a question, especially since this is your first time with someone like me,” he replied.

He knew I was a new sugar baby
? Jerome had just set us up yesterday, and even then, how would Roman know? Did Jerome tell him I was brand new, as if warning him upfront in case something went wrong? If Jerome did that, he could cover his tracks if both this date and I turned into something from hell.

Both Roman and I didn’t say anything after that admission; as if we were both aware things had gotten a little awkward
. I ate my dinner quietly, unsure if I should question him knowing these facts about me or just let it go. After all, he was some software and computer guy, and that meant he must know how to search a person. I’m sure Jerome, in an act of full disclosure, gave Roman my information before he met me so he could search me and know I wasn’t some total freak.

***

“Are you ready?” Roman asked as he left two hundred-dollar bills on the table.

I nodded and got up from the table,
as he helped me put on my jacket in a shallow act of chivalry. I wasn’t sure what was next, but I was hoping it would be something less awkward than what we just went through.