Laura smiled back. She was determined to do everything she could to make Rosie’s childhood innocent and carefree. Thank God she managed to distract her daughter with her favourite show.
There would be no tears or sobs from Rosie, not on Laura’s watch.
*
When Laura returned to her studio apartment, the first thing she did was set Rosie in front of the TV.
“You watch your Telly-Wellies,” said Laura. “Mommy has some important things to think about.”
Rosie immediately parked herself in front of the TV set and stayed glued to it.
When Laura was sure that her daughter’s attention was elsewhere, she finally allowed herself to fume.
Fired. She couldn’t believe it. All she did was show a little compassion for a fellow human being and this was how she was repaid?
The McChicken meal was only $6. Hell, she could have paid for it, but it was too late now. She didn’t think of that in the heat of the moment, but she doubted it would have mattered. Joe had had it out for her since the beginning. He had never liked her and she knew it gave him great pleasure to fire her personally. Plus, judging from his comment that she wasn’t other coworkers, she knew he was just looking for an excuse to get rid of her.
She sighed and looked around. What was she doing to do now?
Her crappy studio apartment consisted of a couch that was falling apart at the seams, a ratty old mattress in the middle of the room because she couldn’t afford a springboard or a headboard, no TV and water dripping from a hole in the ceiling. Her daughter had to sleep with her on the same mattress, because she couldn’t afford to buy another one.
She had hit rock bottom.
She had no job, no money in the old savings account, no boyfriend, barely any real friends, a young daughter to care for, a family that had disowned her and a rent increase that she didn’t know how to pay for.
If I can’t come up with the extra $150, Rosie and I will probably be evicted and out on the streets by tomorrow, she thought.
Just briefly, the notion of turning to prostitution went through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She would never resort to that, out of principle. How could she look her daughter in the eye, if she did?
Of course, she could always return home to rural Montana, but that would be death. For one, her family had disowned her when she told them she was pregnant. They had given her a two-year grace period during which they took care of Rosie while she went to high school. After that, she was on her own.
The first thing she did when she graduated was hightail it out of the blandness and boredom of Montana to come out to the big city and study at NYU.
For another, even if she somehow convinced her parents to take her back, she wouldn’t want to live under her parents’ roof again. She wouldn’t be able to stand her father lecturing her about how she should wear her hair, what kind of boys were allowed to take her out, what time curfew was and where in the kitchen the pot was supposed to go.
My roof, my rules, her father would always say.
She was all on her own now. The state wasn’t handing out welfare checks to her because she apparently made too much money and didn’t qualify. She had no rich friends to help her. And as for returning home, well, that was the last resort. She would avoid that at all costs.
She would rely on herself to find a new job. Her daughter was counting on her.
If she couldn’t find anything, then she’d have to swallow her pride and return to Montana. She had to do what was best for her daughter, in spite of how she personally felt about it. But her options weren’t exhausted yet.
She felt like crying, but instead of feeling sorry for herself, she decided she would do something useful.
She took out that day’s New York Times newspaper and browsed the classified section. There were advertisements for cashier positions at KFC and Denny’s, but she didn’t want work at fast-food joints anymore.
She put the newspaper away and went online instead. She browsed craigslist, but decided to search on the Dallas, Texas section. She had heard that jobs were abundant in Texas and she wanted to get away from the economic downturn of New York City.
That was when things got interesting.
After looking through the jobs section and finding nothing that interested her, she hit the gig section on a whim.
An ad immediately jumped out at her.
The heading read Wealthy and busy rancher CEO looking for a live-in maid.
Intrigued, she clicked on the link.
The ad read: Dusting and cleaning and light cooking required at the Pleasure Ranch. No experience required. Will train. Room and board and meals all included. Great pay starting at $50/hr and bonus if you please the employer. Opportunities for advancement are abundant. Warning: this job isn’t for the average girl. Email for interview.
$50 an hour, she thought. This rancher must be incredibly wealthy. What kind of employer could afford to pay a maid $50 an hour?
And what was this bonus? And what exactly was she required to do to please the employer? And what did it mean that this job wasn’t for the average girl?
Intrigued, Laura decided to reply to the ad.
I’m a responsible, dependable, hardworking single mother interested in this position. Can you tell me more about it? Also, I’ll need to bring my six-year old daughter with me. Is that OK with you? Laura.
Almost immediately, she received a reply back.
Laura, in addition to cleaning and cooking, this position requires additional duties as assigned. Yes, you may bring your 6 year-old with you. We have excellent schools and daycares in the Dallas area. I will take care of that for you. If you are interested, please send me a picture of yourself. If you are acceptable, then we will take the next step. Your flight will be paid for. Do you have any experience?
Max
A lot of things in the email were off-putting and unsettling to her.
For one, she wondered what the additional duties were. Maybe heavy washing and cleaning? Whatever they were, she was sure she could handle them.
