by Ever Coming
I twirled around in the three-way mirror for what was probably the fifth time. I barely recognized the woman looking back at me. Arabella was officially made of magic.
“I look, well, I look like a model.” I twirled around once more and giggled like a little kid, but I couldn’t help myself. I had never felt so pretty before.
“You look like you with clothing that fits and a decent haircut.” Arabella pointed to me in the mirror. “Check out those curves.” The whistle she blew startled me and I lost my balance for a moment. “You’re going to have a wait list a mile long.”
“Is that how it works?” The longer I spent time with Arabella the more obvious it became that I knew nothing about what I was trying to get myself into. Not. A. Thing.
“It depends.” She pushed my hair behind my ear, ran back to her vanity and came back with a hair comb. “Perfect. That will keep the hair out of your eyes without making you look younger than you are.”
I looked at the clock. I had a whole hour before my interview. Arabella assured me we were only a five-minute walk away. “So how does it work?”
“First, you need to get the job. And looking like that, I think that is a foregone conclusion.” Arabella picked up her camera and snapped a picture, looked in the viewfinder, smiled, then put the camera down.
“Then you need to train, and you will be paid heavily for that. After that, each case is different.” She gestured to the vanity stool and I took the seat. “I, for instance, have one vampire I see pretty regularly, but he allows me to take other clients.” She kept tilting my head from side to side. I was pretty confident she was just looking for things she could do to improve the “total package,” as she called it. “Now Bob, he never takes on a client more than once and never for more than a weekend.”
“A whole weekend?” What the heck would a vampire want with me or anyone else for a whole weekend? It’s not like we had an endless supply of blood, not without recovery time anyways. “Is that even a thing?”
“Nights are most common.” That filled me with relief. A night pretending to be sophisticated and interested I could handle. “But yes, weekends rank right up there with them and they are where you make bank.”
Focus on the money, Angelica. Focus.
“Weeks are less common, but happen sometimes when they want someone to go on vacation with. Those are great because most of them sleep all day so you get to play tourist on their dime.” Arabella leaned in close. “Now, my vamp will sometimes hire me out for a full month, but honestly that’s too much work. I prefer weekends. Good money and lots of time off.”
“So who is Bob?” I refused to think about what a month with a vampire would even look like. It was just too far outside of my realm of reality. “Will I meet him?”
“You already have, honey.” Arabella’s voice was no longer the sweet high pitched one I had come to know as hers. In its place was a rich and, honestly, quite sexy male one.
“Good to know.” He pulled a picture off of the small table, pointing to the man I now knew to be him. He was so masculine, which surprised me. Not to mention hotter than hot. Holy cow, he was as drool worthy as he was gorgeous. I imagined there was a whole lot to Arabella’s story and hoped to be around long enough for her to share it with me.
She gave me a wink, probably to stop my drooling. I was so honored to be trusted, even if it wasn’t actually a true secret. For all I knew, everyone in the city knew. But it felt good to feel trusted. “Thanks for all of this.” I gave my best model pose, which I’m sure looked nothing like a model. “And thanks for trusting me.”
“You trusted me first, Angel. Now let’s get you to your meeting. Victoria hates for people to be late.” Arabella handed me the small clutch she had me put my ID in. She also snuck in a twenty dollar bill she thought I didn’t see. “Angel will be your name at work. The vamps will love it.”
“Angel.” I tried my new name. It really wasn’t far from my full name, but it felt new and fresh, like it belonged with the woman I saw in the mirror now. “I like.”
We walked the rest of the way to Madame Victoria’s. True to her word, it was less than a five-minute walk, even with the horrible heels I was sporting. They weren’t even half the height of Arabella’s, but keeping from falling was going to be a feat in and of itself. I kind of failed at being a girl sometimes, and heels were one of those times.
Madame Victoria’s was not something you would accidentally find, that was for sure. It was a beautiful old building with absolutely no sign. It looked like a random building in a nice part of town. I’d had a vision of seedy neighborhood with lots of dark allies, filled with homeless people. I definitely watched too many movies at the theater I worked at.
“Here you go, Angel.” She leaned in close. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”
“Aren’t you coming in with me?” The knots I felt on the bus returned in full force. I was about to make a move that had the potential to change not only my entire life, but also the life of the person who meant the most to me.
“You need to do this on your own. I’ll be home when you’re done and you are more than welcome to stay with me while you get on your feet.” Arabella pressed the walk button at the curb. “Remember, she needs you as much as you need her. Check your clutch before you go in. Best of luck to you,” she called as she began to cross.
I opened the clutch, knowing I would find the twenty dollar bill she’d “secretly” stashed and prepared myself to look shocked for her benefit. The shock that hit my face turned out to be authentic. In the clutch was a key to her apartment, a throwaway phone with her number inside, and the twenty dollar bill.
3
I was sitting in the most spectacular office. It looked like it belonged in one of those fancy schmancy magazines. The receptionist had shown me to my current seat and then ran to grab the phone. According to the clock on the wall, I still had two minutes to my appointment. I could handle two more minutes of the nausea induced anxiety the waiting was causing. It was worth it. Mary was worth it.
