by Young, M. L.
I squeezed between the crowds and made my way over to the table, which had a gold metal “reserved” sign on it. I caught a few glimpses of people looking at me as I walked over and sat down. I wondered if they wondered why there was a reserved table and better yet, who the girl sitting at it was. I knew I always wondered that myself when I saw the same thing at my old dishwashing job. After all, you must be pretty important to get your own metal sign.
True to his word, Raymond sent over a busboy with a cappuccino and some biscotti, which appeared to have some chocolate glaze on top. I took one out and bit into it as a trail of crumbs fell down into my lap. I brushed them off before looking back up and out the window that I was situated against.
I drilled through about five of the biscotti before I saw Blake pass by the glass window and open the door. I felt a rush of nerves overcome me as I saw him again in the flesh. I had lost track of the time as I watched the hordes of people walking by outside in every type of outfit imaginable. People-watching was one of my favorite hobbies.
Blake waved at Raymond, who quickly ran to the back, leaving his customers at the counter waiting without explanation.
“It’s good to see you, Penelope,” Blake said as he approached the table.
I stood up, not knowing if I should hug him, kiss him, or shake his hand. He leaned in for a hug, albeit a quick one, and I obliged, catching the scent of his woodsy body wash whilst it tickled against my nose hairs and made me feel like I was going to sneeze for a quick second.
“It’s good to see you, Blake,” I said, before we both sat down.
He was wearing one of his signature suits—the kind that were tight-fitting and very obviously not from a rack. These things were custom-made in every sense of the word, and he was even sporting a handkerchief in his pocket, which I hadn’t seen before.
“So, I bet you’re wondering why I asked you here today,” Blake said.
Raymond came up beside us with a platter of coffees and snacks. Blake smiled, shaking Raymond’s hand, as the two exchanged quick pleasantries before Raymond ran back to his station to calm the unruly old woman who he’d ditched to get us our things.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit curious,” I said.
“Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about things. It’s been a little complicated with the whole, you know, sleeping together thing,” he said, ending his sentence with a whisper.
“How so?” I asked.
“Well, with the internship and everything. I don’t want you to think that our having sex would sway me one way or the other. If it did, and it was found out, it could mean bad things for both of us. It’s just not fair to the other candidates, you know?” he asked, taking a sip of his espresso.
“Oh, so I didn’t get the internship?” I asked, feeling a knot in my stomach.
“I didn’t say that,” Blake said, as he set down his cup and picked up a cucumber sandwich.
“I got it?” I asked, perking up a little.
“I didn’t say that either,” Blake replied.
“I think I’m going to need a little more clarification, then,” I said in a confused tone.
“Well, I said I could take care of some problems, didn’t I?” he asked.
“Yeah, you said that last night. Having this internship and the subsequent salary it would pay would take care of a lot of problems,” I said.
“What if I had another way? A better way,” he said, before taking a bite of his sandwich.
“What other way is there? The internship is the way,” I said.
“What if your money problems and school problems could be taken care of without the internship?” he asked.
I looked at him with confusion as I tried to process what he was saying. Was he going to write me a check or something? I didn’t understand. Wouldn’t it be better for me to just have the internship so he could get something out of giving me the money?
“Well, that would be nice and all, but that’s not exactly feasible. You make money by working for it,” I said.
“What if I paid your expenses and made sure you were taken care of? Would that be something you’d be interested in?” Blake asked.
My foot shook incessantly underneath the table as I tried to understand him. Was I dreaming all this? Was he just going to pay my bills? It couldn’t be that easy, especially with a man like him.
“In exchange for what, exactly?” I asked.
“You,” he said, as he looked me directly in the eye.
“Me?” I asked, in shock.
He continued to eat his cucumber sandwich, all the while looking at me and not answering. I had to admit it was a nice proposal and all. What girl doesn’t want free money? I could definitely focus on my grades and everything, and taking the extra classes the internship was going to replace wouldn’t even be a problem because I wouldn’t have to get a part-time job to pay the bills.
“So, you’re just going to give me money? Was I that good the other night?” I asked.
Blake chuckled a little, and I saw some of the first emotion I had ever seen out of him. That was either a good thing or a very bad thing.
“You were great, but I’m not going to just give you money, Penelope. The world doesn’t work like that,” he said.
“Then what?” I asked.
“You’ll be, well, my company, if you know what I mean. You’ll escort me to parties and events, you’ll make me look good, and you’ll satisfy my needs when I have them—and I have them often, Penelope. In exchange for all that, I’ll make sure your bills are paid and you’re pampered whenever you feel you need it,” Blake said.
“So I’d be your hooker?” I asked, with my eyebrows furled.
“Oh no, Penelope! Don’t think of it like that. I’m not paying you for sex. I’m paying you for your company and time. Don’t you think you’re worth it?” he asked.