For another, she wondered why the employer, this Max, needed a picture of her. She gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was because he merely wanted some eye candy to ogle and nothing more. There were laws against anything more anyway, and she was sure she could handle anything he threw her way.
She was also a little put off by the tone in the email. It sounded like this Max wanted a picture of her in order to assess her beauty and if she was acceptable (his words), then he would hire her. It sounded like he was considering whether to buy her, like a piece of meat at the butcher’s.
But the fact was that the money was extremely tempting. $50 an hour? Only highly qualified professionals made that kind of money and she was desperate for it. That kind of money would solve all her problems and give both her and her daughter the kind of life they deserved.
She did wonder what kind of ranch was named the Pleasure Ranch. The thought briefly danced through her mind as she adjusted her webcam to take a selfie.
She pushed her hair back and pushed her chest out. She was going to do anything she could to secure this job. If it meant emphasizing her assets and using her 33 C-size breasts to her advantage, then so be it.
Just as she was about to take her picture, the thought that she should wear something sexier and more revealing crossed her mind.
It seemed to her that this Max was intent on hiring a sexy maid as eye candy. Why else would he request a picture?
And although deep in the recesses of her sub-conscious, she felt degraded and demeaned by such objectification of women, she allowed her desire for this high-paying position to outweigh her sense of indignation. After all, she was at her wits’ end financially. Something drastic had to be done.
I’m doing it for Rosie, she thought.
And that was why she had no trouble putting on a skimpier, skankier outfit.
She put on a pink bathing suit, but then thought better of it and s
tripped it off. It wasn’t revealing enough.
She then put on sexy red lace lingerie. Her flat and toned stomach was clearly visible through the transparent silky lace, which hid her perky and firm breasts just enough. It left much to the imagination, but she made sure that the upper parts of her breasts were exposed, along with cleavage, of course.
She then returned to her laptop.
Alright, here goes nothing, she thought.
She took a deep breath.
I’m doing this for Rosie, she reassured herself.
At the same time, she was happy to be leaving jobless New York City and going on a grand adventure to passionate Texas. She had always romanticized Texas as a lawless land full of rugged sexy cowboys she could tame.
She turned on her webcam and before she could change her mind, snapped a selfie.
She examined it.
Her full lips were pouting somewhat, her blue eyes were wide (as though surprised), her silky blond hair was hanging loosely by her shoulders and her head was tilted to the side.
She had seen enough models in Cosmopolitan magazine and the Victoria’s Secret catalogue to know how to pose sexy for a photo.
She sent the photo to Max, along with a message.
Yes, I have cooked and cleaned in the past. Here I am. It’s only fair if you send me one of yourself.
She felt a perverse thrill after she hit the send button. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited about it all: this new adventure, the promise of a high-paying job and a better future for herself and her daughter, and all the flirting, of course.
On the one hand, she was a little indignant about being treated like a sex object, but on the other, it made her feel sexy and attractive and desirable. What woman doesn’t want to feel that way?
And this Max was most likely a handsome cowboy, with money to blow too.
Almost immediately, as though Max had been waiting the entire time, she received an email from the cowboy.
Great pic, Laura. You are acceptable. I will book plane tickets for you and your daughter. You will leave tomorrow. A limousine will be waiting for you at the airport at Dallas-Fort Worth. You will sign the contract when you arrive. P.S. That’s a good point. Here’s my picture.
Laura’s heart skipped a beat.
She couldn’t believe it.
She and her daughter were going to Texas.
She clicked on the attachment.
The image showed a picture of a very tall and handsome man in his mid 30’s. Wearing a cowboy hat, a white dress shirt, a pair of torn blue jeans and cowboy boots with spurs, he was leaning against a barn with his arms crossed across his chest.
His face had a lot of personality to it, as though he’d been around and seen lots and had lots of stories to tell. The sun was shining onto him so his blue eyes were squinting into the distance. His face was angular and scruffy, full of character. He looked rugged, independent, confident.
Laura felt a tingle of desire in her pussy. The tingle turned into a slight shiver that started to spread throughout her body.
It had been a long time since she last looked at a man with such intense desire.
Uh oh, she thought. This adventure will be interesting to say the least.
*
III.
The next day, she and Rosie boarded a flight at JFK Airport bound for Dallas-Fort Worth. True to his word, Max had booked them both onto the flight, at his own expense.
As Laura stowed her carry-ons in the overhead compartment, thoughts swirled through her mind.
Why was this employer being so generous? What kind of job was this exactly? Would she be required to sleep with her employer? But since she had seen the picture of a handsome and rugged Max, she knew that even if she had to sleep with him, at least it wouldn’t be an unpleasant experience. That said, she knew she would definitely shield her innocent daughter from all that adult business.
She suddenly began to get cold feet.
It was all so sudden. For one, there was barely an interview. All Max asked was whether she had any experience and she had said yes. But in the ad, experience wasn’t even required.