“Hi, I’m Victoria.”
I rose to greet the woman who walked in dressed in elegance and confidence with a handshake and she indicated I should twirl for her instead, which I did. I looked good, and I waited for a smile or indication that I looked the part. Instead, she pointed to the seat, her face giving nothing away. “You must be Angelica.”
Victoria was younger than I had assumed she would be. She couldn’t be any more than forty, and looked more like a lawyer than a Madame of any kind. She was sporting the power pantsuit, nothing at all like Arabella had me decked out. It made sense, though. I was there to catch the eye of a wealthy vampire and she was there to take all of his money.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m Angel.” It was awkward having her stand over me as I sat. I focused on not squirming. Fidgeting was apparently on the extensive list of things Victoria wasn’t a fan of, according to Arabella.
“Angel.” She nodded before she took her seat behind the huge mahogany desk. “Nice, the vampires will love it. Now tell me, why are you here?”
“I need a job.” To help my sister. The question was dumb and felt almost too straight forward.
“No, I mean here, in this city, so far from your home.”
“The answer is the same. I need a job.” I kept reminding myself to breath in and out slowly as to appear calm. On the inside I was anything but I needed this job.
“There are jobs where you come from.” Victoria looked at some papers she was shuffling on her desk. “According to this, you have two.”
“I do. Two full-time jobs. I wait tables at the diner and work at the local movie theater.” Combined they made less in a week than it was rumored you made for a night at Madame Victoria’s. A lot less. She had to have known this. No one works two full-time jobs because they are lucrative.
“And yet you want a new job.” I nodded, unsure if she was asking a rhetorical question or not. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want a new job. “Why?”
&n
bsp; “For the money, ma’am.” Victoria didn’t look like someone who wanted a sob story. Heck, she probably would have thought it a sign of weakness that I let my guilt lead me to such a life as this.
“Do you know what we do here?” She scribbled on the paper on her desk, not even granting me a glance. I needed to step it up if I bored her to scribbles already.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I mean do you truly understand what we do?” Now her eyes were on me. I still couldn’t figure this woman out. One second she seemed bored to tears by my answers and the next she looked at me as if I was the most interesting person she had ever met.
“You run a private club where you introduce vampires to Blood Courtesans in exchange for large sums of money.” I swore for a moment that she was going to smile at my answer, but then the blank expression returned. Arabella mentioned Victoria’s love of no nonsense answers, so maybe that was it.
“You’re only half right.”
I schooled my face hoping she didn’t see the shock I felt. Blood for money. That was the deal. Everything I explored online and everything I was told said the extras were completely optional and had nothing to do with pay.
“We do all those things, but we are selling an experience. Vampires can get their blood from anywhere, don’t let the laws fool you.” Victoria rose and meandered back to where I was sitting. She was taking her time, trying to scare me, if I were to guess. Little did she know that nothing scared me anymore. I had seen the worst life had to give and was still standing. Pulling bitch power moves while standing over me with ominous innuendos wasn’t going to stop me.
“They choose to come here, to me, because I offer, shall we say, more.” She leaned back against the desk, crossing her feet at the ankles in front of her. “Are you willing to give more, Angel?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I think I’ve heard enough.” She walked back to her desk chair and took her seat. I needed to learn from this woman. She was able to take a common piece of furniture and turn it into a chess piece. Brilliant. “Go home, Angel.”
I had fucked up my chance. I thought back to all of the advice I read and was told. I had to be quick of wit if I was going to save my chance.
She shooed me away and that was when I realized this wasn’t actually a rejection. It was a test. Game on. “This isn’t the place for you.”
I stood, no longer willing to let her have the power seat. I had a feeling she didn’t want me to allow it, either. She wanted someone strong. “Why not? I’ll do anything.” I wouldn’t, of course, do anything, but I needed for her to show her hand.
“That right there is three quarters of the problem. You immediately agreed to do more without even knowing what more was.” Cards shown. Three quarters of them anyway. “There are vampires that would take advantage of that. Do you like to be spanked? Tied up? Sensory deprived?”
“What? Of course not.” Her eyes fell upon me with a tinge of disbelief. “At least not that I know of.” I tacked on for good measure. To be honest, I had no clue if I liked those things or not, but I sure as shit would be willing to give them a try if it became necessary.
“There are vampires here who would see an innocent young thing like you and try to convince you that that is more.”
I leaned over her desk closing the distance between us without actually moving. I willed myself not to shake. This was not me, yet right now it needed to be. “Then teach me what is and what is not more.”
“If that was the only problem.” Victoria’s voice was almost sing-song. She wasn’t done with me yet, not that I thought she would be. I was a paycheck to her, and she needed to make sure I was going to be a big one. “Then yes, I could do that.”
“But it’s not,” I stated.
“No. It’s your look.” Lies. I saw her appraisal earlier. I would have been gone already if I didn’t meet her standards. My look was just fine. It was something else. Something I couldn’t quite place. “I think it would be off putting.”
“Oh, this.” I decided to play dumb and did a little shimmy. “My friend Arabella helped me get ready. I can easily find a better look if you prefer. Maybe something a bit less whimsical?”