Morally, I felt like he wanted me to be his personal prostitute. On the other hand, it would free up my time and allow me to do whatever I wanted and keep my grades up. I guessed the term wasn’t really “prostitute” for this kind of thing. What did they call it? Oh yeah, sugar baby or something like that. I did remember seeing a year ago about that software billionaire Roman Parker who married the woman he was doing this exact thing with. Yeah, her name was Natalie or something. The word got out, probably an inside slip, and instead of backing away, they owned it and showed the world how much they loved each other. What if that happened to me? What if Blake married me over this one day? Get it together, Penny. One step at a time.
“What exactly would you take care of for me?” I asked, wanting to probe him a little further.
“Anything you need. You’ll have a direct line to me and I’ll take care of it all. Just say the word,” he said.
“And this will be what, a secret? What happens if we’re at a party or something and you have to introduce me? What am I?” I asked.
“Yes, it will be a secret from the general public. I suppose we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there,” he said.
“This is just all so overwhelming, you know? I came in here today hoping to score that internship, and now you’re springing this on me. It’s not that I don’t like it or am saying no or anything, but it’s just a lot,” I said.
“I could understand what you’re thinking right now. I didn’t come in here thinking you’d even give me an answer today,” Blake said.
I looked out the window before taking a sip of my cappuccino. I hoped the caffeine would calm my mind and get rid of the headache that was starting to set in. My heart was racing, but I wasn’t sure if it was from the coffee or the thought of being some upper-class paid hooker. Well, I guess all hookers were paid, but I’d be really paid.
“How long will this go on for?” I asked.
“As long as the two of us see fit,” he replied.
“So it could end at any time by either party? Just like that?” I asked.
“Just like that. I feel that both of us are taking
a risk in this, not just you,” he said.
“I have one more question,” I said.
He looked at me, waiting for the question, as I thought of how to phrase it. I didn’t want to accuse him of anything, and I definitely didn’t want to turn him away, but I felt as if it were something I needed to know before I went forward.
“Have you ever done this before?” I asked.
“No,” he sharply replied.
“Then okay, I think we should give it a try,” I said.
“Really? That fast?” he asked.
“Yeah, why not? But you have to take me out on dates and all that. I’m not going to just put out,” I whispered.
“Deal,” he said with a smirk.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Penelope
A few days had passed since Blake and I sealed our little arrangement and made it official. Well, it wasn’t official as in dating, but I guessed it was as close as I was going to get to dating a man like him.
I had to admit that I didn’t enter into this for all the right reasons, if there was such a thing as right reasons in a situation like this. I could tell that the internship either wasn’t up to him, which I didn’t know how it couldn’t be, or he wasn’t going to give it to me and was offering me something else that would take care of some problems I had. With barely any money left in my account and my federal student loan being sucked up by tuition and transportation, how else was I going to pay my bills and get what I needed?
I saw this as an opportunity for myself to be liberated from the slum of a life I was living. Sure, I had a nice apartment, but that was only because of Nicolette and her job. Hell, we didn’t even share the rent halfway. She paid almost seventy percent of it and in exchange I did pretty much all the cleaning. I wasn’t going to use Blake for material possessions unless he insisted on them, at least. I wasn’t that vain. I was just going to get food in my stomach, heat on my body, maybe a couple new shirts, and a lot of good sex that would do my soul good. That wasn’t so bad, was it?
When Nicolette got home the other night, after my lunch with Blake, she immediately pounced on me and wanted to know what he wanted. She was so excited for us to be working at the same place she could barely stand it, and I had a hard time telling her I wasn’t going to be working there at all. When she asked what he wanted and why he wanted to see me, I knew I couldn’t tell her the truth. Blake agreed that we’d keep it a secret, and even though Nicolette was my roommate and best friend, I just couldn’t afford to ruin something before it ever really even started. She had a rather big mouth and I knew she could slip it to somebody at the office, and then not only would Blake dump my ass faster than I could blink, but she could lose her job and then we wouldn’t be able to afford this place any longer. There was too much at stake.
I had told her that he and I were just friends and that he was recommending me for an internship at another firm because Sharon had already promised the position to that squirrely Asian guy who I’d sat next to. She was incredibly bummed, but also happy that Blake wasn’t cutting off all communication with me. I guessed it was a win-win.
As I lay back on the couch with nothing to do but think, I started to wonder what my parents or family would think if they knew what I was up to. They weren’t all that thrilled when I came out here to go to school, and I knew they didn’t like Nicolette and me living on our own. They wanted me to stay in some type of dorm or on-campus apartments, but I flat-out refused to do it again after my freshman year disaster with Joanie the amazing moaning girl who slept with more men than a hotel mattress. Being matched up with random girls wasn’t my idea of a fun time, and all it ever did was leave me in trouble. Living with Nicolette was the best thing to happen to me, aside from the whole Blake thing.
Still, I knew my dad would be furious and my mom would cry, because they would immediately think what I thought when Blake first brought this up, that I was some kind of expensive prostitute. I wasn’t, and knew I wasn’t, but their minds would jump to it just like mine did when Blake first gave me the proposition. It isn’t every day you hear your daughter is fucking a guy and going out with him and he’s paying all her bills without her having to go to a job.
