by Hadley Knox
“That’s actually a good idea,” I said. “I’ll have to talk to him next time, because we have a lot to do tonight.”
“Just remember that expanding the business is a big deal right now,” Greg said. “Guys who are willing to do this won’t be as common as you might think. Men will always claim that they would be an escort in a minute, but when it comes down to it, most won’t. When you meet guys on the street now, start thinking about potential new recruits.”
“Got it,” I said. “Now let’s go feed my current recruits.”
Chapter Nineteen
Greg helped me carry the load of food outside and I set it on the small table in the center of the circle. Everyone pitched in to help unwrap and open all of the containers. I ran back inside and got utensils and plates to use.
“We are a little pressed for time,” I said. “Ray has a job later tonight, so we need to spend this time wisely preparing everyone for their new jobs.”
“Ray here already has a job?” Mike looked over at the heavier man.
“Yeah, is that such a shock?” Ray asked.
“Honestly? Yes.”
“Okay, guys, let’s get down to business,” I said. “As you can see looking around you, I have gone for variety in selecting everyone, and I want to start by introducing Greg. He’s been in this business a while now and he will help you all get started.” I paused and looked around the circle. “I want to thank you all for doing this. I know this will help you all out financially, but it will help me out greatly as well.” I turned to Greg. “Okay, you have the floor.”
“So, you are all going to be escorts,” he said. “First, you have to remember that this is a profession. It’s different from sleeping with random women that you meet. The one thing about each job is that the client is paying you, and paying you well, for a specific service. In many cases, they are only looking for the pure physical pleasure of an orgasm and they only care about the sex. But you will encounter many other cases where they are looking for something different.”
“Like oral?” Ben asked.
Everyone chuckled.
“Sometimes they will want that, yes,” Greg said, “Which brings up a good point. Find out what they are into and make sure to incorporate that into the session. What I’m referring to is the emotional aspect of their need. You see, each woman is calling for a very specific reason, and most of the time they will spell that out for you, but many times, they will not. It’s up to you to find out what your particular client wants, both physically and emotionally. The session will feel very good for you, of course, but you must never lose sight of the client.”
“You mean like holding them and shit?” Ray asked.
“Possibly,” Greg nodded. “If you aren’t sure, it never hurts to ask. The only time you don’t want to ask is if they are sticklers for role playing. If you meet someone like that, do not deviate from whatever role you have assumed. Otherwise, try to figure out if they are looking for companionship, feeling desirable, or anything else. If they just want you to hold them, then do that. You will even find women who aren’t interested in sex at all. I’ve had clients who hire me for an entire day to just walk around with them and compliment them, or attend some function so that they can parade me around in front of their friends. In those cases, I never even removed my clothes, and those women had achieved the satisfaction which had led to them hiring me.”
“So you might not sleep with some of them?” Mike asked.
“It’s always possible, but those cases are rare,” Greg said.
Derrick cleared his throat and spoke. “Do they ever want to bring someone else in? Like their husband or a friend or something?”
“It depends,” Greg said. “I have a rule that no men can join. I’ve had a few that pay extra to let their husband or boyfriend watch, but they have to maintain a certain distance that you set out. If they want to bring a friend, you always charge more. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the same price for each one, but you can just tack on an extra charge per hour. It’s all up to you.”
He took a bite of his food and then continued. “It goes without saying that you must be immaculate when you present yourself to a client. Clean your body thoroughly, especially below the waist, and your breath must smell perfect. It doesn’t hurt to groom around your area either, and always wear nice, clean clothes, unless a role play scenario calls for something different. I’ve had a few clients over times who’ve asked me to work out before coming over and not to shower.”
“Gross,” Ben said under his breath.
“I agree, but remember that it’s all about the clients.”
“So how do we start getting jobs?” Mike asked.
“Lana will book appointments for people who call in from the ads. You can also do like I do, and make yourself available at clubs and bars at night. Anything you make, whether it is through the ads or on your own, make sure to give Lana twenty percent. It may sound like she’ll be making a lot with five of us here, but remember that all of the expenses for the business come out of her share.”
“I have an idea,” I said. “I was thinking about this when I took a few calls before.” I looked around at everyone, sizing them up. “So what if we create personalities for everyone that sums up their physical characteristics.”
“What do you mean?” Greg asked.
“Well,” I explained. “The most obvious would be Derrick. We market him as the blond haired, tanned pool boy. In fact, we could refer to him as the Pool boy.”
“I like that,” he said.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Greg said. “You might want to update the ad.”
“That’s easy to do,” I said.
“What about me?” Ben asked.
“You’re the Geek,” I replied.
“Will that make me any money?” he asked. “How many women want to sleep with a geek?”