“Let me rephrase, you are put together beautifully. I should have known Arabella had a hand in it. She has a knack. It’s more your, shall we say, stature.” That had to be the nicest way anyone had ever called me fat. I had a feeling Victoria actually liked me the way I was, so this was a test of something else.
“By stature you mean curves?”
“No curves are great. It’s your excess weight that is the issue.”
“Riddle me this, Victoria. Are the vampires you see me with mostly men, or were you thinking woman?” I caught her off guard with my reply. I’m sure others promised to try harder to lose weight or tone up. I was happy with the way I was. I looked good, not that I usually looked this good, but I had a natural beauty even on a bad day. My wardrobe was pathetic at best, but I caught plenty of men’s eyes, I just didn’t have time to deal with them. I had too much responsibility.
“I was thinking men. Why, are you attracted to women?” She leaned in slightly, her eyes sparkling just a tiny bit. That was definitely not on my more list, but it meant she saw potential in me greater than simply walking out of this room and back to a bus.
“Not the point, but no, I’m not.” This was where I became mega ballsy, if that’s even a word. I sat on the edge of her desk as if I owned the place. “So men would be my client base.” She nodded. She was trying to figure out my game plan. It wasn’t going to happen. “And you think men don’t like double digit women?”
“No, they don’t.” The small curve of her lips filled me with hope.
“You, Victoria are throwing away such profit potential.” I stood up and brushed off my dress before picking up my clutch. “If all of your girls are skinny, someone like me would have been your coup. They would be chomping at the bit to book time with me.” I picked up my hand and did a silly dismissal of a wave, crossing all things that my gamble would pay off. “Good day.”
I opened the door and almost ran into a man dressed in a business suit and tie. When his hand touched my arm, presumably to steady me, the cold gave him away. He was a vampire.
“Whoa there, beautiful. In a rush to get home?” His accent was hard to place. It wasn’t quite British and not quite local, either.
“To be honest, sir—” I was cut off by his finger to my lip.
“Jameson.” He removed his finger so I could finish. I could hear Victoria clearing her throat behind me and that meant Jameson could as well, but we both ignored it.
“To be honest, Jameson, I was just told that vampires couldn’t appreciate my curves.” I ran my hands down my sides as if to put them on display as if he could have missed them.
“Well that’s funny, because Bob just called me to tell me I needed to see the new girl because—”
Arabella to my rescue once again. Who would have thought one asshat’s rude comment at a bus station could be a life changer?
“—as he put it and I quote, ‘She has rockin’ curves that you are going to want to explore.’”
“Then clearly you aren’t a vampire,” I teased, the flirtation coming easily. There was something about this man. I had yet to gaze at his face, knowing the moment I did, all would be lost. If his voice turned me into a flirty school girl, I could only imagine what looking into his eyes would do as he spoke, making the connection that much more personal.
“Enough. Enough.” Victoria didn’t seem to want to be ignored any longer and joined us at the door. “You two have already met.” She handed him a folder that I presumed was my profile. “Jameson get her hooked up with her paperwork and a trainer…I’m thinking Jerome. She’s going to make us lots of money, Jameson.”
4
Jameson took me by the hand before he led me down a labyrinth of hallways until we reached what I assumed was the training center. This was where it was do or die. I had to lea
rn all of the trade secrets of a courtesan, not pass out from blood loss, all while exuding confidence. Training was paid, though, so worst case scenario was I made enough money to get home and slide into my old life until I could think of a new way to help Mary. Fine, the scenario sucked beyond sucking, but it was better than not getting the job and not getting paid.
Jameson was silent the entire time and it probably would have had me on edge if it weren’t for his hand connected with mine. It somehow anchored me. It also warmed me, which was odd as he was cold to the touch.
“Here we are, beautiful.” He pushed open the door and instead of a busy office, or for that matter any office, it lead to a parking garage.
“I thought training was here.” The quiver in my voice gave away nervousness.
“It can be.” He kept walking and for a moment, I considered dropping his hand and refusing to go with him, but his voice didn’t hold the tinge of creepy I had come to trust in my life, too late. His voice almost hugged me. I wasn’t sure if it was a vampire thing or a Jameson thing. I was leaning toward it being a Jameson thing since I hadn’t heard or read any accounts of it, and made the split second decision to go with him.
“That doesn’t really clear things up.” We meandered through the first row of cars, which were surprisingly normal. I’m not altogether sure what I had been expecting, but minivans were not on the list.
“It wasn’t meant to. Let’s get to my car and get on our way and I will explain all that needs explaining.”
“But not all there is to explain.” He was carefully wording his response and I had to call him out. If my gut was wrong, I needed to know before I got in the car with him.
“Not much gets by you.”
“I learned that lesson a long time ago,” I mumbled under my breath before thinking. It wasn’t something I wanted to share and I knew better, yet out it came.
“Trust me.” He held up his key fob and I heard the beep of his car alarm. Turning to the noise, I saw the kind of car I expected in the lot. It was a black sports car of some kind. I knew nothing about cars, but even I knew this one cost more than I made last year. Scratch that, the past few years combined.