She had explained to Rosie that they had to move in order to have a better life, but maybe she hadn’t thought it through hard enough. It was so far away from New York City, from the home that she had built for Rosie.
But economics had forced her to move. If she had stayed, she knew that she would be forced to work a minimum-wage job in fast-food again. In Texas, at least she would be paid eight times her normal salary for doing the same menial work.
She looked beside her. Rosie was quietly colouring in her colouring book.
This is who I’m doing this for, she thought. For my daughter.
Rosie looked up at her mother and smiled.
Laura smiled back. “You excited, baby?”
“Yep. Texas is gonna be fun!”
“Sure is,” said Laura.
She squeezed her daughter’s hand gently.
Rosie returned to her coloring.
Discreetly, Laura looked around to make sure no one was watching her, especially not her daughter.
She had received a particular item from Max via UPS earlier that morning. She knew what it was, but was curious why Max would send it to her.
She reached into her purse and took it out. It was a small item, just one inch long and two inches wide. It was red and fit subtlely in the palm of her hand.
It was, simply put, a gossip ring.
Bluntly, it was a vibrator.
She pressed the on button, and it began to vibrate quietly.
Her face reddening, she quickly turned it off.
It was embarrassing as hell.
My god! What if someone saw her?
She was a prim and proper lady and wouldn’t be caught dead with an item as risqué and crude as a gossip ring, otherwise known as a female vibrator.
The item had come with a note.
For you, Laura. You’ll need it. Max.
The question was: Why had Max sent it to her? And why would she need it?
*
As soon as Laura and Rosie arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, she picked up her luggage at baggage claim and went out to Ground Transportation.
There was a chauffeur standing in front of a limo, just like Max had said.
The driver was holding up a sign that said Laura.
She approached him. “Hi there. I’m Laura.”
The chauffeur smiled at her. “Hi Laura. I’m Taye. Welcome to Texas.”
He had a low, sexy voice.
He took her suitcases and placed them in the trunk.
Laura noticed how attractive the chauffeur was. He was mulatto, a blend of black and white. She had always found mixed-race men to be particularly handsome, especially when they were in uniform.
Taye had high cheek bones, a light brown skin tone and these mesmerizing green eyes. He was tall and underneath that black chauffeur’s uniform was a muscular body just waiting to burst out. He was young, maybe just a couple years older than she was, no more than 26 or 27.
He closed the trunk and then opened the door for the mother-daughter duo.
Laura smiled. “Thank you.”
As she walked past him, she noticed he smelled very manly. It was an earthy smell, a mix of leather and dirt.
Shaking off the attractive scent, she escorted her daughter in first and then went in herself.
On her way in, her hand brushed gently against Taye’s hand.
His skin was smooth and felt really good.
The caress was electric.
Laura paused, hesitating for just a moment.
Taye stood there for a little while, locking eyes with Laura.
Laura saw something in his eyes that was unmistakeable. He was interested in her, plain and simple.
Laura looked away.
Taye turned around and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Laura hadn’t been touched by a man in years, but
now that she had, she was reminded of how exciting and thrilling it could be.
Her heart beat faster and her pulse quickened.
But she decided she wouldn’t allow herself to feel anything for anyone.
You’re here to work, she reprimanded herself. Not to fall in love.
Not only was she sure there were rules against fraternizing with her co-workers, she was also afraid that doing so would jeopardize her and her daughter’s future.
It was because she had fallen for a man that her senses had been blinded. She had allowed her heart to rule her head and that had resulted in Rosie. And as much as she loved Rosie, her daughter had been an accident perpetrated only when Laura had let her guard down and allowed Tommy to sweet talk her and enter her.
Then, he had fled and she had been left with a daughter to raise all by herself.
No, thought Laura. I’m not ready to meet a man yet. I don’t want to fall in love. It’s a lot of work. Too much pain and very little gain.
And so, she decided to snuff out the tiny ember of interest and passion she felt when Taye had so casually and lightly brushed her hand with his.
She decided she would stamp it out before it could ever become a full-fledged bonfire.
And although she saw a flicker of unmistakable interest in Taye’s brilliant green eyes, she vowed that that was all there would be. It would only be interest and nothing else.
But she would be lying if she said that there wasn’t a part of her that didn’t want something to happen with Taye. Like any other normal woman, she was hot-blooded and craved passion and romance.
She was just afraid that if she ever allowed her walls to come down, then she would not only be exposed and vulnerable, but her passion would also become utterly wild and uncontrollable.
And she would always remember what that had resulted in the last time that happened.
In the driver’s seat, Taye tipped his cap and started the limo. “Please help yourself to some champagne. There’s some juice for your daughter too. This is just Max’s way of welcoming you.”
Laura examined the interior of the luxurious limousine. The seats and floor were covered with red velvet. The windows were tainted black. And the mini-bar did indeed have champagne in stock. It was expensive champagne from France. The label read Dom Perignon.
The Arrangement, Volume 1 Page 2