As I lay there contemplating it all, my phone buzzed against the dark wood coffee table that was chipped and scratched from when Nicolette offered to watch her friend’s cat for the weekend six months ago. I was still tending those wounds.
“Are you free tonight?” Blake asked.
“I don’t have any plans, why?” I replied.
“I’m in the mood and need to see you,” Blake replied.
I smiled a little bit, not exactly at what he was saying, but because I kind of liked the thought of a guy telling me he wanted to be with me, even if it was in a sexual way. I’d never been the traditionally pretty girl, or the girl who had men clamoring over her, so it was nice to have my beauty seen in other ways.
“When would you like me?” I replied.
“Every day and every night, but I’m afraid my dick would fall off. I’ll send Gustav at nine. Prepare to spend the night and bring clothes for tomorrow. I have something set up for you,” he said.
“Hint?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he replied.
“How come you’re all dressed up?” Nicolette asked.
“Oh, I’m going out,” I said, wishing she hadn’t seen me.
“With who?” she asked, before shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
“A guy I met,” I said nonchalantly.
“I think I would’ve heard of some random guy, Penny,” she said.
“I met him on RandomMeetX, you know, the place you work,” I said.
“I didn’t think you used that app,” she said.
“Well, I do now. I was thinking about it and figured it would be a nice way to meet a guy, even if most of them are only looking for one thing,” I said.
“Yeah, the app is known for hookups. But I guess you’re going against the twenty-two-year-old grain and not into that, for whatever reason,” she said as she turned on the television.
“Yeah, not for me,” I said, turning around and feeling sweat start to bead along my hairline.
“So, where are you going?” she asked.
“Oh, um, I think it’s the Trufflehead Bar and Grill,” I said, making up the name on the spot.
“I’ve never heard of that,” she said as she took out her phone.
“Yeah, it’s new,” I said.
“They don’t even show up on a search,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s brand new. Probably too hip to be on there,” I said, as I tried to cover my tracks.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Jeffrey,” I blurted out.
She was going to see right through me. Jeffrey was the name of my turtle growing up. I had told her a million and one stories about Jeffrey and how much he meant to me.
“Well, have fun. I won’t wait up,” she said.
“Okay,” I yelled back, as I felt an air of relief come over my body.
I finished getting ready and grabbed my purse and keys before saying goodbye to Nicolette, who was stuffing her face, kernels of popcorn strewn about all over her. Guess I’d have fun cleaning that up tomorrow.
Gustav was waiting for me outside and I slyly slipped into the car, hoping Nicolette wouldn’t creepily be looking out the window to see what I was doing. I knew she wouldn’t, but being all sneaky and secretive with Blake stressed me out. I was a grown woman, after all. I shouldn’t have to be sneaking around with a billionaire playboy! I just shouldn’t.
“How are you tonight?” Gustav asked as we pulled out.
“I’m well, and yourself?” I asked, clutching my purse to me.
“I’m well. You look a bit nervous tonight,” Gustav said.
“That obvious?” I asked, with a smile.
“Yes, but don’t worry. Mr. Hunter is a nice man—a good man, and he’s only been everything good in my life. He’ll be a good boy
friend to you,” Gustav said.
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” I said.
“Ms. Wells, I’ve driven around many women to meet him for dinner, at clubs, parties, you name it. You’re the only one he’s seen twice, at least in a long time. You might not be his official girlfriend, but you might as well be his girlfriend to me,” Gustav said.
I smiled and tilted my head downwards before looking out of the tinted window and seeing the barrage of multicolored lights rain past the car. I knew Gustav was only being nice, and I guessed I was somehow more special than the other women Blake had dated or been with, but I was definitely not his girlfriend. I was just his…well, I didn’t quite know my title or what I was. I was just me. That was all I could be and all I would be with him, at least for now.
We pulled up to Blake’s building before Gustav pressed a button on a remote and the garage door opened and allowed us in. We didn’t take the amazingly awesome car elevator up, but Gustav did pull up to a private elevator that was solely for Blake’s apartment.
“You have a great night tonight, Ms. Wells. I’ll see you again soon,” Gustav said with a smile, before getting back into his car and driving out of the garage.
The elevator door dinged before I could even press a button. I turned around, the doors opening, and I saw Blake standing there, his arms crossed in front of him, his left eyebrow slightly raised.
“I thought I’d pick you up. You know, be a gentleman and all,” he said.
“Pick me up from where? The garage?” I asked, smiling, as I walked towards him and into the elevator.
“Only the best for you,” he said, leaning in and kissing my cheek.
I felt a few butterflies as I felt his lips against me once again. I didn’t say anything, not even reciprocating or trying to get close to him, as the elevator doors closed and we rode up to his floor above the city. The doors opened and he immediately walked out as I followed him into a dining room, which was lit only by long white candles that glowed like little fireflies. Dinner was sitting on pristine white china as Blake extended his arm down towards it.