Unwanted Heat

“I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect. I just had to know. I could never… that’s just something I couldn’t do.”

“It’s a common misconception; escort businesses have been given a bad name by companies who disguise themselves as providing escorts when they really provide prostitutes. My clients have no problem finding a woman to be intimate with them, what they come to me for is something more than sex. They want someone who they can spend a few hours with who won’t expect flowers the next day or a diamond ring on their finger in a week. Sometimes all they want is to conduct business but the people who they are conducting business with assume there is something wrong with them because they don’t have a wife, girlfriend, husband or boyfriend to bring to dinners.”

“Why me?” I blush when I realize I asked the question aloud.

“Kenzie… whether or not you know it, you’re beautiful. You have this innocence about you that I know many of my clients will find endearing. You’re not the type of woman who dresses incredibly sexy or tries to get into a man’s pants and go for his wallet. From what I can tell, you haven’t had any plastic surgery; the natural look is very appealing to most of my clients. You’re polite but can handle yourself when necessary as well. These qualities are highly sought after for business events. My clients want someone who can hold polite conversations with their business associates but can also hold their own if they need to leave their side for a few minutes.”

“I…”Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“I’m sure these are qualities you don’t even see in yourself, but I’ve made it my business to get to know everyone I come in contact with. I think this could be a good opportunity for you … you wouldn’t have to work two jobs any longer and could afford to move out of that neighborhood you live in-”

“Wait… how do you know where I live?”

“I ran a background check on you, of course, dear,” she answers as if it’s nothing. “Before I approached you about this opportunity, I needed to know if you would hold up to public scrutiny. It’s possible you would be photographed at events with clients and I needed to know what the press could dig up on you.”

“There shouldn’t be anything…” I try to figure out what could be on a background check about me. I’ve never been arrested or in trouble of any kind.

“There wasn’t anything to worry about. Looks like you had bad luck a few years ago: a tumble down the stairs landed you in the emergency room with several broken ribs and a gash on your arm requiring stitches-”

“You could access my medical records? That’s confidential!”

“For the right price anyone can access anything, Kenzie,” she sighs. “I needed to make sure that I knew everything that the press could find out about you.”

“Shouldn’t that be my choice? I haven’t accepted your offer!”

“Yet,” she corrects. “You haven’t accepted my offer yet. Kenzie, I know this feels like I invaded your privacy but I didn’t know much about you before I ran these background checks. I doubt the store ran detailed background checks but even if they did, it wouldn’t be as in depth as mine. I needed to know you were trustworthy before I even could approach you about this.”

“I… I don’t know what to say, Bridget,” I sigh heavily. What she says makes sense but I’m still angry that she could access my medical records. However I’m relieved that even if she accesses all of them, she won’t find anything else. There is nothing there to raise suspicion, nothing to make someone take a second look…

“Will you consider my offer? Kenzie, I have men and women who work for me don’t have to work other jobs to pay bills. This could get you out of your apartment and into a place where you wouldn’t have to worry about walking out your front door at night or that the police might barge through your door at any moment because your neighbor is dealing drugs. You wouldn’t have to scrimp and save every penny. You wouldn’t have to work ten, twelve or fifteen hour long days.”

“I don’t know, this is a lot to take in.”

“Take some time, think about my offer. If you agree, one simple date could pay your rent for a month.”

“Seriously?” I ask dumbfounded that she could be offering me that much money.

“Yes,” she says straight faced. “Depending on the length of dinner, assuming it’s just the two people, you could earn a minimum of $500 per hour. Most dinner dates will last at least two hours, sometimes longer. Then you figure in a movie, play or opera afterwards and your dinner now lasts four to five hours which means you earn a minimum of $2000. After the first date, your rate is increased by $100 per hour. After the first month, the rate is increased further. Social or business events have different rate ranges based upon the number of people in attendance, the expectations the client has and if publicity is required-”

“Publicity?”

“Sometimes, clients want to publically be seen with a date at an event. If this is required, the price is higher because it puts you in newspapers and magazines.”

“I see.”

“All of your expenses are covered, any clothing that is required for dates or events is charged to my account. As you know I have many accounts at different stores throughout the city; you simply pick out an outfit and charge it to my account. The outfit is yours at the end of the night.”

“So the clients at the store…?”

“Clients and employees, all of them,” she confirms.

“Wow…” I don’t know what else to say.

“Kenzie, take a few days and think about my offer. Think about the doors it could open for you. Think about what you could do with extra money in your pocket every month. My staff are going back to school, raising children on their own, helping to pay for medical bills for sick family members or even just paying off debts. Think about what you really want to do with your life. Do you want to work two and three jobs forever?”

“No,” I whisper.

“Here is a contract, take it home and read through it. Call me in two days with a decision. If I don’t hear from you in 48 hours, I will have your answer.”