“You’d be surprised,” Greg said. “Many women, especially older women, are looking for intellectual men that they can carry on a conversation with. Remember that many of your appointments will be for two hours, and usually you or the client can’t spend the entire time actually having sex. A lot of it is filled with conversation.”
“I could have sex for two hours,” Mike declared. “I’ve done that many times.”
Greg chuckled. “And you will have a lot of clients who want just that. If any of you haven’t ever practiced this before, try finding the ability to hold your own orgasm for as long as you can. Women won’t like it very much if you finish in a few minutes.”
“Oh shit,” Ray mumbled.
“So everyone should try to come up with their little nickname, so that I can get started on updating the websites,” I said.
“I’ve got mine,” Mike said. “How about Nubian God?”
“I like that,” I nodded. “It’s perfect.” I turned to Greg. “What about you?”
“I’ll have to think of something,” he said. I could tell by the way he scratched his head that he didn’t think the nickname thing would apply to him.
“What about you, Ray?” Mike asked.
“What about Meatball?” Derrick asked.
Everyone chuckled and Ray muttered some curse words under his breath.
“Okay, guys,” I said. “I know it sounds funny to make fun of each other, especially the meaty guy, and I don’t have a problem with critical humor, but let’s remember there’s a time and place for that. I want you all to be supportive of each other. This is not a competition.”
“I agree,” Greg said. “That goes as far as helping each other book clients. For instance, if I’m out at a bar and some woman tells me she’d pay for sex with a pool boy, I’m going to call up Derrick.”
“So what if a woman asks us to do something we don’t want to do?” Ray asked.
“Like what?” Greg asked.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’m just saying, what if they ask us to do something, and then I realize I can’t do it.”
Greg no
dded. “There’s a big difference in can’t and won’t. If it’s physically impossible for you to perform something, then you have to be clear. If it’s an issue of you not wanting to do something, then I would advise you to get over it and just do it. In my opinion, if you won’t perform for the client, then you owe them their money back if they want to end the session. If you’re already halfway through, then prorate.”
“This sounds completely manageable,” Mike said. “I’m a little anxious to get started.”
“I actually have a job for you this weekend,” I said.
“You may want to talk about scheduling,” Greg suggested.
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ve already got a schedule on my computer that I will use to track all of your appointments. At least, a week ahead of time, I need everyone to let me know the times you are available to work. I will use those times to try to book you as many appointments as I can fit in there. It’s important to keep me updated no less than a week ahead of time. If you can manage, go further out for me so that I can be flexible with potential clients.”
“And make sure you keep those hours open,” Greg said. “If you tell Lana that you’re available on Tuesday night, then you had better make sure you can meet a client at that time. If you haven’t heard from her, proceed with whatever plans you want to make, but be ready to drop those plans if she calls.”
“I’ll make sure you all have my business phone numbers,” I said. “If you have my personal cell saved already, make sure to only use that for personal stuff. If it’s in any way business related, use my other cell. I will also use that phone to text you appointment times as soon as they are made.”
“Can you remind us?” Mike asked. Then he added, “If it isn’t too much trouble.”
“Not at all,” I said. “I’ll text every time I book an appointment, and then each morning, I can send out a reminder if you have clients to meet that night.”
“That’ll be good,” Derrick said. His eyes were beaming from excitement. “I think I can get a fairly sizable amount of business during the day. I’ve never told anyone this, but a lot of my pool clients try to sleep with me. I’ve taken a few of them up on it.”
I knew without looking that he was watching me while he spoke. I couldn’t turn and face him.
“I guess now, I can start taking all these women up on it, but for an extra charge.”
“Great,” Greg agreed. “And try to stop by here at least every other day or after any big night to give Lana her cut and just check in. She may also get feedback from clients if an experience was either really good or really bad.”
“That won’t happen to me,” Mike smiled.
“So let me ask a question,” Ben said. “What about the legalities of all of this? I’m assuming that if a cop finds out what I’m doing, then I’m in deep shit.”
“Good point,” Greg said. “I have never had legal troubles. The key to that is when you are dealing with anyone that is not a client or hasn’t agreed to your services, then you are just selling companionship. Really the only way to get caught will be for a former client to come forward, but even then, that’s hard to prove because we deal only in cash.”
“That makes me feel a little better,” Ben said.
Greg continued. “Just make sure not to talk to anyone about the business itself and especially don’t tell anyone about Lana. There are two reasons we want to protect her. The main reason is that she is our friend, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to her. The other reason is that she is the common link between us all. If I get into legal trouble, as long as I’m not traced back to Lana, then the rest of you are safe.”
“But what if one of us squeals,” Mike said.
“Nobody better squeal,” Greg said. “And I don’t think anyone would. Take a look around this circle, and remember that if you squeal, all of these people present will be gunning for your ass.”
“Good point,” Mike agreed.
“Now some of you may have embarrassing questions that you don’t want to bring up here,” Greg said. “If you need any individual guidance or have questions, I’ll give you all my cell numbers and you can call me after this.”
“Unless anyone else has other questions,” I said. “We can adjourn the meeting. Ray has to be taking off soon to get to his appointment.”
“Hell yeah,” he said excitedly.
Everyone stayed around for a while after, just talking about different potential clients they might run into. It was nice to watch them all get to know each other, I thought as I sat back in my chair.
I decided that they really were a group of really good guys. I would trust each one of them with my life, and I knew that they would come through for me. That meant that I would have to do my best to come through for them. This business just had to make all of our lives better.
Ray excused himself after a few minutes and I said that I’d walk him out. Greg and the other guys started picking up the leftover food and dirty plates and took them into the kitchen.
On the way out, Ray was telling me about how much fun tonight was going to be, and how he couldn’t wait to rub it into Pearl’s nose that he had achieved his dream of being a male escort.
As we were talking in the foyer, I just happened to glance out the little window next to the front door. At the angle in which I was standing, I could see down the street a few dozen feet. A large silver sedan with heavily tinted windows was parked. The vehicle was too far away to be one of the guys, not to mention that I knew what each of them drove. I had never seen that car before in the neighborhood.
I clutched my chest and my breathing grew a little heavy.
“Lana, what’s wrong?” Ray asked. He followed my gaze out the window and saw the car as well. “That don’t look right,” he said. “Do you know who that is?”
“I’ve never seen that car before in my life,” I managed.
“Greg, Mike, we got a problem,” Ray called back into the house.
“What is it?” Greg asked as he came running into the foyer. Mike and the other two guys were right behind him.
“That car,” Ray said as he pointed out the window.
Greg shot me a look of concern and disappeared back into the kitchen. He returned quickly, removing his hands from the back of his pants. I knew he had put the gun there.
“Someone, stay here with Lana,” Greg said.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked.
“Lana has a stalker,” Greg said.
“I’m going with you,” Mike said.
“The rest of you stay with Lana,” Greg said as he opened the door. I noticed that he had one hand behind him and he had his shirt pulled up a little.
I watched with trepidation as Greg and Mike walked out onto the porch. As they started down the steps, the headlights on the silver sedan lit up. With a peeling of tires, it screamed down the street.
Greg and Mike both bolted down the sidewalk towards the car, but it was moving too fast, and they didn’t stand a chance to catch it.
After a minute, they returned to the house.
“What the hell was that?” Ray asked.
“Oh, dear,” I breathed.
When the men walked back into the house, Greg shut the door and locked it, as well as bolting the top.
“What is going on here?” Ben asked. “Do we already have the cops on us?”
“No,” I said.
“Then what was that?” Mike asked.
I knew that I had to come clean. If I were going to go into business with these guys, they had to know all of the risk that this new relationship might entail. My woes might not be any of their business, but if someone was stalking me and demanding money, I felt that I owed them an explanation. If one of them wanted out of this, knowing all the facts, I couldn’t blame them.
So I proceeded to tell them about the calls. I tried to keep my voice down for fear that Jake or Mallory would be listening.
“That’s some crazy shit,” Mike said. “You can’t give that
man any money.”
“And you have no idea who it could be?” Ben asked.
“Not a clue,” I said.
“I agree with Mike,” Ray said. “You can’t give him any money.”
“What do I do?” I asked. “I would completely understand if you all wanted out now.”
“I’ve already committed to this,” Mike said. “I won’t let some crazy person stand in my way.”
“We’re here for you,” Derrick added, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” Mike nodded. “We may not know each other that well, but we’re bonded now. We can’t let you stay here by yourself.”
“I’m staying here with her for a while,” Greg said. “I overheard a phone call the man made to her, so I’ve been here to protect her.”
“That may not be enough,” Mike said. “Especially if you don’t know what you’re up against.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked. “Should I go to the police?”
Mike shook his head. “In my opinion, they won’t do anything. They’ll file a report, but reports don’t catch bad guys.”
“We can try to go find that car,” Derrick said.
“Too much area to cover,” Mike said. “I think we should all stay here. At least until we know that Lana and the kids are safe.”
“I can’t ask that of you all,” I said.
“You’re not asking,” Greg said. “I agree with Mike. We don’t know if it’s one guy or two or more. We could use all the help we can get.”
“I’ve got a client to meet,” Ray said. “But I’ll come back after I’m done. Just let me stop by my place and get my piece.”
“More guns?” I asked.
They always made me nervous. From the sound of it, I was a few minutes away from having a small militia in my house. As crazy as it sounded, was that such a bad thing? My kids were upstairs and I would do whatever it took to protect them.